Download the Popular Authors Audiobooks in History, 20th Century

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Title: African Kaiser

Subtitle: General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck and the Great War in Africa, 1914-1918

Author: Robert Gaudi

Narrator: Paul Hodgson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 18 hrs and 7 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-31-17

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 349 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

The incredible true account of General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck and his exploits in World War I Africa with the legendary "Schutztruppe".

As World War I ravaged the European continent, a completely different theater of war was being contested in Africa. And from this very different kind of war, there emerged a very different kind of military leader....

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the continent of Africa was a hotbed of international trade, colonialism, and political gamesmanship. So when World War I broke out, the European powers were forced to contend with each other not just in the bloody trenches - but in the treacherous jungle. And it was in that unforgiving land that General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck would make history.

With the now legendary "Schutztruppe" (Defensive Force), von Lettow-Vorbeck and a small cadre of hardened German officers fought alongside their fanatically devoted native African allies as equals, creating the first truly integrated army of the modern age.

African Kaiser is the almost-forgotten true account of Wiemar Germany's military escapades on the dark continent. A story of 1,000-mile marches through the harshest landscapes; of German officers riding bicycles into battle through the bush; of battleships hidden in jungle rivers teeming with crocodiles; of improbable Zeppelin voyages; of desperate men living off hippo lard and facing dangers in both man and nature. But mostly it is the story of von Lettow-Vorbeck - the only undefeated German commmander in the field during World War I, and the last to surrender his arms in final defeat.

Members Reviews:

Well Written, Well Read, Well Done!

General - 'African Kaiser' provided copious amounts of information on a part of World War One I knew little about and a person I knew nothing about. It has a wealth of interesting information about the colonial conflict in Africa and it was told in a very engaging style.

Content Robert Gaudi set good background information; first about the history of airships used in the war, then about the conditions the troops faced, in particular the entomology in the area, then about the colonial subjugation of Africa, and finally, about the early life of Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck. All of this was done without getting too deep into the weeds like some authors tend to do with books like this. The book evoked some emotions, primarily that creepy-crawly feeling down the back when the narrator described some of the bugs, diseases and depravations the troops on both sides suffered during their time in the bush. For the most part this book held my interest to a point where I didnt want to stop listening. Overall, the book read like a very good novel; being part romance, part war, and part spy-thriller. I dont mean to make light of this horrific time in human history by saying that, Im simply trying express the feel the book had for me. I made five bookmarks with notes for future reference that, for me, is always a barometer of a really good book.

Length This book did not seem like it was 18-plus hours in length. I believe the length was perfect for the subject matter. I finished the book in 12-days, which may seem a long time, but aside from having to work fulltime I was also listening to six books simultaneously. Of those books, this was my go-to every day until I finished it.

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Title: Three Days in January

Subtitle: Dwight Eisenhower's Final Mission

Author: Bret Baier, Catherine Whitney

Narrator: Danny Campbell, Bret Baier

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-10-17

Publisher: HarperAudio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 499 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

In this debut history from one of America's most influential political journalists, Bret Baier casts the three days between Dwight Eisenhower's prophetic "farewell address" on the evening of January 17, 1961, and his successor John F. Kennedy's inauguration on the afternoon of January 20 as the final mission of one of modern America's greatest leaders.

As president, the former supreme commander of Allied forces during World War II successfully guided the country out of war in Korea, through the apocalyptic threat of nuclear war with Russia, and into one of the greatest economic booms in world history. In this last address to the nation, Eisenhower looked to the future, warning Americans against the dangers of elevating partisanship above national interest, excessive government budgets (particularly deficit spending), the expansion of the military-industrial complex, and the creeping political power of special interests. Baier explores the many ways these visionary words continue to resonate today; he also explains how Ike embodied the qualities of political leadership that the country is urgently hungering for at the present.

Seeking to prepare a new generation for power, Eisenhower intensely advised the 43-year-old Kennedy in the intervening time between the speech and the inauguration. Dwight Eisenhower left the public stage at the end of these three days in January 1961 having done more than perhaps any other modern American to set the nation "on our charted course toward permanent peace and human betterment". Despite their differences in party affiliation, President Kennedy would continue to seek his predecessor's advice and counsel during his time in office. Five decades later Baier's Three Days in January illuminates how Eisenhower, an underappreciated giant of US history, still offers vital lessons for our own time.

