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Hitler's Death
In Hitler's Death, author and expert Luke Daly-Groves rigorously looks at the question: Did Hitler shoot himself in the Führerbunker or did he slip past the Soviets and escape to South America? Countless documentaries, newspaper articles, and internet pages written by conspiracy theorists have led the ongoing debate surrounding Hitler's last days. Historians have not yet managed to make a serious response. Until now.
This book is the first attempt by an academic to return to the evidence of Hitler's suicide in order to scrutinise the most recent arguments of conspiracy theorists using scientific methods. Through analysis of recently declassified MI5 files, previously unpublished sketches of Hitler's bunker, personal accounts of intelligence officers along with stories of shoot-outs, plunder and secret agents, this rigorously researched book takes on the doubters to tell the full story of how Hitler died.
This book is the first attempt by an academic to return to the evidence of Hitler's suicide in order to scrutinise the most recent arguments of conspiracy theorists using scientific methods. Through analysis of recently declassified MI5 files, previously unpublished sketches of Hitler's bunker, personal accounts of intelligence officers along with stories of shoot-outs, plunder and secret agents, this rigorously researched book takes on the doubters to tell the full story of how Hitler died.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2019
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139 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
September 9, 2019
Meticulous and very readable, this book should put to rest most ambiguities and doubts around the dictator's death. The ones that remain are shown to be the result of understandable confusion in the dramatic times surrounding the fall of Berlin and of the tendency of the Soviets to play their cards close to their chest, as well as their botched initial investigations, while the investigations of the allies, which confirm to the best possible authenticity, the story of Hitler and Braun's suicide are shown to be credible and substantiated by multiple accounts. Perhaps the most exciting part of all this is the glimpse we get behind the scenes of the intelligence agencies of the British and the Americans. In a reasonable world, this book should lay to rest grey wolf-style theories of Hitler's survival and escape.
December 17, 2018
A well researched book that will appeal to WWII nerds. Detailed and written in an engaging anecdotal style, Daly-Groves meticulously debunks the various tabloid and special interest assertions that Hitler didn't kill himself in the bunker. I was particularly fascinated with the power struggle between the Brits, Americans and Soviets, who all wanted to control the narrative.
May 22, 2020
An incredibly well researched book that takes apart the conspiracy theories that claim Hitler did not die in his bunker. Very readable and again, so well researched. You can tell throughout the pages how much background work the author did in order to provide such a comprehensive telling of history and those who don’t want to accept it.
It read very well and was interesting in particular I think the author does a good job in making a niche subject approachable.
A definite read for those interested in WW2 history.
It read very well and was interesting in particular I think the author does a good job in making a niche subject approachable.
A definite read for those interested in WW2 history.
October 18, 2018
4 stars
I read the Kindle edition.
This book is very detailed and footnoted copiously. The writing is a little dry, but that is the nature of some historical writing. It speaks of all the conspiracies surrounding not only Hitler’s death, but also other key members of the Nazi regime. It lays out the origin of the differing conspiracy theories and why they were disseminated. I enjoyed it, although I did have to take an occasional break now and then.
I read the Kindle edition.
This book is very detailed and footnoted copiously. The writing is a little dry, but that is the nature of some historical writing. It speaks of all the conspiracies surrounding not only Hitler’s death, but also other key members of the Nazi regime. It lays out the origin of the differing conspiracy theories and why they were disseminated. I enjoyed it, although I did have to take an occasional break now and then.
February 7, 2020
I have mixed feelings on this book. It has at times a rather frustrating tone, and it is easy to imagine the text being less one intended to be written out but one the author would prefer to be lecturing at you in slightly too loud a voice. the text itself can also often feel somewhat disjointed and unpolished. Even if it hasn't been made clear, it would be quite obvious, I feel, that this book started out as an undergraduate thesis.
Nevertheless, while it could be better written and organized strictly as a piece of prose, the book does still provide a very thorough and deep dive into the British intelligence effort to investigate Hitler's Death. Certainly in no other literature on the topic is there anything that comes close, and the book paints a convincing argument for the central thesis on that front.
But, with the good and the bad, there also is the underwhelming. It is clear the author is fairly mono-focused, and finds the story of British intelligence to be much more fascinating than the actual nominal topic on which the book is based, Hitler's death. Almost nothing is actually said about the Soviet side of things beyond how it interacted with the British investigation, and the forensic evidence is dealt with in a positively slapdash manner.
While I applaud how the matter of the skull fragment and 2009 DNA test is handled, rightfully pointing out how meaningless it is as a larger piece of evidence for escape, the actual most compelling evidence, the dental remains, barely garner a mention! The irony here of course being that this is evidence which the conspiracy books he loves to rag on, such as Grey Wolf, also ignore, and they ought to be thoroughly criticized for.
In the wake of Brissard's absolutely atrocious claim to 'The Last Word' with his own book, Daly-Groves at least offers a better alternative, but it nevertheless suffers for what it lacks. Perhaps he felt it unnecessary to cover ground others have, such as Joachimsthaler, but he does a fairly poor job than of making clear why he lacks much engagement with other aspects of the story, and the book is critically lacking for this fact. In light of the developments of the past decade or so, it still remains for someone to write the definitive book that brings all the evidence together into one readable volume.
Nevertheless, while it could be better written and organized strictly as a piece of prose, the book does still provide a very thorough and deep dive into the British intelligence effort to investigate Hitler's Death. Certainly in no other literature on the topic is there anything that comes close, and the book paints a convincing argument for the central thesis on that front.
But, with the good and the bad, there also is the underwhelming. It is clear the author is fairly mono-focused, and finds the story of British intelligence to be much more fascinating than the actual nominal topic on which the book is based, Hitler's death. Almost nothing is actually said about the Soviet side of things beyond how it interacted with the British investigation, and the forensic evidence is dealt with in a positively slapdash manner.
While I applaud how the matter of the skull fragment and 2009 DNA test is handled, rightfully pointing out how meaningless it is as a larger piece of evidence for escape, the actual most compelling evidence, the dental remains, barely garner a mention! The irony here of course being that this is evidence which the conspiracy books he loves to rag on, such as Grey Wolf, also ignore, and they ought to be thoroughly criticized for.
In the wake of Brissard's absolutely atrocious claim to 'The Last Word' with his own book, Daly-Groves at least offers a better alternative, but it nevertheless suffers for what it lacks. Perhaps he felt it unnecessary to cover ground others have, such as Joachimsthaler, but he does a fairly poor job than of making clear why he lacks much engagement with other aspects of the story, and the book is critically lacking for this fact. In light of the developments of the past decade or so, it still remains for someone to write the definitive book that brings all the evidence together into one readable volume.
October 16, 2025
*Hitler’s Death: The Case Against Conspiracy* by Luke Daly-Groves reads like a countercurrent to the swirling currents of speculation and conspiracy that have long surrounded the end of the Third Reich. From the first pages, the book positions itself as a forensic and historiographical corrective, meticulously interrogating the claims, anecdotes, and “alternative evidence” that have fueled theories of Hitler’s survival.
Unlike works that revel in the allure of the fugitive dictator narrative, Daly-Groves foregrounds methodical reasoning, archival precision, and critical engagement with sources, producing a layered narrative that is both corrective and intellectually immersive.
The text acknowledges the cultural fascination with conspiracy while simultaneously dismantling its epistemic foundations, inviting readers to confront how and why myths of escape persist.
Daly-Groves structures the narrative around the well-documented collapse of the Berlin bunker and the historical record of Hitler’s final days. Eyewitness testimonies, forensic reports, and Soviet archival materials are scrutinized with an analytical rigor that exposes inconsistencies and misconceptions in survival claims.
