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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 943.086
EAN num: 9780671728687
ISBN number: 0671728687
Label: Simon & Schuster
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 1264
Printing Date: November 15, 1990
Publishing house: Simon & Schuster
Sale Popularity Level: 13712
Studio: Simon & Schuster
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Product Description:
Since its publication in 1960, William L. Shirer's monumental study of Hitler's German Empire has been widely acclaimed as the definitive record of this century's blackest hours. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich offers an unparalleled and thrillingly told examination of how Adolf Hitler nearly succeeded in conquering the world. With millions of copies in print around the globe, it has attained the status of a vital and enduring classic.
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Rated by buyers 
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I read this important book, here in Brazil.This book was published about 50 years ago.And even so, this book remains important.There are failures in this book.One is that about the war itself, it is just regular.Many things revealed, after the publication of this book, such as the breaking of Enigma code machine, has no space in this book.The author saw the fall of France in 1940; he realized that France fell because of lack of will to fight, not weapons.Even so, he is weak about France's fall, because only more a decade later, the people could to know that France had more and better tanks, than Germany in 1940. About the massive amount of money from then Soviet Union and from famous germans, such as Paul Warburg to the nazi party also has no place on this book.The book itself is a little more than regular, but there's a good thing about the author:he lived the Third Reich and the war.He was there.William L. Shirer saw the facts.There's better options about the Third Reich, than this book?Yes, but this book remains important, after 50 years.
Rated by buyers -
I must confess that this can be a debilitating and exhausting work to read, especially when one must plow through the section detailing the Nazi atrocities; considering the amount of literature published on the Holocaust since the 1970s people yesterday will not find much new here, anyway (and there is not as much information on the Holocaust as there is on the endeavor on Hitler's life). Shirer has his prejudices, including the anachronistic charge of homosexuality (or "perversion") leveled against Nazi leaders - a charge not unjustified in certain cases, but myopic in light of the Nazis' persecution of homosexuals. He is annoyingly simplistic in his characterizations of the most famous Nazi leaders (they are evil, and therefore unappealing, ineffectual, and unattractive - my goodness, how could such losers captivate a nation? Had they no magnetism, no charm?), and certainly there are omissions in his account of how Hitler rose to power (Britain's and even the United States' relationship with Nazi Germany was complex but is given short shrift), but overall this is an excellent resource on the subject, the very first definitive history of this era, comprehensive (although flawed), and a literary classic in its own right.
Rated by buyers -
The book is a political history of the Third Reich; it's very light on legal, social, economic and military aspects. It could equally be titled as a biography of Adolf Hitler since almost all of the book revolves around this central person. Few other people are covered in as much depth as their importance would warrant - with exceptions of course. Franz Halder and some high placed plotters against Hitler are given good coverage.
It's very long but although it could benefit from further editing, it's very readable. Shirer has a flowing style and is not at all dry. It's certainly not an academic text. It's full of the author's opinions, many of them superfluous and fatuous (do we really need half a page to tell us the Nazi leaders didn't look like the conquerors of Europe while dressed in shabby clothes in the dock at Nuremburg?).
Shirer is scathing of just about everybody involved, even such people as Birger Dahlerus who did everything he possibly could to avoid a war despite his very limited means. Shirer seems to throw around words like stupid, naive, dim-witted and cowardly quite lightly considering he's often describing highly intelligent people who worked their way to the top of their societies and had to wrestle with difficult ethical and practical decisions (for example those who risked plunging their country into civil war and exposing it to foreign occupation by assassinating Hitler).
As a political history written for non specialist readers, it's fascinating, packed full of the well documented detail necessary to get a good understanding of how things happened and why.
Much of the analysis is unconvincing. Shirer subscribes to the theory is that Nazism was a more progression growing out of German culture and philosophy prior even to the First World War rather than a response to the difficulties faced by the German nation (such as the prospect of Communist revolution) during the Weimar period. As such, he brushes over such important influences as the starvation caused by the British naval blockade of the First World War - and the huge impact this had on the German psyche (not to mention military strategy).
Also notable is that the 1998 Arrow paperback copy is of poor printing and binding quality; many pages were misprinted due to being bent prior to printing; and many pages have fallen out despite gentle handling during the very first reading.
In summary, although the book is hardly balanced and overly long it's a reasonable non specialist political and diplomatic history of the Third Reich.
Rated by buyers 
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Please IGNORE all of the 1 and 2 star reviews here. I have read them and they are completely inaccurate! This book is well worth the read. It flows smoothly and effortlessly while keeping your attention. It is difficult to put down! The author lived and worked in Germany during WWII and saw Hitler speak on many occasions. Therefore, the author was intimately familiar with what he writes about. BUY it and ENJOY!
Rated by buyers -
This is the most comprehensive book written on the subject of Hitler and the Third Reich that I know. All aspects are thoroughly researched and covered from the origins to the demise of Nazi Germany. In my opinion, it is the definitive work regarding this dark period.
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