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.

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 today will not find much new here, anyway (and there is not as much information on the Holocaust as there is on the attempt 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 first definitive history of this era, comprehensive (although flawed), and a literary classic in its own right.

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 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.

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!

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.

Even though this book was written quite some time ago (1960's) it is still highly readable and an excellent overview of the Nazi regime. Shirer is an excellent writer and brings to life the origins of the Nazi movement, the war and the various German generals. Though you may have learned much from the endless media exposure to Hitler and the Third Reich, this book really is a scholarly overview written in layman's terms that will provide with interesting insights into Germany and the war. There are a few areas where the expressions are dated, but overall this book really holds up and despite its length (over 1100 pages) is a pretty quick read for such a long book. It really makes me want to learn more!

I'm sure anyone thinking about reading this book is wondering what's in store for them. I would tell them to prepare for a fascinating read with an immense amount of detail, a large number of characters spanning the globe, and a view of over two decades of turbulent European events leading to the largest catastrophe in recorded human history. This is not an easy or quick read; the events and story line can become intricate because it's necessary to discuss them as they relate to the different players in different countries at different times, wrapped up in the personal agendas and political realities facing them.

Most Americans that have taken a typical history course or two in school and have seen any of the numerous war films about the European Second World War realize that the Nazi's - and the German people that supported them - were evil. While that might sound like a trite understatement, for most people born after the war that have not studied it in depth or detail, the what, why, and how of the events leading up to the Nazi's rise to power and the war often remain shrouded. This book illuminates those events and brings life to the perpetrators, the appeasers, the collaborators, and ultimately the victors and the defeated.

Hindsight is 20-20, but the Second World War should not have surprised many in Europe. Perhaps people simply didn't believe Hitler would do the things he said he would or perhaps they simply couldn't believe it. Memories of the First World War were still fresh for many, and Hitler, an ex-corporal embittered at Germany's defeat and subsequent treatment and punishment in the Treaty of Versailles, told people what he wanted to do about it. Once he assumed power he set about doing exactly what he said he would. Where's the surprise? He laid it all out for everyone to read in his autobiography - Mein Kamph - and then true to his word, began the worst slaughter the earth has ever known. Millions of people read it in many countries. The cat was out of the bag in 1924.

Hitler lied to almost all whom he could deceive, but it was inexcusable that he was allowed to tell the same lies repeatedly. He and Goebbels lied to the German people daily. The Nazis controlled the press, the radio, the gathering spots and meeting halls. Ultimately, many of those (people and countries) who could challenge him didn't; instead they let him get away with it and actually assisted his early actions. As much as Hitler and the Nazi's are guilty for what ultimately transpired, the blame also rests squarely on the German people, England, France, and Russia as all are culpable of aiding and abetting the Nazis until it was too late. These people and countries had the chance to stop him, but chose not to. Instead, they gave him whatever he wanted. Make no mistake, while there is no excuse for Germany's actions, the country could have, should have, raised up against his actions but the propaganda was too strong. He could have been stopped by England and France in the late 30's but he was not; instead, they both appeased him. We've all seen the results of their inaction and appeasement.

This book is not about the holocaust (but I would challenge any Holocaust denier to read this), nor is it only about the fighting and battles, though many are discussed. It transcends those frightening symptoms to get to the real horror - Hitler, the Nazi party, and their aims. The Nazis and their beliefs, goals, and ideals, and how close they were to achieving them before the end are far more frightening than a single or even a series of deadly battles. Hitler's orders were always to attack without mercy, to use brutality whenever possible, but his real desire was to exterminate, not just defeat, but exterminate all that were not German or useful to the Germans as slave labor. To Hitler, the only reason to keep some of a conquered people alive was for their use as slaves; this unwitting goal alone probably saved more Jews, Russians, and other eastern Europeans than any other single factor. Starvation and slavery was the future of all Europeans, western and eastern alike, under the Third Reich. Few countries were considered safe, and even those ultimately may have ended their existence as slave fodder had the Reich not fallen when it did.

This book is even more important today than when it was written during the 50's. We have faced the challenge of communist totalitarian Russia and the cold war, and now we face challenges in the Middle East. How the latter will ultimately play out I don't know, but the stakes are high regardless of your viewpoint.

Germany was malleable in the 30's and Hitler, a political genius and extraordinary opportunist, was able to transform it to his desires. That lesson, and the most important subtext of this book, is the essential fact we must always remember that totalitarianism can happen anywhere. It is one's own government that must be watched. When your civil liberties are curtailed or taken away as happened to the German people, when you are watched and spied upon by your neighbors or via cameras, satellites, phone taps and email interception today, when those with opposing views are stifled or imprisoned as unpatriotic or seditionists, then you know the danger of history repeating itself is real. These changes start slowly often with small steps, but unchallenged they eventually will insure the population is controlled by an authoritarian right wing government. Other twentieth century dictatorial examples include Russia, China, Cuba, Italy (Mussolini), et. al.

We may, or may not, have narrowly averted a move toward dictatorial totalitarianism ourselves. The current right wing US regime (unlawfully installed in 2000) has been driving for absolute presidential power, one where the president is above the law and answers to neither the legislature (or equivalent) nor the people. This is exactly what Hitler did as Germany's Chancellor in the 1930's supported by the right wing Nazi party. Constant expansions of his powers freed him to take any action he desired while political opposition was squashed and the people controlled to a greater degree (mostly by fear mongering propaganda as our government does today). The German people were lied to about why Germany had invaded a neighboring country, always making it sound as if Germany had no choice. I am not an anti-war reactionary and believe in a strong military, but does this sound familiar? Is our situation really so different? Afghanistan, maybe yes. Iraq, absolutely not.

History and political lessons are in this book, though no thought of what we're facing today could have been imagined at the time it was written. Draw your own conclusions and parallels. Far fetched? It happened 62 years ago and it can happen again. Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it...

