The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

A History of Nazi Germany

By: William L. Shirer

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Since its publication in 1960, William L. Shirer’s monumental study of Hitler’s German empire has been widely acclaimed as the definitive record of the twentieth century’s blackest hours. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich offers an unparalleled and thrillingly told examination of how Adolf Hitler nearly succeeded in conquering the world. With millions of copies in print around the globe, it has attained the status of a vital and enduring classic.

Now, years after the end of World War II, it may seem incredible that our most valued institutions, and way of life, were threatened by the menace that Hitler and the Third Reich represented. Shirer’s description of events and the cast of characters who played such pivotal roles in defining the course Europe was to take is unforgettable.

Benefiting from his many years as a reporter, and thus a personal observer of the rise of Nazi Germany, and availing himself of some of the 485 tons of documents from the German Foreign Office, as well as countless other diaries, phone transcriptions, and other written records meticulously kept at every level by the Germans, Shirer has put together a brutally objective account of how Hitler wrested political control of Germany, and planned and executed his six-year quest to dominate the world, only to see Germany go down in flames.

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich is a vast, richly rewarding experience for anyone who wants to come to grips with the mysterious question of how this menace to civilization ever came into being, much less was sustained for as long as it was. The answer, unfortunately, is that most of Germany, for a whole host of reasons, embraced Nazism and the fanaticism that Hitler engendered.

©1990 William L. Shirer (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“One of the most important works of history of our time.” ( The New York Times)

”A splendid work of scholarship, objective in method, sound in judgment, inescapable in its conclusions.” ( The New York Times Book Review)

Quite simply the best

Of all the books I have read covering the Nazi era this is simply the best book of its type. Nothing else comes close to its readability and scope, and Shirer's presence in Germany as a reporter at the time allowed him to add many personal observations that add greatly to the authenticity of the book. While the book is now about 50 years old, research since its publication has changed few of its conclusions. It is less academic and detailed than Richard Evans triology of the period, but I found Shirer's book both more complete in its observations and much more readable. The quality of this book is evident from the fact that in all of that time, and with all of the books on the period that have been written, this book has never been out of print.

And though it needs nothing else, Grover Gardiner's flawless reading only makes the book even better. This is easily one of the 10 best books I have ever read from Audible and I recommend it without reservation to anyone with an interest in World War II in Europe.

A word of caution - this is not a dispassionate book. Shirer had definate opinions and those are not hidden. His distain for many of the primary players is clearly evident in his descriptions and that may offend some readers. This is not an academic book (See Richard Evans' Nazi trilogy for a dispassionate academic telling of the period), but no other book comes close to its readability and comprehensiveness. It covers the political events and there is no concentration on the war (see Richard Atkinson's WW II military trilogy for that).

Extremely long and sometimes too much

Okay, so here's my take and advice. This book has lots of details, and actually had more than I could handle at times. Some parts focused solely on the politics and correspondence between some figures whom I've never heard of and others, whom I'd also never heard of. At times while listening to this book, I actually just set down the headphones and let it play. I felt like I wasn't missing much due to the subject being focused on some diplomatic event that occurred well before WW2, much less WW1. However, at other times I found the book very interesting. The beer hall event and the tone that Hitler took with his mission is one that stands out.

If you're looking for just the WW2 sections and when they're knee deep into the war, you'll have to skip all the way to Part 6, Chapter 4. This is the part that captured most of my interest, and it explains how the downfall of the Third Reich came to be. From this point all the way to the end of the book focuses on the actual war with the Allies. Beforehand has lots of details that I really couldn't manage to listen to, simply because I had no interest in the subject. So if you're interested in mostly the War, then I'd advise skipping forward.

Now don't get me wrong, I do agree that this is an important piece of documentation on what can happen when a mad man goes into power and completely destroys his own nation. There are tactics and methods that remind me of some politics today, propaganda wise. I'm a WW2 buff and am glad that I read (listened) to this book. I have more insight about the Third Reich now than I ever had before, and a thousand years from now, I hope this book will educate others about what happened. Similar to Plutarch writing about Alexander the Great, what little we know about historical events/figures is sometimes dependent upon one person's view or writing. This writing will suffice on this historical event for many years to come.

