Although the subject matter isn't for everyone, those that have an interest in the absurdity of the Third Reich's attempt to cull humanity, will find this to be a necessary read. Learn what they didn't make the time to teach us in history class. The meticulously designed action and the mind-numbing rationale to carry out the Final Solution will provoke both thought and astonishment. All that is required to appreciate this book is an open mind and the common knowledge of distinguishing right from wrong. ( )

http://www.loc.gov/catdir/bios/prin051/2002116156.html ( )

Architects of Annihilation follows the activities of the set of demographers, economists, geographers and planners in the period between the disorderly excesses of the November 1938 pogrom and the fully-effective operation of the gas chambers at Auschwitz in summer 1942. The authors, both journalists and historians, argue that this group of intellectuals, often combining academic, civil service and Party functions made an indispensable contribution to the planning and execution of the Final Solution. More than that, in the economic and demographic rationale of these experts, the Final Solution was only one element in a far-reaching programme of self-sufficiency which privileged the German Aryan population.

"Götz Aly and Susanne Heim are known in Germany for challenging both establishment historians and the apologists. This book has no rival. It will be a must-read for students of German history and of the Holocaust."--Robert Gellately, Center for Holocaust Studies, Clark University