Munich

A novel

By: Robert Harris

Narrated by: David Rintoul

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the bestselling author of Conclave, V2, and Fatherland comes a WWII-era spy thriller set against the backdrop of the fateful Munich Conference of September 1938. Now a Netflix film starring Jeremy Irons.

With this electrifying novel about treason and conscience, loyalty and betrayal, "Harris has brought history to life with exceptional skill" —The Washington Post

Hugh Legat is a rising star of the British diplomatic service, serving at 10 Downing Street as a private secretary to the Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain. Paul von Hartmann is on the staff of the German Foreign Office--and secretly a member of the anti-Hitler resistance. The two men were friends at Oxford in the 1920s, but have not been in contact since. Now, when Hugh flies with Chamberlain from London to Munich, and Hartmann travels on Hitler's train overnight from Berlin, their paths are set on a disastrous collision course.

And once again, Robert Harris gives us actual events of historical importance—here are Hitler, Chamberlain, Mussolini, Daladier—at the heart of an electrifying, unputdownable novel.

It’s not the writing

I don’t double this was a big deal for a moment in history. However considering how this story not to mention the rest of the story turned out, I’m not sure of the point. It would be reading about how the titanic almost put life boats onboard.

Riviting

Great history, great suspense, and a remarkable performance. I felt that I knew personally each of the characters. I would have listened for either the history or the plot; the two together make this one of my favorite audible books ever.

Both underexamined History and a Novel

With the backdrop of 1938 European "Great Powers" - preparing for War with a "time out" for the Munich Agreement to assuage Hitler's demands - Robert Harris' "Munich - A Novel" - has both this background and the foreground containing details of the diplomatic meetings, some espionage and dialogue.

Very interesting to listen to; very interesting to "rethink" Munich and Chamberlain's label of "Appeasement" - actively used as a derogatory term as is today's U.S. political analysis and custom. My insight gained is that while Great Britain was in its second year of rearming - it simply wasn't prepared for war; it's Dominions wouldn't have supported a war; so Chamberlain's actions were what was necessary to gain even a day/week/month of peace.

There's a saying that "For every complex problem - there is a simple solution.....and its usually wrong...." That's where I am after reading this Novel - and rethinking the contemporary political name-calling about Chamerlain and "Appeaser".

Carl Gallozzi
[e-mail]

Superbly crafted

What did you love best about Munich?

Harris has meticulously researched historical facts and woven the two fictional protagonists into the lives of real people. He is an excellent writer.

What did you like best about this story?

Suspenseful and real. Also, the book shows how Chamberlain had little choice but to give in to Hitler's demand for the Sudetenland. Chamberlain has been vilified ever since the 1938 deal he made with Hitler, but the book, though its characters, makes a compelling argument why going to war with Germany in 1938 was not possible for Britain.

Historical Fiction

I enjoyed this book but it is revisionist. If you don’t know your history treat it as a good spy story.