Bomber Command, 06 Dec 2007
This book is a very good read.It gives very detailed accounts of how the bombing offensive of the RAF was created.It also exonerates Harris from the blame he and his crews were shouldered with during and after the war.The bravery of the crews in the RAF is brilliantly shown amongst these pages.Even though the stupidity of the Politicians of the day and some of the RAF's Command structure is highlighted as being narrow minded and short sighted. Their stupidity being paid for with the lives of the crews who were simply following the directives passed down by the Government of the time.These pages are filled with pride and bravery,and those who deserted what Bomber Command crews did from day one to the last should bow their heads in shame.Read this book yourself and come to your own judgement. The truth is Max Hastings at least has done those brave men of Bomber Command some justice at least by exposing the TRUE version of what happened.

You Reap what you Sow., 10 Oct 2006
This a book about strategy, not really the technical details of aircraft, or even the weapons they carried. As for an appreaisal of strategy, however, it really goes deep, yet misses some of the broader aspects.
From the start you see that Bomber command was an impotenmt force, with an unworkable idealism to fighting such a war as WW2. Later we find that Bomber Command had grown to be so powerful that its commanders were in awe and had no real idea how to use such power properly. The book is really about Bomber Harris (should have been called "Bomber Commander") as he brought abouit the completion of the area bombing technique after his Biblical invective that the Nazi's had "sown the wind and would now reap the whirlwind". a cunning piece of propoganda that Harris perhaps knew the Nazi's could not emulate as it is taken from the Hebrew Bible.
the whirlwingd is amply described here, and the ultimate futility of wasting entire cities up until 3 weeks before capitulation. All insightfully written.
One short-coming is that the argument that bomber command ultimately only really punished Germans and Germany (on behalf of the British and occupied nations), is swept aside. After all the mass killing that the Nazi's (and ordinary Germans) did one tends to see that such punishment remains as the most important aspect, since the westen allies stopped their punitive measures against the German population as soon as the war ended (unlike the Russians). Hastings also writes nothing about the important role of the bomber force immediately after the war in carring food to the Dutch and brining POW's back home, not to mention the pilot and crews who later helped in the Berlin Airlift etc. Leaves one with a sense of how AWEFUL such a total war was, yet knocks out the central argument that Bombers can win wars by bombing alone, but without any reference to japan where the argument was sadly decisive. As for technical details, errors concern aircraft types and capabilities abound, also effecting some of the reasoning (Stirlings were later invaluable as glider tugs for example, and the data for the Lancaster in the spec. in the appendix is full of errors too). It is certainly, however, the best book I know to show how Bomber harris let everyone down with his tunnel vision and distance from the battle front. most of all he swerved his aircrews very badly indeed.

History brought to life, 16 Dec 2004
This a truly excellent book written by a man with that rare combination of historian and writer. So many historians just cannot bring a story to life but Max Hastings is an exception. I found the book more of a page turner than the thriller 'Da Vinci Code' which is written by someone who is neither writer nor historian. Bomber Command is a dispassionate appraisal of its value to the Allied victory in WW2.

painful and pitiful account of the airwar, 22 Jun 2001
Max Hastings has delivered both a factual and moving account of what the war did to the RAF as well as what the RAF did to the war. The anecodotes are well placed and well observed eg the bomber crew which got lost in an electrical storm and bombed London by mistake. The bravery of the men involved in the whole bomber war is too often forgotten. I disagree with some of his doubts about what they/we did. That does not detract from the achievement of Max Hastings book.

Excellent, painful account on 'forgotten' campaign, 04 Jan 2001
I always think of Max Hastings as that bloke on Question Time with the pinstripe suits that have the stripes just a little too wide.

Pity he has to waste his time with all that journalism, his real forte is military history and I think he should stick to it.

This is an extremely good book that manages to convey the appalling unreality that must have been the lot of bomber crews who knew they only had a few months to live - at best and yet conveys a proper appreciation of 'Bomber' Harris and his vital role in maintaining British morale when all we had to hit back at the Germans were the bombing raids of dubious accuracy and effectiveness. The sense of theatre that Harris brought to the job - with his 1,000 bomber raids and his uncompromising public statements - is well chronicled here.

But when Hastings describes the carnage of the raid at Darmstadt - a really boring little raid by Bomber Command standards - you feel real revulsion about what was done in the name of freedom.

Great stuff. Well worth buying.

Before writing Hitler 1889-1936: Hubris the first volume of his substantial biography of Adolf Hitler, Ian Kershaw focused on the popular appeal of the Nazi dictator in The Hitler Myth. Arguing that "the sources of Hitler's appeal must be sought...in those who adored him, rather than in the leader himself," Kershaw shows how Hitler's public image welded together antagonistic forces within the Nazi state, mobilised the nation for war, and contributed to the ethos that animated systematic and genocidal violence.

Responding to historians who maintain that Hitler's personality or ideological fixations accounted for his broad acceptance, Kershaw argues that, in the early 1930s a sizeable plurality of Germans hungered for an omnipotent Führer to stand above the political disharmonies of the Weimar state. Later, foriegn policy and military victories attracted many more to the Hitler legend. However, victories were the price for popularity; and Hitler became more and more bloodthirsty as both his image and regime foundered under the blows of the Allied powers. The Hitler myth, then--a cultural phenomenon the Reich Minister Joeseph Goebbels claimed as his greatest propaganda triumph--became a fundamental cause for the collapse of the Nazi State.

Kershaw's authoritative history of political culture in Hitler's Germany forcefully demonstrates that the Führer's popularity rested less on "bizarre and arcane precepts of Nazi ideology, than on social and political values...recognisable in many societies other than the Third Reich." In our present political environment, which repeatedly features outcries for "leadership" from pundits and public servants alike, the disturbing lessons of The Hitler Myth are an urgent warning. --James Highfill

Bomber Command, 06 Dec 2007
This book is a very good read.It gives very detailed accounts of how the bombing offensive of the RAF was created.It also exonerates Harris from the blame he and his crews were shouldered with during and after the war.The bravery of the crews in the RAF is brilliantly shown amongst these pages.Even though the stupidity of the Politicians of the day and some of the RAF's Command structure is highlighted as being narrow minded and short sighted. Their stupidity being paid for with the lives of the crews who were simply following the directives passed down by the Government of the time.These pages are filled with pride and bravery,and those who deserted what Bomber Command crews did from day one to the last should bow their heads in shame.Read this book yourself and come to your own judgement. The truth is Max Hastings at least has done those brave men of Bomber Command some justice at least by exposing the TRUE version of what happened.

You Reap what you Sow., 10 Oct 2006
This a book about strategy, not really the technical details of aircraft, or even the weapons they carried. As for an appreaisal of strategy, however, it really goes deep, yet misses some of the broader aspects.
From the start you see that Bomber command was an impotenmt force, with an unworkable idealism to fighting such a war as WW2. Later we find that Bomber Command had grown to be so powerful that its commanders were in awe and had no real idea how to use such power properly. The book is really about Bomber Harris (should have been called "Bomber Commander") as he brought abouit the completion of the area bombing technique after his Biblical invective that the Nazi's had "sown the wind and would now reap the whirlwind". a cunning piece of propoganda that Harris perhaps knew the Nazi's could not emulate as it is taken from the Hebrew Bible.
the whirlwingd is amply described here, and the ultimate futility of wasting entire cities up until 3 weeks before capitulation. All insightfully written.
One short-coming is that the argument that bomber command ultimately only really punished Germans and Germany (on behalf of the British and occupied nations), is swept aside. After all the mass killing that the Nazi's (and ordinary Germans) did one tends to see that such punishment remains as the most important aspect, since the westen allies stopped their punitive measures against the German population as soon as the war ended (unlike the Russians). Hastings also writes nothing about the important role of the bomber force immediately after the war in carring food to the Dutch and brining POW's back home, not to mention the pilot and crews who later helped in the Berlin Airlift etc. Leaves one with a sense of how AWEFUL such a total war was, yet knocks out the central argument that Bombers can win wars by bombing alone, but without any reference to japan where the argument was sadly decisive. As for technical details, errors concern aircraft types and capabilities abound, also effecting some of the reasoning (Stirlings were later invaluable as glider tugs for example, and the data for the Lancaster in the spec. in the appendix is full of errors too). It is certainly, however, the best book I know to show how Bomber harris let everyone down with his tunnel vision and distance from the battle front. most of all he swerved his aircrews very badly indeed.

History brought to life, 16 Dec 2004
This a truly excellent book written by a man with that rare combination of historian and writer. So many historians just cannot bring a story to life but Max Hastings is an exception. I found the book more of a page turner than the thriller 'Da Vinci Code' which is written by someone who is neither writer nor historian. Bomber Command is a dispassionate appraisal of its value to the Allied victory in WW2.

painful and pitiful account of the airwar, 22 Jun 2001
Max Hastings has delivered both a factual and moving account of what the war did to the RAF as well as what the RAF did to the war. The anecodotes are well placed and well observed eg the bomber crew which got lost in an electrical storm and bombed London by mistake. The bravery of the men involved in the whole bomber war is too often forgotten. I disagree with some of his doubts about what they/we did. That does not detract from the achievement of Max Hastings book.

Excellent, painful account on 'forgotten' campaign, 04 Jan 2001
I always think of Max Hastings as that bloke on Question Time with the pinstripe suits that have the stripes just a little too wide.

Pity he has to waste his time with all that journalism, his real forte is military history and I think he should stick to it.

This is an extremely good book that manages to convey the appalling unreality that must have been the lot of bomber crews who knew they only had a few months to live - at best and yet conveys a proper appreciation of 'Bomber' Harris and his vital role in maintaining British morale when all we had to hit back at the Germans were the bombing raids of dubious accuracy and effectiveness. The sense of theatre that Harris brought to the job - with his 1,000 bomber raids and his uncompromising public statements - is well chronicled here.

