Hell's Cartel: IG Farben and the Making of Hitler's War Machine - Softcover

Jeffreys, Diarmuid

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0747596557 ISBN 13: 9780747596554

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 2009

Synopsis

In 1925, six of Germany's leading chemical companies banded together in a cartel to protect their business from increasing international competition. Twenty years later the directors found themselves on trial at Nuremberg, accused of being 'the magicians who made the fantasies of Mein Kampf come true.' How had one of the world's leading companies, whose knowledge and expertise were the envy of the world, become Hitler's creature, directly involved in the Holocaust with their experimental I. G. Monowitz plant at Auschwitz? In this brilliantly researched and compelling book, Diarmuid Jeffreys shines a bright light on I. G Farben's Faustian pact with the Third Reich to reveal in shocking detail the story of the original military-industrial complex.

About this title

About the Author

Diarmuid Jeffreys is the author of Aspirin: The Remarkable Story of a Wonder Drug, which was nominated for the prestigious Aventis Prize for popular science books and chosen as one of the best books of the year by the San Francisco Chronicle. A journalist and documentarian, he lives in East Sussex, England.

Review

“A damning new history in which Jeffreys brings a rare combination of forensic acumen and narrative flair to bear on the material.”—Chicago Tribune "Jeffreys expertly chronicles how this once-proud company descended into the abyss. It’s a complex tale spanning a century and featuring a huge cast. He does a superb job of managing the material and drawing concise sketches of key figures. At almost 500 pages, this is a brisk read.”—Business Week “Hell’s Cartel is popular history at it’s best.”—The Seattle Times “Jeffreys brings a rare combination of forensic acumen and narrative flair to bear on the material.”—Bloomberg News “An unputdownable narrative and forensically gripping investigation into how energetic German corporate executives became the degenerate monsters who made the Holocaust technically possible.”—Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Young Stalin

“At last, a fresh and vibrant history—free from the taint of perpetrator sponsorship and corporate influence—that brilliantly chronicles the war monster I.G. Farben. Jeffreys's work will be consulted as a must for years to come.”—Edwin Black, author of Nazi Nexus: America's Corporate Connections to Hitler's Holocaust

“Behind the guns is always the money. Diarmuid Jeffreys’s perfectly detailed vivisection of the IG Farben companies during the Nazi era is both sensible and powerful—thus a pleasure to read—and exceptionally compelling.”—Alan Furst, author of The Spies of Warsaw

Edition details

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0747596557
• ISBN 13: 9780747596554
• Binding: Print on Demand (Paperback)
• Number of pages: 416