Reviews for The deadly embrace :Hitler, Stalin, and the Nazi-Soviet Pact, 1939-1941 (Book)
Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Dramatic history on a grand scale narrating the years when two tyrants kissed before one of them was betrayed; by two writer/producers for BBC television who have collaborated on Colonel Z (1985) and Operation Lucy (1981), both engaging true-spy tales. Read and Fisher piece together the intricate dealings that led Hitler's emissary, Ribbentrop, to Stalin's door in 1939 to negotiate (in just 13 hours) the fateful nonaggression pact that gave Germany the security with which to run over Europe with impunity. This is a richly detailed work in which one can almost hear the crystal tinkling to celebrate the pact--and Stalin's intake of breath when he was awakened on the morning of June 22, 1941, and informed by General Zhukov that his ""ally"" was now overrunning Russia's borders. The authors manage to paint vivid portraits of Hitler (who is constantly nibbling at his fingertips in the classic symptom of amphetamine abuse) and Stalin (who, diverging from the standard historical image of having practically gone into seclusion for five days after Germany's invasion, is shown here, after a momentary shock, buckling down for long days at the helm). An interesting sidelight shows Hider, even while formalizing the pact, ordering an aide to photograph Stalin's ears to determine if they were ""ingrown and Jewish, or separate and Aryan."" The ultimate effect of the nonaggression pact was not so much Hitler's freedom of action in Europe as Stalin's being lulled into a false sense of security--to the extent that Soviet frontier defenses were in a state or' ""pitiful unreadiness"" and there was no effective High Command organization. This, in turn, caused Hitler to feel that Russia could be taken in only two seasons--a repetition of Napoleon's tragic blunder. An excellent, bang-up job of creating historical ambiance without sacrificing historical precision--and one of this year's best works of history. Copyright ŠKirkus Reviews, used with permission.
