Joseph Goebbels's diaries, only now surfacing some thirty-two years after his violent death, are the most spectacular and probably the last great literary legacy of the Third Reich. Final Entries is a deeply personal account by the man second in power only to the Führer himself. It covers Nazi Germany's stupendous last days, from February through April 1945, as the American and Russian armies close in on Berlin. This is the greatest doomsday story of the twentieth century, the climactic days when the political structure of the world was being transformed

It's hard to give a "rating" to a book by an evil person, and about evil. It's in a piece with The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire
by Andrew O'Shaughnessy, about the much less evil, and eventual American allies, the British. But Goebbels is unapologetic to the end. He talks about Britain, the U.S. and the USSR are destroying everything worthwhile in Germany and for that matter the world. He takes no responsibility for Germany's stirring the pot in such a manner as to make destroying Germany as he and Hitler made it a necessity.

He describes an inverted world where evil is greatness, and good is evil. He demonizes those that tried to surrender so as to gain peace ( )

I give this a high rating not so much for the author -- who hardly needs any introduction -- but for the fact that this diary gives one an awful insight into just how delusional the leadership of the Third Reich was in its final weeks. It's also a rare chance to watch the collapse of a regime from the inside, from the point of view of a high insider. For these reasons, I recommend it. ( )

Awful and fascinating. By the time these entries start, the war is lost. Massively destructive bombing raids on German cities are a nightly event, the Battle of the Bulge has failed, they're steadily losing territory in every direction, and Goebbels is engaged in denial, scapegoating, projection, and wishful thinking to an extraordinary degree. It's like a bad car crash you can't stop from looking at, but it's mildly nauseating. ( )

I started this book so long ago the pages have turned yellow, but it's so depressing I couldn't finish it. Finally finished reading this book (4-2014). Absolutely amazing how an intelligent person can become completely delusional. ( )