A fresh perspective on the Third Reich: the deadly contests among Hitler's lieutenants, and their disastrous consequences.

The Nazi regime was essentially a religious cult relying on the hypnotic personality of Adolf Hitler, and it was fated to die with him. But while it lasted, his closest lieutenants competed ferociously for power and position as his chosen successor. This peculiar leadership dynamic resulted in millions of deaths and some of the worst excesses of World War II.

The Devil's Disciples is the first major book for a general readership to examine those lieutenants, not only as individuals but also as a group. It focuses on the three most important Nazi paladins — Göring, Goebbels, and Himmler — with their nearest rivals — Bormann, Speer, and Ribbentrop — in close attendance.

Perceptive, illuminating, and grandly ambitious, The Devil's Disciples is above all a powerful chronological narrative, showing how the personalities of Hitler's inner circle developed and how their jealousies and constant intrigues affected the regime, the war, and Hitler himself. 16 pages of photographs.

Originally published in Great Britain under the title , this study examines the personalities, rivalries, and beliefs of Hitler's chief lieutenants. It concentrates on G<:o>ring, Goebbels, and Himmler along with their major rivals—Bormann, Speer, and Ribbentrop. Arranged chronologically, it recounts the role of each of these men in the Nazi dictatorship, the world war, and the German defeat. Read has written extensively about World War II.
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"[F]ew [WWII books] have been so well written and researched that they can change our very perspective of the war and the personalities involved in it. This is such a book....Dust off a spot on your shelf...for this magnificent new work." Library Journal

"Despite his penchant for cliche, Read tells the story of two decades of assiduous jockeying for power in luridly absorbing if overwhelming detail." Publishers Weekly

"In this very long but unflagging study, English historian Read sharpens the focus on these lieutenants such that Hitler sometimes seems absent from the scene altogether....Read's narrative gives Hitler's lieutenants their due..." Kirkus Reviews

"An able integration of extant material, Read's chronicle stands as a viable alternative to collecting it individually, or simply as an introduction to the gangsterlike personalities of the leading Nazis." Booklist

"Anthony Read's book...is a perfectly serviceable work which adds nothing to history....[W]ith the exception of Göring...none of those people had interesting private lives apart from their public roles in the Third Reich." Neal Ascherson, The Observer (U.K.)

Read presents a fresh perspective on the Third Reich: the deadly contests among Hitler's lieutenants, and their disastrous consequences. The Devil's Disciples is the first major book for a general readership to examine those lieutenants, not only as individuals but also as a group.

Anthony Read lives in England and has written a number of books on World War II.