About this book
William L. Shirer worked as a foreign correspondent in Germany during the 1930s, and after the war he returned to the subject with access to a vast trove of captured German documents. The result is a sweeping single-volume history of the Third Reich, from Hitler's early life and the founding of the Nazi Party to the regime's final days in 1945.
Shirer covers the collapse of the Weimar Republic, the consolidation of dictatorship, the diplomatic crises of the late 1930s, the course of the Second World War and the crimes of the regime. He combines his own observations as a reporter with official records, diaries and testimony, and he writes with a journalist's directness.
The book stands out for its scale and its readability. Later historians have refined many of its interpretations, so it works best alongside more recent studies, but few books convey so vividly how a modern state was taken over and driven to war. For a newer overview of the conflict itself, see The Second World War.
Who it’s for
Best for committed readers ready for a very long book; the prose is clear, but the length and subject matter make it a serious undertaking.
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