But when Hastings describes the carnage of the raid at Darmstadt - a really boring little raid by Bomber Command standards - you feel real revulsion about what was done in the name of freedom.

Great stuff. Well worth buying.

Image and Reality, 16 Apr 2008
A remarkable book , you will never view Hitler's Germany in the same light again.

A revelatory read, 29 Apr 2005
This fascinating study gives a whole new slant to what happened in Germany between 1933 and 1945. The Germans, angry and hurt after the defeat of the Great War, bothered by unemployment, dissatisfied with party politics, fearful of Bolshevism and seeking a strong leader who would be above politics and who would restore Germany's rightful greatness, found him in the apparently unlikely person of an embittered, Jew- and Communist-hating, Austrian ex-corporal incapable of normal human warmth. The creation of the mythical Hitler to fulfil expectations, often standing the facts of Hitler's actual person on their head, was a masterpiece of Goebbels's propaganda (Goebbels personally regarded the creation of the Fuehrer Myth as his greatest achievement). As a result, Hitler's personal popularity was almost universal, even among sections of the population who detested Nazism itself. He was given the benefit of the doubt every time. "If only the Fuehrer knew," people would say, after the latest bout of Nazi excesses.

However, the Hitler Myth carried within it the seeds of its own destruction. For one thing, Hitler came to believe it himself, and as a result became ever more divorced from ever more uncomfortable reality. Moreover, its prolongation required a continual stream of triumphs and successes, and when they faltered in the early 1940s (beginning with the Stalingrad catastrophe), so did it. However, it maintained a considerable hold right to the very end, even in the face of impending disaster. Professor Kershaw teases out the details of a complex story in a scholarly yet highly readable and informative way, and ends with an excellent concluding review chapter. The book was written in 1987, before the fall of the Wall, the subsequent reunification of Germany and the upsurge of extremist right-wing sentiment as a result of high unemployment, poor economic performance and dissatisfaction with the current government - now, where have we heard this before? It would be hard to improve on Professor Kershaw's masterly final paragraph as a commentary on modern-day affairs - and not only those of Germany:

"Old myths are however replaced by new as the combination of modern technology and advanced marketing techniques produce ever more elaborate and sophisticated examples of political image building around minority personality cults, even in western democracies, aimed at obfuscating reality among the ignorant and gullible. The price for abdicating democratic responsibilities and placing uncritical trust in the 'firm leadership' of seemingly well-intentioned political authority was paid dearly by Germans between 1933 and 1945. Even if a collapse into new forms of fascism is inherently unlikely in any western democracy, the massive extension of the power of the modern State over its citizens is in itself more than sufficient cause to develop the highest level possible of educated cynicism and critical awareness as the only protection against the marketed images of present-day and future claimants to political 'leadership'".

Shattering Third Reich and Nazi Apologists' Myths, 22 Jan 2003
The "myth" which Prof Kershaw exposes as a naked, squirming lie is the belief that hitler was above political intrigue and corruption, and was an innocent duped by self-serving, greedy, conniving underlings. This myth was very popular in Nazi Germany, where there was a general desire for a strong, single leader to clear away the messy, bickering mess that Weimar democracy had proved to be. The naive faith in the führer can still be seen on the faces of his former devotees in TV documentaries such as "The Nazis - A Warning From History".

The book is a detailed, broad examination of the social values and motives of the vast majority of Germans and austrians in those years, from the early thirties right up to the final collapse and Soviet invasion of 1945. It reveals the self-delusion that otherwise intelligent, rational people will employ to deny that they are supporters - whether active or passive - of a criminal state bent on mass murder and the enslavement of nations in their name.

Although the title might be misunderstood as an apologia for Hitler, perhaps seeming to be a defence of Hitler against anti-nazi, anti-aryan propaganda lies, this is to be welcomed. If even one confused potential nazi-supporter reads this and has their opinions overturned by Ian Kershaw's overwhelming evidence and arguments, the world will be a better, safer place.

A great book.

Another Kershaw masterpiece!, 06 Sep 2000
Kershaw is the best and he reminds us of this again as he takes us through the propaganda machine that was so important in Hitlers rise to power and the face of the Third Reich.

George VI thought him a "damnable villain" and Neville Chamberlain found him not quite a gentleman, but to the rest of the world Adolf Hitler has come to personify modern evil to such an extent that his biographers have always faced an unenviable task. The two most renowned biographies of Hitler--by Joachim C Fest (Hitler) and by Alan Bullock (Hitler: A Study in Tyranny)--painted a picture of individual tyranny which, in the words of AJP Taylor, left Hitler guilty and every other German innocent. Decades of scholarship on German society under the Nazis now make that verdict unsafe, and so the modern biographer of Hitler must account both for his terrible mindset and his charismatic appeal. In the second and final volume of his mammoth biography of Hitler, covering the climax of Nazi power, the reclamation of German-speaking Europe, and the horrific unfolding of the final solution in Poland and Russia, Ian Kershaw manages to achieve both these tasks. Following on from Hitler: Hubris 1889-1936 the epic Hitler: Nemesis 1936-1945 takes the reader from the adulation and hysteria of Hitler's electoral victory in 1936 to the obsessive and remote "bunker" mentality which enveloped the Fuhrer as Operation Barbarossa (the attack on Russia in 1942) proved the beginning of the end. Chilling yet objective: a definitive work.--Miles Taylor

Bomber Command, 06 Dec 2007
This book is a very good read.It gives very detailed accounts of how the bombing offensive of the RAF was created.It also exonerates Harris from the blame he and his crews were shouldered with during and after the war.The bravery of the crews in the RAF is brilliantly shown amongst these pages.Even though the stupidity of the Politicians of the day and some of the RAF's Command structure is highlighted as being narrow minded and short sighted. Their stupidity being paid for with the lives of the crews who were simply following the directives passed down by the Government of the time.These pages are filled with pride and bravery,and those who deserted what Bomber Command crews did from day one to the last should bow their heads in shame.Read this book yourself and come to your own judgement. The truth is Max Hastings at least has done those brave men of Bomber Command some justice at least by exposing the TRUE version of what happened.

You Reap what you Sow., 10 Oct 2006
This a book about strategy, not really the technical details of aircraft, or even the weapons they carried. As for an appreaisal of strategy, however, it really goes deep, yet misses some of the broader aspects.
From the start you see that Bomber command was an impotenmt force, with an unworkable idealism to fighting such a war as WW2. Later we find that Bomber Command had grown to be so powerful that its commanders were in awe and had no real idea how to use such power properly. The book is really about Bomber Harris (should have been called "Bomber Commander") as he brought abouit the completion of the area bombing technique after his Biblical invective that the Nazi's had "sown the wind and would now reap the whirlwind". a cunning piece of propoganda that Harris perhaps knew the Nazi's could not emulate as it is taken from the Hebrew Bible.
the whirlwingd is amply described here, and the ultimate futility of wasting entire cities up until 3 weeks before capitulation. All insightfully written.
One short-coming is that the argument that bomber command ultimately only really punished Germans and Germany (on behalf of the British and occupied nations), is swept aside. After all the mass killing that the Nazi's (and ordinary Germans) did one tends to see that such punishment remains as the most important aspect, since the westen allies stopped their punitive measures against the German population as soon as the war ended (unlike the Russians). Hastings also writes nothing about the important role of the bomber force immediately after the war in carring food to the Dutch and brining POW's back home, not to mention the pilot and crews who later helped in the Berlin Airlift etc. Leaves one with a sense of how AWEFUL such a total war was, yet knocks out the central argument that Bombers can win wars by bombing alone, but without any reference to japan where the argument was sadly decisive. As for technical details, errors concern aircraft types and capabilities abound, also effecting some of the reasoning (Stirlings were later invaluable as glider tugs for example, and the data for the Lancaster in the spec. in the appendix is full of errors too). It is certainly, however, the best book I know to show how Bomber harris let everyone down with his tunnel vision and distance from the battle front. most of all he swerved his aircrews very badly indeed.

History brought to life, 16 Dec 2004
This a truly excellent book written by a man with that rare combination of historian and writer. So many historians just cannot bring a story to life but Max Hastings is an exception. I found the book more of a page turner than the thriller 'Da Vinci Code' which is written by someone who is neither writer nor historian. Bomber Command is a dispassionate appraisal of its value to the Allied victory in WW2.

painful and pitiful account of the airwar, 22 Jun 2001
Max Hastings has delivered both a factual and moving account of what the war did to the RAF as well as what the RAF did to the war. The anecodotes are well placed and well observed eg the bomber crew which got lost in an electrical storm and bombed London by mistake. The bravery of the men involved in the whole bomber war is too often forgotten. I disagree with some of his doubts about what they/we did. That does not detract from the achievement of Max Hastings book.

Excellent, painful account on 'forgotten' campaign, 04 Jan 2001
I always think of Max Hastings as that bloke on Question Time with the pinstripe suits that have the stripes just a little too wide.

Pity he has to waste his time with all that journalism, his real forte is military history and I think he should stick to it.

This is an extremely good book that manages to convey the appalling unreality that must have been the lot of bomber crews who knew they only had a few months to live - at best and yet conveys a proper appreciation of 'Bomber' Harris and his vital role in maintaining British morale when all we had to hit back at the Germans were the bombing raids of dubious accuracy and effectiveness. The sense of theatre that Harris brought to the job - with his 1,000 bomber raids and his uncompromising public statements - is well chronicled here.

But when Hastings describes the carnage of the raid at Darmstadt - a really boring little raid by Bomber Command standards - you feel real revulsion about what was done in the name of freedom.

Great stuff. Well worth buying.

Image and Reality, 16 Apr 2008
A remarkable book , you will never view Hitler's Germany in the same light again.

