Goebbels (Paperback)

~ (Author) "In 1897, the year Paul Joseph Goebbels was born, the second German empire was in full flower..." (more)
Key Phrases: political surveillance unit, propaganda directorate, propaganda minister, Der Angriff, National Socialist, Soviet Union (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An adroit and compelling biography of Hitler's propaganda minister and leading advocate of the extermination of the Jews.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Why another book on the master of propaganda for the Third Reich? According to Reuth, a correspondent for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, a number of years have passed since there has been a good biography on Goebbels. Furthermore, with the fall of the Berlin Wall, some additional new diaries of the former Nazi and other documentation have come to light. Reuth traces Goebbels's life from a strict, lower-middle class, Catholic family, through his education and eventually his captivation by Adolf Hitler. Reuth's writing style is lucid, which makes the complexities of the Nazi propaganda chief a little easier for the general reader to follow. Still, the student of Nazi Germany will learn nothing new from this book. For public libraries that have no works on Goebbels; in any case, the book should be augmented by the diaries: The Early Goebbels Diaries (1962), Final Entries, 1945: The Diaries of Joseph Goebbels (1978), and The Goebbels Diaries 1939-1941 (1983).
Dennis L. Noble, Eastern Montana Coll., Billings
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Harvest Books (September 16, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 015600139X
• ISBN-13: 978-0156001397
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,385,744 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Pedantic and poorly written, August 1, 2003

By	Candace Scott (Lake Arrowhead, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

Reuth claims he embarked on this biography of Hitler's Propaganda Minister because there weren't any good books on Goebbels. Not only is this balderdash, his offering is the weakest Goebbels biography in recent memory. The writing style is extremely pedantic, plodding, slow-as-molasses and tedious. Goebbels was an extremely complex, brilliant, devious man, but you'll not encounter much of him here. Reuth inexplicably chooses not to use the copious 1920's Goebbels diaries, which David Irving included in his infinitely superior biography of "the little dwarf."

This book is heavily weighted towards Goebbels role in WWII Berlin, which is curiously among the least-interesting periods of his life. Utterly glossed over are the most engrossing years of the "Kampfzeit" in the 20's, where Goebbels was a discipline of Gregor Strasser and then only came under Hitler's spell once he met him. Then it was no turning back. There is shockingly little interest displayed here in Goebbels' fascinating private life. Magda, his wife, is scarcely mentioned, nor is Lida Baarova, the Czech actress that Goebbels fell in love with in 1938.

A chilly, disappointing read. Not recommended.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A compelling, but arduous political biography, November 30, 1997

By	[e-mail] (Richard Lindberg) (Chicago, Illinois) - See all my reviews

It is quite clear that the author has devoted years ofresearch to his subject, and that he has reconstructed the life ofthis enigmatic little man who churned the propaganda machine of Nazi Germany for nearly two decades largely through the examination of contemporary newspaper accounts. Mr. Reuth manages to convey to his reader the sense that Joseph Goebbels was a man driven to his demons by an unrelenting inferiority complex stemming from his physical ailments, his economic station in life, and his heartless rejection by classmates and childhood peers early in life. However, we do not hear much more about his family and youthful associates after the opening chapters. Goebbels private life (which is what the reader expects from a well-crafted biography) is subordinated by a minute by minute account of the rise and fall of National Socialism. Mr. Reuth's history of the Third Reich is interesting and highly readable, and he avoids the natural inclination to editorialize about his subject matter.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Slow-going, packed with details, July 6, 2002

By	Glenn McDorman (Denver) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is not a light and fluffy biography. Reuth has put an amazing amount of scholastic work into reconstructing the life of Goebbels. Be warned, however, that the book is slow-going, and often tedious.