Mein Kampf

A stark reminder that the citizenry must pay attention to what politicians say

Citizens and voters become accustomed to hearing statements from politicians that are taken seriously only to the point where the election takes place. Even the most unusual or disturbing comments are passed off as political rhetoric, to be taken seriously only as a ploy to improve the chances of winning the election. If the politician wins the election, we then expect the duty and responsibility of the office to temper their actions down into a more reasonable and realistic configuration. If they lose the election, the citizenry largely ignores them.
Ironically and unfortunately, this was the expectation but not the reality of the political career of Adolph Hitler. In this book, originally published in 1925, Hitler made it quite clear that he had a deep hatred of Jews and would not hesitate to launch Germany on a war quest to conquer additional territory and enslave the "inferior" races currently occupying the territory. However, whether out of fear or delusion, most of the German people and other inhabitants of Europe did not take Hitler's ranting, as expressed in this book, seriously. It is often lost to history that Hitler was legally named Chancellor of Germany at a point when his electoral fortunes were fading. Many of the political power brokers in Germany felt that Hitler could be moderated and controlled once he took the responsibility of the Chancellorship of Germany.
This book is one of the most chilling and factual cases of "hiding in plain sight", as Hitler is so very explicit about his aims and yet few paid attention. If you have any interest in how Germany launched a war of conquest and genocide, then this is a book that you must read. In my opinion, it should be required reading in all political science programs. It is a stark reminder that an informed citizenry must pay attention to what politicians say, for while it is only rarely true, sometimes it is devastatingly so.

20 out of 21 people found this review helpful.

Great for anyone who wants to know why Hitler thought the way he did.

As disturbing and dark as the ideas in this book are, we should never be afraid to learn why Hitler thought he was right to what he did. Learning from the past is our only hope in preventing this type of thinking in the future.

13 out of 15 people found this review helpful.

don't agree, don't ban it

I couldn't agree more with the previous review - you have to read this to understand history and make sure we don't repeat it. Don't ban books!

13 out of 24 people found this review helpful.

A new and more accurate translation

There are a number of translations available, but the older translations were hard to read and contained thousands of errors plus many mistranslations.

This new Ford translation is the most accurate edition and the easiest to read version ever written. Many of the corrections were documented in the book Mein Kampf A Translation Controversy which clearly shows why the Ford translation is a superior translation to older English language versions.

Is this translation really better than Manheim or the other versions?
Let's look at some examples and see.

Here is the original German from a German language Mein Kampf published in 1938:

Sie beweist höchstens die Kraft der Eroberer und die Schwäche der Dulder.


Manheim translation: At most it proves the strength of the conqueror and the weakness of the nations.

Murphy translation: At most, the possession of such territory is a proof of the strength of the conqueror and the weakness of those who submit to him.

Reynal-Hitchcock translation: It proves at most the might of the conqueror and the weakness of the victim.


Ford translation: Gaining this territory only proves the might of the conquerors and the weakness of those who tolerate them.



The German word Dulder technically translates to `sufferer' but here it has only one meaning: a person who tolerates something. Manheim completely mistranslated the passage by using the word nations which is not the meaning here. Hitler often used the same word for race/people/nation but the difference is in the meaning and intent. The wording is also unusual in Manheim's version. The Ford translation is the easiest to understand and the only one that gives the real meaning of the passage. The Manheim translation is simply wrong.



Here is a GREAT example of the problems with Manheim:


Original German: Es ist hier nicht meine Aufgabe..(shortened to fit in this review)


Manheim translation: ??????? MISSING???????????


Ford translation: It is neither my task nor even my intention to point out the "If" in case the "But" had not been present. I do, however, feel that it is absolutely necessary for us to see the existing conditions as they truly existed, without coloring them, and to point out their terrible weaknesses, if only to deepen the knowledge so the situation may be understood within the ranks of the National-Socialist movement.


This is one of the passages which were omitted from the Manheim translation.

Manheim skipped it because the meaning was unclear to him. It is a complex sentnece, however simply leaving it out because you cannot understand it is astonishing.


Don't be fooled by amateur translators with a German-English dictionary who want to claim a German word means something different from the actual meaning. They fail to understand how to translate properly and think it is as simple as word substitution. A good translation is not based on the most common definition of one word, but on the sentence, the paragraph, even the chapter and especially the intent of the speaker.


This edition has corrected many errors in older versions and is more well researched than any previous version. I urge you to thumb through the Mein Kampf A Translation Controversy too.

9 out of 10 people found this review helpful.

Highly Recommend

The guy was a nutter, however much of what he says one can see in the world today. No I am not speaking of the racial nonsense. This is foolish and so clearly in error that it isn't funny. However if you replace race with culture, and look at it from that point of view. Much of what he says is very applicable to today and what is going on right now.

One should never forget the past, learn from it and move on.

4 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

Lols

the person who said to ban this book is a moron. we have a right to read any book we want. once you start banning books you just becomelike the nazi did. i am getting this book to see what a man who brought his county from poverty to a function country, sure he did i for the wrong reasons but this way we can learn from this mad man

4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Interesting

I am 17 and I went and bought this book because my history teacher was talking to my class about it. I didn't think it would be so interesting just from the beginning itself. I am actually glad I got it even though some people give me some strange faces when I have it. 'To 'learn' history means to seek and find the forces which are the causes leading to those effects which we subsequently perceive as historical events.' - Hitler And with this book, we do just that. You figure out why Hitler did what he did and possible reason's behind it.

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

The Fuhrer

This book, whether you are intrigued by Hitler or hate him, will give you an insight to his personal life while in prison.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Working and in english

"This is a very intesting book if you are book if you are looking to find out what is going through the head of one of the most famous and evil leaders of world war 2"

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

HighlyRecommeneded

Excellent book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Highly Worth Reading

Downloads Great a very fine translation. The historical value of this makes it worth reading.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Don't Buy

Don't bother buying this book. It will not open on my Nook color so I can read it. Just wasted $8.99 and customer service can't tell me why or what to do to fix it.

1 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Comment

I hope thjs book is good and any one who says that this book should be banned is just taking away history from young teen like me

Error it really dose not open in the sample

What i just said

Absolutely terrible!!!!!!!

Just kept going back to the wrong page....this was a waste of money and should be taken off the market!!!!!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Love it!

This is a perfect bedtime story for my kids and i, fun for the whole family!

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Buttholes everywhere

Everywhaaaare

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Important Read

This is one of the books I had on my own "bucket list". It is a remarkable historical book. I find it almost incredible that anyone who read it in the 1920s (and millions did) could not see exactly what he would do when he gained power. Some of his words will raise your blood pressure, and he repeats himself terribly, but I am glad I read it.

Great, and in English

This I reccommend, but if this is too strong I would not reccommend his second book as it is much mire violent.

Disturbing

I have only read part of it.... its good disturbing to read this mans hate