Mein Kampf [Paperback]

This is an excellent edition of Mein Kampf.

If you are not familiar with the book then here is a quick history.
Originally it was published in German, in Germany. English speakers wanted to read it so an abridged version was translated by a man named Dougdale. That edition was shortened and not well received. A man named Murphy translated the Official Nazi Edition which is also available today, however it has some errors and is shorter than the original German. Then in the USA Manheim translated a new english version in 1943 I think. That version was poorly translated and also had many errors plus parts were missing and some parts were left untranslated. So you see that in the past there were no good choices for the English speaker who wanted to read Mein Kampf...until now.

This new edition is easier to read, it has historical notes in the text, and it is more accurate than the other translations. It is by the same company that produced "Mein Kampf: A translation controversy". Another great book that I recommend which lists errors in the older editions and it has a historical explanation of Mein Kampf which will help you understand it better. This book is based on that book which shows clearly that this book is well researched and more accurate than past translations.

Get this edition if you want to truly understand Hitler's words. If you want to struggle through poorly written copy, read censored versions, or confusing editions, then get Manheim or Murphy.

`My Struggle’ is a book that few people will want to read. This is because it was written by one of the most reviled men in history and because of the way it was written. The impression of Hitler from films and World War II books is simply a negative one: An evil war mongerer responsible for the deaths of millions. Reading his own book is intriguing and this is part of its relatively small appeal. In a similar way that classic books (e.g. Anna Karenina/Dead Souls) begin, after the first few pages you realise you are reading something created by an exceptional mind. However this book is not a beautiful story. This is not like a magazine article tackling a hard subject with little time which gives the astute reader the impression that he or she knows more about the subject than the writer. The first book `A Reckoning’ is partially a story of Hitler’s life, World War One and much of his theories and philosophy. You enter into a strange world of paragraph long sentences, repetition, constantly twisting and turning. Hitler has a go at politicians, policies, parasites e.t.c. and in a classic way is blind to the concept that his ideas might be as blinkered as those he attacks. He believes anything miserable, weak or cowardly must be eradicated, having no compassion or pity for anything that does not conform to his ideals. Hatred is a large part of this book. This book has more hatred in it than a quarter of a mile long oil tanker has oil. There is hatred for Jews, hatred against anyone who is not ulta-nationalistic or anyone not German. The author gives the impression that if the whole world were wiped out except for Germany this in itself would not be a bad thing. The reader might see from Hitler’s poverty, his misery, the huge bitterness and then a World War that this has formed something rather grotesque. It is intriguing however and there are some gems. His thoughts on history, propaganda, ideas about the state and nature are interesting but it’s not long before we are back to hatred of Marxism or an attack against incompetent politicians or greedy businesses or shopkeepers. Hitler’s solution is to have them shot. Very clear is the determination to use force rather than another means. I didn’t understand much of Mein Kampf, there is no attempt to explain anything clearly and you have to read and re-read sentences to get any impression of what exactly he is trying to say. Like a man prodding an angry dog on the other side of a fence, Mein Kampf draws you into some idea and then changes and swirls mid sentence and then modifies to another idea, all to irritate you and wear you out. I almost think Hitler sets out to confuse, as if to say I don’t really know the answer to all this and so I’ll muddy the waters as much as possible. Much of it is incomprehensible. This is not a book that sets out principles and builds them into a unifying theory. Hitler jumps from one idea to the next, there is little continuity and function is always narrowly beaten into second place by style. Mein Kampf does have a certain elegance and style that draws the reader in. Consistent with this book there are also tedious parts and sustained outbursts. The first book is hard going and the second `The National Socialist Movement’ you think will be even harder and true to form it’s not as theoretical or complicated as the first. The second book is less of a story than the first volume and I found it tedious. It shows you the near anarchy of groups struggling for power and describes marches and sinister fights in the beer halls. Here Hitler sets out his ideas for his party. Hitler’s National Socialism is an extremist workers party, a dictatorship with some distorted policies. This was a revolutionary party or perhaps terrorism on a large scale. This is a cold book, sarcastic, verbose, right on some things, wrong on others with a hefty dose of vileness. This book is an unimaginable creation and callous in the extreme. Symptomatic of the world we live in Mein Kamp offers a rare insight into the mind of a talented man who turns to bad things. This multi-sided book gives us a glimpse of why some things are but also leads you into the cul-de-sac of incorrect suppositions, his machinations going on and on exasperatingly. Hitler is religious, nationalistic, the fatherland is far more important than anyone else on Earth, but also strangely moralistic, family orientated, even faintly comical, dragged down into fine details, you won’t forget the huge impression of reading this book.

For:
Intriguing
Some truth in there

Against:
Vile racism, nationalism and extremism
Very poorly written
Too long for the number of ideas, leading to much repetition
Ideas that are wrong

After having read the excellent "Hitler - A study in tyranny" by Alan Bullock, which makes numerous references to Mein Kampf, I thought it would be worthwhile to read Hitler's book. I am about a third of the way through the book, which I am finding interesting to read, but the enjoyment is marred by the numerous "type setting" errors that I am finding. For anyone wishing to read this work, you may be better trying to source your book from a publishing house for which English is a principal language.