Order of Book Series
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William L. Shirer Books in Order

14 books are credited to William L. Shirer, published between 1941 and 2014; 2 of them appeared after William L. Shirer's death in 1993. The first book is Berlin Diary: The Journal of a Foreign Correspondent 1934-1941 (1941) and the newest is This Is Berlin: Reporting from Nazi Germany 1938-40 (2014). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
14
Published
1941–2014
Pages on record
5,702 in 9 of 14 books
Reading time
95–143 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 5,702 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 9 of 14 titles with a page count on record.

See all 14 books in order Printable William L. Shirer checklist
Photo of William L. Shirer, author

William L. Shirer (1904 to 1993) was an American journalist, war correspondent and historian. The Chicago Tribune hired Shirer in 1925; later came the International News Service, and Shirer became Edward R. Murrow's first hire for the CBS radio team called Murrow's Boys. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (1960) is Shirer's history of Nazi Germany. The catalogue spans 14 books, from Berlin Diary (1941) to This Is Berlin (2014), and includes the 20th Century Journey series.

How many William L. Shirer books are there?

William L. Shirer has 14 books, released between 1941 and 2014. 2 of them were published after William L. Shirer's death in 1993. They include 2 series and 9 titles listed outside any series.

William L. Shirer Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 14 William L. Shirer books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of Berlin Diary: The Journal of a Foreign Correspondent 1934-1941 by William L. Shirer (1941)
  2. Cover of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany by William L. Shirer (1960)
  3. Cover of The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler by William L. Shirer (1961)
  4. Cover of The Collapse of the Third Republic by William L. Shirer (1969)
  5. Cover of The Start: 1904-30 by William L. Shirer, book 1 of the 20th Century Journey series (1976)
  6. Cover of Gandhi: A Memoir by William L. Shirer (1980)
  7. Cover of The Nightmare Years: 1930-40 by William L. Shirer, book 2 of the 20th Century Journey series (1984)
  8. Cover of A Native's Return: 1945-1988 by William L. Shirer, book 3 of the 20th Century Journey series (1990)
  9. Cover of Love and Hatred: The Troubled Marriage of Leo and Sonya Tolstoy by William L. Shirer (1994)
  10. Cover of This Is Berlin: Reporting from Nazi Germany 1938-40 by William L. Shirer (2014)
  1. 1
    Berlin Diary: The Journal of a Foreign Correspondent 1934-1941Berlin Diary #11941 · 648 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1941648
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    End of a Berlin DiaryBerlin Diary #21947 · confirmed 1/4
    1947–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Midcentury Journey1952 · confirmed 1/4
    1952–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The Challenge of Scandinavia1955 · 437 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1955437
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany1960 · 1264 pages · confirmed 1/4
    19601264
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler1961 · confirmed 1/4
    1961–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Sinking of the Bismarck1962 · confirmed 1/4
    1962–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Collapse of the Third Republic1969 · 1082 pages · confirmed 1/4
    19691082
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The Start: 1904-3020th Century Journey #11976 · confirmed 1/4
    1976–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Gandhi: A Memoir1980 · 255 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1980255
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Nightmare Years: 1930-4020th Century Journey #21984 · 654 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1984654
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    A Native's Return: 1945-198820th Century Journey #31990 · 484 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1990484
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Love and Hatred: The Troubled Marriage of Leo and Sonya Tolstoy1994 · 400 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1994400
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    This Is Berlin: Reporting from Nazi Germany 1938-402014 · 478 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2014478
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

William L. Shirer books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

20th Century Journey in order

3 books
  1. 1. The Start: 1904-30
  2. 2. The Nightmare Years: 1930-40
  3. 3. A Native's Return: 1945-1988

Berlin Diary in order

2 books
  1. 1. Berlin Diary: The Journal of a Foreign Correspondent 1934-1941
  2. 2. End of a Berlin Diary

Standalone books

9 books

9 William L. Shirer titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read William L. Shirer books in order?

You only need to read William L. Shirer books in order within each series: the books listed here span 2 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with William L. Shirer

Start with Berlin Diary: The Journal of a Foreign Correspondent 1934-1941 (1941), the earliest published title.

What is the newest William L. Shirer book?

This Is Berlin: Reporting from Nazi Germany 1938-40 (2014) is the newest William L. Shirer book released so far.

Is there a new William L. Shirer book coming?

No next William L. Shirer book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Awards William L. Shirer has won

Wikidata records 2 awards for William L. Shirer. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • National Book Award1961Wonfor The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
  • The Hillman Prize for Book Journalism1961Won

William L. Shirer at a glance

Died
William L. Shirer died in 1993, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to William L. Shirer are still being published after William L. Shirer's death in 1993; the newest appeared in 2014.
Release pace
William L. Shirer books have appeared about one every 6 years on average.
Length
5,702 pages across the 9 of 14 books with a recorded length, a median of 484 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most William L. Shirer books, 4 of 14, were published in the 1960s.

What the William L. Shirer books are about

13 of the 14 William L. Shirer books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: biography is tagged on 5 of 13. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.