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They Thought They Were Free
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- Narrated by: Nick Sandys
- Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 14
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 14
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- Narrated by: Samuel West
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 48
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 44
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 41
The President of the United States regularly lies to the public and accuses anyone who criticises him of being fake. Politicians openly rubbish the views of 'so called experts', dissemble and mislead. So how do we hold those in power accountable? Fox News, Breitbart Media and the Murdoch papers peddle views not news, pushing politically motivated agendas. So, where can we look for reliable, verifiable sources of news and information? What does it mean for democracy? And what will the future hold?
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- By Nigel on 25-11-19
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Us vs. Them
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- Narrated by: Willis Sparks
- Length: 5 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 37
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Story4 out of 5 stars 34
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5 out of 5 stars
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good
- By Big gee on 25-01-19
Summary
First published in 1955, They Thought They Were Free is an eloquent and provocative examination of the development of fascism in Germany. Milton Mayer's book is a study of 10 Germans and their lives from 1933-45, based on interviews he conducted after the war when he lived in Germany.
Mayer had a position as a research professor at the University of Frankfurt and lived in a nearby small Hessian town which he disguised with the name "Kronenberg". "These ten men were not men of distinction," Mayer noted, but they had been members of the Nazi Party; Mayer wanted to discover what had made them Nazis.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Robert
- 15-07-17
Time might change ones behaviour pattern
Would you listen to They Thought They Were Free again? Why?
Yes. It is a detailed account of the thought pattern(s) that led to the destruction of the German nation through the lives of ten average individuals in a small rural town, community.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I found it a detailed book. Mr. Mayer, his presentation throughout the book gives the reader a constant barrage of options, in the various acts and behaviour of his 10 nazi friends. The constant how when where or why is always being asked in ones own mind. The book moves quickly from chapter to chapter and as often in my case, does soul searching.
Any additional comments?
I suggest that this book, might be presented to students throughout the world as an "eye opener" in regards to human behaviour. How it all did manage to come together, through no pattern of behaviour that might be deemed as what I call normal. To attempt to obliterate, erase humanity with justification? The world that I know weeps, I weep.
7 people found this helpful
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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
- 30-01-18
Must read(Listen)for anyone serious about history
An engaging insight as to how a nation was swayed into despotism incrementally yet whloley
2 people found this helpful
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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
- R. Burke
- 01-11-18
Terrifyingly relevant in the modem age
There are a great many parallels to our current political climate in this book. Let this be history we learn from, lest we repeat it.
1 person found this helpful
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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
- Travis L. Cheng
- 14-09-18
A must listen
If we choose not to know the past we are destined to repeat it. Milton Mayers interviews with his ten German friends was both insightful and frightening. The amount any country is liable for a Nazi take over seems very easy. People just need to know the way people get suckered into it.
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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
- Zachary B.
- 18-08-17
Well put.
An intriguing and eye-opening look from the "other" perspective, with familiar overtones seen especially today.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Katherine
- 24-02-19
An Important Rerelease and Reread
I thoroughly enjoyed this insightful book, not only for the importance of this historical perspective today, but also because I was born in Wiesbaden in 1953 to American military parents. I enjoyed every facet of this book, but would have preferred listening to an American narrator since the author was American. The British accent is distracting and sheds a different light on the narrative. I do, however, recommend this book to all interested.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- John
- 26-07-17
Disappointing except for the narrator
I persisted as long as I did before returning the book because of the performance by Michael Page. He almost made an uninteresting and unoriginal book seem good.
2 people found this helpful