The Arms Maker of Berlin

By: Dan Fesperman

Narrated by: Jeff Harding

Length: 13 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's Summary

At 1 a.m. in a deserted Pennsylvania library, Nat Turnbull's cell phone rings. His former mentor, Professor Gordon Wolfe, has been arrested by the FBI for stealing top-secret archive documents dating back to the Second World War.

Coerced by the FBI into examining the archives, Nat finds intriguing references both to Wolfe's activities in an Allied intelligence office during the war and to a mysterious student resistance group in Berlin known as the White Rose.

Following Wolfe's cryptic clues to Europe, Nat uncovers a wartime story of love and betrayal that is reaching out from the past to destroy the present. Now Nat is in a desperate race to unlock the truth.

©2009 Dan Fesperman (P)2009 Isis Publishing Ltd

dust jacket info misleading. `

What disappointed you about The Arms Maker of Berlin?

I found this slooooow and ponderous.

Did Jeff Harding do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

I adore and will ready almost anything narrated by Jeff Harding, he is what makes ANY BOOK a delight - but , sorry Jeff, even I couldn't wade through this one.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

None - admittedly I only gave it half an hour

Any additional comments?

none

An arm chair read

This was my first Dan Fesperman book but I sincerely hope not my last. I picked it up with a little hesitation because the nazi era has been done and done again ad nauseum, but this guy 'sucks' you in within the first two minutes and does not let you go till the end of the story. A tale of several different characters each with a different axe to grind, it jumps very clearly from the past to the present as the author fills out the individual stories and links them to the main thread. Be warned, this is not a book to be enjoyed over many sittings, there is too much going on and things happen too quickly for that. Save it for when you have time for a really good read and enjoy it then

The Arms Maker of Berlin

A fast-paced thriller with complex plots spanning two periods in time - Nazi Germany and modern day - and eventually the period in between. The characters and plots were plausible and kept me gripped throughout, with plenty of plot twists and turns. Jeff Harding's narration is truly excellent.

Enjoyable listen

Dan Fesperman is an excellent author and the arms maker has a good pace to it. The story take you across both the world physically and a diffrent time periods.
Jeff Harding does a great job narrating the story and his accents are superb.

German history revealed

This is an interesting book that sets itself in the last couple of years of the second world war, the communist police state and the post wall Germany.
This is not another Nazi Germany sorry, the third Reich is just the setting, not the story, so please don't pass on it thinking it's another WW2 spy/special operations thriller.

The story uses the White Rose movement (a student anti-Nazi peaceful protest group made famous by the story of Sophie Scholl and her brother Hans) as a thread to link the civil experience of the war, briefly the post-war DDR and then post-wall Germany. There is some depth here with nuances about German identity and language used to develop the plot and characters. This is neither too over done or superficial that it'll put the majority of readers off.

It gets going quite quickly and I found the narration clear and nicely paced. Some of the female voices sounded a little similar, but the text is well written and there is no confusion.

Overall this is a solid story with fleshed out characters and a well structured plot. It is no le Carre or Len Deighton, but then not everything can be. I would happily recommend it.

The Arms Maker of Berlin - enjoyable read

The Arms Maker of Berlin - enjoyable read
I've listened quite a few WW2 books & enjoyed them even though some of the stories are horrific, this one has many of them horrific brutal stories that happen in wartime Germany.
I did enjoy this book, some bits were a bit boring but because if Jeff Harding's brilliant narration I got though them.

From WWII to present day - great story of intrigue

What did you like most about The Arms Maker of Berlin?

I liked how the book explored and unravelled the tale of double cross and murder

Who was your favorite character and why?

Nat Turnbull

What does Jeff Harding bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Jeff is one of the best narrators around, he lends soul and reality to the characters

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I would have been happy listening to this in one sitting, sat in the car a few times to finish the end of a chapter.

Great present time chase based on WWII story

This Fesperman story really works for me. I like the American historian setting off on a chase and I like the fact that the historical WWII story in Germany is told parallel to the contemporary chase so that one moment we see it through the characters in the past and then it switches back to the present. That way the historical story comes to life and is more than just a point of reference integrated in the narration (as it is in Double Game).
Jeff Harding's narration, too, is excellent and even though it's possible to guess the ending of this book it's still delivered well.

A good story well told and well read

Would you listen to The Arms Maker of Berlin again? Why?

I have listened to this multiple times now, the first time to get the whole story and thereafter to fill in any gaps. Even knowing the outcome of the story it is still well worth listening to.

What other book might you compare The Arms Maker of Berlin to, and why?

Compares well with Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther novels (the first few of which are also read by Jeff Harding) many of which deal with the same period in history.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There is a lot in the book, touching on some of the more murderous aspects of the Nazis which is very saddening and the way this is perceived today.