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254 of 278 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hitler Puttin' it to Paper, January 23, 2002
Here it is, straight from the man himself. Called everything from garbage to a Satanic Bible, Mein Kampf is the written words of one of history's most important figures, Adolf Hitler. "My Struggle" was taken down in prison where Hitler was incarcerated for his failed Munich coup in 1923. Hitler waxes philosophical about his early life and aspirations, government, and a new program to lift Germany to dominance. The book is kind of tough to read at times, but other passages are remarkably lucid. This is probably due to the fact that it is a dictated account. There is endless repetition and congealed passages that will make you shake your head in incomprehension. I think the best hope for reading this book is to try and come away with the general themes of what Hitler is trying to say. Try not to get bogged down in the details or you're a goner.Hitler begins the book by discussing his childhood. His father and him argued incessantly over what career Hitler should pursue. Hitler won by default (his parents died) and chose to pursue his dream of painting. He spent time in Vienna, where he began to form opinions on Marxism and Judaism. Long sections follow on Hitler's experiences in World War I, the Jews, and the failures of democracy. German foreign policy, along with its failures, is discussed in detail. Hitler never provides much evidence for his arguments, except for his condemnation of democracy, which is right on the money. Interspersed throughout his long discussions on politics and race are accounts of the rise of the NSDAP, or Nazi party. This is probably the most interesting part of the book, as Hitler outlines the growth of the party up until the Munich putsch. I suspect most people will read this book to find out what Hitler says about the Jews. Hitler does discuss the Jews, mainly by outlining how the Jews gain dominance over the gentiles throughout history. Hitler sees Marxism as a Jewish phenomenon designed to enslave the Aryan world. The international financial system is seen as the cause of World War I. This same system is also described as a tool of the Jews. Hitler believed that the Jews sabotaged the German war effort from behind the lines. Jews are referred to as parasites and less than human. In general, most of the book is not about Jews, but concerns politics. The copy I bought was in the history section under Germany/Austria. At times turgid and fascinating, you'll never forget reading Mein Kampf. I enjoyed this translation. I expected to see some raving monster. Instead, we see a political animal with some intense views. This book is must read for historians and World War II buffs.
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155 of 169 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not a light read!, November 29, 2000
This book is really something that one should take the time for, it is not an easy read, especially not in German, and the book is also not very exciting, it is, after all, a political book. Some people seem offended that I own this book, when they see it on my shelf, some dare not say anything, afraid i might be some kind of neo nazi, but Mein Kampf is one of the best selling books ever published, and it had a great impact on those who read it during it's time of first publishing. People simply look at Hitler as being this disturbed man, who was just dangerous to everyone, and should never have been alive, but there is more to Hitler than hatred. He had the power to convince millions of people that he could change their economical, social and political situation, he influenced and inspired them. He was a brilliant man, although also said to be mentally ill, possibly schizophrenic. People are scared of young adults reading Mein Kampf and being influenced by it, but in order to prevent something like this from happening again, we should look at the situation at that time, we can read this book and learn from it, find out what drove Adolf Hitler to this. I believe this is a book more people should read and learn from, instead of fearing it and the man behind it. But beware, it's not an easy read.
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359 of 400 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Let Hitler speak for himself, May 12, 2003
The edition of MEIN KAMPF I am reviewing here is the Murphy translation, different from the Manaheim translation which can be purchased in most book stores. It has this grainy, purple-colored picture of Hitler on the front in a Nazi uniform, and the spine is bright yellow with the title written in massive red letters. Most of the people who condemn this book so harshly probably did not read it, and have only a superficial, media-produced idea of what National Socialism/Nazism was all-about. Ho-hum--So self-righteous, so sanctimonious.The style of MEIN KAMPF is very drawn out and highly technical and detailed, presented in the form of an autiobiographical, philosphical, political, social and quasi-spiritual diatribe. The prevailing theme of much of the first part is Hitler's frustration with the military alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary. He felt that the Germans should all live in one country, rather than there being a Germany and an empire ruled by Germans (the Austro-Hungarian Empire) over various ethnic groups in Eastern Europe. I don't consider myself any kind authority on this period of time in the late 19th and early 20th century in central Europe, but some type of understanding of the political structure in place in Austria-Hungary and Germany is necessary to understand what Hitler is talking about, otherwise it will just seem like endless rambling. Hitler writes about his expiriences in WWI, and praises the heroism of the German army in the conflict. Germany not only held off both Britain and France on the Western Front, but was also free to battle at will with its enemies on the east and south, and (until 1918 before Marxist inspired workers' strikes), maintain the upper hand. Hitler analyzes the use of propaganda between the two sides and concludes that the Allies had the upper hand in influencing morale for their cause. Britain was especially successful in portraying the Germans as the 'Huns' who committed terrible atrocites so that the Allied troops would not be as shocked going into the war as the German soldiers were, whose propaganda portrayed the Allies as silly weaklings, which was obviously not true. Hitler understood well the workings of propaganda and how it can be used as a soft-core form of government mind-control. There is nothing different from Hitler's description and use of it and how it is used by the news and entertainment media in America today. There are many anti-Jewish statements strewn throughout MEIN KAMPF, but they are not so much to be as shocking as many would think. The 'anti-Semitism' is more assumed than explained, but the explanation involves the Nazi theory of a three-tiered racial makup of mankind which determines human interaction between cultural and religious groups. The "founders of culture" are the mythical Aryans. All ancient cultural, religious and other developments can be traced to them, even though Hitler never explains who they are, or how they could be related to Germans. The "preservers of culture" are those who got culture from the Aryans, but stagnated after the Aryans interbreeded with those of lesser racial stock. The only apparent "preservers of culture" that Hitler mentions here are the Japanese. The Jews are the "destroyers of culture." Hitler criticizes them for using their religion to justify a racial-preservation group tactic. Hitler does not cite any sources as to where he got this information, and MEIN KAMPF generally relies on the readers' percieved, innate, subjective insight regarding racial and social issues. Throughout are descriptions of the state controlled eugenic social policies that would be in place once the Nazis gained power in Germany. The last third or so of the book is dedicated to retelling the story of the National Socialist Movement and especially Hitler's personal perspectives and recollections on it. Highlited are the Nazi organizational sturcture and its struggles against the Marxists.
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