Valkyrie: The Story of the Plot to Kill Hitler, by Its Last Member

from that of the film.I think Hollywood did a great job with the film, and this book can't live up to the same level as far as absorbing.The author was part of the ongoing plot to assassinate Hitler, but did not know von Stauffenberg. He was in an administrative position in the Wehrmacht that gave him access to explosives and had been trained in how to use them as part of his military training.He and his brother were part of a Calvary unit that was used in the war, because the well-trained horses could be used by their equally well-trained riders to get in and out of areas where large vehicles were cumbersome. This was an elite and traditional military unit.The author prepared the explosives for the attempts. Von Stauffenberg was involved in more than one attempt to kill Hitler with a bomb. They agreed ahead of time to cancel an attempt that would leave one of the top Nazis designated to immediately take Hitler's place as leader alive.Although thousands of people were executed for their role in or knowledge of a plot, the author was not suspected or arrested.

In reading this story of the last attempt to assonate Hitler, the writer tells far too much of his own history growing up with his brothers. The story was really about the writer and his family's early years, which had little to do with to purpose of the book. It took two thirds of the book or more before he got to the meat and potatoes of what was happening during the war at that point in time--and I am being charitable. He only spoke about von Stauffenberg, who actually delivered the bomb to the meeting where it was to be detonated, in a very cursory manner. He makes a comment something like, and the situation regarding von Stauffenberg is well known. And that was the extent of his comments. The book leaves you wanting to hear more of what actually went into the situation and circumstances of the assonation. When finished you are left asking the question of who did what and how was it done, in some detail. The book was a big let-down. Since I knew the story, it was not a complete loss and I was able to put the pieces together.

This is a really good book. This is not the movie version, though I really enjoyed the movie. There was just so much to do to even hope this could work that many and important people had to be involved. This book goes deeply into background of some of the military people involved in this attempt and what it could cost them to fail.This is a good book to see that many Germans opposed Hitler and wanted him stopped no matter the cost. It just wasn't to be,

This is an excellent memoire of one of the key players in the various plots to kill Adolf Hitler during the war. My only regrest is that von Boeselager did not begin to write/dictate his memoires earlier in his life when he might have remmebered even more interesting stories. The author gives us fascinating insights into the psychological makeup of the various players, both loyal Nazis and committed opponents. I was moved when I read that the author maintained cordial relations with the relatives of fellow conspirators who did not survive Hitler's vengeance like Oster and Treskow.

This slender volume with its spare, undramatic prose provides unparalleled insights into why the German officer class was so slow to turn against Hitler, why a few of them finally did, why they decided they had to stage a coup rather than a simple assassination, and why the plot was so risky.

The writer is very engaging from the get go. It is wonderful to have his perspective as a patriotic German during the 30's. Great read, interesting view point.

Very detailed personal account of a soldier's role in the plot to kill Hitler. Excellent reading if you are interested in reading about the 3rd Reich.

I enjoyed the book. It was very interesting to learn more about some of the unknown people who plotted against Hitler.