Journalist and author William Shirer was a witness to many of the pivotal events leading up to World War II. In the second of a three-volume series, Shirer tells the story of his own eventful life, detailing the most notable events of his career as a journalist stationed in Germany during the rise of the Third Reich. Shirer was there while Hitler celebrated his new domination of Germany, unleashed the Blitzkrieg on Poland, and began the world conflict that would come to be known as World War II. This remarkable account tells the story of an American reporter caught in a maelstrom of war and conflict, desperately trying to warn Europe and the US about the dangers to come.
This memoir gives readers a chance to relive one of the most turbulent periods in 20th century history-painting a stunningly intimate portrait of a dangerous decade.
For over a decade, William L. Shirer worked as a news broadcaster for CBS in Europe. His tenure saw the rise of Adolf Hitler in the early 1930’s, the start of World War II, and the earliest stages of the Nazi invasion of Europe. This selection of his iconic broadcasts compiles two and a half years’ worth of war-time broadcasts from Shirer’s time on the ground during World War II. He was with Nazi forces when Hitler invaded Austria and made it a part of Germany under the Anchluss; he was also the first to report back to the United States on the armistice between France and Nazi forces in June of 1940. His daily round-up of news from Paris, Vienna, Berlin, Rome, and London, which documented Nazi Germany and the conditions of countries under invasion and at war, was looked to for guidance and information. He was the first journalist hired by CBS to cover World War II in Europe, and his radio broadcasts became famous for their gripping urgency. Shirer brought a sense of immediacy to the war for listeners in the United States and worldwide, and his later books on the war, including the seminal Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, became definitive works on World War II history.
This collection of Shirer’s radio broadcasts offers all the original suspense and vivid storytelling of the time, bringing World War II to life for a modern audience. Shirer’s first-hand series of accounts from countries throughout Europe is a vivid unfolding of events from the perspective of an eye-witness.
The Bismark wasn’t just any warship. Its guns were much stronger and more accurate than any others in its day—meaning it could easily sink enemy ships without getting in range of their fire. It was one of Hitler’s most powerful weapons, and the Allied forces had to put it out of commission—before they lost the war. With the fate of the world in the balance, Allied forces chased the Bismark across the stormy North Atlantic—culminating in a thrilling sea battle that changed the course of World War II.
Unfolding with the taut suspense of a blockbuster movie, this book brings the excitement and danger of World War II to younger audiences—and demonstrates William L. Shirer’s mastery as a writer of history and a spinner of tales.
