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)

A masterpiece

An absolutely fascinating, enthralling account of the Third Reich from Hitler's birth to the Allied victory. At 60 hours, I wish it were longer. Grover Gardner has done an absolutely outstanding job with this narration.

If you only buy one audiobook in your life, buy this one.

A stunning work, both in breadth and depth

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

An epic historical masterpiece. This is one of the best works of non-fiction I've ever read.

What about Grover Gardner’s performance did you like?

Gardner's performance is pretty close to perfect in its tone and cadence. He is understated and very matter of fact, but does a fantastic job of mirroring the author's own tone.

The Rise and the Fall of the Third Reich

The author Shirer has done his homework. Well written and even though it is an unbelievable story in the telling it's all too believable. I take from it no leader can be taken for granted. We all need to be vigilant. God bless America!

I can't believe i listened to this whole book

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

Detailed, Long, Insightful

Who was your favorite character and why?

The narrator- The writer of the book was a journalist that lived through the Nazi years in Germany. I like his take, his asides and overall personality.

Which scene was your favorite?

The Beerhall Putsch

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Everything you ever wanted to know about Nazis

Any additional comments?

The book is read well, and i'm sure it was a challenging task. The books spends the majority of time going over actual journal entries of the men closest to Hitler and even Hitler himself. The book is heavy on military actions, thoughts, and procedures during the Third Reich. It covers Hitler's rise to power, the way the government was fundamentally changed and how that was accomplished, the military conquests, defeats, and fears of the fuhrer. The book is very long but doesn't get boring. If you're interested in how Nazi Germany was possible- look no further.

Storytelling and History

Very good book, informative and interesting. Although it's a long book, you arrive at its end wishing it could go on to telling us more details of the post war events.

Good but Biased

It seems odd to call a bunch of people who almost took over the world like they did stupid and feeble minded. I suspect the character assesments may have been biased even though the events are historically accurate. Perhaps it sounds like I'm defending Nazi intelligence but it seems a dangerous game to underestimate such a mind if we are to prevent it from happening in the future. I found it amusing at the end when she mentioned Hitler's last Sabbath as I'm sure neither he nor his companions in the bunker were thinking about the Jewish holy day.

History that is stranger than fiction and yet so very relevant to modern times.

I enjoyed this book as much as any book I’ve ever read. I thought I knew a lot about this period in history... but learning the details and stories was truly enlightening and entertaining.

Also made me see our current world of politics and propaganda in a new scary way.

Spellbinding

No book other than the bible has ever moved me like this one. My father was a POW and fought in the war, and he said this book is the launch code for Nazi Germany. He was right. I got this book because it was 1 credit. Only 1 credit for 57 hours! God bless Mr. Shirer and... Grover Garder you are amazing. Amazing! Bill Shirer would have been proud.

Long book but feels short

Surprisingly, I went through this book faster than I finish 10 hour books on audible in the past. It’s one of those books that you don’t want to turn off from the suspense. The amount of information packed in this book is incredible. I’ll have to buy the paperback because it was hard to keep track of the names of the German characters because they all sound the same but are spelled differently. It wasn’t too dense with the historical details with the exception of a few long stretches covering Hitler’s relationships with the other nations. There’s a lot of background leading up to the war, especially about Hitler, so I recommend sticking with it because the pace picks up significantly in the second half of the book. They didn’t go too deep into the Holocaust stories or the battle stories because the writer was more focused on the dynamics and timeline with the war and the information is just too immense. I don’t blame him though because he chose the right topics to cover and kept a steady pace through the war until Hitler’s death in the end. He wasn’t too biased towards either side and provided a lucid description of the facts of the war and kept his personal opinions to a minimum, just how it should be. My understanding of the war has increased significantly compared to where I was before reading the book. In the end, I loved the book and highly recommend it to anyone who wants to dive deep into the brutal reality that took place in Germany during this tragic period. I guarantee that you will learn something new from reading this book.

excellent work.

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

read the book 30 years ago. now that I'm almost 80 I enjoyed listening to it as i fell asleep.

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

roman empire. napolean and france.

What didn’t you like about Grover Gardner’s performance?

he is a great narrator.

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

the absolute brutality of the Nazis towards Jews and slavs. The depravity of the top echelon of the leadership of Hitlers henchmen. The lack of remorse by the instigators and implementers of the final sollution. The idea that modern day Germans lectured us on our conduct in the Vietnam war--given their collective history. On a trainride from Dresden to Praque some years ago, 3 teenage German girls berated Ronald Reagon to my family and I as a threat to world peace and the US as an evil empire--seemingly they never heard of Hitler, the Austrian Anschluss, the rape of Checkoslavakia, the attack of Poland, the murder of the jews and slavs etc. Evidently the vaunted German Hoch Schules, Gymnasiums etc leave out the history of Germany from 1937 to 1945.