A fascinating insight...

Into the origins is WW2. I find Robert Harris had to get into initially but always well worth preservering

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Exquisite

I Loved this book and from the very 1st chapter I was absorbed into the late 1930's pre World war. With all the lethal tooing and froing that was so true back then.
The writing is like reading a history book as was the accuracy of it.
Finally and not least the narration by David Rintoul is excellent, this book really is a must read for all that are curious about those times.

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Beautifully read story

Set in 1938, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in WWII and the Third Reich. A great story, suspenseful even though we all know the eventual outcome. Superb reading by David Rintoul, especially the contrast between the quietly spoken English characters and the more forceful German ones, including Hitler. Very enjoyable listening - I will seek out other audiobooks read by him.

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Fascinating Insight into a Misunderstood Time

I have studied the interwar years at school, university, and beyond with particular reference to Hitler's Germany. I, in common with most of my peers, viewed Chamberlain's attempts at appeasing Hitler rather sneeringly - regarding him as a naive, deluded figure. This book has given me a new and better perspective.
The writing is classic Robert Harris - understated yet all the more powerful for it. The characters and their dialogue are utterly believable, which is just as well because most are genuine historical figures. I believe the two main protagonists are fictional, but no less believable for it.
David Rintoul's delivery is spot-on, enhancing what I would normally read to myself.
I highly recommend this audiobook and will, no doubt, be listening to it again. REW.

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Fascinating

Gives an interesting perspective on the Munich peace talks, all with an exciting storyline. Absorbing.

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Totally absorbing.

Difficult to stop listening to. Expertly crafted exciting narrative with some moving poetic passages. Thought provoking.

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A Historical Thriller

Excellent book thoroughly enjoyed. Robert Harris made this story a real life thriller. Excellently narrated, a well deserved 5*. Can’t wait to download my next Robert Harris book.

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Wonderful.

Beautifully written and excellently portrayed. Brought to life a crucial point in the worlds history which has hitherto been seen in many different ways.

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A Piece For Our Time?

To an extent you know what you're going to get with Robert Harris's historical fiction. There's always going to be a strong feeling of time and place based on thoroughly detailed research. You're going to find characters given real depth whether they be genuine historical personalities or the the fictional ones that Harris uses to carry the story. All of that is true here in a novel that I found highly satisfying to listen to even if it didn't hit the heights of excitement.

There is a dual aspect to the story in that two old college friends find themselves on opposite sides of the conference with both playing their own high stakes games. The book provides a brief but extremely important episode in their lives and the history of Europe. To me it felt as much like a docudrama as a fictional novel as the plot stuck so closely to historical fact.

The narration by David Rintoul is steady with no attempt to give the non-British characters any kind of national accents. It feels entirely appropriate to the text with perhaps the only element of real theatre coming late on with some of Hitler's outbursts.

Harris is clearly scratching some kind of itch here. He is returning to the subject of a documentary he made almost 30 years ago and he portrays Chamberlain with considerably more sympathy than many historians. The quality of the writing is, as you would expect from this author, is extremely high. I don't think it's the most thrilling of thrillers but it is a good story with a very authentic feeling atmosphere to it.

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59 people found this helpful

Takes us heart-stoppingly back in time

Robert Harris writes with his inimitable fluency and ease, effortlessly he carries his reader with him through a very tense moment in our history. Narration is first class. Terrific book, and terrific audio book especially!

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2 people found this helpful