A revelatory read, 29 Apr 2005
This fascinating study gives a whole new slant to what happened in Germany between 1933 and 1945. The Germans, angry and hurt after the defeat of the Great War, bothered by unemployment, dissatisfied with party politics, fearful of Bolshevism and seeking a strong leader who would be above politics and who would restore Germany's rightful greatness, found him in the apparently unlikely person of an embittered, Jew- and Communist-hating, Austrian ex-corporal incapable of normal human warmth. The creation of the mythical Hitler to fulfil expectations, often standing the facts of Hitler's actual person on their head, was a masterpiece of Goebbels's propaganda (Goebbels personally regarded the creation of the Fuehrer Myth as his greatest achievement). As a result, Hitler's personal popularity was almost universal, even among sections of the population who detested Nazism itself. He was given the benefit of the doubt every time. "If only the Fuehrer knew," people would say, after the latest bout of Nazi excesses.

However, the Hitler Myth carried within it the seeds of its own destruction. For one thing, Hitler came to believe it himself, and as a result became ever more divorced from ever more uncomfortable reality. Moreover, its prolongation required a continual stream of triumphs and successes, and when they faltered in the early 1940s (beginning with the Stalingrad catastrophe), so did it. However, it maintained a considerable hold right to the very end, even in the face of impending disaster. Professor Kershaw teases out the details of a complex story in a scholarly yet highly readable and informative way, and ends with an excellent concluding review chapter. The book was written in 1987, before the fall of the Wall, the subsequent reunification of Germany and the upsurge of extremist right-wing sentiment as a result of high unemployment, poor economic performance and dissatisfaction with the current government - now, where have we heard this before? It would be hard to improve on Professor Kershaw's masterly final paragraph as a commentary on modern-day affairs - and not only those of Germany:

"Old myths are however replaced by new as the combination of modern technology and advanced marketing techniques produce ever more elaborate and sophisticated examples of political image building around minority personality cults, even in western democracies, aimed at obfuscating reality among the ignorant and gullible. The price for abdicating democratic responsibilities and placing uncritical trust in the 'firm leadership' of seemingly well-intentioned political authority was paid dearly by Germans between 1933 and 1945. Even if a collapse into new forms of fascism is inherently unlikely in any western democracy, the massive extension of the power of the modern State over its citizens is in itself more than sufficient cause to develop the highest level possible of educated cynicism and critical awareness as the only protection against the marketed images of present-day and future claimants to political 'leadership'".

Shattering Third Reich and Nazi Apologists' Myths, 22 Jan 2003
The "myth" which Prof Kershaw exposes as a naked, squirming lie is the belief that hitler was above political intrigue and corruption, and was an innocent duped by self-serving, greedy, conniving underlings. This myth was very popular in Nazi Germany, where there was a general desire for a strong, single leader to clear away the messy, bickering mess that Weimar democracy had proved to be. The naive faith in the führer can still be seen on the faces of his former devotees in TV documentaries such as "The Nazis - A Warning From History".

The book is a detailed, broad examination of the social values and motives of the vast majority of Germans and austrians in those years, from the early thirties right up to the final collapse and Soviet invasion of 1945. It reveals the self-delusion that otherwise intelligent, rational people will employ to deny that they are supporters - whether active or passive - of a criminal state bent on mass murder and the enslavement of nations in their name.

Although the title might be misunderstood as an apologia for Hitler, perhaps seeming to be a defence of Hitler against anti-nazi, anti-aryan propaganda lies, this is to be welcomed. If even one confused potential nazi-supporter reads this and has their opinions overturned by Ian Kershaw's overwhelming evidence and arguments, the world will be a better, safer place.

A great book.

Another Kershaw masterpiece!, 06 Sep 2000
Kershaw is the best and he reminds us of this again as he takes us through the propaganda machine that was so important in Hitlers rise to power and the face of the Third Reich.

Mystery left unexplained, 16 Nov 2008
After wading through this and the first volume, I am still no closer to understanding how a monster like this could gain control of an advanced and cultured nation. I understand the how but not the why. Then again is anyone equipped to answer such a question? Is such a question even meaningful or answerable in the first place?

Nothing more to be said, 26 Apr 2007
As the book was published already some years ago, I have read it many times since. It certainly is the definitive account of Germany's war-years and Hitler's downfall. I enjoyed most Kershaw's healthy detachment from his subject - I would, maybe wrongly, ascribe it to what we believe is British coolness; more probably it is due to the advantage of being a foreigner and retelling some of another country's darkest hours. It can't be done well from within, you're getting too much involved with what it all meant to those who survived. But history is one thing and post-war ideological strife another, and it is best to keep both separate. Meanwhile, Kershaw's study of Hitler has been recognised as the standard account in Germany as well. In any case, when looking at Kershaw's achievement which must have cost him many years, I freeze in awe and ask myself: Who am I to praise his work? But certainly it merits only praise, because it is, not only for the moment, the most detailed, reliable, thoughtful and readable biography of Hitler; there is nothing more to be said for a long time to come. It is a irony of history that persons who least deserve it sometimes find the finest biographers. So it is in this case.

The Ultimate Biography On Hitler, 04 Nov 2002
Having read both books I found this to be the more engaging but that is no reflection on the quality of the first. Rather I found as I assume most people would Hitler is at his most interesting and puzzling during the period 1936 - 1945. Together they form a superb and comprehensive biography on Hitler but they are also fine as stand alones.

This is not a book about WWII but the events of WWII in relation to Hitler so people expecting a comprehensive summary of the war will be dissapointed. Some of the most significant events are covered in only a few pages i.e. the fall of France and the Ardennes offensive. However this is probably my only criticism and one which I have no right to make given that this is a biography of Hitler and not a history of the war. However it gives an superb 800 page insight into the man and the world he was surrounded by. Kershaws writing style is engaging and the level of research he has undertaken makes this a credible document. I would certainly recommend it as being the ultimate biography of a man who has his fair share of them.

The world can be thankful that Mr Kershaw had no need for a third book on Hitler (1946 - ????) although its absence is a loss to readers of fine historical writing.

Good, but with several holes and mistakes, 04 Jan 2002
This book, naturally, beginns where first one ended. We follow Germany's bloodless victories (Austria, Czechoslovakia) and WW2. As first part this book gives excelent look behind the scenes of german leadership and look into Hitler's mind. But there are several weaknesses. Military side is covered in very generally. e.g. fall of France in 1940 is covered in couple of pages (Kristallnacht is covered in at least twice as much pages). Also there is no mention of how and why Waffen-SS units were established. And when they are mentioned, Kershaw states that their officers were inexperienced (which any military historian will tell were not). Kershaw describes Hitler's grandiose plans for post-war Europe, yet doesn't mention foreign volunteer units. Also while he describes most Hitler's speeches he doesn't mention Hitler's visit to Maribor when he said he wanted this land (Slovenia, then part of Yugoslavia) be made German again.All in all good book, worth your time and money, but could be better.

Kershaw has produced a gem, 17 Oct 2001
Ian Kershaw's follow-up to the peerless 'Hubris' matches and even surpasses the achievements of the first half of this splendid biography. Whereas Hubris addressed Hitler's upbringing and rise to power, Nemesis concerns Hitler's central role during the second world war and with it the final demise and collapse of the third reich. Kershaw's prose is accessible for laymen, whilst remaining packed full of detailed analysis for academics. The author considers both the structuralist and intentional approaches to the third reich, and also whether Nazi policy was determined by economic necessity, or ideological goals.
Nemesis also provides a fabulous insight into the mind and world of the centuries most infamous and destructive figure. It also highlights and ponders the role of those around Hitler and their relationship to him. The author also attempts to understand the reasons for Hitler's murderous determination to implement policies of genocide and dogged continuance of the war even when he knew it was lost.
The two works together represent an excellent study in the workings of the Nazi government and the mind of a dictator. These two works follow the already excellent work on the Nazis and seek to examine how and why these ideologues came to power in a rational and highly educated civlised state. Hopefully works of this quality will help aid us from preventing it from happening again.

Bomber Command, 06 Dec 2007
This book is a very good read.It gives very detailed accounts of how the bombing offensive of the RAF was created.It also exonerates Harris from the blame he and his crews were shouldered with during and after the war.The bravery of the crews in the RAF is brilliantly shown amongst these pages.Even though the stupidity of the Politicians of the day and some of the RAF's Command structure is highlighted as being narrow minded and short sighted. Their stupidity being paid for with the lives of the crews who were simply following the directives passed down by the Government of the time.These pages are filled with pride and bravery,and those who deserted what Bomber Command crews did from day one to the last should bow their heads in shame.Read this book yourself and come to your own judgement. The truth is Max Hastings at least has done those brave men of Bomber Command some justice at least by exposing the TRUE version of what happened.

You Reap what you Sow., 10 Oct 2006
This a book about strategy, not really the technical details of aircraft, or even the weapons they carried. As for an appreaisal of strategy, however, it really goes deep, yet misses some of the broader aspects.
From the start you see that Bomber command was an impotenmt force, with an unworkable idealism to fighting such a war as WW2. Later we find that Bomber Command had grown to be so powerful that its commanders were in awe and had no real idea how to use such power properly. The book is really about Bomber Harris (should have been called "Bomber Commander") as he brought abouit the completion of the area bombing technique after his Biblical invective that the Nazi's had "sown the wind and would now reap the whirlwind". a cunning piece of propoganda that Harris perhaps knew the Nazi's could not emulate as it is taken from the Hebrew Bible.
the whirlwingd is amply described here, and the ultimate futility of wasting entire cities up until 3 weeks before capitulation. All insightfully written.
One short-coming is that the argument that bomber command ultimately only really punished Germans and Germany (on behalf of the British and occupied nations), is swept aside. After all the mass killing that the Nazi's (and ordinary Germans) did one tends to see that such punishment remains as the most important aspect, since the westen allies stopped their punitive measures against the German population as soon as the war ended (unlike the Russians). Hastings also writes nothing about the important role of the bomber force immediately after the war in carring food to the Dutch and brining POW's back home, not to mention the pilot and crews who later helped in the Berlin Airlift etc. Leaves one with a sense of how AWEFUL such a total war was, yet knocks out the central argument that Bombers can win wars by bombing alone, but without any reference to japan where the argument was sadly decisive. As for technical details, errors concern aircraft types and capabilities abound, also effecting some of the reasoning (Stirlings were later invaluable as glider tugs for example, and the data for the Lancaster in the spec. in the appendix is full of errors too). It is certainly, however, the best book I know to show how Bomber harris let everyone down with his tunnel vision and distance from the battle front. most of all he swerved his aircrews very badly indeed.

