The Knight, Death, and the Devil

by Ella Leffland

Book Overview

The Knight, Death and the Devil is a historical and biographical novel of Hermann Goring. Published to extraordinary acclaim, it illuminates the life of Hitler's second-in-command and the rise of the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0688058361
• ISBN13: 9780688058364
• Release Date: January 1990
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 718 Pages
• Weight: 2.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.4" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Utterly engrossing

I read this book awhile ago - must be onwards of 10 years or more - but I have yet to read another biographical novel that is its equal. Leffland does the almost impossible task of taking a historical figure, keeping the story rooted in the facts, and yet turning Goering into a titanic literary creation. From first page to last, surrounded by tragic men like Ernst Udet and the banal evil of the Nazi host, Goering's story reads like an opera careening through two wars and a society's descent into madness.

great book!

Im a person who reads many books but doesnt write many reviews.Im writting this one in gratitude to the writer.Orinally I had trouble in choosing a book to read on Goring.A subject I found interesting and wanted to learn more about.Im pleased that this was the book I choose.Im pleased in the style and how well Leffland tells it.This is historical novel with great deal of facts but is told in a fictional way that I found more entertaining then alot of biographies.She did give me quite a feeling of what it was like in the Riech and in Germany at that time.She did such a good job of this I thought It would be only fair of me to take a minute of my time to write this.I have read a great amount of books on world war II and this is one of the best.

A justified historical novel

If you are interested in German/European history, then get yourself a copy of this book. It seems to be out of print, and no I won't sell mine, but its still worth finding. Leffland took the approach of a historical novel because she felt that this was the best way of making you understand the times and how heroic Germans could be seduced by Nazism and Hitler. Leffland certainly researched her subject well enough to have written a biography of Georing, but this approach had to be more fun for her and her readers. Sure, its kind of a cop out approach when comparing this to Kershaw's biography of Hitler, but then Kershaw does not make me feel like a German caught up in the rush of the early 20's in Germany either.

Meet Hermann Goering

Leffland brings the complexities of Hermann Goering to life with clarity and vivid detail. Her descriptions of Castle Veldenstein and Carinhall (Goering's estate named after his first wife) are fascinating, and are quite accurate, probably the best ever written. Although this novel is fiction, the bulk of the material is taken from exhaustively researched facts. (Leffland actually went to Germany to visit places in the book firsthand and met with Goering's relatives.) The Knight, Death and the Devil is a wonderfully tragic tale that can be savored like a fine wine.

A Fine Novel

Leffland is an exquisite writer. This novel explores the humanity of a monster, the banality of evil personified. It is a very rich and enlightening journey that illuminates a life yet can not answer the mystery behind its horrifying outcome. The writing is superb, the character of H.G. richly ambiguous. As with any villain, there are more questions than answers, and Leffland beautifully dramatizes the puzzle of the nature of evil and how it can take root in the human soul.