Members Reviews:

Stimulating

The author puffed out the book with a brief biography of Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy. Also included was Eisenhowers farewell address. Ike stressed the critical need for bipartisanship and balance in all governmental and foreign affairs. The complete speech is in the appendix of the book. I found the speech most interesting considering all that has happened since it was given.

When Ike took office, the relationship between Truman and Ike was strained. According to the author, Ike wanted to help the new presidents transition into office, as he apparently admired John F. Kennedy. Baier tells about the last three days in office where Ike attempted to prepare JFK for the current and ongoing problems he would be facing as president. Ike warned JFK about the military industrial complex, and the enormous federal funding that needed to be restrained. I found this part of the book quite interesting. I wish the author had gone more in depth about the discussions between Ike and JFK. I realize that there may be a limited amount of information available.

I was most disappointed in the rest of the book because of the numerous factual errors, particularly in the biographical sketch of Eisenhower and about WWII. Most books have one of two minor errors, but this book goes beyond that. I dont know whether it was due to sloppy editing or sloppy research.

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Title: Mein Kampf: A New Translation for American Readers

Author: Adolf Hitler, Stephen R. Pastore - editor, Jack Sterling - translator

Narrator: Jack Wynters

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 hrs and 17 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-07-16

Publisher: Grand Oak Rare Books Inc

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 30 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

This famous essay/work now has an all-new translation for American readers and listeners, with introductions by both the translator and editor. They discuss the influence of the title for the past several decades and how it affects the world today.

Members Reviews:

okay

worth reading once.. hitler is quite a talent when it comes to convincing.

.... ..

Great Performance

Mien Kampf is a book I had studied in my 20s and, since the hysteria following Trump's election with everyone getting called "Literally Hitler", I thought I would revisit it. I am glad I did. I didn't understand it as a 20 year old, however since I had read it I thought I had. As a work of Literature it is what it is. It is a glimpse into history. What really impressed me was the matter of fact narrative style Jack Wynters brings to it. It is perfect. The temptation to insert one's self into the performance was there. Jack didn't. It is a very professional read.

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Title: The Vanquished

Subtitle: Why the First World War Failed to End

Author: Robert Gerwarth

Narrator: Michael Page

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-15-16

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 95 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

In The Vanquished, a highly original and gripping work of history, Robert Gerwarth asks us to think again about the true legacy of the First World War. In large part it was not the fighting on the Western Front that proved so ruinous to Europe's future but the devastating aftermath, as countries on both sides of the original conflict were savaged by revolutions, pogroms, mass expulsions, and further major military clashes. If the war itself had in most places been a struggle mainly between state-backed soldiers, these new conflicts were predominantly perpetrated by civilians and paramilitaries and driven by a murderous sense of injustice projected onto enemies real and imaginary. In the years immediately after the armistice, millions would die across central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe before the Soviet Union and a series of rickety and exhausted small new states would come into being. It was here, in the ruins of Europe, that extreme ideologies such as fascism would take shape.

As absorbing in its drama as it is unsettling in its analysis, The Vanquished is destined to transform our understanding of not just the First World War but the 20th century as a whole.

Critic Reviews:

"Gerwarth's fascinating and finely crafted book is a rich combination of military, political, cultural and social history...an impressive work of highly accessible scholarship." (The Irish Times)

Members Reviews:

little-known period following WWI is illuminated

great, detailed, and thorough book re Eastern and Central Europe and its revolutions and wars

Very interesting

I found this book really thought provoking . It lays out the case that world war 1 never really ended and just paused before war broke out once again. The world is still dealing the the effects of this conflict

For those who would know

An interesting, of not un-biased, account of the unrest, suffering, and pain of inter-war Europe.

Vanquished - will there ever be unity?

It was a very informative book about how politically fractured, especially, white Europe was and caused the countries they've touched since WWI to be. It gave great detail to how Russia, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire fought and failed to retain their borders or increase their borders and peoples. But I do not understand why the author refused to write the word Istanbul, though he referred to other cities by their several names.. curious. Kept calling it Constantinople... but it hasn't been that since the 15th century ?!

