Sir, - Your critic Brian Fallon did a disservice to readers in his reviews of "two new books on the Nazis" (June 7th). The books in question were a biography of Albert Speer by a Dan van der Vat and a judgement on Nuremberg by a David Irving. Mr Fallon neglects to give any biographical data on either author. This is unusual in reviews of history/biography.
I still don't know who Dan van der Vat is but he has a reputable publisher (Weidenfeld and Nicolson). But who are Focal Point Publications, publishers of Nuremberg: The Last Battle by David Irving? Waterstone's (for example) has no entry for them in their publishers address list.
So, lacking from the review the necessary information, I must assume that David Irving is the David Irving beloved of neoNazis worldwide and a far from reputable historian. Why didn't Mr Fallon tell us this, even if to dispute Irving's notoriety?
Mr Fallon calls Nuremberg: The Last Battle "well researched". One wonders how a person banned for many years from entering Germany could have produced a "well researched" book on Nuremberg. - Yours, etc.,
Clonskeagh,
Dublin 14.