Here is a wealth of factual and interpretative information about Germany, and German society, economy and culture, between 1918 and 1945. Tim Kirk's primary concern is with the Hitler years, but he sets them in their wider context throughout: wherever appropriate, the sections span the Weimar Republic and the rise of Nazism as well as the Third Reich itself, to illuminate the many continuities in Germany - as well as the obvious changes - on either side of the political dividing line. Purely as a compilation this is a formidable achievement. Its usefulness is greatly enhanced by Tim Kirk's admirably level-headed commentary, whether it is guiding the reader through the everyday domesticities of ordinary people before the war or the mounting horrors of the Third Reich at bay. The result (which includes information not otherwise available in English) is an invaluable study aid, within the confines of a single volume of manageable size, to a subject that, half a century on, has lost nothing of its baleful fascination.