Rating: 
Summary: Dry Introspection
Review: The author's historical data is extremely accurate. However the story simply does not go anywhere. At worst it parrots a similiar recent novel about Hitler's neice. At best, the main character is a total bore...even if he is a victim the times, etc. Is it shocking to read that Hitler was a madman? It seems as if Nagorski arrived at the party much too late. So the author got the addresses, politics and other facts right. Next time he'd better work on telling an interesting tale with a beginning, middle and end.
Rating: 
Summary: EXCELLENT!
Review: This alternative history manages to weave fact fact and fiction without any of the awkwardness that one might expect of such an effort. The story line is engaging and would stand on its own, but the addition of historical reality adds weight to the book by forcing the reader to contemplate the "inevitability" of history that some would have us accept. I was given this book by a friend and now plan to share it with others.
Rating:
Summary: LOVED IT, LOVED IT, LOVED IT
Review: This book was recommended to me by my mother and to be honest, the only reason I listened to her was because I liked the cover. I'm really not a history buff but I have to say I was surprised at how much I loved Last Stop Vienna - and I learned an incredible amount. I couldn't stop reading it and, instead of skipping over the historical descriptions as I usually do, I was truly fascinated by Nagorski's ability to write so clearly and incisively, that I had a blast reading all of it! Of course, I relished the love affairs and love triangles and all the intrigue...especially when it came to Hitler's own perversions that I didn't know much about before! I wish they had added more sexual intrigue in the history courses I hated so much in college. I'm telling everyone about this book!
Jen Senko
Rating:
Summary: Read This Book!
Review: This is one of those books that you finish and just shake your head. It could have been so much better, it could have really been a great book. Reading the jacket, the reader is instantly intrigued. After all, the period of German history concerning the Weimar Republic and the rise of the Nazi party is one of the most fascinating in all of human history. Surprisingly, at least in my estimation, novels about this time period are pretty rare, at least in English. Even better, this book is told from the viewpoint of a young SA man, one of Hitler's storm trooper thugs that helped in wield power on the mean streets of Depression era Germany. However, this book just does not live up to its potential, for a variety of reasons. The main character of the book is Karl Naumann, a young man scared by war, poverty and violence. Naumann's father and brother were both killed in the Great War, leaving Karl and his mother to scratch out a living on their own in defeated Germany. Post-war Germany was in absolute chaos, with rival factions fighting each other in the streets. Numerous communist groups attempted to take control of the government, only to be defeated by the army and various other right-wing factions. Naumann, coming from a military family, was drawn to these reactionaries, many of whom were veterans. He joined the more violent cadres, and began his career as a street soldier. At the same time, a small party known as the National Socialists was beginning to gain power, with a fiery ideologue named Adolf Hitler at the helm. Many seek to control Hitler and his personality for their own gains, but they soon find him a man of his own will. Several right wing groups throw their support behind Hitler and the growing movement, and Naumann becomes part of the SA. The other major part of the story is that concerning Hitler's niece, Geli. This is actually a real story, as Hitler was almost certainly having an affair with his young relative. Naumann finds himself falling deeply in love with the livery young girl, but has to watch in horrifying silence as she is slowly mentally tortured by the truly evil personality of Hitler. As Hitler grows in power, he becomes even worse, and Naumann watches his rise to power with more and more alarm. This book is not horrible, it just really is not good at all. Naumann is a character barely explored, he is more of an empty literary device to tell the story. There are several questions about him left unanswered, and you never really get a feel for his own personality. Several storylines are thrown in for seemingly no reason, and much of the book has the feel of a shoddy historical newspaper collage. Events occur and are mentioned, but you never really understand what they mean for the bigger picture. The politics of Weimar Germany are just listed, never really understood. The Geli storyline is the most intriguing, but even that suffers from the lack of real analysis. Things are only hinted at, and that does not make a good story. All in all, Last Stop Vienna is a very forgettable book.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice Try