Fundamentally there was absolutely no difference between Germans and the British led Allies. If Germans massacred Jews/Slaves/Gypsies, British, too, have had many Ghosts in their closet. The British Empire systematically wiped out many so-called natives over a period of time. It may be pointed out that British engineered the Great Bengal Famine that led to the death of millions, not to speak of contriving to create Pakistan that took lives of several millions. Astonishingly, there was no Nuremberg for British Criminals like Churchill. It makes my blood boil when they talk of saving democracies, I wasn't aware that democratic forms of government was an exclusive domain of Whites! Democratic city-states existed 2000 years ago in India.

Jew bashing is not an invention of the Nazi Junta, but has been festering in Germany since the Days of Martin Luther whose teachings, whinny remonstrations will chill the blood of many and HE is considered the father of Protestantism.

Now I know why the Bengali Leader Netaji took the help of Nazis to get rid of the British Menace. I wish Germans had dropped an atomic bomb on London. Or the US on some German cities!

I am no way disputing the fact that many Indians toed the British line and helped them in many a scandalous endeavor where they often surpassed their masters in subjugating and exploiting their own brethren.

The writer has very little to say about his own doings and thoughts during the whole period - saving it for better sales of his other book, I guess!

This is the second highest selling book of all time, outsold only by the Bible. It is rare that a bestseller compares in quality to its number of copies sold, even a Pulitzer Prize winner such as this one, but here it is totally justified. It is also the second greatest book of all time. No one today can claim literacy without having read it, because the story told here is the most important and relevant story of our time.

Although William Shirer was not a historian, he was a talented journalist who lived under the regime he described. Shirer utilized a team of researchers and tons of documents and records from and about the Third Reich that has never been equaled, and never will be. We are fortunate that Shirer was a journalist because it enabled him to write a history that is accessible to most readers, not just a limited academic intelligentsia. That is no doubt one reason why it is never boring or tedious.

While it remains the undisputed summary history of the Third Reich, it's strongest point is its detailed description of the rise of evil, as opposed to the majority of other accounts that skip that most important part to hurriedly get to the more exciting and action-packed details of the crimes and ultimate collapse of the Reich, such as the many battles fought until the Reich's Waterloo at Stalingrad, the greatest battle ever fought. While these are covered here as well, it is the detailed description of the rise of Hitler and the Nazis that make this work so important and relevant today, because this is the lesson to be learned if a recurrence is to be prevented. It is the surprising account (surprising because it contradicts the common notion of a madman with Svengali-like charisma capturing a nation with his hypnotic power of persuasion. A good story but almost completely untrue) of a political failure transformed by moneyed interests into a political powerhouse. This was true of both the Nazi Party and its most successful and powerful leader. Hitler was not only financed via contributions to his Party by Big Business, but by direct payment from them, i.e., outright bribery. It is a lesson learned too late of the dangers of mixing money and politics.

By recounting one nation's tragic subversion by fascism and the resulting horror inflicted on an unsuspecting world, the second greatest book ever written should be required reading for many years to come.

The Angel Hunter
This is an excellent account of the soulless wretches that established the Third Reich. The spine chilling events and political maneuvering that took place within the borders of the Fatherland beginning with the Treaty of Versailles cannot be digested in one reading; they are, in a phrase, to terrible to believe on the first pass. If you are looking for a firsthand account from a journalist who lived in the midst of this madness as it gripped Eastern Europe, this book is for you. If you ever doubted the inhuman suffering inflicted on the world by Nazism, or thought maybe the Holocaust was a Jewish lie, READ THIS BOOK! But be ready for a disturbing revelation that can only be reached by reading this work: the evil doers, in any generation, believe in their hearts, they are right. My God... how frightening.

I completely agree with previous reviewers saying that The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich is an amazing, essential book. But I want to mention that some reviewers have said that Rise and Fall does not dedicate a sufficient number of pages to the Holocaust.

I would like to say that the 65 or so pages dedicated to a description of the Holcaust by William Shirer is as powerful a description of the wicked, horrible, industrialized mass-torture and -murder of Jews, gays, gypsies, and political dissidents as has ever been written or put on film. Just read his chapter entitled "The New Order", and you'll see that Shirer's rage at what the Nazis did to the Jews and other people is boundless.

This book is so grand in scope and so packed with facts that it hard to believe that it is only 1200 pages! As an advid World War two amateur enthusiast, I have a new appreciation of how Hitler came to power, and How the stars aligned to make this madman as influencial in the vast brainwashing of the german people as he was. He took a demoralized, defeated people and controled them with the promise that he would make them strong again and bring them out of the ashes of WW I. This book from beging to end is crucial to the fundamental understanding of how political mistakes on this level must NOT be allowed to repeat themselves. Very Long But after a while it feels like you are reading a novel.

It is very surprising that the author has made so large a book so interesting to read.
It shows the HUGE ability of the author to actually understand and overcome a reader's hesitancy to read large books.
I place this next to Churchill's Story of the Second World War.

It is a pity this book isn't required reading for all Americans; George Bush. Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Donald Rumsfeld, and Condoleeza Rice would have NEVER come within a million miles of the Oval Office.

And there would have been NO GOP after Watergate; that would have been the end. Instead, the GOP morphed into the AmeriNazi Christianist Party, with Reagan playing a senile Hindenburg to Poppy Bush behind the scenes and a budding Karl Rove chomping at the bit to become his nation's Goebbels. Indeed. Only the scapgoat targets change; not the tactics. Yesterday the Jews, today all of Islam who will rise up to the last man, woman, and child to fight the new Nazi scourge to the death to the point of genocide, and all "those who are not with us, are with the terrorists." See you in the Haliburton camps.

No matter though; what this book teaches is that Nazi Amerika will soon go the way of all Nazi Empires. The Fourth Reich will soon be no more as Bush, the Uniter, unites the entire world against him and it.

