After 1944, Hitler's notorious book was not widely available until the hardback edition of this version appeared in 1969. This paperback edition is intended primarily for students of 20th century German history seeking to gain insight into its dominant figure from reading his own words. Ostensibly an autobiography, the work comprises a melange of Hitler's political and racial ideas over two volumes, "A Reckoning" and "The Nazi Movement". Described by D.C.Watt in his introduction as "lengthy, dull, bombastic, repetitious and extremely badly written", it is nonetheless Hitler's only major work - and its study is important to an understanding of how his ideas came to hold such sway over the German people.