BOOKS: Taking Berlin: Martin Dugard

Oct. 22—Martin Dugard, Bill O'Reilly's writing partner on the "Killing" books, returns soon with his second solo "Taking" book.

Last year, Dugard released "Taking Paris: The Epic Battle for the City of Lights," an account of the Allies reclaiming Paris from Nazi occupation in World War II.

"Taking Berlin: The Bloody Race to Defeat the Third Reich" delves into the competition among Allied Forces to overtake Berlin first.

As generals such as American George S. Patton and British Bernard Montgomery maneuver, politic and struggle to be the first forces to enter Berlin from the Western forces, Russian generals devour the land and nations to the east of Germany in the Red Army's drive to be the first Allied force in Berlin.

As with "Paris," Dugard uses the same you-are-there, novel-type writing style in "Berlin" that has made his and O'Reilly's "Killing" books ("Killing Lincoln," "Killing Kennedy," etc.) so popular. and so similar that when Dugard is writing about the last days of German Gen. Erwin Rommel, he uses a line that will sound familiar to regular readers of the "Killing" series: "The man with very few days to live knows the end is coming. He's just not sure how it will happen."

Still, Dugard writes with vibrant clarity and verve, bringing history to bold life. and not just for the legendary names such as Patton, Rommel, Winston Churchill, etc., but for the lesser known generals, soldiers and journalists such as Martha Gellhorn, in the field.

"Taking Berlin" is cinematic in its approach and epic in its scope, while told in a compact 300-plus pages.

I do not know where Dugard may take his "Taking" series next but "Berlin" is another prime destination in this winning series.