Customer Reviews

The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Third Reich (Hist Atlas)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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I bought this book because I wanted to know about the actual mechanics of the Nazi government before and during WWII. This book contains a wealth of information in a very effective format. Each section is 2-4 pages with several maps and graphs, all clearly captioned, accompanied by a page or two of concise text. The book illustrates the state of Germany in the 20's and 30's, Hitler's rise, the path he took into the war, the Nazi plans for post-war Europe, and the overall cost of it all to Germany. Social, industrial, political, and military matters are all covered, in great detail (i.e. number of ships made per yer, broken down by type, number of women in the Nazi party '33 to '45, etc.). The text conveys the underlying situations behind issues of the day, such as Hitler's quest to "unite Germanic peoples" and the underpinnings of the Allies' pacifism in the face of it. I rocommend this book for anyone interested in that era of world history, novice or expert.

If you are looking for a book that gives a tremendous amount of information, of the sort not often found in the books that primarily cover only the actual fighting, or the personality of Hitler and his henchmen, this may be the book you're looking for.

Most of the chapters run from 2 to 4 pages, often detailing subjects like Culture and Education, Farming in the Third Reich, Planning the Post-War Order, Exploitation and Plunder, and The Survival of Neo-Nazism. And do you like charts and graphs? Well, this book won't leave you disappointed.

All in all, well done.

Comprehensive in its scope, dense in its content. Plenty of charts, maps, etc. More than enough information to get a global picture of what was going on with Germany from the end of the First World War to the end of the Second and its aftermath. It has about 115 pages plus another 15 of timelines.

The tone, however, is a bit dry, like a textbook. But I guess, being so concise, it would be difficult to make it more reader-friendly. A very good historical atlas.

Richard Overy's "The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Third Reich" is a superb reference work. In just over 100 pages (not counting timelines and appendices) it provides an excellent overview of the Third Reich, working in roughly chronological order from the turmoil at the end of the First World War to the chaos and despair at the end of the Second World War.



The book is sectioned into seven parts: Each part contains a four-page introductory section followed by three to ten chapters further illuminating that topic.



The seven parts are:

I. From War to Third Reich, 1918-1933

II. Establishing the Dictatorship

III. Foreign Policy in Germany, 1933-1939

IV. Expansion and War, 1939-1945

V. The German New Order

VI. German Society and Total War

VII. The Aftermath



Each chapter that follows an introductory section is only two pages, yet there is an incredible amount of information packed into those two pages as easily understandable pie-charts, graphs, and/or maps are included. Many interesting photos and posters (or other propaganda) relevant to a chapter are also often included, although they are generally quite small.



The writing in each chapter and section is extremely well-done. Time and again the author deftly explains complicated matters in a few brief paragraphs.



The book is a handy reference on many of the social, economic, political, and military aspects of the Hitler regime. It could almost double as a mini-history of the Third Reich and certainly supplements any study of it. Highly recommended.

Just like the previous reader, this is THE book to read for maps and hard to get information. Pictures, tables, charts, maps...its all there for you to learn and understand the inside of the Third Reich.

When I was at a used bookstore looking for a world map to complement my reading of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich due to lack of my knowledge of European territories, I found the colorful The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Third Reich by accident while browsing in the history section. I thought that book might just have exceeded my expectations since I only was going to look for simple maps although I became concerned about the change of borders before, during, and after World War II. After reading The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Third Reich, I found the text to be mostly dry as it reads like an ordinary college textbook, and while there is an abundant supply of maps, charts, graphs, figures, and numbers, I didn't feel them to be all that informative in an absorbing way. Yes, I got what I wanted for my expectation but more than that, I didn't feel my knowledge to be increased that much by reading The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Third Reich since I am aware of most of the history although not in reaching depths. There are nice pictures of persons in the book, but they are so thumbprint small and hard to scan through. I like how every section is started off with a whimsical quote especially by Hermann "As for myself, I think of looting comprehensively" Goring and Adolf "In my new training schools young people will grow who will shock the world" Hitler on the left side of the paragraphs. There is a nice compilation of statistics in the end of the book as part of appendix. All in all, The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Third Reich is not a great book but useful for the maps only.