I'm still reading Ian Kershaw's Hitler, and it's quite a slog--but reading about Adolf Hitler is anything but light. And this book is one reason why I abandoned Jonathan Littell's The Kindly Ones, and why I'm reluctant to pick it up again. Reading about Nazi Germany is unbelievably depressing, and reading two books about Nazis would probably put me in a shitty mood for the next six months or so.

That said, it's interesting to see that Germany will publish Hitler's Mein Kampf when the copyright expires in 2015.

On Thursday the Munich-based Institute of Contemporary History (IfZ) pledged to publish an "annotated version" with historical notes that it hopes will see the book used in schools and colleges.

The finance ministry in Bavaria said it had still not decided whether to give its permission but it is understood that with the lapse in copyright, the IfZ will not need the green light from it. "Besides, we think our version, with sensible notes and comments pointing out the falsity of much of what he wrote, will be far better than neo-Nazis putting out their own versions," said the IfZ.