From Paris to Stalingrad; the Nazis systematically plundered all manner of art and antiquities. But the first and most valuable treasures they looted were the Crown Jewels of the Holy Roman Empire. In Hitlerrsquo;s Holy Relics; bestselling author Sidney Kirkpatrick tells the riveting and never-before-told true story of how an American college professor turned Army sleuth recovered these cherished symbols of Hitlerrsquo;s Thousand-Year Reich before they could become a rallying point in the creation of a Fourth and equally unholy Reich.Anticipating the Allied invasion of Nazi Germany; Reichsfuuml;hrer Heinrich Himmler had ordered a top-secret bunker carved deep into the bedrock beneath Nuuml;rnberg castle. Inside the well-guarded chamber was a specially constructed vault that held the plundered treasures Hitler valued the most: the Spear of Destiny (reputed to have been used to pierce Christrsquo;s side while he was on the cross) and the Crown Jewels of the Holy Roman Empire; ancient artifacts steeped in medieval mysticism and coveted by world rulers from Charlemagne to Napoleon. But as Allied bombers rained devastation upon Nuuml;rnberg and the U.S. Seventh Army prepared to invade the city Hitler called ldquo;the soul of the Nazi Party;rdquo; five of the most precious relics; all central to the coronation ceremony of a would-be Holy Roman Emperor; vanished from the vault. Who took them? And why? The mystery remained unsolved for months after the warrsquo;s end; until the Supreme Allied Commander; General Dwight D. Eisenhower; ordered Lieutenant Walter Horn; a German-born art historian on leave from U.C. Berkeley; to hunt down the missing treasures.To accomplish his mission; Horn must revisit the now-rubble-strewn landscape of his youth and delve into the ancient legends and arcane mysticism surrounding the antiquities that Hitler had looted in his quest for world domination. Horn searches for clues in the burnt remains of Himmlerrsquo;s private castle and follows the trail of neo-Nazi ldquo;Teutonic Knightsrdquo; charged with protecting a vast hidden fortune in plundered gold and other treasure. Along the way; Horn has to confront his own demons: how members of his family and former academic colleagues subverted scholarly research to help legitimize Hitlerrsquo;s theories of Aryan supremacy and the Master Race. What Horn discovers on his investigative odyssey is so explosive that his final report will remain secret for decades. Drawing on unpublished interrogation and intelligence reports; as well as on diaries; letters; journals; and interviews in the United States and Germany; Kirkpatrick tells this riveting and disturbing story with cinematic detail and revealsmdash; for the first timemdash;how a failed Vienna art student; obsessed with the occult and dreams of his own grandeur; nearly succeeded in creating a Holy Reich rooted in a twisted reinvention of medieval and Church history.
#443084 in eBooks 2012-08-21 2012-08-21File Name: B003FYEXJ2
Review
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Practically uselessBy Anna M. CalhounI had high hopes that this book would give me tips for posing and strategies for capturing better pictures of my pets. Since I dont have any kids yet. my dogs are my babies and a major subject of my pictures. There were a. Few great pictures and a few useful tips. hence the 2 star review. Overall. though. this book was a waste of time and money. Most of the tips were irrelevent to the title and. one would think. the intended purpose of the book. A large number of the example pictures would either have gone to the recycle bin or I would have attempted to edit the picture to make a better composed shot. Too many pictures had clutter that I try to exclude from the pictures I take. Yes. it is taken in a home and signs of being lived in are to be expected. but tightening up the composition can reduce these distractions. The added props. such as in the picture of Elwoods tail are obviously staged. Throw a sheet on the floor and put your pet on it but then include part of the bare floor in the final "edited" picture? One last thing. I dont care what time if day or what month the picture was taken in. This could easily have been noted in the notes concerning the picture rather than writing a full paragraph about it. It was clear that he was reaching and using this as a space filler to try to justify the book.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Great book for taking better dog portraitsBy Happy CustomerPet Photography 101 is a great resource to take your Pet Photography to the next level. The book is provides great compositional tips. as well as details on what camera settings were used and even information on lighting. workflow. photo editing and printing. You dont have to invest a lot of money into supplies in order to take professional quality Pet Portraits. The author makes suggestions throughout the book of inexpensive solutions/equipment that you can use to help your photos look more professional and he even provides a companion website with additional up to date informationI really enjoyed looking at the example photos too. There are lots of great tips for more interesting pet poses and composition. Ive recommended this book to all of my friends who are interested in taking better pictures of their pets.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Good for Intermediate PhotographersBy S. AdamsAbout half of the material is on lens choice. exposure. and editing.. which is covered in books on basic photography. I would have liked to see more on suggested poses and tricks-of-the-trade.
