THE THIRD REICH AT WAR

The author investigates the Nazis’ war activities from the Reich’s invasion of Poland to the end of WWII. Dedicated history fans will find lots of collected facts and worthwhile quotes, but general readers will find little compelling creativity. Numerous jumps in time and place and a plodding narrator make for some tedious going. Sean Pratt provides the same nuance for every sentence: pausing for quotes and leaving prodigal spaces between sentences. The author writes copiously about the treatment of the Jews, and Pratt misses every opportunity to inject emotion or empathy into these tragic accounts. He shines, however, with the German names and locations, the hard names being “Doenitz,” “Der Fürher,” “Goebbels,” and “von Brauchitsch.” J.A.H. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2010]