38 Londres Street cover art

38 Londres Street

On Impunity, Pinochet in England and a Nazi in Patagonia

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38 Londres Street

By: Philippe Sands
Narrated by: Philippe Sands
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About this listen

In 38 Londres Street, Philippe Sands blends personal memoir, historical detective work and gripping courtroom drama to probe a secret double story of mass murder, one that reveals a shocking thread that links the horrors of the 1940s with those of our own times.

The house at 38 Londres Street is home to the legacies of two men whose personal stories span continents, nationalities and decades of atrocity: Augusto Pinochet, President of Chile, and Walther Rauff, a Nazi SS officer responsible for the use of gas vans.

On the run from justice at the end of the Second World War, Rauff crosses the ocean to southern Chile. He settles in Punta Arenas, Patagonia, managing a king crab cannery at the end of the world. But there are whispers about this discreet and self-possessed German - rumours of a second career with Pinochet's secret intelligence service, the dreaded DINA.

In 1998, Pinochet is in a London medical clinic when the police enter his room and arrest him on charges of crimes against humanity and genocide. Philippe Sands is called to advise the former head of state on his claim to immunity, but will instead represent a human rights organisation against him. Years later, Sands makes a discovery while working on another book which reignites his interest in the case and leads to a decades-long investigation into Pinochet's crimes, his unexpected connection to Rauff and the former Nazi's possible connection to Chile's disappeared.©2025 Philippe Sands (P)2025 Orion Publishing Group Limited
20th Century History Law Military Modern

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Critic reviews

'An extraordinary achievement . . . I read with open mouth and thumping heart. Sands brilliantly traces the atrocious trail of blood that leads from the death camps of Nazi Germany to the torture rooms of Pinochet's Chile. 38 Londres Street takes its place as one of the most unforgettable and important records of the systematic pitiless cruelty of which tyrannies are capable' (STEPHEN FRY)

'Though nearly a decade in the making, this book could not arrive at a better time, because its subject is one of the most pressing themes of our era: impunity. Weaving together a globe-trotting legal thriller, a personal history and a twin portrait of a pair of mass murderers - one a fugitive Nazi, the other a head of state - Sands has created an indelible and enthralling work of moral witness' (PATRICK RADDEN KEEFE)

'Meticulously researched, delicately told - through jaw dropping interviews with those who witnessed Pinochet's acts first hand. This kind of scholarship has the power to change the world. Devastating and brilliant' (EMILY MAITLIS)

'The pace of a thriller novel, meticulously recorded and filled with urgent moral and political questions, this is Philippe Sands at his very best' (IAN RANKIN)

'38 Londres Street is many books, but especially two: on the one hand, an absorbing thriller where the fates of the bloodthirsty Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and the Nazi war criminal Walther Rauff intertwine, as do the present and the past, fiction and reality, chance and necessity; on the other hand, a profound, lucid and indispensable reflection on justice and impunity in a world that aspires or should aspire to universal justice. This is not only the most ambitious book Philippe Sands has written, but also his best. An enthralling read' (JAVIER CERCAS)

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Very well written and excellently narrated by Sands - he delves so deep to uncover long-laid secrets. Well worth a listen.

Spectacular Investigation

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A fascinating and somewhat depressing read about how how the law can be used by the most despicable people to try and avoid justice, if they can afford it, and those that are capable of hiding their morality behind rules when defending them.

The prosecution, or lack of, of pure evil

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Amazing work.
In conclusion Pinochet save Chile from Allende’s communist agenda. He Save chile from becoming a second Cuba or Venezuela. Human rights violations, terrible.

Great research

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I don’t how he does it but I absolutely love this man’s storytelling, compassion, courage and drive. He narrates with such clarity, accuracy and brevity - every word and every chapter an ear turner ! Loved every minute and cannot recommend it highly enough.

Another nailed on classic from Sands.

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great story, told with illuminating legal detail and story of the birth of international human rights law, and complexity of justice process. told clearly and easy to follow, i liked regional specific detail having visited chile in past. Author is great narrator, and easy to listen to.

illuminating insight into international law and justice process, detailing a specific intriguing case

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Phillipe Sands is an exceptional narrator. I have listened to all his books and they riveting.

Exceptional

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So much detail, all of it keenly relevant and shaping of the outcomes. The work done to bring us this book was astounding.

Detail and research

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Another wonderful book by Phillipe Sands and typical of his writing in both its attention to detail and in its grasp of the bigger story and the individuals involved. Highly recommended. Excellently narrated by the author.

Extraordinary story precisely researched and written

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