I always enjoy Mr. Harris' attention to historical detail, and was intrigued and fascinated by this novel. I suspect the default setting for many, is to see Chamberlin as the dithering appeaser supplanted by a lion-like Churchill. This novel gave me pause for thought and I anticipate looking further into Chamberlin's lifer and times. Its well worth a read and I recommend either as a holiday read or for the devote Harris fans out there. Looking forward to the next one!

Robert Harris has done it again.. A gripping yarn set around a momentous historical event ; so accurate in every detail that you almost feel and smell prewar London ; all sandbags, barrage balloons and stiff upper lips and Munich , too ; with swasticas everywhere and generous servings of Nazi pomp and tyranny. Paul Hartmann a German diplomat and part of conspiracy to overthrow Hitler is trying to stop Chamberlain signing or have any confidence in the Munich agreement. A long lost university friends Hugh Legat ends up trying to facilitate communication. We are treated to a plot that involves various escapes ( secret trysts , escape from agents, late night rendezvous etc.) that are stitched together seamlessly into a real page turning thriller. If you liked Fatherland and Enigma , you are in for a treat with this welcome new addition to his stable of historical thrillers.

Munich is a fascinating study of events surrounding a meeting held in 1938 between the leaders of England, France and Adolf Hitler of Germany in an attempt to forestall a war. Just 21 years after the bloodbath of 1914-1918 ended it was apparent that a second world war was on the horizon. Germany in looking for "Living Room" for it's 80 million people had already merged with Austria and had indicated that it would annex parts of Czechoslovakia with large German populations. The annexation would be by any means necessary including war. Neville Chamberlane, the British prime minister was determined to forestall war by any means possible setting up a meeting with Hitler taking place in Munich. The purpose was to arrange any sort of accord that would prevent war. Hugh Legat, a member of Chamberlane's staff and Rikard Hartmann attached to the German foreign office had previously met while students at Oxford becoming good friends. They both came to the conference as part of their respective country's staff. Hartmann was secretly a member of an anti-Hitler movement and looked for the chance to capture the fuhrer during the meeting. The novel is a brilliant reenactment of the Munich conference based on obviously painstaking research by Mr Harris. Both England and France have their leaders in attendance with Benito Mussolini the Italian dictator coming at the special invitation of Hitler. The interactions between the attendees are described in a manner that is very probable based on the actual events as written up in newspapers and cables published at the time of the conference. The many novels that I have read written by Robert Harris are always fascinating and aptly fitting the category of all night reads. Several of his novels have been made into movies and Munich strikes me as quite apt for the same treatment due to the conflict described.

Munich by Robert Harris is a marvellous historical political thriller that gripped me from the start. It is a work of fiction but very much grounded in fact as it surrounds the Munich Agreement of September 1938, and the infamous ‘peace for our time’ from Chamberlain. On the surface all is polite and everyone appears to be working towards peace but underneath there lurks tension and suspicion. Hitler was a man no one should trust. With hindsight we can easily see this, but would it have been so clear at the time? Simmering away underneath it all is another event, just as important. We read with baited breath to see the outcome. Old friends from Oxford, one German and one English, meet up in Munich to swap more than just old stories. The reader glimpses the atrocities for which the Nazis dish out to all who oppose the Hitler regime. It is truly shocking. The characters are all realistic. Robert Harris has perfectly captured the atmosphere of fear, menace and distrust that was prevalent at the time. I thoroughly enjoyed Munich. I read it after having watched the movie of the same name which was an accurate adaptation of the book. I can thoroughly recommend it.

Another Robert Harris highly enjoyable book, couldn't put it down.