It was Hilter`s boast that the Third Reich would last a thousand years. Instead it lasted only twelve. But into its short life was packed the most cataclysmic series of events that Western Civilisation has ever known. William Shirer is one of the very few historians to have gained full access to the secret German archives which the Allies captured intact. He was also present at the Nuremberg trials. `The standard, indeed the classic, history of Nazism. We should be thankful to the historian whose solid work will permanently preserve the truth' Hugh Trevor-Roper