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 Customer Reviews
The National Reviews So Far, 12 Oct 2008
Reviews of Masters and Commanders
`Writing with clarity and elegance, Mr Roberts conveys how his four principals and their armies of aides and staff officers thrashed out the formulae for victory. This is an important book which, in its layered references to Waterloo, the Crimea and the Somme, sees Mr Roberts lay claim to the title of Britain's finest contemporary military historian.'
The Economist
`Despite eschewing the visceral drama of the battlefield for the less deadly, if no less hard-fought, debates of various Allied conferences, cabinets and committees, Roberts has produced a surprisingly gripping read. He has marshalled his material superbly and his warts-and-all assessment of his four subjects is invariable spot-on. Exhaustively researched and judiciously written, with a gimlet eye for telling detail, this may be his finest book yet.'
Saul David, Sunday Telegraph
`In Masters and Commanders, Roberts offers us a compelling analysis of American and British strategy during the war. He also tells a profoundly human story - of two soldiers who loyally served their masters, only to be each denied at the end the prize that would have made one of them world famous.'
Laurence Rees, Sunday Times
`Roberts displays a profound understanding of the interactions between strategy and politics, and his interpretation of British/US strategic relations between 1941 and 1945 is unlikely to be superseded.'
Prof Vernon Bogdanor, Financial Times
`Couched in elegant prose, this book is a masterpiece of robust historical analysis, steeped in scholarship and alive to every nuance of personality. Roberts re-evaluates each of the masters and commanders with scrupulous fairness.'
Christopher Silvester, Daily Express
`The author has crafted a masterly and fresh interpretation of the grand strategy of World War II. Roberts's pen-portraits, with their wealth of amusing and often acerbic anecdotes, reveal the evolution of that strategy by the master statesmen.'
John Crossland, Daily Mail
`The strength of Masters and Commanders lies in the power of the narrative and the fascinating detail used to construct it. Roberts has exploited a rich mine of private papers to fill in missing parts of the story, and although there is little new to be learned about the long strategic arguments between the British and the Americans over the best way to defeat Hitler, there is a lot to learn about the way that argument took place. Roberts has a shrewd grasp of the ins and outs of decision making.'
Prof Richard Overy, Literary Review
`Marshal Foch famously said that he had "less respect for Napoleon, now that I know what a coalition is". The high quality of the leadership of the coalition Andrew Roberts so expertly describes was a decisive factor in their success.'
Conrad Black, Mail on Sunday
`A wonderful page-turner, a really good read.'
Chris Patten, Start the Week
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Customer Reviews
The National Reviews So Far, 12 Oct 2008
Reviews of Masters and Commanders
`Writing with clarity and elegance, Mr Roberts conveys how his four principals and their armies of aides and staff officers thrashed out the formulae for victory. This is an important book which, in its layered references to Waterloo, the Crimea and the Somme, sees Mr Roberts lay claim to the title of Britain's finest contemporary military historian.'
The Economist
`Despite eschewing the visceral drama of the battlefield for the less deadly, if no less hard-fought, debates of various Allied conferences, cabinets and committees, Roberts has produced a surprisingly gripping read. He has marshalled his material superbly and his warts-and-all assessment of his four subjects is invariable spot-on. Exhaustively researched and judiciously written, with a gimlet eye for telling detail, this may be his finest book yet.'
Saul David, Sunday Telegraph
`In Masters and Commanders, Roberts offers us a compelling analysis of American and British strategy during the war. He also tells a profoundly human story - of two soldiers who loyally served their masters, only to be each denied at the end the prize that would have made one of them world famous.'
Laurence Rees, Sunday Times
`Roberts displays a profound understanding of the interactions between strategy and politics, and his interpretation of British/US strategic relations between 1941 and 1945 is unlikely to be superseded.'
Prof Vernon Bogdanor, Financial Times
`Couched in elegant prose, this book is a masterpiece of robust historical analysis, steeped in scholarship and alive to every nuance of personality. Roberts re-evaluates each of the masters and commanders with scrupulous fairness.'
Christopher Silvester, Daily Express
`The author has crafted a masterly and fresh interpretation of the grand strategy of World War II. Roberts's pen-portraits, with their wealth of amusing and often acerbic anecdotes, reveal the evolution of that strategy by the master statesmen.'
John Crossland, Daily Mail
`The strength of Masters and Commanders lies in the power of the narrative and the fascinating detail used to construct it. Roberts has exploited a rich mine of private papers to fill in missing parts of the story, and although there is little new to be learned about the long strategic arguments between the British and the Americans over the best way to defeat Hitler, there is a lot to learn about the way that argument took place. Roberts has a shrewd grasp of the ins and outs of decision making.'
Prof Richard Overy, Literary Review
`Marshal Foch famously said that he had "less respect for Napoleon, now that I know what a coalition is". The high quality of the leadership of the coalition Andrew Roberts so expertly describes was a decisive factor in their success.'
Conrad Black, Mail on Sunday
`A wonderful page-turner, a really good read.'
Chris Patten, Start the Week
The Dambuster raid comes alive, 11 Nov 2008
There are many histories written about the Dams raid where you can glean the clinical facts - and there was the film ... but there's nothing like oral history to engage the imagination and bring you close to the people who were there. The Dambusters, far from being 'gung-ho' come over as men of enormous skill, courage and resourcefulness, with a strong camaraderie among the crews. Their own words ring true - some readily admit that Gibson wasn't universally popular - but none doubted his resolve and courage. The crews trained to the increasingly exacting demands by the designer of the new bomb - they recall hair-raising flying at just 60 feet, honing their bombing accuracy - and their accounts build the tension until, on the day of the raid, they learn their night's target and recall their emotions. The accounts of the flight out and the bomb runs on the dams are riveting as some aircraft and crews go down in flames - and as an added bonus, there are detailed recollections from Germans who found themselves under the breaking dams. It's a brilliant read and a great tribute to all involved in the raid, from Barnes Wallis and his work to develop the bomb, to Gibson and all his crews and ground crews of 617 Squadron. Can't recommend it enough.
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Customer Reviews
The National Reviews So Far, 12 Oct 2008
Reviews of Masters and Commanders
`Writing with clarity and elegance, Mr Roberts conveys how his four principals and their armies of aides and staff officers thrashed out the formulae for victory. This is an important book which, in its layered references to Waterloo, the Crimea and the Somme, sees Mr Roberts lay claim to the title of Britain's finest contemporary military historian.'
The Economist
`Despite eschewing the visceral drama of the battlefield for the less deadly, if no less hard-fought, debates of various Allied conferences, cabinets and committees, Roberts has produced a surprisingly gripping read. He has marshalled his material superbly and his warts-and-all assessment of his four subjects is invariable spot-on. Exhaustively researched and judiciously written, with a gimlet eye for telling detail, this may be his finest book yet.'
Saul David, Sunday Telegraph
`In Masters and Commanders, Roberts offers us a compelling analysis of American and British strategy during the war. He also tells a profoundly human story - of two soldiers who loyally served their masters, only to be each denied at the end the prize that would have made one of them world famous.'
Laurence Rees, Sunday Times
`Roberts displays a profound understanding of the interactions between strategy and politics, and his interpretation of British/US strategic relations between 1941 and 1945 is unlikely to be superseded.'
Prof Vernon Bogdanor, Financial Times
`Couched in elegant prose, this book is a masterpiece of robust historical analysis, steeped in scholarship and alive to every nuance of personality. Roberts re-evaluates each of the masters and commanders with scrupulous fairness.'
Christopher Silvester, Daily Express
`The author has crafted a masterly and fresh interpretation of the grand strategy of World War II. Roberts's pen-portraits, with their wealth of amusing and often acerbic anecdotes, reveal the evolution of that strategy by the master statesmen.'
John Crossland, Daily Mail
`The strength of Masters and Commanders lies in the power of the narrative and the fascinating detail used to construct it. Roberts has exploited a rich mine of private papers to fill in missing parts of the story, and although there is little new to be learned about the long strategic arguments between the British and the Americans over the best way to defeat Hitler, there is a lot to learn about the way that argument took place. Roberts has a shrewd grasp of the ins and outs of decision making.'
Prof Richard Overy, Literary Review
`Marshal Foch famously said that he had "less respect for Napoleon, now that I know what a coalition is". The high quality of the leadership of the coalition Andrew Roberts so expertly describes was a decisive factor in their success.'
Conrad Black, Mail on Sunday
`A wonderful page-turner, a really good read.'
Chris Patten, Start the Week
The Dambuster raid comes alive, 11 Nov 2008
There are many histories written about the Dams raid where you can glean the clinical facts - and there was the film ... but there's nothing like oral history to engage the imagination and bring you close to the people who were there. The Dambusters, far from being 'gung-ho' come over as men of enormous skill, courage and resourcefulness, with a strong camaraderie among the crews. Their own words ring true - some readily admit that Gibson wasn't universally popular - but none doubted his resolve and courage. The crews trained to the increasingly exacting demands by the designer of the new bomb - they recall hair-raising flying at just 60 feet, honing their bombing accuracy - and their accounts build the tension until, on the day of the raid, they learn their night's target and recall their emotions. The accounts of the flight out and the bomb runs on the dams are riveting as some aircraft and crews go down in flames - and as an added bonus, there are detailed recollections from Germans who found themselves under the breaking dams. It's a brilliant read and a great tribute to all involved in the raid, from Barnes Wallis and his work to develop the bomb, to Gibson and all his crews and ground crews of 617 Squadron. Can't recommend it enough.
