Shirer might disappoint historians with his style of writing which has a mediaperson's flair for the dramatic, but let's get one thing clear - this book is a riveting read. And it needs to be, for a book of this length cannot be read if written with a heavy hand. You will not get detailed analysis of German society, economy and politics, but you will instead get a surprisingly close, almost intimate, portrait of the rise and fall of Nazi Germany Hitler's rise to head the Nazi party is covered in fascinating detail. There is a truckload of trivia here, including Goebbels asking for his expulsion from the party at one stage. The two later became close friends, with Goebbels being the propaganda master of the Third Reich. Hitler's relationships with different members of the Nazi party - Goebbels, Himmler, Goering, Roehm and a number of others - are covered from almost their inception. And you can see how they evolved as the party came to power, went to war, and then fell apart. That is actually one of the charms of the book. Although you know what is going to happen, you keep reading because you want to find out more about why and how it happened. There are no startling new revelations here, but you just see the bigger picture in detail. The most interesting phase of the book is the way in which Hitler and his entourage react as Germany's fortunes start to change in the War. Shirer captures the sheer shock, the internal squabbling, and the refusal to believe that the tide has turned and its consequences on people The book's end, like the beginning, is a trifle dull with some sermonising, but barring those few dozen pages, this is a book that captures Hitler's Germany like perhaps no other book does. Someone like Richard Evans will give you more information, but is not as easy to read Which is why I feel that The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich is a book almost everyone should read. It tells us about a dark chapter in human history, and the key people behind it.