'No one can deny Paul Roland is a complete master of his subject.'

Colin Wilson, author of A Criminal History of Mankind

A rogues gallery of social misfits formed the Nazis' inner circle. They hated and conspired against each other, but were held together by their admiration for the Fu¨hrer, and step by step they dragged their nation towards the abyss.

Drawing on recently discovered documents from the former Soviet archives and first-hand accounts from correspondents who were in Berlin during the desperate days leading up to the outbreak of war, author Paul Roland unravels the web of diplomacy, deceit and double-dealing which Hitler spun to ensure the war he had always wanted.

This is the extraordinary true story of the little Austrian corporal with the twisted psyche who rose from obscurity to command the world's most formidable military machine, before destroying himself and the empire he claimed would last a thousand years.