The German War

A terrific book. Nicholas Stargardt brilliantly explores diaries, letters and other previously untapped sources to provide more vivid and nuanced insight than ever before achieved into the motivation of ordinary Germans fighting the most horrific war of all time

Ian Kershaw

Beautifully written and convincingly argued, this book is a must

Saul Friedlander, author of Nazi Germany and the Jews

For the first time, the wartime chronology of German sentiment, of popular hopes and fears, realism and fantasy, becomes truly visible. A powerful and compelling account

Mark Roseman, Professor of History, Indiana University

Insightful, illuminating, complex, and convincing... Seven decades and a mountain of monographs later, I wouldn't have thought there'd be much more to say about WWII. Stargardt has proven me wrong

Robert Moeller, Professor of History, University of California, Irvine

Stargardt negotiates the considerable risks of writing from inside German experiences of this brutally destructive war with subtlety, humanity, and wisdom. This is a rich and deeply impressive lesson

Jane Caplan, Emeritus Fellow, St Antony's College, Oxford

The German War is an outstanding book by a master historian... a masterpiece of historical writing, blending seamlessly a 'bird's eye' view with intimate micro-history of this calamitous period in twentieth century Europe

Jan Gross, author of Neighbors: The Destruction of the Jewish Community in Jedwabne, Poland

Nicholas Stargardt spotlights the surprising twists and turns in the popular embrace of both the war and Nazi racial extremism. He explains-as few have-why the German people fought to the finish, whereas even the supposedly fanatical Japanese surrendered before an invasion of the homeland

Sheldon Garon, author of Molding Japanese Minds: The State in Everyday Life

Stargardt's book is a prodigious accomplishment. The German War [is] essential reading for anyone interested in the Second World War in Europe

Robert Gallately, Times Higher Education

well written and human account of a period of madness and how individuals sought to make sense of it

Simon Fowler, Who Do You Think You Are

This masterly book may well change forever what we thought we knew about response of the German people to the war

Nigel Jones, History Today

Superbly researched and clearly written, The German War is an important and significant book

Dominic Green, Spectator

A gripping new book.To write like this requires a rare sensitivity and psychological sophistication coupled with a degree of fearlessness.Stargardt impresses not only as a cultural historian. He also has an impressively strong grasp on the military narrative of the war. And this is indispensable.Stargardt has given us a truly profound piece of history

New York Times Book Review

A considerable success

Simon Heffer, Literary Review

Places a flashlight inside the heads of "ordinary" Germans. Thought provoking

Maria Popova, Observer

Riveting

John Kampfner, Observer

[A] riveting account of how these ordinary Germans experienced and sustained the war

Nicholas Shakespeare, Daily Telegraph

Thought-provoking

Marcus Tanner, Independent

Superb study

Nikolaus Wachsmann, Guardian

Sympathetic and nuanced portraits of German men and women. Intimate account of individual Germans' experiences of war, Stargardt explores private emotions. Beautifully written. He writes with the correct tone and sensitivity.

Wendy Lower, Times Literary Supplement

Ambitious and absorbing new book.

Richard J. Evans, London Review of Books

[A] revelatory book.

Simon Shaw, Mail on Sunday

I enjoyed this book immensely.This book fills a vast gap in our knowledge of history and I am glad to have read it.

Reg Seward, Nudge

The Time Out series is excellent for cities

Tim Moore, The Observer

Travel guides you can trust

Jane Knight, The Times