Details about the 2nd WW that have never been told in full before, 14 Nov 2008
A very readable book, which includes photographs, previously unseen. The really interesting parts are of course the relationship between the 3 elderly men who decided on the incredibly unfair divisions following the war at the summit at Yalta + another easily forgotten or not discussed alliance between Stalin and Hitler prior to the war.
I was surprised when reading some of the early chapters that the scandalous invasion of Poland from the Soviet side was more or less allowed to happen and despite the heartfelt pleas from the Polish ambassador the mass killing and deportation of civilians was more or less permitted to go on freely. 'We have no quarrel with the Soviets' the British Government said. Behind the scenes though,a tit for tat conspiracy was being carried out between Hitler and Stalin which left the unfortunate Poles compromised completely. This became a complex political situation that continued right through until the end of the war when it seems that Stalin had to be compensated for losing 27 million troops (27 million compared with only 400 000 each for UK and US. Additionally Russia was by the end of the war occupying much of Eastern Europe, too bad for those millions and millions of tragic people who had to suffer another 50 years of dictatorial communist rule! Churchill and Roosavelt do not come out of this that well though their positions were completely untenable, they more or less had no option but to agree with the psycopathic Stalin who had helped them out.
I was however quite impressed by De Gaulle who refused to recognise the puppet government of Poland at the end of the war and the ever devious Stalin was also much impressed by De Gaulles
suspicions. Stalin respected the French leader for his insight, but told that the interpreter at the meeting that he would be sent to Siberia for knowing too much!
There is lots to interest in this new book with some fantastic details, first hand witness reports and new information that makes this book a really good historical read.
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Customer Reviews
The National Reviews So Far, 12 Oct 2008
Reviews of Masters and Commanders
`Writing with clarity and elegance, Mr Roberts conveys how his four principals and their armies of aides and staff officers thrashed out the formulae for victory. This is an important book which, in its layered references to Waterloo, the Crimea and the Somme, sees Mr Roberts lay claim to the title of Britain's finest contemporary military historian.'
The Economist
`Despite eschewing the visceral drama of the battlefield for the less deadly, if no less hard-fought, debates of various Allied conferences, cabinets and committees, Roberts has produced a surprisingly gripping read. He has marshalled his material superbly and his warts-and-all assessment of his four subjects is invariable spot-on. Exhaustively researched and judiciously written, with a gimlet eye for telling detail, this may be his finest book yet.'
Saul David, Sunday Telegraph
`In Masters and Commanders, Roberts offers us a compelling analysis of American and British strategy during the war. He also tells a profoundly human story - of two soldiers who loyally served their masters, only to be each denied at the end the prize that would have made one of them world famous.'
Laurence Rees, Sunday Times
`Roberts displays a profound understanding of the interactions between strategy and politics, and his interpretation of British/US strategic relations between 1941 and 1945 is unlikely to be superseded.'
Prof Vernon Bogdanor, Financial Times
`Couched in elegant prose, this book is a masterpiece of robust historical analysis, steeped in scholarship and alive to every nuance of personality. Roberts re-evaluates each of the masters and commanders with scrupulous fairness.'
Christopher Silvester, Daily Express
`The author has crafted a masterly and fresh interpretation of the grand strategy of World War II. Roberts's pen-portraits, with their wealth of amusing and often acerbic anecdotes, reveal the evolution of that strategy by the master statesmen.'
John Crossland, Daily Mail
`The strength of Masters and Commanders lies in the power of the narrative and the fascinating detail used to construct it. Roberts has exploited a rich mine of private papers to fill in missing parts of the story, and although there is little new to be learned about the long strategic arguments between the British and the Americans over the best way to defeat Hitler, there is a lot to learn about the way that argument took place. Roberts has a shrewd grasp of the ins and outs of decision making.'
Prof Richard Overy, Literary Review
`Marshal Foch famously said that he had "less respect for Napoleon, now that I know what a coalition is". The high quality of the leadership of the coalition Andrew Roberts so expertly describes was a decisive factor in their success.'
Conrad Black, Mail on Sunday
`A wonderful page-turner, a really good read.'
Chris Patten, Start the Week
The Dambuster raid comes alive, 11 Nov 2008
There are many histories written about the Dams raid where you can glean the clinical facts - and there was the film ... but there's nothing like oral history to engage the imagination and bring you close to the people who were there. The Dambusters, far from being 'gung-ho' come over as men of enormous skill, courage and resourcefulness, with a strong camaraderie among the crews. Their own words ring true - some readily admit that Gibson wasn't universally popular - but none doubted his resolve and courage. The crews trained to the increasingly exacting demands by the designer of the new bomb - they recall hair-raising flying at just 60 feet, honing their bombing accuracy - and their accounts build the tension until, on the day of the raid, they learn their night's target and recall their emotions. The accounts of the flight out and the bomb runs on the dams are riveting as some aircraft and crews go down in flames - and as an added bonus, there are detailed recollections from Germans who found themselves under the breaking dams. It's a brilliant read and a great tribute to all involved in the raid, from Barnes Wallis and his work to develop the bomb, to Gibson and all his crews and ground crews of 617 Squadron. Can't recommend it enough.
Details about the 2nd WW that have never been told in full before, 14 Nov 2008
A very readable book, which includes photographs, previously unseen. The really interesting parts are of course the relationship between the 3 elderly men who decided on the incredibly unfair divisions following the war at the summit at Yalta + another easily forgotten or not discussed alliance between Stalin and Hitler prior to the war.
I was surprised when reading some of the early chapters that the scandalous invasion of Poland from the Soviet side was more or less allowed to happen and despite the heartfelt pleas from the Polish ambassador the mass killing and deportation of civilians was more or less permitted to go on freely. 'We have no quarrel with the Soviets' the British Government said. Behind the scenes though,a tit for tat conspiracy was being carried out between Hitler and Stalin which left the unfortunate Poles compromised completely. This became a complex political situation that continued right through until the end of the war when it seems that Stalin had to be compensated for losing 27 million troops (27 million compared with only 400 000 each for UK and US. Additionally Russia was by the end of the war occupying much of Eastern Europe, too bad for those millions and millions of tragic people who had to suffer another 50 years of dictatorial communist rule! Churchill and Roosavelt do not come out of this that well though their positions were completely untenable, they more or less had no option but to agree with the psycopathic Stalin who had helped them out.
I was however quite impressed by De Gaulle who refused to recognise the puppet government of Poland at the end of the war and the ever devious Stalin was also much impressed by De Gaulles
suspicions. Stalin respected the French leader for his insight, but told that the interpreter at the meeting that he would be sent to Siberia for knowing too much!
There is lots to interest in this new book with some fantastic details, first hand witness reports and new information that makes this book a really good historical read.
Brilliant combination of detail and abstraction, 02 Nov 2008
With this third volume, Professor Evans brings his rightfully acclaimed "History of the Third Reich" to a very fruitful end indeed. All the major developments from 1939 till 1945 are at least touched upon in a very insightful and balanced manner, blending social history, the biographies of well-known heavyweights of the Nazi regime such as Hitler, Göring, Goebbels, Himmler or Speer and the lesser known experiences of ordinary Germans into one complex but highly readable narrative, exposing a good deal of the inner workings of Hitler's dictatorship rather than taking an overly abstract bird's eye view on this disastrous epoch. There is, of course, a heavy emphasis on the genocidal activities of the Nazis and the political arena, yet economic, cultural and military events are also accounted for in a convincing way. Most of the major controversies concerning the historiography of Nazi Germany like Daniel Goldhagen's "Hitler's Willing Executioners" are mentioned, although Evans does not always take up a clear position and understandably refrains from making any new untested hypotheses, for which a book of this scope cannot be intended anyway. For students of modern history the book offers a remarkably well-crafted starting-point to develop their own research interests, providing also a detailed bibliography of the major works on the Nazi era. The only real downside perhaps, along with a certain tendency towards oversimplifying military events, is an apparent lack of explicit theoretical reflection on his own position within the field of historical research on the part of Evans, like his rejection of the Great man theory of history, which is responsible for his concentration on social history. As a consequence, lay readers not familiar with the major currents in historical research may not be able to fully comprehend and appreciate Evans' methods and findings.
A Materly Piece of Work, 24 Oct 2008
Evans emulates his standards set in the two proceeding titles which describe how the Third Reich arose; how it acted when in power and finally the story of its triumphs, defeat and eventual total destruction. He conveys his studies in a scholarly, yet particularly approachable manner. He never seccumbs to moral platitudes, or indeed takes a partisan or doctrinair political line when discussing the evils and cruelties perpetrated by the Nazi regime. Above all the sense of the authors own palpable humanity speak out as a striking counterpoint to the brutality of the time.
A superb finish!, 10 Oct 2008
Like the previous reviewer I waited for this third instalment with impatience. I was not disappointed, impassioned writing tempered by impeccable scholarship and judicious use of the vast sources on the subject. I can do no better than refer prospective readers to the excellent and substantial review by Nicholas Stargardt in the Times Literary Supplement of 10 October 2008 (pages 8-9).
As for me, I was glad to see the author has been able to incorporate references to recent works by other scholars. For instance, Evans cites extensively the highly praised and enormously informative book by Adam Tooze "The Wages of Destruction" (2006) on the economic history of the Third Reich. However, Evans does not always agree with that author and when it comes to what, palpably, went on at the infamous Wannsee Conference I am emphatically with him (see page 265) in holding that the major purpose of that meeting was to "discuss the logistics of extermination".
