The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

A History of Nazi Germany

By: William L. Shirer

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 57 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

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)

Gold standard in popular history

It's hard to beat this famous book for sheer listenability. Shirer has a gifted journalist's ability to describe complex patterns of events in a compelling, direct and extrordinarily lucid way. No wonder the book has been so widely read. Grover Gardner's performance is simply remarkable. Over dozens and dozens of hours he manages to bring the text to life, never flagging and never becoming monotonous. How he manages it is something of a mystery.

A study in darkness

This book is phenomenally written, haunting in its accounts, and true to the last. I will not long forgot these foreboding words.

Learn from history!

Listened to this after enduring the pandemic and the tumultuous Trump administration. I am profoundly struck by the similarities in how easily the public was lied to then and now. Although this book is very long it is worth the many hours to get through it. I highly recommend to anyone wishing to revisit this bloody, all too recent history!

Fantastic work of history

Absolutely amazing volume of work. It's a must for any student of WW2. I will listen to this over and over again.

Best book ever

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

Best book ever

What other book might you compare The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich to and why?

This book is in a league of its own

Have you listened to any of Grover Gardner’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Bravo!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Hitler's vagabond days were very interesting.

Any additional comments?

This is the most thorough, well-researched, informative book I have ever read (well, listened to). Unbelievable details about the Third Reich, from Goebbels' diary to the day to day communications of the foreign office it's all here in this book. And the performance is spectacular. Highly recommended!

Worth all 57 minutes and 13 seconds!

After years of procrastination, mostly due to its length, I finally started to listen to this audiobook. I'm sorry it took so long for me to commit to it. Not only is it well researched, it is unbelievably well written and well performed. I looked forward to putting my headphones on every day for the time it took me to get through this masterpiece.

For anyone interested with how history could've allowed this man, and this party, to rise to power, this is the definitive resource to not justify, but to explain how the turn of events created the domination and insanity that was 1930s and 40s Germany.

While certainly not a short read, it is most definitely a fantastic one. It is no wonder why this is the definitive work on the topic.

Very Detailed and Informative

Loved it. Very dark insights into the history of the 3rd Reich, but important to learn from their warped world view and evil plan.

Engaging and informative

I decided to give 5 stars because, as the author admits, his tone in the book has some unavoidable bias. That bias however did make for a more engaging experience so long as you acknowledge it for what it is. The frequent citations of captured documents gives some credence to the tone used by the author. great book overall

A masterpiece

Would you consider the audio edition of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich to be better than the print version?

While I haven't read the print version, I can't imagine how the experience can possibly be any more fullfilling than what I got from this audio book.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich?

Hitlers early Vienna days and his first years as a politician leading up to the Beer Hall Putsch was absolutely fascinating, even though I knew much of the story already. For learning purposes I would have to say the chapters about economy and living standards in the Third Reich were great sources of information for me.

What does Grover Gardner bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I would imagine a lot. Of all the audiobooks in my library, this is hands down the best narrated of them all. A master of his craft.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The personal tragedies in this story are too many to count. But I can't look past the Polish people and the hell they lived under throughout this phase in history. Horrific stuff.

A Classic

Shirer's book takes you through the charged life of one of the most reviled people of the 20th century, Adolf Hitler, and his regime, the Third Reich. I am not a heavy reader, and only recently started reading non-fiction, so I had imagined that this would be an extremely challenging read for me. 1200 odd pages, small font, no pictures! However, the authors style of writing makes the book almost a page-turner despite this being a fairly detailed historical account. What this means is that the author has injected his own bias and imagination in certain portions of the book to make it more personal, relatable and fun. And the author receives fair criticism for that, and I take away one star for it. But if you read carefully, you can easily discern which parts consist of the author's bias vs. a true historical account. The book provides ample references and all the important facts are stated true to reality as far as we can garner from evidence. To me, this was a great tradeoff. I probably would not have been able to finish a historical book which just states the facts. Parts of many of the diary entries, letters and documents are also printed verbatim, which provide a fascinating glimpse into what went on in those times.

With this book, I came to truly appreciate the meaning of the idiom, "Fact is stranger than fiction". Sometimes, even more amusing. Hitler's rise to power, world war II, and his loss were all improbable events, with several more likely events that could have stopped each of these from happening. It is fascinating to read how these events played out and how they lead to the deadliest war in history, and how easily the outcomes could have been very different.

My greatest takeaway from this book was to really appreciate how all of this happened just 80 years ago. Not in some paleontological era, this happened in my grandfather's lifetime. And it just nails home the point that how easily all of it can happen again. Hitler was an evil genius, but it was really the social, economic and political situation that propelled him to absolute power in Germany, and most of Europe. It is hard to imagine that humans can be so cruel to each other, but with sufficient indoctrination and incentive, they will be. The Germans of the Third Reich enthusiastically supported Hitler. It follows that this can happen to any country, even when the open, liberal countries. The "good" people failed to stand up when they should have. The consequences were disastrous not only for Germany but for the entire world.