I borrowed this book from a colleague of mine who knows that I like war history, especially if it involves espionage, secret police or the Cold War. Prior to reading the book I had a good knowledge of the Gestapo and some of the more famous main players but nothing more in depth than that. This is the first book by Rupert Butler that I have read and looking at his page on Goodreads it appears that he is a prolific World War II history writer.

The book is divided into chapters which starts with the birth of the Gestapo all the way through to the Gestapo today. Along the way some of the main protagonists like Heydrich and Himmler have a whole chapter dedicated to them. The other members involved are covered in some depth, albeit not an entire chapter and some of the main resistance fighters are also featured. Due to the layout of the book the timeline is a little shaky in places. This isn't a major issue but I do prefer to read a sequential record of events. The writing is very good and there is a lot detail covered throughout the book. There are also plenty of archive pictures along the way.

This is a very good book and I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in the Gestapo. ( )