Stasi Decorations And Memorabilia Reference Book.

[ehrentitle]

You are welcome - in all manner of the meaning of that word.:)

Now that I know he makes mention of the KGB association with the Stasi they effectively created and kept under their wing mainly because East Germany was the most western border and people crossed over from one side to the other daily for a number of reasons. If someone was going from East to West, then they had to have security clearance of a very high level which brings the Stasi and KGB into the picture.

Now for the next question, where should I go to get a copy of the relevant book (the volume with the KGB references) and how much should I expect to have to pay?

Thanks in advance,
Phillip

Phillip, The book is Stasi Decorations and Memorabilia, Volume II by Ralph Pickard. Ralph says main shipment of books have left the printers he should have it by the last week of December.

He is taking pre-orders, the cost will be $79 USD plus postage. After which the price will be $89 USD plus postage.

Ralph's still working with his webmaster to get paypal up and running so the book can be paid for through his website. However you can e-mail him through the Blog he set up for the book and he will provide you with the needed information on how to pre-order and pay for the book.

His Blog is at: Stasi Decorations
Ralph just updated his blog and added a buy Vol II page at: [url=http://stasidecorations.wordpress.com/buy-volume-ii]Buy Volume II | Stasi Decorations and Memorabilia

For those folks who do not have Vol I he is offering a bundle deal for Vol I & II together at a reduced price.

He is only printing 750 copies of Vol II, all of which will numbered on the title page. So those that want a low numbered book should consider pre-ordering.

A quick update. Ralph says the books have cleared customs and should be in his hands in a few days. He is still offering pre-orders of Stasi Decorations and Memorabilia Vol II until 12 Feburary 2012 which will save you about $10:

Buy Volume II | Stasi Decorations and Memorabilia

[desantnik]

I got a pre-order. Don't miss out!

[ehrentitle]

The books have arrived and Ralph is shipping them out to those who have pre-ordered copies.

[Greg Collins]

I received my copy yesterday and, though I haven't read it through yet, I have had the opportunity to give the book a fairly thorough "going over". It is, simply, stunning. The amount of material is, well, overwhelming and beautifully presented. Magnificent.

I heartily recommend this book, along with volume 1, to all collectors of the Cold War.

[Christophe]

I received my copy today. :thumbsup

This seems an excellent work with many MfS topics covered !!
Hours of reading anticipated. :)

Congrats to Ralph for this outstanding work !!
Cheers.

Ch.

[Greg Collins]

OK, I've finished reading the second volume; an incredible amount of material is covered and beautifully laid out. What an effort on Ralph's part! I do not believe I've ever seen any subject covered so thoroughly.

This 2 volume set is, in my opinion, a new benchmark for books covering Cold War memorabilia. Not a catalog to use as a quick reference to see which medal is which- there are other books for that- but, rather, an incredibly in-depth, scholarly approach to orders, medals, badges and other memorabilia directly and indirectly associated with the Ministry of State Security. In describing these items and their associated documents and providing photos of the items being presented and worn, Ralph has given a glimpse of several key personalities as well as some insight into some operational aspects of the organization. It is a marvelous set of books and, as I said before, a must for all collectors of the Cold War.

[Ralph Pickard]

Hello all - I want to thank you all for your comments and much appreciate what has been said. Thanks.

[ehrentitle]

I thought I'd bring this thread back to life since it's been several months and we may have some new members who are not aware of Ralph's excellent book, "STASI Decorations and Memorabilia Vol II" which was published in January. For anyone who collects or is thinking about collecting East German Stasi medals, decorations and other items this is a must have book written by the expert in the field. It also includes Soviet decorations and badges issued to Stasi members. For more see Ralph's blog at: Stasi Decorations and Memorabilia | Ralph Pickard – Frontline Historical Publishing

[desantnik]

Colleagues, soviet-awards forum subscriber, author, and Stasi specialist Ralph Pickard will publish the long-awaited, third volume in his Stasi decorations and memorabilia series in February 2018. This volume will slightly expand the scope to among other things Soviet, Warsaw Pact, and Vietnam awardings, as well as updates/errata to the earlier volumes. Attached is a (small) thumbview of his flier, I can send slightly larger if you PM me.

It will be sold for $79, however orders prior to publishing will enjoy a pre-sale price of $70. If interested in contacting Ralph you can either PM here or send me a PM and I'll ensure he gets it.

[Ralph Pickard]

desantnik - thanks much for adding this post. Since this post was added, the final draft of volume III has now gone to the printers. :-)

Hello all - last update to let everyone know the current status of volume III.

Volume III is now being delivered to its final destination after it was unloaded at the New York port and passed customs. If all goes well (no issues), the initial postal mailing of volume III should happen by the end of next week.

Thanks all for your support...ralph