The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany by William L. Shirer; Unabridged MP3 Audio Book; Narrator Stephen Sartarelli

Winner of the National Book Award in 1961
Winner of the Carey-Thomas Award for Nonfiction

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.

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.

“One of the most important works of history of our time.”—New York Times

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

William L. Shirer has had a distinguished career as foreign correspondent, news commentator, and historian of the contemporary world. He was a war correspondent reporting from Berlin on the rise of the Nazis for the Universal News Service and for CBS. Out of these reports grew his best-sellers, Berlin Diary and The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, which has sold more copies for the Book-of-the-Month Club than any other book in the club's history.

Stephen Sartarelli is an award-winning translator and poet. He lives in France.