Background His early books were met with praise from critics world-wide. Distinguished British historian, A.J.P. Taylor said of Irving, "David Irving is a patient researcher of unrivalled industry and success." Similarly, Hugh Trevor-Roper has written, " No praise can be too high for Irving's indefatigable scholarly industry." Even publications including The New York Times would call his The Trail of the Fox, "a superb biography." The Washington Post would declare, "Most of Irving's books are big, solid works... All are well written, exciting, fun to read, and all contain new information based on sensational discoveries." Irving is best known for uncovering new facts about supposedly well-known historical events. He extensively relies on original source materials, such as diaries and original documents. His research has generated the "David Irving Collection" which includes various materials for other researchers to access. Included in the collection are the originals of Adolf Eichmann's papers, copies of two missing years of Heinrich Himmler's diary, the diaries of Erwin Rommel, Alfred Jodl, Wilhelm Canaris, and Walther Hewel, and many other papers unavailable elsewhere. It had been said that David Irving could do no wrong. This was until his publishing of Hitler's War in 1977. Considered by many to be his magnum opus, it was unique among biographies, for Irving decided to describe the Second World War through the eyes of Hitler himself. Irving explained, "What Hitler did not order, or did not learn, does not figure in this book." For example, the first that the reader learns of the plot against Hitler's life, is when the bomb explodes beneath the table in Hitler's eastern headquarters. Irving and his volume were highly criticized throughout the world for expounding the thesis that Hitler was unaware of any policy to exterminate the Jews of Europe. Irving theorized that mass killings were ordered and carried out by Himmler, Heydrich, and other members of the SS. At this time, Irving offered a thousand pound reward to anyone who could produce even one wartime document that showed that Hitler explicitly knew of the extermination of the Jews. To this day, no such document has turned up. In 1981, Irving again infuriated his detractors by writing a history of the failed 1956 anti-Communist revolt in Hungary, Uprising!. In 1987, Irving published volume one of his best-selling biography of Winston Churchill, Churchill's War. By this time, Irving had revised his own opinions regarding the authenticity of the extermination claims. Irving wrote at the time, "Until the end of this tragic century there will always be incorrigible historians, statesmen, and publicists who are content to believe, or have no economically viable alternative but to believe, that the Nazis used 'gas chambers' at Auschwitz to kill human beings. But it is now up to them to explain to me as an intelligent and critical student of modern history why there is no significant trace of any cyanide compound in the building which they have always identified as the former gas chambers."Throughout the '90's, Irving has become very outspoken on the more controversial issues concerning the Second World War. He has traveled around the world campaigning for freedom of speech and to establish what he calls "truth in history." This campaign has resulted in many new fans as well as many new enemies. When banned from speaking in Australia in 1993, David again took the offensive. He produced an 80 minute video to explain his side of the story. His video, "The Search for Truth in History" was sold to thousands of Australians and others world wide. Despite various setbacks, David Irving has continued to speak around the world regarding the truth about World War II. In 1996, he is releasing his long-awaited biography of Hitler's propaganda chief, Joseph Goebbels and the second volume of Churchill's War. Currently, Mr. Irving is continuing work on a biography of Franklin Roosevelt. Biographical InformationPartial Bibliography
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