The book’s prose, while precise and measured, carries a narrative momentum born of careful reconstruction: the panic of the bunker, the final arrangements for destruction of documents, and the meticulous handling of remains are presented with an immediacy that evokes the human and logistical dimensions of historical events.
The text situates the reader within both the chronology and the methodology of historical inquiry, blending descriptive narrative with reflective analysis.
A central tension in the book emerges from the contrast between the allure of conspiracy and the robustness of evidence. Daly-Groves systematically interrogates the claims made in works such as *Grey Wolf*, *Escape from the Bunker*, and *Hunting Hitler*, demonstrating how gaps in knowledge, selective testimony, and interpretive leaps can produce compelling yet unfounded narratives.
This engagement is not merely polemical; it is postmodern in its acknowledgment of narrative construction, the role of perspective, and the provisionality of evidence. By examining both the content and the cultural reception of survival theories, the book situates historiography within a broader dialogue about authority, belief, and the performative dimensions of narrative.
Geography and context are treated with precision rather than mythic resonance. Berlin’s ruins, the surrounding wartime landscape, and the pathways of intelligence documentation function as material and epistemic coordinates rather than symbolic spaces. Where speculative works transform Argentina, Patagonia, or remote European locales into liminal zones of possibility, Daly-Groves emphasises verifiable pathways, documented locations, and corroborated testimony, grounding the narrative in evidentiary reality. The book’s meticulous attention to context reinforces the plausibility of the canonical account, while exposing the fragility of speculative narratives that rely on extrapolation and conjecture.
Psychologically, the book examines the human investment in conspiratorial thinking. Daly-Groves reflects on why Hitler’s alleged survival continues to captivate imaginations, exploring themes of unresolved evil, the desire for narrative closure, and the seductive power of alternative histories. Conspiracy, in this sense, functions as a lens for understanding collective anxieties, the psychology of rumour, and the performative role of narrative in shaping cultural memory.
By confronting these dynamics, the book situates itself not only as historical analysis but as a meta-commentary on the persistence of myth, demonstrating how the human need for intrigue and uncertainty often overrides the evidentiary record.
The structure of the book is layered and dialogic. Chapters alternate between chronological reconstruction, critical examination of secondary sources, and thematic reflection on historiography, producing a text that is immersive without sacrificing rigour. Evidence is presented, interpreted, and contextualised, and readers are consistently invited to consider both the strength of the argument and the mechanisms by which alternative narratives gain traction.
This interplay of exposition, analysis, and reflection produces a postmodern texture: history is presented not as monolithic truth but as a negotiated, contested, and interpretive act.
Stylistically, Daly-Groves blends clarity with subtle narrative tension. Detailed discussions of archival materials, forensic findings, and wartime documentation are interwoven with narrative descriptions of the bunker’s final days and the handling of remains, creating a rhythm that is at once precise and immersive.
The prose foregrounds evidence while maintaining a sense of immediacy, allowing the reader to inhabit both the methodological rigour of historical analysis and the temporal unfolding of events. In doing so, the book bridges the gap between analytical exposition and narrative engagement, producing a layered reading experience.
Ultimately, *Hitler’s Death* emphasises closure, accountability, and evidentiary fidelity. The work reasserts the canonical narrative of Hitler’s suicide and the subsequent handling of his remains while examining the cultural, psychological, and historiographical conditions that have allowed escape theories to flourish.
By doing so, Daly-Groves constructs a narrative that is simultaneously corrective, reflective, and postmodern in its engagement with evidence, narrative construction, and the human fascination with unresolved histories. Hitler is depicted not as an enduring fugitive but as a historical actor whose life—and death—are documented, contextualised, and ultimately contained within the evidentiary record.
The book lingers in the mind as a meditation on certainty, belief, and the cultural persistence of myth. It demonstrates how historical investigation is as much about interpreting evidence as about understanding why narratives—whether accurate or speculative—resonate over time.
