What a fascinating read. Incredibly well-researched and really shined a light on the last days of the war in personal perspectives. This book includes the perspectives and actions of those who were key, well known players in the war (Mussolini, Hitler, Churchill as well as other prominent figures well known at the time) and everyday folks whose names you will recognize (Hepburn, Loren, Vonnegut).

Whether you are a casual history buff of World War II or a well read historian, you would enjoy this book for the first person accounts from many that have not been heard before.

I received a copy from the publisher via #Netgalley; this is my honest review.

I enjoyed the book, but it is too high level for my students at the time I read the book. The students are in a public school district which really let them (and me) down.

As always, WWII is bound to be a success with me. This collection of non-fiction accounts from the war was incredibly interesting, if a little difficult at points to read. I hadn't read about reactions to Hitler's death before so that was really interesting. Glad I read it.

I did not finish the whole book.
This book was not for me, my expectations for the book was very different from what the book was. I had hoped that the book told stories about people I would know who were. And, sometime the book did. But a little too often the book talked about people directly present in the war.

I find that quite interesting as well, but stories I feel have been told too many times already. The reason I did not finish this book was not the lack of anything, the book it self was very nice. But it was too long. I was not invested in any of the stories, and even though my interest in this war has become bigger over the years, I still feel I am not the right audience for this book.

Thank you NetGalley, and Nicholas Best, for allowing me to read and review Five Days That Shocked The World.

Nicholas Best did an outstanding job at piecing together the harrowing details hiring the last five days of WW2.

With much of the details coming from public record, and eyewitness accounts of those who lived through the time, either as someone in the fight or affected by it, it was heart wrenching to read.

It will be a while before I get some of those detailed descriptions out of my mind, of the atrocious that so many of the Jewish faith suffered. I several countries across Europe.

If you are a history buff, you may wish to read this book.

This books needs to be read.

We should never forget the atrocities committed during the years of Hitler and Nazism.

“Five Days That Shocked the World” by Nicholas Best is a great starting point for readers interested in the Second World War. In this book the author describes the last five days of the war from many different perspectives. The war is shown from various points of view of people that were famous during the war or became well-known later. The book is not perfect just as human memory is far from perfect. There are many aspects of the events described in the book that were neglected and left out by the author, but of course it was impossible to put every piece of information in one volume.

It was an easy read. There were so many lives at stake, so many people fighting for survival, that it was easy to get engaged in reading about their fates. The events at the end of the Second World War were very dramatic, there was do much confusion! At times the book read like an action-packed thriller.

When I read the last sentence in this book I laughed out loud. It offered a much needed comic relief after reading so many pages about human misery, death, terrible suffering and destruction. But it left me surprised as well. It wasn’t an average way to end a book about such important and tragic historical events. The author at times seems to sacrifice historical accuracy for a dramatic effect.

To sum it up, it is a very interesting and informative book, that will without doubt inspire many readers to read more about the Second World War and to seek more information about fates of different people and nations.

I received “Five Days That Shocked the World” from the publisher via NetGalley. I would like to thank the author and the publisher for providing me with the advance reader copy of the book.

This book is a must read for anyone who is at all interested in WW2!
It gives eye witness accounts which I think are amazing, even with some of the rose coloured specs worn by some of the witnesses.

What an amazing book. It really got into the nitty gritty of what happened. I learned more than I ever thought possible. This was such a unique time in our history and to have someone focus on just these days was brilliant. This book won't be for everyone, but if you're a lover of history or WWII you'll find it absolutely riveting. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

History is always captivating to me, but this book made me speechless. All I could say was WOW. So much packed into so few days, but this book captures it well.

This summary of the end of WWII weaves together many different story lines and perspectives to give an interesting account of the war's last days and aftermath. Some of these stories I already knew (at least in part), but others were completely unknown to me previously.

Honestly, I've probably read way too much about this period of history now. It's rare that I now find anything worth reading from this period that offers anything different to what I have already read. It was, therefore, a nice surprise to find that 'Five Days that Shocked the World' managed to offer something unique in style and content about this already very well covered period of history.

There are some fascinating anecdotal stories in here that make up a little patchwork of this brief period. In particular I enjoyed reading about some characters who were not central to the conflict but who had their lives impacted by it. The section on Audrey Hepburn was something of a surprise and was the sort of thing I could have happily read more about. Overall, this is an interesting read for anyone familiar with this period of history who may wish to read something a little different to the usual historical accounts.

