I love history & love reading non-fiction, though I don't read as much of it as I'd like to or should. I was interested in this title & got the book to review back in January & started reading it then, but then life got busy & this book got pushed to the back shelf in favor of lighter, faster reads. I was looking through netgalley & saw the title & was reminded of my obligation to read, and picked it up & reread it from the beginning.

Doherty writes about the subject in a fairly lighthearted manner, making this easy to read for those who don't read a lot of non-fiction. Like I said, I love non-fiction but sometimes the language makes it tough for a layperson to read, but this one isn't like that. Admittedly there were some terms I had to look up, such as "hagio-biopic" (still don't know what that means).

Besides the obvious, Doherty gives us inside looks into Hollywood's early history and gossip and the background of Nazi movies (often times in much more detail than I would have liked, but movie buffs will certainly enjoy this). Doherty's other books are also on TV & film, so certainly this is a passion of his. My favorite chapter was on Leni Riefenstahl, who directed two popular Nazi propaganda war films.


I received this book to read and review from netgalley & was not paid for my honest review.