William L. Shirer (1904–1993)
Author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany
About the Author
William Lawrence Shirer (February 23, 1904 - December 28, 1993) was an American journalist, war correspondent, and historian, who wrote The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, a history of Nazi Germany that has been read by many and cited in scholarly works for more than 50 years. Shirer was born in show more Chicago and graduated from Coe. Originally a foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune and the International News Service, Shirer was the first reporter hired by Edward R. Murrow for what would become a CBS radio team of journalists, and he became known for his broadcasts from Berlin, from the rise of the Nazi dictatorship through the first year of World War II (1940). With Murrow, he organized the first broadcast world news roundup, a format still followed by news broadcasts. Shirer wrote more than a dozen books including Berlin Diary (published in 1941); The Collapse of the Third Republic (1969) and a three-volume autobiography, Twentieth Century Journey (1976 to 1990). Shirer received a 1946 Peabody Award for Outstanding Reporting and Interpretation of News for his work at CBS. His book, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, won the 1961 National Book Award for Nonfiction and Carey-Thomas Award for non-fiction. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Shirer.jpg PD-USGOV-STATE.
Series
Works by William L. Shirer
The Nightmare Years 1930-1940 (20th Century Journey: A Memoir of a Life and the Times) (1984) 931 copies
A Native's Return 1945-1988 (20th Century Journey: A Memoir of a Life and the Times) (1990) — Author — 146 copies
William L. Shirer Twentieth Century Journey: The Start (1904-1930), The Nightmare Years (1930-1940), A Native's… (2020) 13 copies
William L. Shirer: 20th Century Journey, a Memoir of a Life and the Times : The Start : 1904-1930/the Nightmare Years :… (1986) 3 copies
The Consul's Wife 2 copies
The Medical Experiments 1 copy
Regreso a Berlín. 1945-1947 1 copy
Resolution for Women 1 copy
Associated Works
The Assassin's Cloak: An Anthology of the World's Greatest Diarists (2000) — Contributor, some editions — 550 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Shirer, William L.
- Legal name
- Shirer, William Lawrence
- Birthdate
- 1904-02-23
- Date of death
- 1993-12-28
- Burial location
- Mountain View Cemetery, Lenox, Massachusetts, USA
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Country (for map)
- USA
- Birthplace
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Place of death
- Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Places of residence
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Berlin, Germany
Paris, France - Education
- Coe College (BA|1925)
- Occupations
- journalist
historian - Relationships
- Murrow, Edward R. (colleague)
Lewis, Sinclair (friend) - Organizations
- CBS Radio
Chicago Tribune
Universal News Service - Awards and honors
- Peabody Award (1946)
National Book Award (1961)
Carey-Thomas Award (1961) - Agent
- Paul R. Reynolds
- Short biography
- William L. Shirer achieved fame as a foreign correspondent in Europe and Germany in particular during the years leading up to World War II, and again as the author of the award-winning 1960 book The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.
Members
Discussions
FS Editions of Shirer's Rise & Fall of Third Reich in Folio Society Devotees (August 2023)
Reviews
Lists
2015 UpROOTed (1)
My List (1)
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 47
- Also by
- 8
- Members
- 13,671
- Popularity
- #1,697
- Rating
- 4.2
- Reviews
- 148
- ISBNs
- 242
- Languages
- 17
- Favorited
- 15
First, regarding the book itself: it's a terrific detailed account from someone who lived in Nazi Germany and referenced an enormous amount of historical records to produce this work. It was long, and yes occasionally it was a grind, and it was well worth the time to read. Some of it even feels a bit rushed, like there's more to dig into, but then how do you tell the tale of one of the most important events in the history of the Western world from Hitler's youth to the Reich's end in a form that at least approaches a digestible length?
And now, a few words about the comparisons to Donald Trump. The Nazi war machine and its successes at world domination, as well as the crimes against humanity perpetrated by the party and the German people are well out of the reach for comparisons (for now anyway). The sheer level of brutality and devastation leveled by Hitler's Reich stand out as something we need to remember is part of the reason (or maybe the entire reason) why Nazi Germany is so reviled by the World's population. There is no comparison to that in America at this time; we're not at that level.
However, there are several concerning and fair comparisons that can be made between the Nazi leader and the man who is now America's president. One is their intense level of egomania. When Hitler was about to attack Russia and attempted to drive into Moscow, Shirer writes, "... the one-time Vienna waif regarded himself the greatest conqueror the world had ever seen. Egomania, that fatal disease of all conquerors, was taking hold." Trump's outlandish self-centered narcissism boils to a level of egomania unseen at the top of American politics perhaps ever, especially when he tells crowds, "I alone can fix this" and spews his self-aggrandizing midnight tweets.
Shirer also references Hitler's "violent nature following its momentary impulses," and we are all now watching a man driven perhaps entirely by impulse of a violent nature wield the highest power in our republic. Also, both men thrived and came to power by harnessing nationalist and racist emotions in a population that felt it had once been great and was now bitter about the way the rest of the world was treating it.
And lastly, I'm particularly concerned by the stark parallels between Goebbels' propaganda ministry and the Trump team's disregard for truth and facts, preferring instead to spread "Alternative Facts" as Kellyanne Conway put it a few weeks back. In this book, Shirer writes about the headline of a daily paper he bought on a train during the run-up to Hitler's invasion of Poland: "'WARSAW THREATENS BOMBARDMENT OF DANZIG - UNBELIEVABLE AGITATION OF THE POLISH ARCHMADNESS!' You ask: But the German people can't possibly believe these lies? Then you talk to them. So many do." The countless lies of Trump the candidate and now Trump the president, and the parroting of these lies by not only his surrogates but average American people, is quite frankly terrifying when compared to the Nazi aptitude for twisting or utterly replacing the truth with what one might call "Alternative Facts."
I hear sales of George Orwell's 1984 are on the rise. For those with the time and patience at this moment in American history, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich should also be on their list.… (more)