Ten Days to Destiny: The Secret Story of the Hess Peace Initiative and British Efforts to Strike a Deal With Hitler [Paperback]

John Costello (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1993

A renowned historian reveals that Rudolf Hess went to England in 1941 at Hitler's direction and with the connivance of the British secret services, bearing a serious a shocking peace offer. A dramatic and scrupulously researched story that finally unlocks the secrets of Hess' mysterious visit. Photos.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

On May 10, 1941, in one of WW II's most bizarre episodes, Rudolph Hess, the deputy fuhrer of Germany, parachuted onto Scottish soil. Costello ( I Was There ) uses recently declassified material to answer 50 years of speculation about the true purpose of Hess's mission. And his book offers some astonishing revelations. Among them: prominent members of Britain's ruling establishment (led by foreign secretary Lord Halifax) tried to negotiate a compromise peace with Hitler at the time of the fall of France in 1940; prime minister Churchill had to bluff and bully his war cabinet into rejecting Hitler's tempting peace overtures; the fuhrer's Halt Order of May 23, 1940, was a stratagem to persuade the British government to accept a deal. As to the Hess mission, the record now shows that the deputy fuhrer brought not only an authoritative peace proposal but an invitation from Hitler to support Germany's imminent crusade against the Soviet Union. Costello's riveting account leaves little doubt that, but for Churchill, WW II would have ended in June 1940, setting global history on a different and more sinister course.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Costello has authored or coauthored half a dozen books on World War II. Here he contends that Rudolf Hess, Hitler's chief of the Nazi Party, was not the madman the Germans and British later claimed in making his flight to Scotland in May 1941. With Hitler's approval, Hess hoped to link up with disgruntled British conservatives who, he believed, could oust Churchill from power and make peace with Germany if they knew Hitler would give them liberal terms. Much of the book is devoted to documenting repeated clandestine hints from some British leaders that a negotiated peace might be possible. It is difficult for nonspecialists to evaluate the inferences Costello draws from a host of recently declassified files (Soviet, American, and other), but spy buffs and World War II buffs will enjoy trying. Others will give up the effort long before the end of this disjointed work. For larger public and academic libraries.
- Robert W. Frizzell, Hendrix Coll. Lib., Conway, Ark.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Quill (July 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688125778
• ISBN-13: 978-0688125776
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,510,365 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)