In its layered treatment of archival material, critical engagement with conspiracy claims, and reflection on the psychology of belief, Daly-Groves produces a text that is intellectually rigorous, immersive, and subtly postmodern, foregrounding the interdependence of narrative, evidence, and cultural imagination.
Reading it is to confront both the past and the mechanisms by which stories of the past are constructed, contested, and culturally perpetuated, reminding the reader that closure and clarity, while sometimes elusive, remain the central goals of disciplined historiography.
Unlike works that revel in the allure of the fugitive dictator narrative, Daly-Groves foregrounds methodical reasoning, archival precision, and critical engagement with sources, producing a layered narrative that is both corrective and intellectually immersive.
The text acknowledges the cultural fascination with conspiracy while simultaneously dismantling its epistemic foundations, inviting readers to confront how and why myths of escape persist.
Daly-Groves structures the narrative around the well-documented collapse of the Berlin bunker and the historical record of Hitler’s final days. Eyewitness testimonies, forensic reports, and Soviet archival materials are scrutinized with an analytical rigor that exposes inconsistencies and misconceptions in survival claims.
The book’s prose, while precise and measured, carries a narrative momentum born of careful reconstruction: the panic of the bunker, the final arrangements for destruction of documents, and the meticulous handling of remains are presented with an immediacy that evokes the human and logistical dimensions of historical events.
The text situates the reader within both the chronology and the methodology of historical inquiry, blending descriptive narrative with reflective analysis.
A central tension in the book emerges from the contrast between the allure of conspiracy and the robustness of evidence. Daly-Groves systematically interrogates the claims made in works such as *Grey Wolf*, *Escape from the Bunker*, and *Hunting Hitler*, demonstrating how gaps in knowledge, selective testimony, and interpretive leaps can produce compelling yet unfounded narratives.
This engagement is not merely polemical; it is postmodern in its acknowledgment of narrative construction, the role of perspective, and the provisionality of evidence. By examining both the content and the cultural reception of survival theories, the book situates historiography within a broader dialogue about authority, belief, and the performative dimensions of narrative.
Geography and context are treated with precision rather than mythic resonance. Berlin’s ruins, the surrounding wartime landscape, and the pathways of intelligence documentation function as material and epistemic coordinates rather than symbolic spaces. Where speculative works transform Argentina, Patagonia, or remote European locales into liminal zones of possibility, Daly-Groves emphasises verifiable pathways, documented locations, and corroborated testimony, grounding the narrative in evidentiary reality. The book’s meticulous attention to context reinforces the plausibility of the canonical account, while exposing the fragility of speculative narratives that rely on extrapolation and conjecture.
Psychologically, the book examines the human investment in conspiratorial thinking. Daly-Groves reflects on why Hitler’s alleged survival continues to captivate imaginations, exploring themes of unresolved evil, the desire for narrative closure, and the seductive power of alternative histories. Conspiracy, in this sense, functions as a lens for understanding collective anxieties, the psychology of rumour, and the performative role of narrative in shaping cultural memory.
By confronting these dynamics, the book situates itself not only as historical analysis but as a meta-commentary on the persistence of myth, demonstrating how the human need for intrigue and uncertainty often overrides the evidentiary record.
The structure of the book is layered and dialogic. Chapters alternate between chronological reconstruction, critical examination of secondary sources, and thematic reflection on historiography, producing a text that is immersive without sacrificing rigour. Evidence is presented, interpreted, and contextualised, and readers are consistently invited to consider both the strength of the argument and the mechanisms by which alternative narratives gain traction.
This interplay of exposition, analysis, and reflection produces a postmodern texture: history is presented not as monolithic truth but as a negotiated, contested, and interpretive act.
Stylistically, Daly-Groves blends clarity with subtle narrative tension. Detailed discussions of archival materials, forensic findings, and wartime documentation are interwoven with narrative descriptions of the bunker’s final days and the handling of remains, creating a rhythm that is at once precise and immersive.
