The Coming of the Third Reich

By: Richard J. Evans

Narrated by: Sean Pratt

Length: 21 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

There is no story in 20th-century history more important to understand than Hitler’s rise to power and the collapse of civilization in Nazi Germany. With The Coming of the Third Reich, Richard Evans, one of the world’s most distinguished historians, has written the definitive account for our time. A masterful synthesis of a vast body of scholarly work integrated with important new research and interpretations, Evans’s history restores drama and contingency to the rise to power of Hitler and the Nazis, even as it shows how ready Germany was by the early 1930s for such a takeover to occur. The Coming of the Third Reich is a masterwork of the historian’s art and the book by which all others on the subject will be judged.

©2005 Richard J. Evans (P)2010 Gildan Media Corp

Critic reviews

"[A]n impressive achievement.... [Evans'] opus will be one of the major historical works of our time." ( The Atlantic)

How did this happen ?

Where does The Coming of the Third Reich rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It rates right up there at the top of all the books I have read or listened to.

What did you like best about this story?

All the back ground facts.

Any additional comments?

I thought I knew how this man crept up the power chain until I listened to this account. Anyone wanting to avoid evil should read or listen to this book.

Fantastic Novel

The most interesting book in the series for me, learning about life in Germany in the interwar period was incredibly interested. Can't recommend this enough. Richard Evans seems to have a much better take on WW2 than the other prominent authors in his field.

in light of current events...

This book is great, especially when read during our current political turbulence in America. The narrator could have been a little more expressive, but as is, this book is a very interesting read.

The narrator is as bad as everyone says...

Somehow did not pick up on this in the sample at all. I'm an hour in and I don't know if I can continue. There are long pauses between every sentence, and sometimes randomly in the middle of sentences.. At first I thought "maybe he's just getting warmed up," but no. That's just how he's gonna do it I guess.

Detailed overview of the Nazi party pre 1933

I really enjoyed this book and am in the process of starting the 2nd book in the trilogy. Much more detailed than Shirer's "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich." The books gives great inight into the factors that led to the Nazi's being able to game power in post WW1 Germany. I've often wondered what the circumstances were that led to the Nazi's being able to take power and for anti-semitism to take root as it did. This is the most detailed book I've come across on the topic.

Some people have complained about the narrator, this was not an issue for me. He does seem to have some pauses in odd places, but this was a non-issue for me. I thought his voice was very clear and easy to understand. The pacing of his reading was also very good.

So much information!

So much information... I can't imagine the amount of research and time that went in to just this book, let alone the rest!

Can't wait to start on the next.

Great book, annoying narrator

This is a thorough and well-organized history of late Weimar Republic Germany. There are many disturbing similarities to 2010 America.

My only gripe would be the narrator, who often pauses mid-sentence (not at a comma) and reminds one of a high school student. He mispronounces even some common words. To top it off, he narrates with a sarcastic tone which makes his mediocre reading ability even more annoying. BTW, you won't notice these things in your "sample listening." It will take you about an hour of listening for him to really begin getting on your nerves.

Great book, lousy narration

Would you be willing to try another one of Sean Pratt???s performances?

Absolutely not. He's the worst narrator I've ever heard, in his own unique category. His voice is pleasant and intelligent enough. His German pronunciations are mediocre (for every word that he pronounces perfectly, there's another that he totally mangles). But he's defined his turf by inventing a new way to make spoken sentence structure unclear, ambiguous, and utterly confusing: any time he seemingly (this is the only explanation I can think of) comes to a word at the end of a line that *conceivably* *could* be the end of a sentence, he assumes that it *is* the end of *the current* sentence, even if it makes absolutely no sense in the context of that sentence--and regardless of whether it has *any* punctuation after it. No punctuation = end of sentence. Comma = end of sentence. After an end-of-sentence pause with appropriate inflection, etc., he then continues on with the rest of the sentence (the part that's obviously on the next line) as if it were a sentence on its own, even though it makes absolutely no sense.

This alone makes the book almost totally unlistenable.

Unfortunately, before I started listening to anything, I bought all three books in the series. I assume the same thing is going to happen throughout. And I shall persevere, whether the narration drives me crazy or not (see my comments below about the book itself).

Any additional comments?

The author, in the preface or introduction to the book, states (I'm paraphrasing) that the book contains pretty basic information, and that if you're at all knowledgable on the topic, you might not learn anything new. I wish to disagree: I know something about the topic, and yet I find the book to be *very* educational, interesting, instructive, and the like. I think he's selling himself short. Audible just needs to find a better narrator for him.

A Pleasant Surprise

Evans not only brings an unbiased view of the process that would culminate with the empowerment of Nazism, but formulates solid lines of thought, some profound, some shocking, some a little of both, that brings to the listener a consistent picture of events and facts that translates in a deeper undertanding, accomplishing what many other traditional sources were unable to.
I found the narrator, despite some of the negative comments given, simply perfect for the job. The pauses are well intended and gives the reader the much needed time to digest the various ideas, suggestions and concepts that thrive in the text, thus assuring continuity of understanding. Several non-fiction audiobooks I've listened through Audible are read fiction style (fast paced and block bound), where plot is usually more emphasized than meaning, with disregard for the complexity contained in most non-fiction historical or scientific texts.

Fantastic content, very very poor narration

What did you love best about The Coming of the Third Reich?

A meaty plunge into the history of the origins of the main players of the third reich. It layed out in copious detail the beginnings of the Nazi regime.

Would you be willing to try another one of Sean Pratt’s performances?

NO NO NO!!! (altho I may be forced to since I plan to listen to the remaining two books in this triligy). He is a very.......poor......narrator.......with .........inappropriately........placed........and ........lengthy ........pauses......(are you frustrated reading my visual representation of his vocal cadence yet?) intersperced throughout his narration.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not necessarily