Germany, Imperial. The Iron Cross: A History of The Iron Cross, by Stephen Thomas Previtera

Hardcover, entitled "The Iron Cross: A History of The Iron Cross" by Stephen Thomas Previtera, First Edition, the text, along with the charts, illustrations, photographs and book design copyrighted by the author in 1999, published by Winidore Press of Richmond, Virginia, printed in Hong Kong, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 99-91003, ISBN 0-9673070-0-7. It chronicles in great detail the history of the Iron Cross through the extensive use of detailed text and multiple photographs. As stated on the back cover: "The Iron Cross has always been more than a simple military decoration. For Prussia, and later Germany, it represented "The Iron Time" of 1813. The birth of independence in the middle of a Europe dominated by Napoleonic France. Casting off Bonaparte's oppressive yolk marked the beginning of Prussia's march toward a unified Germany at Versailles in 1871. Later would come the disembowelment of the last kaiser's army in World War I. Reborn as evil incarnate, Hitler's "Thousand Year Reich" rampaged and shattered as Götterdämmerung in a fraction of a millennium. These histories are the story of the Iron Cross. A Christian symbol adopted from the fabled Teutonic Knights and used as the crest for two centuries of German holy wars. With over a thousand new color, and B&W photographs created especially for this reference, you will share in this incredible story. Little known tales about the Iron Cross are told, and a detailed analysis of its construction and marks is explored. This is the comprehensive history you have been waiting for." It begins with a Table of Contents, followed by a Foreword by Erich Topp, an Acknowledgements and an Introduction. The book is divided into ten chapters: 1. The Freedom War - Symbol of Liberation; 2. The Iron Cross Against Napoleon; 3. A Celebration of German Might; 4. The Franco-Prussian War - Rebirth of the Iron Cross; 5. Marching from Versailles; 6. The Great War - Wilhelm II's Iron Cross; 7. The Second World War - Adopted Symbol; 8. Echelons Beyond The Knight's Cross; 9. The Bundeswehr Iron Cross; 10. The Meetings - Visiting History. It concludes with a three part Glossary (A - The Iron Cross Family, B - Imperial German Makers' Marks, C - Third Reich Makers' Marks), one page of Contributed Picture Credits, a two page Select Bibliography and a three page Index. The book contains 470 pages of text in English, printed in four-color inks, on a semi-coated paper stock, with images printed on the front and back covers in colour, measuring 196 mm (w) x 260 mm (h) x 38 mm (d). Near extremely fine.