Books: Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler

Mein Kampf

Mein Kampf is an autobiographical manifesto by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, in which he outlines his political ideology and future plans for Germany. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published in 192 5 and Volume 2 in 1926. Someone recently recommended I read Mein Kampf. I have not read it. I did however, study propaganda in relation to art, design, and advertising in college and remember discussing this book (maybe I did read it then, if so it would have been over a decade ago).

I do not have a lot of useful information to convey on this book. I'm open to starting a discussion on this book if anyone else is interested, then I will read it and reopen this review at that time. I'm disinclined to read this, even the reviews are a little disturbing (scroll down to book description or Amazon.com Review).

"Beyond the anger, hatred, bigotry, and self-aggrandizing..meandering narrative, and tangled metaphors..it is an incredibly important book. It is foolish to think that the Holocaust could not happen again, especially if World War II and its horrors are forgotten. If you want to learn about why the Holocaust happened, you can't avoid reading the words of the man who was most responsible for it happening." --Sunny Delaney

For anyone interested, Mein Kampf is less than $2 on Amazon and free variations are available on Google Books.

Book Description

On April 1, 1924, 1 entered upon my prison term in the fortress of Landsberg am Lech, as sentenced by the People's Court in Munich on that day. Thus, after years of uninterrupted work, an opportunity was for the first time offered me to embark upon a task which many had demanded and which I myself felt to be worth while for the
movement. I decided to set forth, in two volumes, the aims of
our movement, and also to draw a picture of its development.
From this it will be possible to learn more than from any purely
doctrinaire treatise.
At the same time I have had occasion to give an account of my
own development, in so far as this is necessary for the under-
standing of the first as well as the second volume, and in so far
as it may serve to destroy the foul legends ahout my person dished
up in the Jewish.press.

I do not address this work to strangers, but to those adherents
of the movement, who belong to it with their hearts, and whose
intelligence is eager for a more penetrating enlightenment. I
know that men are won over less by the written than by the
spoken word, that every great movement on this earth owes its
growth to great orators and not to great writers.
Nevertheless, for a doctrine to be disseminated uniformly and
coherently, its basic elements must be set down for all time. To
this end I wish to contribute these two volumes as foundation
stones in our common edifice.
Hitler's Mein Kampf combines elements of autobiography with an exposition of his political ideology. Hitler began the book while imprisoned for "political crimes" after his failed government take-over. Though he received many visitors earlier on, he soon devoted himself entirely to writing the book. After Hitler's rise to power, the book gained enormous popularity. By the end of the war, about ten million copies had been sold or distributed in Germany.
For the first time in 65 years, a modern, easy to understand, truly complete and uncensored edition of Mein Kampf has been released which reveals more than any past translation. This hardcover book is also the first translation available in an English language audio format.

Older translations altered passages, omitted passages, mistranslated Hitler's words, made some parts more sensational while concealing the true meaning in other parts of the book. If you have read one of these older translations of Mein Kampf, then you have not read the REAL Mein Kampf which is found only in the Ford Translation.

Mein Kampf is often portrayed as nothing more than an Anti-Semitic work, however only 6% of it even talks about the Jews. The rest contains Hitler's ideas and beliefs for a greater nation plus his plan on how to accomplish that goal. He outlines his plans for not only world conquest, but the conquest of the universe. The majority of the work involves Hitler's discussion of the German people's difficult times after the First World War, his political theories and his organization of the Nazi Party, as well as many attacks against his enemies which makes it a very interesting and moving story.

Mein Kampf offers an interesting interpretation of politics, people, and foreign policy matters. To characterize it as simply a racist work is to oversimplify its message. Germany did not follow Hitler because he was a racist, they followed him because he promised a great future, and Mein Kampf is where he promised that great future.
This edition is the only accurate and complete English translation of Mein Kampf ever made.

This Ford Translation offers:

* The most accurate translation ever produced.
* Phrases that are translated with precision and with no translator's bias.
* Uncommon words are replaced with more common and more meaningful terms.
* Any references to unfamiliar people, or places are explained in the text.
* This version is complete with all original passages and references restored, including passages omitted from other popular versions.

This translation has corrected over 1000 errors which were present in past translations.

No English reader has been able to appreciate these subtleties in any previous English translation, not until the Ford Translation.

Includes Photos and Illustrations of events and people in Mein Kampf Volume I and II
Click the order button to receive the book so many people wish to disparage and see why they will do anything to have the printing of this book outlawed. They have already tried...

This is the only edition that was so thoroughly researched and verified that it required a separate book(Mein Kampf: A Translation Controversy) to document the changes and corrections made which prove the dynamic style of the Ford translation is superior to all past mechanical translations.

Read the hardback version, then decide for yourself if he was a mad-man or a genius.

Amazon.com Review

The angry ranting of an obscure, small-party politician, the first volume of Mein Kampf was virtually ignored when it was originally published in 1925. Likewise the second volume, which appeared in 1926. The book details Hitler's childhood, the "betrayal" of Germany in World War I, the desire for revenge against France, the need for lebensraum for the German people, and the means by which the National Socialist party can gain power. It also includes Hitler's racist agenda and his glorification of the "Aryan" race. The few outside the Nazi party who read it dismissed it as nonsense, not believing that anyone could--or would--carry out its radical, terrorist programs. As Hitler and the Nazis gained power, first party members and then the general public were pressured to buy the book. By the time Hitler became chancellor of the Third Reich in 1933, the book stood atop the German bestseller lists. Had the book been taken seriously when it was first published, perhaps the 20th century would have been very different.

Beyond the anger, hatred, bigotry, and self-aggrandizing, Mein Kampf is saddled with tortured prose, meandering narrative, and tangled metaphors (one person was described as "a thorn in the eyes of venal officials"). That said, it is an incredibly important book. It is foolish to think that the Holocaust could not happen again, especially if World War II and its horrors are forgotten. As an Amazon.com reader has pointed out, "If you want to learn about why the Holocaust happened, you can't avoid reading the words of the man who was most responsible for it happening." Mein Kampf, therefore, must be read as a reminder that evil can all too easily grow. --Sunny Delaney

Amazon.com Review

A Message from the Anti-Defamation League: Mein Kampf was Hitler's blueprint for what later became his war for world domination and for the extermination of the Jews and others. Written eight years before he assumed power in Germany, the book lays it all out: his megalomania, his conspiratorial obsession with Jews and his lust for power. For all who claimed they didn't know, all they had to do was read Mein Kampf to know of Hitler's intentions.