Reviews and WW2

I have been very spoilt this week. Went to a post graduate seminar which included Erica Wagner (Times Literary Editor), Matt Thorne, Celia Brayfield and Fay Weldon. I had many preconceptions about book reviews/reviewers and was interested to hear just how passionate the TLS reviewers are about books and how carefully the reviewers are selected. However, reviews aren't everything - the most likely reason someone reads/buys a book is through a recommendation from a friend. I also went to a talk in the evening titled 'Why does WW2 still fascinate?'. There were three authors - Justin Kerr-Smiley (Under the Sun), Roger Moorehouse (Killing Hitler) and Keith Lowe (Inferno - the Bombing of Hamburg). The latter two are non-fiction but Under the Sun is fictional. I asked how Justin managed to maintain a balance between the research and the writing and how did he deal with leaving most of the research out of the book. They all agreed that for fiction you should only research what you need. I know that's the case but I still find it hard!