History brought to life, 16 Dec 2004
This a truly excellent book written by a man with that rare combination of historian and writer. So many historians just cannot bring a story to life but Max Hastings is an exception. I found the book more of a page turner than the thriller 'Da Vinci Code' which is written by someone who is neither writer nor historian. Bomber Command is a dispassionate appraisal of its value to the Allied victory in WW2.

painful and pitiful account of the airwar, 22 Jun 2001
Max Hastings has delivered both a factual and moving account of what the war did to the RAF as well as what the RAF did to the war. The anecodotes are well placed and well observed eg the bomber crew which got lost in an electrical storm and bombed London by mistake. The bravery of the men involved in the whole bomber war is too often forgotten. I disagree with some of his doubts about what they/we did. That does not detract from the achievement of Max Hastings book.

Excellent, painful account on 'forgotten' campaign, 04 Jan 2001
I always think of Max Hastings as that bloke on Question Time with the pinstripe suits that have the stripes just a little too wide.

Pity he has to waste his time with all that journalism, his real forte is military history and I think he should stick to it.

This is an extremely good book that manages to convey the appalling unreality that must have been the lot of bomber crews who knew they only had a few months to live - at best and yet conveys a proper appreciation of 'Bomber' Harris and his vital role in maintaining British morale when all we had to hit back at the Germans were the bombing raids of dubious accuracy and effectiveness. The sense of theatre that Harris brought to the job - with his 1,000 bomber raids and his uncompromising public statements - is well chronicled here.

But when Hastings describes the carnage of the raid at Darmstadt - a really boring little raid by Bomber Command standards - you feel real revulsion about what was done in the name of freedom.

Great stuff. Well worth buying.

Image and Reality, 16 Apr 2008
A remarkable book , you will never view Hitler's Germany in the same light again.

A revelatory read, 29 Apr 2005
This fascinating study gives a whole new slant to what happened in Germany between 1933 and 1945. The Germans, angry and hurt after the defeat of the Great War, bothered by unemployment, dissatisfied with party politics, fearful of Bolshevism and seeking a strong leader who would be above politics and who would restore Germany's rightful greatness, found him in the apparently unlikely person of an embittered, Jew- and Communist-hating, Austrian ex-corporal incapable of normal human warmth. The creation of the mythical Hitler to fulfil expectations, often standing the facts of Hitler's actual person on their head, was a masterpiece of Goebbels's propaganda (Goebbels personally regarded the creation of the Fuehrer Myth as his greatest achievement). As a result, Hitler's personal popularity was almost universal, even among sections of the population who detested Nazism itself. He was given the benefit of the doubt every time. "If only the Fuehrer knew," people would say, after the latest bout of Nazi excesses.

However, the Hitler Myth carried within it the seeds of its own destruction. For one thing, Hitler came to believe it himself, and as a result became ever more divorced from ever more uncomfortable reality. Moreover, its prolongation required a continual stream of triumphs and successes, and when they faltered in the early 1940s (beginning with the Stalingrad catastrophe), so did it. However, it maintained a considerable hold right to the very end, even in the face of impending disaster. Professor Kershaw teases out the details of a complex story in a scholarly yet highly readable and informative way, and ends with an excellent concluding review chapter. The book was written in 1987, before the fall of the Wall, the subsequent reunification of Germany and the upsurge of extremist right-wing sentiment as a result of high unemployment, poor economic performance and dissatisfaction with the current government - now, where have we heard this before? It would be hard to improve on Professor Kershaw's masterly final paragraph as a commentary on modern-day affairs - and not only those of Germany:

"Old myths are however replaced by new as the combination of modern technology and advanced marketing techniques produce ever more elaborate and sophisticated examples of political image building around minority personality cults, even in western democracies, aimed at obfuscating reality among the ignorant and gullible. The price for abdicating democratic responsibilities and placing uncritical trust in the 'firm leadership' of seemingly well-intentioned political authority was paid dearly by Germans between 1933 and 1945. Even if a collapse into new forms of fascism is inherently unlikely in any western democracy, the massive extension of the power of the modern State over its citizens is in itself more than sufficient cause to develop the highest level possible of educated cynicism and critical awareness as the only protection against the marketed images of present-day and future claimants to political 'leadership'".

Shattering Third Reich and Nazi Apologists' Myths, 22 Jan 2003
The "myth" which Prof Kershaw exposes as a naked, squirming lie is the belief that hitler was above political intrigue and corruption, and was an innocent duped by self-serving, greedy, conniving underlings. This myth was very popular in Nazi Germany, where there was a general desire for a strong, single leader to clear away the messy, bickering mess that Weimar democracy had proved to be. The naive faith in the führer can still be seen on the faces of his former devotees in TV documentaries such as "The Nazis - A Warning From History".

The book is a detailed, broad examination of the social values and motives of the vast majority of Germans and austrians in those years, from the early thirties right up to the final collapse and Soviet invasion of 1945. It reveals the self-delusion that otherwise intelligent, rational people will employ to deny that they are supporters - whether active or passive - of a criminal state bent on mass murder and the enslavement of nations in their name.

Although the title might be misunderstood as an apologia for Hitler, perhaps seeming to be a defence of Hitler against anti-nazi, anti-aryan propaganda lies, this is to be welcomed. If even one confused potential nazi-supporter reads this and has their opinions overturned by Ian Kershaw's overwhelming evidence and arguments, the world will be a better, safer place.

A great book.

Another Kershaw masterpiece!, 06 Sep 2000
Kershaw is the best and he reminds us of this again as he takes us through the propaganda machine that was so important in Hitlers rise to power and the face of the Third Reich.

Mystery left unexplained, 16 Nov 2008
After wading through this and the first volume, I am still no closer to understanding how a monster like this could gain control of an advanced and cultured nation. I understand the how but not the why. Then again is anyone equipped to answer such a question? Is such a question even meaningful or answerable in the first place?

Nothing more to be said, 26 Apr 2007
As the book was published already some years ago, I have read it many times since. It certainly is the definitive account of Germany's war-years and Hitler's downfall. I enjoyed most Kershaw's healthy detachment from his subject - I would, maybe wrongly, ascribe it to what we believe is British coolness; more probably it is due to the advantage of being a foreigner and retelling some of another country's darkest hours. It can't be done well from within, you're getting too much involved with what it all meant to those who survived. But history is one thing and post-war ideological strife another, and it is best to keep both separate. Meanwhile, Kershaw's study of Hitler has been recognised as the standard account in Germany as well. In any case, when looking at Kershaw's achievement which must have cost him many years, I freeze in awe and ask myself: Who am I to praise his work? But certainly it merits only praise, because it is, not only for the moment, the most detailed, reliable, thoughtful and readable biography of Hitler; there is nothing more to be said for a long time to come. It is a irony of history that persons who least deserve it sometimes find the finest biographers. So it is in this case.

The Ultimate Biography On Hitler, 04 Nov 2002
Having read both books I found this to be the more engaging but that is no reflection on the quality of the first. Rather I found as I assume most people would Hitler is at his most interesting and puzzling during the period 1936 - 1945. Together they form a superb and comprehensive biography on Hitler but they are also fine as stand alones.

This is not a book about WWII but the events of WWII in relation to Hitler so people expecting a comprehensive summary of the war will be dissapointed. Some of the most significant events are covered in only a few pages i.e. the fall of France and the Ardennes offensive. However this is probably my only criticism and one which I have no right to make given that this is a biography of Hitler and not a history of the war. However it gives an superb 800 page insight into the man and the world he was surrounded by. Kershaws writing style is engaging and the level of research he has undertaken makes this a credible document. I would certainly recommend it as being the ultimate biography of a man who has his fair share of them.

The world can be thankful that Mr Kershaw had no need for a third book on Hitler (1946 - ????) although its absence is a loss to readers of fine historical writing.

Good, but with several holes and mistakes, 04 Jan 2002
This book, naturally, beginns where first one ended. We follow Germany's bloodless victories (Austria, Czechoslovakia) and WW2. As first part this book gives excelent look behind the scenes of german leadership and look into Hitler's mind. But there are several weaknesses. Military side is covered in very generally. e.g. fall of France in 1940 is covered in couple of pages (Kristallnacht is covered in at least twice as much pages). Also there is no mention of how and why Waffen-SS units were established. And when they are mentioned, Kershaw states that their officers were inexperienced (which any military historian will tell were not). Kershaw describes Hitler's grandiose plans for post-war Europe, yet doesn't mention foreign volunteer units. Also while he describes most Hitler's speeches he doesn't mention Hitler's visit to Maribor when he said he wanted this land (Slovenia, then part of Yugoslavia) be made German again.All in all good book, worth your time and money, but could be better.

