Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Midcentury Journey | 1952 | William L. Shirer | Buy |
| 2 | The Challenge of Scandinavia | 1955 | William L. Shirer | Buy |
| 3 | The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany | 1960 | William L. Shirer | Buy |
| 4 | The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler | 1961 | William L. Shirer | Buy |
| 5 | The Sinking of the Bismarck | 1962 | William L. Shirer | Buy |
| 6 | The Collapse of the Third Republic | 1969 | William L. Shirer | Buy |
| 7 | Gandhi: A Memoir | 1980 | William L. Shirer | Buy |
| 8 | Love and Hatred: The Troubled Marriage of Leo and Sonya Tolstoy | 1994 | William L. Shirer | Buy |
| 9 | This Is Berlin: Reporting from Nazi Germany 1938-40 | 2014 | William L. Shirer | Buy |
William L. Shirer’s non-fiction books are listed below in publication order.
These nine books cover a wide range of subjects, though most return to the history and politics Shirer observed during his years as a foreign correspondent. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (1960) is the centerpiece, a 1,200-page history of Nazi Germany that won the National Book Award and became one of the bestselling history books of the twentieth century. The Collapse of the Third Republic (1969) applies a similar approach to France’s defeat in 1940.
His earlier works include Midcentury Journey (1952), a look at postwar Europe, and The Challenge of Scandinavia (1955). Later in life, Shirer wrote more personal works: Gandhi: A Memoir (1980) recalls his time with the Indian leader in the 1930s, and Love and Hatred (1994) examines the Tolstoy marriage. This Is Berlin (2014) was published posthumously and collects his original CBS radio broadcasts from Nazi Germany.