I've been meaning to read this for years (and years). - Not totally easy to read, but VERY interesting and relates to present-day events easily. Buy it (or check it out of the library), read it, and TELL YOUR FRIENDS.

Though it took me just about as many years to finish this massive tome as it took for the actual Nazi regime to play out, I would still rank this as one of my favorite history books. And even though it is very long and detailed, it is actually written in way that is fairly well-paced and at times even highly dramatic. I doubt there will ever be as definitive a work on the whole Nazi regime as what is presented here.

This book is an amazing read. It is pretty thick and extremely detailed but the insight it provides is unparalleled. The primary source documents cited throughout are fascinating.

William L. Shirer's novel is so well written that I cannot put it into the right words. I want to say that it felt like I was there, his descriptions of people and places were very, very heavy. That is the least of my concerns because this is a novel that goes so much farther into the history of Nazi Germany than perhaps any other I have ever read.

Shirer's book starts with exhaustive research that takes you into the childhood of Adolf Hitler. While known the world over as a monster, it was still important for me to see what this man's days were like before his deadly actions. Srategies, Socialism, tactics, politics, betrayal and so many other things are brought out and although some historical figureheads better versed on the subject than me may know some of this, I found a lot of it to be somewhat of a lost history that tends to take a back seat to WWII in general.

The author was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), which essentially runs the United States for the International Bankers who own the privately owned Rothchild's Federal Reserve "Bank", which has no "reserves" nor is "federal" in any way shape or form. (See "Money Masters" Pt. 1 & 2 on Google Video for proof. This is who we really fought against in the American Revolution. Ben Franklin confirms this fact.) The CFR wrote the official fiction of both World Wars & the lies that Americans were tricked into fighting for. If you want the facts on this particular subject, read books by David Irving.

Excelent book, very well written. The book is HUGE, with more than one thousand pages (!), but it is no boring at all. It is very complete, covering all the facts from the years before the WWII start, until some years after its ending. It puts you in each important fact place and time, explaining the real situation that leads to each movement. The chapters are well splited, that means you won't loose the main idea, eve if you read a chapter per month (for example). It is very reach in details, tolding even about the personal life aspects of each main piece who somehow had an important impact on the greatest war ever. The author did a exemplary research and every information is based on historical researches, on wich he indicates mostly the sources of it. Highly recommended!

This gripping classic thoroughly covers Hitler's rise (via free elections), life in Nazi Germany, and the inexorable march to disaster. The book touches nearly all bases, including politics, economics, social policy, diplomacy, the war, holocaust, etc. Readers see how Hitler was named chancellor in hard times, reducing joblessness thru rearmament, while tightening his grip via arrests, murder, and Gestapo terror. We also read his secret war directives (and plans for mass atrocities) from before Munich through utter defeat in 1945. Readers learn all major players and events, plus how a majority of Germans backed Hitler's lunatic regime. Author William L. Shirer (1904-1993) was a foreign correspondent in Nazi Germany from 1934-1940, and he later spent five years examining captured German documents to write this outstanding volume. I like the readable blend of eyewitness journalism and scholarly history, plus the skilled inclusion of authentic documents to illuminate events.

This stellar book isn't flawless; a couple of Shirer's conclusions seem debatable, he name-calls top Nazi's he personally detested, and his coverage of events ranges from superbly in-depth to merely adequate. Also, denied access to certain now-open archives, Shirer missed facts like Britain's breaking of Germany's military code ENIGMA. Still, this is a superb achievement overall, and so readable despite its length that it's sold over 20 million copies since 1960 - incredible for non-fiction.

This superb bestseller left readers amazed, academic historians jealous, and many wrongly assuming the author was Jewish (he was Protestant). In a dangerous world, this book plus Shirer's other volumes on Nazi Germany (BERLIN DIARY-1941, NIGHTMARE YEARS-1984) are timeless reminders.

No single book can contain in depth accounts of the horrors and evil of the Nazi era, but if I were asked to recommend an entry level book for someone less versed or less interested in history of that period, I would recommend "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich". It does not cover any one subject in overwhelming detail but it covers most important events and people of the era in enough detail to get a clear picture of what went wrong and when, and, if you have a thirst for knowledge, the long list of references is invaluable.

No single book can contain in depth accounts of the horrors and evil of the Nazi era, but if I were asked to recommend an entry level book for someone less versed or less interested in history of that period, I would recommend "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich". It does not cover any one subject in overwhelming detail but it covers most important events and people of the era in enough detail to get a clear picture of what went wrong and when, and, if you have a thirst for knowledge, the long list of references is invaluable.

One subject that seems to produce countless new books every year, is the Second World War, yet some 40 odd years ago one of the, if not the, most authorative accounts of the war and it's circumstances were written by mr Shirer. He draws on the best sourcematerial there is, personal diaries of the German generals, interviews, whitebooks and such, and delivers a truly interesting tale of a Germany rising from the Great War en route to an even greater one. He writes it in a fresh, journalistic style, which, dispite it's bulk, makes it an easy and enjoyable read. The force of this volume is really in it's detail. It covers a lot of ground and thus presents and explains a lot of the background for second world war (which is sadly lacking in many other books) and lays a solid foundation for further reading. Mr. Shirer stays resonably objective throughout the book, although he at times slips in his own opinion (eg when he calls Göbbels an idiot).

As can be seen from the post script, mr Shirer is clearly biased against Germany, even to this day (he mentions "the German problem" anno 1991) and seems to think, that another war with Germany is inevitable. Luckily this dosen't shine through in the main text.

This is a great work and is worth of all the praise it has received. It belongs on any and all bookshelves around the world as it, in my eyes, is one of the best books on the Thousand Year Reich readily available today. If you want to know about WWII this is a good place to start. Highly recommendable.