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Title: Guadalcanal Diary

Subtitle: 2nd Edition

Author: Richard Tregaskis

Narrator: Pete Cross

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-27-16

Publisher: Dreamscape Media, LLC

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 65 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

This celebrated classic gives a soldier's-eye-view of the Guadalcanal battles; crucial to World War II, the war that continues to fascinate us all. Unlike some of those on Guadalcanal in the fall of 1942, Richard Tregaskis volunteered to be there. One of only two on-location news correspondents, he lived alongside the soldiers: sleeping on the ground - only to be awoken by air raids - eating meager rations, and braving some of the most dangerous battlefields of World War II. He more than once narrowly escaped the enemy's fire, and so we have this incisive and exciting inside account of the groundbreaking initial landing of US troops on Guadalcanal. This second edition features a new introduction by Mark Bowden, renowned journalist and author of Black Hawk Down.

Members Reviews:

WOW, GREAT TRUTH FOR THOSE POOR BOY'S

If you could sum up Guadalcanal Diary in three words, what would they be?

WOW!!!

What other book might you compare Guadalcanal Diary to and why?

HELMET FOR MY PILLOW

Have you listened to any of Pete Crosss other performances before? How does this one compare?

NO BUT IT WAS WONDERFUL

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

CRY!!!

Any additional comments?

I LOVE WWII DOCUMENTARIES. IN HISTORY WE HAD 1 CHAPTER WHICH ONLY COVERED THE EUROPEAN CONFLICT! TERRIBLE, I ONLY HOPE ALL GENERATIONS WILL LEARN FROM THIS & ALL WARS.

Great first person account of the Marines on Guadalcanal

Until I encountered "Guadalcanal Diary," I had only read books about WWII in Europe. After reading Richard Tregaskis' description of what it was like for himself and for the Marines who lived and fought in the terrible terrain and wretched conditions there, I knew I had to find out more about the theater of operations where WWII began and ended for the US. Years later, it was fascinating to listen to this account of the first months on Guadalcanal in the context of greater knowledge of that aspect of the war. In my opinion, however, a different narrator would have made it even more pleasurable to listen to. Mr. Cross seemed to me to sound both too young and too detached to do justice to the people and events described in this book.

Great Story, Execution a Bit Off

If you could sum up Guadalcanal Diary in three words, what would they be?

Great first-hand account

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

I don't think so. The narrator was hard to get used to. He seems to be bored at times, especially in light of the fact that he was retelling battle scenes.

Any additional comments?

This was the first meaningful offensive ground action in the Pacific theater in WWII. I don''t believe that this was ever intended to be a comprehensive account of the campaign. I first encountered this book in the 60s while researching the campaign for a high school paper. Not everything is told in this book, but it does tell the stories of individual Marines in times of stress and distress. What Tregaskis has done is to tell the tale in a realistic, yet uplifting manner. I doubt that, even if he had wanted to, the Defense Department would have allowed the publication in 1943 of a book that shows how the chaotic "Operation Shoestring" developed from inception and the lessons to be learned from those who became expert in the difficult task of amphibious assault actually was.

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Title: Lucky 666

Subtitle: The Impossible Mission

Author: Bob Drury, Tom Clavin

Narrator: Jeremy Bobb

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-25-16

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 475 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

From the authors of the New York Times best-selling The Heart of Everything That Is and Halsey's Typhoon comes the dramatic untold story of a daredevil bomber pilot and his misfit crew who fly their lone B-17 into the teeth of the Japanese Empire in 1943, engage in the longest dogfight in history, and change the momentum of the war in the Pacific - but not without making the ultimate sacrifice.

It is 1942, the Japanese war machine has rolled up nearly all of the Pacific Theater, and American forces are clinging to what little unconquered territory remains. While US Marines claw their way across Guadalcanal, small contingents of US Army airmen make their way to the lonely, embattled Allied airbase on Papua New Guinea. Their mission: to defend Australia from invasion, harass Japanese supply lines, fly perilous bombing missions over enemy-held strongholds, and make reconnaissance runs to provide intelligence for America's nascent island-hopping campaign.

