Nightmare Years Op/96

Shirer, who has witnessed much history in the making, rehashes too much of it in this graceless, humorless third and final installment of memoirs. More interesting is the personal material. His career as a radio commentator ended when CBS fired him in 1947, and he reveals the dark role played by Edward R. Murrow. His account of the affair begins, ``I've waited a long time to do this.'' Shirer describes the struggle to support his family during the McCarthy years, then his dramatic success as a bestselling author with the 1960 publication of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich . But his memoir also becomes an occasion to get back at publishers and reviewers who were not enthusiastic over his books; at length he recalls frustrating conferences with Alfred Knopf and others, reprints negative reviews and quibbles over them. He also takes the opportunity to defend his work against the disdain of historians who, he maintains, cannot accept his popularity. Photos. ( Jan.)