Kershaw has produced a gem, 17 Oct 2001
Ian Kershaw's follow-up to the peerless 'Hubris' matches and even surpasses the achievements of the first half of this splendid biography. Whereas Hubris addressed Hitler's upbringing and rise to power, Nemesis concerns Hitler's central role during the second world war and with it the final demise and collapse of the third reich. Kershaw's prose is accessible for laymen, whilst remaining packed full of detailed analysis for academics. The author considers both the structuralist and intentional approaches to the third reich, and also whether Nazi policy was determined by economic necessity, or ideological goals.
Nemesis also provides a fabulous insight into the mind and world of the centuries most infamous and destructive figure. It also highlights and ponders the role of those around Hitler and their relationship to him. The author also attempts to understand the reasons for Hitler's murderous determination to implement policies of genocide and dogged continuance of the war even when he knew it was lost.
The two works together represent an excellent study in the workings of the Nazi government and the mind of a dictator. These two works follow the already excellent work on the Nazis and seek to examine how and why these ideologues came to power in a rational and highly educated civlised state. Hopefully works of this quality will help aid us from preventing it from happening again.

Addictive, 07 Nov 2008
For people with an interest in 20th century history, this book is a must. I usually associate large hard-bound volumes with reference books - only kept for sporadic reading or for reference purposes; but I found that I could not put this book down.

Of course, it only recounts the entire history of the Nazi party to a certain level of detail. So many years, which included a world conflict, can only be covered in detail by other works that focus purely on a few aspects of the party/war. Nevertheless, I cannot praise this book enough.

not worth the time, 13 Sep 2008
Nobody disputes that this book has been thoroughly written and researched and that it goes into very fine detail. So far so good but where it fails completely is in its historical interpretations and Im not talking about the holocaust and so forth which are beyond dispute. Yet, the continuous efforts at making Hitler, the man, into a demon, draws other things with it into the mailstrom and taints sections with a sense of obsenity which otherwise might have been more correctly interpreted. More specifically, the section on the Röhm-purge demonstrate the authors own obsession with sexuality instead of a desire for factual account.



Diplomatic and leadership history - not much else, 05 Jun 2008
The book is a political history of the Third Reich; it's very light on legal, social, economic and military aspects. It could equally be titled as a biography of Adolf Hitler since almost all of the book revolves around this central person. Few other people are covered in as much depth as their importance would warrant - with exceptions of course. Franz Halder and some high placed plotters against Hitler are given good coverage.

It's very long but although it could benefit from further editing, it's very readable. Shirer has a flowing style and is not at all dry. It's certainly not an academic text. It's full of the author's opinions, many of them superfluous and fatuous (do we really need half a page to tell us the Nazi leaders didn't look like the conquerors of Europe while dressed in shabby clothes in the dock at Nuremburg?).

Shirer is scathing of just about everybody involved, even such people as Birger Dahlerus who did everything he possibly could to avoid a war despite his very limited means. Shirer seems to throw around words like stupid, naive, dim-witted and cowardly quite lightly considering he's often describing highly intelligent people who worked their way to the top of their societies and had to wrestle with difficult ethical and practical decisions (for example those who risked plunging their country into civil war and exposing it to foreign occupation by assassinating Hitler).

As a political history written for non specialist readers, it's fascinating, packed full of the well documented detail necessary to get a good understanding of how things happened and why.

Much of the analysis is unconvincing. Shirer subscribes to the theory is that Nazism was a more progression growing out of German culture and philosophy prior even to the First World War rather than a response to the difficulties faced by the German nation (such as the prospect of Communist revolution) during the Weimar period. As such, he brushes over such important influences as the starvation caused by the British naval blockade of the First World War - and the huge impact this had on the German psyche (not to mention military strategy).

Also notable is that the 1998 Arrow paperback copy is of poor printing and binding quality; many pages were misprinted due to being bent prior to printing; and many pages have fallen out despite gentle handling during the first reading.

In summary, although the book is hardly balanced and overly long it's a reasonable non specialist political and diplomatic history of the Third Reich.


Masterful, Epic, Incredible, 15 Jul 2007
This book is simply astounding. I do not believe a simple review on an internet site could really inform you of how good a purchase this will be.

No doubt; this is a real marathon of reading, but once you are through the 1100-or so pages, you will be very much "In the Know". The book is incredbly detailed and complex, giving an insight into the real inner-workings of the Nazi Party, the leaders as well as the English, the French, the Italians et al. I have not read a book quite so detailed and complex as this.

I do think however that this book falls down on critical analysis of the Third Reich. Shirer's account although faultless in its research and historical accuracy lacks the killer punch; the critical conclusions. The book is a narrative and nothing more on this crucial chapter of our collective History. Although Shirer does mention and argue against the Allied Policy of Appeasement etc, I think that his arguments are somewhat "Basic" when looked at in contrast to the depth of his research. The characters of his story are often stereotypcial; i.e. the Germans are usually spineless, cold, efficient and morally repugnant, with the French portrayed often as cowardly and apathetic etc etc. This rather grates on the reader somewhat. I think the most balanced character of them all is Hitler himself! Often portrayed as brilliant but megalomanical at the same time, usually he is the one character that is depicted for all he was.

If you want to know what happened during this period of history, then there are no better books, however, if you are looking for a critical analysis of this period, then I think you'll be disappointed with this book and will have to look elsewhere.

Due to its lack of Critical Analysis, this book cannot be described as a "Complete" history and rather suffers from personal attacks/thoughts rather than objective and critical analysis. Therefore, this gets four stars.

More exciting and compelling than fiction, 19 Feb 2007
Undoubtedly the book against which all history books should be benchmarked. William Shirer draws you in to the rise of Hitler. Then you literally 'reap the whirlwind' as the drama unfolds. Unlike other books you don't feel patronised if you don't have prior knowledge of the events being depicted. The 'Grand Design' is mapped out for you and, like no doubt many before me, I was staggered by the events that came to pass. Very readable, visionary in scope and very well written. I couldn't put this book down. I was surprised because I've read quite a few 'war and political histories'. This title is in a class of it's own. There are other perspectives on the material covered and no doubt there are gaps but for an all encompassing insight into the Third Reich you cannot go wrong. Forget about Shakespeare, this should be compulsory reading.

Bomber Command, 06 Dec 2007
This book is a very good read.It gives very detailed accounts of how the bombing offensive of the RAF was created.It also exonerates Harris from the blame he and his crews were shouldered with during and after the war.The bravery of the crews in the RAF is brilliantly shown amongst these pages.Even though the stupidity of the Politicians of the day and some of the RAF's Command structure is highlighted as being narrow minded and short sighted. Their stupidity being paid for with the lives of the crews who were simply following the directives passed down by the Government of the time.These pages are filled with pride and bravery,and those who deserted what Bomber Command crews did from day one to the last should bow their heads in shame.Read this book yourself and come to your own judgement. The truth is Max Hastings at least has done those brave men of Bomber Command some justice at least by exposing the TRUE version of what happened.

You Reap what you Sow., 10 Oct 2006
This a book about strategy, not really the technical details of aircraft, or even the weapons they carried. As for an appreaisal of strategy, however, it really goes deep, yet misses some of the broader aspects.
From the start you see that Bomber command was an impotenmt force, with an unworkable idealism to fighting such a war as WW2. Later we find that Bomber Command had grown to be so powerful that its commanders were in awe and had no real idea how to use such power properly. The book is really about Bomber Harris (should have been called "Bomber Commander") as he brought abouit the completion of the area bombing technique after his Biblical invective that the Nazi's had "sown the wind and would now reap the whirlwind". a cunning piece of propoganda that Harris perhaps knew the Nazi's could not emulate as it is taken from the Hebrew Bible.
the whirlwingd is amply described here, and the ultimate futility of wasting entire cities up until 3 weeks before capitulation. All insightfully written.
One short-coming is that the argument that bomber command ultimately only really punished Germans and Germany (on behalf of the British and occupied nations), is swept aside. After all the mass killing that the Nazi's (and ordinary Germans) did one tends to see that such punishment remains as the most important aspect, since the westen allies stopped their punitive measures against the German population as soon as the war ended (unlike the Russians). Hastings also writes nothing about the important role of the bomber force immediately after the war in carring food to the Dutch and brining POW's back home, not to mention the pilot and crews who later helped in the Berlin Airlift etc. Leaves one with a sense of how AWEFUL such a total war was, yet knocks out the central argument that Bombers can win wars by bombing alone, but without any reference to japan where the argument was sadly decisive. As for technical details, errors concern aircraft types and capabilities abound, also effecting some of the reasoning (Stirlings were later invaluable as glider tugs for example, and the data for the Lancaster in the spec. in the appendix is full of errors too). It is certainly, however, the best book I know to show how Bomber harris let everyone down with his tunnel vision and distance from the battle front. most of all he swerved his aircrews very badly indeed.

History brought to life, 16 Dec 2004
This a truly excellent book written by a man with that rare combination of historian and writer. So many historians just cannot bring a story to life but Max Hastings is an exception. I found the book more of a page turner than the thriller 'Da Vinci Code' which is written by someone who is neither writer nor historian. Bomber Command is a dispassionate appraisal of its value to the Allied victory in WW2.

painful and pitiful account of the airwar, 22 Jun 2001
Max Hastings has delivered both a factual and moving account of what the war did to the RAF as well as what the RAF did to the war. The anecodotes are well placed and well observed eg the bomber crew which got lost in an electrical storm and bombed London by mistake. The bravery of the men involved in the whole bomber war is too often forgotten. I disagree with some of his doubts about what they/we did. That does not detract from the achievement of Max Hastings book.

Excellent, painful account on 'forgotten' campaign, 04 Jan 2001
I always think of Max Hastings as that bloke on Question Time with the pinstripe suits that have the stripes just a little too wide.

Pity he has to waste his time with all that journalism, his real forte is military history and I think he should stick to it.

