THE LAST BATTLE BY CORNELIUS RYAN

[2311Marine]

While being deployed I am reading this book, and I know there are several more current books on the Battle for Berlin. While this book is an easy read, sometimes an easy read can sacrifice accuracy and twist real events.

Compared to other books, how does the LAST BATTLE pan out.

[Richard Hargreaves]

Ryan's best book and the best book on the fall of Berlin. Far more readable than Beevor's book. I rate in my top 10 of WW2 books.

[sticker57]

Although it's quite a few years since I read it I agree, with you I also think it is his best book I found it fast moving and very readable,as far as I remember, and like all of his books I feel are not great works of history ,they through eye witness accounts give the reader a real feeling of what it must have felt like to experience the battle.

[Taifun]

This is a great read by any account. What makes it special is the fact Ryan interviewed many of the principle characters in person. They render great first person accounts.

[kordts]

Definitely a keeper. I rate it quite highly. A lot of participants and eyewitnesses to the actual events, give it the you are there feel.


Cheers, Jeff.

[Gebirgsjaeger]

I enjoyed the book and it´s a good read. But it´s pretty inaccurate sometimes - for example the layout of the Fuhrer-Bunker is a fake at parts.

My suggestion for further reading on the battle would be Tony le Tissier´s "Battle for Berlin" and "Battle at the Oder river".

[Tom Houlihan]

GebJgr, could you provide specifics on the inaccuracies? I picked up a copy, and it's still in my "to read" pile. It would probably help if I knew ahead of time.

Regarding the inaccuracies of the Bunker layout, to be fair, he probably did the best he could with the information that was available at the time. I just read a book about the bunker, that seemed pretty good. There was something on one of the learning channels a week or so ago about it. Using Stasi photos, and artists sketches [said artist was passing by the bunker during one of the demolition attempts, and managed to get himself down inside briefly], other images, and one of the last survivors, they created a 3-D walk-through. It looked pretty damned good to me!

[Gebirgsjaeger]

Hi Tom!

I don´t have the time to write everything here but you can read Anton Joachimsthaler´s "Hitlers end". He describes the fakes in Ryan´s book very good. In this book it is for example revealed that there was not a single "secret"-tunnel.

[Tom Houlihan]

Okay, thanks! I'll just try to be open minded and critical at the same time!

[Thomhasj]

The most beautiful about the books written by Cornelius Ryan is that you can really sense what Eisenhower or Heinrici must be feeling. Ryan can create an atmosphere where you can place yourself in, say, Heinrici. His books show that important persons where just persons...

The Last Battle is definitely one of the best books I have ever had the pleasure of reading!

[Imad]

Good book. There is some controversy about the casualty figures he gives, however, especially the Russian casualties. He quotes 100,000 fatalites. Some Soviet sources quote a much lower figure, around 80,000 k.w.m I think.
Imad

[Frederick L Clemens]

Keep in mind that Ryan was a journalist first and a historian second, therefore he gives priority to a good story versus accuracy. For example, he tries to make meetings between characters more dramatic by inventing dialogue as well as even thoughts in the character's heads! He also makes the story of the competition between the Western Allies and the Soviets more of a close call by playing with the timeline. It makes easier reading but it is not good history.
Also, Ryan did not do all the interviews himself, like any professor who uses his assistants to do the drudge work, Ryan had others doing many of the interviews while he coordinated the overall project. A researcher friend of mine used to tell the story of his visit to the German archives when the director asked him "Do you know what chair you are sitting in?" - "That is the chair Ryan sat in while his book was being written!"

I would still recommend his books as an introduction, but with the caution that the primary sources must be re-checked before you accept any of the details in it or derive any specific conclusions from his portrayal.