A brilliant and essential book, and page-turningly readable too. In particular the interspersion of contemporary everyday diary entries (like those of schoolteacher Luise Solmitz) illuminates and adds greatly to our feeling of actually being inside the Reich during the war years.
Of wide-scope studies in English of Hitler's ghastly regime there are now, I think, three which stand out amongst the dauntingly large number of works of special value and interest for the general reader: Ian Kershaw's masterly two-volume biography of Hitler; Richard J. Evans's now completed three volumes, and, lastly (and surprisingly in view of the usual reputation of economic history as off-puttingly `heavy') Adam Tooze's brilliant and clearly written in-depth analysis of the fatal flaws underlying the Nazi drive to war.
Insofar as there can ever be a definitive, overarching summation of the Third Reich, it seems to me that these three authors come nearest to supplying it!
A Superb Study now Rounded Out., 07 Oct 2008
Richard Shaw's superbly crafted, eminently readable and scholarly third volume has been well worth the wait (on order since 2006). The trilogy must now surely take its place among the truly great historical narratives of this, or any, century. For historians - or indeed anyone - who wishes to expand his general and underlying knowledge of this ghastly period of history, Richard Shaw's opus is surely without peer.The Third Reich at War: How the Nazis Led Germany from Conquest to Disaster (Allen Lane History)
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Customer Reviews
The National Reviews So Far, 12 Oct 2008
Reviews of Masters and Commanders
`Writing with clarity and elegance, Mr Roberts conveys how his four principals and their armies of aides and staff officers thrashed out the formulae for victory. This is an important book which, in its layered references to Waterloo, the Crimea and the Somme, sees Mr Roberts lay claim to the title of Britain's finest contemporary military historian.'
The Economist
`Despite eschewing the visceral drama of the battlefield for the less deadly, if no less hard-fought, debates of various Allied conferences, cabinets and committees, Roberts has produced a surprisingly gripping read. He has marshalled his material superbly and his warts-and-all assessment of his four subjects is invariable spot-on. Exhaustively researched and judiciously written, with a gimlet eye for telling detail, this may be his finest book yet.'
Saul David, Sunday Telegraph
`In Masters and Commanders, Roberts offers us a compelling analysis of American and British strategy during the war. He also tells a profoundly human story - of two soldiers who loyally served their masters, only to be each denied at the end the prize that would have made one of them world famous.'
Laurence Rees, Sunday Times
`Roberts displays a profound understanding of the interactions between strategy and politics, and his interpretation of British/US strategic relations between 1941 and 1945 is unlikely to be superseded.'
Prof Vernon Bogdanor, Financial Times
`Couched in elegant prose, this book is a masterpiece of robust historical analysis, steeped in scholarship and alive to every nuance of personality. Roberts re-evaluates each of the masters and commanders with scrupulous fairness.'
Christopher Silvester, Daily Express
`The author has crafted a masterly and fresh interpretation of the grand strategy of World War II. Roberts's pen-portraits, with their wealth of amusing and often acerbic anecdotes, reveal the evolution of that strategy by the master statesmen.'
John Crossland, Daily Mail
`The strength of Masters and Commanders lies in the power of the narrative and the fascinating detail used to construct it. Roberts has exploited a rich mine of private papers to fill in missing parts of the story, and although there is little new to be learned about the long strategic arguments between the British and the Americans over the best way to defeat Hitler, there is a lot to learn about the way that argument took place. Roberts has a shrewd grasp of the ins and outs of decision making.'
Prof Richard Overy, Literary Review
`Marshal Foch famously said that he had "less respect for Napoleon, now that I know what a coalition is". The high quality of the leadership of the coalition Andrew Roberts so expertly describes was a decisive factor in their success.'
Conrad Black, Mail on Sunday
`A wonderful page-turner, a really good read.'
Chris Patten, Start the Week
The Dambuster raid comes alive, 11 Nov 2008
There are many histories written about the Dams raid where you can glean the clinical facts - and there was the film ... but there's nothing like oral history to engage the imagination and bring you close to the people who were there. The Dambusters, far from being 'gung-ho' come over as men of enormous skill, courage and resourcefulness, with a strong camaraderie among the crews. Their own words ring true - some readily admit that Gibson wasn't universally popular - but none doubted his resolve and courage. The crews trained to the increasingly exacting demands by the designer of the new bomb - they recall hair-raising flying at just 60 feet, honing their bombing accuracy - and their accounts build the tension until, on the day of the raid, they learn their night's target and recall their emotions. The accounts of the flight out and the bomb runs on the dams are riveting as some aircraft and crews go down in flames - and as an added bonus, there are detailed recollections from Germans who found themselves under the breaking dams. It's a brilliant read and a great tribute to all involved in the raid, from Barnes Wallis and his work to develop the bomb, to Gibson and all his crews and ground crews of 617 Squadron. Can't recommend it enough.
Details about the 2nd WW that have never been told in full before, 14 Nov 2008
A very readable book, which includes photographs, previously unseen. The really interesting parts are of course the relationship between the 3 elderly men who decided on the incredibly unfair divisions following the war at the summit at Yalta + another easily forgotten or not discussed alliance between Stalin and Hitler prior to the war.
I was surprised when reading some of the early chapters that the scandalous invasion of Poland from the Soviet side was more or less allowed to happen and despite the heartfelt pleas from the Polish ambassador the mass killing and deportation of civilians was more or less permitted to go on freely. 'We have no quarrel with the Soviets' the British Government said. Behind the scenes though,a tit for tat conspiracy was being carried out between Hitler and Stalin which left the unfortunate Poles compromised completely. This became a complex political situation that continued right through until the end of the war when it seems that Stalin had to be compensated for losing 27 million troops (27 million compared with only 400 000 each for UK and US. Additionally Russia was by the end of the war occupying much of Eastern Europe, too bad for those millions and millions of tragic people who had to suffer another 50 years of dictatorial communist rule! Churchill and Roosavelt do not come out of this that well though their positions were completely untenable, they more or less had no option but to agree with the psycopathic Stalin who had helped them out.
I was however quite impressed by De Gaulle who refused to recognise the puppet government of Poland at the end of the war and the ever devious Stalin was also much impressed by De Gaulles
suspicions. Stalin respected the French leader for his insight, but told that the interpreter at the meeting that he would be sent to Siberia for knowing too much!
There is lots to interest in this new book with some fantastic details, first hand witness reports and new information that makes this book a really good historical read.
Brilliant combination of detail and abstraction, 02 Nov 2008
With this third volume, Professor Evans brings his rightfully acclaimed "History of the Third Reich" to a very fruitful end indeed. All the major developments from 1939 till 1945 are at least touched upon in a very insightful and balanced manner, blending social history, the biographies of well-known heavyweights of the Nazi regime such as Hitler, Göring, Goebbels, Himmler or Speer and the lesser known experiences of ordinary Germans into one complex but highly readable narrative, exposing a good deal of the inner workings of Hitler's dictatorship rather than taking an overly abstract bird's eye view on this disastrous epoch. There is, of course, a heavy emphasis on the genocidal activities of the Nazis and the political arena, yet economic, cultural and military events are also accounted for in a convincing way. Most of the major controversies concerning the historiography of Nazi Germany like Daniel Goldhagen's "Hitler's Willing Executioners" are mentioned, although Evans does not always take up a clear position and understandably refrains from making any new untested hypotheses, for which a book of this scope cannot be intended anyway. For students of modern history the book offers a remarkably well-crafted starting-point to develop their own research interests, providing also a detailed bibliography of the major works on the Nazi era. The only real downside perhaps, along with a certain tendency towards oversimplifying military events, is an apparent lack of explicit theoretical reflection on his own position within the field of historical research on the part of Evans, like his rejection of the Great man theory of history, which is responsible for his concentration on social history. As a consequence, lay readers not familiar with the major currents in historical research may not be able to fully comprehend and appreciate Evans' methods and findings.
A Materly Piece of Work, 24 Oct 2008
Evans emulates his standards set in the two proceeding titles which describe how the Third Reich arose; how it acted when in power and finally the story of its triumphs, defeat and eventual total destruction. He conveys his studies in a scholarly, yet particularly approachable manner. He never seccumbs to moral platitudes, or indeed takes a partisan or doctrinair political line when discussing the evils and cruelties perpetrated by the Nazi regime. Above all the sense of the authors own palpable humanity speak out as a striking counterpoint to the brutality of the time.
A superb finish!, 10 Oct 2008
Like the previous reviewer I waited for this third instalment with impatience. I was not disappointed, impassioned writing tempered by impeccable scholarship and judicious use of the vast sources on the subject. I can do no better than refer prospective readers to the excellent and substantial review by Nicholas Stargardt in the Times Literary Supplement of 10 October 2008 (pages 8-9).
As for me, I was glad to see the author has been able to incorporate references to recent works by other scholars. For instance, Evans cites extensively the highly praised and enormously informative book by Adam Tooze "The Wages of Destruction" (2006) on the economic history of the Third Reich. However, Evans does not always agree with that author and when it comes to what, palpably, went on at the infamous Wannsee Conference I am emphatically with him (see page 265) in holding that the major purpose of that meeting was to "discuss the logistics of extermination".
A brilliant and essential book, and page-turningly readable too. In particular the interspersion of contemporary everyday diary entries (like those of schoolteacher Luise Solmitz) illuminates and adds greatly to our feeling of actually being inside the Reich during the war years.
