Tales from Spandau

What this book does for us, that other books on Spandau Prison don't do, is show us how Spandau Prison became a battleground between the Soviet Union and the Western Allies--The United States, Great Britain and France--during the Cold War. Every detail of prison life--food, reading material, illness and even where and how the bodies of deceased prisoners would be disposed of--became an opportunity for each side to score points against the other. The wellbeing of the seven famous Nazis incarcerated in Spandau following their trials and sentencing on charges of war crimes was secondary. Goda also does a good job in giving an overview of each of the prisoners, including Rudolf Hess, probably the most interesting prisoner and the last to leave Spandau. It is only natural that civilized people feel a sense of disgust with the likes of the war criminals at Spandau. However, Goda does not hide his disgust in his book, and I felt it hurt what is otherwise a great book. No doubt Goda must also have been fascinated by these men or he would not have written the book. Thankfully, his disgust did not stop him from writing the book, which is one of the best books ever written on Spandau Prison