'As an Englishman writing about a German destiny for a non-German public, Milton avoids the pitfalls. Instead he renders a service to his father-in-law's generation by reminding readers about the sheer physical, mental and spiritual effect it took to stay true to oneself in a vicious regime.'
(
The Times)
'idiosyncratic and utterly fascinating'
(
Mail on Sunday)
'a truly remarkable story . . . a tour de force.'
(Miranda Seymour)
'a compelling account of 20th-century darkness.'
(
Sun Herald)
'Giles Milton is one of our most engaging writers of non-fiction. In Wolfram, he writes with deceptive simplicity, matching his effortless style with a fascinating subject to create a page-turning and thought-provoking book.'
(Victoria Hislop)
'a remarkable narrative of [Wolfram] Aichele's life during the Nazi regime, written by his son-in-law Giles Milton.'
(
Irish Times)
'Engrossing . . . Milton's book celebrates the heroism of individuals who put lives before ideologies' (
Independent)
'as a portrait of how these civilised individuals were able to survive, this is invaluable.'
(
Daily Express)
'Besides being moving and readable, Milton's social history provides a sympathetic counterbalance to the idea that all wartime Germans were "Hitler's willing executioners".'
(
Mail on Sunday 2011-02-20)
'a delight to read.'
(www.thebookbag.co.uk 2011-02-20)
'Milton's book is no apology for the Third Reich - rather it is the very human, horrifying story of an ordinary German boy and his family of free-thinking artists, none of whom supported Hitler's politics and all of whom suffered great hardships.'
(
Saga 2011-02-20)
'Giles Milton looks deeper into family history with Wolfram, the story of his father-in-law's childhood under the Third Reich.'
(
Hobart Mercury 2011-02-20)
'Milton's writing, too, is first-rate. Engaging, poignant and vivid, he wrings just the right amount of pathos from his story, and shifts seamlessly between the varying "voices" of his narrative. . . . a very valid and interesting book'
(
BBC History Magazine 2011-02-20)
'idiosyncratic and utterly fascinating'
(
Mail on Sunday 2011-02-20)
'. . . the story of the Aichele family reveals an undercurrent of passive resistance that existed among ordinary Germans. . . . In considering what Germans went through during the war, Milton's book shows that our understanding should not be so clear cut. . . . Milton's close analysis of the experiences of Germans demonstrates that they too could be victims of the war.'
(
Spectator 2011-02-20)
'Nazi Germany becomes three-dimensional in Giles Milton's touching study of a boy from a decent family which practised its own form of passive resistance.'
(
Sunday Telegraph 2011-02-20)
'affectionate account'
(
Times Literary Supplement 2011-02-20)
'a valuable record of what it was like to be sucked into war, and a vivid evocation of the fear and bewilderment of living in the Third Reich.'
(
The Guardian 2011-02-20)
