Berlin Diaries, 1940-1945

Rating:
Summary: Living History
Review: This is the best history book I have ever read. Exciting and almost too real, you are, indeed, there.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Primer
Review: While many readers may become fascinated with the book simply because of the author's pedigree, Vassiltchikov unwittingly opens the door of curiosity. Portraying life in wartime Germany as seemingly footloose and carefree (parties at the Adlon Hotel during bombings, for example; or, to even have parties at all with the desperate situation of many around them) gives an astonishing first-hand account of how the "privileged" class viewed and lived the war. Certainly, this is a very interesting read. Quite fast, as a matter of fact. Moreover, the seeds of the nobility resisting Nazism and attendant ideology come through in the diary, but not completely. Many questions begged to be answered after reading this account. How did the nobility react to the rise of Hitler? Why were they not successful in mounting a successful resistance? What did these people believe, fundamentally? Overall, this is a good book. However, it would be well served, that in attempting to understand this period, to follow-up with equally good treatments of nobility prior to and during World War II. Any suggestions?

Rating:
Summary: A Must Read for these Times
Review: With the events of the past few weeks fresh in our minds and the American military mobilizing as we speak, I wish more people would read this book. Although the book does deal with some larger themes, the most poignant part for me was the description of day to day life in a world at war. It's too easy to romanticize the hunger, struggle and fear from a distance. We need records such as these so that we don't forget about the indignity and squalor that war rains down on humanity.