THE DEVIL'S DISCIPLES: Hitler's Inner Circle

black hardcover 8vo. (octavo). dustwrapper in protective plastic book jacket cover. fine cond. binding square & tight. covers clean. minor rubbing to bottom of spine. edges clean. contents free of markings. dustwrapper in fine cond. not worn or torn or price clipped (no price listed). nice clean copy. no library markings, store stamps, stickers, bookplates, no names, inking, underlining, remainder markings etc~. first printing (#1 in # line). book club edition. viii+894p. glossy b&w photo illustrations. notes. selected bibliography. index. world history. biography. world war ii. nazi germany. third reich. ~ A FRESH PERSPECTIVE ON THE THIRD REICH: THE DEADLY CONTESTS AMONG HITLER'S LIEUTENANTS, AND THEIR DISASTROUS CQNSEQUENCES. ~ THE NAZI REGIME was essentially a religious cult relying on the hypnotic personality of Adolf Hitler, and it was fated to die with him. But while it lasted, his closest lieutenants competed ferociously for power and position as his chosen successor. This peculiar leadership dynamic resulted in millions of deaths and some of the worst excesses of World War II. The Devil's Disciples is the first major book for a general readership to examine those lieutenants, not only as individuals but also as a group. It focuses on the three most important Nazi paladins~Göring, Goebbels, and Himmler~with their nearest rivals~Bormann, Speer, and Ribbentrop~in close attendance. Others who were removed in various ways~like Gregor Strasser, Ernst Röhm, Heydrich, and Hess~play supporting roles. Making the fullest use of diaries, documents, and memoirs, The Devil's Disciples offers fresh insights into their characters and their relationships to one another and to Hitler. Perceptive, illuminating, and grandly ambitious, The Devil's Disciples is above all a powerful chronological narrative, showing how the personalities of Hitler's inner circle developed and how their jealousies and constant intrigues affected the regime, the war, and Hitler himself. It is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the Nazi period, or the workings of a dictatorship.…