This is the second volume of Theweleit's extraordinary study of the fantasies of some of the men centrally involved in the rise of Nazism. The author develops his account by focusing on the representation of masculinity and homosexuality and their relation to the preparations for and conduct of war. He offers a psychoanalytic interpretation of the role of warfare as a search for sensation without desire or pleasure, leading to an image of the body which emphasizes hardness, self-discipline and, ultimately, violence.

This is much more than a book about culture of warfare: it is about sexuality and power, about gender, representation and violence. It is a document of our times which will be of interest to anyone concerned with modern history, contemporary politics and social, political and literary theory.