Although Hitler took his own life, there was no shortage of people who wanted, and attempted, to do it for him throughout his political career. Drawing on newly opened archives in Germany and elsewhere, British historian Moorhouse (Microcosm: Portrait of a Central European City) casts a wide net, chronicling failed assassination attempts by disaffected individuals in the early days of Hitler's reign, such as radical university student Maurice Bavaud, whose three easily thwarted tries in November 1938 got him guillotined; the efforts of a British group of James Bond–like spies armed with, among other things, "exploding rats"; and the well-known attempts of German officers, such as Hitler's architect Albert Speer.

Moorhouse also brings to light little-known would-be-assassins, such as members of the Polish underground. Most of the assassination attempts Moorhouse describes failed because of poor planning; others fell victim to circumstance, while some may simply have been rumors, making for a compelling web of research, intrigue and conspiracy theory.

Accessible prose, suspenseful narration and ample historical context make this a page-turner for WWII buffs as well as anyone with a passion for the underbelly of political power in one of the last century's darkest regimes.

- Publishers Weekly, (Mar. 28)

Few leaders have been the targets of so many assassinations attempts; German historians have identified 42 plots on Hitler's life. Twenty of the would-be assassins are chronicled here. They range from simple craftsmen to high-ranking soldiers, from the apolitical to the ideologically obsessed, and from enemy agents to his closest associates. Moorhouse writes that, for the most part, they are unknown. One was Maurice Bavaud, who never got close enough to Hitler to shoot him. Bavaud was guillotined in 1941. Georg Elser began to plot Hitler's murder in 1938. In 1939, Elser triggered a bomb that killed eight people and injured 62 others, but Hitler had already left the building. Moorehouse describes the would-be killers' plans, motives, and--inevitably--their failures.

The book also tells the story of Hitler's survival. Moorehouse's documentation and analysis of this comprehensive history will keep readers interested to the end.

- George Cohen; Booklist

“In Killing Hitler, author Roger Moorhouse does more than outline the several assassinations attempted during the dictator's career. He fills each chapter with detailed historical accounts from the period surrounding the attempts, focusing not on names and dates but on the stories of the individuals involved. He studies how each event unfurls, the motivations behind the would-be assassins, and their place amid the greater events of the rise and fall of the Hitler. The wealth of resources, the masterful prose, and a sensitivity not only to the historical context but to the individuals themselves makes this one of the finest accounts I've had the pleasure to read.”

- Reader review on Amazon.com :

“4 stars.... Enthralling book.. “

- Roger Lewis, Sunday Express

"Such is Moorhouse's story telling power that we await every fresh attempt on Hitler's life with the hope that this one will succeed -- even though we know that all will fail and that the shot that would have happily echoed around most of the world will never be heard. A story as gripping as it is authentic.”

- Joseph E. Persico Author: Roosevelt's Secret War"

"Moorhouse writes with both a historian’s attention to detail and a novelist’s ability to create suspense. ...a fascinating book."

- South Florida Jewish Journal.

“Enthralling."

- Dziennik Polski