The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
Summary
Since its publication in 1960, William L. Shirerâs monumental study of Hitlerâs German empire has been widely acclaimed as the definitive record of the 20th centuryâs 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. Now, many years after the end of World War II, it may seem incredible that our most valued institutions and way of life were threatened by the menace that Hitler and the Third Reich represented. Shirerâs description of events and the cast of characters who played such pivotal roles in defining the course Europe was to take is unforgettable. Benefiting from his many years as a reporter, and thus a personal observer of the rise of Nazi Germany, and availing himself of some of the 485 tons of documents from the German Foreign Office, as well as countless other diaries, phone transcriptions, and other written records, meticulously kept at every level by the Germans, Shirer has put together a brutally objective account of how Hitler wrested political control of Germany, and planned and executed his six-year quest to dominate the world, only to see Germany go down in flames. This is a richly rewarding experience for anyone who wants to come to grips with the mysterious question of how this menace to civilization ever came into being, much less was sustained for as long as it was. The answer, unfortunately, is that most of Germany, for a whole host of reasons, embraced Nazism and the fanaticism that Hitler engendered.
©1990 William L. Shirer (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Down and Out in Paris and London
Summary
Orwell's own experiences inspire this semi-autobiographical novel about a man living in Paris in the early 1930s without a penny. The narrator's poverty brings him into contact with strange incidents and characters, which he manages to chronicle with great sensitivity and graphic power. The latter half of the book takes the English narrator to his home city, London, where the world of poverty is different in externals only. A socialist who believed that the lower classes were the wellspring of world reform, Orwell actually went to live among them in England and on the continent. His novel draws on his experiences of this world, from the bottom of the echelon in the kitchens of posh French restaurants to the free lodging houses, tramps, and street people of London. In the tales of both cities, we learn some sobering truths about poverty and society.
©1962 S. M. Pitt-Rivers (P)1993 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Berlin Diary
Summary
By the acclaimed journalist and New York Times best-selling author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, this day-by-day eyewitness account of the momentous events leading up to World War II in Europe is the private, personal, utterly revealing journal of a great foreign correspondent. CBS radio broadcaster William L. Shirer was virtually unknown in 1940 when he decided there might be a book in the diary he had kept in Europe during the 1930sâspecifically those sections dealing with the collapse of the European democracies and the rise of Nazi Germany. Shirer was the only Western correspondent in Vienna on March 11, 1938, when the German troops marched in and took over Austria, and he alone reported the surrender by France to Germany on June 22, 1940, even before the Germans reported it. The whole time, Shirer kept a record of events, many of which could not be publicly reported because of censorship by the Germans. In December 1940, Shirer learned that the Germans were building a case against him for espionage, an offense punishable by death. Fortunately, Shirer escaped and was able to take most of his diary with him. Berlin Diary first appeared in 1941, and the timing was perfect. The energy, the passion, and the electricity in it were palpable. The book was an instant success, and it became the frame of reference against which thoughtful Americans judged the rush of events in Europe. It exactly matched journalist to event: the right reporter in the right place at the right time. It stood, and still stands, as so few books have ever done, a pure act of journalistic witness.
©1941 William L. Shirer (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
The Collapse of the Third Republic
Summary
As an international war correspondent and radio commentator, William L. Shirer didn't just research the fall of France. He was there. In just six weeks, he watched the Third Reich topple one of the world's oldest military powers - and institute a rule of terror and paranoia. Based on in-person conversation with the leaders, diplomats, generals, and ordinary citizens who both shaped the events of this time and lived through them on a daily basis, Shirer shapes a compelling account of historical events - without losing sight of the personal experience. From the heroic efforts of the Freedom Fighters to the tactical military misjudgments that caused the fall and the daily realities of life for French citizens under Nazi rule, this fascinating and exhaustively documented account from one of the 20th century's most important historians makes the events of the fall accessible to a younger audience in vivid and memorable style.
©2019 William L. Shirer (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
The Wife's Secret: A Gripping Psychological Thriller with a Heart-Stopping Twist
Summary
Charley Willis was 13 years old when her parents were killed in their family home and she was found hiding in a cupboard upstairs. Fifteen years later, Charley is marrying Seth Chambers. It should be the happiest day of their lives, a chance for Charley to put her past behind her, but just hours after the ceremony, she is missing. No one saw her leave. No one knows where she is. One thing is for certainâ¦Seth is about to discover he doesnât really know the woman he just married. And his nightmare is only just beginning. A totally gripping psychological thriller that will keep you listening until the very last jaw-dropping twist.