This is an extremely good book that manages to convey the appalling unreality that must have been the lot of bomber crews who knew they only had a few months to live - at best and yet conveys a proper appreciation of 'Bomber' Harris and his vital role in maintaining British morale when all we had to hit back at the Germans were the bombing raids of dubious accuracy and effectiveness. The sense of theatre that Harris brought to the job - with his 1,000 bomber raids and his uncompromising public statements - is well chronicled here.

But when Hastings describes the carnage of the raid at Darmstadt - a really boring little raid by Bomber Command standards - you feel real revulsion about what was done in the name of freedom.

Great stuff. Well worth buying.

Image and Reality, 16 Apr 2008
A remarkable book , you will never view Hitler's Germany in the same light again.

A revelatory read, 29 Apr 2005
This fascinating study gives a whole new slant to what happened in Germany between 1933 and 1945. The Germans, angry and hurt after the defeat of the Great War, bothered by unemployment, dissatisfied with party politics, fearful of Bolshevism and seeking a strong leader who would be above politics and who would restore Germany's rightful greatness, found him in the apparently unlikely person of an embittered, Jew- and Communist-hating, Austrian ex-corporal incapable of normal human warmth. The creation of the mythical Hitler to fulfil expectations, often standing the facts of Hitler's actual person on their head, was a masterpiece of Goebbels's propaganda (Goebbels personally regarded the creation of the Fuehrer Myth as his greatest achievement). As a result, Hitler's personal popularity was almost universal, even among sections of the population who detested Nazism itself. He was given the benefit of the doubt every time. "If only the Fuehrer knew," people would say, after the latest bout of Nazi excesses.

However, the Hitler Myth carried within it the seeds of its own destruction. For one thing, Hitler came to believe it himself, and as a result became ever more divorced from ever more uncomfortable reality. Moreover, its prolongation required a continual stream of triumphs and successes, and when they faltered in the early 1940s (beginning with the Stalingrad catastrophe), so did it. However, it maintained a considerable hold right to the very end, even in the face of impending disaster. Professor Kershaw teases out the details of a complex story in a scholarly yet highly readable and informative way, and ends with an excellent concluding review chapter. The book was written in 1987, before the fall of the Wall, the subsequent reunification of Germany and the upsurge of extremist right-wing sentiment as a result of high unemployment, poor economic performance and dissatisfaction with the current government - now, where have we heard this before? It would be hard to improve on Professor Kershaw's masterly final paragraph as a commentary on modern-day affairs - and not only those of Germany:

"Old myths are however replaced by new as the combination of modern technology and advanced marketing techniques produce ever more elaborate and sophisticated examples of political image building around minority personality cults, even in western democracies, aimed at obfuscating reality among the ignorant and gullible. The price for abdicating democratic responsibilities and placing uncritical trust in the 'firm leadership' of seemingly well-intentioned political authority was paid dearly by Germans between 1933 and 1945. Even if a collapse into new forms of fascism is inherently unlikely in any western democracy, the massive extension of the power of the modern State over its citizens is in itself more than sufficient cause to develop the highest level possible of educated cynicism and critical awareness as the only protection against the marketed images of present-day and future claimants to political 'leadership'".

Shattering Third Reich and Nazi Apologists' Myths, 22 Jan 2003
The "myth" which Prof Kershaw exposes as a naked, squirming lie is the belief that hitler was above political intrigue and corruption, and was an innocent duped by self-serving, greedy, conniving underlings. This myth was very popular in Nazi Germany, where there was a general desire for a strong, single leader to clear away the messy, bickering mess that Weimar democracy had proved to be. The naive faith in the führer can still be seen on the faces of his former devotees in TV documentaries such as "The Nazis - A Warning From History".

The book is a detailed, broad examination of the social values and motives of the vast majority of Germans and austrians in those years, from the early thirties right up to the final collapse and Soviet invasion of 1945. It reveals the self-delusion that otherwise intelligent, rational people will employ to deny that they are supporters - whether active or passive - of a criminal state bent on mass murder and the enslavement of nations in their name.

Although the title might be misunderstood as an apologia for Hitler, perhaps seeming to be a defence of Hitler against anti-nazi, anti-aryan propaganda lies, this is to be welcomed. If even one confused potential nazi-supporter reads this and has their opinions overturned by Ian Kershaw's overwhelming evidence and arguments, the world will be a better, safer place.

A great book.

Another Kershaw masterpiece!, 06 Sep 2000
Kershaw is the best and he reminds us of this again as he takes us through the propaganda machine that was so important in Hitlers rise to power and the face of the Third Reich.

Mystery left unexplained, 16 Nov 2008
After wading through this and the first volume, I am still no closer to understanding how a monster like this could gain control of an advanced and cultured nation. I understand the how but not the why. Then again is anyone equipped to answer such a question? Is such a question even meaningful or answerable in the first place?

Nothing more to be said, 26 Apr 2007
As the book was published already some years ago, I have read it many times since. It certainly is the definitive account of Germany's war-years and Hitler's downfall. I enjoyed most Kershaw's healthy detachment from his subject - I would, maybe wrongly, ascribe it to what we believe is British coolness; more probably it is due to the advantage of being a foreigner and retelling some of another country's darkest hours. It can't be done well from within, you're getting too much involved with what it all meant to those who survived. But history is one thing and post-war ideological strife another, and it is best to keep both separate. Meanwhile, Kershaw's study of Hitler has been recognised as the standard account in Germany as well. In any case, when looking at Kershaw's achievement which must have cost him many years, I freeze in awe and ask myself: Who am I to praise his work? But certainly it merits only praise, because it is, not only for the moment, the most detailed, reliable, thoughtful and readable biography of Hitler; there is nothing more to be said for a long time to come. It is a irony of history that persons who least deserve it sometimes find the finest biographers. So it is in this case.

The Ultimate Biography On Hitler, 04 Nov 2002
Having read both books I found this to be the more engaging but that is no reflection on the quality of the first. Rather I found as I assume most people would Hitler is at his most interesting and puzzling during the period 1936 - 1945. Together they form a superb and comprehensive biography on Hitler but they are also fine as stand alones.

This is not a book about WWII but the events of WWII in relation to Hitler so people expecting a comprehensive summary of the war will be dissapointed. Some of the most significant events are covered in only a few pages i.e. the fall of France and the Ardennes offensive. However this is probably my only criticism and one which I have no right to make given that this is a biography of Hitler and not a history of the war. However it gives an superb 800 page insight into the man and the world he was surrounded by. Kershaws writing style is engaging and the level of research he has undertaken makes this a credible document. I would certainly recommend it as being the ultimate biography of a man who has his fair share of them.

The world can be thankful that Mr Kershaw had no need for a third book on Hitler (1946 - ????) although its absence is a loss to readers of fine historical writing.

Good, but with several holes and mistakes, 04 Jan 2002
This book, naturally, beginns where first one ended. We follow Germany's bloodless victories (Austria, Czechoslovakia) and WW2. As first part this book gives excelent look behind the scenes of german leadership and look into Hitler's mind. But there are several weaknesses. Military side is covered in very generally. e.g. fall of France in 1940 is covered in couple of pages (Kristallnacht is covered in at least twice as much pages). Also there is no mention of how and why Waffen-SS units were established. And when they are mentioned, Kershaw states that their officers were inexperienced (which any military historian will tell were not). Kershaw describes Hitler's grandiose plans for post-war Europe, yet doesn't mention foreign volunteer units. Also while he describes most Hitler's speeches he doesn't mention Hitler's visit to Maribor when he said he wanted this land (Slovenia, then part of Yugoslavia) be made German again.All in all good book, worth your time and money, but could be better.

Kershaw has produced a gem, 17 Oct 2001
Ian Kershaw's follow-up to the peerless 'Hubris' matches and even surpasses the achievements of the first half of this splendid biography. Whereas Hubris addressed Hitler's upbringing and rise to power, Nemesis concerns Hitler's central role during the second world war and with it the final demise and collapse of the third reich. Kershaw's prose is accessible for laymen, whilst remaining packed full of detailed analysis for academics. The author considers both the structuralist and intentional approaches to the third reich, and also whether Nazi policy was determined by economic necessity, or ideological goals.
Nemesis also provides a fabulous insight into the mind and world of the centuries most infamous and destructive figure. It also highlights and ponders the role of those around Hitler and their relationship to him. The author also attempts to understand the reasons for Hitler's murderous determination to implement policies of genocide and dogged continuance of the war even when he knew it was lost.
The two works together represent an excellent study in the workings of the Nazi government and the mind of a dictator. These two works follow the already excellent work on the Nazis and seek to examine how and why these ideologues came to power in a rational and highly educated civlised state. Hopefully works of this quality will help aid us from preventing it from happening again.

Addictive, 07 Nov 2008
For people with an interest in 20th century history, this book is a must. I usually associate large hard-bound volumes with reference books - only kept for sporadic reading or for reference purposes; but I found that I could not put this book down.

Of course, it only recounts the entire history of the Nazi party to a certain level of detail. So many years, which included a world conflict, can only be covered in detail by other works that focus purely on a few aspects of the party/war. Nevertheless, I cannot praise this book enough.

not worth the time, 13 Sep 2008
Nobody disputes that this book has been thoroughly written and researched and that it goes into very fine detail. So far so good but where it fails completely is in its historical interpretations and Im not talking about the holocaust and so forth which are beyond dispute. Yet, the continuous efforts at making Hitler, the man, into a demon, draws other things with it into the mailstrom and taints sections with a sense of obsenity which otherwise might have been more correctly interpreted. More specifically, the section on the Röhm-purge demonstrate the authors own obsession with sexuality instead of a desire for factual account.



