• Otto Skorzeny

  • The Devil’s Disciple
  • By: Stuart Smith
  • Narrated by: Julian Elfer
  • Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (101 ratings)

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Otto Skorzeny

By: Stuart Smith
Narrated by: Julian Elfer
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Publisher's summary

SS-Obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny became a legend in his own time. "Hitler's favorite commando" acquired a reputation as a man of daring, renowned for his audacious 1943 mission to extricate Mussolini from a mountain-top prison. He could be brave and resourceful, but was also a notorious egoist and an unrepentant Nazi until the end of his life.

Stuart Smith draws on years of in-depth research to uncover the truth about Skorzeny's career and complex personality. From his background as a student radical in Vienna to his bloody service with the Waffen-SS on the Eastern Front, and from his surprise rebirth as a commando to his intriguing post-war career and mysterious fortune, this book tells Otto Skorzeny's story in full-warts and all-for the first time.

©2018 Stuart Smith (P)2018 Tantor

What listeners say about Otto Skorzeny

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Balanced and fascinating story of Skorzeny

With this title, I finally know the full story of Otto Skorzeny; what he did and what he was like.

I really like how balanced the author is. While he clearly lays out Otto's daring exploits, he makes a point of showing how they actually happened, and notes discrepancies in Skorzeny's version of these events. He also clearly thinks Skorzeny is somewhat fly-by-night, relying on daring instead of thorough planning. (Or, on having others do the planning for him).

If you want to know more about Skorzeny, get this book. I really feel that it's an unbiased review of what he did well (and not so well).

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2 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not what I expected

This audio book was slower and less exciting than I was anticipating. Good overall job by the narrator. There were stretches of fairly uninteresting/pedestrian achievements in his life.

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Good balanced bio, reads well

Skorzeny is a fascinating character, and this is a much-awaited biography that reads almost like a war novel. A recommended reading to all interested in WWW II and/or national-socialism.

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Great book!

Really great book about the life of Otto Skorzeny! The only issues i had with the book were that it easy downplayed his role in taking control of things during the Valkyrie incident. Skorzeny was ordered by Hitler himself to take control of Berlin and bring everything back under control, according to the book Skorzeny made that up but that's not true. Albert Speer in his own book verified that same story that other historians have told about Skorzeny being one of the two ordered to take control of Berlin. That other thing that i kinda disliked was the way the author let his personal feelings about Skorzeny get in the way of his writing. There's too many incidents in the book where the author expresses his doubt about something Skorzeny said or did. That more than likely it happened a different way, but because Skorzeny said it happened this way then that's just what he'll go with, but that more than likely it was something else that occurred (vise versa). The author doesn't shy away from the fact that he thinks Skorzeny lied or exaggerated a lot, he reminds the reader/ listener of it a lot.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Hero is a hero

Although Otto was a Nazi, he was a terrific marketing and military strategist. He managed to get all of the attention from Hitler while superiors had to take a back seat. I loved the story, and not many stories tell of heroic events of the axis powers. If you like WW II books and can't get enough then this is a great read for you. Love a winner even in a losing cause.

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The amount of facts is astounding

The myth of Otto Skorzeny is legendary. However, the reality of his exploits are cast in different light given the situations he was in. Brave and motivated but also Machiavellian in self promotion. Great straight forward listen.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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A comprehensive review of the man and the myth

This is a very well researched and presented book. The narrator was exceptionally good. I highly recommend it to all students of WWII.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

good story but biased

Skorzeny has an amazing story. The writer continuously tries to belittle and degrade him and that was constant and annoying.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent Book/Story of one of WW2’s most interesting personalities.

Exceptional story that is very well told.
Amazing amount of detail on both the man & his exploits.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good history lesson

If you like reading history books this is a 5 star book. The narrator is top notch and German pronunciations are excellent. The book is overflowing with useful information about the German Army and Skorzeny's life but is not a thriller. Good historical read!

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