Ribbentrop: A Biography

... but also very entertaining and terrifying at the same time. While I agree with almost all what the previous three raters wrote, I want to stress that the entertainment value of this well written biography cannot be overstated. If you want to know how papers were retrieved at the Buero Ribbentrop, the parallel foreign ministry (by emptying a renaissance chest in which everything was thrown into), or how the usually obedient Ribbentrop once enraged the Fuehrer to the point of giving him a nervous breakdown, or how Ribbentrop embarassed himself and the Royal family while he was ambassador in London, look no further, Bloch describes it all, with dry humour, mild pity and all references. And if you ever doubted what a professional diplomatic corps is good for, read this book.

I have read a lot on WW2 history and found this study very good. I certainly learnt much from it. A man promoted well over his ability and experience into a position of foreign minister. Yet in the scheme of things he was a fairly minor character. Yet it surprizing how much influence that he did play in the conflict. I found the questions raised by the writer in relation to Rippontrop causing Hitler to misjudge Britain response to the invasion of Poland fasinating.

There were Nazis with far more blood on their hands the the bumbling foreign minister Joachim Ribbentrop (he "purchased" the noble title "von" in an act that caused him much scorn and derision). But few were more mediocre or more completely dedicated to Hitler. Ribbentrop's stunning ineptness was quite apparent long before he assumed the foreign ministry portfolio. He was so heavilly mocked by the British when he served as Ambassador to London before the war (once even giving the "Hitler salute" to the the King) that he developed a fierce hatred for the country whose language he spoke fluently. Bloch scarcely conceals his utter contempt for the man who may be the most fascinating Nazi other than Hitler. That such a buffoon could rise to such heights and literally stumble his way into becoming a major war criminal would be humorous if it were not in fact so terrifying.