Incredible Detail and Delivery

I can't say enough about how I quickly and absolutely I was drawn into this book. I was a little skeptical of a documentary book of this size but those doubts were quickly dissipated.

The amount of reference material that William Shirer must have gone through to finish this book is mind boggling. I was completely captivated by the story and the level of detail. I've tried to watch a few documentaries after having listened to this book and cannot finish them. They pale in comparison compared to the level of information this book delivers.

I thought Grover Gardner did a very good job with the narration and really helped make the plots, subplots, and stories come alive.

If you are looking for more than your average documentary about one of the largest pivotal events in the 20th century this book is for you. You will find yourself being reminded many times that, "Truth is stranger than fiction"

Enjoy.

Reliving WWII from beginning to end of Hitler

A very well written and narrated history of wwII. To me it setteled some of the Chronology of WWII and for anyone else I think it has a lot to offer. If one enjoyes reading history. Highly recommended.

The Best Book I’ve listened to!

This is an exceptional documentary of the Nazi regime and Hitler’s rise to power, and his fall. There was little subjective commentary from the author, until the last few chapters. For the most part, it was strictly factual. Grover Gardner was the perfect narrator for this book!

An interesting personal account.

This is largely a personal account and a narrative and really needs to be looked at as such. There are some things that are glaringly omitted which would be in a general history and a lot that is personal opinion. To put it into perspective, William L Shirer was a journalist in Germany and Austria at the time of the rise of the Third Reich and sees from a unique personal perspective on the ground. He also bases a lot of this work on the official documents from Nazi Germany.

The coverage of the rise of Nazi Germany is thoughtful,insightful and intriguing and covers more than half of the book. Not much is given over to what the Nazis did while they were in power but more attention is paid to the last few days of the war and the regime.

Overall a very good piece on especially the origins of the Nazi Party and Hitler.

Just listen to this one and you know everything

For me, William L. Shirer is THE capacity in describing and explaining the disastrous rise of the national socialists in Germany and the reasons behind the German nation supporting the and suffering from the system the nazis had established. I have read and listened to a lot of books dealing with the subject over the last 30 years but could have cut it all short if I had picked this one as the first. Shirer was right in the middle of it all and his first hand experiences make a huge difference to all the more distant observers and historical scientists. This is a must read for anybody truly interested in the subjects.

Great Historical Book

What did you love best about The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich?

The detail of historical events are masterful.

Any additional comments?

If you want to really know about how the third Reich came about then this is the one book you need. It is full of information that is not commonly reported and gives a blow by blow account of the rise of Hitler and the mad men who allowed it.

History written & read in great storytelling form

Unlike a high school history book, this voluminous chronicle of Adolph Hitlers infamous rise to power and ultimate fall, if not from grace-his own people never really believed and/or understood the utter insanity and evil this man was-most definitely from the pinnacle of his warped world domination ideological seat of power in Germany, is the most complete yet readable account of such an important time in world history!

Awesome. The reading was intensely performed and kept my attention from the beginning. At times, admittedly, a bit more detailed in the minutiae than I could keep up with. Yet, the painstakingly difficult task of research, organization, and effort to pull all the disparate documents, records, diaries, court transcripts, and interviews of eyewitnesses must be appreciated for such a recount of world history as Hitlers will definitely cause much consternation & debate on what is true, false, lies, and utter nonsense. such detail provides the bead crumbs one needs to refute or prove ones claim

Everyone know that Hitler started WWII & eventually failed at his aims, but I for one had not known (or remembered the history from my youth had it been explained in more detail in school) this full tale of utter madness and manipulation of an entire group of people & world powers!

I recommend this book to any and all who, like me, came to ask..."why did WWII start?"...why was Hitler so against the Jews?...and why were the Italians & Japan fighting with Hitler?

History to be learned

very important source of history, should be read by all ,if we as human race could save our selves from distruction that could be brought about by own hands​ and will.