1939: Mein Kampf
Author/Editor: Adolf Hitler
It’s impossible to think of the 20th century without acknowledging the conflict and horrors associated with this book.
Indeed, that is much the sentiment of Ludwig Lore, who wrote the preface of the Stackpole edition:
I cannot conceive of any book of which I more positively disapprove, but I consider it vitally important for every intelligent American to acquaint himself at first hand with the theories on which the National Socialist state is founded.
Mein Kampf, the infamous work by Adolf Hitler, is one of the most widely-read books in history. Although the text in the original German was first published in 1929, this “unauthorized” English translation by Stackpole and Sons was published in 1939 with the tagline “This Edition Pays No Royalty to Adolf Hitler”. This edition was only available for three months because of copyright issues, but it sold over 12,000 copies in that time period.
The impetus to publish this translation is stated on the book jacket: “With the appearance of this volume, Hitler’s censorship ends, and the work which Dorothy Thompson calls “Hitler’s blueprint of world conquest” is at last available to readers everywhere.”