Among these men are pilot Captain Jay Zeamer and bombardier Sergeant Joseph Raymond Sarnoski, whose swashbuckling reputations precede them. Zeamer, who cannot convince his superiors to give him his own plane, teams up with Sarnoski to recruit a crew of fellow misfits to rebuild a dilapidated B-17 bomber from spare parts in the base's junkyard. They christen the plane Old 666, naming it from its tail identification numbers. In June 1943, Zeamer and Sarnoski and their crew volunteer for a 1,200 mile suicide mission into the heart of the Japanese Empire that may well change the course of the war - but that only one of the two friends will survive.

In Lucky 666, Drury and Clavin bring to vivid life one of the last great untold stories of World War II. Featuring personal letters, diaries, US Army Air Force after-action reports, even the translated Japanese Imperial Air Force's official account of the longest dogfight in history, Lucky 666 is a tale of friendship, heroism, and sacrifice set against the horrific backdrop of vicious aerial warfare, wounded crewmates, and a white-knuckle emergency landing in the jungles of New Guinea - a must-listen for anyone who loves pulse-pounding narrative nonfiction.

Members Reviews:

GOOD, BUT ALSO A LITTLE DISAPPOINTING

Any additional comments?

There is no doubt at all these gentleman were beyond brave, & still as of this day remain the flight crew who have been awarded the highest medals of any combat crew.

So why am I disappointed. Well, the righting is very good as is the narration, but the first half of the book basically outlines the history of the war in the Pacific, I felt that detracts from keeping the focus of these stunningly brave men.

After all the war in the Pacific went on for many years & involves many islands so it seems rushed to try & include the entire history of it in such a short book. The background story is relevant to the main characters stories, but would have much rather the author go into so much more depth about the combat crew as they are the heroes, & the story should be focused more on them.

It could also be that their real feat of staggering bravery is encapsulated in one single stunning mission. So maybe it was just a case of padding the book out a little by including a broad view of the war in the Pacific.

It is good, but I would recommend, "Unbreakable" or "A Higher Call".

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Title: The General vs. the President

Subtitle: MacArthur and Truman at the Brink of Nuclear War

Author: H. W. Brands

Narrator: Scott Brick

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 hrs and 22 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-11-16

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 394 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

From master storyteller and historian H. W. Brands, twice a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, comes the riveting story of how President Harry Truman and General Douglas MacArthur squared off to decide America's future in the aftermath of World War II.

At the height of the Korean War, President Harry S. Truman committed a gaffe that sent shock waves around the world. When asked by a reporter about the possible use of atomic weapons in response to China's entry into the war, Truman replied testily, "The military commander in the field will have charge of the use of the weapons, as he always has." This suggested that General Douglas MacArthur, the willful, fearless, and highly decorated commander of the American and UN forces, had his finger on the nuclear trigger. A correction quickly followed, but the damage was done; two visions for America's path forward were clearly in opposition, and one man would have to make way.

Truman was one of the most unpopular presidents in American history. Heir to a struggling economy, a ruined Europe, and increasing tension with the Soviet Union, on no issue was the path ahead clear and easy. General MacArthur, by contrast, was incredibly popular, as untouchable as any officer has ever been in America. The lessons he drew from World War II were absolute: appeasement leads to disaster, and a showdown with the Communists was inevitable - the sooner the better. In the nuclear era, when the Soviets, too, had the bomb, the specter of a catastrophic third world war lurked menacingly close on the horizon.

The contest of wills between these two titanic characters unfolds against the turbulent backdrop of a faraway war and terrors conjured at home by Joseph McCarthy. From the drama of Stalin's blockade of West Berlin to the daring landing of MacArthur's forces at Inchon to the shocking entrance of China into the war, The General vs. the President vividly evokes the making of a new American era.

Critic Reviews:

"Scott Brick's narration shines as he delivers Brands's detailed account of the ultimate battle for military control between a struggling President Truman and a rogue General MacArthur.... Thanks to the talents of narrator and author, a broad audience will find this a riveting listen that goes beyond the simple historical facts to reveal the real men who, for a brief time, controlled the fate of the world." (AudioFile)

Members Reviews:

A Vivid Dramatic Accounting

This is a great comparison study. Professor Brands is a master storyteller. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

After World War II MacArthur was extremely popular. The lessons he learned from WWII were absolute: appeasement leads to disaster, and a showdown with the communists was inevitable and as far as Douglas MacArthur was concerned the sooner the better. At the time, Truman was an unpopular president. Truman faced a struggling economy, a ruined Europe and increasing hostilities with the Soviet Union. Senator Joseph McCarthy was in full swing and he had a hostile divided Congress. Also, Truman had to deal with Stalins blockade of West Berlin with the airlift of food.

