Rhodes provides an in-depth and moving account of the actions of the Einsatzgruppen in Eastern Europe and Russia during World War II. He examines everything from organization to motives behind killing to psychological damage. Of particular note are the two chapters that he devotes to the Reichsfuhrer-SS, Heinrich Himmler, which gives the reader a better understanding of Himmler's childhood and decisions made in adulthood.

Rhodes is incredibly detailed in his descriptions of individual killing actions. Suffice to say that this book is not for someone with a weak stomach, as he discusses the killing of Jewish children, as well as men and women in a very graphic manner.

I would argue that this is an important book in understanding the link between the restriction of German Jews' civil rights to the all-out killing which occurred in the Nazi death camps. As a World War II and Holocaust scholar, I find that this is one of the best books I've read on the Einsatzgruppen.

I highly recommend this for anyone who is interested in the Holocaust in a scholarly fashion. I feel that in order to truly appreciate what this book offers, one should have at least an intermediate knowledge of World War II and the Holocaust, particularly on the Eastern front.