Of wide-scope studies in English of Hitler's ghastly regime there are now, I think, three which stand out amongst the dauntingly large number of works of special value and interest for the general reader: Ian Kershaw's masterly two-volume biography of Hitler; Richard J. Evans's now completed three volumes, and, lastly (and surprisingly in view of the usual reputation of economic history as off-puttingly `heavy') Adam Tooze's brilliant and clearly written in-depth analysis of the fatal flaws underlying the Nazi drive to war.
Insofar as there can ever be a definitive, overarching summation of the Third Reich, it seems to me that these three authors come nearest to supplying it!
A Superb Study now Rounded Out., 07 Oct 2008
Richard Shaw's superbly crafted, eminently readable and scholarly third volume has been well worth the wait (on order since 2006). The trilogy must now surely take its place among the truly great historical narratives of this, or any, century. For historians - or indeed anyone - who wishes to expand his general and underlying knowledge of this ghastly period of history, Richard Shaw's opus is surely without peer.The Third Reich at War: How the Nazis Led Germany from Conquest to Disaster (Allen Lane History)
BRITISH PACIFIC FORCE?, 14 Aug 2008
At the Winchester Festival, reviewing his book, Hastings made a misguided and alarming remark, "that the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, other than Taranto Raid, played no significant part in WW2". It is therefore no wonder that he has omitted to include in his book the British Pacific Forces's successful attack on the Japanese oil refineries at Palembang (Samatra) in January 1945. Four British fleet carriers with 244 aircraft embarked disabled the refineries that were supplying Japan precious aviation fuel. He has also failed to document one of two VC's won my Fleet Air Arm pilots during WWII - Lt Gray with his plane on fire, pressed home his attack and sank a Japanese destoyer. Glancing through the book Hastings does not do justice to the Royal Navy in the Far East during 1944-45 period, until he educates himselve on the Fleet Air Arm's war effort, I will stay clear of his books. Question for you Max, which allied torpedo bomber aircraft sank more enemy shipping (by tonnage) then any other aircraft acting in the same role during WW2? Clue it is the same aircraft that disabled the Bismarck's steering, enabling the Royal Navy to sink it.
When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today, 25 Mar 2008
"When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today," is inscribed on the War Memorial at Kohima. It commemorates a forgotten battle fought by forgotten soldiers of a forgotten army of a forgotten empire for a forgotten cause against a forgotten foe - I exaggerate only slightly, for what school child in any of the great democracies (assisted only at its dénouement by the dreadful Soviet dictatorship of 'Uncle' Joe Stalin) that eventually triumphed over a monstrous and militarist enemy can tell today of Kohima, of Imphal, of Leyte Gulf, of Iwo Jima, of Okinawa? Not many, I guess. I am deeply regretful that so few of our young know anything of the above. Max Hastings has performed a first-class service for those who know little or nothing of what happened then or of the need to destroy that 'monstrous and militarist enemy,' the Japan of Hirohito. Those of us who know of the need must never forget, nor permit others so to do. Read this book in order to know why!
Not history, but rather slapdash journalism, 26 Feb 2008
If you like your history personalised and trivialised, enjoy 'knocking copy' but are not much interested in facts nor concerned with accuracy, this is your book. Do not be bluffed by its bulk and the plethora of end-notes; it lacks a bibliography, making it impossible to decide which howlers stem from ignorance of sources and which from misusing them.
I bought 'Nemesis' because I learned that Hastings quotes from my uncle's book 'War Bush: 81 (West African) Division in Burma 1943-1945' by J.A.L.Hamilton (Norwich: Michael Russell, 2001) in his first chapter on the war in Burma. He quotes from it with acknowledgement four times, each time with one or more errors, and uses it in six more without acknowledgement. My uncle's book closes with the opinion of the Japanese Arakan army, that of the troops opposed to them for more than a year the Africans were 'undoubtedly (the Allies') best jungle fighters'. Hastings, who was not there, knows better: 'The War Office was seized by a belief that jungle warfare would suit Africans; this though most had never seen such terrain.' He backs this up by quoting a British general's views that 'The African has not a fighting history' and 'The African....cannot react quickly....due to an inherent....lack of intelligence', and considers it relevant to cite a Gurkha officer's report of his men gazing with awe, when snooping on Africans bathing, at the 'extravagant proportion of their black comrades' private parts', as if this titbit of schoolboy smut affected their performance as soldiers. It is typical that they are said to be West Africans, though in the Kabaw Valley, where 11 (East African) Division campaigned. He thinks there were only two African divisions, and only one from West Africa, which sent two, making three. He tries to belittle the share of British troops in the Burma fighting - 'only a fraction....two divisions....one in thirteen of the ground troops'. There were three, one broken up to form Chindit brigades, and in addition one-third of the infantry and half or more of the artillery in an 'Indian' division were British units. On numbers the British were 100,000 out of 605,000, almost one in six. He quotes figures without a source, and overestimates the Japanese killed in Burma after the invasion by subtracting the number killed then from the total of all Japanese casualties (KIA, wounded and missing).
The narrative is bulked out by personal reminiscences and anecdotes, many used as a basis for sweeping, often dubious, generalisations; there is an evident relish for horror stories. Hard facts are scanty, and many incorrect even though well-known - wrong dates for the start of Operation Thursday and the death of Wingate, the wrong division landing at Rangoon, on the wrong day. Sources are mis-quoted, not acknowledged, their evidence distorted. How can one trust the rest of the book? This is not history, but rather slapdash journalism; as Kipling wrote, 'Once a journalist, always and forever a journalist'.
A Very Good Lucid Overview of the Subject, 27 Jan 2008
This book gives a good overview of the campaign against Japan during the years 1944 to 1945. Hastings' fluid style and excellent layout of the book make the somewhat daunting 600 page narrative a reasonably easy read. Many interviews have been conducted with combatants of all the nations involved in the campaign and these add an insight into what some of the terrible battles were actually like for the participants. The experiences of the occupied and imprisoned are also included. Hastings is excellent at drawing character sketches of all the leading figures, military and civilian, who played a part and these add much to the interest of the story. The familiar actions in Burma, the US naval war, the Philippines, Iwo Jima and Okinawa are covered. A critical appraisal of LeMay's B29 devastation of Japanese cities versus the less well known American submarine blockade of Japan will be new to many readers. The war in China is also covered to some extent as are the roles of the Chinese Nationalist and Communist armies, again perhaps, unfamiliar ground. Surprisingly the least well handled section is that on the use of the atomic bombs where the narrative thrust becomes lost in a web of argument and counter-argument as Hastings clearly tries to cover all points. Although not a definitive account of the subject this is, nevertheless, a very good book.
A masterpiece, 12 Jan 2008
There can be few, even knowledgeable, students of the Second World War who will not learn much from this really impressive book. Max Hastings has already contributed some masterly WW2 histories but this must be his finest. It is one of the best histories of the War that I have ever read.
What impresses most is the scope and breadth of this book. All the major campaigns are covered and their relative importance made clear. The British campaign in Burma was never much more than a side-show, no matter how that fact must pain the dogged combatants under Bill Slim who drove the Japanese out. The relatively little known but hugely successful American submarine war against Japan's shipping is given its proper due.
None of the combatants fought a very clean war (if there can be such a thing). The Americans slaughtered many Japanese civilians and prisoners and their campaign seems to have been fuelled by a hatred of Japanese that they did not feel towards the Germans. However, upon reading of the many and hideous atrocities perpetrated by the Japanese - many denied or overlooked by Japan even today - the hatred of them by their opponents seems all too understandable. The last-minute declaration of war against Japan by Stalin, that cynical opportunist, unleashed the Red Army upon Manchuria, in the full plunder and rape mode that made them dreaded for decades to come.
Even today the dropping of atomic bombs by the United States upon Hiroshima and Nagasaki remains perhaps the most controversial act of the War and some think the greatest atrocity. Hastings gives much of the detail of the attacks themselves and the thinking behind them. He also reveals that the planned November 1945 invasion of Kyushu, Japan's southern island, by the Americans was not that likely to be undertaken. The Americans were coming round more to a strategy of bombing and starving the Japanese into submission, rather than suffer the appalling casualties that an invasion of Kyushu would produce. It also seems to have been conventional wisdom up to now that the two atomic weapons dropped on Japan on the 6th and 9th of August 1945 were the only ones in the American armoury and that no more would be available for several months at least. However, it seems that a third weapon would have been available by 19th August and that the target could have been Tokyo.
Fortunately, the third atomic bomb was not necessary. The Japanese Emperor, Hirohito, who had allowed, on the most charitable view, the military to take over the running of the country and plunge it into a war dominated by Japanese atrocities, at last partially redeemed himself and ordered them to surrender unconditionally. The atomic bombs had definitely changed Japanese thinking and brought the War to a premature end - there seems little doubt that the countless lives saved more than outweighed the casualties at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
In many ways this is a sickening book to read. The ruinous potential for Man's inhumanity to Man comes over with great force. It should be compulsory reading for all the World's leaders. The desperate problems posed to Civilisation by the Axis were solved by going to war but the cost was prohibitive and atomic weapons raised that cost to insupportable levels. There can only ever be one more War like it - the last.
Max Hastings has done a considerable service by writing this book and reminding present generations of the truly appalling costs in blood and treasure of the last World War. It does help to give a better perspective on the different, and I suggest less difficult, problems that we face today.