The prose foregrounds evidence while maintaining a sense of immediacy, allowing the reader to inhabit both the methodological rigour of historical analysis and the temporal unfolding of events. In doing so, the book bridges the gap between analytical exposition and narrative engagement, producing a layered reading experience.
Ultimately, *Hitler’s Death* emphasises closure, accountability, and evidentiary fidelity. The work reasserts the canonical narrative of Hitler’s suicide and the subsequent handling of his remains while examining the cultural, psychological, and historiographical conditions that have allowed escape theories to flourish.
By doing so, Daly-Groves constructs a narrative that is simultaneously corrective, reflective, and postmodern in its engagement with evidence, narrative construction, and the human fascination with unresolved histories. Hitler is depicted not as an enduring fugitive but as a historical actor whose life—and death—are documented, contextualised, and ultimately contained within the evidentiary record.
The book lingers in the mind as a meditation on certainty, belief, and the cultural persistence of myth. It demonstrates how historical investigation is as much about interpreting evidence as about understanding why narratives—whether accurate or speculative—resonate over time.
In its layered treatment of archival material, critical engagement with conspiracy claims, and reflection on the psychology of belief, Daly-Groves produces a text that is intellectually rigorous, immersive, and subtly postmodern, foregrounding the interdependence of narrative, evidence, and cultural imagination.
Reading it is to confront both the past and the mechanisms by which stories of the past are constructed, contested, and culturally perpetuated, reminding the reader that closure and clarity, while sometimes elusive, remain the central goals of disciplined historiography.
January 12, 2019
Thankyou to NetGalley, Osprey Publishing and the author, Luke Daly-Groves, for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of Hitler's Death in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
Unfortunately, what promised to be an interesting read was, in actual fact, far short. It is not very often that I do not finish reading a book I start, even those I don't particularly like. I only read about 20% of this one.
Sorry but not for me.
Unfortunately, what promised to be an interesting read was, in actual fact, far short. It is not very often that I do not finish reading a book I start, even those I don't particularly like. I only read about 20% of this one.
Sorry but not for me.
November 10, 2018
This was a very good and easy read for those interested in WW2. In discussing in quite forensic (but never overly burdened) detail the death of Hitler and all that followed, we get great insight into what people thought of all the rumours of Hitler's survival, and what people should think of such suggestions that annually float around on F*c*book. There were rumours from the get-go that Hitler had survived, escaping by himself, or with others, or with the full complicity of the Allies. The Soviets seemed to want to say the Brits were harbouring him, for one. And what of the fact that everyone did look into the reports of his being seen? Well, people making such comments needed to think they were in the investigators' good books, and were worth looking at themselves, however insane they were. Also, every false declaration of Hitler's continued existence was a barrier for those hoping to resurrect his Reich. We even learn a very sensible reason why Argentina became a hotbed of allegations of Hitler's and Bormann's retirement homes.
There's great depth to Hugh Trevor-Roper, and what he was getting out of his report and book, and why it was published in the timeline it lived through (although there is a hole where I wanted to know what the conspiracy theorists were saying against him as being unreliable and unable to do the job he clearly did). There is also emotional fact, when the Goebbels children were murdered, and many people killed themselves, seeing – immediately post-Hitler – no future of the kind they hoped for. What I didn't like was the suggestion that because the UK and the US both investigated things, at much expense but separately, and allegedly found nothing, the theories cannot be true – this author seems to not realise the (implausible) possibility of a false paper trail. But there's been a massive piece of legwork, from the notes' evidence alone, to make this book, and despite what at times seems a little bit of first-book naivety, this is still really good. It took me a long afternoon, which suggests it's just the right length for the layman, but it's also forensic enough for the specialist historian, making this really well worth considering.
