The Third Reich at War

By: Richard J. Evans

Narrated by: Sean Pratt

Length: 35 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

The final volume in Richard J. Evans’s masterly trilogy on the history of Nazi Germany traces the rise and fall of German military might, the mobilization of a “people’s community” to serve a war of conquest, and Hitler’s campaign of racial subjugation and genocide. Already hailed as “a masterpiece” (William Grimes in The New York Times) and “the most comprehensive history… of the Third Reich” (Ian Kershaw), this epic trilogy reaches its terrifying climax in this volume.

Evans interweaves a broad narrative of the war’s progress with viscerally affecting personal testimony from a wide range of people - from generals to front-line soldiers, from Hitler Youth activists to middle-class housewives. The Third Reich at War lays bare the dynamics of a nation more deeply immersed in war than any society before or since.

Fresh insights into the conflict’s great events are here, from the invasion of Poland to the Battle of Stalingrad to Hitler’s suicide in the bunker. But just as important is the re-creation of the daily experience of ordinary Germans in wartime, staggering under pressure from Allied bombing and their own government’s mounting demands upon them. At the center of the book is the Nazi extermination of Europe’s Jews, set in the context of Hitler’s genocidal plans for the racial restructuring of Europe.

Blending narrative, description, and analysis, The Third Reich at War creates an engrossing picture - at once sweeping and precise - of a society rushing headlong to self-destruction and taking much of Europe with it. It is the culmination of a historical masterwork that will remain the most authoritative work on Nazi Germany for years to come.

Listen to previous volumes in Richard J. Evans' Third Reich trilogy.

©2009 Richard J. Evans (P)2010 Gildan Media Corp

Critic reviews

"Masterful….Evans demonstrates a fluent style and a sweeping grasp of the Third Reich’s history and of the enormous historical literature….Evans narrates the Reich’s end in gripping fashion as the Allies closed in on Germany. Evans’s fellow historians as well as a broader public will listen to this work, not quite with pleasure, for there is little joy in this story, but with admiration for the author’s narrative powers.” ( Publisher’s Weekly)

The best written history and analysis to date

All three volumns were very informative. The narrators voice and cadence was spot on for listening to history subject matter. I wish it was longer because I enjoyed it so much.

Exceptional!

This book and the two before it are Absolutely fanstastic! it kept me in suspense!

Hard to beat

If you’re looking for an X’s and O’s military history, look elsewhere. This is a deep dive into what it was like to live in the Reich during the war. Culture, art, murder, conflict etc were an awful reality of daily life.

I was actually so enthralled by the first book’s presentation I kept going. I listened to the entire trilogy in sequence. It is masterfully presented. Soothing, not boring. Well paced. Even for the length.

It’s hard to present new facts about a story so often told. But this is not the case here. New insights and a different perspective are gained. It is not opposed to, but rather a great complement to a book like Shirer’s “Rise and Fall of the 3rd Reich.” You won’t find yourself going “Didn’t I just hear this?”.

All that said, this book is not a clinical read. It’s incredibly engaging. Outside of Foote’a Civil War series, this is the best set I’ve heard yet from Audible. Bravo!

EXCEPTIONAL

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

Thorough and interesting

Very thorough look into the third Reich during the war years. I highly recommend the 2 companion books that brings you up to this point in history

A history of the REICH, not the War.

Some reviewers are disappointed on the lack of focus on WW2, but that's not what this book is about. Read some Stephen Ambrose for that. This is about life in the Third Reich, during the war.

The Third Reich

Well researched and presented by the author and reader. I’ve read many WWII books and this is one of the best. Thank you!

Excellent series of books -- HORRIBLE reader

The series of books by Richard Evans is great, and you really should read them in order - however that is not required. I will say The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich is a much easier to follow and more entertaining book and it's reader is on a level that this book reader could never hope to obtain. I would highly recommend that book over this series if you could only have one. However I think you'd be best served to listen to both. This series gives more of an in-depth at the day to day lives of Germans and helps you have a better understanding of the war in general and how Germany became the place it did.

I give it a high recommend which would be much higher if it wasn't read by such an amateur. The reader is extremely poor and does a great disservice to this book. After about 50 hours (between the 3 books) I think I finally started to get used to him so I wasn't as annoyed by the readers inability to know when to pause in a sentence and his extremely monotone voice. Overall however the reader is awful and has no business doing so much as reading a 2-line power point presentation.

Not riveting, but good.

I just completed all 3 books in the series and enjoyed them. Narrator Shawn Pratt got on my nerves at first but in the long run his voice was comfortable. I would have liked more time devoted to Hitler but that's just my preference. Also, much time was given to details of how Nazism effected every aspect of life. I wearied at times anxious to get to the next segment or chapter. I am thankful that when describing the treatment of the Jews' persecutions, tortures, and deaths Evans used restraint. In other words he could have been much more graphic describing rapes and tortures. The imagination can take care of what is lacking.
I like the fact that he portrayed the leaders of Nazism as brute beast worthy of the worst punishments for the horror for which they were responsible Nevertheless, no book or books will EVER capture the summary of evil that took place in Europe during WWII.

Outstanding History

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

The Third Reich at War rates at the top of my audiobook list. Richard Evans brings the Third Reich to life as clearly as if it were drawn from today's news. I've listened to it twice through now and will probably give it a third go. I've been reading WWII history for 50 years (yes, really) and this is one of the best I've read.

Which character – as performed by Sean Pratt – was your favorite?

I've seen other reviewers slam Sean Pratt's narration. He does have odd pauses, but I got used to them and found they helped me absorb the words. This isn't fiction, and shouldn't be read as such. I'm actually looking for more that he's narrated.

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

At 30 hours + this is a little more than I'd even try in five or six sittings. The whole series, though, including Coming of the Third Reich and Third Reich in Power, combined with this volume, make a stunning summary of the era.

Any additional comments?

I've recently re-read Rise and Fall of Third Reich, and Evans' history is on a par with Shirer's classic. Shirer has the immediacy of having been in Germany for part of the period, but Evans has the objectivity that time bestows (at least in theory).