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Rating:  Summary: An Insider's look at the Nuremberg Trials Review: A very enjoyable read and enlightening in ways that a narrative history can't be...Mr. Taylor tells it like he saw it, especially about the key people involved!
Rating:  Summary: A very interesting book Review: The author was a member of the American Prosecution staff at the International Military Tribunal that was held in Nuremberg in 1945-6 with the purpose of judging major Nazi war criminals. The book, as the subtitle states, is a personal description of the trial, including its pre-history, that is, the negotiations between the Allies in the last part of the War that resulted in the decision of constituting the IMT and helding the trials (largely an American idea) instead of some other methods of dealing with the emprisioned Nazi top leadership (such as shooting them without trial, as Churchill defended, or prosecuting them in national courts). The problems and frictions encontered in drafting the Charter of the IMT, the Indictements, and the selection of the defendants is covered in detail in the first fourth of the book. The remaining deals with the trial itself. What makes this a very interesting book is that it not only describes the public part of the trial but also the backstage, and even some developments that would probably never been known if the author had not been himself personaly involved in the works. Near the end of the trial the author was made Chief U.S. Prosecutor for the ensuing war crimes trials that took place in Nurember for the next three years. It would have be interesting to read his account of those ones.
Rating:  Summary: An Update on the Author Review: The author, Telford Taylor, died on May 23, 1998, at the age of 90. He was also the author of "Grand Inquest" (1955), which is regarded as one of the best challanges to the methods of Sen. McCarthey. In this, he traced back the history of congressional investigations to the 18th century. This "book was probably the most influential of the nine he wrote" {The Economist, May 30, 1998).
Rating:  Summary: Detailed, well balanced, well written. Review: This is quite a long book that gives a detailed exposition of the events of the initial 21 or so cases at Nuremberg. Taylor participated at a high level. He is a distinguished author and scholar. This covers not only description of the cases, but gives insights into all the main personalities present, including Goering and Jackson. It is written nearly 50 years after the event, so interesting information on what happened in the years afterward is given as well. Taylor writes well, gives his own opinions in a balanced way and does not back off from sensative issues. And they don't come much more sensative than this. Strongly recommended.
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