There's really not a lot new to say about this book considering it's 60+ years old and its subject matter is one of the most taught and discussed. But this book still holds up so well. Shirer's first hand experience living in the Third Reich and getting to know many of the key figures lends an air of authenticity to his denouncements of the Nazis and their ilk, plus his usage of first hand documents captured by the Allies gives such interesting insight to the inner thoughts of some of the power players. It took me a LONG time to get through this not because it's boring or a hard read/listen (I did audiobook) but because there's just so much to it, you need to do it in chunks. ( )

Shirer`s book is one of the earliest and still one of the best work about the rise and fall of Hitler and the Third Reich. The first volume is detailing the happenings from the beginning to the start of WWII. Although some of his opinions are quite dated (eg. he`s stressing more than once that the leaders of the SA were, on top of everything, were sodomite homosexuals) this is a must read for everyone interested in this time period. ( )

Where else does one start a journey to the abyss? ( )