- Hardcover: 448 pages
- Publisher: Abacus (Little, Brown); Reprint edition (26 Aug 2010)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0316727237
- ISBN-13: 978-0316727235
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.2 x 4.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 259,813 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
'Compelling . . . an extremely important book' --Michael Burleigh
'Exceptional' --Andrew Roberts, Mail On Sunday
'A meticulous account of the emergence of the SS from its origins as Hitler's protection squad to the huge, ungainly beast that it became . . . Adrian Weale has got stuck into the archives. As a result, there are many gems' --Guy Walters, Literary Review
'Exceptional' --Andrew Roberts, Mail On Sunday
'A meticulous account of the emergence of the SS from its origins as Hitler's protection squad to the huge, ungainly beast that it became . . . Adrian Weale has got stuck into the archives. As a result, there are many gems' --Guy Walters, Literary Review
Review
'Weale's style is spare and compelling. He deftly evokes the various personalities involved in a paramilitary army which shrouded itself in bureaucratic acronyms ... This is an extremely important book which I recommend most highly' Michael Burleigh, author of MORAL COMBAT 'In this landmark history, Adrian Weale deftly charts the development of the SS from its origins as a personal entourage to a weapon of genocide ... This is a major achievement by a historian at the top of his game, and deserves a lasting place on the bookshelves of all those interested in the Third Reich' Guy Walters, author of HUNTING EVIL and BERLIN GAMES
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a straightforward, unsensational and fast moving book, perhaps reflecting the journalistic background of the author. Weale relates the history of the SS from its beginnings to the final debacle and death of Himmler. The complicated growth and constant reorganisation of the SS and its deployment into General-SS, Waffen-SS and various other units including the Deaths Head concentration camp sections is dealt with very well. The author punctures a number of modern myths on the way by showing that many of the Waffen-SS units were far from 'elite' and that the recruitment of only those considered to be the best Aryan stock was much compromised as the war progressed. It might also come as a surprise to film buffs that the Waffen-SS did not wear their black uniforms in combat but adopted the regular Wehrmacht uniform when fighting. This is not a military history and Weale correctly avoids detailing the combat record of the Waffen-SS. Of necessity the book deals with the extermination camps in Eastern Poland, the so-called 'Operation Reinhard', and also the construction and operation of Auschwitz, however, much of this will be familiar to readers of the history of the Third Reich or the Holocaust. Perhaps the weakest chapter in the book is that dealing with the recruitment of non-German men into the SS; a chapter entitled 'Making Up The Numbers'. The author indulges himself in relating extensive histories of quite insignificant characters when the whole subject could have been dispensed with in a paragraph or two. The flyleaf indicates that the book contains recently released intelligence material, however, a browse through the notes shows that overwhelmingly the sources of information are secondary and quote books that will be familiar to many readers of Third Reich history. A table of SS equivalent military ranks is useful, however, an organisation diagram of the developed SS would have also been helpful. No key is given to the primary sources in the notes so we are presented with meaningless initials as references. In summary, an accessible and well written comprehensive history of the SS.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a well-written book, which would be of interest to someone new to the in SS matters. However it purports to be a new history of the SS, but there is little in here that is not to be found on other books on the Third Reich & the atrocities it perpetrated. The author also appears hazy on a number of dates, which differ from those given by experts in the field.
The author has presented his information breaking it into different departments of the SS, which necessitates jumping around chronologically. This can be a mite confusing, especially when it happens within a chapter - one minute we are in 1939 & suddenly we are whisked back to 1936. The mini essays on minor characters are unneccessary. Where Mr Weale does give us items of relevance e.g Felix Steiner's homosexuality, he fails to tie this in to the rabid homophobe ethos of the SS, where being a homosexual meant death.
Buy this book if you have a general interest in the period, but if you want something more than that try some of the books in Mr Weale's bibliography
The author has presented his information breaking it into different departments of the SS, which necessitates jumping around chronologically. This can be a mite confusing, especially when it happens within a chapter - one minute we are in 1939 & suddenly we are whisked back to 1936. The mini essays on minor characters are unneccessary. Where Mr Weale does give us items of relevance e.g Felix Steiner's homosexuality, he fails to tie this in to the rabid homophobe ethos of the SS, where being a homosexual meant death.
Buy this book if you have a general interest in the period, but if you want something more than that try some of the books in Mr Weale's bibliography
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A solid effort this. Tells the story competently enough, but it is a bit predictable and doesn't cover the important aspects - like the SS ecomonic empire - that modern scholarship tends to emphasize.
Also, the author's sources are almost all english-language and secondary material - there is alot in german on this which would have made for a much more important and comprehensive book.
So, all in all, a bit of a missed opportunity. If you know nothing about the SS then it is fine. But bear in mind that there is more to the story than this.
Also, the author's sources are almost all english-language and secondary material - there is alot in german on this which would have made for a much more important and comprehensive book.
So, all in all, a bit of a missed opportunity. If you know nothing about the SS then it is fine. But bear in mind that there is more to the story than this.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
very good if you only ever read one book on the SS
if you want, or intend to read only one book on the SS then this is for you. If you dont intend to do this then there are better books with more analysis out there. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mr. Pj Williams
Falls short of expectations
I bought this book because, although it was intended for the general reader, Michael Burgleigh called it 'an extremely important book' and Andrew Roberts called it 'exceptional'. Read more
Published 3 months ago by J. A. Hoogenboezem
Excellent
I had always thought I had a reasonable understanding of the SS. As Weale's well paced, well-written and very comprehensive look at this extraordinary organisation unfolded, it... Read more
Published 17 months ago by piers h
Just about adequate
In short, a reasonable rehash of existing secondary sources and a familiar history if you recall Reitlinger and Hohne's earlier, more ground breaking efforts at introducing this... Read more
Published 18 months ago by valentinianIII
The Horror
This ranks alongside Hohne's 'The Order Of The Death's Head' as the definitive account of the rise and fall of the SS. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Mr. Warren M. Fisher
Listmania!
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