There's great depth to Hugh Trevor-Roper, and what he was getting out of his report and book, and why it was published in the timeline it lived through (although there is a hole where I wanted to know what the conspiracy theorists were saying against him as being unreliable and unable to do the job he clearly did). There is also emotional fact, when the Goebbels children were murdered, and many people killed themselves, seeing – immediately post-Hitler – no future of the kind they hoped for. What I didn't like was the suggestion that because the UK and the US both investigated things, at much expense but separately, and allegedly found nothing, the theories cannot be true – this author seems to not realise the (implausible) possibility of a false paper trail. But there's been a massive piece of legwork, from the notes' evidence alone, to make this book, and despite what at times seems a little bit of first-book naivety, this is still really good. It took me a long afternoon, which suggests it's just the right length for the layman, but it's also forensic enough for the specialist historian, making this really well worth considering.
March 15, 2024
Don't know how and don’t know why but I am very fascinated with the Holocaust, WWII and everything related, probably I just want to understand what is going on in those extra-ordinarily brilliant yet horrendously notorious minds.
So, it was a no-brainer that I picked up ‘Hitler’s Death’ (on audible) .
In his book Luke Daly-Groves, an academician, rigorously looks at the question: Did Hitler shoot himself in the Führerbunker or did he slip past the Soviets and escape to South America and provides elaborate arguments for both the sides. However, he does seem to be a believer of Hitler shooting himself in his bunker and also gives logical reasons for the improbability of an escape.
Meticulous and very readable, this book puts to rest most ambiguities and doubts around the dictator's death. It speaks of all the conspiracies surrounding Hitler’s death and other key members of the Nazi regime. The author explains everything very clearly and also compares his findings to other authors findings.
It, however, may not be a good starting place for someone who does not have any previous knowledge on the subject and has not read a lot of literature regarding it, as these references are being called back throughout the book.
All in all it is a well researched book. Although the writing style is a little dry but the level of detail is amazing .A definite read for WWII nerds like me.
So, it was a no-brainer that I picked up ‘Hitler’s Death’ (on audible) .
In his book Luke Daly-Groves, an academician, rigorously looks at the question: Did Hitler shoot himself in the Führerbunker or did he slip past the Soviets and escape to South America and provides elaborate arguments for both the sides. However, he does seem to be a believer of Hitler shooting himself in his bunker and also gives logical reasons for the improbability of an escape.
Meticulous and very readable, this book puts to rest most ambiguities and doubts around the dictator's death. It speaks of all the conspiracies surrounding Hitler’s death and other key members of the Nazi regime. The author explains everything very clearly and also compares his findings to other authors findings.
It, however, may not be a good starting place for someone who does not have any previous knowledge on the subject and has not read a lot of literature regarding it, as these references are being called back throughout the book.
All in all it is a well researched book. Although the writing style is a little dry but the level of detail is amazing .A definite read for WWII nerds like me.
July 7, 2025
This was an interesting read and a good, short summary in many ways. That said, I'm disappointed overall.
I do think that the book takes pains to repeatedly assail conspiracy theories and those who propagate them. While I agree with the conclusions in this book, I do think that less time could have been spent repeating the same dismissive statements about the conspiracists and instead spending more time fleshing out details of the evidence against them.
I would've liked a deep dive into the evidence that lays it out methodically and chronologically. Instead, this book is themed, jumping around by place and time. It also spends a lot of time covering Martin Bormann's story. While this was ostensibly used to illuminate how the Hitler survival conspiracies are similarly incorrect, I feel like it was a needless detour when it would have been better to just exhaustively lay out the evidence against Hitler surviving the bunker at the end of the war.
I do think that the book takes pains to repeatedly assail conspiracy theories and those who propagate them. While I agree with the conclusions in this book, I do think that less time could have been spent repeating the same dismissive statements about the conspiracists and instead spending more time fleshing out details of the evidence against them.
I would've liked a deep dive into the evidence that lays it out methodically and chronologically. Instead, this book is themed, jumping around by place and time. It also spends a lot of time covering Martin Bormann's story. While this was ostensibly used to illuminate how the Hitler survival conspiracies are similarly incorrect, I feel like it was a needless detour when it would have been better to just exhaustively lay out the evidence against Hitler surviving the bunker at the end of the war.
