At the Crossroads: SS Colonel Joachim Piper and the Ghosts of Malmedy - Hardcover

Poughkeepsie Journal, 9/4/11 "A riveting account." Kirkus Reviews (starred review), 10/15/11 "A sharply focused look at a grisly 1944 incident, the massacre of more than 80 American prisoners outside Malmedy, Belgium. Assembling a massive amount of data (the back matter alone consumes more than 120 pages), the author views the tragedy from the perspectives of survivors, the Germans and the Belgian civilians, some of whom aided the wounded, some of whom did not...Comprehensive, definitive, grim and gripping." WWII History magazine, Winter 2011 "[A] riveting account." Roanoke Times, 1/1/12"Fatal Crossroads manages to bridge the often uncomfortable terrain between in-depth details tailored for historians and brilliant, readable narratives appealing to lay readers...Parker not only sheds light on an oft-forgotten portion of the American experience in World War II, he rigorously dissects it, providing a benchmark for any future studies of the Malmedy massacre." Military Review, 12/1/12 "Fatal Crossroads provides a valuable analysis of the Malmedy Massacre through firsthand accounts of its victims, perpetrators, and observers. It provides a unique, realistic awareness of wartime atrocities." "Poughkeepsie"" Journal", 9/4/11 "A riveting account.""Kirkus Reviews" (starred review), 10/15/11 "A sharply focused look at a grisly 1944 incident, the massacre of more than 80 American prisoners outside Malmedy, Belgium. Assembling a massive amount of data (the back matter alone consumes more than 120 pages), the author views the tragedy from the perspectives of survivors, the Germans and the Belgian civilians, some of whom aided the wounded, some of whom did not...Comprehensive, definitive, grim and gripping." "WWII History" magazine, Winter 2011 "[A] riveting account." "Roanoke Times", 1/1/12""Fatal Crossroads" manages to bridge the often uncomfortable terrain between in-depth details tailored for historians and brilliant, readable narratives appealing to lay readers...Parker not only sheds light on an oft-forgotten portion of the American experience in World War II, he rigorously dissects it, providing a benchmark for any future studies of the Malmedy massacre." "Military Review", 12/1/12 ""Fatal Crossroads" provides a valuable analysis of the Malmedy Massacre through firsthand accounts of its victims, perpetrators, and observers. It provides a unique, realistic awareness of wartime atrocities." "Poughkeepsie"" Journal," 9/4/11 "A riveting account.""Kirkus Reviews" (starred review), 10/15/11 "A sharply focused look at a grisly 1944 incident, the massacre of more than 80 American prisoners outside Malmedy, Belgium. Assembling a massive amount of data (the back matter alone consumes more than 120 pages), the author views the tragedy from the perspectives of survivors, the Germans and the Belgian civilians, some of whom aided the wounded, some of whom did not...Comprehensive, definitive, grim and gripping." "WWII History" magazine, Winter 2011 "[A] riveting account." "Roanoke Times," 1/1/12""Fatal Crossroads" manages to bridge the often uncomfortable terrain between in-depth details tailored for historians and brilliant, readable narratives appealing to lay readers...Parker not only sheds light on an oft-forgotten portion of the American experience in World War II, he rigorously dissects it, providing a benchmark for any future studies of the Malmedy massacre." "Military Review," 12/1/12 ""Fatal Crossroads" provides a valuable analysis of the Malmedy Massacre through firsthand accounts of its victims, perpetrators, and observers. It provides a unique, realistic awareness of wartime atrocities." "Poughkeepsie"" Journal", 9/4/11 "A riveting account.""Kirkus Reviews" (starred review), 10/15/11 "A sharply focused look at a grisly 1944 incident, the massacre of more than 80 American prisoners outside Malmedy, Belgium. Assembling a massive amount of data (the back matter alone consumes more than 120 pages), the author views the tragedy from the perspectives of survivors, the Germans and the Belgian civilians, some of whom aided the wounded, some of whom did not...Comprehensive, definitive, grim and gripping." "WWII History" magazine, Winter 2011 "[A] riveting account." "Roanoke Times", 1/1/12 ""Fatal Crossroads" manages to bridge the often uncomfortable terrain between in-depth details tailored for historians and brilliant, readable narratives appealing to lay readers...Parker not only sheds light on an oft-forgotten portion of the American experience in World War II, he rigorously dissects it, providing a benchmark for any future studies of the Malmedy massacre." "Poughkeepsie"" Journal," 9/4/11 "A riveting account.""Kirkus Reviews" (starred review), 10/15/11 "A sharply focused look at a grisly 1944 incident, the massacre of more than 80 American prisoners outside Malmedy, Belgium. Assembling a massive amount of data (the back matter alone consumes more than 120 pages), the author views the tragedy from the perspectives of survivors, the Germans and the Belgian civilians, some of whom aided the wounded, some of whom did not...Comprehensive, definitive, grim and gripping." "WWII History" magazine, Winter 2011 "[A] riveting account." "Roanoke Times," 1/1/12 ""Fatal Crossroads" manages to bridge the often uncomfortable terrain between in-depth details tailored for historians and brilliant, readable narratives appealing to lay readers...Parker not only sheds light on an oft-forgotten portion of the American experience in World War II, he rigorously dissects it, providing a benchmark for any future studies of the Malmedy massacre."

On December 17, 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge, more than eighty unarmed United States soldiers were shot down after having surrendered to an SS unit near the small crossroads town of Malmedy, Belgium. Although more than thirty men lived to tell of the massacre, exactly what took place that day remains mired in controversy. Was it just a "battlefield incident" or rather a deliberate slaughter? Who gave the orders: infamous SS leader Jochen Peiper or someone else?Fatal Crossroads vividly reconstructs the critical events leading up to the atrocity--for the first time in all their revealing detail--as well as the aftermath. Danny S. Parker spent fifteen years researching original sources and interviewing more than one hundred witnesses to uncover the truth behind the Malmedy massacre, and the result is riveting.