Diplomatic and leadership history - not much else, 05 Jun 2008
The book is a political history of the Third Reich; it's very light on legal, social, economic and military aspects. It could equally be titled as a biography of Adolf Hitler since almost all of the book revolves around this central person. Few other people are covered in as much depth as their importance would warrant - with exceptions of course. Franz Halder and some high placed plotters against Hitler are given good coverage.

It's very long but although it could benefit from further editing, it's very readable. Shirer has a flowing style and is not at all dry. It's certainly not an academic text. It's full of the author's opinions, many of them superfluous and fatuous (do we really need half a page to tell us the Nazi leaders didn't look like the conquerors of Europe while dressed in shabby clothes in the dock at Nuremburg?).

Shirer is scathing of just about everybody involved, even such people as Birger Dahlerus who did everything he possibly could to avoid a war despite his very limited means. Shirer seems to throw around words like stupid, naive, dim-witted and cowardly quite lightly considering he's often describing highly intelligent people who worked their way to the top of their societies and had to wrestle with difficult ethical and practical decisions (for example those who risked plunging their country into civil war and exposing it to foreign occupation by assassinating Hitler).

As a political history written for non specialist readers, it's fascinating, packed full of the well documented detail necessary to get a good understanding of how things happened and why.

Much of the analysis is unconvincing. Shirer subscribes to the theory is that Nazism was a more progression growing out of German culture and philosophy prior even to the First World War rather than a response to the difficulties faced by the German nation (such as the prospect of Communist revolution) during the Weimar period. As such, he brushes over such important influences as the starvation caused by the British naval blockade of the First World War - and the huge impact this had on the German psyche (not to mention military strategy).

Also notable is that the 1998 Arrow paperback copy is of poor printing and binding quality; many pages were misprinted due to being bent prior to printing; and many pages have fallen out despite gentle handling during the first reading.

In summary, although the book is hardly balanced and overly long it's a reasonable non specialist political and diplomatic history of the Third Reich.


Masterful, Epic, Incredible, 15 Jul 2007
This book is simply astounding. I do not believe a simple review on an internet site could really inform you of how good a purchase this will be.

No doubt; this is a real marathon of reading, but once you are through the 1100-or so pages, you will be very much "In the Know". The book is incredbly detailed and complex, giving an insight into the real inner-workings of the Nazi Party, the leaders as well as the English, the French, the Italians et al. I have not read a book quite so detailed and complex as this.

I do think however that this book falls down on critical analysis of the Third Reich. Shirer's account although faultless in its research and historical accuracy lacks the killer punch; the critical conclusions. The book is a narrative and nothing more on this crucial chapter of our collective History. Although Shirer does mention and argue against the Allied Policy of Appeasement etc, I think that his arguments are somewhat "Basic" when looked at in contrast to the depth of his research. The characters of his story are often stereotypcial; i.e. the Germans are usually spineless, cold, efficient and morally repugnant, with the French portrayed often as cowardly and apathetic etc etc. This rather grates on the reader somewhat. I think the most balanced character of them all is Hitler himself! Often portrayed as brilliant but megalomanical at the same time, usually he is the one character that is depicted for all he was.

If you want to know what happened during this period of history, then there are no better books, however, if you are looking for a critical analysis of this period, then I think you'll be disappointed with this book and will have to look elsewhere.

Due to its lack of Critical Analysis, this book cannot be described as a "Complete" history and rather suffers from personal attacks/thoughts rather than objective and critical analysis. Therefore, this gets four stars.

More exciting and compelling than fiction, 19 Feb 2007
Undoubtedly the book against which all history books should be benchmarked. William Shirer draws you in to the rise of Hitler. Then you literally 'reap the whirlwind' as the drama unfolds. Unlike other books you don't feel patronised if you don't have prior knowledge of the events being depicted. The 'Grand Design' is mapped out for you and, like no doubt many before me, I was staggered by the events that came to pass. Very readable, visionary in scope and very well written. I couldn't put this book down. I was surprised because I've read quite a few 'war and political histories'. This title is in a class of it's own. There are other perspectives on the material covered and no doubt there are gaps but for an all encompassing insight into the Third Reich you cannot go wrong. Forget about Shakespeare, this should be compulsory reading.

A psychological tour de force., 23 Feb 2006
This book is truly exceptional. An original. Just read it and digest this man's irresitable logic. Goldhagen is a genius. He has married the science of history to those of psychoanalysis and psychiatry.

What is clever about this book is how he makes the reader start thinking about the subject afresh from an analytical view point. Those without some background in psychiatry will have difficulty in accepting Goldhagen's descriptions of the delusions that underlay the actions of Germans and other Jew haters. The very concept of delusion is one that most people are ignorant of or if they are aware of will only ascribe to the obviously mentally ill. Goldhagen's argument is that Germans and others did the things they did willingly because they believed certain things about Jews. Jew hatred is still with us and this book will go a long way to explaining modern forms as well, particularly in the Arab world today.

Superb. I wish Amazon would allow more than five stars.

Ugly Sub-Text to the The World's Most Terrible Crime, 17 Dec 2004
The essential point to be gleaned from this tortuous book is quite simple: it's OK to be racist when you are pinning the label on Germans.

Goldhagen seems seriously to believe that only the Germans could have committed such an atrocity on such a scale.

Goldhagen, like the apologists for Holocaust Memorial Day, seems to think that the Nazis' crime was unique.

In quantative terms this is true, but ethics and morality are not statistically variable: it is the intent to wipe out a particular sub-group of humankind which is the crime, and it applies whether the intent is to kill a hundred people, or a hundred million people.

Ask the proponents of Holocaust Memorial Day why the Massacre of the Armenians in 1915 is not commemorated. They obfuscate: statistically it does not "measure up". In reality it is because of a wish not offend Turkey.

No wonder governments are turning their back on the evnts in Darfur.

The Goldhagen Debate- A Short Critique., 22 Mar 2004
Although Daniel Goldhagen's interpretation of the Holocaust makes for interesting reading, his paradigm doesn't aid in our quest for 'historical truth'. By perpetuating 'sole' blame for the slaughter of nine million European Jews upon Ordinary Germans is inadequate and fundamentally flawed. Obviously, they played a 'role' within the mass genocide campaign, however, Goldhagen has taken this understanding to another level. To declare all German people were anti-semtic, as Christopher Browning wrote; they and Hitler were of one-mind, and Hitler's input was simply to come and unleash this pent-up anti-semitic hostility-an implosion within German society-and there the Holocaust was born, is unthinkable. Goldhagen went as-far-as to say Ordinary German perpetrators initiated the killings, taking pleasure from their actions. If academics or public spheres accept this notion, then this totally disregards the role 'bureaucracy' played within the mass killings. By this, one means the role of the Nazi Party; Hitler, Eichmann, Himmler, the SA, propaganda etc. These are essential areas for research and understanding the killing machine of Nazi Germany. Goldhagen has evidently caught a bout of 'selective historical amnesia', purposely constructing an argument to suite his one-sided interpretation. Openly disregarding vital documentation places Goldhagen's lengthy text into the unreliable category. Evidentally ''Hitler's Willing Executioners'' has crumbled to its foundation when scrutinised from Goldhagen's peers, most notibly H.Mommsen and C.Browning.

UNCONVINCING, 02 Mar 2002
Whatever the merits of Goldhagen's scholarship, the first thing to make clear about this book is that his ponderous, repetitious writing style does not make its 600-plus pages an easy read. However, his basic argument can be summed up as follows:

Because antisemitism was so integral to the psyche of ordinary Germans, Nazi policy unleashed their latent desire to exterminate the Jews, which they did with willingness and enthusiasm. Although most Germans would never have consciously considered acting in this way before the Nazis ascended to power, all the latter effectively had to do was provide the spark which then produced the fire.

To back this up the author first of all provides us with evidence that antisemitism was deeply ingrained in German society. Next, he tries to demonstrate that the perpetrators of the Nazi holocaust were basically just typical Germans (ie they were a fairly representative sample of the whole German population). Furthermore, they willingly participated in atrocities against the Jews even though they could have avoided doing so.

From these postulations he infers that, if placed in their shoes, the average German would have behaved in exactly the same way as they did.

It's all seems so simple doesn't it?
Too simplistic by far in my view.

Even if we accept Goldhagen's figures for the actual number of German perpetrators, they are still a small minority of the total population. His assertion that the rest would undoubtedly have behaved in a similar manner because they were equally imbued with antisemitism is dubious to say the least.

And does this imply that members of other nationalities would not have acted the same way? Or that Germans never acted with equal cruelty against their non-Jewish victims?

I don't think it could logically be claimed that non-Germans who wore the Nazi uniform were less cruel to the Jews than Germans were. Presumably Goldhagen would contend that this is because they were also highly antisemitic. But there's no shortage of evidence of excessively sadistic behaviour towards their fellow-Jews by Jewish police in the ghettos and Jewish kapos in the camps. Were these people Germans disguised as Jews? And are there really no examples of Germans acting with deliberately excessive brutality towards non-Jews? In my experience they're quite easy to find. Try reading (for example) "Forgotten holocaust: the Poles under German occupation 1939-44" by Richard C Lukas or "Did the children cry?" by the same author....

How does German antisemitism explain Nazi genocides against disabled people, gypsies, homosexuals and of course, millions of Slavs, all of whom were being killed by the same Germans at the same time as the Jews? Isn't it just possible that antisemitism is only part of the story (just as Nazi policy towards the Jews was also just one part of a bigger picture)?

And although Goldhagen asserts that the Nazi holocaust of the Jews is the most shocking event of the 20th century, are there really no other examples of equal degrees of cruelty (or public culpability) in any of the 20th century's other genocides, whose total victims number in the tens of millions?

These are some of the questions which Goldhagen's unconvincing thesis leaves unanswered.

