Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill by Brad Meltzer, Josh Mensch

6 reviews

thesvnthsense's review

informative tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence and War

nappiermarcus's review against another edition

dark informative sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Violence, Murder, and War

bg_oseman_fan's review

informative fast-paced

5.0

This was a very engaging look at a historical even that often merits only a paragraph in history books. the authors do a great job of contextualizing the summit in the broader events going on at the time. i admire how thorough they were in interrogating the sources and conversation around how various people involved remembered and talked about the summit. a must read for those interested in WW2, espionage, or history in general

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Genocide

Moderate: Racism and Violence

Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, and Classism

crownoflaurel's review

informative mysterious medium-paced

2.5

Why on earth was so much of this written in present tense?? I almost put this down when it turned out the first chapter was just an excerpt. Overall, the prose was trying much too hard to be mysterious and sensationalistic, much more suited to a fiction novel then a history. 

Also, there’s a way for books covering a specific event to provide enough context of WWII without also trying to cover the entire war. Maybe there wasn’t enough about this conspiracy to fill a book, but… a lot in here wasn’t necessary to the actual story being told. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Antisemitism, Mass/school shootings, Murder, War, and Deportation

Moderate: Body horror, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, and Classism

Minor: Rape and Sexual violence

nrogers_1030's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Colonisation

Minor: Classism

oceanwriter's review against another edition

informative mysterious reflective fast-paced

4.5

Thanks to the Cold War, it's easy to forget that there was a time when America and Russia fought on the same side. Though Russia started off as an Axis power, by the middle of the war they were in alliance with England and America. Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin made up the 'Big Three'. When these political superpowers agree to meet, it's the perfect opportunity for the enemy to come up with an assassination scheme.

The book discusses a basic timeline of the war where Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin are concerned. Intertwined are bits on the Axis side from spies to soldiers both on the battlefield and in occupied cities. The main focus is on the rapport between the 'Big Three' Allied leaders as they correspond, eventually leading up to an agreement to meet in Tehran, Iran.

Naturally, having three of the most powerful men in the world together in one room comes with great risks. One lapse in security measures could lead to disaster. For Roosevelt in particular, getting to Tehran wasn't a simple matter of hopping on a plane. The journey across the Atlantic alone could prove fatal.

Though well-researched, a lot of this book appears to be speculation. The potential for an assassination attempt was there and undoubtedly rumors went along with it, but whether or not any plans were set in motion or thwarted seems murky. Regardless, there are a lot of interesting tidbits to be learned. I haven't seen too many books on this subject.

My biggest quip is really a minor one, which is that I felt two main subjects of the book could have flowed together more smoothly. With a somewhat dramatized narrative, there are a lot of cliffhangers. When going back and forth between two settings, I personally lost some of the impact getting absorbed in another plot.

Lastly, the narrator of the audiobook, Scott Brick, does a wonderful job. So many nonfiction audiobooks are read in a monotone. I appreciated the engaging tone of the narration without it becoming theatrical.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with a free audiobook ARC to listen to and review.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Murder, and War

Moderate: Torture, Violence, and Antisemitism