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Customer Reviews
The National Reviews So Far, 12 Oct 2008
Reviews of Masters and Commanders
`Writing with clarity and elegance, Mr Roberts conveys how his four principals and their armies of aides and staff officers thrashed out the formulae for victory. This is an important book which, in its layered references to Waterloo, the Crimea and the Somme, sees Mr Roberts lay claim to the title of Britain's finest contemporary military historian.'
The Economist
`Despite eschewing the visceral drama of the battlefield for the less deadly, if no less hard-fought, debates of various Allied conferences, cabinets and committees, Roberts has produced a surprisingly gripping read. He has marshalled his material superbly and his warts-and-all assessment of his four subjects is invariable spot-on. Exhaustively researched and judiciously written, with a gimlet eye for telling detail, this may be his finest book yet.'
Saul David, Sunday Telegraph
`In Masters and Commanders, Roberts offers us a compelling analysis of American and British strategy during the war. He also tells a profoundly human story - of two soldiers who loyally served their masters, only to be each denied at the end the prize that would have made one of them world famous.'
Laurence Rees, Sunday Times
`Roberts displays a profound understanding of the interactions between strategy and politics, and his interpretation of British/US strategic relations between 1941 and 1945 is unlikely to be superseded.'
Prof Vernon Bogdanor, Financial Times
`Couched in elegant prose, this book is a masterpiece of robust historical analysis, steeped in scholarship and alive to every nuance of personality. Roberts re-evaluates each of the masters and commanders with scrupulous fairness.'
Christopher Silvester, Daily Express
`The author has crafted a masterly and fresh interpretation of the grand strategy of World War II. Roberts's pen-portraits, with their wealth of amusing and often acerbic anecdotes, reveal the evolution of that strategy by the master statesmen.'
John Crossland, Daily Mail
`The strength of Masters and Commanders lies in the power of the narrative and the fascinating detail used to construct it. Roberts has exploited a rich mine of private papers to fill in missing parts of the story, and although there is little new to be learned about the long strategic arguments between the British and the Americans over the best way to defeat Hitler, there is a lot to learn about the way that argument took place. Roberts has a shrewd grasp of the ins and outs of decision making.'
Prof Richard Overy, Literary Review
`Marshal Foch famously said that he had "less respect for Napoleon, now that I know what a coalition is". The high quality of the leadership of the coalition Andrew Roberts so expertly describes was a decisive factor in their success.'
Conrad Black, Mail on Sunday
`A wonderful page-turner, a really good read.'
Chris Patten, Start the Week
The Dambuster raid comes alive, 11 Nov 2008
There are many histories written about the Dams raid where you can glean the clinical facts - and there was the film ... but there's nothing like oral history to engage the imagination and bring you close to the people who were there. The Dambusters, far from being 'gung-ho' come over as men of enormous skill, courage and resourcefulness, with a strong camaraderie among the crews. Their own words ring true - some readily admit that Gibson wasn't universally popular - but none doubted his resolve and courage. The crews trained to the increasingly exacting demands by the designer of the new bomb - they recall hair-raising flying at just 60 feet, honing their bombing accuracy - and their accounts build the tension until, on the day of the raid, they learn their night's target and recall their emotions. The accounts of the flight out and the bomb runs on the dams are riveting as some aircraft and crews go down in flames - and as an added bonus, there are detailed recollections from Germans who found themselves under the breaking dams. It's a brilliant read and a great tribute to all involved in the raid, from Barnes Wallis and his work to develop the bomb, to Gibson and all his crews and ground crews of 617 Squadron. Can't recommend it enough.
Details about the 2nd WW that have never been told in full before, 14 Nov 2008
A very readable book, which includes photographs, previously unseen. The really interesting parts are of course the relationship between the 3 elderly men who decided on the incredibly unfair divisions following the war at the summit at Yalta + another easily forgotten or not discussed alliance between Stalin and Hitler prior to the war.
I was surprised when reading some of the early chapters that the scandalous invasion of Poland from the Soviet side was more or less allowed to happen and despite the heartfelt pleas from the Polish ambassador the mass killing and deportation of civilians was more or less permitted to go on freely. 'We have no quarrel with the Soviets' the British Government said. Behind the scenes though,a tit for tat conspiracy was being carried out between Hitler and Stalin which left the unfortunate Poles compromised completely. This became a complex political situation that continued right through until the end of the war when it seems that Stalin had to be compensated for losing 27 million troops (27 million compared with only 400 000 each for UK and US. Additionally Russia was by the end of the war occupying much of Eastern Europe, too bad for those millions and millions of tragic people who had to suffer another 50 years of dictatorial communist rule! Churchill and Roosavelt do not come out of this that well though their positions were completely untenable, they more or less had no option but to agree with the psycopathic Stalin who had helped them out.
I was however quite impressed by De Gaulle who refused to recognise the puppet government of Poland at the end of the war and the ever devious Stalin was also much impressed by De Gaulles
suspicions. Stalin respected the French leader for his insight, but told that the interpreter at the meeting that he would be sent to Siberia for knowing too much!
There is lots to interest in this new book with some fantastic details, first hand witness reports and new information that makes this book a really good historical read.
Brilliant combination of detail and abstraction, 02 Nov 2008
With this third volume, Professor Evans brings his rightfully acclaimed "History of the Third Reich" to a very fruitful end indeed. All the major developments from 1939 till 1945 are at least touched upon in a very insightful and balanced manner, blending social history, the biographies of well-known heavyweights of the Nazi regime such as Hitler, Göring, Goebbels, Himmler or Speer and the lesser known experiences of ordinary Germans into one complex but highly readable narrative, exposing a good deal of the inner workings of Hitler's dictatorship rather than taking an overly abstract bird's eye view on this disastrous epoch. There is, of course, a heavy emphasis on the genocidal activities of the Nazis and the political arena, yet economic, cultural and military events are also accounted for in a convincing way. Most of the major controversies concerning the historiography of Nazi Germany like Daniel Goldhagen's "Hitler's Willing Executioners" are mentioned, although Evans does not always take up a clear position and understandably refrains from making any new untested hypotheses, for which a book of this scope cannot be intended anyway. For students of modern history the book offers a remarkably well-crafted starting-point to develop their own research interests, providing also a detailed bibliography of the major works on the Nazi era. The only real downside perhaps, along with a certain tendency towards oversimplifying military events, is an apparent lack of explicit theoretical reflection on his own position within the field of historical research on the part of Evans, like his rejection of the Great man theory of history, which is responsible for his concentration on social history. As a consequence, lay readers not familiar with the major currents in historical research may not be able to fully comprehend and appreciate Evans' methods and findings.
A Materly Piece of Work, 24 Oct 2008
Evans emulates his standards set in the two proceeding titles which describe how the Third Reich arose; how it acted when in power and finally the story of its triumphs, defeat and eventual total destruction. He conveys his studies in a scholarly, yet particularly approachable manner. He never seccumbs to moral platitudes, or indeed takes a partisan or doctrinair political line when discussing the evils and cruelties perpetrated by the Nazi regime. Above all the sense of the authors own palpable humanity speak out as a striking counterpoint to the brutality of the time.
A superb finish!, 10 Oct 2008
Like the previous reviewer I waited for this third instalment with impatience. I was not disappointed, impassioned writing tempered by impeccable scholarship and judicious use of the vast sources on the subject. I can do no better than refer prospective readers to the excellent and substantial review by Nicholas Stargardt in the Times Literary Supplement of 10 October 2008 (pages 8-9).
As for me, I was glad to see the author has been able to incorporate references to recent works by other scholars. For instance, Evans cites extensively the highly praised and enormously informative book by Adam Tooze "The Wages of Destruction" (2006) on the economic history of the Third Reich. However, Evans does not always agree with that author and when it comes to what, palpably, went on at the infamous Wannsee Conference I am emphatically with him (see page 265) in holding that the major purpose of that meeting was to "discuss the logistics of extermination".
A brilliant and essential book, and page-turningly readable too. In particular the interspersion of contemporary everyday diary entries (like those of schoolteacher Luise Solmitz) illuminates and adds greatly to our feeling of actually being inside the Reich during the war years.
Of wide-scope studies in English of Hitler's ghastly regime there are now, I think, three which stand out amongst the dauntingly large number of works of special value and interest for the general reader: Ian Kershaw's masterly two-volume biography of Hitler; Richard J. Evans's now completed three volumes, and, lastly (and surprisingly in view of the usual reputation of economic history as off-puttingly `heavy') Adam Tooze's brilliant and clearly written in-depth analysis of the fatal flaws underlying the Nazi drive to war.
Insofar as there can ever be a definitive, overarching summation of the Third Reich, it seems to me that these three authors come nearest to supplying it!
A Superb Study now Rounded Out., 07 Oct 2008
Richard Shaw's superbly crafted, eminently readable and scholarly third volume has been well worth the wait (on order since 2006). The trilogy must now surely take its place among the truly great historical narratives of this, or any, century. For historians - or indeed anyone - who wishes to expand his general and underlying knowledge of this ghastly period of history, Richard Shaw's opus is surely without peer.The Third Reich at War: How the Nazis Led Germany from Conquest to Disaster (Allen Lane History)
BRITISH PACIFIC FORCE?, 14 Aug 2008
At the Winchester Festival, reviewing his book, Hastings made a misguided and alarming remark, "that the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, other than Taranto Raid, played no significant part in WW2". It is therefore no wonder that he has omitted to include in his book the British Pacific Forces's successful attack on the Japanese oil refineries at Palembang (Samatra) in January 1945. Four British fleet carriers with 244 aircraft embarked disabled the refineries that were supplying Japan precious aviation fuel. He has also failed to document one of two VC's won my Fleet Air Arm pilots during WWII - Lt Gray with his plane on fire, pressed home his attack and sank a Japanese destoyer. Glancing through the book Hastings does not do justice to the Royal Navy in the Far East during 1944-45 period, until he educates himselve on the Fleet Air Arm's war effort, I will stay clear of his books. Question for you Max, which allied torpedo bomber aircraft sank more enemy shipping (by tonnage) then any other aircraft acting in the same role during WW2? Clue it is the same aircraft that disabled the Bismarck's steering, enabling the Royal Navy to sink it.
