German Memoirs

Until recent years, very little was known of the tens of thousands of foreign nationals from Norway, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, France, and Spain who served voluntarily in the military formations of the German army and the German Waffen-SS. In Kaisergruber's book, the listener discovers important issues of collaboration, the apparent contributions of the volunteers to the German war effort, their varied experiences, their motives, the attitude of the German High Command and bureaucracy, and the reaction to these in the occupied countries.

In this compelling biography, historian A. J. P. Taylor reevaluates Bismarck's motives and methods, focusing on the chancellor's rise to power in the 1860s and his removal from office in 1890.

Heinz Knoke was one of the outstanding German fighter pilots of the Second World War. This vivid firsthand record of his experiences has become a classic among aviation memoirs and is a fascinating counterbalance to the numerous accounts written by Allied pilots.

Goering, Goebbels, Himmler, Heydrich, Hess, Bormann - names synonymous with power and influence in the Third Reich. Perhaps less familiar are Carin, Emmy, Magda, Margarete, Lina, Ilse, and Gerda. These are the women behind the infamous men - complex individuals with distinctive personalities who were captivated by Hitler and whose everyday lives were governed by Nazi ideology. Throughout the rise and fall of Nazism these women loved and lost, raised families, and quarreled with their husbands and each other, all the while jostling for position with the Fuhrer himself.

It is sometimes difficult to remember that in war there are innocents on all sides who suffer. German citizens who had no connection to the atrocities committed by their countrymen nonetheless endured great hardships because of them.

Die ganz persönliche Geschichte eines Jahrhundertcharakters. Die geschäftlichen Erfolge von Bill Gates sind weithin bekannt: der 20-Jährige, der sein Studium in Harvard abbrach, um ein Softwareunternehmen zu gründen, das zu einem Branchenriesen wurde und die Art und Weise, wie die Welt arbeitet und lebt, veränderte; der mehrfache Milliardär, der sich philanthropischen Aufgaben zuwandte, um den Klimawandel, die globale Gesundheit und die Bildung anzugehen. In Source Code geht es nicht um Microsoft, die Gates Stiftung oder die Zukunft der Technologie.

Like many Germans, Berlin schoolboy Erwin Bartmann fell under the spell of the Zeitgeist cultivated by the Nazis. Convinced he was growing up in the best country in the world, he dreamt of joining the Leibstandarte, Hitler's elite Waffen SS unit. Tall, blond, blue-eyed, and just 17-years-old, Erwin fulfilled his dream on Mayday 1941, when he gave up his apprenticeship at the Glaser bakery in Memeler Strasse and walked into the Lichterfelde barracks in Berlin as a raw, volunteer recruit.

An enthralling story that vividly resurrects the web of everyday Germans who resisted Nazi rule.

Fueled by hate, incapable of forming normal human relationships, unwilling to listen to dissenting voices, Adolf Hitler seemed an unlikely leader, and yet he commanded enormous support and was able to exert a powerful influence over those who encountered him. How did Hitler become such an attractive figure to millions of people? That is the question at the core of Hitler's Charisma. Acclaimed historian and documentary filmmaker Laurence Rees examines the nature of Hitler's appeal and reveals the role his supposed "charisma" played in his success.

Amid the ravages of economic depression, Germans in the early 1930s were pulled to political extremes both left and right. Then, in the spring of 1933, Germany turned itself inside out, from a deeply divided republic into a one-party dictatorship. In Hitler's First Hundred Days, award-winning historian Peter Fritzsche offers a probing account of the pivotal moments when the majority of Germans seemed, all at once, to join the Nazis to construct the Third Reich.

In 1944, Benito Mussolini's daughter, Edda, gave Hitler and her father an ultimatum: release her husband, Galeazzo Ciano, from prison, or risk her leaking her husband's journals to the press. To avoid the peril of exposing Nazi lies, Hitler and Mussolini hunted for the diaries for months, determined to destroy them. Hilde Beetz, a German spy, was deployed to seduce Ciano to learn the diaries' location and take them from Edda. Drawing from in‑depth research and first-person interviews, Mazzeo gives listeners a riveting look into this little‑known moment in history.