February 19, 2020
Adolf Hitler killed himself on 30 April 1945 in his bunker in Berlin. He did not escape to Argentina in a U-boat. He did not go into hiding in a monastery in Tibet. He was not murdered by SS chief Heinrich Himmler. He was not sent by rocket to a secret Nazi base on the far side of the moon. Only the last of these is not explored in this short book that relies heavily on British and American intelligence files which reveal when, how and where Hitler died. That such a book is necessary even now, three quarters of a century after Hitler's death, shows the endurance of even the stupidest conspiracy theories. In the course of this book, Hugh Trevor-Roper, author of the definitive book The Last Days of Hitler, comes off rather well, despite his later failures, most notably regarding the forged "Hitler diaries". A good introduction to the subject by a young historian.
November 21, 2020
I found the info in this book very interesting. I find WWII info very interesting, especially regarding Hitler. This author explained everything very clearly and compared his findings to other authors findings. Although, it is very convincing, I am interested to read the other authors books, to make my own decision.
Being interested in this subject and other Hitler subjects, I have always wondered what Germany would've been like had Hitler turned in the opposite direction. Of course, no one will ever know.
Being interested in this subject and other Hitler subjects, I have always wondered what Germany would've been like had Hitler turned in the opposite direction. Of course, no one will ever know.
December 21, 2018
This was a disappointment and I DNF at 75%
This is too academic and it's a dull treatment of a fascinating subject. Conspiracy theories are amusing sometimes but unlike this one they're usually entertaining.
Will I read again... No
Will I recommend... No
Will I read more by this author... No
This is too academic and it's a dull treatment of a fascinating subject. Conspiracy theories are amusing sometimes but unlike this one they're usually entertaining.
Will I read again... No
Will I recommend... No
Will I read more by this author... No
May 28, 2024
Everyone who says Hitler's dead is impeccable, everyone who disagrees is not credible :)
Confirmation bias much?
This in a way is like a book debunking flat earthers, though a lot less fun.
What could have been a fascinating read, was a bore fest. A boring book, read poorly by a guy with some laughable pronunciations (of English words!) doesn't work for me. I pulled the pin 60% in.
Confirmation bias much?
This in a way is like a book debunking flat earthers, though a lot less fun.
What could have been a fascinating read, was a bore fest. A boring book, read poorly by a guy with some laughable pronunciations (of English words!) doesn't work for me. I pulled the pin 60% in.
May 29, 2025
The narration of the Audible version honestly kinda sucks. I understand that this book is intended to disprove notorious conspiracy theories and thus shouldn't exactly be narrated with much enthusiasm, but Roger Clark's narration just sounds like an old-fashioned documentary we'd be required to watch in school.
April 10, 2019
Well researched and informative, I suspect that the author’s arguments will not mean the end of spurious claims in History channel shockumentaries. I deducted one star because of the dry writing style but the author is young and the book was based on a thesis.
July 2, 2020
Need to read again to actually get a grip of it.
September 28, 2020
Reads a bit like a masters thesis (probably because that's basically what it is) but don't let that scare you: absolutely fascinating read. The level of detail is amazing
October 14, 2024
Thorough
Good, thorough analysis of all of the Hitler death conspiracies, debunks them all. Includes recent DNA tests. The rationale makes sense. I have no need to read more in this topic.
Good, thorough analysis of all of the Hitler death conspiracies, debunks them all. Includes recent DNA tests. The rationale makes sense. I have no need to read more in this topic.
December 27, 2024
I was going to rate it 3/5 but then he starts off with mentioning Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Acknowledgements... The repetitive content was also way to repetitive.
March 27, 2025
Good overview and study of compiled documentation on Hitler's death.
July 3, 2025
Easy to read despite my initial fears that it would sound too much like a history academic essay!
