Mein Kampf – September 15, 1998 Author: Visit Amazon's Adolf Hitler Page | Language: English | ISBN:
0395925037 | Format: PDF
Mein Kampf – September 15, 1998 Description
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 --This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Review
"For years, Mein Kampf stood as proof of the blindness and complacency of the world. In its pages Hitler announced--long before he came to power--a program of blood and terror in a self-revelation of such overwhelming frankness that few had the courage to believe it...That such a man could go so far toward realizing his ambitions--that is a phenomenon the world will ponder for centuries to come." -- Konrad Heiden, author of Der Fuhrer: Hitler's Rise to Power
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- Paperback: 694 pages
- Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company (September 15, 1998)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0395925037
- ISBN-13: 978-0395925034
- Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.8 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
- Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
While not an easy read, I rather enjoy this translation and find it quite useful. The good news is -- once you get into it, you find it's not all that difficult to read. You begin to understand the message and the translation.
James Murphy started the translation. Ford, president of Elite Minds, publisher of the book, says Murphy embellished it, left things out, added things, and used academic words that make it hard to read.
He says he has not changed any wording and he has left all mistakes as they were. He adds, and probably correctly, that much was lost in the translation and that it sounded more like Murphy and less like Hitler. Murphy wrote for the intellectual while Hitler spoke to the working class.
Little needs to be said about the words of Hitler. I enjoy reading Mein Kampf. That certainly is not an endorsement of the man or his movement. Mein Kampf is an interesting look into the mind of this man and it is interesting how we can see some of the same characteristics running in numerous people in office today. If we don't know history, we're apt to repeat it.
Indeed, Hitler might even have won a Nobel Peace Prize based on his promises and the excitement he created in people before they really got to know him had the prize been given in those days! Certainly such greats as JFK and Churchill gave him glowing compliments.
Why did people follow Hitler? Knowing what we do now, it's easy to think the German people were stupid. The truth is the country had suffered a severe punishing war and hyperinflation -- money was worthless. They needed a real leader.
Hitler promised everyone everything. He was just the "right" person for that particular time. If times had been different, he would not have risen to power in all likelihood.
Don't believe the negative reviews... If you pass on this edition, you will truly miss out on a fantastic translation of Mein Kampf!
I have read the 1943 Manheim translation, the 1939 Murphy translation, the 1939 Reynal & Hitchcock translation and the 2009 Ford translation. All have their own particular merits, and all appeal to certain audiences. The Manheim appeals to the scholarly and is indeed a faithful, word-for-word translation of Mein Kampf. However, it is incomplete. Further, following it in places can be very confusing in the English language, and many people I know have simply put it down in frustration. It's obviously a scholar's edition, as the German-language footnotes attest.
The Reynal & Hitchcock edition is a better flowing edition than the Manheim, in my opinion, but has been out of print since 1943, when the Manheim was published by Houghton-Mifflin. Why? Because Houghton-Mifflin did not want to pay royalties to Reynal & Hitchcock for their translation, so Ralph Manheim was commissioned for a new translation, which is, in fact, clumsier than the original.
The Murphy edition is far shorter, a fairly easy read for those who speak/read British English and have a decent vocabulary. However, it is paraphrased - as Murphy read a paragraph and put it into his own words. Not Hitler's words, but in most places, true to the meaning. But in some places, he misses the point (as Ford's book about the MEIN KAMPF translation controversy points out). So if you want Hitler, you won't get it from Murphy...
Onto Ford's translation... The thing I like about this translation is that it strikes me as a true PEOPLE's EDITION of Mein Kampf. It is COMPLETE and TRUE to the original, but being a PEOPLE'S EDITION does NOT mean that it is dumbed-down.
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