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)

I almost felt like I was there

I really liked the book. The author really wanted you to understand how badly the Jews were treated. I think it was unnecessary to repeat it over, and over, and over again.

Fall Of the Third Reich

the third volume of an exhaustive study of Nazi Germany's rise and ultimate defeat. Evan's trilogy will be the definitive work on the era for decades, of interest to specialists as well as lay readers

History Told Well

Top-notch; ranks among the best history books I've ever read.

The content is arranged so that various topics are related together rather than haphazardly all in a jumble. Of course this makes for a bit of repetitiveness, but the overall clarity is worth it.

Narration is extremely professional and fits the subject matter in tone and inflection. I noticed that the narrator occasionally pronounced the same words (usually names) differently, but that didn't bother me since I don't know the correct pronunciation for those words anyway.

Great!

This is the third volume about the Nazis. I heartily recommend all three and suggest they be listened to in order.

Simply wonderful

The first thing to say about this entire series is that all 3 books form a wonderful history of the Third Reich. It also seems important to mention that this volume is a history of the Third Reich during the war, not the Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine or Wehrmacht, so there is only limited coverage of the actual battles.

Rather this book concerns itself mostly with government policy concerning those living inside Germany itself and the occupied territories. It is very detailed and I found some sections on the extermination camps very emotionally painful to get through. The book also does not cover some areas that I would like to have heard about. For example, how were Allied soldiers who were minorities treated in prison camps? Did the Wehrmacht follow the Geneva Convention rules or not? What was the relationship between the Wehrmacht and the SS? Since the book is about government policy these areas were not covered in any detail.

Regardless this book, as well as the preceding two volumes, form an invaluable history and should be required reading for anyone who wants to know about the Second World War in Europe. I also agree with another reviewer who suggested that these books, along with Shirer's Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, should both be read since they are complimentary. Highly recommended.

The Third Reich at War...fine work!

This series (please consider the other "Third Reich" titles) is positively perfect for the audiobook format. Richly detailed yet very well paced. From the origins of the Nazi's political power through their ascendancy to their final flameout, Richard Evans must be commended for the polish of this excellent work. Sean Pratt's narration is flawless. Five Stars!

Excellent boom, so so narration

If you want a comprehensive book on Germany during WWII this is it. The author covers almost every aspect of the war in a comprehensive manor. This book only covers the German side however, for the story of the allies you'll need to look elsewhere. The narration is ok, but the narrator has this habit of stopping in mid sentence, which tends to put the emphasis on the wrong portion of a statement.

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!