Valkyrie: An Insider's Account of the Plot to Kill Hitler [ABRIDGED] (Paperback)

by Hans Bernd Gisevius (Author)
Key Phrases: Too Late, Prinz Albrechtstrasse, Major Roemer (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

When on July 20, 1944, a bomb—boldly placed inside Hitler’s headquarters by Colonel Count Claus von Stauffenberg— exploded without killing the Führer, the subsequent coup d’état against the Third Reich collapsed. The conspirators were summarily shot or condemned in show trials and sadistically hanged. One of the few survivors of the conspiracy was Hans Bernd Gisevius, who had used his positions in the Gestapo and the Abwehr (military intelligence) to further the anti-Nazi plot. Valkyrie, an abridgment of Gisevius’s classic insider’s account To the Bitter End, is an intimate memoir as riveting as it is exceptional.

About the Author

Hans Bernd Gisevius (1904–1974) was one of the most active conspirators in the July 20, 1944, plot to kill Hitler, and later a prosecution witness at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; Abridged edition (December 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306817713
• ISBN-13: 978-0306817717
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #221,234 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #21 in	Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( H ) > Hitler, Adolf
  #64 in	Books > History > Europe > Germany > Third Reich
  #97 in	Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Political Science > Political Doctrines > Fascism

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Rough beginning but eventually it makes up for it, December 16, 2008

By	Ronniet102 "RonnietT102" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

The book was very rough in the beginning. The author uses the first 112 pages giving summaries about some of the people in the coup and some others who we never read of again. It was very hard to get through it- he has a very dynamic vocabulary and if your just an average Joe like me and not a English major you might have to read over a sentence more than once.
Once it gets into his diary of the days before during and after the attempt it gets very good. Since its a primary source written only a year or two after the war his perspective of things was not hindsight like of veterans stories written now.
I have read up on the assassination attempt and have saw many shows about it on the History channel but this book was not written by a historian 50 years after the fact- it was written a year after the war ended and by someone who was actually part of it. I gave it only three stars because of the beginning but the rest was amazing. For a primary source on a historical incident that was a lot more important than history makes it- you need to read this book.

Plus I am sure you want to know if that movie with Tom Cruise was historically accurate.

Hope this helps everyone

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most important books on Germany and WWII Ever Written , December 17, 2008

By	W. H. McDonald Jr. "The American Author Assoc... (Elk Grove, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This is not some professor guessing at what things were like from the safety of his office some decades after the events took place - this is an eye-witness and a participant to events that are both historic and insightful. The author Hans Bernd Gisevius takes us to the heart and the soul of WWII Germany and gives us a insider look at events. In his book "Valkyrie: An Insider's Account Of The plot To Kill Hitler" we get to understand much better the mindset of those involved in this assassination attempt and what motivated them.

Fascinating beyond belief - this true life story is an amazing tale. I am surprised that this was not a movie before now. There are real heros, and villains, and those that are hard to classify as either, and of course, there are so many victims. This was the author's memoir and it is rather odd that he doesn't try to show showcase himself in any better light - he seems brutally honest about himself. He tells of the planning, his fellow conspirators and of the events which drew them all to take this action. This should be a must read book for anyone trying to understand what was going on within Germany at that time.

If this was just a novel - no one would believe it! The Third Reich and much that it stood for are bared open for examination by readers. This is a powerful story and one that continues to have much energy and life over 60 plus years after the events. I highly recommend this book and give it the highest book rating from The Military Writer's Society of America - FIVE STARS!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Canaris, the Abwehr and Valkyrie, , December 26, 2008

By	The Analyst "Charlie" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

An outstanding book for those of you who would like to see the attempt to remove Hitler from the inside. Having worked in the Abwehr the author can show you something no other author can as he became involved with Admiral Canaris, the head of the German intelligence arm and a conspirator against Hitler as early as 1938. The novel The Commodore by John Lowe, which I recently read as well, can be an enjoyable primer for this in-depth book.The Commodore