Peter Padfield writes this extensive biography of Heinrich Himmler, Reichsführer of the SS from 1929 to 1945, when he committed suicide after being apprehended by the Allies, and one of the most known and feared leaders of the Third Reich. Apparently loyal to Hitler almost until the end of the war (although, as the book remarks, it's not clear if he was involved in some of the conspiracies against him), he was one of the main instigators of what Nazis called the "Final Solution".

The only objection I have about the book is that it loses focus on Himmler maybe too frequently to describe the facts happening from a higher perspective, narrating the main events in World War II and telling part of the stories of some important Nazi figures like Hitler, Heydrich, Canaris... This is good and necessary to understand what was happening around Himmler but some times you feel it's been too long since he was last mentioned, it makes you think you are missing some parts of Himmler's personal story... At least that was my sensation from time to time.

Apart from that, the book is an excellent biography of Heinrich Himmler, long and detailed without being tedious.

my rating: