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Richard J. Evans
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Lying About Hitler: History, Holocaust, and the David Irving Trial Hardcover – 1 Mar. 2001

by Richard J. Evans (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 69 ratings
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A Cambridge University professor explores the David Irving/Deborah Lipstadt libel case in detail and asks important questions about ôobjectiveö history and the role of historians in interpreting the past.
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  1. Print length
    318 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Basic Books
  4. Publication date
    1 Mar. 2001
  5. Dimensions
    15.88 x 3.18 x 23.5 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    0465021522
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0465021529
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Basic Books; First Edition (1 Mar. 2001)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 318 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0465021522
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0465021529
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.88 x 3.18 x 23.5 cm
  • Customer reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 69 ratings

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Richard J. Evans

Richard J. Evans

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
69 global ratings

Top reviews from United Kingdom

Richard Ellis
5.0 out of 5 stars The discipline of history - an object lesson
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 July 2017
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This book is an object lesson in the study and discipline of history, as well as being about the research which informed the defence’s case in the “David Irving trial”. I’d already seen the film “Denial”, about Irving v. Lipstadt and Penguin Books, and read Deborah Lipstadt’s book about the case. In the trial, of course, the defence strategy was to not put Lipstadt herself into the witness box, but to make the case one about David Irving the historian. Professor Richard J Evans, as the defence’s lead expert witness, is something of a cameo role in the film, but of course it was the work of him and his team, in the two years before the trial, which made victory in court possible. This is the story of that work.
Their method was to examine Irving’s use of sources in his writings about Hitler and the Holocaust, and to take another topic not related to the Holocaust – the bombing of Dresden – to see if Irving’s misuse of sources applied there too. What follows is a cool-headed and utterly absorbing forensic dissection of Irving’s work. Much of this is work which Lipstadt herself was not equipped academically to do, either as a historian or because not a few points hinged on minutiae of German translation. As Evans says, “She had never written about German history, and had never been in a German archive. Indeed, as far as I could tell, she did not even read German”.
There are some excellent reviews already here, which I won’t add to beyond saying it is an enthralling and eminently satisfying read. Ironies abound. If Irving had not sued Lipstadt and Penguin (and it was that way round, a point which escaped some of the commentators at the time), his work and reputation would not have been subjected to the scrutiny that resulted. The impact of her original book “Denying the Holocaust”, at which Irving took such offence, was probably considerably less than that of the trial, and this book.
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5.0 out of 5 stars The story of the libel case is well known and told better elsewhere. This book's value is the brilliant insight ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 June 2017
This is essential reading for anyone with even a passing interest in history. The story of the libel case is well known and told better elsewhere. This book's value is the brilliant insight it offers into the role of an expert historical witness at trial. David Irving's reputation was built on his supposed skill as a scholar, with unrivaled ability to uncover new insights in German archives and a courageous willingness to argue the unpalatable. Evans's forensic examination of David Irving's work reveals him to be a persistent falsifier and distorter of history. Irving's professional skill has been shown to be both defective and fraudulent, rendering his life's work meaningless. He fell foul of his own personal convictions and bend history to his worldview. As such, this book is both a lesson for every historian about the importance of objective historical analysis, and a warning about the perils of becoming too emotionally attached to your subject.
9 people found this helpful
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N. J. Mazonowicz
5.0 out of 5 stars The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 April 2004
"You know that David Irving? He's completely made up. He didn't happen at all". So said Stephen Fry.
In April 2000, David Irving took the author Deborah Lipstadt to court over allegations that he had systematically distorted evidence to fit in with his own ideas of holocaust denial. Evans was expert witness for the defence and in this utterly fascinating book, he shows us step by step how he was able to prove that David Irving did systematically distort the evidence. He also explores how the trial was able to turn from a mere libel case into something bigger; a trial which was seen as putting not only the Holocaust on trial, but even accepted notions of truth and falsehood.
Before this book, David Irving had a (slightly tarnished) reputation as a controversial but diligent researcher with an astonishing grasp of primary material. The picture of Irving that emerges from this book is that of an increasingly deranged demagogue; constantly interupting witnesses in his interogations, spending time trying to show the anti-semitism of 19th century writers in a startling display of irrelevance and addressing the judge as 'Mein Fuhrer'. However, a particularly strange atmosphere surrounding this trial; at times it seemed like it was Irving himself who was on trial; portraying himself (and being portrayed in some quarters) as fearlessly resisting the might of the Jewish-Zionist lobby attempting to supress him (as if it was Lipstadt who had launched the libel suit), a factor which Evans captures well.
In his examination of the evidence in this book, Evans limits himself to a few key case studies; which may be fustrating to the casual reader wanting more, nevertheless this is an utterly fascinating account of an untterly fascinating case.
37 people found this helpful
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Stevo
1.0 out of 5 stars Rambling and Unsubstantial
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 January 2023
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Clearly this just a cash-grab book - using 'Hitler' in the title to sell a few more copies - when this is actually nothing more than an abridged version of the anti-David Irving report that Richard J. Evans wrote for the Lipstadt libel trial.

