RUDOLF HESS

Drawing on unpublished British and German archives, a solid bibliography and detailed knowledge of the workings of the Secret Services and the arcane aspects of the Second World War, Pierre Servent delivers a biography that dismisses once and for all an assortment of disinformation concerning this strange and complex character.

The story begins one evening in May 1941 when Hess descended from the sky and landed his plane on Scottish soil, emerging with an olive branch in his hand. The Hess file is high on the list of great historical "enigmas", along with the death of Napoleon, the secret of the Man in the Iron Mask and the assassination of President Kennedy... Rumors, fabrications and conspiracy theories tumble out as soon as it is opened.

What was the exact nature of his relationship with Hitler, of whom he was one of the first and closest friends? What was his exact role in the Third Reich? Was the Fuhrer aware of his "peace" mission? Is Hess the "madman" described in Nuremberg? Did he hide "secrets" until his death at the age of 93 in Spandau (Berlin)? Finally, did he commit suicide or was he "suicided"? These are some of the questions that are finally answered in this long-awaited book - a biographical investigation, written in lively style, that calls on witnesses, archives and...common sense, to avoid a multitude of pitfalls.

An officer and journalist, former ministerial adviser and spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, professor at the Ecole de guerre for 20 years and a colonel in the operational reserve, PIERRE SERVENT has published numerous books on military history and defense issues, including Les Guerres modernes expliquées aux civils...et aux militaires (Modern wars explained to civilians... and the military) (Buchet-Chastel), Le Siècle de sang,1914-2014 (The Century of Blood)(co-ed., Perrin), Extension du domaine de la guerre (Extension of the war domain) and Les présidents et la guerre (Presidents and war) (Tempus). He also wrote a remarkable biography of Erich von Manstein in the Maîtres de guerre (Masters of war) collection: 6,000 copies sold at Perrin.