Nuggets For The Noggin

Killing The SS

The Hunt for the Worst War Criminals in History

Book by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard

Book Review by Jim “Gymbeaux” Brown, November 3, 2018

Note: Words appearing in Blue and Underlined are links to their respective web sites

Disclaimer:  I have enjoyed reading and learning from all of the books written by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard in the “Killing” series of books and this one is no exception.

Reading this book is made easier if you have any knowledge of World War II and Nazi Germany.  I am constantly shocked at how little most Americans under the age of 50 (in 2018) actually know about World War II and the crimes committed by then Nazi Germany as governed by Adolph Hitler.  If they did they would not be as loose with their comparisons of people they don’t like to be like Hitler.

This book is NOT about World War II specifically but rather what happened to some of the worst of the Nazi criminals AFTER the war ended.  I was familiar with some of the story lines in the book but still learned a great deal about the details of their capture or eventual demise. 

O’Reilly and Dugan turn the life events into intriguing stories and introduces the reader to players they may have never heard of before as the book did for me.

I like the writing style of the “killing” series of books.  They are easy to follow.  I am reluctant to call reading about the crimes committed against humanity as being an “enjoyable” read but it was, primarily because it was difficult to put the book down; you wanted to read more and that is always a good thing.  If you are not familiar with people like Adolph Eichmann, Dr. Mengele, Martin Boreman and others, the information contained in the book will be enlightening to say the least.  If you are familiar with the histories of these villains, I still think you will find the information enlightening but more like a desert after a meal. 

Who should read the book?  Anyone interested in history.  That should be everyone but I know that is not the case.

Would I read it again?  Most likely not since I already knew most of the story lines.

Would I give the book as a gift?  Possibly.  Why the uncertainty?  It would be a good gift if you knew the receiver of the gift was specifically interested in history and/or World War II.