William Shirer

William Shirer (1904 - 1993) was an American journalist and historian. He was a reporter for CBS News in the 1930s and 1940s and in that capacity was stationed as foreign correspondent in Nazi Germany. He later published his diary from this period as Berlin Diary. He also wrote a history of Nazi Germany called The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany (first published 1959) which is considered by many to be the definitive general work on the subject.

He also wrote a biography of Adolf Hitler called The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler and other works, including three books of fiction.