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 Interesting... Mar 19, 2010
This is a very interesting book, writing by a very interesting man. Most people think of Hitler as just a horrid, well, thing really, not a person. But this book shows HIS point of veiw, and while he did do horrid things, he had his own problems. he lived a hard life, struggling for food adn shelter. He wanted to know, be educated. And this often times led to his being secluded, deep in his studies. I think maybe this slowly, but surely, drove him somewhat insane. And he somehow got dragged into goverment (how, I'm not sure as i havent finished it yet). it really lets you see life through his eyes, and while I'm not defending him, he had reasons for his wrongdoings. he was in turmoil his whole life. the book does have its low, boring points, but as a whole it is totally worth reading, very interesting to see Hitler's story through his eyes...
18 of 18 found the following review helpful:
 Be carefull. Jan 28, 2010
This review is for the Menheim translation of Mein Kampf.
This a controversial book. Mein Kampf is a hard and boring book. Hitler was a lot of things, but not a good writer, and he is quite terrible at expressing his thoughts in a way that would be understood easily by the reader. Reading Mein Kampf requires a lot of patience.
Now on into the content, the book is a combination of an attempted autobiography, a critique to the various events that shaped German history during Hitler's life, and the foundations of Nazism as expressed by Hitler. The book is a great primary source, but its content is controversial - it has been proven at many points to be unreliable, with statements of Hitler's life simply being false. I would suggest reading Mein Kampf with another book analyzing its ideas and validity (Such as The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, which has a great chapter on Hitler's mind, and Mein Kampf). Hitler jumps from one subject to the next with no clear structure whatsoever. The structure and expression improves in the second volume.
I don't suggest reading Mein Kampf, simply because of its complexity, its unreliability, and its terrible approach to the reader. Better read an analysis on Mein Kampf, but in the case that you would go for it anyway, the Ralph Manheim edition, (although just like any edition of Mein Kampf, it is not perfect) would be a great choice as it is fairly an accurate translation.
17 of 63 found the following review helpful:
 Mein Kampf Mar 04, 2006
Talk about long winded!!! I find this a difficult read, he goes from one subject to another leaving me saying "whaaaaaat??". Maybre I'm just a moron, got up to page 75ish & chucked. I read for pleasure, why tourture myself??!!! It's too bad because he has always facinated me....
21 of 29 found the following review helpful:
Mein Kampf Jul 08, 2005
Excellent read for those interested in political philosophy, history or psychology. The only complaint I have is that the typeface is tiny.
366 of 425 found the following review helpful:
Let Hitler speak for himself May 12, 2003
The edition of MEIN KAMPF I am reviewing here is the Murphy translation, different from the Manaheim translation which can be purchased in most book stores. It has this grainy, purple-colored picture of Hitler on the front in a Nazi uniform, and the spine is bright yellow with the title written in massive red letters. Most of the people who condemn this book so harshly probably did not read it, and have only a superficial, media-produced idea of what National Socialism/Nazism was all-about. Ho-hum--So self-righteous, so sanctimonious.The style of MEIN KAMPF is very drawn out and highly technical and detailed, presented in the form of an autiobiographical, philosphical, political, social and quasi-spiritual diatribe. The prevailing theme of much of the first part is Hitler's frustration with the military alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary. He felt that the Germans should all live in one country, rather than there being a Germany and an empire ruled by Germans (the Austro-Hungarian Empire) over various ethnic groups in Eastern Europe. I don't consider myself any kind authority on this period of time in the late 19th and early 20th century in central Europe, but some type of understanding of the political structure in place in Austria-Hungary and Germany is necessary to understand what Hitler is talking about, otherwise it will just seem like endless rambling. Hitler writes about his expiriences in WWI, and praises the heroism of the German army in the conflict. Germany not only held off both Britain and France on the Western Front, but was also free to battle at will with its enemies on the east and south, and (until 1918 before Marxist inspired workers' strikes), maintain the upper hand. Hitler analyzes the use of propaganda between the two sides and concludes that the Allies had the upper hand in influencing morale for their cause. Britain was especially successful in portraying the Germans as the 'Huns' who committed terrible atrocites so that the Allied troops would not be as shocked going into the war as the German soldiers were, whose propaganda portrayed the Allies as silly weaklings, which was obviously not true. Hitler understood well the workings of propaganda and how it can be used as a soft-core form of government mind-control. There is nothing different from Hitler's description and use of it and how it is used by the news and entertainment media in America today. There are many anti-Jewish statements strewn throughout MEIN KAMPF, but they are not so much to be as shocking as many would think. The 'anti-Semitism' is more assumed than explained, but the explanation involves the Nazi theory of a three-tiered racial makup of mankind which determines human interaction between cultural and religious groups. The "founders of culture" are the mythical Aryans. All ancient cultural, religious and other developments can be traced to them, even though Hitler never explains who they are, or how they could be related to Germans. The "preservers of culture" are those who got culture from the Aryans, but stagnated after the Aryans interbreeded with those of lesser racial stock. The only apparent "preservers of culture" that Hitler mentions here are the Japanese. The Jews are the "destroyers of culture." Hitler criticizes them for using their religion to justify a racial-preservation group tactic. Hitler does not cite any sources as to where he got this information, and MEIN KAMPF generally relies on the readers' percieved, innate, subjective insight regarding racial and social issues. Throughout are descriptions of the state controlled eugenic social policies that would be in place once the Nazis gained power in Germany. The last third or so of the book is dedicated to retelling the story of the National Socialist Movement and especially Hitler's personal perspectives and recollections on it. Highlited are the Nazi organizational sturcture and its struggles against the Marxists.
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