Berlin Diary Part 1 Of 2 Author:William L. Shirer Part One Of Two Parts William L. Shirer was virtually unknown in 1940 when he decided there might be a book in the diary he had kept in Europe during the 1930s--specifically those sections dealing with the collapse of the European democracies and the rise of Nazi Germany. BERLIN DIARY was published in 1941 and the timing was perfect. As th... more »e introduction states, "The book--the energy, the passion, the electricity in it were palpable-- was an instant success, and it became the frame of reference against which serious Americans judged the rush of events in Europe. "It exactly matched journalist to event, the right reporter at the right place at the right time. It stood, and still stands, as so few books have ever done--a pure act of journalistic witness."« less