One subject that seems to produce countless new books every year, is the Second World War, yet some 40 odd years ago one of the, if not the, most authorative accounts of the war and it's circumstances were written by mr Shirer. He draws on the best sourcematerial there is, personal diaries of the German generals, interviews, whitebooks and such, and delivers a truly interesting tale of a Germany rising from the Great War en route to an even greater one. He writes it in a fresh, journalistic style, which, dispite it's bulk, makes it an easy and enjoyable read. The force of this volume is really in it's detail. It covers a lot of ground and thus presents and explains a lot of the background for second world war (which is sadly lacking in many other books) and lays a solid foundation for further reading. Mr. Shirer stays resonably objective throughout the book, although he at times slips in his own opinion (eg when he calls Göbbels an idiot).

As can be seen from the post script, mr Shirer is clearly biased against Germany, even to this day (he mentions "the German problem" anno 1991) and seems to think, that another war with Germany is inevitable. Luckily this dosen't shine through in the main text.

This is a great work and is worth of all the praise it has received. It belongs on any and all bookshelves around the world as it, in my eyes, is one of the best books on the Thousand Year Reich readily available today. If you want to know about WWII this is a good place to start. Highly recommendable.

This book is so good that despite the thickness, I read it twice. While it is a chronicle of the rise of Germany from the ashes of defeat in World War I to an even greater pile of ashes after World War II, it is not a historical account. Shirer is a journalist, and that is the approach he took in writing the book.
There is no historical event more fascinating than the manner in which Adolf Hitler rose to such power in Germany and led it to such ruin. Approximately a decade before rising to power in Germany, Hitler stated his intentions quite clearly in the book "Mein Kampf" (My Battle). Yet, the German people were so desperate at the time that almost anything seemed to be an improvement. The one quote that always comes back is when a German citizen is being interviewed. When asked about giving up their freedom when the Nazis came to power the reply was, "Yes, but before we were free to starve."
I have read many books about the rise of the Nazi state in Germany, but this one is clearly the best in describing the actual events, from the beginnings until the disastrous conclusion. I first read it in 1975 and reread it again in 1994. Most likely, I will reread it again somewhere around 2014. It is the best description available about how bad things can go when ideologues seize power and the moderate forces in the society respond either tepidly or feel obligated to render their support. Few people realize that Hitler came to power legally and with the support of a large part of the political establishment.

This book is so good that despite the thickness, I read it twice. While it is a chronicle of the rise of Germany from the ashes of defeat in World War I to an even greater pile of ashes after World War II, it is not a historical account. Shirer is a journalist, and that is the approach he took in writing the book.
There is no historical event more fascinating than the manner in which Adolf Hitler rose to such power in Germany and led it to such ruin. Approximately a decade before rising to power in Germany, Hitler stated his intentions quite clearly in the book "Mein Kampf" (My Battle). Yet, the German people were so desperate at the time that almost anything seemed to be an improvement. The one quote that always comes back is when a German citizen is being interviewed. When asked about giving up their freedom when the Nazis came to power the reply was, "Yes, but before we were free to starve."
I have read many books about the rise of the Nazi state in Germany, but this one is clearly the best in describing the actual events, from the beginnings until the disastrous conclusion. I first read it in 1975 and reread it again in 1994. Most likely, I will reread it again somewhere around 2014. It is the best description available about how bad things can go when ideologues seize power and the moderate forces in the society respond either tepidly or feel obligated to render their support. Few people realize that Hitler came to power legally and with the support of a large part of the political establishment.

Shirer's tome has become the standard popular account in the English language of the Third Reich and not without reason. The books is well-written, exhaustive and traces the trajectory of the NSDAP from humble beginnings to the dark days in Hitler's chancellery bunker. For those seeking a comprehensive account of the doomed National Socialist experiment, one of the most disturbing episodes in world history, "Rise and Fall..." is not a bad place to begin.

In parts the book is especially intriguing for the personal narrative Shirer imparts; he was a journalist in Germany for many years when the country was under Nazi rule and the book is littered with references to his personal experiences with and impressions of party officials. My few criticisms of the book are minor and have been mentioned before by others, among them professional historians. Where attempting to be thorough Shirer is at times redundant. The chronology becomes a bit disjointed near the end and I was somewhat surprised to find discussion of the barbarity and extent of Nazi crimes against humanity (especially with regard to the Holocaust and the massacre of Russian prisoners) limited mostly to one of the last chapters entitled "New World Order". Also slightly irritating, though one must take it with a grain of salt considering the book was first published in 1960, is the degree of homophobia Shirer exhibits in describing many early SA and NSDAP ruffians surrounding Hitler (notably Roehm) as "deviants" and "perverts" of the worst kind because they were homosexual.

Allowing for such presentist bias, the book remains and will continue to be the authoritative popular account of Nazism and an invaluable resource for those wishing to understand (to borrow Arendt's overused phrase) "the banality of evil" in our time.

Shirer's tome has become the standard popular account in the English language of the Third Reich and not without reason. The books is well-written, exhaustive and traces the trajectory of the NSDAP from humble beginnings to the dark days in Hitler's chancellery bunker. For those seeking a comprehensive account of the doomed National Socialist experiment, one of the most disturbing episodes in world history, "Rise and Fall..." is not a bad place to begin.

In parts the book is especially intriguing for the personal narrative Shirer imparts; he was a journalist in Germany for many years when the country was under Nazi rule and the book is littered with references to his personal experiences with and impressions of party officials. My few criticisms of the book are minor and have been mentioned before by others, among them professional historians. Where attempting to be thorough Shirer is at times redundant. The chronology becomes a bit disjointed near the end and I was somewhat surprised to find discussion of the barbarity and extent of Nazi crimes against humanity (especially with regard to the Holocaust and the massacre of Russian prisoners) limited mostly to one of the last chapters entitled "New World Order". Also slightly irritating, though one must take it with a grain of salt considering the book was first published in 1960, is the degree of homophobia Shirer exhibits in describing many early SA and NSDAP ruffians surrounding Hitler (notably Roehm) as "deviants" and "perverts" of the worst kind because they were homosexual.