3.5 Stars

I thought this was an incredibly fascinating book. It really made me research more based on what I read. I believe it is well-researched and this is exactly the sort of history non-fiction book I was after.

World War II is one of the areas of modern history that fascinates me the most. I thought this book was unique in that it focused on the last five days of the war and was focused on the eyewitness accounts. I liked the parallels about where famous, or soon to be famous, individuals were when all of these events were occurring. It does not shy away from the horrific accounts of the war.

Probably the chapter on Hitler's death and the aftermath of it for his supporters, was the most compelling part of the book, due to how it was well-written. You do not usually get the German perspective of the end of the war, so that made this book unique in its take.

For history buffs, I highly recommend!

I obtained a free copy via Netgalley for a honest and true review.

Five Days that Shocked the World: Eyewitness Accounts from Europe at the end of World War II by Nicholas Best is a fantastic read and perfect for all the history buffs out there!

In the book we follow a young Walter Cronkite as he parachutes into Holland with a Canadian troop; photographer Lee Miller capturing the evidence of Nazi atrocities; the future Pope Benedict returning home and hoping not to be caught and shot after deserting his unit; Audrey Hepburn no longer having to fear conscription into a Wehrmacht brothel; and even an SS doctor's descriptions of a decadent sex orgy in Hitler's bunker.

A good history book is all about the writing of the author and Nicholas Best does not disappoint. There are hundreds and hundreds of books on WWII but this isn't a book that will fall lost in the scholarship of WWII.

Anyone who loves history but specifically World War II I would definitely recommend this book!

The last few days of World War II are some of the more dramatic in history. Regimes were falling, old scores were being settled, and horrific chapters of history were being closed. Nicholas Best attempts to capture some of this chaos, and includes the personal tales of some well-known people.


=== The Good Stuff ===

* Best writes in an informal and easy-to-read style. The book is relatively short, but the pages flew by and I found myself reading the book in just a few sittings. The book is organized chronologically, and includes events throughout Europe during the few days before Germany’s surrender.

* There seems to be little new information in the book. Rather, it is mostly a synthesis of information that had been previously published. That said, however, the book is a nice summary of events relating to the surrender of Germany, the attempted breakouts from the heart of Berlin, and the last actions of man of the Nazi and Fascist leaders from Germany and Italy.

* The book includes personal histories of a number of characters. Some of these are more relevant to the topic of the end of the war, but all are somewhat entertaining and interesting. The characters who share their war-end memories include show-business personalities, religious leaders and future political figures from a number of countries.


=== The Not-So-Good Stuff ===

* Toward the end, the book drags a bit. Once Hitler is dead, and the various Nazi leaders are fighting among themselves over succession, the actions become repetitive and somewhat uninteresting. I had read this material in other sources, so perhaps I would have found it more interesting if I hadn’t been exposed to it.

* There are not a lot of footnotes or references. The material certainly seems reasonably researched and in-line with what I have read previously, but it is not possible to follow the author’s trail of evidence. This is probably a minor point, since the book is more a “summary” than any attempt to shed new light on any events.


=== Summary===

The book is a nice summary of the events of the last few days of World War II in Europe. In includes the personal stories of a number of future “celebrities”, which mostly serve to make the story a bit more interesting. The book can be a bit gory and brutal, especially describing some of the violence that occurred during the last few days of the war. If you are reasonably well-read on this period history, there is not a lot of new information, but it is an reasonable and quick read.


=== Disclaimer ===

I was able to read an advance copy through the courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley.

Five Days That Shocked The World covers the events that took place during the last five days of WWII. Nicholas Best's writing is exceptional, he chronologically describes each day with eyewitnesses statements in each chapter. Many well-known people and their recollections of those specific days are included in the book. In my opinion, this book is very distressing, as so was WWII.

The story begins with Mussolini's capture and execution. The author does not sugarcoat anything in the book. Eyewitness's statements bring us back to those tragic days when the whole world was waiting for Germany to surrender and for Hitler to be captured.

I've read many books about WWII, nonetheless, when I opened this book I was not prepared for the horror and barbarity that took place during WWII. The book is dark and distressing, I was shocked by how much cruelty and inhumanity people had in themselves during those devastating days.

