Inside Hitler's Bunker: The Last Days of the Third Reich Paperback - 2005

First line

At 3 a.m. several flares rose into the night sky, flooding the bridgehead near Küstrin with brilliant red light.

From the rear cover

"Remarkable...[a] vivid (and beautifully translated) account."--"Jerusalem Post
Fest describes in riveting detail the final weeks of the war, from the desperate battles that raged night and day in the ruins of Berlin, fought by boys and old men, to the growing paranoia that marked Hitler's mental state, to his suicide and the efforts of his loyal aides to destroy his body before the advancing Russian armies reached Berlin. "Inside Hitler's Bunker combines meticulous research with spellbinding storytelling and sheds light on events that, for those who survived them, were nothing less than the end of the world.
"A riveting book."--Henry A. Kissinger
"Fest's concise volume is clear -- indeed, even elegant -- in its style and keen in its observations."--"The Dallas Morning-News
"Fest brings a unique perspective to his subject, coupling objective narrative with a keen critical disdain for Hitler and his subordinates."--"The Roanoke Times
"A lifetime of reflection on the Nazi period is distilled in a short but diligently written and incisive book."--Michael Burleigh, author of" The Third Reich: A New History
Joachim Fest was born in Berlin in 1926. His previous books include "The Face of the Third Reich; "Hitler, his celebrated biography of Adolf Hitler; " Plotting Hitler's Death; and" Speer: The Final Verdict, for which he has won numerous awards. A film adaptation of" Inside Hitler's Bunker, entitled "The Downfall, has become a European blockbuster.