A lot of the claims in this book don't actually do what Evans seems to think that they do and its rambling narrative makes this a hard book to read. Proper historians should concentrate on historical events and not get side-tracked in to making self-righteous attacks on other historians just to sell a few books.

Ultimately "Lying About Hitler" is Richard J. Evans trying to put a case that he is cleverer than David Irving... when clearly he isn't! (As anyone who wants to be objective and take the time to do their own research will discover.)
9 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
1.0 out of 5 stars Not to be touched
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 June 2023
Marxist polemics... Unreliable. Bitter nasty work
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D. Billington
1.0 out of 5 stars Evans is not fit to tie Irving's jack boot laces
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 August 2014
The fact that Evans relies here on a series of tedious, sanctimonious, ramblings and petty personal attacks, whilst at the same time failing to even tackle, let alone refute, the many reasonable and valid arguments Irving has articulated, both in the courtroom and in a series of books over the last 35 some years, about this curious period in our modern history, says it all...

I begrudgingly give it 1 star and suggest readers go watch a wall of paint dry for a more rewarding experience.

Or, if you want to read something from a real historian, you could try one of Irving's books?
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Top reviews from other countries

Allan Brain
4.0 out of 5 stars Captivating story of History and Truth on trial
Reviewed in the United States on 6 September 2001
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Professor Evans was one of the expert witnesses in one of the most important trials in history--the libel case brought by David Irving against Penguin Books. Irving claimed that Penguin, by publishing a book critical of Irving's methods and motives in books about WWII and Nazi Germany, had damaged his reputation.
This book is a compelling account of Evans' role in showing that so-called "historian" David Irving had been manipulating, mischaracterizing, and misusing historical evidence for virtually his entire career of writing about the Second World War and Nazi Germany. And Evans is devasatingly convincing in showing just what really went on in the trial, as well as how widely the trial itself and Irving's work were misunderstood by even intelligent and sophisticated commentators in the world press (some of whom thought that Irving was being somehow prosecuted for his creativity or unpopular views).
Evans' book is eminently readable, well organized, and powerful without being polemical. At the very beginning, he warns the reader that the Irving case was about more than Irving's contention that he had been libeled by being labeled a "Holocaust denier" among other things by Penguin's author Deborah Lipstadt. That is really important and seems to be Evans' larger purpose: to show that there really are some historical "truths" and that the tendency in social sciences to dismiss objective truth and to excuse wild theories by citing the preconceptions or political beliefs of the historian in question is dangerous.
Among the book's strengths are the evident sincerity of the author and his ability to describe how Irving's deception worked and fooled so many people, from professionals to laymen.
Evans is excellent in portraying how historical research is done, what standards are expected of serious historians, and how Irving's work did not meet those standards. He is also convincing in demonstrating Irving's apparent racism and anti-semitism, and he is also subtle in explaining partly the motivations of "Holocaust deniers", though doing so fully would be outside the scope of this book.
I found few weaknesses, one being the inconsistency sometimes in explanations of detail. (For example, a brief explanation in Chapter 2 of what the Nazi party tribunals that reviewed events of November 1938, so-called "Kristallnacht", were doing would be more important than identifying the proper pronunciation of one proper name in a later chapter). Another weakness is the all-too-common failure to include illustrations. It is frustrating to read descriptions of documents, or in the case of Irving, physical appearance, and not be able to see a few photographs that are surely readily available from press accounts.
