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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful translation in its original language, March 16, 2010
This is a true collector's edition of Mein Kampf. This book, unlike the English translation by Ford, has a dust jacket. I personally find that adds a good deal of value to a book. It's printed on easy-on-the-eyes off-white paper. Reading Mein Kampf in German is a great experience. And the Ford Translation is certainly the people's translation --- it is written for the average person, not the scholar. That makes it more accessible to everyone.
Why should you read any translation of Mein Kampf? Sun Tzu said you must know your enemy. We read about those we regard as dangerous, or wrong or criminal in order to avoid that type of individual ever encroaching into power again. We also read to understand that person in relationship to the times in which he lived.
Just as Hitler knew his dreaded enemy, the Communist Party and Karl Marx, "the Jew", we should know Hitler, the Fascist dictator. Hitler didn't take on an issue or an enemy without knowing it inside-out. In that regard, he was brilliant. He knew what he was fighting. He knew the enemy.
If you read German, or if you'd like to simply have a copy of this unique book in its original language, I recommend this book to you. It's truly remarkable and well done.
- Susanna K. Hutcheson
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
People read too much into this., December 10, 2006
According to the Preface, this book was not written for the purpose to make friends or influence people. The design from conception is to chronicle a movement, not create one.
As a whole one can have an opinion as to the results of the book. However with out reading it the opinion has no chance to be informed. Another flaw with not reading this work is that you are relying on others opinions and inferences. Taking most of the statements and conclusions from this book and displaying them separately you would be surprised as to how many you would agree with.
Just a sample of what is on the inside:
"I know people who `read' enormously, Book for book, letter for letter, yet whom I would not describe as `well-read.' True they possess a mass of `knowledge,' but their brain is unable to organize and register the material they have taken in... For reading is no end in itself, but a means to an end."
These are not platitudes but examples of observations of the time, which you can see are timeless.
Once in a while the reading may seem redundant but it is the nature of writing for the time and place. So again this book is a must read. I have no preference as to translation.
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17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nothing like the original language version, March 6, 2010
There are a number of English translations but I decided to brush up on my college German and tackle the German Language edition. I am glad I did. It not only helped me practice my German, I learned a lot that I simply never understood when I first read Manheim's translation. I was glad to see a German edition finally being reprinted. I looked several times before but could only find the original ww2 versions which were too expensive for me.
As for the work itself, I think there is a lot to be learned in Hitler's words. The anti-Semitism is obvious, but there is a lot more to the book and his ideas about the world. I do recommend that you read more than just this book if you want to truly understand it. There are a few analysis books out there which make this one much clearer.
I also recommend the Ford English translation of Mein Kampf along with this German edition and Dissecting The Hitler Mind which discusses Mein Kampf in many details and analyzes Hitler psychologically.
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