Fascinating But Sensationalist and Flawed., 09 Dec 1999
The debate is growing regarding the place of ordinary Germans in the Holocaust. From the publication, to critical acclaim, of "Hitler's Willing Executioners - Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust" (USA: 1996) (hereinafter "HWE"), Goldhagen has shifted from relative obscurity, to the central figure in what has become known as the Goldhagen Debate. His argument, as the title of the book suggests, is first that the German people share a collective responsibility for the Holocaust, and second, that the death camp systems 'exposes not just Nazism's, but Germany's true face'. For the Holocaust to have happened the Nazis 'had to induce a large number of people to carry out the Killings'. With the premise that this had thus far been ignored in the academic literature, he makes it his focus. The intent of his methodology is to partially dash conventional explanations of the Holocaust, believing that they ignore the willingness of the perpetrators, ordinary German, to make a moral decision regarding mass murder. He advocates the 'eschewing' of convenient labels for the killers, such as Nazis and SS men and their replacement with Germans, going on that some were Nazis and SS men, some were not, but he argues, they 'were overwhelmingly and most importantly Germans [...] this was above all a German enterprise'. To this end, he forms his overarching argument that:

'[T]he perpetrators, "ordinary Germans," were animated by antisemitism by a particular type of antisemitism that led them to conclude that the Jews ought to die. The perpetrators' belief, their particular brand of antisemitism, though obviously not the sole source, was, I maintain, a most significant and indispensable source of the perpetrators' actions and must be at the center of any explanation of them. Simply put, the perpetrators, having consulted their own convictions and morality and having judged mass annihilation of Jews to be right, did not want to say "no.'

Goldhagen's arguments have, unsurprisingly, not gone unchallenged. His analysis is critisised for being naive in interpretation, and cynical in the use of sources, both primary and secondary. One of his foremost critics, Finkelstein, problematises the thesis in "A Nation on Trial - The Goldhagen Thesis and Historical Truth" (USA: 1998), because it crosses the previously untransgressed line 'between holocaust scholarship - primarily a branch of European history - and holocaust literature - primarily a branch of Jewish studies', '[s]eeking to reconcile an ideologically loaded thesis with radically incompatible empirical findings'. Considerations of space limit this critique largely to Finkelstein's accusation that "HWE" is a '"Crazy" thesis'. His deconstruction can be schematised into fivefold analysis. First, misrepresentation of facts and data. For example, Goldhagen's implication that erection of anti-Semitic signs such as "Entry Forbidden to Jews" was widespread amongst Germans, and evident of their 'eliminationist intent', However, Finkelstein's referral to the source used by Goldhagen, Gellately's "The Gestapo and German Society", indicates that it was actually coordinated 'by local hotheads in the Nazi movement'. Second, rash assumptions are made throughout "HWE", based largely around Goldhagen's attempt to prove his eliminationist anti-Semitism theory, which is in turn a third criticism: monocausal explanation of the Holocaust. His argument that 'it was only in Germany that an openly and rabidly antisemitic movement came to power [...] that was bent upon turning antisemitic fantasy into state organized genocidal slaughter', is criticised by Finkelstein. He questions why such a force did not come to power elsewhere, rubbishing arguments such as comparative uniqueness in Europe, or the economic depression as providing a satisfactory answer. Fourth, it is observed by Finkelstein that "HWE" is replete with contradictions. For example, Goldhagen appears to be unclear as to whether Hitler was central or peripheral, arguing first that Hitler's role was to 'unleash pent-up anitsemitic passion', but later that were it not for "Hitler's moral authority", the "vast majority of Germans would never have contemplated" Jewish genocide. Fifth, the text contains gross generalisations. Goldhagen argues that 37.4 per cent of the German population, 14m people, cast their vote for Hitler in July 1932, arguing that 'Hitler's virulent, lethal-sounding antisemitism did not at the very least deter Germans from throwing their support to him'. Finkelstein contests that he (a) ignores the rest, who did not vote for Hitler, and (b) if he had promised to unleash their anti-Semitism, they should be voting for him because, not despite of it. Further, Finkelstein argues that "HWE" 'is not intrinsically racist', as has been argued by other critics and refuted by Goldhagen:

'My book never invokes or even hints at any ethnic, racial, or biological notion of Germans; it, in no sense, posits anything about some eternal German "national character", it is, in no sense about any essential, unchangeable psychological dispositions of German. All of these are inventions of critics like Bartov who claim that mine is an essentailist view of Germans and that I maintain that Germans acted as they did because of "what they [were]".

In an Afterword to the 1997 Abacus Edition of "HWE", Goldhagen further refutes criticism:

'[A]rticles by both journalists and academics consisted almost wholly of denunciations and misrepresentations of the book's contents, including that I was charging Germans with "collective guilt," that the book's arguments attributes to Germans an unchanging "national character," that it impermissibly generalizes about Germans of the time, and that it puts forward a monocausal explanation of the Holocaust. The critics presented no serious argument and no evidence to support their contentions on these and other points. They did not do so because such arguments and evidence do not exist'.

The fundamentally important point, over and above whether Goldhagen is right or wrong, is that, however contentious his conclusions, he has regenerated the discussion of one of the most difficult aspects of the contemporary period - due to the mass public consumption of "HWE", it has moved the debate from academia into a joint-venture with 'parlour discussion'. However, a disturbing side effect is that, whereas Goldhagen may indeed have been sensationalising the Holocaust, there are those who appear to be 'jumping on the bandwagon' and using the debate for profit, both commercially and in their (academic) career.

Humans have a fascination with evil. We long to identify it, quantify it and understand it. To this end, newspapers frequently splash photographs of murderers with the caption, "The face of evil." Heading most lists of the 20th-century's most evil people would be Adolf Hitler but, as Michael Burleigh's tour de force makes clear, evil is not always as cut and dried as we would like. The Nazis could not have come to power and committed Germany to a policy of war and genocide without the tacit consent of the German people. This makes Germany as a whole responsible for the crimes committed in its name, but it is clearly wrong to label each and every German as evil. Through his painstaking research and direct prose, Burleigh slowly builds up a picture of a people desperate for identity and economic prosperity who, bit by bit, closed off their conscience as the price of their dreams. There was no one cathartic moment when Germany, under the Third Reich, lapsed from goodness into badness; rather there was an incremental realignment of a collective morality. Burleigh's explanation of this phenomenon is so simple and yet so obviously right, that you can only wonder that it hadn't become the generally accepted currency years back. Instead of viewing Nazi Germany in purely social, political and economic terms--though he doesn't ignore these spheres --Burleigh wraps them all into a picture of a country gripped in a religious, messianic fervour and that which had previously felt inexplicable suddenly seems crystal clear. If you want the nitty-gritty details of the Second World War and the genocide, then they are here, as well, if not better, retold than many of the other histories of this period. But it's Burleigh's take on the ordinary people of Germany that makes this book so special. Above all, with similar genocidal wars currently being fought in Kosovo, Rwanda and Iraq, it makes you think, "Would I be able to resist becoming complicit in such regimes?" This is a must for every 20th-century historian.--John Crace

Bomber Command, 06 Dec 2007
This book is a very good read.It gives very detailed accounts of how the bombing offensive of the RAF was created.It also exonerates Harris from the blame he and his crews were shouldered with during and after the war.The bravery of the crews in the RAF is brilliantly shown amongst these pages.Even though the stupidity of the Politicians of the day and some of the RAF's Command structure is highlighted as being narrow minded and short sighted. Their stupidity being paid for with the lives of the crews who were simply following the directives passed down by the Government of the time.These pages are filled with pride and bravery,and those who deserted what Bomber Command crews did from day one to the last should bow their heads in shame.Read this book yourself and come to your own judgement. The truth is Max Hastings at least has done those brave men of Bomber Command some justice at least by exposing the TRUE version of what happened.

You Reap what you Sow., 10 Oct 2006
This a book about strategy, not really the technical details of aircraft, or even the weapons they carried. As for an appreaisal of strategy, however, it really goes deep, yet misses some of the broader aspects.
From the start you see that Bomber command was an impotenmt force, with an unworkable idealism to fighting such a war as WW2. Later we find that Bomber Command had grown to be so powerful that its commanders were in awe and had no real idea how to use such power properly. The book is really about Bomber Harris (should have been called "Bomber Commander") as he brought abouit the completion of the area bombing technique after his Biblical invective that the Nazi's had "sown the wind and would now reap the whirlwind". a cunning piece of propoganda that Harris perhaps knew the Nazi's could not emulate as it is taken from the Hebrew Bible.
the whirlwingd is amply described here, and the ultimate futility of wasting entire cities up until 3 weeks before capitulation. All insightfully written.
One short-coming is that the argument that bomber command ultimately only really punished Germans and Germany (on behalf of the British and occupied nations), is swept aside. After all the mass killing that the Nazi's (and ordinary Germans) did one tends to see that such punishment remains as the most important aspect, since the westen allies stopped their punitive measures against the German population as soon as the war ended (unlike the Russians). Hastings also writes nothing about the important role of the bomber force immediately after the war in carring food to the Dutch and brining POW's back home, not to mention the pilot and crews who later helped in the Berlin Airlift etc. Leaves one with a sense of how AWEFUL such a total war was, yet knocks out the central argument that Bombers can win wars by bombing alone, but without any reference to japan where the argument was sadly decisive. As for technical details, errors concern aircraft types and capabilities abound, also effecting some of the reasoning (Stirlings were later invaluable as glider tugs for example, and the data for the Lancaster in the spec. in the appendix is full of errors too). It is certainly, however, the best book I know to show how Bomber harris let everyone down with his tunnel vision and distance from the battle front. most of all he swerved his aircrews very badly indeed.

History brought to life, 16 Dec 2004
This a truly excellent book written by a man with that rare combination of historian and writer. So many historians just cannot bring a story to life but Max Hastings is an exception. I found the book m