Allowing for such presentist bias, the book remains and will continue to be the authoritative popular account of Nazism and an invaluable resource for those wishing to understand (to borrow Arendt's overused phrase) "the banality of evil" in our time.

First of all, a lot of people ask me how come I am reading a 1200+ pages book with the tiniest font ever printed on a book! My answer is that, if they ever start reading this book, they will swear by them too!

Fantastic recap of Third Reich -- Please note and emphasized -- this is not about Hitler, but it is would the Reich led by Adolf Hitler -- so therefore, there are some chapters dedicated to Hitler's life etc -- but as you read this book in its entirety -- one will understand that (a) portions dedicated to Hitler is not that much, and (b) most importantly, why Hitler did what he did!

I must say that I have a completely different perspective about history (not restricted to Germany) but overall (at least during the periods of 19th and 20th century) as to how things have happened, and why some one gets demonized and while some got away with it. Hitler might have done certain things atrocious and was publicized in a negative way in the world to earn hatredness, but there are a number of others who did exactly the same, but never one talks about it -- Wonder why? It is not my justification for anything that Hitler did, but the philosophy of few get noticed and others, however blatant getaway with it, is very intriguing. Worth a research, but am sure will never get published due to political correctness, of course.

If you like any shade of history, this is one of the books. History always teach a lot to any one, and as they say history repeats itself, but after reading the book, that history repeats itself not every 200 years, rather every 10 years -- it seems so; not necessarily the similar set of events -- but in terms of people's behaviors.

I know this review may not be helpful for many to decide on whether to buy this book or not -- but I somehow wanted to put in a word for my ardent respect for this book and express some of the peripheries of the book, rather than simply write a review of this book. In fact, after reading this book, I am not worthy to write a review on this book!

First of all, a lot of people ask me how come I am reading a 1200+ pages book with the tiniest font ever printed on a book! My answer is that, if they ever start reading this book, they will swear by them too!

Fantastic recap of Third Reich -- Please note and emphasized -- this is not about Hitler, but it is would the Reich led by Adolf Hitler -- so therefore, there are some chapters dedicated to Hitler's life etc -- but as you read this book in its entirety -- one will understand that (a) portions dedicated to Hitler is not that much, and (b) most importantly, why Hitler did what he did!

I must say that I have a completely different perspective about history (not restricted to Germany) but overall (at least during the periods of 19th and 20th century) as to how things have happened, and why some one gets demonized and while some got away with it. Hitler might have done certain things atrocious and was publicized in a negative way in the world to earn hatredness, but there are a number of others who did exactly the same, but never one talks about it -- Wonder why? It is not my justification for anything that Hitler did, but the philosophy of few get noticed and others, however blatant getaway with it, is very intriguing. Worth a research, but am sure will never get published due to political correctness, of course.

If you like any shade of history, this is one of the books. History always teach a lot to any one, and as they say history repeats itself, but after reading the book, that history repeats itself not every 200 years, rather every 10 years -- it seems so; not necessarily the similar set of events -- but in terms of people's behaviors.

I know this review may not be helpful for many to decide on whether to buy this book or not -- but I somehow wanted to put in a word for my ardent respect for this book and express some of the peripheries of the book, rather than simply write a review of this book. In fact, after reading this book, I am not worthy to write a review on this book!

This is an incredibly detailed account of the rise and fall of Nazi Germany. I can't put it down and it's give me a whole new perspective. I knew, of course, of the savagery and brutality of this regime. I didn't know how the Nazi's tricked, murdered and lied their way to power or how the French and British could easily, and should, have stomped on Hitler before he started the war. It's also very depressing but it needs reading.

The book is taken from research and the experiences of William Shirer as a correspondant in Germany. I found it to be just about right in detail and in covering the subject of the book. I strongly recommend it to anyone woh wants to get a feel for Nazi Germany and how Hitler came to power.

William Shirer provides an excellent first hand account of how the Nazi Regime came into power and then tracks its spectacular decline. Using his position as a journalist in Germany he explores many facets of the regime from the military to the social structures. The book is very well written and don't be deterred by its length. This is a great book to start off with if you want to learn about Nazi Germany. I found it quick to read and an essential collection to my library on the history of Nazi Germany. Highly recommend.

I've read this book twice now and both times were floored by the brilliance of this history book. Shirer was an eye witness to some of the events he describes in this book and lends a sobering perspective. This book is without a doubt the best introduction and the most comprehensive single volume history you'll find on Nazi Germany. Highly recommended.

William Shirer's book is truly a must-read for anyone interested in exploring the subject of World War II in depth. He writes as a journalist, as many other reviews have pointed out. But he has an historian's desire to do more than report. He searches for the social causes and effects of the rise and fall of Nazism in Germany.

Since his book was written, there have been many excellent histories of Hitler and the Third Reich. However, few have captured the immediacy of the period in the way that Shirer has. Some books have corrected some factual slips that Shirer made, and others have focused on issues that Shirer didn't. Even so, this is a great starting point for understanding the Third Reich. Sixty years later, the book is still a fascinating read!

The late William Shirer left us one of the very few sober accounts written about Hitler and Nazi Germany.
The credence of this book lays in the fact that the author lived in Germany, witnessed and felt the pulse of the WWII events.
We do not see many silly `labelling' of Adolph Hitler `the mad man', his `illegitimate father'. Or Hitler loitering the street of Vienna `roaming on his face', having failed his exams at National Art Academy, deciding to avenge from Austria `to vindicate his honour'.

In this book we can learn the early events that led to WWII.
We can see how Churchill's reticence to respond to many peace overtures Hitler offered in 1939 and after - when the British and French leaders were fighting much among themselves - hampered the quest for reconciliation.

