William L. Shirer's classic examination of the Nazi era from its roots in the end of World War I to its (governmental) demise at the end of World War II is simply one of the great works of history. Built both on Shirer's own experiences as a reporter and eyewitness to Hitler's regime and upon the captured documents of the German government, Shirer depicts, brick by brick, how the edifice of Nazism was built and how, ultimately, it collapsed, largely under the weight of Adolf Hitler's hubris. Though I have been a fascinated student of the Second World War and its triggering factors, never before have I felt so completely clear about the progression of events and the force of individual personalities in the creation of the most horrific period of European history. Anyone who is interested in how a nation rose to power while losing its soul, or in how it might so easily happen again, would be well advised to start, or augment, their education with this masterful work. ( )

In one way this book should just be called The Rise of the Third Reich. And that way is my way because I only listened to the first quarter or so of this book (as an audiobook). I got to the point where Hitler was declared Fuhrer and then I stopped listening. I felt that Shirer's account was not entirely reliable, but easy to place in terms of the time it was written and the perspective of the author. I'm more interested in national politics and the challenges of democracy than international relations or war, so I didn't feel the need to read about the build up to WWII or the conduct of the war itself. I am interested in the economic aspects of the war, but I didn't want to wade through the horrors that Hitler committed in his own country to get to that.

The book is clearly written and Shirer's skill as a journalist is on show in his ability to turn each section into a narrative. It has that rather self-satisfied tone of a lot of non-fiction writing from the United States in the mid-20th century, which doesn't really annoy me too much.

I've wanted to read this book for years and was pleased to find it was available on Audible. It took almost two weeks of sporadic listening to finish, but it was worth it. The narrator was excellent. ( )

I've wanted to read this book for years and was pleased to find it was available on Audible. It took almost two weeks of sporadic listening to finish, but it was worth it. The narrator was excellent. ( )

I read this when in high school. It was big and ponderous, but I think I was still finishing every book I started then. I'd like to recall what it said about The Holocaust, but I can't. ( )