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Title: Rogue Heroes

Subtitle: The History of the SAS, Britain's Secret Special Forces Unit That Sabotaged the Nazis and Changed the Nature of War

Author: Ben Macintyre

Narrator: Ben Macintyre

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 1 min

Language: English

Release date: 10-04-16

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 475 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

The incredible untold story of WWII's greatest secret fighting force, as told by our great modern master of wartime intrigue.

Britain's Special Air Service - or SAS - was the brainchild of David Stirling, a young, gadabout aristocrat whose aimlessness in early life belied a remarkable strategic mind. Where most of his colleagues looked at a battlefield map of World War II's African theater and saw a protracted struggle with Rommel's desert forces, Stirling saw an opportunity: Given a small number of elite, well-trained men, he could parachute behind enemy lines and sabotage their airplanes and war matériel.

Paired with his constitutional opposite, the disciplined martinet Jock Lewes, Stirling assembled a revolutionary fighting force that would upend not just the balance of the war but the nature of combat itself. He faced no little resistance from those who found his tactics ungentlemanly or beyond the pale, but in the SAS' remarkable exploits facing the Nazis in Africa and then on the continent can be found the seeds of nearly all special forces units that would follow.

Bringing his keen eye for psychological detail to a riveting wartime narrative, Ben Macintyre uses his unprecedented access to SAS archives to shine a light inside a legendary unit long shrouded in secrecy. The result is not just a tremendous war story but a fascinating group portrait of men of whom history and country asked the most.

Members Reviews:

Those Who Dared, Won!

General I loved this book! So much so that I started writing this review with just over one hour left to go. I was hooked on this title halfway through the audio sample, but the rest of the book blew me away. That should be enough said, but there remain no other reviews on Audible so I'm the first and Ill touch on the high points to assist in your decision; just in case youre not hooked by the sample.

Content - You will not be disappointed by this book if you want to learn a lot about the SAS or even if you already know a lot about the SAS. This is essentially a collection of stories or actions, but they are put together seamlessly and told so well that the book reads like a good suspense novel. Very edge of the seat stuff. I learned a tremendous amount about the history of this elite unit and the writing is so good that I focused on nearly every word finishing it two days after adding it to my library. This is one of those books that you simply dont want to stop listening to. Each story is interesting on its own merits and each supported the book as a whole. The book evoked several emotions and I dare say that if youre a loyal Brit youll probably shed a tear of sorrow and of pride at some of the events told. These are stories of very brave men doing very dangerous things with full knowledge that they would be left behind if seriously wounded and tortured and executed if captured. Yet, they did it anyway. I especially liked how the author managed to inject a good bit of humor throughout the telling. Just enough to lighten the mood, but without being garish or diminishing the seriousness of the subject matter.

Length I think the length was just right. The author was able to tell the stories that needed to be told with no filler or useless rhetoric.

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Title: Hell in a Very Small Place

Subtitle: The Siege of Dien Bien Phu

Author: Bernard B. Fall

Narrator: Robertson Dean

Format: Unabridged

Length: 19 hrs and 41 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-06-16

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 115 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

Like Gettysburg, Stalingrad, Midway, and Tet, the battle at Dien Bien Phu - a strategic attack launched by France against the Vietnamese in 1954 after eight long years of war - marked a historic turning point. By the end of the 56-day siege, a determined Viet Minh guerrilla force had destroyed a large tactical French colonial army in the heart of Southeast Asia. The Vietnamese victory would not only end French occupation of Indochina and offer a sobering premonition of the US' future military defeat in the region but would also provide a new model of modern warfare in which size and sophistication didn't always dictate victory.

Before his death in Vietnam in 1967, Bernard Fall, a critically acclaimed scholar and reporter, drew upon declassified documents from the French Defense Ministry and interviews with thousands of surviving French and Vietnamese soldiers to weave a compelling account of the key battle of Dien Bien Phu. With Fall's thorough and insightful analysis, Hell in a Very Small Place has become one of the benchmarks in war reportage.

Critic Reviews:

"A thorough account of a brave, sanguinary battle that has since turned out to have immense historic importance." (

The New Yorker)

Members Reviews:

The complete story of Dien Bien Phu

Would you listen to Hell in a Very Small Place again? Why?