Shirer spoke the language and mixed with the German people, he ate with them, rode their buses, listened to their radio, read their newspapers, and what is appreciable though is nowhere in the book one can see accusations that Hitler was a world threat - no wonder why the author was blacklisted in the early fifties for his daring and open-minded views.

Shirer couldn't have possibly seen how Paul Reynaud, the French Premier, listened to his mistress - Madame Helene de Portes - to sign the armistice with Germany at the time Churchill was equivocal with his promises to help France when Roosevelt was unprepared.
Shirer wrote on Page 740 "Hitler was determined above all not to allow the French Fleet to fall into the hands of the British"........."the armistice terms were designed to keep a French government functioning on French soil, and the French Fleet neutralized"... Whereas Churchill had aimed at getting the fleet scuttled because he was not sure the French were able to fight from North Africa, and sending the fleet to British waters would have been a liability on GB. Churchill would be held responsible for French towns destruction from the German air raids `as long as Britain held the French fleet'.

This is a great book to read, and a must read by scholars....

The late William Shirer left us one of the very few sober accounts written about Hitler and Nazi Germany.
The credence of this book lays in the fact that the author lived in Germany, witnessed and felt the pulse of the WWII events.
We do not see many silly `labelling' of Adolph Hitler `the mad man', his `illegitimate father'. Or Hitler loitering the street of Vienna `roaming on his face', having failed his exams at National Art Academy, deciding to avenge from Austria `to vindicate his honour'.

In this book we can learn the early events that led to WWII.
We can see how Churchill's reticence to respond to many peace overtures Hitler offered in 1939 and after - when the British and French leaders were fighting much among themselves - hampered the quest for reconciliation.

Shirer spoke the language and mixed with the German people, he ate with them, rode their buses, listened to their radio, read their newspapers, and what is appreciable though is nowhere in the book one can see accusations that Hitler was a world threat - no wonder why the author was blacklisted in the early fifties for his daring and open-minded views.

Shirer couldn't have possibly seen how Paul Reynaud, the French Premier, listened to his mistress - Madame Helene de Portes - to sign the armistice with Germany at the time Churchill was equivocal with his promises to help and France when Roosevelt was unprepared.
Shirer wrote on Page 740 "Hitler was determined above all not to allow the French Fleet to fall into the hands of the British"........."the armistice terms were designed to keep a French government functioning on French soil, and the French Fleet neutralized"... Whereas Churchill had aimed at getting the fleet scuttled because he was not sure the French were able to fight from North Africa, and sending the fleet to British waters would have been a liability on GB. Churchill would be held responsible for French towns destruction from the German air raids `as long as Britain held the French fleet'.

This is a great book to read, and a must read by scholars....

"By a hypnotism that defies explanation--at least by a non-German--Hitler held the allegiance and trust of this remarkable people to the last. It was inevitable that they would follow him blindly, like dumb cattle but also with a touching faith and even an enthusiasm that raised them above the animal herd, over the precipice to the destruction of the nation."

This remarkable book is based principally on the captured German documents, the interrogations and testimony at the Nuremberg trials of German military officers and civilian officials, the diaries and memoirs which some of them have left, and on Shirer's experience in the Third Reich. Shirer became one of the most respected journalists in wartime Europe.

The book is exhaustive and detailed with extensive notes and bibliography. A bit of patience is needed to get through the dialect, often quoting Mein Kampf. Shirer brings forth wonderful descriptions of the people who played a role in those troubled times. The individual battles are not detailed, so one will need to refer to other sources for a more detailed look at these battles and horrors that ensued. This is an important book for those interested in Germany and life in the Third Reich at this time.

The Reich rises with a quick run through of Hitler's youth and the German history, then the politics and Hitler's megalomania that led to national socialism and the rise to dictatorship. The Treaty of Versais and the fall of the mark lead to Germany's economic fall, allowing for the people to welcome in a dictatorship, a new messiah by deceit. The military buildup could now begin. The coups to overthrow Hitler and the Nazis had already failed and will continue to fail throughout the war. For the officers it was either death by Hitler or death by fighting. The massacres of the Russians began soon after the invasion of the East. The French and other countries were also caught up in the massacre, and William gives us the eyewitness reports. The "Jewish cleansing" started soon after the nazis took over their first countries. The Nazis kept developing more and more efficient means of extermination and experimentation. There is an exhaustive lead up to the start of W.W.II, the invasion of Poland. There was freighting information discovered on what would have been in store for Britain if invaded, not to mention the world and the slaughter of Russia. The Nazi's pinnacle arrives at about 2/3 of the way through the book where the fall begins with the Allied advance.

It took military action eventually to stop Hitler's "New world order", not the people. The lack of doing anything to stop Hitler from walking into the Rhineland should not be forgotten. Does not the blame fall partly on the people, Chamberlain, and the military generals? Maybe if more would have read Mein Kampf, and not disregarded it's contents millions would not have lost their lives. The Nazi propaganda took over the press, and soon indoctrinated the German people. There were many opportunities to stop Hitler by France and Britain early on. Have we not learned anything from the past? Is there not a parallel in our country?

"The Germans imposed the Nazi tyranny on themselves."

Hegel was one of the many influences on Hitler and Marx. Hegel and Marxism is still very much alive today in humanism, nationalism, "supreme state", racism, and mysticism.

If you only could read and own one history book on Nazi Germany, this would be it. Don't let the 1245 pages daunt you, this is a very well written and readable book on the subject. Shirer was apparently a journalist and started research on the book when he first went to Germany in 1925. He spent 5-1/2 years writing it. The title pretty much explains it, it covers the rise of Adolf Hitler to the eventual fall of Berlin. There are other history books that cover specific aspects of the Nazi's, such as the recommended 2002 publication of Antony Beevor's The Fall of Berlin 1945, but this is the one history book on it all. Considering how the events covered set up the modern world, this should be essential reading for everyone on the planet.

