Rachael and Steph and I were going to write reviews of Fifty Shades of Grey but we’ve all been busy and I haven’t acquired the book. I did read a review on The Atlantic Wire. I also just read The Reich’s Last Gamble: The Ardennes Offensive December 1944, which was available without a waiting list at the Blue Earth County Library. Differences between German soldiers in the Battle of the Bulge and Anastasia Steele in Fifty Shades of Grey are as follows:
1. Group experience versus one-on-one.
2. Pawns in an overly ambitious political plan, versus pawn in a simple plan with small number of tactics and concrete measures of success.
Similarities:
1. Attracted to power.
2. Believe this is the best thing ever to happen to them.
3. Went into it weak. Aside from their superior footwear, the jackboot, German soldiers lacked adequate materials and support, and suffered from fatigue. Anastasia, I don’t know, the book may or may not explain how she got there.
4. The more uncomfortable it gets, the more important to keep believing or else look stupid.
5. Probably lives not going anywhere.
6. Granted only minimal freedom of action.
In conclusion:
“The need to be dominated is very personal.” -Dominique Aury, Story of O
“For an army that was so magnificently equipped as the American, it was surprising…that one of their major casualty producers was not the hand-grenade splinter, but rather the inadequacy of their footwear. Trench foot, caused by the fact that the GIs’ footwear was not anywhere near as good as the German jackboot, accounted for a significant number of casualties.” -George Forty, The Reich’s Last Gamble: The Ardennes Offensive December 1944
“And history is always an indicator.” -Jen Doll, The Atlantic Wire
ann rosenquist fee 
Brilliant comparison! I see another blog post, this time on the importance of footwear in battle. Who knew that defeat could come down to shoes? This seems like a natural topic for you to explore next…