The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

Since its publication five decades ago, William L. Shirer’s monumental study of Hitler’s empire has been widely acclaimed as the definitive record of the twentieth century’s blackest hours. A worldwide bestseller with millions of copies in print, 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.

Here, in a thoughtful new introduction for the fiftieth anniversary of its National Book Award win, Ron Rosenbaum, author of the much-admired Explaining Hitler, takes a fresh and penetrating look at this vital and enduring classic and the role it continues to play in today’s discussions of the history of Nazi Germany.

This worldwide best-seller has been acclaimed as the definitive book on Nazi Germany; it is a classic work.


ISBN-13: 9781451642599
Author : William L. Shirer
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication date: 10/11/2011

Editorial Reviews - H. R. Trevor-Roper

How can we even look objectively on the Third Reich? It was the greatest, most horrible phenomenon of the twentieth century...Now, as never before, the living witnesses can converge with the historical truth. All they need is a historian. In William L. Shirer they have found him. Books of the Century, The New York Times review, October, 1960

Meet the Author

Ron Rosenbaum is the bestselling author of Explaining Hitler and The Shakespeare Wars and has written or edited six other books. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Harper’s, The Atlantic, and The New Yorker. He writes a column for Slate and lives in New York City.