Customers Review The Battle for Rome

Customers Review The Battle for Rome Average customer review: Source: Amazon.com Read what satisfied customers have to say… and some faint (very faint) praise from somebody less-than-satisfied * The Eternal City in the Crosshairs Reviewer: Frank J. Konopka (see more about me) from Shamokin, PA USA My father was one of the soldiers who captured Rome in June 1944, so when I saw this book I knew that I wanted to read it. I found it very well-written, and it covered quite a bit of the history of the Nazi occupation of the Italian capital in 1943 & 1944. The emphasis was mainly on the partisan activity within the city itself, and the Allied military planning and actions take somewhat of a back seat, but it is important to note that the inside activity was extremely important to the eventual safe delivery of the city without the potential wholesale destruction that many people feared. Pius XII is shown to have attempted to steer a middle course between the occupiers and the Allies, to the point of compromising his moral authority as Pope. There were many things he could have, and probably should have, done, but he didn't, and it's difficult at this remove in time to attempt to stand in his shoes and judge his actions. In my humble opinion, he was found wanting, but that's an entirely different issue. The book is excellent, and worth reading! Circus Maximus Reviewer: Bruce Loveitt (see more about me) from Ogdensburg, NY USA Don't let the title of this book confuse you. Mr. Katz uses the word "battle" in its broad sense - this is not a work primarily concerned with the nuts-and-bolts of the Allies attempt to wrestle Rome away from the Germans. There is some military history- the landing at Anzio and the "lost opportunity" to move quickly up the underdefended route to Rome are neatly summarized. But Mr. Katz is mainly concerned with personalities, diplomacy and morality. He focuses on a few of the partisans, so that we come to know them intimately. We go along on several of their "missions" and learn about both fear and bravery. A thread running throughout the book is the behind-the-scenes maneuvers by the Vatican and Pope Pius XII to remain neutral- so that Rome would not be devastated and also so that Vatican City and its inhabitants would be left alone. Mr. Katz fairly presents the Pope's position. He also clearly condemns the Pope and the Vatican hierarchy for a failure to provide moral leadership. A consistent failure to "speak up" allowed the Germans to act with impunity- to kill Roman Jews and non-Jews alike. Would "speaking up" have made any difference? We'll never know the answer to that question- but Mr. Katz is persuasive when he argues that the Pope had an obligation to condemn brutality and inhumanity- and he failed to do so in any forceful manner. Mr. Katz manages to juggle all of the storylines without losing sight of the big picture. He also drops a bombshell in the epilogue - but I can't give that away. A much-needed examination of life under occupation Reviewer: David Roy (see more about me) from Vancouver, BC Canada The Battle for Rome, by Robert Katz, tells the story of a city that awaited that "matter of days" for 9 long months. Nine months of resistance activity, starvation, and oppression that battered the city's soul and resulted in the deaths of many, including almost the entire Jewish population. Katz examines all of these aspects of the Italian campaign, meshing them into a seamless narrative that's both provocative and fascinating to read. Well-researched and extensively documented, Katz makes use of many sources that have just come to light, including documents recently declassified by the CIA. The Battle for Rome is compelling, thought-provoking, and chilling at times. Katz spends a whole chapter on the reprisal for the partisan attack on the Via Rasella, telling in great detail about the round-up of the prisoners, taking them to the caves, and then shooting them five at a time. He details this from the German side, and it presents a picture of men who are revolted by what they are being ordered to do, but do it anyway rather than speak out. It really is quite intense, and the description may not be for the squeamish. The Battle for Rome is a fascinating book that should be read by anybody interested in the subject. The sorrow and the pity of Rome Reviewer: Peter Lorenzi (see more about me) from Timonium, MD USA This is an engaging, rich book about heroes and horror, about triumph and tragedy, about ego and humility, and about acting out and remaining silent. Taking advantage of unique, timely if belated access to Vatican and other secret files, Katz weaves a story that captures the humanity and the terror of these twelve awful months in the history of the city. While the focus is on Rome itself, Katz describes the exhausting battles up from the south of Italy and the Allies' failure to grasp a major opportunity at Anzio in January 1944, [when] they could have probably driven straight into Rome on the day of the landings. Instead, the Germans regrouped and held out, the Americans hesitated and bled, and the citizens of Rome starved and waited four more months for the Allies to arrive. The partisans, expecting the imminent arrival of the Allies, worked to thwart the Nazis, yet faced terrible odds, gruesome torture, and little support or rest. And the partisans bickered among themselves; some even betrayed others for money. In the midst of the carnage and uncertainty, one partisan couple finds love and rebirth. Pope Pius appears to have favored a passive resistance and even a peaceful settlement between the Germans and the Allies, over the possibility of godless communism and the destruction of the Eternal City. But could he, should he, did he do more to save lives? The calculus is almost too much to contemplate. While Pius remains a candidate for sainthood and admired by many, Katz raises troubling if