The Nightmare Years, 19301940, William L. Shirer
The Nightmare Years, 19301940, William L. Shirer
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The Nightmare Years, 1930–1940

Author: William L. Shirer

Narrator: Grover Gardner

Unabridged: 26 hr 56 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/28/2020

Synopsis

The famous journalist and author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich documents his front-row seat at the pivotal events leading up to World War II.In the second of a three-volume series, William L. Shirer tells the story of his own eventful life, detailing the most notable moments 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 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 politics, desperately trying to warn Europe and the United States about the dangers to come.This memoir gives readers a chance to relive one of the most turbulent periods in twentieth century history—painting a stunningly intimate portrait of a dangerous decade.

About William L. Shirer

William L. Shirer (1904–1993) was an American journalist and war correspondent. He 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 fifty years and was #1 New York Times bestseller. Originally a foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune and the International News Service, he was the first reporter hired by Edward R. Murrow for what would become a CBS radio team of journalists known as “Murrow’s Boys.” He reported from Berlin for the Universal News Service and for CBS on the rise of the Nazis, and he covered their fall as a war correspondent. Out of these reports grew his other New York Times bestsellers Berlin Diary, The Nightmare Years, End of a Berlin Diary, Midcentury Journey, and The Collapse of the Third Republic. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich sold more copies for the Book-of-the-Month Club than any other book in the club’s history.

About Grover Gardner

Grover Gardner has recorded more than 650 audiobooks since beginning his career in 1981.  He's been named one of the "Best Voices of the Century" as well as a "Golden Voice" by AudioFile magazine.  Gardner has garnered over 20 AudioFile Earphones Awards and is the recipient of an Audio Publishers Association Audie Award, as well as a three-time finalist.  In 2005, Publishers Weekly deemed him "Audiobook Narrator of the Year." Gardner has also narrated hundreds of audiobooks under the names Tom Parker and Alexander Adams.  Among his many titles are Marcus Sakey's At the City's Edge, as well as Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and John Irving's The Cider House Rules.  Gardner studied Theater and Art History at Rollins College and received a Master's degree in Acting from George Washington University.  He lives in Oregon with his significant other and daughter.

Reviews

Goodreads review by S.A. on June 10, 2012

This is a good read, and taken for what it is--part of Shirer's memoirs--it is excellent. If you are looking for a dry, straight-up analysis or history of the lead-up to WWII, this isn't it. If you are looking for a first-person, "I wuz there" account from a guy who was lucky enough to be everywhere......more

Goodreads review by Jamie on April 08, 2013

I really enjoyed this breezy account of life as a foreign correspondent living through the tumult of 1930s Europe, et al. Shirer lived a fascinating life...seemed to be in the right place at the right time and....I think he is adequately objective, given the emotional subject matter. When I say 'bre......more

Goodreads review by Nick on August 05, 2013

Written in the 1980's, well after Shirer's place in journalistic history had been cemented with The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. Reads largely as an expanded, annotated version of his Berlin Diaries, which are at times extensively quoted. Given that some of this material was also reproduced in......more

Goodreads review by Shashank on December 06, 2024

A page turning memoir that gives a detailed account of Germany through the 1930's and a little beyond. Shirer is always readable, and he shines when writing about the events around him with a clear moral passion. For a memoir we get relatively little of Shirer's interior life, but he was a great obs......more

Goodreads review by Ray on November 09, 2018

This book is an eyewitness account, by former American foreign reporter William L. Shirer, of Europe and Germany as Hitler and the Nazis came to power and began World War II. As such, it offers some great insights into how Hitler twisted facts or even made them up for a gullible German public and sp......more

Quotes

“The rise of the Third Reich achingly relived; the foreign correspondent’s calling displayed….Shirer, astounded by the Germans’ enthusiasm for Hitler, their docility under repression, realizes that they yearn ‘to be strong again. He too finds the Fuhrer’s eyes hypnotic, his voice mesmerizing. He reports church persecution—excessively: resistance made news, but most were untouched, unconcerned…Shirer is scathing, throughout, about Chamberlain—and merciless about Munich…In 1940, hamstrung by the Nazis, Shirer leaves…and [is], on a private level, both frank and gracious.” Kirkus Reviews

“Mr. Shirer stirs the ashes of memory in a personal way that results in both a strong view of world events and of the need for outspoken journalism. Had Mr. Shirer been merely a bland ‘objective’ reporter without passion while covering Hitler’s Third Reich, this book and his other histories could never have been written.” New York Times

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