sarah_dietrich's review against another edition
4.0
Finishing The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich has left me sad, and satisfied. This was a great read and really well written, but I am saddened by what humanity is capable of. Why did we let Hitler do this? Why did so many go along with him? At 1,150 pages + references and afterword this book requires the reader to invest alot of time, but its well worth it.
warandpeaces's review
5.0
This book was easily one of the best history books I’ve ever read. It was also way more haunting than I thought possible, even given the subject. I chose to read this because I wanted to see if I could understand how such sadistic evil could have ever occurred. Although I still don’t think I’ll ever truly understand (and I probably don’t want to) the author does an excellent job of providing thorough, well researched and personal details in a way that keeps you reading in the edge of your seat.
steelcitygator's review against another edition
4.0
One of the best books on the workings of the upper levels of the Third Reich. Taken by an author who spent the prewar years reporting from in the country and accompanied by an untold number of hours combing through the Nazi archives that survived after the war (an instance where the organization and detail helped immensely). In that aspect it is a must read for any fans of history, WWII, or someone looking for a better understanding of the origins of Nazism/Fascism.
The actual writing is very good for what you should expect. It feels like a journalist reporting what they have found and you can tell the great details and insight provided. That said it is a large book and there are sections which drag a bit, do not be surprised if it takes you a while to finish. I was attending school for sections of when I read this book and it definitely was more difficult to read while trying to focus on work and school.
The only real gripe I have with it is that Shirer clearly has a bias against the standard German. Some may be warranted and there is an understanding I have for someone who saw the Nazi rise and the following war garner a distrust or negative view of the German people but it is not a complete vision of the standard German citizen under the Reich and places some undue blame. The best place to see this is the short note from Shirer that ends the book where he warns of a new threat with the German union in the 90's. Something that was off base and not really reading a sign of the times and, in my opinion, shows the biase he garnered over the years.
Despite all of this I have to recommend to anyone with an interest in the subject. Few can get the wealth of information and first hand sources that are gathered here.
The actual writing is very good for what you should expect. It feels like a journalist reporting what they have found and you can tell the great details and insight provided. That said it is a large book and there are sections which drag a bit, do not be surprised if it takes you a while to finish. I was attending school for sections of when I read this book and it definitely was more difficult to read while trying to focus on work and school.
The only real gripe I have with it is that Shirer clearly has a bias against the standard German. Some may be warranted and there is an understanding I have for someone who saw the Nazi rise and the following war garner a distrust or negative view of the German people but it is not a complete vision of the standard German citizen under the Reich and places some undue blame. The best place to see this is the short note from Shirer that ends the book where he warns of a new threat with the German union in the 90's. Something that was off base and not really reading a sign of the times and, in my opinion, shows the biase he garnered over the years.
Despite all of this I have to recommend to anyone with an interest in the subject. Few can get the wealth of information and first hand sources that are gathered here.
frasersimons's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.0
What a mission of a book. Nonfiction is not a muscle I have developed in my brain. While this is undoubtedly a feat to have constructed and written, it certainly remains a product of its time as well. The author has some really heavy blind spots - calling Hitler a pervert, a short hand for gay men or anything queer, and has a very self admitted (at the start of the book) personal stake and lens to apply to history. Many times his own diaries are quoted. This is really effective because I think the voice crafted works quite well. And the structure… more or less works. But one can’t help but wonder what other blind spots there are, especially when he goes off about vagrants and mocks Hitler as stating he was a great artist, which is hilarious. I mean, you don’t need to imbue further undesirable qualities he has many already, and he devised pretty indisputably effective propaganda, which is… art.
However, when it actually segues into the movements and machinations of the war I think it is really valuable and feels like it is meticulously constructed, holds reinforced conclusions. It collects a staggering amount of information and that particular arrangement of books 3 on, or so, are great. It is so much information I don’t know how much I actually retained, but it effectively shows what is known, what is thought to be known, and some suppositions in very clear and stark terms.
It has been criticized for the thesis of the formation and dissolution of the “third reich” itself, but I didn’t particularly care about that aspect and so had no dog in that race. Whatever reasons of the formation, the death blow seems incontrovertible. Mostly, it’s valuable for a macro perspective during the war. Go to it for that. Turning points and decisions, the dissection feels good to me, a laymen.
However, when it actually segues into the movements and machinations of the war I think it is really valuable and feels like it is meticulously constructed, holds reinforced conclusions. It collects a staggering amount of information and that particular arrangement of books 3 on, or so, are great. It is so much information I don’t know how much I actually retained, but it effectively shows what is known, what is thought to be known, and some suppositions in very clear and stark terms.
It has been criticized for the thesis of the formation and dissolution of the “third reich” itself, but I didn’t particularly care about that aspect and so had no dog in that race. Whatever reasons of the formation, the death blow seems incontrovertible. Mostly, it’s valuable for a macro perspective during the war. Go to it for that. Turning points and decisions, the dissection feels good to me, a laymen.
brycelampe's review against another edition
4.0
Fuck fascists.
A comprehensive, albeit somewhat dry, history of the Third Reich. Many hundreds of pages focus on diplomacy and military tactics, but less attention is given to the sociological and genocidal elements.
