Hitler's Table Talk (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Norman Cameron (Author), R. H. Stevens (Author), Hugh Redwald Trevor-Roper (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Hitler's Table Talk 1941-1944 records the private, off the record, informal conversations of a man who, more than anyone else, came close to destroying the western world. On Martin Bormann's instructions, the secret conversations at Hitler's headquarters from July 1941 to November 1944 were all recorded. This is the real companion volume to Hitler's Mein Kampf, whereby what had been a project suddenly was reality, almost to the disbelief of its author.

Here is a startling account of Hitler freely talking about his enemies, his friends, his ambitions, his failures, his secret dreams voicing his thoughts to his intimate associates as the sun set at the end of each day of the war. We see here a conversational Hitler letting down his guard to his trusted henchmen. Miraculously, Martin Bormann persuaded Hitler to let these talks be taken down by a team of specially picked shorthand writers. Hitler had intended, after his famous tyranny, to use these notes as source material for the books he planned to write about the glory of the Thousand-Year Reich.

Now they have come to us, indisputably authentic, a raw, fascinating, unretouched look at the inner recesses of the mind of Adolf Hitler. Der Fuhrer's mind was crude and narrow; he had little education and, as we see here, no humanity; but we can also see that he was (as he himself knew) a political genius, a terrible simplifier, a man who, with no equipment except his own will power, personality and ideas, attempted to bring mankind into a terrible darkness.

As Trevor-Roper says in his brilliant introduction if we are to discover the mind of Hitler, we must penetrate behind the thick curtains of superficial evidence which conceal it the repellant character which formed its expression, and for which no power of thought can compensate, and the unreliable intermediaries who have commented upon it. We must go directly to Hitler's personal utterances: not indeed to his letters and speeches these, so valuable, are too public, too formalized for such purposes to his secret conversations, his table talk.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German

Product Details

• Hardcover: 800 pages
• Publisher: Enigma Books; 3rd edition (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1929631057
• ISBN-13: 978-1929631056
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #136,763 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

114 of 123 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Little Knowledge Can Be a Dangerous Thing, April 11, 2001

By	Kurt Harding "bon vivant" (Boerne TX) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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I decided to buy this book after reading industry and reader commentary on it. The first thing that struck me was that these are not monologues as some have supposed, they are merely the record of what only Hitler said. The original purpose of their transcription was to save for posterity the words of the Fuehrer in order that they might see how wise he was. Far from being the vulgar parvenu that he is often portrayed, Hitler was a widely read self-educated man with an amazing grasp of many subjects. If this book were to be published without any reference to Jews, the war, the Nazi Party or to Hitler himself, most reasonable people of all political persuasions would find something in his words with which to heartily agree. Look at his pronouncements on economics, on the environment (he was an ecologist before most knew the term), on modernization, on culture, on being a vegetarian, on alcohol and even on smoking and you'll see that in today's America he would be seen as slightly center-left in most areas. Its the other things he said and did that left the world with the image of him as a monster. Despite his knowledge and insight, we all know that he did not use them to best advantage thus dragging his country and much of Europe into a shambles from which some parts have yet to recover. Read this book and you'll see that much of what he foresaw eventually came to pass: The dissolution of Jugoslavia and Czechoslovakia, the dismemberment of the British Empire, the push for a united Europe and even the loss of the war by the side that did not have access to adequate raw materials for its successful prosecution. Yes, Hitler tended to pontificate but as you read keep in mind that only his part of most conversations were being taken down. Read this book and you will also see the truth to the old adage that a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.

64 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary book, September 22, 2003

By A Customer

If you are reading these reviews, then you probably have at least some curiosity about history and politics. Let us therefore dismiss those among the reviewers who need to get their pro/anti-Hitler angst off their chests.

What upsets me about this book is to see just how much propaganda swirls through our own school systems. What? A drooling, raving, lunatic overpowers a whole nation with a small gang of thugs? A fool with an IQ of 16 tricks the whole German population? Any intelligent person will ask: "Is this possible?"

Quote: "The other parties had practically no paying members. We, with our two and a half million members, banked two and a half million marks every month."