Review: This is one of those books that you finish and just shake your head. It could have been so much better, it could have really been a great book. Reading the jacket, the reader is instantly intrigued. After all, the period of German history concerning the Weimar Republic and the rise of the Nazi party is one of the most fascinating in all of human history. Surprisingly, at least in my estimation, novels about this time period are pretty rare, at least in English. Even better, this book is told from the viewpoint of a young SA man, one of Hitler's storm trooper thugs that helped in wield power on the mean streets of Depression era Germany. However, this book just does not live up to its potential, for a variety of reasons. The main character of the book is Karl Naumann, a young man scared by war, poverty and violence. Naumann's father and brother were both killed in the Great War, leaving Karl and his mother to scratch out a living on their own in defeated Germany. Post-war Germany was in absolute chaos, with rival factions fighting each other in the streets. Numerous communist groups attempted to take control of the government, only to be defeated by the army and various other right-wing factions. Naumann, coming from a military family, was drawn to these reactionaries, many of whom were veterans. He joined the more violent cadres, and began his career as a street soldier. At the same time, a small party known as the National Socialists was beginning to gain power, with a fiery ideologue named Adolf Hitler at the helm. Many seek to control Hitler and his personality for their own gains, but they soon find him a man of his own will. Several right wing groups throw their support behind Hitler and the growing movement, and Naumann becomes part of the SA. The other major part of the story is that concerning Hitler's niece, Geli. This is actually a real story, as Hitler was almost certainly having an affair with his young relative. Naumann finds himself falling deeply in love with the livery young girl, but has to watch in horrifying silence as she is slowly mentally tortured by the truly evil personality of Hitler. As Hitler grows in power, he becomes even worse, and Naumann watches his rise to power with more and more alarm. This book is not horrible, it just really is not good at all. Naumann is a character barely explored, he is more of an empty literary device to tell the story. There are several questions about him left unanswered, and you never really get a feel for his own personality. Several storylines are thrown in for seemingly no reason, and much of the book has the feel of a shoddy historical newspaper collage. Events occur and are mentioned, but you never really understand what they mean for the bigger picture. The politics of Weimar Germany are just listed, never really understood. The Geli storyline is the most intriguing, but even that suffers from the lack of real analysis. Things are only hinted at, and that does not make a good story. All in all, Last Stop Vienna is a very forgettable book.
Rating: 
Summary: Really "The Last Stop..."
Review: Why was this book written in the first place? Why was it reprinted at all? Thank God I did not buy it, just read it - and am sorry I wasted all this time on a well-written piece of garbage. Geli Raubal might not have died a virgin, but she certainly was not the tramp Nagorski made her out to be. Having been a victim of exactly the time period which the "writer" expounds on, I have long ago stuck my nose in just about every publicaton I could read that was pertinent to the subject of Hitler . The flights of phantasy the author takes are so way out it makes you wonder what he was thinking (if at all) when he made up the story. He has written such excellent, serious books and now this..... How could he deteriorate into this garbage dump? Waste not (your money), and it is not worth reading seiously - except for a few excellent description of sexual encounters. Your choice -- not mine.
Rating:
Summary: Eventual disappointment
Review: You only have to read the flap of the book to know the plot, the entire plot, down to the very last page. For those not familiar with the history of the rise of the Nazis and the personal life of Hitler, this seems to me to be a mistake. There are many writers who can announce where they are headed and still rivet the reader's attention, but Nagorski isn't one of them. Too often, he feels compelled to pause to explain references (to German films, politicians) when it would have been less disruptive to avoid them altogether. Nagorski's strength is in his description of place and politics, but the personal, the trifles and insights that breathe characters to life, elude him. Oddly enough, the character that Nagorski manages to evoke best is Hitler himself. Praise must be given for keeping him posied between politician and obsessive, even the ... intentions ring true. With such a wonderful choice of subject, it seems disappointing to have emerged with a novel that is mostly lacking in both suspense and heart.
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