When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today, 25 Mar 2008
"When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today," is inscribed on the War Memorial at Kohima. It commemorates a forgotten battle fought by forgotten soldiers of a forgotten army of a forgotten empire for a forgotten cause against a forgotten foe - I exaggerate only slightly, for what school child in any of the great democracies (assisted only at its dénouement by the dreadful Soviet dictatorship of 'Uncle' Joe Stalin) that eventually triumphed over a monstrous and militarist enemy can tell today of Kohima, of Imphal, of Leyte Gulf, of Iwo Jima, of Okinawa? Not many, I guess. I am deeply regretful that so few of our young know anything of the above. Max Hastings has performed a first-class service for those who know little or nothing of what happened then or of the need to destroy that 'monstrous and militarist enemy,' the Japan of Hirohito. Those of us who know of the need must never forget, nor permit others so to do. Read this book in order to know why!
Not history, but rather slapdash journalism, 26 Feb 2008
If you like your history personalised and trivialised, enjoy 'knocking copy' but are not much interested in facts nor concerned with accuracy, this is your book. Do not be bluffed by its bulk and the plethora of end-notes; it lacks a bibliography, making it impossible to decide which howlers stem from ignorance of sources and which from misusing them.
I bought 'Nemesis' because I learned that Hastings quotes from my uncle's book 'War Bush: 81 (West African) Division in Burma 1943-1945' by J.A.L.Hamilton (Norwich: Michael Russell, 2001) in his first chapter on the war in Burma. He quotes from it with acknowledgement four times, each time with one or more errors, and uses it in six more without acknowledgement. My uncle's book closes with the opinion of the Japanese Arakan army, that of the troops opposed to them for more than a year the Africans were 'undoubtedly (the Allies') best jungle fighters'. Hastings, who was not there, knows better: 'The War Office was seized by a belief that jungle warfare would suit Africans; this though most had never seen such terrain.' He backs this up by quoting a British general's views that 'The African has not a fighting history' and 'The African....cannot react quickly....due to an inherent....lack of intelligence', and considers it relevant to cite a Gurkha officer's report of his men gazing with awe, when snooping on Africans bathing, at the 'extravagant proportion of their black comrades' private parts', as if this titbit of schoolboy smut affected their performance as soldiers. It is typical that they are said to be West Africans, though in the Kabaw Valley, where 11 (East African) Division campaigned. He thinks there were only two African divisions, and only one from West Africa, which sent two, making three. He tries to belittle the share of British troops in the Burma fighting - 'only a fraction....two divisions....one in thirteen of the ground troops'. There were three, one broken up to form Chindit brigades, and in addition one-third of the infantry and half or more of the artillery in an 'Indian' division were British units. On numbers the British were 100,000 out of 605,000, almost one in six. He quotes figures without a source, and overestimates the Japanese killed in Burma after the invasion by subtracting the number killed then from the total of all Japanese casualties (KIA, wounded and missing).
The narrative is bulked out by personal reminiscences and anecdotes, many used as a basis for sweeping, often dubious, generalisations; there is an evident relish for horror stories. Hard facts are scanty, and many incorrect even though well-known - wrong dates for the start of Operation Thursday and the death of Wingate, the wrong division landing at Rangoon, on the wrong day. Sources are mis-quoted, not acknowledged, their evidence distorted. How can one trust the rest of the book? This is not history, but rather slapdash journalism; as Kipling wrote, 'Once a journalist, always and forever a journalist'.
A Very Good Lucid Overview of the Subject, 27 Jan 2008
This book gives a good overview of the campaign against Japan during the years 1944 to 1945. Hastings' fluid style and excellent layout of the book make the somewhat daunting 600 page narrative a reasonably easy read. Many interviews have been conducted with combatants of all the nations involved in the campaign and these add an insight into what some of the terrible battles were actually like for the participants. The experiences of the occupied and imprisoned are also included. Hastings is excellent at drawing character sketches of all the leading figures, military and civilian, who played a part and these add much to the interest of the story. The familiar actions in Burma, the US naval war, the Philippines, Iwo Jima and Okinawa are covered. A critical appraisal of LeMay's B29 devastation of Japanese cities versus the less well known American submarine blockade of Japan will be new to many readers. The war in China is also covered to some extent as are the roles of the Chinese Nationalist and Communist armies, again perhaps, unfamiliar ground. Surprisingly the least well handled section is that on the use of the atomic bombs where the narrative thrust becomes lost in a web of argument and counter-argument as Hastings clearly tries to cover all points. Although not a definitive account of the subject this is, nevertheless, a very good book.
A masterpiece, 12 Jan 2008
There can be few, even knowledgeable, students of the Second World War who will not learn much from this really impressive book. Max Hastings has already contributed some masterly WW2 histories but this must be his finest. It is one of the best histories of the War that I have ever read.
What impresses most is the scope and breadth of this book. All the major campaigns are covered and their relative importance made clear. The British campaign in Burma was never much more than a side-show, no matter how that fact must pain the dogged combatants under Bill Slim who drove the Japanese out. The relatively little known but hugely successful American submarine war against Japan's shipping is given its proper due.
None of the combatants fought a very clean war (if there can be such a thing). The Americans slaughtered many Japanese civilians and prisoners and their campaign seems to have been fuelled by a hatred of Japanese that they did not feel towards the Germans. However, upon reading of the many and hideous atrocities perpetrated by the Japanese - many denied or overlooked by Japan even today - the hatred of them by their opponents seems all too understandable. The last-minute declaration of war against Japan by Stalin, that cynical opportunist, unleashed the Red Army upon Manchuria, in the full plunder and rape mode that made them dreaded for decades to come.
Even today the dropping of atomic bombs by the United States upon Hiroshima and Nagasaki remains perhaps the most controversial act of the War and some think the greatest atrocity. Hastings gives much of the detail of the attacks themselves and the thinking behind them. He also reveals that the planned November 1945 invasion of Kyushu, Japan's southern island, by the Americans was not that likely to be undertaken. The Americans were coming round more to a strategy of bombing and starving the Japanese into submission, rather than suffer the appalling casualties that an invasion of Kyushu would produce. It also seems to have been conventional wisdom up to now that the two atomic weapons dropped on Japan on the 6th and 9th of August 1945 were the only ones in the American armoury and that no more would be available for several months at least. However, it seems that a third weapon would have been available by 19th August and that the target could have been Tokyo.
Fortunately, the third atomic bomb was not necessary. The Japanese Emperor, Hirohito, who had allowed, on the most charitable view, the military to take over the running of the country and plunge it into a war dominated by Japanese atrocities, at last partially redeemed himself and ordered them to surrender unconditionally. The atomic bombs had definitely changed Japanese thinking and brought the War to a premature end - there seems little doubt that the countless lives saved more than outweighed the casualties at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
In many ways this is a sickening book to read. The ruinous potential for Man's inhumanity to Man comes over with great force. It should be compulsory reading for all the World's leaders. The desperate problems posed to Civilisation by the Axis were solved by going to war but the cost was prohibitive and atomic weapons raised that cost to insupportable levels. There can only ever be one more War like it - the last.
Max Hastings has done a considerable service by writing this book and reminding present generations of the truly appalling costs in blood and treasure of the last World War. It does help to give a better perspective on the different, and I suggest less difficult, problems that we face today.
Another great slice of 40s life, 02 Oct 2008
If you enjoyed the original 'Nella Last's War' then you will enjoy this second volume just the same. The end of hostilities doesn't mean the end of either Nella's writing, or her talent with words and observation. It also certainly does not mean the end of hardship and difficulty. I drove to Barrow on the strength of the first diary and was very fortunate to meet the present owners of Nella's old house - they actually bought it off the Last family forty years ago. Just sitting in her old living room, where all those words had poured onto the page, brought Nella and her time tangibly closer. I heartily recommend this book.
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Customer Reviews
The National Reviews So Far, 12 Oct 2008
Reviews of Masters and Commanders
`Writing with clarity and elegance, Mr Roberts conveys how his four principals and their armies of aides and staff officers thrashed out the formulae for victory. This is an important book which, in its layered references to Waterloo, the Crimea and the Somme, sees Mr Roberts lay claim to the title of Britain's finest contemporary military historian.'
The Economist
`Despite eschewing the visceral drama of the battlefield for the less deadly, if no less hard-fought, debates of various Allied conferences, cabinets and committees, Roberts has produced a surprisingly gripping read. He has marshalled his material superbly and his warts-and-all assessment of his four subjects is invariable spot-on. Exhaustively researched and judiciously written, with a gimlet eye for telling detail, this may be his finest book yet.'
Saul David, Sunday Telegraph
`In Masters and Commanders, Roberts offers us a compelling analysis of American and British strategy during the war. He also tells a profoundly human story - of two soldiers who loyally served their masters, only to be each denied at the end the prize that would have made one of them world famous.'
