2013
WISE Score
Amazon
A haunting look at the American doctor who spent a year inside the heads of Nazi war criminals and ended up losing his own mind in the process.
4.1
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This is a phenomenal book, but don't expect a feel-good Sunday read. Jack El-Hai tracks the bizarre, symbiotic relationship between a top U.S. psychiatrist and Hermann Göring during the Nuremberg trials. It’s a masterclass in 'the banality of evil.'
The kicker is the tragedy of Dr. Kelley himself, who couldn't shake what he found in those cells. If you have a teen interested in history or psychology, this is the good stuff—just be ready for some very dark dinner table conversations afterward.
This is strictly for the older crowd—mature high schoolers and up. It’s a heavy, academic-but-accessible exploration of the Holocaust and psychological collapse.
The subject matter is inherently dark, focusing on war criminals, the Holocaust, and the psychological collapse of the protagonist. It's intellectually honest but the opposite of 'uplifting.'
While it's non-fiction, it requires a high degree of empathy and psychological projection to understand the 'dual' lives of the subjects. It invites deep thinking about human nature.
Contains graphic historical accounts of Nazi atrocities and a very detailed, disturbing account of suicide. Not for children or sensitive readers.
An elite-tier resource for understanding the Nuremberg trials, the history of psychiatry, and the psychological profiles of those who commit state-sponsored evil.
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