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)

The unspeakable explained.

Astonishing. Reciting. An eyewitness without rancor. So glad author lived to see the reunification of Germany and warn us.

Hisrory, the only real crystal ball to the future.

A must read to imbibe and consume a detailed and an accurate big picture view of post World War I Germany and the rise of National Socialism. Led by an opportunistic despot, who had a knack for consuming the low hanging fruit of a ill prepared and gullible European leadership, this work clearly demonstrates this so called warlord genius was really a Fuhrer Flop in diplomacy, military strategy and battlefied marshalship.

Amazing!

Great piece of history with alot of research into primary sources. The author does have a bit of a biased against Germans, which you can really blame him much for considering the subject matter.

This does not cover much of the details on the battles fought, but instead the politics of everything.

Brilliantly written, brilliantly narrated

The third reich hitler and the nazis, is an extremely complicated story with many tentacles that each have their own indepth story enough to fill thousands of pages each. This one provides an excellent understanding of the most important aspects of the nazis , hitler, the greater reich and its players. I would strongly recommend it to anyone wanting a good base before reading more nuanced non-fiction on the various complexities of the third reich. I further recommend this to every Jew.

AMAZING!!

We need to remember the past so we don't repeat it. Turn to the only God, Jesus who showed us how to love one another and have compassion for one another. Hitler is a contrast to Jesus.

Beautiful and Captivating

I find myself drawn to non fiction accounts of WWII but the length of this book was daunting to me. I decided I would give it a try as an audible book since it is so long. I’m so glad I did. I have read many, many books about the time period but this one is unlike any other. The reader catches the gentle wit of the author without treating the subject lightly. It is comprehensive yet interestingly written. I was intrigued by how Hitler came and kept power and the history is well told.

It is a sad and hopeless story that we all know but I have never been brought to tears by the horrors in the same way by any other telling. The true stories of humans treating other humans in this way is repulsive and I wanted to stop reading but sobbed through the details so their stories could be told.

From a lover of history in general and that of ww2

Simply fantastic! An in depth look at the history of Nazi Germany, Hitler and the reality of the horrors that war and mankind can bring. One of, if not the most interesting book of this period, like being a fly on the wall in Hitlers war room. Yet, this is much more than just military history of battles or tactics and gives, I feel, much more focus on the “why”.

Truth is stranger than fiction

The rise and fall of the third Reich is the greatest story ever told. It is the great drama of man. Never before has such evil been unleashed onto the earth and never before has such a coalition of vastly different backgrounds come together to defeat it. No fiction novel can even come close to creating such a rich complex drama such as this. God bless the men and women who rose up in man's darkest to confront such monstrosity. They will forever be the Greatest Generation.

Everything you ever wanted in non-fiction

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich covers everything. This epic book is so compresive that you feel like you lived through it. Not only is the book detailed on every topic in nazi history but it also discusses motives of leaders around the world during this period. The Rise and fall of the third reich covers the 1870s-1940s so well its scary. Yes you read that right. The book dwells so deep in german history that you get a clear overall picture of the time periods. No other work of non-fiction i have read is as detailed, relevant, and horrific.

Fascinating

Very well written documented and narrated. Sometimes confusing going from events in the 1940s and 1930s to the Nuremberg trials but often that transition did help understand the events as they happened. Would highly recommend it as it as a current parallel with the actions of a large country today.