The Rise and Fall of the Third Riech

[Irongrip400]

Anyone else on here read this book?  I read some of it a long time ago(in high school) and now 10 years later am almost done re reading it, and have a different perspective.  I am an American, and lean towards the right, but go by the old cliche, "socially liberal, fiscally conservative".  My question regarding this, is, have any of you that believe that sticking our noses in foreign affairs(wars, sanctions, treaties, etc) is a bad thing, read this book?  Trust me, I am not a war monger, and am not so naive as to believe that some of our "helping out" over there(middle east) is not to just protect our interests, but if you read this book, you will get a great understanding of how underestimating someone and not stomping them at the right moment, can lead to disaster.  You have to remember that Germany was bankrupt, and had a standing army of 100,000, and in four years went from 7 divisions to 50, and built a navy and airforce.  Or, do you think that this could never happen again in our times due to how open everything is, with internet, worldwide TV, etc.  Keep in mind though, that some of these countries try to suppress things like that, and thus our view is not totally how it seems. I will await further comment, as to not go into some long winded post right out of the gate.

[Shockwave]

Speed information moves now days, and the sheer AMOUNT of information available is stunning.
Were living in a different time. There are a lot of lessons from history we NEED to learn (that IMHO are going to come back to bite us in the ass), but I dont know the likelyhood of something like that happening again with the watchdog attitude the world has towards each other.

[Irongrip400]

Speed information moves now days, and the sheer AMOUNT of information available is stunning.
Were living in a different time. There are a lot of lessons from history we NEED to learn (that IMHO are going to come back to bite us in the ass), but I dont know the likelyhood of something like that happening again with the watchdog attitude the world has towards each other.

Yeah, thats what I meant about the way we have info these days, would it be possible(no sarcasm).  But, to think how because everyone in Europe was so pussified and not wanting another war(draws parallels to today), that they just gave Hitler whatever he wanted, right up until he invaded Danzig.  The mobilization of troops into the demilitarized zone, the anschluss of Austria, the breaking up of Czekoslovakia(sp.), everything.  They were so afraid of another European war, they just gave in to all of his demands.  It's amazing to see how much of a calculating man he was, and to see how his gambles paid off.  If they would have just stopped him when he first put troops in the Rhineland, he would have been laughed out of office and been a footnote in history.  I just don't think that it is a good idea to underestimate our opponents, and think because they may not have the power now, that they may not be able to get it in the near future.

[Irongrip400]

Bump, anyone read this?  I'd like a non American view.