May 16, 2023
If I never heard the word "moreover" again in my life, it will be too soon. The tone of this book is very "interesting". I listened to this because I don't have an opinion one way or another on Hitler's death. And yet I found myself a little irked at the wording in this book. It felt at times the author was implying that if you don't agree with him then you are just a conspiracy theorist with no education on the subject. It also felt like he was saying once you read my book there will be no doubt about what the truth is, and yet a few times he said there is no way to actually prove what happened. . . It felt a little condescending at times and wasn't easy to get through.
I stopped listening after Part II and I may pick it back up again at a later time. (If my opinion changes I will edit my review accordingly.)
Edit: I finished this book. The only thing I have to add is that Moreover and Poppycock will now haunt my dreams.
I stopped listening after Part II and I may pick it back up again at a later time. (If my opinion changes I will edit my review accordingly.)
Edit: I finished this book. The only thing I have to add is that Moreover and Poppycock will now haunt my dreams.
April 22, 2023
The author seeks to debunk the many Hitler survived and escaped theories. He does address the reasoning for the theories and explain the logical reasons for the improbability of an escape.
Read
November 19, 2018Conspiracy theorists are plentiful. The conspiracies regarding Hitler, even after so many years, are still very active. These conspiracies are more damaging than those of the flat earth society. The flat-earthers do not support the growth of evil. Hitler conspiracies aid the growth of evil.
Daly-Groves has written an excellent book covering the historical evidence in a more in-depth and academically satisfying manner regarding the time and method of Hitler's death. He provides previously unavailable documentation the completely closes the question of Hitler's possible survival and the cowardice of his death.
My only problem with Daly-Groves's book is in the first two chapters. These are obviously from one of his thesis papers. The writing is stale and uninvolving. The rigor of the research is very clear in these chapters, but they read very much like a dissertation, not a popular history text.
Daly-Groves has written an excellent book covering the historical evidence in a more in-depth and academically satisfying manner regarding the time and method of Hitler's death. He provides previously unavailable documentation the completely closes the question of Hitler's possible survival and the cowardice of his death.
My only problem with Daly-Groves's book is in the first two chapters. These are obviously from one of his thesis papers. The writing is stale and uninvolving. The rigor of the research is very clear in these chapters, but they read very much like a dissertation, not a popular history text.
December 9, 2018
A big thank you to NetGalley and Osprey Publishing for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. Wow was this book intense! It is not a casual sit down book. This is a dissertation or equivalent type writing! This is not for the layman or faint hearted. I couldn't finish it, although I tried several times. I enjoy history but it is not my passion. I honestly couldn't keep the previous researchers straight. They are discussed in a way that made me think I should know who they are, which I don't. I am not sure maybe it's the multiple paragraph footnotes, or that he didn't give a back synopsis of each previous researchers work in a way I could follow. I am sure that this is a well researched book but it is not for the average person. I found it intimidating. I think Hitler buffs and researchers would like but not a great gift for a cousin.
April 9, 2019
A book for obsessives on Hitler’s death, the Bunker, and related conspiracy theories.
Great for debunking the conspiracies and tracing their origins, as well as examining and synthesizing the many previous books and reports on the subject.
The only downside is that it may not be a good starting place for someone who has not read any previous books in the subject, as they are referenced constantly throughout.
Great for debunking the conspiracies and tracing their origins, as well as examining and synthesizing the many previous books and reports on the subject.
The only downside is that it may not be a good starting place for someone who has not read any previous books in the subject, as they are referenced constantly throughout.
May 9, 2019
The topic of Hitler's Death fascinated me, and the opportunity to read about conspiracies surrounding it was too good to pass. Though this book is extensively researched and exhaustingly complex, its not written conversationally. That made it seem like I was reading for a class, or for research myself. I think the material presented is compelling, but not for the casual reader. It is the kind of book I found too easy to pick up and put down, so though I respect the author and his work, I'd probably only recommend it to a small section of readers.
I received my copy from NetGalley under no obligation.
I received my copy from NetGalley under no obligation.
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