'Eleanor Hancock does not seek to rehabilitate Röhm, but to investigate carefully the role of this central, though largely ignored, figure in the early Nazi leadership. Ernst Röhm was not a fanatical anti-Semite (in fact, his favorite opera singer was Jewish), but he was excessively loyal to his ultimate murderer, Adolf Hitler. The result was that he never acted upon requests to intervene in the persecution of Jews, or even of homosexuals like himself. Hancock's balanced assessment is unsparing in its criticism of Röhm, yet relentless in its pursuit of the motivation for his actions. She succeeds magnificently in laying to rest a number of the slurs cast at him by jealous Nazi rivals. Her prodigious hunt for surviving records has been complemented by interviews with contemporaries. She has produced a thorough and very thoughtful study of Ernst Röhm which will stand as the definitive biography for years to come.' - Geoffrey J. Giles, University of Florida'Hancock has made a welcome and useful addition to the field.' - Mark M. Hull, The Journal of Military History
