Albert Speer; His Battle with Truth
Albert Speer was not only Hitler's architect and armaments minister, but the Fuhrer's closest friend—his "unhappy love." Speer was one of the few defendants at the Nuremberg Trials to take responsibility for Nazi war crimes, even as he denied knowledge of the Holocaust. Now this enigma of a man is unveiled in a monumental biography by a writer who came to know Speer intimately in his final years. Out of hundreds of hours of interviews, Sereny unravels the threads of Speer's personality: the...
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Albert Speer was not only Hitler's architect and armaments minister, but the Fuhrer's closest friend—his "unhappy love." Speer was one of the few defendants at the Nuremberg Trials to take responsibility for Nazi war crimes, even as he denied knowledge of the Holocaust. Now this enigma of a man is unveiled in a monumental biography by a writer who came to know Speer intimately in his final years. Out of hundreds of hours of interviews, Sereny unravels the threads of Speer's personality: the genius that made him indispensable to the German war machine, the conscience that drove him to repent, and the emotional wounds that made him susceptible to Hitler's lethal magnetism. Read as an inside account of the Third Reich, or as a revelatory unsparing yet compassionate study of the human capacity for evil, Albert Speer: His Battle with Truth is a triumph."Fascinating...Not only a major addition to our knowledge of the Third Reich, but a stunning attempt to understand the nature of good and evil."—Newsday"More than a biography...It also constitutes a perceptive re-examination of the mysterious appeal of Adolf Hitler."—San Francisco ChroniclePublishers WeeklyBased on extensive firsthand interviews, this biography of the late Nazi Speer probes the nature of good and evil. (Nov.)
\ Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly\ Based on extensive firsthand interviews, this biography of the late Nazi Speer probes the nature of good and evil. (Nov.)\ \ \ \ \ Library JournalAt one time, Albert Speer was the closest man to Adolf Hitler. Unlike other war criminals, Speer seemed to accept blame for his actions and felt the Nazi leadership should take responsibility for Hitler's crimes, not the German people. Sentenced to 20 years in Spandau prison, he was released in 1966 and died in 1981. Speer's writings and diaries (e.g., Infiltration, LJ 6/15/81) have become standard sources. Sereny repeats a method she used successfully in Into That Darkness: An Examination of Conscience (Vintage, 1983), which dealt with the Treblinka concentration camp commander Franz Stangel. That is, she conducted intensive and protracted interviews with Speer ("I grew to like [him]") and many of the people who were close to him. Along with the interviews and analysis are good descriptions of what was happening in Germany throughout the Third Reich. Sereny's clear and concise prose makes this book suitable for both the scholar and the lay reader. She has produced what will become one of the standard works in Holocaust studies. For all libraries. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 5/15/95.]-Dennis L. Noble, Sequim, Wash.\ \ \ From Barnes & NobleThis reappraisal of Speer takes us from the emotional desert of his childhood & marriage & his service to Adolf Hitler, to his years in Spandau prison where he struggled with his guilt & criminal inaction. B&W photos.\ \