©2018 Kerry Wilkinson (P)2018 Bookouture
The Nightmare Years, 1930-1940
Summary
The famous journalist and author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich documents his front row seat at the pivotal events leading up to World War II. In the second of a three-volume series, William L. Shirer tells the story of his own eventful life, detailing the most notable moments of his career as a journalist stationed in Germany during the rise of the Third Reich. Shirer was there while Hitler celebrated his new domination of Germany, unleashed the Blitzkrieg on Poland, and began the conflict that would come to be known as World War II. This remarkable account tells the story of an American reporter caught in a maelstrom of war and politics, desperately trying to warn Europe and the United States about the dangers to come. This memoir gives listeners a chance to relive one of the most turbulent periods in 20th-century history - painting a stunningly intimate portrait of a dangerous decade.
©1984, 2014 William L. Shirer (P)2019 Blackstone Publishing
The Start
Summary
William L. Shirer was a CBS foreign correspondent and renowned author of New York Times best-selling nonfiction about World War II, and this is the first part of his three-part autobiography. A renowned journalist and author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, William L. Shirer chronicles his own life story in a personal history that parallels the greater historical events for which he served as a witness. In this first volume, Shirer tells of his early life, growing up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and later serving as a new reporter in Paris. In this surprisingly intimate account, Shirer details his youthful challenges, setbacks, rebellions, and insights into the world around him. He offers personal accounts of his friendships with notable people, including Isadora Duncan, Ernest Hemingway, and Sinclair Lewis. This fascinating personal account also provides an illuminating look into the lost era of pre-World War II - and is notable as much for its historical value as for its autobiographical detail.
©1979, 2018 William L. Shirer (P)2019 Blackstone Publishing
The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler
Summary
American journalist and author William L. Shirer was a war correspondent for six years in Nazi Germany, having a front-row seat to Hitlerâs rise in influence and power. His most definitive work on the subject, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, is a riveting account of life in the tyrannical state, a country transformed by war and dictatorship. The author 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 Hitlerâs prominence in public cognizance, the horror of mass killings, and the paranoia and insanity that marked the führerâs downfall. This book is by no means simplified - and is sure to appeal to anybody with an interest in World War II history.
©1961, 1989 by William L. Shirer (P)2020 by Blackstone Publishing
End of a Berlin Diary
Summary
A radio broadcaster and journalist for Edward R. Murrow at CBS, William L. Shirer was new to the world of broadcast journalism when he began keeping a diary while on assignment in Europe during the 1930s. It was in 1940, when he was still virtually unknown, that Shirer wondered whether his eyewitness account of the collapse of the world around Nazi Germany could be of any interest or value as a book. Shirerâs Berlin Diary, which is considered the first full record of what was happening in Germany during the rise of the Third Reich, appeared in 1941. The book was an instant success - and would not be the last of his expert observations on Europe. Shirer returned to the European front in 1944 to cover the end of the war. As the smoke cleared, Shirer - who watched the birth of a monster that threatened to engulf the world - now stood witness to the death of the Third Reich. End of a Berlin Diary chronicles this year-long study of Germany after Hitler. Through a combination of Shirerâs lucid, honest reporting, along with passages on the Nuremberg trials, copies of captured Nazi documents, and an eyewitness account of Hitlerâs last days, Shirer provides insight into the unrest, the weariness, and the tentative steps world leaders took towards peace.
©2016 William L. Shirer (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing
Sterling Point Books
Summary
The Bismark was the greatest warship ever built, with guns so powerful and accurate it could destroy an enemy ship while safely staying outside the line of fire. But the Allies had to sink it...or risk losing the war. William Shirer, famed World War II correspondent and author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, captures every suspenseful moment of the perilous mission. Most tragic of all was the loss of the HMS Hood, the British Navy's star battleship, sunk by the Bismark in just minutes. However, a mixture of luck and new technology - including radar - turned the tide in the Allies' favor.
©2006 Sterling (P)2009 Audible, Inc.