What do you think?
Rate this book
Life and Death of Nazi Germany
1939 - Germany declares war on Poland and two days later the Second World War starts. Here is the story of the formation of the Nazi party, its years of struggle, Hitler's fanatical dream of world domination, his rise to absolute power as dictator, the World War and Germany's ultimate defeat.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
Hardcover
Published January 1, 1967
About the author
Robert C. Goldston
43 books2 followersRobert Conroy Goldston was an American writer best known for his works of history.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 18, 2020
Perhaps it is because of the brevity of his books - and no footnotes - that people think they can't take them seriously as a scholarly work, but I don't understand why this gentleman, Robert C. Goldston, didn't become much better known and does not seem to be remembered.
I'll let this quote on the back cover speak for my reaction about this 200+ page book:
"...is one of the best short descriptions of the Nazi period that has been written"
I'm not a military history buff so this summary of the historical period was just perfect.
There are so many one-liners that really help one understand motivation - why Hitler lied to Chamberlain, what was being attempted behind the scenes that had to be abandoned, the Nazi "justification" for Kristallnacht, relationships Italy/Spain/Germany & Germany/France/Russia, Hitler/Chamberlain, etc., that I never really understood before.
Granted, this is a 200 page book, but a few important themes were either glossed over or not even touched upon: the importance of Goebbels and Bormann within the Nazi structure, the importance of the Olympics in putting the Nazi regime over, etc. But the pluses - the succinct presentation of complex ideas and events in a comprehensible framework above all - far outweigh the minuses. I have read a lot about this period of history and this book really helps me to pull all of this information together in a way that I never had previously.
definitely 5*
I will certainly look for a couple of additional books by Goldston - The Civil War in Spain, The Russian Revolution, The Great Depression.
I'll let this quote on the back cover speak for my reaction about this 200+ page book:
"...is one of the best short descriptions of the Nazi period that has been written"
I'm not a military history buff so this summary of the historical period was just perfect.
There are so many one-liners that really help one understand motivation - why Hitler lied to Chamberlain, what was being attempted behind the scenes that had to be abandoned, the Nazi "justification" for Kristallnacht, relationships Italy/Spain/Germany & Germany/France/Russia, Hitler/Chamberlain, etc., that I never really understood before.
Granted, this is a 200 page book, but a few important themes were either glossed over or not even touched upon: the importance of Goebbels and Bormann within the Nazi structure, the importance of the Olympics in putting the Nazi regime over, etc. But the pluses - the succinct presentation of complex ideas and events in a comprehensible framework above all - far outweigh the minuses. I have read a lot about this period of history and this book really helps me to pull all of this information together in a way that I never had previously.
definitely 5*
I will certainly look for a couple of additional books by Goldston - The Civil War in Spain, The Russian Revolution, The Great Depression.
January 10, 2020
Any given page of this diminutive book could be expanded into a dissertation. The pleasant flow and distillation of the information by Goldston creates a wonderfully succinct read.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews