The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars | 10,312 ratings

Price: 13.99

Last update: 11-06-2024


About this item

National Book Award Winner: The definitive account of Nazi Germany and “one of the most important works of history of our time” (The New York Times).
 
When the Third Reich fell, it fell swiftly. The Nazis had little time to destroy their memos, their letters, or their diaries. William L. Shirer’s sweeping account of the Third Reich uses these unique sources, combined with his experience living in Germany as an international correspondent throughout the war.
 
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich earned Shirer a National Book Award and continues to be recognized as one of the most important and authoritative books about the Third Reich and Nazi Germany ever written. The diaries of propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, as well as evidence and other testimony gained at the Nuremberg Trials, could not have found more artful hands.
 
Shirer gives a clear, detailed, and well-documented account of how it was that Adolf Hitler almost succeeded in conquering the world. With millions of copies in print, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich is a chilling and illuminating portrait of mankind’s darkest hours.
 
“A monumental work.” —Theodore H. White

Top reviews from the United States

Blake Lester
5.0 out of 5 stars Must Read for WW2 enthusiasts
Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2024
I’ve always wanted to get to this book in my studies on WW2. I mainly read about the American Civil War and the Roman Empire, but about a 3 years ago I decided to focus more on biographies. Discovered the Amazing Allison Weir, and Margaret George. Special shout to Margaret who’s Memoirs of Cleopatra had me read 4 straight books on Women of the Roman world. Sorry I digress, but the point was after all that I was wanting to get back to my typical type of historic read and felt it was time for Mr. Shirers detailed history of Nazi Germany. My one knock against this book is the Swastikas on cover and spine. I’m not offended by it because I look at it from the historical nature, plus know my book is in no way pro third Reich, but I got some looks on a few flights I took while reading this book. In this day and age I think it’s best to keep that symbol off reading material regardless of historical importance it’s not needed, and gives people the wrong impression. Outside of that this is truly the best book on the Third Reich I have ever read. Not only the amazing detail and information, but William Shrirer has the personal experience and journalistic background that make his take perfect for the source material. He covers the various takes on controversial military decisions made by Hitler. He knows when to display the atrocities and evil of the Nazi Regime, and when to tell the objective viewpoint. You can tell this man spent a lot of time and chose his words carefully to limit his personal bias when it was important to be objective. A true masterpiece of history, and amazing post war study combined with his own first hand accounts. Structured masterfully, told truthfully, and brings a lunchbox style work ethic to explain a dense two decades of history.
D. Safir
5.0 out of 5 stars Simply a masterpiece of history about one of the darkest times in man's life on this planet.
Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2018
This is an incredible book. I have not ready any other histories of Nazi Germany, but I can't imagine another more comprehensive account of the horror that was the Third Reich. This was not an easy read. I started this early in my life and, for reasons I don't recollect, never got into it. That was a long time ago. I finally decided that I must read this, if only for the fact that my family went through this and beloved members of my family lost their lives to this. I can't say this was a totally enjoyable read, but that was not the purpose. In reading this book I began to get a clearer understanding of how such an atrocity could have come to exist. There are many ironies in the book. If Hitler's grandfather had not belatedly married his grandmother, he would have remained Adolf Schicklgruber and certainly would not have achieved any of the power that he did. And the plots to overthrow him, from within his own ranks, time and again failed, once only by the fact of a detonator failing to go off. There are so many fascinating things to learn in this book. You do not have to be a history buff, only to have the need to understand how such an abomination could happen. There are many names, too many for me to keep track of. And I finally stopped reading every footnote. If I was given a test on this material, I probably would flunk it. But reading it, not as an obligation, but for an understanding of this bleak moment in our world's history, it is a masterpiece. Taken from the actual written diaries and source material from the Nazis, themselves, this is the ultimate book on Hitler, the Nazis and the Third Reich. If you choose to read this book, be prepared for an extremely detailed account of every correspondence, letter, speech, meeting that went on with each move and conjecture in this almost chess game of a war. It can get tedious. This is not an action novel. Sometimes you want to yell out, "Come on! Get on with the action!" But this is a history, not a novel. You have to understand that and go with it. Also, I started to get annoyed that there was so much on the war and nothing about the concentration camp atrocities and the genocide that was taking place. Mr. Shirer decided to put that all in one chapter about three quarters of the way through the book. So, it is not left out. Just put in its own special chapter. One glaring omission, which I cannot understand is that there is not one mention of Dr. Mengele, the most infamous doctor of the Third Reich, although there is a sub-chapter on the doctors and their cruel medical experiments. Maybe someone can explain this to me. All in all, this is a masterpiece and a must-read for anyone who wants to know about this event in history!
walter young
5.0 out of 5 stars comprehensive
Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2024
This was a good read for many and I study the Nazis. This was impressive because this reporter was in Berlin seeing the lies and murderous plots happening first hand. The author went back later to see the Nazi residue in Nuremburg. I amazed at the amount of suffering inflicted with so callous an attitude. It was interesting to see Hitler’s thinking and the level of anger he rose to when confronted by ideas opposite to him.

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