This is a brilliant book - tremendously well researched, incredibly well written, and packed full of unparalleled insights. It is highly recommended for anyone interested in Adolph Hitler, the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany, and the Third Reich at war.

Written soon after the end of the Second World War and first published in 1959, William L. Shirer's "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" remains the monumental history of Adolph Hitler and the Germany he created.

The author, William L. Shirer, served as a newspaper correspondent and CBS radio reporter in Europe and Nazi Germany during the war and witnessed first-hand many of the events that led to the beginning of the Second World War in Europe. More importantly, Shirer, the correspondent turned historian, was among the first individuals to avail himself of the confidential archives of the Third Reich and all its branches seized and held by the U.S. government after the war in Alexandria, Virginia.

These documents included the official diaries of the German Armed Forces High Command, the German Navy High Command, the Chief of the German General Staff (General Franz Halder), and those of the Minister of Propaganda (Dr. Joseph Goebbels). Shirer also made good use of the stenographic records of Hitler's conferences on the daily military situation, as seen and discussed at the Fuehrer's headquarters, and the texts of the Nazi leader's table talk.

The result is an extremely well documented and detailed history of every aspect of Hitler's Germany. Shirer makes it clear early in his book that although he detested Adolph Hitler and the Nazis, he sought to write an objective history of events. Certainly his observations on the leader of the Third Reich are of special interest to readers and historians alike. Shirer calls Hitler: "The man with the Charlie Chaplin mustache, who had been a down-and-out tramp in Vienna in his youth, an unknown soldier of World War I, a derelict in Munich in the first grim postwar days, the somewhat comical leader of the Beer Hall Putsch, this spellbinder who was not even German but Austrian..."

Writing about the rise of the Third Reich, Shirer shows conclusively that many of Hitler's beliefs as well as the basic tenets of the Nazi Party, including its' highly centralized, authoritarian and violently anti-Semitic nature, were deeply embedded in German history. It is for this reason that most of the German population and military so willingly followed their Fuehrer into another destructive two-front world war and continued to believe in him and victory until the very end.

There is very little about the German leader and the Third Reich that is not in this book. Shirer was able to detect early on, for example, the Nazi program to murder its own citizens, who were mentally retarded or otherwise physically incapacitated, and the resistance by the German population and the Catholic Church to that program. He also shows that, contrary to the view still held by some historians to this day, the vast bulk of Hitler's generals fully supported the German leader and his Nazi party. At the same time, Shirer was among the first historians who attempted to record the civilian and military resistance to the Fuehrer.

All of this makes Shirer's "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" wonderful and compelling reading. It remains the monumental history of Hitler's Germany and one of the most important historial works of our time.

It is exceedingly difficult to put the excellence of this book into a review. I have read many books, this is they very best. For contemporary, documented history, RAFOTTR is the greatest story every told. To call a 1200 page, densely written book a quick read it hard to do, but it is.

The sheer humanity of this work is what makes it so special. The reader is taken back to 1920's Austria. I found myself relating to this vagabond, former corporal, with no direction or prospects in life, who was a failure at his life long dream (painting). You follow Hitler from these depths to the heights of "most powerful man in the world", a megalomaniac drunk on power, who falls all the way down to the absolute depths of humanity.

As you are reading this book you have to constantly remind yourself that it is not fiction, that this spectacle really happened and in the not too distant past. I recommend this book to anybody that can read.

THE GOOD: This entire book is awesome - a must have for any history/WW2 buff, or anyone who is just a fan of great literature. Shirer writes the war in an informative and entertaining way which captivated me and kept me turning pages (ignoring that there were like 10,000 pages to turn!) I absolutely loved this book and have reread it until the pages fell out. This is the definitive book on WW2 from beginning to end.

THE BAD: Nothing about this book is bad.

THE UGLY: Absolutely nothing.

Ubermonkey says that there are tons of books which cover the WW2 era. But without a doubt, none of them cover it like this.

Despite the virtual tsunami of words that have been written about Nazi Germany, its antecedents, and World War II, Rise and Fall of the Third Reick remains a standout in the field, and truly qualifies as a must read for anybody who is seriously interested in this era.

Shirer's massive work (1143 pages in the paper edition) is particularly good on the pre-war years and the rise of Hitler and Nazism, when Shirer was for many of those years stationed as a correspondent in Berlin. The book is noticeably thinner on events after the US enters the war, when Shirer departed Berlin. Thus,the years 1942-1944 are covered in somewhat more summary fashion, with most of the attention focused on the major military battles of Europe and North Africa. Shirer also pays relatively short shrift to the Holocaust, which is something of an anomaly, because its full horrors were certainly well established by the time of his writing.

The other great strength of Shirer's work is its vividness. As a long-time correspondent in Berlin, Shirer, unlike so many of the subsequent historians who wrote of this period, had direct and personal knowledge of many of the Nazi leaders, and that knowledge informs his writing. Although he makes no secret of his revulsion at all of the Nazi leadership, his particular disdain for Goering, Ribbentrop, and to a lesser extent, Goebbels, shines through clearly. That insight, combined with typical and illustrative repertorial detail, such as the weather at the time, what the local newspapers were reporting about the developments of the day, etc., give Shirer's work an immediacy that other historians simply cannot achieve.

Shirer was not an historian by training. Yet, because of its power, and because he was correct in the vast majority of his conclusions, his work stands up admirably against the works of professional historians. If the subsequent passage of time and the opening of the formerly Russian archives have taught us anything, it is how right Shirer was about so many things, writing in the late 1950s. Later historians, such as Richard Evans, have written more analytically, and in more typically scholarly ways, about Nazi Germany, and as I noted, others have had greater access to documents, but Shirer's broad themes have been validated by the test of time.

