Berlin: The Downfall 1945: The Number One Bestseller

(Paperback)

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A classic work from the international mega-seller, Antony Beevor, on the terrifying end to the Second World War The Red Army had much to avenge when it finally reached the frontiers of the Third Reich in January 1945. Political instructors had rammed home the message of Wehrmacht and SS brutality. The result was the most terrifying example of fire and sword ever known, with over seven million civilians forced to flee westwards from the terror of the Red Army. In his bestselling narrative, Antony Beevor reconstructs the experiences of those millions caught up in the nightmare of the Third Reich's final collapse, telling a terrible story of pride, stupidity, fanaticism and savagery, but also one of astonishing endurance, self-sacrifice and survival against all odds.

Reviews

Fascinating, extraordinary, gripping * Jeremy Paxman *
A masterpiece of modern historical writing -- Michael Burleigh * Guardian *
This brilliant storyteller makes us feel the chaos and the fear as if every drop of blood was our own. It is much more than just a humane account; it is compellingly readable, deeply researched, and beautifully written -- Simon Sebag Montefiore * Spectator *

Author Bio

Antony Beevor's latest book is Ardennes 1944 - Hitler's Last Gamble. He is the author of Crete - The Battle and the Resistance, (Runciman Prize), Stalingrad, (Samuel Johnson Prize, Wolfson Prize for History and Hawthornden Prize for Literature), Berlin - The Downfall, The Battle for Spain (Premio La Vanguardia), and D-Day: The Battle for Normandy, (Prix Henry Malherbe and the Royal United Services Institute Westminster Medal). His next work The Second World War was another No. 1 international bestseller. His books have appeared in more than thirty languages and have sold more than six and a half million copies. According to the Bookseller, 'Beevor is the bestselling historian of the BookScan era'. A former chairman of the Society of Authors, he has received honorary doctorates from the Universities of Kent, Bath, East Anglia and York, and he is also a visiting professor at the University of Kent. In 2014, he received the Pritzker Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing.