The Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich - William L. Shirer

Years ago, I read that Napoleon Bonaparte was the most written about man in history until Adolf Hitler took his place. It means any book about Hitler or his era will be specialized instead of generalized. There is no book that encompasses the life and times of Adolf Hitler. William L. Shirer was witness to many activities during Hitler's reign and he does an excellent job to give the best overview of the era. This book is around 1500 pages, but has such a grace to the detail and storytelling that reading it once isn't enough. Years after the first read one usually always go back for a second dip. My father did and had to reward himself with a brand new edition to make the experience worthwhile. I recently got a new edition in anticipation of my second go around. I've read deeper and more thorough books about both Hitler and the Nazi revolution, but the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich is an account of its popular history. The book makes the point that the Third Reich was never the empire it claimed to be, but public fascination made it to be bigger than it was. That explains the appeal of this book.