The Day Before Sunrise

I really enjoyed this book. I've read a number of WWII era spy thrillers, but never one that took place this late in the war. The author does a terrific job of describing the absolute destruction of the German infrastructure and the collapse of both morale and order as the allied forces closed in on Berlin. This is an eye-opening description of the consequences of Hitler's decision to fight to bitter end. In addition, the author also shows how the events of the closing weeks of the war helped to set the stage for the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States. His description of the efforts of Allen Dulles at minimizing the territorial gains of the Soviets, and the resulting compromises that need to be made with the Germans to facilitate these goals is enlightening. Its interesting to note that, in many ways, the Cold War really began during WWII, when the US and the USSR were still officially allies against Germany. This book was a fast read, and while it doesn't really explore any philosophical issues very deeply, it does help put the waning days of the war in Europe into some historical perspective. Over all, I thought it was a pretty good book.

This book turned out much better then I thought it would. I have read a number of books about the last days of World War Two in Berlin and this book captures that same feel. I thought the author does a good job in describing the atmosphere to the point that I could feel the tension and depression. The story is a good one with a solid plot. This book reads well with economic time successfully spent on character development. If you are interested in this period of time this is a very good fiction book that covers it.

As a self appointed WWII buff and historian i find Thomas Wisemans Novel/HistoryThe Day before Sunrise probably the best combination of history andNovel type thrills I have ever read. Mr Wiseman conveys such realism in his style that at times I actually could smell and feel the bombed out and hased feel of Berlin in it's death throws. The writing style and character development would make Michner jealous. If you would really like to be truly transported to Berlin in early 1945 than this is th ticket. I can say no more other than it's time to take a ride. Peter Guzzo [email protected]