But those are minor complaints (and the book publishers are apparently cutting costs like everyone else). The most important theme of the book is how this case shows that there really are truths in historical analysis, and that historians should not shrink from taking on those who would question such truths as the overwhelming evidence of the mass and systematic destruction of Jews and other minorities in Nazi Germany. Historians themselves can be dangerous actors in human history if people like Evans and Penguin do not take courageous stands as they did here.
All in all, wonderfully concise and a great read.
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stkevin
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book. I am a student of WW II ...
Reviewed in the United States on 21 August 2014
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Excellent book. I am a student of WW II History and came across this book when I was contemplating buying "Hitler's War" by David Irving. The "new" light in which Irving's meticulous research portrayed Hitler troubled me and yet intrigued me. Irving seemed to be viewed with some respect in academic circles because he was one of the first, and certainly the most authoritative, experts on Hitler in the world. A great deal of World War II History has been re-written in the last 20 years by scholars who have rolled up their sleeves, done the meticulous and boring research, and taken the time to hunt down peripheral sources, etc. According to the reviews on Amazon, Irving seemed to have done exactly this regarding Hitler. The result appeared to be a slightly more sympathetic view of Hitler, and a very negative view of his generals. There were just enough negative reviews of Irving's book to cause me to wonder. Also, many of the "comments" left by Irving supporters on these negative reviews were "hate" comments that clearly held Hitler in esteem. Then I came across this book. An American professor had accused Irving of being a Holocaust denier. A very serious charge to be leveled against a respected historian who had a reputation of meticulous and painstaking research. Irving sued. Evan's book is about that lawsuit. Evans was hired by the woman's defense team to engage in the distinctly unglamorous and tedious job of reading Irving's secondary source materials, many of them in German, to see if Irving was accurate in his research. What Evans found was astounding. Irving had repeatedly lied and misquoted many of his alleged "sources". It was clear that Irving was a closet Hitler sympathizer and that he had slanted his research. The more Evans researched, the more Irving's reputation unravelled. The book is a very good read. If you want to find out what happened in the trial, read the Book.
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Richard Jackson
3.0 out of 5 stars Lying About Hilter
Reviewed in the United States on 29 October 2012
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As a person with an undergradate degree in Political Science and a strong life long interest in WWII as well as someone very impressed by David Irving work, I was very interested in reading this book as well. Yes, I too wished David Irving had used more footnotes, but I got the Hilter's War edition that had left them out. His original edition had included them. I am interested not only in the Holocaust but also in the whole story of WWII from all sides. I grew up in America hearing only the American Veteran story that really covered up alot of mistakes made by the Allies as well. I thought Dr. Evans ended up making some of the same mistakes David Irving made, and after reading, "Lies My Teacher Told Me" by Dr. James Loewen, almost all historians end up distorting the facts and finding the Truth is not easy to do sometimes. All in all, it was an interesting book, but in the end I still like David Irving's work and I can overlook some of his mistakes as well. Dr. Evans ended up making some distortions of the "Truth" as well.
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Arnold Howard
5.0 out of 5 stars A courtroom drama for history buffs
Reviewed in the United States on 4 March 2016
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Interesting lessons for historians or anyone interested in learning how propaganda is created. Find out how easily history can be twisted and rewritten.
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Vince Rabil
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on 20 March 2017
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Great summary of the main evidence against David Irving in the libel trial against Deborah LIpstadt.
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