Five Days that Shocked the World - Eyewitness Accounts from Europe at the end of World War II

Note - I am reviewing the updated edition of this book with ISBN 9781786080318.

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. From the publisher - In the five momentous days from April 28 to May 2, 1945, the world witnessed the death of two Fascist dictators and the fall of Berlin. The execution of Benito Mussolini, the suicide of Adolf Hitler, and the fall of the German capital signaled the end of the four-year war in the European Theater. In Five Days That Shocked the World, Nicholas Best thrills readers with the first-person accounts of those who lived through this dramatic time. In this valuable work of history, the author's special achievement is to weave together the reports of famous and soon-to-be-famous individuals who experienced the war up close. 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. In skillfully synthesizing these personal narratives, Best creates a compelling chronicle of the five earth-shaking days when Fascism lost it death grip on Europe. With this vivid and fast-paced narrative, the author reaffirms his reputation as an expert on the final days of great wars.

This is a deftly written immensely entertaining (not in a fun way but in an enjoyable way to have history depicted) accounting of the last five days of WWII. I read the original release in 2012 but do not remember or recall what updates were/may have been done but enjoyed it once again from first page to the last. Whereas Japan's part of the war ended with a bang (two, literally, to be honest), Europe's was more silent an stealthy. The personal narratives are what makes this book AMAZING and interesting to any fan of first account tellings of major events. Five shining stars!!!