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Hermann Goering is best known as the head of the Luftwaffe, but he was a far more important figure in Nazi Germany. For many years he was the 'second man' in Germany, a key figure in Hitler's rise to power, the persecution of the Jews and the management of the German economy.
This biography was originally published in 1962, so the authors were able to interview many of Goering's associates and family members. The vast collection of documents gathered for the Nuremburg trials were also available, so the author's had access to most of the facts about Goering's life.
After a brief look at Goering's pre-Nazi life, most of the book focuses on his life from 1922, when he met Hitler, to his trial and death after the war. Goering's part in the rise of the Nazis to power, the consolidation of that power after Hitler became Chancellor, his role in Nazi Germany and the creation of the Luftwaffe.
The section on the war years tracing Goering's slow fall from power and influence, partly because of the failures of the Luftwaffe in the second half of the war and partly because of his own lack of interest in an increasingly futile struggle. Finally the author's examine Goering's initial success and eventual failure in the dock at Nuremberg.
This is a very high quality biography of a surprisingly complex figure, helping to explain his rise and eventual fall, while also providing a interesting picture of the Nazi leadership.
Chapters
1 - Pour le Mérite
2 - Failure and Exile
3 - Fulfilment
4 - Conquest of the State
5 - Hitler's Paladin
6 - Peace or War
7 - Blitzkrieg
8 - Maecenas of the Third Reich
9 - Eclipse
10 - Nuremberg
Appendix: A note on the Reichstag Fire
Author: Roger Manvell and Heinrich Fraenkel
Edition: Paperback
Pages: 442
Publisher: Frontline
Year: 2011 edition of 1962 original