“Based on a deep reading of primary sources, the authors effectively employ a nonfiction narrative style of short headlines and paragraphs. The result is a gripping day-to-day account.”

– Library Journal

“A sharply focused study of the many poor decisions that ended with Hitler taking power. An expert and highly disheartening history of a dictator's early rise.”

– Kirkus Reviews

“A fascinating day-by-day account of the last months of the Weimar Republic as democracy began to crumble, making room for Hitler’s terrifying rise to power.”

– The New York Post

"An exciting piece of history that is often menacingly current and has rarely been told so close to the reality of life."

– Stern (Hamburg)

"An unusual, important book whose depth of research makes you gasp."

– P.M. Magazine (Hamburg)

"Brilliantly written: rich in facts, varied, and entertaining."

– New Germany (Berlin)

“The pointillism that comes with being written diary-style is effective and startling. We are told that the outgoing chancellor, the clever and devious Kurt von Schleicher, displayed little emotion as he said farewell to his cabinet, although one colleague observed that 'this experience has been a matter of life or death to him.' A little over a year later, von Schleicher was murdered by the SS during the Night of the Long Knives; the dangerous game, well described in this book, that he had been playing had come to an end.”

– Wall Street Journal