A powerful story of a young man conscripted into Hitler's army and a family left behind, a sympathetic view of life from the other side.
The Aichele family were decent, cultured, peace-loving Germans trying their hardest not to get swept up in the madness of Hitler's Third Reich. But by the time war came, for civilians on all sides, there was nowhere left to hide.
The conflict took Wolfram, the family's gentle, 18-year-old son, to the Russian Front and the Normandy beaches. It also engulfed the town of his childhood, obliterating its inhabitants in a devastating firestorm.
Wolfram is a powerful story of human survival. It is testimony to the fact that even in the darkest times there remains a spark of humanity that can never be totally extinguished.
As an Englishman writing about a German destiny for a non-German public, Milton avoids the pitfalls. Instead he renders a service to his father-in-law's generation by reminding readers about the sheer physical, mental and spiritual effect it took to stay true to oneself in a vicious regime. - The Times
idiosyncratic and utterly fascinating - Mail on Sunday
a truly remarkable story . . . a tour de force. - Miranda Seymour
a compelling account of 20th-century darkness. - Sun Herald
Giles Milton is one of our most engaging writers of non-fiction. In Wolfram, he writes with deceptive simplicity, matching his effortless style with a fascinating subject to create a page-turning and thought-provoking book. - Victoria Hislop
a remarkable narrative of [Wolfram] Aichele's life during the Nazi regime, written by his son-in-law Giles Milton. - Irish Times
Engrossing . . . Milton's book celebrates the heroism of individuals who put lives before ideologies - Independent
as a portrait of how these civilised individuals were able to survive, this is invaluable. - Daily Express
Giles Milton is a writer and historian. He is the bestselling author of Nathaniel's Nutmeg, Big Chief Elizabeth, The Riddle and the Knight, White Gold, Samurai William, Paradise Lost and, most recently, Wolfram. He has also written two novels and three children's books, two of them illustrated by his wife Alexandra. He lives in South London.
Find out more about Giles and his books on his website, www.gilesmilton.com, and Wikipedia page, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giles_Milton, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/survivehistory and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/pages/Giles-Milton-Writer/121068034610842.