| The Nightmare Years 1930-1940
(1984)
|
| Front Cover |
Book Details |
|
| Genre |
Non-Fiction; Biography |
| Subject |
Germany - History - 1918-1933; Germany - History - 1933-1945; Journalists - United States - Biography; Shirer, William L. (William Lawrence), 1904-1993 |
| Publication Date |
4/1/1984 |
| Format |
Hardcover (9.1
x
5.9
mm)
|
| Publisher |
Little Brown & Company |
| Language |
English |
| Extras |
Dust Jacket; Dust Jacket Cover |
|
| Personal Details |
| Acquire Date |
6/10/2010 |
| Condition |
Very Good/Fair |
| Rating |
0 |
| Links |
Library of Congress
|
|
| Product Details |
| LoC Classification |
PS3537.H913 .Z52 |
| Dewey |
070.924 |
| ISBN |
9780316787031 |
| Edition |
[1st ed.] |
| Cover Price |
$29.95 |
| No. of Pages |
654 |
| First Edition |
Yes |
| Rare |
No |
|
| Notes/Review |
This is the second volume of Shirer's memoirs. I have not read either of the other two, but after reading this one I will be sure to read the others.
The book starts with the author's return to Vienna after working in India. As a journalist, it was his job to report on major stories in Europe for American newspaper readers at first, then eventually on the radio with his colleague Edward Murrow. He traveled widely through these years, living for extended times in Vienna, Spain, Berlin, and Geneva. Most of his time was spent covering Nazi Germany. He was witness to most of the major stories of the Nazi ascendance through to and including the defeat of France. Through his work, he personally knew most of the key figures in the Nazi regime.
The narrative is compelling. Although written many years after the events, he kept detailed diaries and these inform the text. The title of the book is apt - Shirer lived through years of nightmare, and his story is often tense.
The book doesn't cover the war after his return to the USA, but he provides a short epilogue. It is nominally about the Nuremberg trials, but is more a personal denouement. He searches through the rubble of Berlin and Nuremberg in search of places he lived, restaurants and bars he frequented, and the government buildings where he witnessed the stories he reported on. Finally, he gives little sketches of the defendants at Nuremberg, comparing them to their former selves, when they leaders of the regime, when they were the authors those nightmare years. |
|