Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating history of Adolf Hitler and his creation.
Review: Originally published in 1960, this book still stands as one of the most comprehensive biographies of Adolf Hitler. (It covers all major events of the Nazi Party in general but gives most of the individual attention to Hitler, Goering, Goebbels and any other high leaders of the infamous party.) Perhaps the best part of the book is the first third of the novel in that it contains a narrative of German politics and the actions Hitler used to force control of the government through the Nazi Party. Throughout the book, the author is careful to point out many subtle events in history that could have altered the future of Nazi Germany if not for someone's change of actions. (For instance, Hitler was almost born Adolf Schicklgruber. Would the fascist leader have gained such a following with his "converts" required to shout, "Heil Schicklgruber!" An interesting fact and one of the many that the author has surfaced with his thorough historical novel.) If there is a negative part of this book, it is that the author shares viewpoints of mid-20th century Americans. He frequently cites the problems of Nazi leaders who were "sexually disturbed homosexuals" or "deviant drug addicts." While many of the party's leaders were definitely not an angel by any stretch of the imagination, the author speaks as someone who lives in his time. In other words, the author implies that a Nazi leader's homosexuality is a source of his sociopathic criminal behavior. While this opinion made sense in 1960, it sounds strange to many 21st century Westerners and fails to give the reader a logical choice on what made these men tick. The author gives us a fair look into Hitler's mind. Sometimes mixed with admiration for his political savvy, horror at his brutal policies, sympathy (in the sense that he has become a pathetic figure) for his last days, amazement at his manipulation - the author takes the reader on a rollercoaster ride through the actions and mind of a world leader that will always be looked at as one of history's most evil figures.
Rating: 
Summary: Personal
Review: In reading this book, I found the research into history past and present Germany to be fascinating. Going back to the 18th century was vital for us to understand how Germany came to the thinking it did in the 20th century. Mr. Shirer must have spent numerous hours in painstaking research and eyewitnessing accounts. This book is truly an eye opener for the next generation. However, this book is not without flaws. First, the footnotes are too long, and at times become pages instead of footnotes. Secondly, he imparts to his readers too much of his personal opinions and views. A good author would not spend so much time on this. When an author does his homework as throughly as Mr. Shirer did, and presents the facts, and just the facts without his opinions, the reader is going to come to the same conclusion as the author intended without his guidance by embedding into almost every page his personal view. The horrors committed evoke an opinion from each reader without being guided into the author's opinion. These opinions of the author, if removed, may have shortened the book by a few hundred pages.
Rating:
Summary: Too much
Review: I have just finished reading this book. The historical facts are fascinating. Mr. Shirer lays out everything in chronological order with a great detail of facts and background. My only criticism is that he imparts too much of his personal opinion into the book. No doubt that Mr. Shirer must have seen, first hand, and uncovered in his research very horrifying material. However had he just presented the facts, every reader would have come to the same conclusions which he wanted us to come to. If an author does his homework well, the reader doesn't need to be guided by personal opinion to come to the same conclusions as those of the author. I would have come to this on my own. With such horrifying facts, how could the reader reach another conclusion anyway. In keeping his personal feelings and opinions out, this would also have shortened the 1600 pages of this book.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Historical Work.
Review: The definitive book on Nazi Germany. Painstakingly written and researched, some of which drawn directly from the author's own experiences. Rating a book is often a subjective matter. In terms of sound judgement and objective method, Shirer has done a remarkable job creating a benchmark historical work on an era few who lived through it would like to remember. - Louis
Rating: 
Summary: The definative book of world war two
Review: Shirer compares to Gibbon in the process of detailing of an empire. Gibbon drew on historical research to write about Rome. Shirer was there on the spot to write about Nazi Germany. This history details why Germany was susceptible to the rise of the nazis, and their subsequent rise to power, their trampling of all opposition, and the inevitable road to war. A fantastic read for someone who wants to know why the second world war happened.
Rating:
Summary: a must read for all who are interested about the third reich
Review: This book is magnificent,it tells about the life of Hitler from the day he was born to his teenage childhood up to his rise to poqwer,Shirer has capture the real drama of the most famous leader during the WW II.He describe the way how Hitler reract after the fall of France up to the height of the campaign at the war in Srtalingrad up to the last days of Hitler.
Rating:
Summary: Tedious
Review: Although certainly full of detail, this epic account of the Third Reich is often tedious and uninteresting.
