Published in the Bloomsbury Revelations series and featuring a new
preface by the author, this classic biography by acclaimed historian
Richard Overy takes the reader on a chilling journey into the heart of
Hitler's inner circle.
Hermann Goering was Hitler's most loyal supporter, his designated
successor and the second most powerful man in the Third Reich. One of
the main architects of the Nazi regime, he was also instrumental in the
creation of the Gestapo and directly ordered the Final Solution. But who
was the man behind the carefully-constructed mask? Self-indulgent and
ruthless, sybaritic and brutal, egotistical yet capable of
self-effacement, weak-willed yet fiercely calculating, Goering was a
contradictory, complex and often bufoonish character. He styled himself
as the 'Iron Man' but was known to wear togas, fur coats and
faux-medieval hunting outfits. A brilliant World War I fighter pilot,
military leader and mercurial Luftwaffe commander, he also loved the
opera and took a perverse pride in his ill-gotten, infamous art
collection.
Richard Overy illuminates the many facets of Goering's personality and
charts his story from his golden days as Hitler's most trusted commander
to his failures and loss of power after the Battle of Britain, his
sensational trial at Nuremberg and his ignominious death by suicide on
the eve of his execution.
