The Coming of the Third Reich

By: Richard J. Evans

Narrated by: Sean Pratt

Length: 21 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

There is no story in 20th-century history more important to understand than Hitler’s rise to power and the collapse of civilization in Nazi Germany. With The Coming of the Third Reich, Richard Evans, one of the world’s most distinguished historians, has written the definitive account for our time. A masterful synthesis of a vast body of scholarly work integrated with important new research and interpretations, Evans’s history restores drama and contingency to the rise to power of Hitler and the Nazis, even as it shows how ready Germany was by the early 1930s for such a takeover to occur. The Coming of the Third Reich is a masterwork of the historian’s art and the book by which all others on the subject will be judged.

©2005 Richard J. Evans (P)2010 Gildan Media Corp

Critic reviews

"[A]n impressive achievement.... [Evans'] opus will be one of the major historical works of our time." ( The Atlantic)

Enlightening and Terrifying

If you could sum up The Coming of the Third Reich in three words, what would they be?

Don't underestimate evil

What did you like best about this story?

I had no idea how primed Germany was for the death of democracy. I had assumed that Hitler stole democracy away from the Weimar Republic, but taken in the larger context of Europe and the internal struggles (from far right and Communist agendas) it now appears as though something was going to change no matter what.

The book is well written, well researched and intelligently presented. The subject matter is difficult and painful at times, but necessary. I can't wait to move on to the next book in the series.

What about Sean Pratt’s performance did you like?

I see a lot of complaints about the performance, but it didn't bother me at all. He was very specific in his approach and I thought it worked well with the material.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. The book is long, detailed and covers difficult material (both technically and emotionally). Take your time with this one.

Excellent summary of Hitler's Rise to Power

As interesting as the RaFotTR. Evans provides much more historical analysis than Shirer, but lacks Shirer's first hand gritty description of many events. Totally captivating listening.

Dry

There is a ton of historical data in this book. It’s fascinating to be able to draw parallels from this time to our own current struggles. I will say this is very dense as a audio book and the delivery is very dry. This format may not be conducive to audio. May be better as a actual book.

Great Writing, Mediocre Narration

The narrator has a fantastic voice and clear diction, but has a habit of adding weird pauses into nearly every .... sentence. It wasn't so bad as to prevent me from continuing with the book or from enjoying it overall, but was a constant annoyance.

That said, I can clearly see why Evans' trilogy is one of the definitive works, especially for more popular consumption, on Nazi Germany. Thorough research, clear and accessible writing, and sufficient detail to feel invested but not too much as to overwhelm the lay reader. Strongly recommend for those looking to delve for the first time into a more in-depth history/analysis of the Third Reich, and likely a relaxing and still-informative read/listen for those with more extensive knowledge of the regime and period.

He tried to at least touch on every major subject. Many subjects had great detail

It was a very long read. I usually double speed but I couldn’t do that with this book. The info is too densely packed for it. Which is fine. It just means it required my full attention. He also used lots of complex names (for non German speakers) that had me a little lost at times. That’s probably an audiobook thing rather than a problem with the book itself. Overall it was absolutely fantastic. Would recommend to anybody who wants to know more about the conditions that brought about the Nazi regime

Well written

Of all the books on how and what and why of the Nazis that I’ve read, this series was the best.

Reader is not up to the task.

It's a remarkable book done a disservice by the reader who hesitates, mispronounces words (and not only the German words), and goes about his job in fits and starts. Too bad!

Enjoyable listen

Good book to get a feel for how Germany devolved into the tyranny of Hitler's dictatorship. I wish it would have delved more into the personal lives of those involved. Why did the Jews not revolt, stand up and not take it? It does go into how rights were steadily laken away. But it stops well before WWII. Understandable since it is titled "The Coming of the 3rd Reich". All in all a good read.

Pratt's Narration ruins an excellent work

Pratt's narration is abysmal. His pacing is odd. He makes pitching choices (adding or not adding emphasis thorugh vocal pitch) that are simply wrong, constantly mis-cuing the listener. But, worst of all, he constantly adds incongruous pauses throughout the narration, often coming to a full stop in the middle of a sentence. He pauses luxuriously before every "and" or "that" and, most annoyingly, for no understandable reason at random positions in every third or fourth sentence. The listener is put in the position of trying to reconstruct the pacing and meaning of the previous sentence while trying to listen to the next. I found myself so annoyed and distracted by the narration at times that I completely lost track of Richard Evan's content.

Pratt also mis-pronounces common German words, like "volk", which is unforgiveable in a book discussing the history of the Third Reich. (This is the kind of thing the producer of the audiobook should have corrected.)

I've just finished listening to the preface and first two chapters and am seriously considering stopping at this point and moving on to another title. The content, which, from what I can tell, is very well-researched and well-written, is entirely and sadly eclipsed by an incompetent narrator.

Well documented, thorough and well narrated

This audiobook is remarkably interesting, very complete and detailed, provides a convincing explanation of how the 3rd Reich came to power and does so with a fresh perspective. It does not fall in the "Hitler is crazy and the Germans are too" pitfall: instead, it gives a human understanding of this process.

The narration is also flawless. This is an excellent buy.