Beevor, Antony

The Fall of Berlin 1945

ISBN: 0670030414
New York, NY: Viking Penguin/ Penguin Putnam Inc., 2002. First American Edition. Hardcover. "The Red Army had much to avenge when it finally reached the frontiers of the Reich in January 1945. Frenzied by their terrible experiences with Wehrmacht and SS brutality, they wreaked havoc- tanks crushing refugee columns under their tracks, mass rape, pillage and destruction. Hundreds of thousands of women and children froze to death or were massacred because Nazi Party chiefs, refusing to face defeat, had forbidden the evacuation of civilians. More than seven million fled westward from the terror of the Red Army. It was the most terrifying example of fire and sword ever known...The personal moral chaos that determined the lives of many Germans was a result of a titanic conflict between the most tyrannical egos of the twentieth century. (Adolf) Hitler, half crazed in his bunker, issued wild orders in the monstrous vanity of a personal Gotterdammerung, determined to bring down the Reich capital. (Joseph) Stalin, meanwhile, was prepared to risk any number of his men to seize Berlin before the Americans...The Fall of Berlin 1945 is a terrible story of pride, stupidity, fanaticism, revenge and savagery, yet it is also one of astonishing endurance, self-sacrifice and survival against all odds." (from front & rear flaps) The epic, indeed appalling-to-the-point-of-surreality, account of the culminative battle of the Second World War in Europe. The author, Antony Beevor (b. 1946), the acclaimed & prolific British historian, has here produced the most comprehensive chronology of the Third Reich's fearsome final months to date, sweeping & granular in turn. With three sections of captioned historical photographs; text preceded by a section of maps, glossary; followed by extensive source notes, index. Hardcover in unclipped first-issue dust jacket (with $29.95 price & "0502" printed on front flap), first American edition published simultaneously or just following the first UK edition, first printing as indicated by number sequence on copyright page. From the collection of George V. Buehler (1933-2020), who was a prominent real estate developer & collector in Massachusetts & Arizona. We found & have retained Buehler's original receipt for purchase of this item during May of 2002, along with several printed-out documents relating to his subsequent research on it in 2012 & 2015, all in very fine condition, some folded with minor edge-creasing. Also present are three original articles/ reviews: Norman Stone's review of this volume entitled "The Nazis' Last Stand: World War II's ferocious and surreal conclusion on the Eastern Front," clipped from the June 2002 issue of The Atlantic Monthly magazine, three leaves folded once horizontally; Carlo D'Este's review entitled "The Final Days: An account of the Red Army's assault on Germany," clipped from the September 8, 2002 issue of the New York Times Book Review, one leaf folded horizontally & vertically; & Benjamin Schwarz' article entitled "A Job for Rewrite: Stalin's War," two much-folded leaves from the "Arts & Ideas" section of the NYT issue of February 21, 2004, which mentions this book along with other related topics. All of these (quite informative & enthusiastic) articles/ reviews are in very fine condition, folded as noted with only slight irregularity at clipped edges & in the case of the NYT leaves with moderate browning. Another masterpiece of military history by the outstanding Antony Beevor, in one of its rarest original forms with distinguished provenance & enriching ephemera. See also our item No.s 4810, 4860. Book in very fine condition with only mild wear, rubbing & a touch of browning to lower edges & corners of front, back covers & spine; several very faint scratches, creases across length of spine (with gilt lettering completely bright & intact). Interior very fine with only miniscule bumps, creases at thin upper side-edges of a few page leaves; otherwise substantially mint. Dust jacket very fine with mild rubbing, faint scratching to front, back covers & spine; some tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of same & flaps. An extra handling fee will be added for shipping due to the weight of this item. Very Fine / Very Fine. [Item #4899]

Price: $60.00