All this naturally supports the view of unsatisfactory outcome of the Treaty of Versailles and the effect on German social and economic state that ultimately led to the rise of the Nazis and the creation of the Third Reich. The similarities with Russia’s current ambitions to take back territory lost in the break up of the USSR and with Germany’s ambitions to do the same with territories lost in WW1 are stark and chilling. A truly illuminating, humane and sophisticated book – and, one hopes, the first of many by an exciting new talent on the historical scene.

Coffee With Hitler offers a rare glimpse into a motley crew who would provide the British government with better intelligence on the horrifying rise of the Nazis than anyone else. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. In this refreshingly objective book, Spicer profiles the Anglo-German Fellowship, a 1930s British collective which tried to “civilise the Nazis” – some from naivety, others out of ruthless pragmatism. Charles Spicer reveals the bold attempt of a handful of British intelligence agents to infiltrate and civilise the Nazi hierarchy.

It is also not entirely clear what their own agenda really was - where they willing to give Germany a free hand in eastern Europe, where they anti-communists or did they want a milder form of Nazism with which they could along with. Kirkus, starred review 'As a lesson of history, this excellent book is a sober reminder to policymakers to look at the evidence in plain sight. I could not recommend this book enough - not least because it reveals just how nuanced the whole subject of appeasement had become by1939.

The outstanding narrative reads like a thriller, taking readers from the salons of stately homes and St James's clubs to the mass rallies and diplomatic backrooms of Nazi Germany. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Charles Spicer draws on newly discovered primary sources, shedding light on the early career of Kim Philby, Winston Churchill's approach to appeasement, the US entry into the war and the Rudolf Hess affair. Andrew Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny 'Charles Spicer tells the chilling story of how otherwise respectable men and women became pawns in a game of international intrigue with a reprehensible regime. The last two paragraphs of the book beautifully summarise the lessons we need to learn to navigate our current and future relationships with dictators and autocracies.

Drawing on newly discovered primary sources, Charles Spencer sheds light on the early career of Kim Philby, Winston Churchill's approach to appeasement, the US entry into the war and the Rudolf Hess affair, in a groundbreaking reassessment of Britain's relationship with Nazi Germany. Coffee with Hitler tells the astounding true story of a handful of amateur British intelligence agents who wined, dined and befriended the leading National Socialists between the wars. Charles Spicer tells the chilling story of how otherwise respectable men and women became pawns in a game of international intrigue with a reprehensible regime. Entwined within story is of course, the known expeditions of the British Government and in particular Neville Chamberlain, so often portrayed as the naive fall guy.