Customer Reviews

If Hitler Had Won: The Plans He Made, The Plans He Carried Out, The Plans He Hoped To Achieve

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Having read many books about World War II, the Third Reich, etc., I can confidently say that this book contains much information found nowhere else.

This is a very unique book, since it's not one, not two, but THREE books in one.

First, it's a history of WWII in Europe.

Second, it shows how Hitler could've won. No, it's not the typical "if only the armored divisions hadn't been ordered to halt at Dunkirk; if only Hitler hadn't switched to terror boming during the Battle of Britain," etc. The author doesn't assume an alternate outcome until just before the very final "point of no return" in the East (which I won't ruin for you). While doing this, the book continues to read like a historical narrative (in other words, as though those alternate events had actually taken place)--an interesting touch.

Third, and finally, the author collects data from many sources, especially from Hitler's private table talk, which outline his plans and show what a German-dominated Europe would've looked like.

Probably the biggest revelation (not often touched on in other books) is how often Hitler's plans for postwar Europe changed--often quite dramatically--on all manner of subjects. One of the bigger surprises was how often Hitler was successfully prevailed upon to change his views regarding other races, especially Czechs, Ukranians, and Belorussians.

There are two reasons I couldn't give this book five stars:

First, the book is almost entirely in chronological order, so Hitler's views on topic X in 1942 would be in one place, then when he changed his mind in 1943 (50 pages later), topic X would be revisited again--making things a little disjointed. I would have preferred to see all of Germany's evolving policies on topic X in one place.

Second, I thought the author went into way, way too many minor tactical details when it came to the Axis thrust into the Middle East (via the Caucasus this time--remember, the book is about Hitler having won). This made for a rather ponderous section of the book; he should've stuck to general operational details as he did during his portion on the Eastern Front.

In summary, this is a good book for any World War II buff who's interested in what a German-dominated Europe would've looked like and doesn't mind taking a walk into the interesting genre of alternate history.

As a fan of alternative history, I was drawn to this book by the synopsis and the previous review. The outcomes are based on historical fact and Hitler's views, including both Mein Kampf and recorded conversations.
Even though I gave this book two stars, I still would recommend it.
Why did I give the book two stars? Simple. There were numerous spelling, grammatical, and syntax errors, including one in a chapter titles. That is simply unacceptable, especially considering this book was not self-published. Considering that this book did or should have gone through an editor, proofreader, and the author at a minimum, this book should not have the voluminous errors that it does. I had to stop my reading to see if perhaps I had misread or not understood the wording. 99% of the time it wasn't me.

When you look at this book you will notice that there are no footnotes or quote descriptions. You will also notice, unbelievably, that there is no biographical or academic information about the author. If you 'Google' the publisher, you will find that the author is the President and Owner of the publishing company, or his own personal vanity press.

Keeping all this in mind, you will be surprised at the number of typos and mistakes made in the book. One of the two major mistakes are the calling of the DeGaulle forces in WW2 the 'Fighting French', they were always call the 'Free French'. The second major mistake is referring to the Air Force of the USA as the 'American Army Air Force, the AAAF'. At no time in its' history has the Air Force been anything but the 'United States (Army) Air Force'. No american armed forces carry any name but the US (United States) Navy, Army, Marines, etc. During WW1, the military force sent to Europe was called the 'American Expeditionary Force, the AEF', but it was made up of the 'US Army'.

In one of his 1950 maps, in the Reichkommisariat of Ukraine he has a
city called Stalingrad. Seems funny that the Germans wouldn't change it. The 1950 map also shows Leningrad, which he says would be renamed 'Hitlerhaven'.

Typos like, "Hitler could barley write his name" instead of "barely" are just poor editing. The format of two columns per page also makes it look like a school newspaper as opposed to a proper book. A lot of time is spent telling us about Hitler's stomach problems and constipation, not very interesting after the tenth or eleventh mention.

Finally, the idea that the English and Americans would do so badly against the Germans and Italians, while following the exact timetable against Japan, seems impossible. Also, while the Allied bombing campaign seems to go on the same it has no effect on the victorious Wehrmacht. You would think that while the Allies were bombing the cities of Germany into rubble the Germans wouldn't just continue to attack on the Russian and African fronts, but try to protect their homeland.

Truly disappointing.

Richard E. Osborne's "If Hitler Had Won..." purports to examine the possibilities of how the Axis Powers could have prevailed in World War II and also how they would have ruled after such a victory. The book is approximately 321 pages of text, with a bibliography and index. There are no endnotes or footnotes. No information or biography is given about the author.

If the reader is looking for a book that is strictly alternate history, this book does not entirely fall into that category. Though it does provide some, only one-third of the text is alternate history. The other two-thirds is an accurate recap of the rise of Adolph Hitler, the Nazi Party, and the Third Reich. In this reviewer's opinion, alternate histories are written for those already familiar with the main subject, in this case World War II. The fact that this extensive rehashing of known facts is absent from the book's cover on both the front and back is unfair to the buyer. Reading the book description on its Amazon.com page also omits that important feature. Is it worth the price of the book for only about 120 pages of new information?

The book's format is also questionable. It is done in a strict chronological order, many parts repeated throughout the text. When the reader finally gets to the portions that contain alternate history, they are interlaced with known facts. For example, Hitler's poor health is discussed throughout the book. The author would describe a largely successful battle (like a victory at Leningrad) and then go on to say that Hitler would have another bout of some ailment that really happened at that time chronologically. It doesn't make much sense. Many historians have concluded that Hitler's poor health during the latter stages of the war was due to the unsuccessful results of the German military. Wouldn't it be safe to say that had the German Army been winning the war, Hitler's health would have improved?

The author only mentions the Holocaust in passing and does a poor job of addressing it during the alternate history. Also, the first two-thirds of the book discusses political and macro governmental issues. The last third goes into considerable detail about various battles, almost to the point of the minuscule. He fails to show how the German Army raised the troops necessary to invade the Middle East, the Caucuses, and Africa in such numbers as to have numerical superiority against the Americans, British, and Free French. He ignores the entire Rudolf Hess incident, ignores the atrocities of the concentration camps, and claims that after the war, Hitler would simply retire! In other words, he would have the reader believe that after Hitler reached his goal of conquering Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Africa, Hitler would just go away and paint postcards for friends. Hitler would be one of the few dictators in history to opt for an early-out.

The editing of this book is atrocious. Sara Streeter is listed as giving editorial advise and services - she failed. Throughout the book are numerous misspellings, typographical errors, and grammatical errors. It was painful to read at times. Perhaps the publisher mistakenly printed the rough draft?

In all, a very tiresome book to read. Have you ever watched a movie that was so slow and tedious that you say, "Wake me when it's over"? The reader will have that thought float through his or her mind many times when reading this book. Further, the author's academic credentials are nowhere to be found, if any exist. Though a bibliography is given, it would have been appropriate for various quotes and passages to be fully referenced so the reader could ascertain their authenticity. For those who are interested in World War II alternate histories, this book is not recommended.

I got this book as a Christmas present for my son who is interested in WW II. He took one look at the book and handed it back to me because he didn't want to wade through the typos.