The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany

William L. Shirer

Jul 2010 · Blackstone Audio Inc. · Narrated by Grover Gardner

About this audiobook

The inspiration for the gripping docuseries Hitler and the Nazis, now streaming on Netflix

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, long 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.

Shirer benefitted from his many years as a reporter, thus a personal observer of the rise of Nazi Germany, and by 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. With these, he 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.

Ratings and reviews

pretty good the book by Toland is way better. Some of Shire eyewitness stories are good but leaves out of a lot of details. At the beer hall putsch he says Hitler was first to flee in reality he would have been killed if one of his loyalists didn't jump in front and take his bullets. He completely leaves that out makes you wonder what else he left out.

As someone who likes to go through WWII, this was a brilliant book. It dives into a lot of detail & sometimes smaller things often left alone. It doesn't disappoint & for many it's probably lacking one thing or another, but I personally felt it covered so much. As well as diving into matters like Italy! often times, Hitler & the Reich are the focus with Mussolini often barely getting mentioned. I wish that Japan was given more depth too, but I'd gladly still suggest this for anyone who loves learning about this era of history.

I read William L. Shirer's Rise and Fall of the Third Reich in the late 1980s when I raised the question in my mind: "how did the German people (who I assume were as normal as americans) could allow themselves to be led into such a destructive destiny?" That's when I read the book. It was worth the effort because I was enlightened to the complicated circumstances of peoples' lives and their societies. I learned about the power of propaganda and demagoguary. We are facing a similar circumstance these days, and anyone who is struggling to grasp what's going on will benefit from Shirer's insights.

About the author

William L. Shirer (1904–1993) was an American journalist and war correspondent. He wrote The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, a history of Nazi Germany that has been read by many and cited in scholarly works for more than fifty years and was #1 New York Times bestseller. Originally a foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune and the International News Service, he was the first reporter hired by Edward R. Murrow for what would become a CBS radio team of journalists known as “Murrow’s Boys.” He reported from Berlin for the Universal News Service and for CBS on the rise of the Nazis, and he covered their fall as a war correspondent. Out of these reports grew his other New York Times bestsellers Berlin Diary, The Nightmare Years, End of a Berlin Diary, Midcentury Journey, and The Collapse of the Third Republic. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich sold more copies for the Book-of-the-Month Club than any other book in the club’s history.

Grover Gardner ’s narration career spans 25 years and over 550 audiobook titles. AudioFile magazine has called him one of the “Best Voices of the Century” and features him in their annual “Golden Voices” update. Publishers Weekly named him Audiobook Narrator of the Year for 2005. His recordings have garnered 18 Earphones Awards from AudioFile and an Audie Award from the Audio Publishers’ Association.