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The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
- A History of Nazi Germany
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 57 hrs and 11 mins
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The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
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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.
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What listeners say about The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- M. R. Kemp
- 04-03-17
Inciteful and chilling account of Nazi Germany
This book is interesting, frightening, emotional and emotional. Well cited and sourced and mixed with first hand impressions of the period. In my opinion it should be read as education of what the world should never fall so far down to again.
Highly recommended to those interested in the war and the period of Nazi Germany.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kieron Edwards
- 05-06-14
A brilliant (if long) history of the Third Reich
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
If you want to understand how Hitler came to believe what he did, how he came to power, how Germany allowed this to happen and then how the second world war was planned and fought then this book tells it all.
Who was your favorite character and why?
A slightly odd question to ask of a book like this. Molotov comes off well I suppose. Churchill too.
Which scene did you most enjoy?
Again - not the best question to ask of a history of war.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
There are, by necessity, some chapters covering the Nazi atrocities. These cover more than just the final solution and were hard going. The author does not imagine or exaggerate and simply reports from documentation provided to the Nuremberg trials - however - it's upsetting stuff.
Any additional comments?
I wanted to understand (in light of recent international events) how fascism rose in popularity and how National Fascism came to power. I've also wanted to understand how Hitler came to start the war, and how he lost it.
This book is brilliant in being very detailed and written by a gentlemen who was there, as a US journalist, in Germany during the rise of Hitler and the start of the war. Shirer was there - he met or saw these people and so paints a very colourful picture of events.
It's an old book (published in '59 I think) so some of the language is a little quant on occasions (if you hear the phrase "pulling his chestnuts from the fire" several times it sounds very odd these days).
It ends with the author noting that no one would buy the book (the publisher only printing 12,000 copies) however it deservedly sold well (apart from in Germany oddly enough).
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- chris
- 04-06-15
Brilliant book well read 😄
Nothing to dislike enjoyed very much
From the beginning to the end I would recommend this book to history lovers .
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- steven e macdonald
- 22-02-17
A must read for all
After 57 hours my daily commute will not be quite the same. I highly recommend this book, the story told is worthy of this heavyweight publication.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Ade
- 16-02-12
Please Peruse this Volume.
There's a reason this work remained on my selves for 30 years, it is long, 1356 pages of dense text. It is an almost scholarly work that suffers from having been written shortly after the war and the language is rather socially unsophisticated and often time offensive (of the German people) by the standards of today. The grammar is at times ropey.
It is a long book, and in essence a history of the 1939 -1945 war. While the recent entanglements in Gulf of Persia are mismanaged misadventures which are a matter of bitter regret - after all old, or even middle aged men in comfy chairs do not fight wars, this book might be a slightly sympathetic prism through which to view those wars - I mean, who wants to go down in history as 'an appeaser'. The length of this book is necessary to chronicle how WWII came about and that it shouldn't have.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- eamonn
- 23-12-12
A tour de force
With some trepidation I approached this mammoth task ... some 56 hours. I can now say with certainty that this was one of the greatest investments of my time ever. The narrative and flow is superb with tangents used beautifully to add details and enhance understanding. If the subject of nazism interests you from either a sociological or anthropological viewpoint this historical account is a perfect starting point. Truly entertaining and brilliant. EJK
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- rebecca
- 06-03-17
Superb journey through a dark mark on history
An superb reading of the incomparable epic by Shirer, covering the dark and calculated period of European history sparked by Hitler's ambitions and ideology. If ever I were to recommend a book on the subject, this would be it. Great to have an audio option so well read and easy to follow
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Colin
- 05-04-19
Riveting
Easily my favourite historic audiobook to date. Shirer expertly retells the story with such detail only a man who was witnessing the events at the time could attempt.
Fantastic listen.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Guðrún Pétursdóttir
- 10-03-18
I am not finished! but it's a great history
However the narrator is unable to pronounce German words.
If you don't know German you're fine.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Sonya Drake
- 15-04-19
detailed and engaging
Very good book. I really enjoyed it. The narrator is interesting and although the book is huge, you dont get bored.
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