I think it takes a strong character to write a book like this. Yes, the stories inside the book are heartbreaking and wicked, but it has to be told. The world needs to know and remembers those dreadful events. This is my first book by Nicholas Best, and I am very impressed by his work. I already added few of his previous books to my TBR list.

I found this a great read.

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Initially hesitant, as this ground has been covered extensively and exhaustively, the author has found a new (for me) angle to approach this tumultuous almost-week in world history.

5 Days That Shocked The World covers the deaths of Mussolini and Hitler, and the immediate events leading up to, during, and after them, as well as peripheral stories on that timeline, through the eyes and words of those who actually lived through them, both famous, to-be famous, and ordinary soldiers and civilians. The book covers Saturday 28th April to Wednesday 2nd, and then up to the eventual order to surrender as given by Donitz, effective May 07.

The author does a superb job meshing together the timeline of the various stories, from Traudl Junge who was Hitler’s secretary, who was there all through the suicide of Hitler and some of his associates, future popes Karol Wojtyla (literally shoveling crap to re-open a seminary) and Joseph Ratzinger (hoping not to be shot for deserting his unit), to Kurt Vonnegut (whose wartime experiences led directly to Slaughterhouse Five).

There are dozens of well-known names and their possibly less-well known stories here: 9-year-old Sophia Loren (described as scrawny) living in poverty in Naples with her younger sister (who in the future would marry the son of Mussolini –I did not know that!); Robert Runcie who would go on to marry Diana & Charles (who served his country in action, killing enemy troops, and being amongst the first into Belsen), reporter Walter Cronkite parachuting into Arnhem, future filmmaker Roman Polanski (now just 11) who sought escape in an epidiascope which projected picture postcards onto a wall; Audrey Hepburn avoiding a real possibility of being forced into a German brothel.

Each of the days are broken out, beginning with the death of Mussolini and his lover, his wife’s frantic efforts to save herself & her children, and the beginning of the end in Berlin.

The book then proceeds through the discovery by the Allies of the horrific concentration camps, the food drop over Holland (another fact of which I was unaware), the beginning of the United Nations discussions in San Francisco, and the advancing Russians attack on the Reichstag.

We witness the increasing chaos in Hitler’s bunker, with group sex orgies and general abandonment and degeneration into bacchanalia and mass suicide, as Hitler surrenders to the inevitable. The book ends with the confusion and general disorder in the German High Command, the various senior Nazis and their attempts to hide from justice, and the efforts by the Allies to preserve what they found, in a way that cannot be refuted (e.g. panning a recording camera from mass graves of concentration camp prisoners to the local town officials).

It is this eye-witness viewpoint that gives this book its immense readability, and interest. These are the hidden stories of every war – we can taste the fear and adrenalin coursing through their veins. It has to be said that no side emerges with reputations enhanced, with even the British and Americans failing to protect prisoners. Nothing is mentioned about reported atrocities perpetrated by troops of the Western Allies, whereas the Russian rape & pillaging is common knowledge – which I think is a flaw.

The writing is excellent, fast-paced, and doesn’t omit grisly detail. I think it’s a superb supplement to students of history, and for politicians, lest we forget the human cost of war, and how actions taken and decisions made can come home to roost.

Nicholas Best is a great storyteller.
Many of the anecdotes in this book are unbelievable. Many Nazis heard the British spoke of hanging Nazi leaders, but they couldn’t believe the Brits were serious. Hanging was for criminals and murderers, not for people like them, not the leaders of a nation. Ribbentrop and Himmler believed they would be treated with respect and consideration by the western allies. Many Nazis were convinced the allies would appreciated their services in the continuing struggle with the Russians.
Others are poignant. A large consignment of lipstick arrived at Belsen concentration camp. It went far is raising the morale among the women prisoners. They remembered they’d once been feminine and might be so again someday.
Many well-known people are highlighted, like future popes John Paul II and Benedict, and Marlene Dietrich and Audrey Hepburn. This is full of fascinating snapshots from 1945.

A fascinating read. It was interesting to see how the end of WW2 unfolded on continental Europe and the different reactions to Hitler's death. This book would make an excellent start to read about this period as it is easy to read plus it has an extensive bibliography at the back in which to further your knowledge.