An American view of World War II, from a journalists inside perspective. Well written and observed by a man who had the acquaintance of many of the despicable characters in Hitler's Germany.

This was absolutely worth rereading for me, with a decade's more experience and understanding and on the cusp of the United States LARPing this book in its entirety.

Some of the early portions of this, on the "primitives" and "savages" of British India, Afghanistan, and Arabia, haven't aged especially well, but even those are enlightening as examples of period travel writing, a la Fitzroy Maclean's Eastern Approaches. Shirer's own history as a reporter, first for newspapers and wire services, followed by his role as a CBS correspondent, is fascinating. Working closely with Edward R. Murrow, Shirer played a not-insignificant role in defining the modern format of a broadcast news roundup, and the two of them brought the early days of the war home to American audiences in real-time.

Of course, the meat of this book - and the source of its unique perspective - comes from Shirer's assignment to Berlin in the early 1930s, in time to cover the rise to power of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime. Shirer's insights into the Nazi leadership and their foibles are critical to read right now, on the cusp of a US presidential transition. How does a liberal democracy - the Weimar Republic - cease to exist? How does it willingly transform itself into a reactionary, murderous, authoritarian regime? Here, for instance, is Shirer on the Nazis's chief propagandist:

Goebbels was unbelievably ignorant of the world outside Germany. He appeared to know absolutely nothing of the history, the literature and the people of any foreign land. He understood no modern foreign language. His ideas of America, for instance, were childish. This was a weakness shared by all the Nazi bigwigs, beginning with Hitler, and it began to occur to me that it might have ominous consequences for the Third Reich, and unfortunately, for much of the rest of the world. There is nothing more dangerous in the shaping of foreign policy than ignorance - of foreign lands and people.

Goebbels, of course, is hardly the only Nazi leader deserving of condemnation. "In a normal, civilized society they surely would have stood out as a grotesque assortment of misfits. But that, as I had to keep reminding myself, was not how most Germans regarded them. The vast majority, so far as I could tell, gave these murderous louts not only the respect a German invariably accorded to high government officials, but held them in high esteem."

This, indeed, is a theme throughout the book: Shirer's awakening to the idiocy and brutality of his fellow man; of the collapse of French resistance, the German acquiescence to everyday atrocities, of a European-wide dimming of the human spirit. Vigilance is required of a citizenry, and instead, they hung onto every word of Hitler's.

All of us in the West, our political leaders and our newspapers above all, had underestimated Adolf Hitler and his domination of this land and its people. His ideas might seem half-baked and often evil - to me they did. But the unpleasant fact was not only that he believed in them, fanatically, but that he was persuading the German people to believe in them. He might seem like a demagogue... but his oratory, his drive, his zeal, his iron will and the power of his personality were having an immense impact on the citizens of this country. He was convincing them that the new Germany...under his leadership, was great, was strong, and had a manifest destiny ... I heard no mention...of the loss of personal freedom and of other democratic rights. Apparently this was not much of a sacrifice. They couldn't have cared less. They had committed themselves to Adolf Hitler and his barbarian dictatorship.

History doesn't repeat. It sure does rhyme, though. Shirer's account is essential reading. ( )

Présentation de l'éditeur « Ceux qui n'ont pas voulu comprendre cette histoire sont condamnés à la revivre. » Ce verdict d'un des plus grands journalistes américains exprime l'hallucinant périple de William Shirer, témoin de l'apocalypse de l'Occident. Résidant à Berlin à partir de 1934, fasciné et horrifié par Hitler, spectateur d'une dictature entraînant une nation vers une guerre de conquêtes et de ravages, il couvre le déclenchement de la Seconde Guerre mondiale pour la radio américaine CBS. N'hésitant pas à dénoncer la censure dont il était victime et refusant de se plier aux exigences propagandistes du régime nazi, il quitte l'Allemagne en décembre 1940. De retour à Berlin à l'automne 1945, il découvre le nouveau visage, vaincu et dévasté, du pays. Ces mémoires nous livrent ses réflexions d'alors sur les terribles événements qui se déroulèrent inexorablement sous ses yeux. Biographie de l'auteur Après la guerre, William Shirer (1904-1993) a couvert le procès de Nuremberg. Il a reçu en 1946 le Peabody Award pour sa couverture et son « interprétation remarquable de l'actualité ».

This is a remarkable book that bears rereading, especially in these times of newspaper and television station cutbacks. Shirer was present at so many important Nazi events during the crucial 1930s. He gives first hand accounts. However there is another theme to this book. His job with various journalism employers, print and media, was so often uncertain. He was determined to stay, but even had to take a year without pay to stay in Europe. (Vacationing in Spain).

Currently his description of attending the installation of the new king of Afghanistan in 1931 and his host the next king who would remain on the throne for 40 years is especially interesting. There are a number of excellent photographs from this visit and the photographs look much the same as those seen now on reporting of the current Afgnan war.

One reads over and over accounts of things that seem not to have happened had the other countries stepped up to the plate. The Munich syndrome is with us today as a result of this.

Am expected and timely aside, his coverage of the coranation of the last Afghan king, with some original photographs, early in the book before he took over the German beat. ( )

Personal experiences and on-the-spot journalism. ( )