The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

A History of Nazi Germany

By: William L. Shirer

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 57 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's 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.

©1990 William L. Shirer (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“One of the most important works of history of our time.” ( The New York Times)

”A splendid work of scholarship, objective in method, sound in judgment, inescapable in its conclusions.” ( The New York Times Book Review)

Required reading

Shattering and triumphant. For those of us who have enjoyed a relatively peaceful, free, and prosperous life provided to us by the greatest generation, reading or listening to this history is a small token of respect. We should honor all those who stood up to tyranny and unspeakable human depravity and never forget that those that perpetuated the gruesome horrors are not that different from us and not all that far removed.

A must read for all WWII history lovers

This is a fantastic novel that goes into great detail about the Third Reich. Worth your time and bound to be a favorite.

Masterpiece

The definitive work on the subject, this audio production lives up to the quality one hopes to find. Magnificent.

Stunning Nathan absolutely incredible.

The level of detail and the use of original sources and the author, Having been present when many of the things happened, it had such detail. The vivid descriptions of the horrific things that happened to people was almost too much to listen to. Nonetheless, I had to listen to it. An absolutely exceptional book.

kept me engaged for 57 hours

the insight it provided into the inner workings of the third Reich was great.

Wealth of knowledge and information

I have listened to several books including the Nuremberg trials and this is the most indepth look at the German war efforts of ww2.

There are some glitches in the recording that really frustrated me otherwise it would be a 5 start book for sure.

Great book, funky voice

I love this in depth story. Only gripe is the narrator has a deep voice but also a high pitch? Hard to explain. Hurt my ears to listen if I wasn’t in my truck with the treble all the way down and bass all the way up. Couldnt listen to it with headphones in.

particularly relevant as Russia invades Ukraine

reviewing details of the rise of Hitler makes Putin all the more frightening. this book which is especially beautifully red is more relevant today than ever.

First hand account makes this an interesting read.

I tried to read this many years ago and somewhat got bogged down in all the details. I tried it again on Audible and listened to this on my evening walks and found myself immersed and enjoying the details. I loved the first hand accounts by the author (he was there for much of the Nazi rise to power) and the reader was excellent. As for the story, I found it so interesting to hear how a democracy unraveled into a dictatorship. Hopefully history doesn’t repeat itself.

Comprehensive History of Hitler's Awful Terror

It took me over two years to finish but well worth enduring. It is absolutely the most detailed account on all of Nazi Germany. I am a history buff but this book has way more detail on this period of the modern era than any I have seen.