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Title: This Is Berlin: Reporting from Nazi Germany, 1938-40 by William L. Shirer, John Keegan, Inga Shirer Dean ISBN: 1-58567-279-3 Publisher: Overlook Press Pub. Date: June, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $18.95

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Average Customer Rating: 3.5 (6 reviews)

Rating: 4
Summary: A very interesting glimpse into Nazi Germany
Comment: Before I read this book, I didn't really have that much of an understanding of Nazi Germany, at least in terms of events and conditions within Germany leading up to the war. Part of the strength of the book from my perspective is that it not only deals with what the German leadership was saying, but also what the mood on the street was. Shirer does a great job in communicating the sentiments of the German people. The fears of encirclement and the bewilderment at the refusal of Britain to surrender or negotiate peace stand out as two fine examples of Shirer's attentiveness.

The book is also a fascinating exercise in state propaganda and censorship. It's both insightful and extremely frustrating. There is a lot of repitition and one wearies of the daily tallies fresh from the battlefield. As well, Shirer is often forced to broadcast the official Nazi line, leaving one wondering what his real thoughts and sentiments were and what was really happening, both in Germany and abroad. So there to an extent it does lack a little bit of context. Shirer does his best with innuendo and sarcasm, but the strain of the censorship must have been almost unbearable.

I'd recommend people interested in this book also consult "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" also by Shirer, it's a very interesting read and will act as a fabulous companion to this book.

I found "This is Berlin" to be captivating, events unfolded rapidly and there was lots of suspense, which was interesting since of course we already knew the outcome. Reading the book is like unlocking a time capsule, take yourself back to Berlin and ponder William Shirer's commentary.

Rating: 4
Summary: Very good, despite the censors
Comment: I was surprised at how well these 1938-40 scripts read, and how much information comes through the heavy Nazi censorship. Of course, it helped if Shirer's U.S. audience was listening between the lines, like when the author reported seeing groups of Jews working on road gangs in newly conquered Poland. These scripts cannot reproduce how Shirer (1904-93) used his flat Midwest inflection to get certain points past the Nazi censors standing near his microphone. Perhaps one can still ask older Americans who remember these broadcasts. Readers may want a copy of the author's "Berlin Diary" and even his "Nightmare Years" for illumination, and Shirer fans can hope that his family publishes more of his writings. The censorship detracts a bit from the author's immense talents, but he still comes through loud and clear.

Rating: 1
Summary: Unusually uninformative
Comment: This book reads like the diary of a naive American tourist, unable to jot his thoughts accurately (or realistically) as history whizzes by his tour bus window. Like most American journalists reporting on European events during the 1930's - Shrier finds himself completely unprepared (and unwilling) to investigate or take into consideration the myriad of complex events leading up to the outbreak of the 2nd World War.

The rise to power of the National Socialists in Germany invoked an immediate negative response from the American ruling elite -- who in concert with the few ruling newspaper magnates in most major American cities, began promoting a war between Germany and the rest of the Western civilization as early as 1933. The result? American newspaper journalism throughout the 1930's was tainted by political motivations. Flip through the "foreign affairs" section of the New York Times on any given date in the 1930's and you'll find nothing but fanatical, almost obsessive diatribes aimed at rallying public opinion against Germany and paving the way for world war.

Shrier's' "Radio Broadcasts from Berlin" tows the party line and offers nothing in the way of insight into what life was like in Germany on the eve of war. At best Shrier provides readers with a glimpse into the chauvinistic, xenophobic mindset of 1930's American journalism.

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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
	Title: Berlin Diary: The Journal of a Foreign Correspondent, 1934-1941 by William L. Shirer, Gordon A. Craig ISBN: 0801870569 Publisher: Johns Hopkins Univ Pr Pub. Date: May, 2002 List Price(USD): $22.95