"The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich"

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany (William L Shirer)

Here's another case where I don't really have much to add. This book is an undisputed classic, and only misses out on being the definitive history of the west in World War II because of Winston Churchill's memoirs - not exactly fair considering he was Prime Minister of the UK at the time.
So is this book as good as its reputation holds? In two words, uh, yes. This is the kind of history book I eat up - extremely long (over a thousand pages), but always readable. Admittedly, I skipped a few pages, but this is due more to the Nazis being one-note than anything else; The run-up to the launching of the invasion of Poland features a bunch of meetings which boil down to "Now we will invade Poland" and goes on a little long.
But this is the only part of the book that drags - a small section of a huge tome. The author concentrates more on what are to me the more interesting parts of the regime - its coming into power and adolescence, and less on its inevitable distruction. Not too much attention is paid to military matters except as how they impact the Reich as a whole - a wise decision, I think, given the wealth of material otherwise available purely about the battles fought. The usual caveat applies that any history of Nazi Germany is going to be a downer, but if you're not sick of World War II and can handle being depressed for over a thousand pages, this is a great read.

Grade: A