From the Publisher
A skillfully organized overview of the fall of the Third Reich, O’Reilly’s summary coordinates text with graphic photos for maximum impact. . . . [O'Reilly] manages the terror factor with sensitivity to the emotions of young readers. Concentration camp coverage is factual without being grisly. The inclusion of Hitler’s will, a chronology, and primary and secondary indexing encourages readers to value historical research. This book is highly recommended.” —VOYA
"Historical photographs pack the pages . . . the writing is clear and lively, and the narrative is gripping enough that reluctant readers might be willing to give this a try." —Booklist
“All the suspense and drama of a popular thriller.” —Husna Haq, The Christian Science Monitor on Killing Kennedy
“Immersively written... Mr. O'Reilly and Mr. Dugard succeed in investing a familiar national tragedy with fresh anguish... A powerful historical précis.” —Janet Maslin, The New York Times on Killing Kennedy
“If Grisham wrote a novel about April 1865... it might well read like Killing Lincoln.” —Peter J. Boyer, Newsweek on Killing Lincoln
NOVEMBER 2015 - AudioFile
This account of the final days of WWII and the end of Hitler’s life is skillfully narrated by Robert Petkoff. His precise diction, appropriate pacing, and dramatic flair significantly raise the level of what is essentially a flawed and sensationalized historical sketch. Also, the work is too reminiscent of O’Reilly’s recent string of works. KILLING PATTON, for example, tells a very similar story. All this takes little away from Petkoff’s bravura performance, the fine sound quality, and the exceptional direction and editing. Indeed, this is an impressive audiobook. W.A.G. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2015-06-19
O'Reilly reconstitutes his Killing Patton (2014) for younger audiences with a grabbier title, lightly massaged extracts from the original, and additional period photographs.It's a patch job from start to finish. The book opens with a Patton-centric account of the Battle of the Bulge that takes up nearly a third of the volume and closes with 13 arbitrarily ordered minidisquisitions on topics ranging from Hitler's mustache and his diet to Nazi art looting and the Nuremburg trials; in between, spare glimpses of life in Hitler's Berlin bunker alternate with accounts of the Allied drive into Germany in 1945. The narrative is composed of rearranged excerpts, subjected to editing that in some cases makes the writing even more overwrought than the original: "The woods are dark and gloomy. A dense fog makes the Germans even less visible," becomes "The woods are dark and gloomy inside, as if covered in a shroud of pines. A dense fog makes the Germans even more invisible." Illustrating the text are black-and-white war photos, many generic, some badly placed or bearing uninformative captions ("German tanks"), all too many blurred and murky. Readers looking for a clear picture of "modern history's best-known evil ruler and murderer" or the course of World War II in general would be far better off skipping this knockoff for some of the well-chosen titles recommended at the end. (maps, index) (Nonfiction. 11-14)
