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)

Great book, terrible narration

This production of Richard Evans great book is seriously hobbled by poor narration. Odd pauses and hesitations totally pull you out of the narrative. The text itself is excellent. If you are interested in this topic, Defying Hitler is a great memoir with a wonderful narrator.

For the novice and the expert

Very detailed account of the dawn of the Third Reich from the late 19th century until their consolidation of power in the early 30's. Rather than focusing on the formation and history of the NAZI party, it focuses on the social beliefs and conditions that contributed in both its formation and popularity. Good for those with very little foreknowledge of the topic and for those that are well versed in the period. The narration is good as well, not overbearing but not dull enough to lull you to sleep.

The greatest book on Weimar Germany ever

Richard J. Evans is a magnificent historian and author. The man has made the trilogy of the Third Reich, the most detailed history of the Third Reich that far surpasses any other work out there. The reader does a decent job narrating, but it could perhaps be better. This is a man despised by National Socialists but loved by the historical community. My only complaint about this book is the industrial list shown to Paul Von Hindenburg simply wasnt mentioned. It wasnt as big a deal as some make the list out to be but it should be mentioned. However everything else is quite comprehensive and well-researched. This book shows the coming of the National Socialist German Workers Party. It shows the origins of National Socialist ideology, some of Hitler's life as well as the lives of many National Socialists, and their beginnings. From the German Workers Party to the NSDAP, all the way to their victory in 1933 and a bit beyond. I recommend this book to anyone just getting started on the history of the National Socialists, and to learn of the dangers and horrors that ultranationalism, racism, collectivism, militarism, totalitarianism and perhaps socialism, albeit anti-Marxist, can bring.

wonderful history, poorly narrated

Richard Evans has produced a magnificent, detailed and expert, but very accessible overview of Germany between the rise of Bismarck and WWII. He delves into social history, intellectual currents, politics and ideology, military affairs, international relations and economics. It is truly a TOTAL history with deep insight into the many threads leading up to the Third Reich.

Unfortunately, Sean Pratt does a poor job of narrating. He over enunciates and makes long pauses between strings of adjectives. He confuses rich arguments by the author with slow, almost infantile narration. His consistent mispronunciation of words in German is a minor annoyance, but it reveals a narrator who has not done his homework.

Still, for lovers of history and those interested in the period, Evans' book is extremely interesting and worthwhile.

EXCEPTIONAL VERY COMPRENSIVE

Highly recommend this as well as the follow-up Third Reich in Power & Third Reich at War - These are VERY long - but I learned so much - I wish he had written one more w/the same level of detail on Germany's re-building, recovery after the war and living w/what the Third Reich haf done

New insight forall despite grocery list narration

Would you listen to The Coming of the Third Reich again? Why?

Yes, but only if reading the actual text was impractical. Despite how distracting the poor narration can be at times, the material is compelling enough that even some truly egregious errors and disorienting stops and "stutters" are able to be ignored.

What did you like best about this story?

This book is the answer to questions that linger after reading all the rest. Not that it provides the reader with a clear, black and white answer to the question "How could anyone murder millions of people?"; not at all. That is left to the reader to formulate from the evidence provided.

As such, it is a mistake to condemn the author for distancing himself from making moral judgments about the events he describes. Evans has no need to spend valuable time and space on such exposition; that is the reader's job. It's his job to narrate events and provide guidance in the realm of interpretation, cause, and effect. He doesn't ignore the moral consequences.

Rather, he highlights the landmarks on what was essentially a moral "journey" for the Germans. The rantings of polemicists about the "Jewish Question" eventually turned that phrase into the modern day equivalent of "The War on Terror" or "Wall Street vs. Main Street Economics"; that is, it went from being something only a few extremists yapped on about to something that was on the table in any discussion and was accepted the same way many Americans right now accept that Al Qaeda and Muslims started the war in Iraq and Afghanistan or that rich financiers destroyed our economy.

Note; I'm not saying they are wrong! I'm saying it's a valid topic for discussion with a clear, anonymous, conspiratorial villain of vast powers, and a way of framing a "question' as to guarantee its "answer".

What this book does is explain how what we think of as a single nation of "Germans" was really a conglomeration of various minority populations that had been consolidated only in the latter half of the 19th Century. This union was held together by leaders with strong personalities and iron fists.

The failures of the "kinder, gentler" post-World War I Weimar Republic to stabilize the economy, feed the people, and make any kind of meaningful decisions did not instill respect for democratic rule. It only promoted nostalgia for when the trains ran on time, reinforcing the romantic myth of the "Leader".

Disturbing parallels abound throughout history, not the least of which was the one in Italy at the same time. "Il Duce" means the same thing as "Der Fuhrer", and this fact only stresses that although Germany was devastated after World War I, it was not the only European nation threatened with disintegration from the foundations up at that time.

In short, this is a great buy. I don't really regret ignoring warnings about the narrator, because being able to listen to the book being read aloud is a major convenience and a prime reason for buying it for that purpose alone. I just don't have my hands and eyes free to read when I am working, and being able to switch between music and a book for variety is wonderful. The narrator is poor, there is no doubt about that. But I was able to get past that and concentrate on the material. It is that compelling, and definitely worth your Audible credit despite the flaws.

What didn’t you like about Sean Pratt’s performance?

The narrator is clearly inexperienced and inconsistent in his pronunciation of relatively well-known and simple German, French, Russian, and English words. I can only deduce that a very incomplete knowledge of the subject matter itself is at the root of the narrator's strange pauses, emphasis on the wrong words, and the overall tendency to read this the same way one reads a grocery list or a Chinese take-away menu out loud.

Great, informative book

So thankful to finally have a good source for info on this time period. Have been told often that to understand WW2 you needed to look at WW1. And wondered for many years how one man could subjugate a whole country, now there is a great source that does it!

How did this happen ?

Where does The Coming of the Third Reich rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It rates right up there at the top of all the books I have read or listened to.

What did you like best about this story?

All the back ground facts.

Any additional comments?

I thought I knew how this man crept up the power chain until I listened to this account. Anyone wanting to avoid evil should read or listen to this book.

Fantastic Novel

The most interesting book in the series for me, learning about life in Germany in the interwar period was incredibly interested. Can't recommend this enough. Richard Evans seems to have a much better take on WW2 than the other prominent authors in his field.

in light of current events...

This book is great, especially when read during our current political turbulence in America. The narrator could have been a little more expressive, but as is, this book is a very interesting read.