The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler

by William L. Shirer

Paperback, 1964

Status

Available

Call number

943.086

Publication

Scholastic Book Services (1964), reprint of 1961 edition, Paperback, 188 pages

Description

American journalist and author William L. Shirer was a correspondent for six years in Nazi Germany-and had a front-row seat for Hitler's rise to power. His most definitive work on the subject, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, is a riveting account defined by first-person experience interviewing Hitler, watching his impassioned speeches, and living in a country transformed by war and dictatorship.William Shirer was originally commissioned to write The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler for a young adult audience. This account loses none of the immediacy of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich-capturing Hitler's rise from obscurity, the horror of Nazi Germany's mass killings, and the paranoia and insanity that marked Hitler's downfall. This book is by no means simplified-and is sure to appeal to adults as well as young people with an interest in World War II history.… (more)

Media reviews

Kirkus Reviews

This is an important book recommended for every awakening teenager and guaranteed to capture and sustain profound attention from the first to the last page. No dull recorder of dates and events, this author imparts his own observations of Hitler as he saw him during his rise to power.

User reviews

LibraryThing member druidgirl

Adolf Hitler was a dangerous megalomaniac, from the time of his youth he was violent and argumentative with his father.His book Mein Kampf was a blue print of what was to happen but no one took notice. As the years past he took massive amounts of medication for his nervous tensions that eventually

led to his downfall and death.

This author has heard speeches made by Hitler's and more info from secret documents that were found. I enjoyed reading about more of Hitler's life.

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LibraryThing member Polilla-Lynn

I read this book just to know what I may not have otherwise learned along the way. I’m glad I did. It was an easy book to read, but was difficult to read because of the horror of war, the driven insanity of Adolf Hitler, the unspeakable cruelty he promoted and insisted upon toward anyone in his

way. It was revolting to me to learn more of the seeming stupidity of those around him to allow him to carry on the way he did. He was terrifying. He was insane.

My father is a WWII veteran, and I deeply respect all WWII soldiers who put their lives on the line to stop the attempted overtaking of the world, a little at a time. It was a long horrific war that could have been stopped many different times – but it wasn’t seen at first as a realistic threat. As it progressed it became very hard to stop, including several attempts on Hitler’s life which were unsuccessful. I had an uncle who was a young German soldier in WWII, one of countless who didn’t want to fight in Hitler’s armies but had no choice. How very sad and tragic it all was.

This is a small book worth reading. Lest we forget.

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LibraryThing member kslade

My first book on Hitler. I was young. OK.

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