- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Fourth Estate; (Reissue) edition (4 Sep 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1841153079
- ISBN-13: 978-1841153070
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.4 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
-
Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
71,976 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4 in Books > History > World History > World War II 1939-1945 > Historical Figures > Heinrich Himmler
- #58 in Books > Biography > Political > Countries & Regions > Germany
- #63 in Books > History > World History > World War II 1939-1945 > Countries > Europe
| |||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Hugh Thomas paints a vivid picture of the Nuremberg trial of the leading Nazis. The court's heating system had not been repaired by the time it started its sessions, in the winter of 1945-1946. As a consequence, learned lawyers traipsed the aisles in ski boots, and one of the British counsel for the prosecution, Anthony Marecco, wore mittens as well as two pairs of tights. It is this kind of detail that brings history to life. However, most of this book about that most monstrous of the Nazis, Heinrich Himmler, is inevitably short of amusing details. It is a grim read but a fascinating one. The key question that Hugh Thomas asks from the outset, is how could an inveterate plotter and schemer, an evil intelligence, an organisational genius like Himmler, allow himself to be captured so easily by the Allies at the end of the war? Was it really Himmler who was captured? Was it really him who took the poison capsule to evade questioning, and was later buried in mysterious secrecy on the Luneberg Heath? Among the first doubters of the official account of Himmler's death and interment was one Kim Philby--it makes for a dark and compelling read. Thomas' previous works include Hess; A Tale of Two Murders, which led to a six-month enquiry by Scotland Yard and the immediate suppression of its concluding report. This new book is likely to stir up a similar hornet's nest. It would be unfair to give away Thomas' conclusion, but given the facts, one is left wondering uncomfortably about the truth of the affair. Why all the secrecy? There is "a hundred-year ban on material relating to Himmler's death, an absence of post-mortem evidence, a paltry identification procedure, unacceptable photographic evidence, and inconsistent and occasionally false accounts of his death." It all adds up to a mystery as dark as anything in the dark annals of the Nazi years. --Christopher Hart
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'With elegant argument and meticulous research, Thomas has produced the non-fiction equivalent of a Robert Harris or Frederick Forsyth novel.' Roger Hutchinson, Scotsman
'Thomas has a scalpel-sharp eye for detail. The central thesis – and the evidence for it is vivid – is that Himmler was attempting to set up a Fourth Reich outside the boundaries of Hitler's Germany. Compelling.' Jonathan Glancey, Guardian
'Ever since 1945, the world has believed that Heinrich Himmler evaded his just deserts by committing suicide when he fell into British hands shortly after the end of the Second World War. The Allies would have liked to put him on trial alongside Göring and the other major war criminals. Himmler, the greatest mass murderer of all time, cheated the hangman. But was it really Himmler?' Mail on Sunday
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I like a good conspiracy theory ... but this book takes it a bit too far. What the author basically does is throw lots of facts at the reader, which (in the author's opinion) seem to point at something dodgy going on in Germany in 1945. The essence is: Himmler wasn't the man who committed suicide when captured by British troops, it was a "Doppelgaenger".
So far, so good - unfortunately some of the most basic facts seem to go haywire, for instance the Munich "Putsch" is misdated. Unfortunately too, a lot of the "facts" seem to be mere impressions. Himmler's nose for instance is made a central indicator for the "Doppelgaenger"-theory, but the author fails to convince me at least that the nose in the photo of the dead Himmler is not the nose in the Party photo. So one by one we are left with few irrefutable facts ... and these do not make a valid base for the wild assumption that Himmler escaped.
The book is inaccurate, mostly based on wild speculation and aimed at the "Last Secrets of the Reich"-readership, which seems to be obsessed with "surviving" Nazis.
Disappointing at least!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A disappointing effort from Hugh Thomas, following his keenly argued past work. The research is undoubtedly thorough in several respects, but Mr. Thomas seems unwilling to go the extra mile and tell us what he thinks really happened to Himmler... The book thus ends prematurely with a chapter seemingly missing.
Disappointing.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Hugh Thomas attempts to create a mystery where there is none ,a conspiracy where there is none and a book when there shouldent be one. As in his previous book "Hess" he chooses to ignore all the concrete evidence and bases his book on the most ridiculous of theories that a man was found nearing the end of the war who was the exact double of Himmler whom he managed to convince to kill himself on capture.A man who happened to be under arrest at the time for defeatism,wow what a patriotic candidate for self sacrifice, i could go on but it would be as pointless as the book,bizarre theories and badly written this book has been written for sensationalism and bares no relation to historical fact...
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Was this review helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Himmlerism
Compelling story from Hugfh Thomas that leaves the reader dwelling on the word 'unlikely' in the title. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Mr. Paul Leader
Compulsory reading for all researchers.
As an academic myself, whose special subject is the secret financial accords during the 2nd World War, I am staggered at this book's depth. Read more
Published on 9 Mar 2001
A compulsive read - the evidence is utterly convincing!
One starts this book with disbelief and sceptisism, but when it comes, the effect of the final evidence is totally numbing. Read more
Published on 7 Mar 2001
The subject shouldn't be enthralling - but it is !
This book gives us hard concrete facts about grave doubts concerning the identity of the corpse buried as Himmler. Read more
Published on 20 Feb 2001
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Biography > Historical > Countries & Regions > Europe
- Books > Biography > Historical > Countries & Regions > Germany
- Books > Biography > Political > Countries & Regions > Europe
- Books > Biography > Political > Countries & Regions > Germany
- Books > Biography > War & Espionage > World War II
- Books > History > Europe > Germany
- Books > History > Military History
- Books > History > World History > World War II 1939-1945 > Battles & Campaigns
- Books > History > World History > World War II 1939-1945 > Biographies & Memoirs
- Books > History > World History > World War II 1939-1945 > Countries > Europe
- Books > History > World History > World War II 1939-1945 > Historical Figures > Heinrich Himmler
- Books > History > World History > World War II 1939-1945 > Origins
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
