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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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Editor reviews
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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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Archie Gautier
- 23-01-22
Collossal
This account of the Third Reich is a fundamental piece of history on the topic. A straightforward account of the most outrageous period of history.
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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
- Asif Mohammed
- 14-03-22
Masterpiece
A masterpiece from beginning to end. Entertaining and informative at the same time. Compulsive listening especially towards the end.
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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
- Jo Scofield
- 21-05-22
Everyone needs to read this book
Like many others, my knowledge was limited to the war after Poland was invaded and I always wondered how it got to that point.
Enlightening, educational, blood boiling, frustrating inducing, heartbreaking.
Listening during Russia's invasion of Ukraine added a whole other dimension.
What this book has taught me will stay with me forever.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Gordon Woods
- 15-06-22
very long but a great insight
long- some areas i thought deserved more time but its about the german reich rather than than other aspects of the war so it did focus correctly in that sense
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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
- Leo
- 29-07-22
masterpiece by Mr. Shirer
great research, clear prose, thoughtful narrative and fine narration. if you like history, this book is for you.
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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
- Amazon Customer
- 23-01-23
on my 4th time through - still amazing.
what I love about this most (Grover Gardener is a given) is that if you love date and tactics then it's here. if the civil history of war, it's also here.
just heartbreakingly brilliant 👏
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 05-01-24
a good history book.
it helped me to understand this part of nazi history, and those around it. thanks.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Paul Conder
- 15-02-11
Fabulous history on the ipod
Don't be put off by the length the reader of this fabulous audio book captures you and continues to hold you as the history of Nazi Germany unfolds.
The book itself remains a classic of World War II covering the broad history of the Third Reich from first tentative developments to the downfall and collapse in the Fuhrer Bunker.
You will find it difficult to do anything else until you finish listening.
The producers and reader have remained faithful to the work and the horror of a world war without getting dramatic.
You will only find a few works that achieve the quality you find here.
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27 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Apollon
- 04-03-11
Hard to believe that this is Non-Fiction.
This book covers from pre WW2 to the end of the war focusing mostly around the rise and fall of the Nazi party and it's leader with all the captured correspondence that reflect their deeds. Recorded History has never been presented this accurate.
The Fascinating part of this book is that this all facts are layed out from captured documentation and are presented chronologically in a way that make the written text interesting with a great narration in the book and by the Audio Narrator Grover Gardner that has a great intelligent sounding American voice.
I feel that the authors opinions, are balanced and reflect the feelings of any balanced human being of reason, with out being bias.
The Frightening part:
I have read/listen to many dark fiction stories with some really evil twisted characters, but the atrocities committed and discussed in this NON-FICTION book, from recorded documentation and recorded witness is truly frighting. Not just because of the deeds committed and the scale of it all, but mostly because these events really did happen. You can walk away from Fiction, but Facts remain.
This is a long book to go through and I'm not sure I would have read the pages, but the Audio was great. Long, but Great.
Thanks to You Tube I would often listed to a part in history and find related clips related for visual cues. (not that you need many)
I think every Film about WW2 with some level of accuracy must of used this book as a reference: Two films come to mind: DownFall and Valkyrie.
There are detailed parts of the Valkyrie operation in the book, which I must say was very well reflected in the movie, from the facts, now that I know them.
The Movie Downfall I believe, also accurately reflects what happened to Hitler during his last few days before his down fall. This book lists that facts of what happened in that bunker and thanks to this film I had a great idea of the mood and the character of Hitler, which was so well acted by Bruno Gan
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8 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- martin
- 31-03-11
comprehensive history
I listen to this every day while travelling to and from work - for the past six weeks - and still only on chapter 12. A very well written and superbly read text. Covering everything from Hitler's ancestry through his rise to power, to commander in chief of the German war machine, we see the duplicity of the man and the gullibility of the German people, as he lies, manipulates and murders his way the the top. That the writer was present at many of the historic events as they took place only adds to the veracity of the account. I highly recommend this book to anyone with interest in world history.
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1 person found this helpful