This three volume set on World War II German swords by LTC (Ret.) Thomas M. Johnson, a leading collector and authoritative researcher, is a follow-up to his successful and highly acclaimed four volume series on World War II German daggers by Schiffer Publishing (1995). Johnson is the author of some twenty-six reference books on the subject of German edged weaponry. This sword series has been designed to aid not only the beginning collector, but also the seasoned advanced collector and specialist. These volumes are the result of many years of arduous research conducted on both sides of the Atlantic, and are a scholarly study that is more than a perfunctory annotation and illustration of the known basis patterns. Also, the series is a study of a culture and the crafts that actually produced the blades, as well as being a manual in the art of collecting them. The embracing scope is both educational and recreational, and adds a whole new dimension to this popular collecting subject as a whole. Within these books one finds the historical background, the manufacturing techniques, constructional information, the actual basic patterns, variations and rarities, and a whole host of salient facts of absorbing interest.