... meticulously researched, vividly written.

... fascinating and deeply researched.

Mr. Spicer suggests that his new view of the AGF raises 'the fundamental question' of whether there were 'alternatives to Chamberlain’s appeasement of Germany other than total war.' Probably not, in hindsight. Still, like the recent rehabilitations of Neville Chamberlain and his ministers, Coffee With Hitler illuminates the dilemmas of appeasement on the terms of the 1930s. We prefer to forget that the British acclaimed Chamberlain as a peacemaker when he returned from Munich in September 1938. As in an Alan Furst novel, no one knew for certain what would happen next..

Spicer makes a strong case that the AGF men offered a reasonable alternative to Chamberlain’s policy of appeasement. Readers will make up their own minds as to whether it’s realistic to think that Hitler, or any other tyrant, could be tamed..

... lively.

... detailed yet unpersuasive.