This is the first of Hasting books that I have read and I must say I am greatly impressed. He has gone beyond the grand events to bring the reader face to face with the horrifying impact of the final days of the war in Europe. I am especially impressed with the author's objectivity. His willingness to turn a critical eye on the plans and the planners who decided the fate of millions was not corralled by personal interest or national pride. So many War memoirs, whether by chance or design, attempt to portray certain people as heroic or, if controversial, as misunderstood heroes. Hasting seems to care little for drawing the moral line in the sand along national borders. His descriptions of what the average person, soldier or civilian, went through paints a picture of a true hell on earth. Harrowing stuff.