not conclusive images of an all too human man. Excellent piece of history Reviewer: lisa bahrami (see more about me) from orlando, fl USA The Battle for Rome by Robert Katz is an engrossing, vivid telling of an often overlooked campaign in World War II. Most people tend to think of Rome as being on the sidelines of the European conflict but, as Katz masterfully shows, this is not at all the case. In The Battle of Rome, we see the Allies fighting to overtake the Germans and push them out of the city, the Italian patriots fighting to re-capture Rome from the Nazis and the Pope practically collaborating with the Germans to protect the Vatican at the expense of the Italians. There is so much going on in this book, so much detail and intrigue but Katz holds it all together and keeps the story moving forward at a breathtaking pace.This book is well-researched and masterfully written. Definitely recommended for any WWII buff or anyone who loves top-notch historical scholarship The Battle for Rome Reviewer: mammamia100 from BOYNTON BEACH, FL USA Reading The Battle for Rome by Robert Katz, I felt as though I was an observer in an operating theatre...the doctors, nurses, etc. replaced by the Partisans, Nazis, Allies and the Pope. Moment by moment you are a witness to the courage and resolve of the Partisans, the hesitancy and intolerable silence of the Pope, the enigmatic maneuvering of the Allies and the treachery and atrocities of the Nazis. The evidence that Katz places before us is indisputable yet surreal, as is the Holocaust in its entirety. It is not an easy read for those of us who have never been aficionados of WW II narratives, but it is a book, once started, impossible to put down, once completed, impossible not to recommend. Katz' Battle for Rome Reviewer: Dennis McElrath (see more about me) from San Francisco, California USA Just finished Robert Katz, The Battle for Rome. Had to carry on through Epilogs, sources and notes. What an enjoyable experience. Reads like an adventure. He writes with clear authority, great charm and undeniable sureness for detail. For me, Katz put many bits and fragments of Roman history that I only half understood into a comprehensive and inclusive whole. Every line rings true. I particularly liked his interweaving of such diverse perspectives, recollections, places, fragments and events into a cogent chronology. CONGRATULATIONS to the author of such a fine book! A Fine Historical Work Reviewer: Carole & Alex J. Rosenberg (see more about us) from New York, NY USA Robert Katz is to be congratulated and thanked for reminding us what happened when the Germans occupied Rome from late 1943 to Spring 1944. Hundreds of Italians, Jews and others lost their lives before the Allied armies were able to help, due to the Pope's unwillingness to take a stand in defense of the people, and because of his fear of Communism and concern for the safety of the Papal State. This book should be read by everyone interested in the history of World War II. It is so well written, it reads like fiction. ... and most of them got away Reviewer: Stephen G. Esrati (see more about me) from Shaker Heights, OH USA I have just finished reading Robert Katz's "The Battle for Rome: The Germans, the Allies, the Partisans, and the Pope," (New York, 2003, Simon & Schuster). The book is primarily the story of how Rome was finally taken by the Allies on the day before D-Day in Normandy, long after the successful Anzio landing from which Gen. John Lucas did not break out while the roads to Rome were open. It tells the horrible story of the German massacre of 335 Romans in the Ardeatine Caves and how the Germans responsible all escaped the death sentences pronounced over them for the greatest World War II atrocity committed in Italy. Katz keeps returning to the story of Paolo and Elena (conspiratorial names), two of the greatest Italian Resistance heroes, both of whom took part in the ambush of singing SS men in the Via Rasella that led to the Ardeatine Massacre. Katz also does a great job in refuting the Vatican claim that Pope Pius XII did much to save the Jews of Italy and shows that the roundup of Rome's Jews (with only one survivor) took place under the Pope's balcony and with his silence. And from the presumably not-completely-unhappy customer... pulp-(non)fiction Reviewer: montecastello (see more about me) from Dardanelle, Arkansas USA Let's not confuse the innately dramatic and often profound events surrounding the liberation of Rome with the skills of this storyteller. Even a hack like Katz can't keep the story from being deeply involving at times. That said, it's a pity that this book isn't any better than this. He relies heavily on the work of professional historians, condensing and often distorting their findings; his 'original research' is never really something that no one has examined before, but rather material no one has sensationalized before. His highly rhetorical moral outrage is rarely worthy of note: most of the time the targets are too easy, more of the 'fish in a barrel' sort, leaving Katz's grand condemnations seeming a bit too self-satisfied and false. The prose and structure are essentially those of a 1955-67 American war movie; the language is so trite, I actually laughed aloud several times. I am always interested in books about the war and particularly those involving Italy. But I was hoping for popular history a notch above this, something like Anthony Beevor's solemn and well-written book on the fall of Berlin. This, by comparison, was a bit cheesy and low brow. * The readers wrote their reviews for Amazon.com between August 2003 and January 2004. Some comments have been shortened and spelling errors have been corrected, but the original punctuation has been preserved. The phrase "see more about me" after most of reviewers' names is a link to the original, where such information can be found. 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