World War

Historians posit that an understanding of World War II cannot be grasped without a comprehension of the aftermath of what World War I ("The Great War" initially) wrought.  Into this breach, thrust by events, opportunity, and political terrorism, the Austrian Corporal ascended.  "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich:  A History of Nazi Germany," written by journalist and war correspondent William L. Shirer, was a fixture in our house when I was growing up, but I did not read it until all these years later.  Checking in at nearly 1200
pages (1990 paperback edition) probably had something to do with that, and the extensive footnotes and small-type quotations from captured documents, diaries, and testimony from the Nuremburg Trials make it a much longer read.  It is invaluable, however, for its contribution to the above-described understanding.  It is not a history of the war, and surprisingly little is written therein about its battles and leaders.  Rather, it is a chronological treatment of the Nazi regime and its capacity for bloodlust that unleashed genocide, mass murder, global war and destruction that would be incomprehensible if untrue.  The iconic stories of World War II are indelibly stored in our collective consciousness.  Yet, I still found it hard to believe that Nazi Germany, a relatively recent clear and present evil, did, in fact, exist.  Shirer's monumental work documents the undeniable and horrible truth.