So much happens in this limited period of the Second World War and so little of it uplifting - reinforces a jaundiced view of the human condition. The horrendous death marches of concentration camp inmates ordered by their Nazi tormentors in a desperate attempt to hide their guilt, the frantic political scrambling for post War positions by those who until recently held absolute power, the darkly fascinating descriptions of the ends of Hitler and the cronies who surrounded him, the descriptions of whole cities laid waste and of their inhabitants scrabbling to survive, the depredations inflicted by the Red Army in retribution for the German invasion of Russia and much more - all are laid out in Ulrich’s page turning book. Really very good!