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Fatherland | 
| Author: Robert Harris
Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy Used: £0.01
You Save: £7.98 (100%)
New (29) Used (162) from £0.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  54 reviews
Sales Rank: 1843
Media: Paperback
Edition: New edition
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 4.3 x 1.4
ISBN: 0099263815
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9780099263814
ASIN: 0099263815
Publication Date: May 6, 1993
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Cover and spine creased.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 49 more reviews...
 Magnificent. April 30, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Read 'Pompei' and loved it, bought 'Fatherland' and found it was even better. 'Fatherland' is in fact one of my favourite books of all time.
first book of the year April 14, 2008
Impressive ideas and great story line.
Obviously put a lot of research into this book and definitely paid off.
Learn From the Past April 7, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
It's the mid 60s and not everything is as it should be in Robert Harris `Fatherland'. Churchill did not lead the allies to victory in 1945 and instead that honour went to Adolf Hitler. The National Socialists have taken a firm grip of Europe and rule it from Britain all the way to the borders of Russia. In this Fascist state the SS and SA still exists. The police force work within these groups and one such officer is Xavier March. When asked to investigate a routine case he stubbles across a set of secrets that could blow apart the cooling relationship between the German Empire and the Americans. Will March follow the teachings of his Fuhrer or does he believe the secrets he has found are too large to keep quiet?
`Fatherland' is an interesting take on the crime genre as it exists in an alternative past. It has a very Orwellian feel to it and Harris has obviously used his non-fiction background to base the story in a reality that could have existed. The world with the Nazis in power is painted provocatively here, but I did find it slightly cliche. Therefore, it was not enough just to set a crime story in this world for me to be impressed. Luckily Harris creates an interesting story as well and after a slow start the action and discoveries increase. The idea that the Nazi party could still fall under their greatest crimes is an interesting one and Harris based his investigation in real texts giving it a sense of authenticity. `Fatherland' was an interesting diversion from my usual crime thrillers and one for people looking for something a little different from a good author.
 If you enjoy stereotypical characters and plot, read this book! November 24, 2007
1 out of 19 found this review helpful
The plaudits heaped on "Fatherland" in the years since its 1993 publication are largely unjustified, for this is a very medicocre novel. The characters, from the Kriminalpolizei detective "hero" Xavier March, to various Nazi officials and politicians, fit exactly into the stereotypical mould, so beloved of British and American propaganda since 1933. There is no attempt to consider anything outside the realm of the propaganda history of the Third Reich. The "Final Solution of the Jewish Question", decided at the Wannsee Conference, forms the core of the book, as the deeply concealed history of this project appears openly towards the end of this tedious volume.
The novel has not aged well. In 1993 almost all historians, at least publicly, agreed that the "Final Solution" causd the deaths of six million Jews and others in concentration camps such as Auschwitz and Treblika. Research since that date, in Germany and many other countries, has begun to cast doubt on the figures quoted above, and even on whether the "Final Solution" itself resulted in the murder of millions as claimed.
The "Final Solution" is strangely omitted from the published works of such famous WW2 figures as Churchill, De Gaulle and Roosevelt. However, it can be found, together with the famous "Six Million" in published material in period from 1914 to 1927..... some time before Hitler came to power.
Of course, "Fatherland" is a novel, and as such does not claim to be an alternative history in the usual sense of that term. However, by reiterating and regurgitating the propaganda stereotypes of the past,it reinforces the common view of twentieth century European history, which is now being shown to be not quite as it was once portrayed.
 Good book, bad edition November 18, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I won't add anything to the reviews already here discussing the plot and themes. As with most of Robert Harris' books you know you are getting a very slick product, a tightly written Len Deighton-style thriller. I have one quibble about the binding on my copy of the paperback. Pages started falling out of mine as I was about one-third through the story, and continued to shed them thereafter. Yes, it's not expensive, but my copy was worthlessly tatty after one read and that shouldn't happen. I suspect the publisher has saved some money on cheap binding for this edition. Anyone else have this problem?
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