Product Description

It's spring 1983. It seemed that one of the most startling discoveries of the century had been made, and that one of the world's most sought after documents had finally come to light - the private diaries of Adolf Hitler. What followed was a fiasco of fakery, greed, the duping of experts, and the exchange of extraordinary sums of money for world-wide publishing rights. But that was just the beginning of the story.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10580 in Books
• Published on: 1996-08-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

About the Author
Robert Harris is the author of Fatherland, Enigma, Archangel, Pompeii, Imperium and The Ghost, all of which were international bestsellers. His latest novel, Lustrum, has just been published. His work has been translated into thirty-seven languages. After graduating with a degree in English from Cambridge University, he worked as a reporter for the BBC's Panorama and Newsnight programmes, before becoming political editor of the Observer and subsequently a columnist on the Sunday Times and the Daily Telegraph. The film of The Ghost - for which he co-wrote the screenplay - directed by Roman Polanski and starring Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan is due to be released at the beginning of 2010. He is married to Gill Hornby and they live with their four children in a village near Hungerford.

Customer Reviews

Absolutely Excellent - You just can't put the book down!
After a recommendation from a friend I purchased this book. Overall, it is an excellent account of the fake hitler diaries which came to light in the early 1980's. Harris gives a detailed background of those involved before moving on to the actual circumstances surrounding the affair. I had read Fatherland and Engima (fiction novels by Harris) before reading this, and even though this is factual the quality of the book equals them in every way.

An engrossing indictment of media arrogance.
'Selling Hitler' relates the story of the fraudulent Hitler diaries, from their conception to the aftermath of destroyed reputations when the con was revealed. Harris' achievement with this book is to create a marvellously gripping and tense read despite the fact that the reader is aware of the outcome all along. A number of conspiracy theories about the purpose of the forgeries sprung up and continue to do so, but this story is interesting precisely because of the surprising lack of conspiracy. It would appear that nothing more than human carelessness, greed and vanity enabled the forger and led to the massive scale of the humiliation.

'Selling Hitler' also provides a chilling insight into the unhealthy fascination that Adolf Hitler continues to hold for a surprisingly large number of people. In tracing the origins of the diaries, Harris investigates sinsister ex-SS men and peculiar millionaires obsessed with Nazi memoribilia. The strong reaction to the diaries all over the world proved that Hitler and the Nazis still have the power to unsettle and disturb. The book also has interesting insights into how Germany and the Germans have coped with the legacy of the Nazis.

Above all, 'Selling Hitler' is an engrossing and fascinating read; I found myself literally unable to put it down as I got closer to the climax. It is extremely well crafted - like other well written non-fiction books such as 'Schindlers Ark', the writer refrains from any writerly showing off and tells the story in a straightforward and engaging manner. Highly recommended.

Red herrings and red faces - absolutely hitlarious
Proof that truth is funnier than fiction. Harris's "Selling Hitler" is one of the funniest books you'll ever read. A brilliantly written account populated by amazing characters and astounding stupidity which must bring many other scholastic theories and historical research into question. The story is so well told in simple narrative form and the scale of the breathtaking fraud is steadily built up into epic proportions. It's cry out loud funny in places; you really can't believe how such an inept counterfeiter could escape detection for so long although you are really rooting for him by the end. Hilarious, fascinating and challenging in turn, this is a joy to read and always reminds me of Mel Brooks' film "The Producers".