Hitler employed rough methods in his rise to power, but when he was alone in prison, he persuaded most of the prison staff to his cause. He developed massive grass-roots support. How? Why?

Time for a mini-education. The term 'right wing' is often applied to libertarians. This always amazes me. Hitler was 'right wing' - he believed in AUTARKY (and autarchy) - the OPPOSITE of free-market liberalism. He sought to make 'Greater Germany' self-sufficient - to terminate imports, to break away from the international trading system, to get rid of the 'thieving capitalists', to get more agricultural land and coal fields and iron ore mines and rivers (hydro power) and oil wells and forests. Hitler wanted to construct 'Island Europe' - a European Union - to challenge the British Empire and the United States of America (which he considered a corrupt and morally degenerate trade-bloc). He wanted Europe (an Anglo/Nordic/Germanic Europe) to be the dominant power in the world.

His party was called the National Socialist German Workers Party. He was a nationalist and a socialist and a big supporter of the working man. If he were alive today, he would have LED the 'Battle of Seattle'. His motto was 'fair-trade' not free trade and 'our people first'. He hated international capitalism. Get it?

This was not such a strange idea during the Great Depression (and concomitant international trade war). The Japanese wanted a similar autarky (the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere); the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics also constructed an autarky. There were many in America who thought (and still think) that America would be much better off without international trade links. Remember the Japan-bashing of the 1980s? Well, in 1933 the whole Liberal International tradition was in bad shape. Millions were unemployed. Autarky and socialism looked like a great solution.

Even so, not just anybody can organize a political party. Not just anybody can marshal the political currents to his advantage. How many 'men of the hour' blew it when their time came? No, Hitler was no imbecile. He was no ragamuffin or fifth-rate politician. He was smart and popular and he worked very, very hard to accomplish his goals.

This book, then, contains his thoughts and reflections. He speaks candidly on almost every subject under the sun. What is particularly fascinating is his grasp of certain subjects but complete misunderstanding of others. He obviously never studied economics!

Whoever reads this book will instantly recognize how many of Hitler's ideas are alive and well in Europe and America today. He was a fervent anti-smoking, vegetarian, healthy lifestyle, clean-living, moralistic, environmentalist kind of guy. Much of the film "Triumph of the Will" is about men washing and doing exercises in the open air. Hitler passionately sought to construct a 'better society' - a fit and healthy society with high moral values. He was deeply concerned about the nations' health - physical, moral, economic, and spiritual. He was out to 'do good' for the people - and save them from 'foreigners', 'international capitalists', and 'terrorists' (within and without).

No, he was no lunatic. In fact, he was charming and sincere. He cleverly manipulated people's tribal instincts and their desire for health, safety, and security. To many at the time, he was a hero.

My fear is that many readers of this book may still consider him a hero. To counter this problem, Amazon should offer this book with "Pop Internationalism" by Paul Krugman. Read both. Don't go through life without some understanding of economics in addition to politics.

Remember, it's not the sloppy, unshaven guy with sunglasses who cons you out of your life savings. It's the 'really nice man' who was trying to help.

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most insightful Hitler book, January 23, 2005

By	Adem Kendir (Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Mein Kampf, and to a lesser extent Hitler's Second Book, were declared obsolete and terrible by the author himself (see Hans Frank's memoirs, or Speer's, among others). For insight into Hitler's personality and thoughts, this is by very, very far the best book available. The conversations were surreptitiously recorded by a notetaker during Hitler's conversation sessions with various visitors and his staff. Some entries are verbatim, while others are summaries of Hitler's comments. Obviously Hitler said many things to many people, which means one has to be extra careful in determining what he really believed. His thinking also changed over time, and, like most people, was not always consistent, which makes the task of understanding his thought all-the-more difficult. But this book is by far the most useful source for any understanding of Hitler. The comments were in private conversations, (Hitler usually did not know Bormann was having them recorded), and they are often unguarded ruminations. Of course to those without a real interest in history, the book might seem long and tedious. Hitler had a tendency to say brilliant things one minute, and then trail off into rantings about nonsense the next, so the book is not for everyone. Anyone interested in Hitler for any reason should read this book, and anyone who hasn't read it can't have much of value to say.