Laurence Rees, Sunday Times
`Roberts displays a profound understanding of the interactions between strategy and politics, and his interpretation of British/US strategic relations between 1941 and 1945 is unlikely to be superseded.'
Prof Vernon Bogdanor, Financial Times
`Couched in elegant prose, this book is a masterpiece of robust historical analysis, steeped in scholarship and alive to every nuance of personality. Roberts re-evaluates each of the masters and commanders with scrupulous fairness.'
Christopher Silvester, Daily Express
`The author has crafted a masterly and fresh interpretation of the grand strategy of World War II. Roberts's pen-portraits, with their wealth of amusing and often acerbic anecdotes, reveal the evolution of that strategy by the master statesmen.'
John Crossland, Daily Mail
`The strength of Masters and Commanders lies in the power of the narrative and the fascinating detail used to construct it. Roberts has exploited a rich mine of private papers to fill in missing parts of the story, and although there is little new to be learned about the long strategic arguments between the British and the Americans over the best way to defeat Hitler, there is a lot to learn about the way that argument took place. Roberts has a shrewd grasp of the ins and outs of decision making.'
Prof Richard Overy, Literary Review
`Marshal Foch famously said that he had "less respect for Napoleon, now that I know what a coalition is". The high quality of the leadership of the coalition Andrew Roberts so expertly describes was a decisive factor in their success.'
Conrad Black, Mail on Sunday
`A wonderful page-turner, a really good read.'
Chris Patten, Start the Week
The Dambuster raid comes alive, 11 Nov 2008
There are many histories written about the Dams raid where you can glean the clinical facts - and there was the film ... but there's nothing like oral history to engage the imagination and bring you close to the people who were there. The Dambusters, far from being 'gung-ho' come over as men of enormous skill, courage and resourcefulness, with a strong camaraderie among the crews. Their own words ring true - some readily admit that Gibson wasn't universally popular - but none doubted his resolve and courage. The crews trained to the increasingly exacting demands by the designer of the new bomb - they recall hair-raising flying at just 60 feet, honing their bombing accuracy - and their accounts build the tension until, on the day of the raid, they learn their night's target and recall their emotions. The accounts of the flight out and the bomb runs on the dams are riveting as some aircraft and crews go down in flames - and as an added bonus, there are detailed recollections from Germans who found themselves under the breaking dams. It's a brilliant read and a great tribute to all involved in the raid, from Barnes Wallis and his work to develop the bomb, to Gibson and all his crews and ground crews of 617 Squadron. Can't recommend it enough.
Details about the 2nd WW that have never been told in full before, 14 Nov 2008
A very readable book, which includes photographs, previously unseen. The really interesting parts are of course the relationship between the 3 elderly men who decided on the incredibly unfair divisions following the war at the summit at Yalta + another easily forgotten or not discussed alliance between Stalin and Hitler prior to the war.
I was surprised when reading some of the early chapters that the scandalous invasion of Poland from the Soviet side was more or less allowed to happen and despite the heartfelt pleas from the Polish ambassador the mass killing and deportation of civilians was more or less permitted to go on freely. 'We have no quarrel with the Soviets' the British Government said. Behind the scenes though,a tit for tat conspiracy was being carried out between Hitler and Stalin which left the unfortunate Poles compromised completely. This became a complex political situation that continued right through until the end of the war when it seems that Stalin had to be compensated for losing 27 million troops (27 million compared with only 400 000 each for UK and US. Additionally Russia was by the end of the war occupying much of Eastern Europe, too bad for those millions and millions of tragic people who had to suffer another 50 years of dictatorial communist rule! Churchill and Roosavelt do not come out of this that well though their positions were completely untenable, they more or less had no option but to agree with the psycopathic Stalin who had helped them out.
I was however quite impressed by De Gaulle who refused to recognise the puppet government of Poland at the end of the war and the ever devious Stalin was also much impressed by De Gaulles
suspicions. Stalin respected the French leader for his insight, but told that the interpreter at the meeting that he would be sent to Siberia for knowing too much!
There is lots to interest in this new book with some fantastic details, first hand witness reports and new information that makes this book a really good historical read.
Brilliant combination of detail and abstraction, 02 Nov 2008
With this third volume, Professor Evans brings his rightfully acclaimed "History of the Third Reich" to a very fruitful end indeed. All the major developments from 1939 till 1945 are at least touched upon in a very insightful and balanced manner, blending social history, the biographies of well-known heavyweights of the Nazi regime such as Hitler, Göring, Goebbels, Himmler or Speer and the lesser known experiences of ordinary Germans into one complex but highly readable narrative, exposing a good deal of the inner workings of Hitler's dictatorship rather than taking an overly abstract bird's eye view on this disastrous epoch. There is, of course, a heavy emphasis on the genocidal activities of the Nazis and the political arena, yet economic, cultural and military events are also accounted for in a convincing way. Most of the major controversies concerning the historiography of Nazi Germany like Daniel Goldhagen's "Hitler's Willing Executioners" are mentioned, although Evans does not always take up a clear position and understandably refrains from making any new untested hypotheses, for which a book of this scope cannot be intended anyway. For students of modern history the book offers a remarkably well-crafted starting-point to develop their own research interests, providing also a detailed bibliography of the major works on the Nazi era. The only real downside perhaps, along with a certain tendency towards oversimplifying military events, is an apparent lack of explicit theoretical reflection on his own position within the field of historical research on the part of Evans, like his rejection of the Great man theory of history, which is responsible for his concentration on social history. As a consequence, lay readers not familiar with the major currents in historical research may not be able to fully comprehend and appreciate Evans' methods and findings.
A Materly Piece of Work, 24 Oct 2008
Evans emulates his standards set in the two proceeding titles which describe how the Third Reich arose; how it acted when in power and finally the story of its triumphs, defeat and eventual total destruction. He conveys his studies in a scholarly, yet particularly approachable manner. He never seccumbs to moral platitudes, or indeed takes a partisan or doctrinair political line when discussing the evils and cruelties perpetrated by the Nazi regime. Above all the sense of the authors own palpable humanity speak out as a striking counterpoint to the brutality of the time.
A superb finish!, 10 Oct 2008
Like the previous reviewer I waited for this third instalment with impatience. I was not disappointed, impassioned writing tempered by impeccable scholarship and judicious use of the vast sources on the subject. I can do no better than refer prospective readers to the excellent and substantial review by Nicholas Stargardt in the Times Literary Supplement of 10 October 2008 (pages 8-9).
As for me, I was glad to see the author has been able to incorporate references to recent works by other scholars. For instance, Evans cites extensively the highly praised and enormously informative book by Adam Tooze "The Wages of Destruction" (2006) on the economic history of the Third Reich. However, Evans does not always agree with that author and when it comes to what, palpably, went on at the infamous Wannsee Conference I am emphatically with him (see page 265) in holding that the major purpose of that meeting was to "discuss the logistics of extermination".
A brilliant and essential book, and page-turningly readable too. In particular the interspersion of contemporary everyday diary entries (like those of schoolteacher Luise Solmitz) illuminates and adds greatly to our feeling of actually being inside the Reich during the war years.
Of wide-scope studies in English of Hitler's ghastly regime there are now, I think, three which stand out amongst the dauntingly large number of works of special value and interest for the general reader: Ian Kershaw's masterly two-volume biography of Hitler; Richard J. Evans's now completed three volumes, and, lastly (and surprisingly in view of the usual reputation of economic history as off-puttingly `heavy') Adam Tooze's brilliant and clearly written in-depth analysis of the fatal flaws underlying the Nazi drive to war.
Insofar as there can ever be a definitive, overarching summation of the Third Reich, it seems to me that these three authors come nearest to supplying it!
A Superb Study now Rounded Out., 07 Oct 2008
Richard Shaw's superbly crafted, eminently readable and scholarly third volume has been well worth the wait (on order since 2006). The trilogy must now surely take its place among the truly great historical narratives of this, or any, century. For historians - or indeed anyone - who wishes to expand his general and underlying knowledge of this ghastly period of history, Richard Shaw's opus is surely without peer.The Third Reich at War: How the Nazis Led Germany from Conquest to Disaster (Allen Lane History)
BRITISH PACIFIC FORCE?, 14 Aug 2008
At the Winchester Festival, reviewing his book, Hastings made a misguided and alarming remark, "that the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, other than Taranto Raid, played no significant part in WW2". It is therefore no wonder that he has omitted to include in his book the British Pacific Forces's successful attack on the Japanese oil refineries at Palembang (Samatra) in January 1945. Four British fleet carriers with 244 aircraft embarked disabled the refineries that were supplying Japan precious aviation fuel. He has also failed to document one of two VC's won my Fleet Air Arm pilots during WWII - Lt Gray with his plane on fire, pressed home his attack and sank a Japanese destoyer. Glancing through the book Hastings does not do justice to the Royal Navy in the Far East during 1944-45 period, until he educates himselve on the Fleet Air Arm's war effort, I will stay clear of his books. Question for you Max, which allied torpedo bomber aircraft sank more enemy shipping (by tonnage) then any other aircraft acting in the same role during WW2? Clue it is the same aircraft that disabled the Bismarck's steering, enabling the Royal Navy to sink it.
