The Nightmare Years, a No. I bestseller when first published in America in 1984, is not only the fascinating eyewitness account of this cataclysmic decade, but also the more personal story of a young American caught in tense and desperate times, struggling to survive and provide a life for himself and his family as the world lurched inexorably towards war.

"More than any conventional history book, Shirer's memoirs let a reader relive history" – People

"A superb journalist. ..Shirer was close enough to Hitler to feel the Nazi leader's messianic personal force. ..An unusually fine book" – Time

"No one ever did more to explain the rise of the Nazis" – Barbara Tuchman

"An outstanding achievement of journalistic history; indeed it is the best kind of accurate and absorbing history" – Washington Post

"Reporting at its best. ..A highly readable, absorbing story of a fascinating man and a dangerous decade. ..A deeply personal account of living with history as it's being made -an absorbing narrative" – Houston Chronicle