Hans Milton Halberstadt is an American author, filmmaker, historian and photographer. He has authored and co-authored more than 60 non-fiction books, many of them documenting the American Military. His books have been translated into several languages, including German, French and Japanese. Halberstadt's books focus on portraits of Military units, the mindset of Modern Warriors, equipment, tactics and missions. His early career centered on creating short films for the educational market and for corporate clients. He belongs to a number of organizations including; E Clampus Vitus, the UDT/SEAL Association, Association of the US Army, and Author's Guild.
Background
Halberstadt was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, the oldest son of photographer Milton H. Halberstadt and Olga Navratil Halberstadt. His family moved to California about 1945, where he was raised in Marin County and graduated from Tamalpais High School. His early years were spent working in his father's photography studio in San Francisco where he was introduced to artists including Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange, Imogen Cunningham, Benny Bufano, Keith Munro and architects Lawrence Halprin and Doug Bayliss. He joined the army in 1962 and went to Vietnam where he served as a helicopter door gunner throughout the Central Highlands. After his years in service, Halberstadt returned to California and graduated from San Francisco State in 1968 with a degree in film and broadcasting.
Career
Halberstadt worked for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in Washington DC as a photographer. When this project ended, he moved back to California, and started his Company Very Moving Pictures. He produced television commercials, public relations films, corporate and educational films, videos and audio/visual presentations for clients including Exxon, Bank of America, Ketchum Communications and Discovery Toys. He made nearly 40 educational films for Arthur Barr Productions, Inc. Of Pasadena. His first foray into publishing was providing the illustrations for a book on stained glass, Stained Glass, Music for the Eye in 1979. This book was favorably reviewed by Newsweek Magazine, which called Halberstadt's photographs “dazzling”. His first authored book was Coast Guard, Always Ready, about the United States Coast Guard. He has since written, co-written or illustrated more than 70 non-fiction books. Many of his books are about special operations units such as United States Navy Seals and Green Berets. Other subjects include Railroad depots, seaplanes, Farming and locomotives. His publishers include Barnes & Noble, Motorbooks Publishing, Presidio Press, Trident Publishing.
