The Collapse of the Third Republic

An Inquiry into the Fall of France in 1940

By: William L. Shirer

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

As an international war correspondent and radio commentator, William L. Shirer didn't just research the fall of France. He was there. In just six weeks, he watched the Third Reich topple one of the world's oldest military powers - and institute a rule of terror and paranoia.

Based on in-person conversation with the leaders, diplomats, generals, and ordinary citizens who both shaped the events of this time and lived through them on a daily basis, Shirer shapes a compelling account of historical events - without losing sight of the personal experience.

From the heroic efforts of the Freedom Fighters to the tactical military misjudgments that caused the fall and the daily realities of life for French citizens under Nazi rule, this fascinating and exhaustively documented account from one of the 20th century's most important historians makes the events of the fall accessible to a younger audience in vivid and memorable style.

©2019 William L. Shirer (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Fantastic historical account

Shirer is, as always, is in supreme command of the facts—and in fascinating detail I have never heard elsewhere. He brings to life the causes of the tragedy I had only understood in broad terms. I can’t recommend this book highly enough for serious students of history.

Complete

In what area of this great historical tragedy could the author be found wanting? A great scholarly achievement, generates but one response-a thank you.

a must read

If you want to understand the world before the war, read this book. I had the audiobook. It os the second book I listened to from this author. It isn't perfect or unbiased and not without its limitations, but if read against the books of Taylor, Sutton and Buchanan, it gives you a nice insight in this avoidable war. The author blames Hitler for everything and Wall Street for nothing? who paid Hitler?

A timely reminder

Petain and Laval sought to make France 'great again' destroying the 3rd Republic and creating a Fascist regime. The forces supporting them were the uber-rich conservatives for whom democracy was a troublesome nuisance and the populous a mass to be manipulated. Anyone who disagreed was a radical socialist or communist. The democratic opposition spent as much energy fighting each other as defending French democracy. Septagenarian and octagenerian generals were oblivious to the changes in military technology left the country unprepared for the Nazi blitzkrieg.

Sound familiar?

So much information

I bought The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich a couple years ago and absolutely loved it. I found this book and when I saw Grover Gardner did the reading I had to give it a try. I love the way Gardner reads Shirer’s work. It’s as if he was sitting across from you looking into a glass of Scotch and telling you a story.

This is a story of the ant and the grasshopper. The ant works hard all summer to prepare for winter and the grasshopper just plays and relaxes. Then winter comes, there is no food and the grasshopper complains and blames everyone else for its problems. The French government had so many warnings about what Germany was planning and they just stick their heads in the sand.

Shirer goes into so much detail on the subject you will almost be a scholar when you finish the book. The first part of the book is the backstory which starts in the late 1800s. I had a difficult time staying into the book at times because I didn’t know any of the people. Shirer is building a foundation and setting the tone for the eventual collapse of France. The second half of the book I could not get enough of. I throughly enjoyed it and I am thrilled to have it in my collection.