Goering by Richard Overy

Goering by Richard Overy. I get the feeling that this may have been sold to the publisher as a biography of the Nazi leader, instead it's a discussion of his policies and various bureaucratic fights. Overy in the introduction tries to brush aside any criticism about a lack of a discussion of Goering the individual by saying that there isn't much material. He could be correct I'm not sure. It does make the book that follows a little hollow.

The text itself is extremely dense. Background knowledge with both 1930s and war time Germany is a must.this is not a beginners text. There were a few things that I didn't get and had to look up in other sources. Overy is somewhat of an iconoclast.

Much of the book is discussing the four-year plan as well as war production. The "legality" of the Nazi state was bizarre. They made sure to get proper documentation when buying up foreign concerns even when it involved threats of force or kidnapping. The Luftwaffe its R&D and manufacturing are described in a brief section. I would have enjoyed more on him as the Air Force commander. What's here is quite interesting.

Recommended

Is available through Abebooks.