The Long Night

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The story follows legendary American journalist William L. Shirer, whose firsthand reporting on the rise of the Nazis and World War II captivated millions of Americans. As head of the Berlin bureau for CBS News in the 1930s, Shirer quickly became Europe’s most trusted reporter. He engaged with both ordinary citizens and the Nazi elite, gaining insights into the party's ascent while resisting their propaganda. When Germany annexed Austria in 1938, he was the sole American reporter in Vienna, providing a live eyewitness account. In 1940, he embedded with the German army during its invasion of France, circumventing Nazi censors to deliver the only live report of the armistice. His growing notoriety attracted the Gestapo's attention, leading to a charge of espionage against him, forcing him to flee Berlin early in the war. Upon returning in 1946 for the Nuremberg trials, Shirer had witnessed the full extent of the Nazi threat, which inspired him to write a definitive history of the era. Award-winning reporter Steve Wick draws on previously unseen journals and letters to illuminate Shirer's experiences as he reported on history in real-time.