Rating:
Summary: A book to remember
Review: William Shirer was an American journalist in Germany from 1934 until presumably 1941 (when Germany declared war on the USA after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour). Shirer occasionally mentions his participation in reporting history from Berlin or the front lines and admits to having been influenced by the endless barrage of Nazi propaganda. Occasionally his sharp post-war opinions on the characters of the various leaders depicted breaks through. The book is based on the huge amounts of documentary and verbal evidence that became available after the war and the Nuremberg trials. The book represents a huge work of research - one wonders, however, whether the author's motivation is an atonement to his blindness (along with many millions of others) to the monstrosity of the Third Reich as it actually happened. On reading the book (a rich 1200 pages!) one wonders whether it should not have been called "The Rise and the Fall of Adolf Hitler" for it centers around Hitler and his generals and seems to almost forget Goering, Goebbels, Himmler and other Nazi leaders after their initial appearances. A central conclusion from the book is, no doubt, that the Third Reich and World War2 would not have come about were it not for this one man - Adolf Hitler. All the other players in Shirer's story pale into insignificance beside the genius, charisma, madness, vision, evil, manipulativeness, leadership and single-mindedness of the one man. The only other "heros" of the book, although not covered in great detail, are Stalin and, rather more so, Churchill whose vision, inspiration and leadership changed the course of history. [Reviewer's personal note: WW2 and the Holocaust are themes of enormous importance to me personally. Both my parents were born in Germany and, had it not been for Hitler I would have been born a German. Once the Third Reich existed I might not have been born at all were it not for Churchill, and I almost certainly wouldn't have been living in Israel if weren't for WW2 and the Holocaust. The realization (sharpened after reading this book) that my life ,and that of so many millions of others, would have been so different were it not for two men is quite shattering.] Besides Hitler, Churchill and Stalin most other players in the drama of the Third Reich appear in Shirer's book as sycophants, ditherers, brutes or nonentities. The weakness and blindness of pre-war England and France are difficult to imagine. The blind neutrality and unpreparedness of the governments of Belgium, Holland and Norway is also noted. The world's blindness is all the more noteworthy considering, as Shirer carefully points out, that Hitler laid out his philosophy and intentions very clearly in Mein Kampf which he wrote in the mid 1920's. In hindsight, one is open-mouthed at the success of Hitler's bullying which allowed him to annex Austria and dismantle Czechoslovakia without firing a shot. Hitler also intimidated his generals who dared not disobey him even if it cost the lives of thousands of their troops and endangered their own. As the war progressed more and more of them either resigned or were fired in Hitler's increasing rage and frustration at ever increasing failures. It is quite amazing to read about the chain of events which led the ex-Austrian corporal to take over direct command of the German armed forces in the first place. There is no doubt that, during the early stages of the war, Hitler's ideas of where and how to attack and invade were smarter than those of his generals, as was his assessment of the procrastination and unpreparedness of the countries to the north and west. However Hitler had a number of critical blind spots that were to cost him the war. He underestimated the will of the Russians to fight for their homeland as he misjudged the tenacity of the British and readiness to fight of the Americans. Hitler was more paranoid about the dangers close to home to his regime and his person. He made sure to eliminate (literally) any real or supposed opposition including the many members of the July 1944 plot. Shirer documents the various attempts within Germany during the war years to overthrow the Fuehrer which all failed from combinations of bad luck, ambivalence, mutual distrust and lack of resolve of the plotters. The book's main themes are the rise of the Nazi Party, the build up to and then the conduct of the war until its demolition of the Third Reich. From a history of the Third Reich, I would have expected something more on the instruments of government and power under the Nazi regime. There is also little on the Nazis' innovative, systematic and extremely successful uses of deception and propaganda to further their aims. Shirer, however, chooses the more exciting stories and gives us a tantalizing insider's view of the Reich. The detail furnished by some of Hitler's loyal subordinates of meetings give us the feeling of having been there in the Chancellery or in Berchtesgaden as it happened. For those of us who grew up on the Allied story of the war, this glimpse into the enemy camp is a memorable one. I will not forget this book for a long time.
Rating:
Summary: A must-read for anyone interested in exploring humanity
Review: A full, in-depth examination of the historically-stunning existence of the Third Reich. This book gives a tremendously-detailed and well-annotated insight into Hitler, his psyche and rise to power. If you want to know as much as possible about this topic, read this book. If you are looking for more of a summary, pass it by. I believe this book would be fully appreciated by those who have an understanding of Machiavellianism and an interest in the sordid world of calculating human behavior and politics. The book does not go into great detail on the specific military campaigns. It is more about the way the Nazis operated and is a must-read for anyone who is a student of 20th-century history. Basically, I wish all adults would read this book to realize the dangers of hate that can repeat themselves.
Rating:
Summary: History at it's finest
Review: This book gives an in depth study of the rise to power of the Third Reich and their fall into history. It only took me a few months when I was in high school to go through it; and now that I am older I find it quite a good book to refer back to when I need to point out facts in an argument.
| 
