- Audio Cassette
- Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks; Unabridged edition (July 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1441752307
- ISBN-13: 978-1441752307
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16.5 x 6.4 cm
- Shipping Weight: 476 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (103 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Ingram
With a new afterword by the author, this unabridged edition tells the complete story of Hitler's empire. Famed foreign correspondent and historian Shirer spent five and a half years sifting through the vast paperwork behind Hitler's drive to conquer the world to bring this definitive record of one of the most frightening chapters in the history of mankind. "One of the most important works of history of our time."--The New York Times. Reissue. (War History)
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From the Publisher
William L. Shirer's THE RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH is a monumental study of the 20th Century's most frightening moments. Now, 53 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, captured by the First Army, 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 6 year quest to dominate the world, only at the end, to see Germany go down in flames.
The combination of personal recollection and amassing of historical evidence distinguishes this book as one of the great historical works of any time. For instance, he recounts that, from his apartment in Plosslgasse, in Vienna, he personally witnessed how perhaps half of Vienna's 180,000 Jews bargained their way to freedom in 1938.
Shirer explains that Hitler believed that France and England were too weak to pose much of a threat to his ambitions to subjugate Czechoslovakia, and later Poland. The momentary relief of Russia as a threat to his domination of Europe as a result of the flurry of diplomatic activity that proceeded his invasion of Poland is fascinating. There is no relief, throughout his narrative, of the brutality of Hitler and such a large contingent of Germans who populate this narrative.
Although 1600 pages long, this is such a richly rewarding experience for anyone who wants to come to grips with the mysterious question as to 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.
For another book that deals with this problem, why so much of Germany lent its support to Hitler, I heartily recommend HITLER'S WILLING EXECUTIONER'S, by Daniel Goldhagen, published by Vintage Books. Although filled with perhaps more statistical details then the non-professional historian would need, this book helps to adumbrate the themes in Shirer's great book.
George Davidson, Director of Production, The Ballantine Publishing Group --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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, captured by the First Army, 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 6 year quest to dominate the world, only at the end, to see Germany go down in flames.
The combination of personal recollection and amassing of historical evidence distinguishes this book as one of the great historical works of any time. For instance, he recounts that, from his apartment in Plosslgasse, in Vienna, he personally witnessed how perhaps half of Vienna's 180,000 Jews bargained their way to freedom in 1938.
Shirer explains that Hitler believed that France and England were too weak to pose much of a threat to his ambitions to subjugate Czechoslovakia, and later Poland. The momentary relief of Russia as a threat to his domination of Europe as a result of the flurry of diplomatic activity that proceeded his invasion of Poland is fascinating. There is no relief, throughout his narrative, of the brutality of Hitler and such a large contingent of Germans who populate this narrative.
Although 1600 pages long, this is such a richly rewarding experience for anyone who wants to come to grips with the mysterious question as to 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.
For another book that deals with this problem, why so much of Germany lent its support to Hitler, I heartily recommend HITLER'S WILLING EXECUTIONER'S, by Daniel Goldhagen, published by Vintage Books. Although filled with perhaps more statistical details then the non-professional historian would need, this book helps to adumbrate the themes in Shirer's great book.
George Davidson, Director of Production, The Ballantine Publishing Group --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Shirer provides unparalleled insights into the Third Reich,
By A Customer
This review is from: Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany (Paperback)
Many people have remarked that Shirer wasn't the most objective observer of the Third Reich. Some reviewers have stated that they would have preferred a volume devoid of personal biases and slanted observations, believing themselves competent to form their own opinions of the characters involved. If you count yourself one of this group, don't read Shirer. Don't read, for that matter, any book written by a human. I am more than content to base my opinions of Nazi leaders on Shirer's observations. He was an incredibly intelligent man in the best position possible for giving us an outsider's view into the otherwise murky world of Nazi Germany. How else do we form conclusions about men and women who died 60 years ago if not by cannibalizing the observations of others? It is impossible for anyone lving today to form an accurate picture of any historical figure without relying on the words of previous observers. Where else but from Shirer could we have learned that Hitler was commonly reffered to as a "Teppichfresser" ('carpet-eater' - referring to his occaisional fits of rage that ended with him drooling on the floor and knawing at the carpet) by those who disliked him? By the very nature of its author and the circumstances under which it was written, this book will probably never be surpassed in providing a broad, yet incredibly insightful view into the Third Reich.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A riviting read . . .,
By
This review is from: Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany (Paperback)
On the very eve of the birth of the Third Reich a feverish tension gripped Berlin . . . Wow! what a great first sentence! Having read this book almost thirty years ago, it still remains the best and most complete history of the Third Reich I have read. Shires purpose is not merely to describe the events that led up to the founding of the Reich and its eventual destruction; but to discover and document the intrigues, treachery, motives and aberrations that precipitated its rise and fall. I will let others review the history and critique Shire on his research, I would like to comment on the beauty of his prose as he describes what must be the most hellish and destructive state that has existed. Historians have the tendency to be dull, they get so caught up in explaining facts and documenting the movement of armies across strange and foreign landscapes, that the reader tends to get lost in a maze of statistics, foreign names, and seemingly insignificant details. Shire avoids this common pitfall. For instance, after quoting from a German generals diary which described Hitlers intentions in occupied Poland, Shire describes the Nazi intentions in vivid prose. . . Nazi terror. . . forerunner to dark and terrible deeds. . . Nazi barbarism reached an incredible depth. Although Shire, in the introduction of this book made the assertion of strict objectivity, he did not let his objectivity hide the awfulness of Nazi atrocities. Although well written, it is not an easy book to read. Its sheer length of over 1100 pages may be daunting to the faint of heart; yet, if you are not familiar with the Third Reich and want to have an understanding of the people whom were instrumental in its raise and fall, no other book will give you better oversight and understanding of it than The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic,
By AvidReader (Glace Bay, NS Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany (Paperback)
Excellent, and if you are interested in Nazi Germany, then a must-read. Pretty long, but very readable. (It's quite obvious the author was a journalist and knew something about putting readable prose together.
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