As I have suggested, Shirer's work is not without flaws, but its weaknesses are utterly overwhelmed by its great strenghts. This is a must read for people who want to understand World War II and its pre-history.

This book is based upon captured German records released after the fall of Nazi Germany in 1945. Thus it is based almost solely on primary sources. If you are looking to write a report or if you just want the essential reference book for Nazi Germany this is what you've been looking for. A combination of a biography of Adolf Hitler and a 12-year history of the authoritarian dictatorship he created, by a journalist renowned for his work as a foreign correspondent, this work will be unequaled for years to come in its scope and its reliability. It's not so hard to believe when you consider its been in print for 46 years.

In the beginning, Shirer was branded a "German-hater" by West German chancellor Konrad Adenauer and he was treated unfairly by contemporary historians because of his lack in the field. But in retrospect, we can clearly see now that he was and is a very respected and gifted author.

Shirer went on to write End of a Berlin Diary and numerous other books on history and his work as a journalist, but he is best known for "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich", an unexpected bestseller which catapulted him to literary fame.

Like reviewer Clifford Stanford (May 30, 2006), I too kept this book on my shelf for years before reading it. But unlike other tomes of this size, the size of this book is worth it. For it chronicles everything you want to know about Nazi Germany, and more!

The political and military histories are extremely detailed. They are carefully supported by ample references, including many 'secret' 'top secret' and 'most secret' cables. Reading these histories, one is shocked by just how many chances Germany, and then the world, had a chance to stop the horror of the Nazi regime either before it was born, or before it became so powerful and caused such destruction, but failed to do so for what seem to be, in hindsight, reasons that are small minded, if not down right selfish. I was particularly shocked by the cavalier decision of Europe to 'sacrifice' Czechoslovakia for 'the greater peace' and of the Soviet Union's decision to ally with Germany, foolishly thinking it would be safe by doing so from Hitler's greedy wrath. The military histories chronicle the Nazi military machine from its victorious beginnings when it overran country after country to its dramatic losses in the forbiddingly cold Russian winter, where machines literally stopped working (due to frozen fuel and oil) and the soldiers froze to death.

But this work contains so much more than just political and military histories.

There is a biography of Hitler from his childhood, to his years as a vagabond wandering Austria (where he picked up much of his ideas) to becoming the Nazi warlord of Germany to his suicide in the end. However, Shirer doesn't just give us dry facts, but includes interesting details on his personal life (for example, his relationships with women, including his lover Geli Raubal and wife Eva Braun) and personality (his weird psychological state, often foaming and twitching, etc).

There are sections about the German people, detailing how their history, philosophy and culture had shaped them so that they could participate in the creation of such a horrendous regime. In particular, I found sections about Goebbels and how his powerful propaganda machine fooled the Germans into accepting this regime truly frightening. I fear that similar propaganda efforts maybe afoot today, and in the future, we maybe seen as foolish as the Germans for believing in them.

There are graphic descriptions of Hitler's horrific treatment of Jews, Poles, Russians and others in concentration camps, including murders, massacres, medical experiments and more. Also described in some detail is how the land of the conquered was plundered by the Germans for raw materials and profit.

There are the stories of the resistance in Germany, whose members tragically were slow to move in the beginning. When they did become energized in the end, it was too late. However, resistance fighter Count Von Stauffenberg emerges as one of the few heroes of this book. Stauffenberg was a bright spot in a work that is filled with so many villains, but even more frighteningly, so many more regular people who just wanted to go about their regular lives, and not shake the status quo. This is one reason that I believe that the Nazi regime (and other evil regimes) are able to cause so much damage- we the `regular people' are unwilling or afraid to face evil in the eye for fear of personal consequences.

Apart from his massive research, Shirer had the distinct advantage of actually being present in Germany as a journalist, witnessing some of the events first hand. His personal reactions to events (such as Hitler's speeches) offer a power to this book not found in other histories of the regime.

The book could have been strenghened further with additional supporting material. I agree with Clifford Stanford that maps would have been nice, along with pictures. I think a brief timeline, as well as a compendium of the main characters with a brief description of their role would have been helpful for non-historians like me. There were so many characters, many playing a significant role, that it was hard for me to keep track. I would often have to go to the index, and flip back through many, many pages to jog my memory of various characters.

I consider this the greatest history book ever written. Not just because I am Jewish. It reads like the greatest novel ever. It is surreal and more bizzare than Vonnegut or Orwell yet the events are painfully true. We watch as a seemingly highly evolved country turns itself over to the worst criminals and misfits that the world has ever known and becomes the greatest killing machine civilation has ever known. It is exciting to read as the noose tighens around the Nazi regime - you just can't wait till they are crushed into submission. I have read almost all of Shirer's books but this is the bible. I have read it three times and will surely read it again. We should never forget this part of human history - lest we relive it.

Albert Shirer's Rise and Fall of the Third Reich's 1100 pages remain to this day one of the best single volume histories of Nazi Germany. The Author, who worked in journalism in Germany during the 1930's personally recorded much of what he writes but also used copious research to create a book that is both academic and journalistic. While this book is an investment of time I believe it will be well enjoyed by the reader and also provides a great resource for further reading through a fantastic bibliography. If you are looking for a book that focuses on World war two this book really might not be for you. This book is definitely more political than military but with the vast selections of combat histories and memoirs a book that solidly describes the politics that caused the Hitler's Rise to power and the political climate that caused and lasted through WWII is an important resource. The book differs vastly from other histories of this time period as it really attempts to explain the issues at several levels by describing life for the ordinary German and political Climates in England, France and other countries. This may be its best feature.

Being a journalist, Shirer focuses on events more than character. While he does use character portraits to some extent in describing Ernst Roehm, Goering and of course Hitler, this book really is about dates actions and events. This does not detract as these are important to understanding history on the whole. If you are looking for a great foundation to an understanding of the third reich this is a great start