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Title: Berlin Diary: The Journal of a Foreign Correspondent, 1934-1941 by William L. Shirer ISBN: 0-8018-7056-9 Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press Pub. Date: 01 April, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.31 (13 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Fascinating, Well-Written Account of its Time
Comment: Shirer is better known, of course, for having written "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich," which is an excellent first book to read on Nazi history. After reading "The Rise and Fall," though, I stumbled on "Berlin Diary" and I was riveted. Shirer's life as an American correspondent in pre-war Nazi Berlin gave him a unique position from which to observe and chronicle life under the 20th century's most bloodthirsty regime.
Shirer's day-to-day observations are both precise and chilling. I was especially fascinated with how he sparred with--and often outwitted--the Nazi censors. He walked a fine line with many of the stories he filed; he was committed to giving his American readers an accurate depiction of life in Nazi Germany but knew that his characterizations were being closely monitored. I came to really admire his courage and determination, and found the book a pleasure to read.
Rating: 5
Summary: The ABSOLUTE MUST-HAVE Companion to "The Rise and Fall"
Comment: If you haven't yet read Herr Schirer's all time classic "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich", or if you just completed it, this is the greatest companion book. Heck - even if you don't intend to read "The Rise and Fall" - read it anyway. It gives such great insight into the mind of one of the greatest correspondents of the modern era and the great historians of the Third Reich. It also helps you to see the war from the side of the German people - after all, they did have to deal with Hitler - and his legacy the longest. As you will see, this is Shirer's personal diary, in which he speaks lovingly about his wife and newborn and worries about their safety in Switzerland. He deals with his trips to the front and contacts in the foreign ministry. Extremely well written - and a great reference during the long haul of "The Rise and Fall" (Personally, I'm still pushing through "The Rise and Fall" after a year and a half - and yet it's one of the greatest books I've read) Come on! Buy it! You'll thank me! It's an investment you won't regret.
Rating: 2
Summary: Wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't so prejudiced...
Comment: Having read "Rise & Fall...," I assumed that "Berlin Diaries" would offer well-thought insight. However, though there are some excellent descriptions of German (& European) life in this period, there are way too many prejudiced statements by the author.
For instance, at one point he states that German women are the ugliest in Europe. Based upon what objective facts, I'm unsure, but things like beauty to not stop at the border. Additionally, if you look at the cover photo of Mr. Shirer, I find it somewhat strange that this man is commenting on anyone's asthetic beauty. However, that does not seem prevent him from making unsettling (and racist) characterizations of Germans, Poles, & Balkan citizens.
Another source of odd commentary involves Shirer's continuous descriptions of lavish meals and wines. Whereas at one moment he is describing the dire food shortages in some countries, three pages later he goes into great depth about his dinner meal in Paris or Vienna. It's difficult for me to believe that the author truly empathizes with the fate of those in occupied countries when he seems to be continuously searching for the seminal French meal (and wine). Odd...
Perhaps his off-the-cuff remarks should be taken in context with the time they were written (1941), but for an "objective journalist" to display such shocking attitudes about foreigners is disheartening. It makes me wonder how much editing took place in "Rise & Fall..." to make it as good as it is.
In all candor, I wish I hadn't read "Berlin Diary," as it now spoils my view of the author and his greatest work, "Rise & Fall..."
There are better descriptive books (legitimate diaries) out there...see Ed Murrow for a better view of life at that time.
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Title: Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich by William L. Shirer ISBN: 0671728687 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 15 November, 1990 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: Berlin Diaries, 1940-1945 by Marie Vassiltchikov ISBN: 0394757777 Publisher: Vintage Books USA Pub. Date: 01 April, 1988 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: INSIDE THE THIRD REICH by Albert Speer ISBN: 0684829495 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 01 June, 1997 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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Title: Roosevelt Confronts Hitler Americas Entry into World War II by Patrick T. Hearden ISBN: 0875805388 Publisher: Northern Illinois University Press Pub. Date: 01 March, 1987 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: The Nightmare Years: 1930 -1940 by William L. Shirer ISBN: 1841581224 Publisher: Birlinn Publishers Pub. Date: 01 August, 2002 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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