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W. Hugh Thomas

The murder of Rudolf Hess Hardcover – January 1, 1979

by W. Hugh Thomas (Author)

24 ratings

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Print length

224 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Harper & Row
Publication date

January 1, 1979
ISBN-10

0060142510
ISBN-13

978-0060142513
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper & Row; 1st U.S. ed edition (January 1, 1979)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0060142510
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0060142513
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.15 pounds

Best Sellers Rank: #3,930,959 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews:
24 ratings

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5 star		68%
4 star		8%
3 star		10%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star		14%

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Top reviews from the United States

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reader

Still compelling after all these years.

Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2015

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Written by a physician, this book puts forth and defends the premise that Nazi official Rudolf Hess was assassinated while attempting to broker a peace with England during World War II. The author examined Hess and found numerous discrepancies between the medical and psychological evidence for the real Hess, and the man he examined at Spandau prison. His argument is still compelling, and fits nicely with the treachery and ruthlessness of Heinrich Himmler, who was working on a separate peace deal that would see Hitler overthrown and Himmler as the post-war leader of Germany.

One person found this helpful

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nikki lorel

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2014

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well written by an eye witness of the confederate Hess.

2 people found this helpful

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Jerome Beck

Provocative

Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2011

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This book is about how he might have died. Was it suicide or murder? Was it Hess who died at Spandau or his doppelganger? Focuses on medical evidence of forensic value that I had not seen treated before. No one will have definitive answers until at least 2017 when the Brits are scheduled to release their still classified Hess files.

8 people found this helpful

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Kirinjin

A very dull razor.

Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2013

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By now, the entire civilized world is familiar with the typical pattern of the insane conspiracy theory. Starting with a preconceived notion, the theorist selects only unconnected details which ostensibly support the delusion, scrupulously ignoring or even falsifying all facts to the contrary, and avoiding sound reasoning and rational analysis at all costs. In an effort to conceal the lack of logical or factual basis, the theorist resorts repeatedly to hyperbole, declaring the most preposterous of conclusions to be `clear,' `undisputable,' `without doubt,' and `the only possible explanation.' Finally, in twisted logic worthy of the Salem witch trials, the conspiracy lunatic concludes that the absence of official agreement with harebrained theories constitutes 'proof' that they must be true. No matter whether the subject is space aliens, Elvis, JFK, or Rudolf Hess, the pattern is the same.

By this definition, W. Hugh Thomas is an insane conspiracy theorist. Thomas claims to be a physician who briefly and under poor circumstances was once in the same examination room as Spandau Prisoner # 7. At that time, Thomas failed to notice the scars of a WW I bullet wound on Rudolf Hess's chest and back. Although Thomas claims that no medical report of Hess mentions scars, this is no proof at all that the prisoner had none, a distinction Thomas negligently or intentionally fails to grasp. Thomas claims the real Hess should have had 'massive scarring' from surgery he presumes Hess must have had. Alas, Thomas ignores the contemporaneous medical records which state clearly that there was no surgery, no 'massive scarring,' and that the entrance and exit wounds were very small (pea sized entry, slightly larger exit). So the whole book is fantasy on that point alone.

Next, Thomas claims the aircraft Hess flew from Augsburg was not the same as the one which crashed in Scotland some five or six hours later. His whole argument rests on the propositions that Hess flew a Bf110d, that certain photographs show him taking off on May 10, 1941, that the Bf110 lacked the flying range to reach Scotland from Augsburg, and that the call letters on the wreckage are different than those at take off. Alas, none of these statements is true. Hess flew a Bf110E to Scotland. The serial number and call letters on a training flight log sheet were identical with those on the Scottish wreckage. The true flight characteristics of Hess's aircraft make the trip easily possible, albeit challenging. Worst of all, Thomas misread the painted letters on the aircraft wreckage, claiming falsely that a clear 'V' is really 'N.'

From this bogus foundation, Thomas concludes that Rudolf Hess was murdered by the Nazis on the evening of May 10, 1941, and a double hurriedly sent in his place to Scotland. This supposed doppleganger then fooled everyone in the whole wild world for nearly fifty years (except the extremely clever Mr. Thomas) into believing he was the real Hess, going so far as to accept life imprisonment to perpetuate the charade. Strange it never once occurred to him to say, "I am not Rudolf Hess. Look at my lack of scars." Thomas explains this away by pointing to the Nazi habit of punishing entire families. He fails to explain why the supposed replacement Hess should be bothered by this after 1946.

Demonstrating the sort of shoddy scholarship and reasoning we have come to expect from Erich Von Daniken or Al Gore, Thomas commenced with a bizarre theory, then cobbled together lies, half-truths, and unsupported supposition. Markedly, Thomas demonstrates an unwillingness to distinguish fact from inference, and repeatedly stacks his own shaky inferences upon each other to reach preposterous conclusions, committing virtually every classic logical fallacy along the way. Over and again, Thomas concludes with 'what other explanation can there be?' In fact, there can be several other explanations, not the least of which is that Prisoner No. 7 was the one and only Rudolf Hess.

Better writers than myself have thoroughly debunked Thomas's facts and conclusions. I recommend Nesbit/Acker as being particularly well researched and level-headed. One thing is for sure. Any charlatan can make millions if he is willing to mortgage his own soul to sell specious theories. The logical concept called `Occam's Razor' cautions that simple and direct answers are generally more likely to be correct, and should generally be favored over obscure and attenuated explanations. To paraphrase a television show, "If you hear the clip clop of hooves, just go ahead and think horsies, not zebras." Mr. Thomas's little foray into insanity demonstrates that he evidently sees not only zebras but pink elephants as well. He wields a very dull razor indeed.

15 people found this helpful

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JT

This entire book is B.S., IMHO

Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2017

It was an interesting read about 30 years ago. But alas, after the Spandau prison guest died, DNA comparison with his son confirmed that he was, in fact, Rudolf Hess. Therefore, with 20/20 hindsight, I declare that this entire book is B.S. (IMHO)

3 people found this helpful

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Joseph Henry

False premise

Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2021

A retired army and Austrian scientists concluded remnants of Hess’s DNA proved that prisoner #7 at Spandau Prison was in fact Rudolph Hess

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Top reviews from other countries

Mr. M. Sanders

The Murder of Rudolf Hess

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 26, 2019

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Written by a renowned medical practitioner who also wrote Doppelganger about Adolf Hitler, this book is also an eye opener.

The author as a British Army medical doctor examined Rudolf Hess in Spandau prison and came to the conclusion that something was not right about the patient's identity.

The author also brought to light a number of very interesting facts about the Hess flight to Scotland in 1941.

When you read this book, you will see for yourself that the 'facts' we are often fed about Rudolf Hess just don't really add up, they seem to be the same pat-stories promulgated by laziness and rote. This book may change that for you.

2 people found this helpful

Bill Baillie

Worth waiting for

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 21, 2018

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The delivery took longer than expected but the book arrived in good condition and was well worth waiting for. I enjoyed it. The story of Rudolf Hess is fascinating because we still don't know why he flew to Scotland when he did. Was he acting on behalf of Hitler. or was he acting alone? We shall probably never know. And now we have the additional mystery of his death and doubts about his identity. 'The Murder of Rudolf Hess' will help us to form an opinion.