Valkyrie by Philipp Freiherr von Boeselager

Valkyrie is, in part, the story of the plot by German military officers to kill Hitler and von Boeselager's part in it. This story was also recently told in the Tom Cruise movie "Valkyrie." Von Boeselager, who died in 2008, was one of the last surviving conspirators.

 Valkyrie is also the story of von Boeselager and his older brother Georg, who were both Wehrmacht officers during WW2, and participated in the plot. Because they were stationed on the Russian Front, they were not directly able to be involved in the events of July 20, 1944, this book is also the story of their lives together. For this reason, details on events happening in Berlin is sometimes sketchy.

 It's a short book, the main text being less than 200 pages, but it's also a very fascinating book. It reads very much like a transcript from an interview or a handwritten memoir. While I didn't learn much about the details of the conspiracy, I did learn quite a lot about life in the German army during the war. It's a perspective you don't often get in this country, focusing as we do on our involvement in the war and its consequences.

 While von Boeselager doesn't dwell on the issues, it's clear from his writing that many in the army were at least peripherally aware, and disapproved, of the atrocities being committed by the government. This was one of the factors that led him and his brother to participate in the plot.

 This is a very readable book on an interesting topic. If you have any interest in WW2 or Germany's part in it, I can recommend this book as a good starting point. While it is written for an adult audience, young adults and older children with an interest would likely find it enjoyable, also.