Opening the Gates of Hell, is based on over a dozen years' research in archives and sites across Europe and 30 years' study of World War II.
It is a ground-breaking account of the opening period of the Nazi-Soviet conflict, a narrative history not just of the fighting, but also the impact on civilians, the atrocities committed by both sides and ethnic cleansing carried out by the inhabitants of the regions invaded.
The book is narrative history - telling stories of bravery, cowardice, misery and horror through the eyes of those who were there including ordinary soldiers, generals, leaders, politicians and civilians on both sides.
The book draws on published and unpublished sources drawn from across Germany and Eastern Europe with the majority of the material never having appeared in English-speaking accounts of the conflict before.
The combination of combat accounts, high-level diplomacy and leadership and the visceral accounts of the atrocities committed by both sides make it a unique 'take' on the war on the Eastern Front.
