Quick Take
- Narration: Ralph Cosham brings a precise, measured British register that suits the legal and diplomatic weight of the proceedings, navigating the 25-hour runtime without fatigue.
- Themes: the postwar construction of international law, individual accountability for state-sponsored atrocity, the tension between justice and victor’s justice
- Mood: Sober, authoritative, demanding in the best sense
- Verdict: An exhaustively researched account of the Nazi war crimes trial that holds up as both legal history and moral inquiry, with Cosham’s narration making the density navigable.
I started The Nuremberg Trial on a long transatlantic flight, which turned out to be appropriate. The book has the quality of a journey with a fixed destination that you cannot quite see until you are nearly there. The proceedings themselves took nearly a year, and John Tusa’s account makes you understand why: the task of constructing international law while simultaneously applying it, in a context where the defendants were the architects of unprecedented atrocity, was not a problem that yielded to expedient solutions.
Ann and John Tusa wrote the original edition of this book, and reviewers credit both authors, though the primary listing reflects a metadata simplification. The research behind the account is substantial, and the resulting 25 hours rewards patient attention.
The Problem of Authority and the People Who Solved It
One of the book’s most valuable contributions is its extended treatment of the question that preceded the trial itself: did the Allied powers have jurisdiction to try Nazi leaders for crimes that had no clear legal precedent in international law? Reviewer Claudia Moscovici frames this precisely: how do you punish the perpetrators of the biggest genocide in human history? Do they deserve a fair trial, which their victims never got?
Tusa takes this question seriously rather than treating it as settled by outcome. The political negotiations among the Allies, each bringing different legal traditions and different strategic interests to the proceedings, produced a legal framework that was improvised under pressure. That the framework has endured and become the foundation of international criminal law is remarkable given how contested its premises were at the time of construction.
Goering, Kaltenbrunner, and the Character Work of Evil
The synopsis promises vivid individual portraits, and this is where the book earns its most enthusiastic reader responses. Ernst Kaltenbrunner, the SS chief who whimpered on the stand, and Joachim von Ribbentrop, the foreign minister who alternated between bluster and collapse, are rendered with the kind of specificity that makes the historical figures feel dangerously present. Hermann Goering is the most consequential portrait: icy, combative, and genuinely dangerous in cross-examination even in the dock, he nearly controlled his own defense until the pressure of the evidence accumulated past the point where any individual will could manage it.
These are not sympathetic portraits. They are honest ones, which is more valuable. Tusa’s refusal to simplify the defendants into mere monsters makes the legal proceedings more rather than less disturbing. Understanding that intelligent, capable human beings made the decisions that produced the Holocaust is more troubling than the alternative.
When Scholarship Becomes Demanding
Reviewer Amazon Customer characterizes the book as definitive but occasionally tedious, and that observation is honest. The extended treatment of jurisdictional debates, the logistics of document collection, and the procedural maneuvering among the prosecution teams can test listener patience in the middle sections. This is not a failure of the scholarship but a consequence of its ambition. Tusa is writing for readers who want the complete account, not the curated highlights.
Ralph Cosham’s narration handles the weight without collapsing into droning. His British register creates appropriate distance from the material, the quality of a careful legal mind processing difficult testimony rather than performing emotion. He is particularly effective in the direct quotation sections, where defendants’ statements and courtroom exchanges require clear differentiation from narrative prose.
Who Should Listen and Who Should Skip
Readers with a serious interest in international law, World War II history, or the moral philosophy of war crimes prosecution will find this book both rigorous and irreplaceable. Those looking for a narrative history with more emphasis on the drama and less on the legal and procedural architecture will be better served by a more general WWII history. At 25 hours, The Nuremberg Trial is a commitment that returns the investment for engaged listeners and exhausts casual ones.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the book cover the full Nuremberg trial, including the lesser-known defendants, or does it focus primarily on the major figures?
The book covers the proceedings comprehensively, with major defendants including Goering, Ribbentrop, Hess, and Kaltenbrunner receiving the most detailed treatment. The legal framework, procedural decisions, and prosecution strategy are also covered extensively, making this a complete rather than selective account.
How does Tusa handle the question of whether Nuremberg was legitimate legal process or victor’s justice?
The book engages seriously with this question rather than dismissing it. The jurisdictional debates among the Allied powers and the improvised nature of the legal framework are presented honestly, and Tusa acknowledges the procedural complications while ultimately making a case for the trial’s legitimacy and enduring significance.
Is there a more accessible account of Nuremberg for listeners who want less procedural detail?
Joseph Persico’s Nuremberg: Infamy on Trial is a more narrative-driven account that prioritizes dramatic reconstruction over procedural analysis. Tusa’s book is the more comprehensive scholarly treatment; Persico’s is the more accessible entry point.
Was this book written by both John and Ann Tusa? The narrator metadata lists only John Tusa as author.
Yes, reviewers and the published edition credit both Ann and John Tusa as authors. The primary audio listing appears to reflect a metadata simplification. Both are credited in the original published edition.