When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today, 25 Mar 2008
"When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today," is inscribed on the War Memorial at Kohima. It commemorates a forgotten battle fought by forgotten soldiers of a forgotten army of a forgotten empire for a forgotten cause against a forgotten foe - I exaggerate only slightly, for what school child in any of the great democracies (assisted only at its dénouement by the dreadful Soviet dictatorship of 'Uncle' Joe Stalin) that eventually triumphed over a monstrous and militarist enemy can tell today of Kohima, of Imphal, of Leyte Gulf, of Iwo Jima, of Okinawa? Not many, I guess. I am deeply regretful that so few of our young know anything of the above. Max Hastings has performed a first-class service for those who know little or nothing of what happened then or of the need to destroy that 'monstrous and militarist enemy,' the Japan of Hirohito. Those of us who know of the need must never forget, nor permit others so to do. Read this book in order to know why!
Not history, but rather slapdash journalism, 26 Feb 2008
If you like your history personalised and trivialised, enjoy 'knocking copy' but are not much interested in facts nor concerned with accuracy, this is your book. Do not be bluffed by its bulk and the plethora of end-notes; it lacks a bibliography, making it impossible to decide which howlers stem from ignorance of sources and which from misusing them.
I bought 'Nemesis' because I learned that Hastings quotes from my uncle's book 'War Bush: 81 (West African) Division in Burma 1943-1945' by J.A.L.Hamilton (Norwich: Michael Russell, 2001) in his first chapter on the war in Burma. He quotes from it with acknowledgement four times, each time with one or more errors, and uses it in six more without acknowledgement. My uncle's book closes with the opinion of the Japanese Arakan army, that of the troops opposed to them for more than a year the Africans were 'undoubtedly (the Allies') best jungle fighters'. Hastings, who was not there, knows better: 'The War Office was seized by a belief that jungle warfare would suit Africans; this though most had never seen such terrain.' He backs this up by quoting a British general's views that 'The African has not a fighting history' and 'The African....cannot react quickly....due to an inherent....lack of intelligence', and considers it relevant to cite a Gurkha officer's report of his men gazing with awe, when snooping on Africans bathing, at the 'extravagant proportion of their black comrades' private parts', as if this titbit of schoolboy smut affected their performance as soldiers. It is typical that they are said to be West Africans, though in the Kabaw Valley, where 11 (East African) Division campaigned. He thinks there were only two African divisions, and only one from West Africa, which sent two, making three. He tries to belittle the share of British troops in the Burma fighting - 'only a fraction....two divisions....one in thirteen of the ground troops'. There were three, one broken up to form Chindit brigades, and in addition one-third of the infantry and half or more of the artillery in an 'Indian' division were British units. On numbers the British were 100,000 out of 605,000, almost one in six. He quotes figures without a source, and overestimates the Japanese killed in Burma after the invasion by subtracting the number killed then from the total of all Japanese casualties (KIA, wounded and missing).
The narrative is bulked out by personal reminiscences and anecdotes, many used as a basis for sweeping, often dubious, generalisations; there is an evident relish for horror stories. Hard facts are scanty, and many incorrect even though well-known - wrong dates for the start of Operation Thursday and the death of Wingate, the wrong division landing at Rangoon, on the wrong day. Sources are mis-quoted, not acknowledged, their evidence distorted. How can one trust the rest of the book? This is not history, but rather slapdash journalism; as Kipling wrote, 'Once a journalist, always and forever a journalist'.
A Very Good Lucid Overview of the Subject, 27 Jan 2008
This book gives a good overview of the campaign against Japan during the years 1944 to 1945. Hastings' fluid style and excellent layout of the book make the somewhat daunting 600 page narrative a reasonably easy read. Many interviews have been conducted with combatants of all the nations involved in the campaign and these add an insight into what some of the terrible battles were actually like for the participants. The experiences of the occupied and imprisoned are also included. Hastings is excellent at drawing character sketches of all the leading figures, military and civilian, who played a part and these add much to the interest of the story. The familiar actions in Burma, the US naval war, the Philippines, Iwo Jima and Okinawa are covered. A critical appraisal of LeMay's B29 devastation of Japanese cities versus the less well known American submarine blockade of Japan will be new to many readers. The war in China is also covered to some extent as are the roles of the Chinese Nationalist and Communist armies, again perhaps, unfamiliar ground. Surprisingly the least well handled section is that on the use of the atomic bombs where the narrative thrust becomes lost in a web of argument and counter-argument as Hastings clearly tries to cover all points. Although not a definitive account of the subject this is, nevertheless, a very good book.
A masterpiece, 12 Jan 2008
There can be few, even knowledgeable, students of the Second World War who will not learn much from this really impressive book. Max Hastings has already contributed some masterly WW2 histories but this must be his finest. It is one of the best histories of the War that I have ever read.
What impresses most is the scope and breadth of this book. All the major campaigns are covered and their relative importance made clear. The British campaign in Burma was never much more than a side-show, no matter how that fact must pain the dogged combatants under Bill Slim who drove the Japanese out. The relatively little known but hugely successful American submarine war against Japan's shipping is given its proper due.
None of the combatants fought a very clean war (if there can be such a thing). The Americans slaughtered many Japanese civilians and prisoners and their campaign seems to have been fuelled by a hatred of Japanese that they did not feel towards the Germans. However, upon reading of the many and hideous atrocities perpetrated by the Japanese - many denied or overlooked by Japan even today - the hatred of them by their opponents seems all too understandable. The last-minute declaration of war against Japan by Stalin, that cynical opportunist, unleashed the Red Army upon Manchuria, in the full plunder and rape mode that made them dreaded for decades to come.
Even today the dropping of atomic bombs by the United States upon Hiroshima and Nagasaki remains perhaps the most controversial act of the War and some think the greatest atrocity. Hastings gives much of the detail of the attacks themselves and the thinking behind them. He also reveals that the planned November 1945 invasion of Kyushu, Japan's southern island, by the Americans was not that likely to be undertaken. The Americans were coming round more to a strategy of bombing and starving the Japanese into submission, rather than suffer the appalling casualties that an invasion of Kyushu would produce. It also seems to have been conventional wisdom up to now that the two atomic weapons dropped on Japan on the 6th and 9th of August 1945 were the only ones in the American armoury and that no more would be available for several months at least. However, it seems that a third weapon would have been available by 19th August and that the target could have been Tokyo.
Fortunately, the third atomic bomb was not necessary. The Japanese Emperor, Hirohito, who had allowed, on the most charitable view, the military to take over the running of the country and plunge it into a war dominated by Japanese atrocities, at last partially redeemed himself and ordered them to surrender unconditionally. The atomic bombs had definitely changed Japanese thinking and brought the War to a premature end - there seems little doubt that the countless lives saved more than outweighed the casualties at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
In many ways this is a sickening book to read. The ruinous potential for Man's inhumanity to Man comes over with great force. It should be compulsory reading for all the World's leaders. The desperate problems posed to Civilisation by the Axis were solved by going to war but the cost was prohibitive and atomic weapons raised that cost to insupportable levels. There can only ever be one more War like it - the last.
Max Hastings has done a considerable service by writing this book and reminding present generations of the truly appalling costs in blood and treasure of the last World War. It does help to give a better perspective on the different, and I suggest less difficult, problems that we face today.
Another great slice of 40s life, 02 Oct 2008
If you enjoyed the original 'Nella Last's War' then you will enjoy this second volume just the same. The end of hostilities doesn't mean the end of either Nella's writing, or her talent with words and observation. It also certainly does not mean the end of hardship and difficulty. I drove to Barrow on the strength of the first diary and was very fortunate to meet the present owners of Nella's old house - they actually bought it off the Last family forty years ago. Just sitting in her old living room, where all those words had poured onto the page, brought Nella and her time tangibly closer. I heartily recommend this book.
An absolutely brilliant diary!!, 25 Aug 2008
The diary of a young girl is a superb book! Recounting the life of Jews in hiding during the second World War. The cramped conditions, the lack of food and the terror that they might be discovered by the Nazis, is seen through the eyes of Anne Frank. This book is the best diary I have read. It is absolutely amazing.
An insight into another life , 24 Jul 2008
Not only is the book captivating and interesting but it is completely original. A tale of courage and destruction, love and fear, based around the tragic events of WW2 and the suffering of Jewish people at this time due to Nazi Germany. Not only do you learn about and experience second hand the war, but you also share in the personal feelings of Anne as she grows up, including her strained relationship with her mother. This book takes you interestingly and uniquely from the start of the war to the tragic end.
A book everyone should read., 20 Mar 2008
I have only read this book very recently despite knowing the story for years and having visited the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam three times. As this book is written by such a young person I expected the quality of writing to be juvenille. However the standard is remarkably mature. This diary is an historical document that describes a period in time that all Europeans should be ashamed of and learn from. The horrors are still unbelievable how ever many times they are studied or discussed. The Diary of Anne Frank describes a very normal young girl with all the normal emotions of the average teen. I would thoroughly recommend that everyone reads this wonderful poignant novel.
The Best diary of all!!!, 13 Jan 2008
The Diary of Ann Frank is the diary of a thirteen-year old-Jewish girl who had to go into hiding with her family so they are not killed by the Nazis. Ann got the diary for her thirteenth birthday and Kitty was the name of the diary. Kitty was Ann's best friend while she was in the secret annexe but Peter was also near the middle a very good friend. In the diary, Ann leaves her happy home and the family hide in a secret room behind a bookshelf. This book feels so real but it is a true story that is really fantastic. If you haven't read this journal before you die then you are a total failure. That is how good this book is. The book is both moving and frightening yet it is exciting and touching. This story explains the cruelty of Adolf Hitler in exact detail. There is the edited | | |