Customer Reviews

Infiltration

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...because you will certianly find this an exceptionally dry read. I love history. I've read Herr Speer's first 2 books (& even have an autographed letter from him hanging on my wall). But this book did nothing for me. An enormous amount of technical information but rarely did any emotion enter into the narrative. I don't think you will gain any more information that you would if you read INSIDE THE THIRD REICH, a much more informative tale.

Former Reich Armaments Minister Albert Speer missed the mark on this one. Two decades after the hugely successful INSIDE THE THIRD REICH and detailed, though less enjoyable SPANDAU DIARIES, INFILTRATION almost seems to be a jumble of sensational end notes. Speer died in England while promoting his final book.

Unlike his previous works, Speer did not have the editorial assistance of Joachim Fest with this book. As with many key players in history, Speer's daily interaction with his historical corner made it difficult for him to see the forest through the trees. Strange as it may seem, collaboration with a good editor/journalist/historian is necessary to get the story straight.

In INFILTRATION Speer attempts to demonstrate the extent of Heinrich Himmler's SS empire beyond that normally portrayed in history books. According to Speer, not only did Himmler see the SS as the post-Hitler successors to Germany, they also interfered and dabbled in almost every aspect of the German military, economy, and science. According to Speer Himmler's secret state consumed resources and manpower talent in unfocused ventures that only served to deprive Germany of the manpower necessary to fight the war.

Unlike his prior books, Speer's INFILTRATION is written very much in the third person as if Speer had no connection, other than archive research, to the events mentioned in the book. The hard cover book spent so short a time on bookstore shelves that it became difficult to find.

Having read the first two books I was bound to complete the set. Overall the English version is easy reading. In re-reading it again this book would be more appropriate as a special on the History Channel instead of a bound volume.

A cure for insomnia, Infiltration is a very slow read, heavy on economics but dull to a layman/history buff. The parts that aren't concerned with quoting numbers endlessly become soap operas about power plays, showing that Speer obviously still held grudges 4 decades after the war.