It's likely I'll listen to this again - it's easy to miss something in a complex history, and this one more so than others. It's hard to remember what each unit is - something that is easily remedied in print and one of the few downsides of audiobooks.

What did you like best about this story?

The battle is famous but not well-discussed in most other sources. The detailed research is excellent and the analysis generally pretty good. It's the completeness of the relating of the battle's events that really makes this book worthwhile.

Which scene was your favorite?

Since there's very little to feel good about in this history, there really isn't a "favorite scene".

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

France's Stalingrad

Any additional comments?

The book's weaknesses as an audiobook include a non-adherence to linear time. Some parts of the story are told until the end and then we're returned to a point in the battle without quite recognizing how it meshes with what we just heard. This is less a problem when reading, but in an audiobook makes it hard to follow at times.

Still, it's not nearly as dry as it could have been and one appreciates the comprehensive nature of the book.

awesome book

Very good account. I felt like I was there. the Author really brought it all together

A tragic battle deliberately blundered into

What made the experience of listening to Hell in a Very Small Place the most enjoyable?

It was a memorable debriefing of a terrible affair, full of facts and tidbits and explanations as well as telling you if a certain point isn't known for certain, or if it is just believed to have happened in a certain way.

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Title: Hitler's Hangman

Subtitle: The Life of Heydrich

Author: Robert Gerwarth

Narrator: Napoleon Ryan

Format: Unabridged

Length: 16 hrs and 14 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-30-16

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 161 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

Reinhard Heydrich is widely recognized as one of the great iconic villains of the 20th century, an appalling figure even within the context of the Nazi leadership. Chief of the Nazi Criminal Police, the SS Security Service, and the Gestapo, ruthless overlord of Nazi-occupied Bohemia and Moravia, and leading planner of the "Final Solution," Heydrich played a central role in Hitler's Germany. He shouldered a major share of responsibility for some of the worst Nazi atrocities, and up to his assassination in Prague in 1942, he was widely seen as one of the most dangerous men in Nazi Germany.

Yet Heydrich has received remarkably modest attention in the extensive literature of the Third Reich. Robert Gerwarth weaves together little-known stories of Heydrich's private life with his deeds as head of the Nazi Reich Security Main Office. Fully exploring Heydrich's progression from a privileged middle-class youth to a rapacious mass murderer, Gerwarth sheds new light on the complexity of Heydrich's adult character, his motivations, the incremental steps that led to unimaginable atrocities, and the consequences of his murderous efforts toward recreating the entire ethnic makeup of Europe.

Critic Reviews:

"This admirable biography makes plausible what actually happened and makes human what we might prefer to dismiss as monstrous." (

The Wall Street Journal)

Members Reviews:

Book=Amazing. Reader=Comically Bad

The book exceeded my expectations, but I almost had to stop and read it the old school way, from ink on paper! The reader and the edits in the audio were so poorly done, it was distracting and was possibly a dis-service to the memory of many who died under this man's tyranny. The main characters name is inserted, in about half it's appearances, as an audio clip. So the name does not match the sound of the audio around it and whilst discussing the extermination of hundreds of thousands of innocent people, Heydricks last name pops up in the nararrators voice as if he were speaking of butterflies or flowers. I have never had this experience with an audio book before.

A different perspective on the Third Reich

This is an important book for anyone interested in WWII. Robert Gerwarth is a master story-teller, skillfully documenting Heydrich's life and the influences on his development and thinking from his birth to his death. Having the lesser-known Nazi, Heydrich, as the central figure in the story brings a different perspective to this fateful era of modern history. The atrocities committed in the aftermath of Heydrich's death bring this necessarily grim book to its all-too-predictable terrible conclusion. To complement the master story-teller, Napoleon Ryan is the master narrator - perfect voice for the topic: accent, tone, pauses, voices spot-on, and he is proficient with German pronunciations (at least to my non-German ear). Few things ruin a good book so much as mangled attempts at foreign words.

Essential reading

Drawing on more recent scholarship than earlier accounts detailing the life and crimes of Reinhard Heydrich, this book is all the more terrifying a read. Heydrich has often been portrayed as arriving of arriving as Hitler's hang man fully formed.