In this startling candid and poignant memoir, the legendary Emmy Award-winning star of The Young and the Restless, America's number-one soap opera, chronicles his amazing life, from his birth in World War II Germany to his arrival in America to his rise to humanitarian and daytime superstar for the past 35 years.

Es gibt nur eine Cher – und seit über sieben Jahrzehnten zeigt sie uns, warum. Mit ihrer einzigartigen Stimme, ihrem Stil und ihrem unerschütterlichen Geist fasziniert sie Generationen. Jetzt erzählt Cher erstmals selbst ihre Geschichte – ehrlich, humorvoll und berührend. Von ihren Großeltern zur Zeit der großen Depression, ihrem Aufwachsen mit ihrer Mutter Georgia, die in der Hoffnung, berühmt zu werden, ein unstetes Leben führte. Bis zu ihrem Durchbruch mit Sonny Bono: Gemeinsam wurden sie weltberühmt, doch der Erfolg veränderte alles.

Die lange erwarteten Erinnerungen von Angela Merkel. 16 Jahre trug Angela Merkel die Regierungsverantwortung für Deutschland, führte das Land durch zahlreiche Krisen und prägte mit ihrem Handeln und ihrer Haltung die deutsche und internationale Politik und Gesellschaft. Doch natürlich wurde Angela Merkel nicht als Kanzlerin geboren. In ihren gemeinsam mit ihrer langjährigen politischen Beraterin Beate Baumann verfassten Erinnerungen schaut sie zurück auf ihr Leben in zwei deutschen Staaten – 35 Jahre in der DDR, 35 Jahre im wiedervereinigten Deutschland.

Als eine junge, rebellische Hotelerbin Anfang der 2000er Jahre mit Partyexzessen und frechen Sprüchen die Klatschspalten und das Programm der Jugendsender bestimmte, rollten Eltern allerorts mit den Augen: Was war das schon wieder für ein schlechtes Vorbild für die Jugend? Zwanzig Jahre später gibt Paris Hilton selbst eine Antwort, die viele überraschen wird.

Gleaned from Rainer Maria Rilke's voluminous, never-before-translated letters to bereaved friends and acquaintances, The Dark Interval is a profound vision of the mourning process and a meditation on death's place in our lives. Following the format of Letters to a Young Poet, this book arranges Rilke's letters into an uninterrupted sequence, showcasing the full range of the great author's thoughts on death and dying as well as his sensitive and moving expressions of consolation and condolence.

When Sara Zaske moved from Oregon to Berlin with her husband and toddler, she knew the transition would be challenging, especially when she became pregnant with her second child. She was surprised to discover that German parents give their children a great deal of freedom - much more than Americans. In Berlin, kids walk to school by themselves, ride the subway alone, cut food with sharp knives, and even play with fire. German parents did not share her fears, and their children were thriving.

A work that has inspired generations, this new edition of Letters to a Young Poet features a fresh translation of Rilke's 10 classic letters, along with the missing letters from the young poet himself.

Lieutenant John Ryan couldn’t wait to see action in WWI. He joined up with the British colors out of Canada. As one of several American pilots in the Royal Flying Corps before the US joined the war, he earned his wings and became an ace through fierce air battles over the skies of Germany. After getting shot down twice behind enemy lines, Lieutenant Ryan recounts the trials, tragedies, and tribulations of 72 days on the run behind enemy lines.

In this Very Short Introduction Ritchie Robertson covers the life and work of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832): scientist, administrator, artist, art critic, and supreme literary writer in a vast variety of genres. Looking at Goethe's poetry, novels, and drama pieces, as well as his travel writing, autobiography, and essays on art and aesthetics, Robertson analyzes some of the key themes in his works: love, nature, religion, and tragedy.