There is no doubt that this is a major contribution to the vast literature on the Holocaust. Harrowing, emotionally charged reading that pulls no punches. It is also delightful to note that not all trade books need to shy away from theoretical discussion. Yet, it is the theory bit that is ultimately disappointing. There seems to be a minor cottage industry of Goldhagen criticisms, so I'll just add my first impressions. Goldhagen seems to be best characterised as a vulgar Weberian. Weberian, because the author's linchpin argument is that the explanation for the mass murder of Jews is a belief, an 'eliminationist antisemitism'. Vulgar, because Weber, while prioritising beliefs (vs. Marxist emphasis on material conditions) at least considered the social contexts of beliefs and action. Despite promising talk about beliefs as social constructions (implying social processes of construction), eliminationist antisemitism turns out to be a thing in the minds ('cognitive mindset')of *all* Germans; it is foundational and universal. Needless to say, the attempt at balancing more structural explanations is taken to an unsatisfying extreme in Goldhagen's hands. Nevertheless, an impressive book.