A comprehensive, albeit somewhat dry, history of the Third Reich. Many hundreds of pages focus on diplomacy and military tactics, but less attention is given to the sociological and genocidal elements.
davidv7's review against another edition
3.0
Due to the nature of online reviews, "3 stars" might seem worrying. But it is probably the best 3 star review in history. A must read for every person who wants to call people nazis in online discourse, as with the members of the alt-right, who don't seem to understand the gravity of national socialism.
What I loved about this work:
1. The pre-war era is described in great detail, throwing into context the rise of Hitler and his early life.
2. It gives a new perspective on the power dynamics of Europe before the second world war. France and Britain, while hailed as the great heroes of Europe after the war, had their own part in Germany's rise. They appeased Hitler, and let him get away with a lot before they didn't have a choice but to act. Their contempt of Communism and willingness to sell out Czecho-Slovakia played a big part in Germany's uprising.
3. The pacing. There's no slow parts in a book this long. It's amazing.
4. The information is often first hand and extremely thoroughly researched. Exactly what you want from a historical book. Some things just can't be told vividly through third party accounts.
5. Gruesome, non-embellished accounts of German "scientific" experiments on their "racially inferior" victims aren't omitted.
Almost none of these perceived flaws would be apparent or even seen as flaws to most Western Europeans or Americans. But there's a few:
1. After such a strong start, you can feel the author's personal view of Hitler kind of follows the public opinion of the western democracies. The mostly objective descriptions of Hitler in the early pages and his colleagues goes down the rabbit hole of increasingly bothersome ad-hominems as the book progresses. Describing Goebbels as stupid is the first example that pops into my head.
2. Stylistic choices also suffer. Phrases start to repeat themselves, general Keitel is noted to be the chief of OKW on almost every mention of him, while other officers(which there are a lot of), tend to only be described by their function once. After a while you lose track of all those German names, and with the problems mentioned above with them all being described as "inept" , you just don't know who's who anymore.
3. There's a few biases that got to me, too. Non-American Allies are almost never even mentioned after America officially joins the war. The German people are mostly portrayed as naive people, betrayed and manipulated by their leadership, even though most historical evidence points to the fact, that they were supporting him while he was conquering Europe. Anti-semitism and German supremacy weren't ideologies confined to the Berghof and Reichstag. This is why I recommend reading the epilogue fully. There the author reveals some of these biases a bit more clearly, even refers to a "German problem", which raised all kinds of red flags for me.
Knowing who the author is is a must for such pieces. You can tell he isn't a historian, which is why he's allowed to make the work a bit more subjective, but maybe it's that fact specifically, which made possible for such a giant book to be so hard to put down.
Generally, a must-read for anyone who's interested in world war 2. This book gives a detailed and thorough description on how foreign powers such as the USA and Russia sunk their teeth into Europe, and puts into perspective on why and how Germany got pacified for good after it.
What I loved about this work:
1. The pre-war era is described in great detail, throwing into context the rise of Hitler and his early life.
2. It gives a new perspective on the power dynamics of Europe before the second world war. France and Britain, while hailed as the great heroes of Europe after the war, had their own part in Germany's rise. They appeased Hitler, and let him get away with a lot before they didn't have a choice but to act. Their contempt of Communism and willingness to sell out Czecho-Slovakia played a big part in Germany's uprising.
3. The pacing. There's no slow parts in a book this long. It's amazing.
4. The information is often first hand and extremely thoroughly researched. Exactly what you want from a historical book. Some things just can't be told vividly through third party accounts.
5. Gruesome, non-embellished accounts of German "scientific" experiments on their "racially inferior" victims aren't omitted.
Almost none of these perceived flaws would be apparent or even seen as flaws to most Western Europeans or Americans. But there's a few:
1. After such a strong start, you can feel the author's personal view of Hitler kind of follows the public opinion of the western democracies. The mostly objective descriptions of Hitler in the early pages and his colleagues goes down the rabbit hole of increasingly bothersome ad-hominems as the book progresses. Describing Goebbels as stupid is the first example that pops into my head.
2. Stylistic choices also suffer. Phrases start to repeat themselves, general Keitel is noted to be the chief of OKW on almost every mention of him, while other officers(which there are a lot of), tend to only be described by their function once. After a while you lose track of all those German names, and with the problems mentioned above with them all being described as "inept" , you just don't know who's who anymore.
3. There's a few biases that got to me, too. Non-American Allies are almost never even mentioned after America officially joins the war. The German people are mostly portrayed as naive people, betrayed and manipulated by their leadership, even though most historical evidence points to the fact, that they were supporting him while he was conquering Europe. Anti-semitism and German supremacy weren't ideologies confined to the Berghof and Reichstag. This is why I recommend reading the epilogue fully. There the author reveals some of these biases a bit more clearly, even refers to a "German problem", which raised all kinds of red flags for me.
Knowing who the author is is a must for such pieces. You can tell he isn't a historian, which is why he's allowed to make the work a bit more subjective, but maybe it's that fact specifically, which made possible for such a giant book to be so hard to put down.
Generally, a must-read for anyone who's interested in world war 2. This book gives a detailed and thorough description on how foreign powers such as the USA and Russia sunk their teeth into Europe, and puts into perspective on why and how Germany got pacified for good after it.
meghanmarion's review against another edition
4.0
Definitely long, but a really good historical analysis.