The Third Reich at War
1939-1945
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4.4 • 56 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
An absorbing, revelatory, and definitive account of one of the greatest tragedies in human history, by the author of The Coming of the Third Reich, The Third Reich in Power, and Hitler's People
“This is history in the grand style, the kind of large-scale narrative that few historians dare to write these days. It is difficult to imagine how it could be improved upon, let alone surpassed.” —The Washington Post
"This superb book is not simply a military history; it is a comprehensive portrait of a society at war . . . A masterpiece of historical research and analysis . . . Likely to remain the best study of the Third Reich at war for many years to come.” —The Christian Science Monitor
Adroitly blending narrative, description, and analysis, Richard J. Evans portrays a society rushing headlong to self-destruction and taking much of Europe with it. Interweaving a broad narrative of the war's progress from a wide range of people, Evans reveals the dynamics of a society plunged into war at every level. The great battles and events of the conflict are here, but just as telling is Evans's re- creation of the daily experience of ordinary Germans in wartime. At the center of the book is the Nazi extermination of the Jews. The Third Reich at War lays bare the most momentous and tragic years of the Nazi regime.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Describing the Third Reich from the height of its power to its collapse, Evans concludes the masterful trilogy that began with The Coming of the Third Reich and The Third Reich in Power. As in those works, Evans demonstrates a fluent style and a sweeping grasp of the Third Reich's history and of the enormous historical literature. The account is peppered with insightful anecdotes drawn from diaries, letters and speeches. What comes across most clearly is the supreme arrogance of the Nazis and the utterly rapacious character of their rule. Evans gives the Holocaust the centrality it deserves, while also depicting effectively the suffering of Poles and many others under Nazi domination. Evans offers a nuanced picture of the lives of Germans, but ultimately, he suggests, the Nazis' racial ideology thoroughly corrupted German society. Evans narrates the Reich's end in gripping fashion as the Allies closed in on Germany. Evans's fellow historians as well as a broader public will read this work, not quite with pleasure, for there is little joy in this story, but with admiration for the author's narrative powers. Illus., maps.
Customer Reviews
Grim But Compelling
You owe it to yourself to read all three books in Evans’ trilogy on Nazi Germany. The trilogy ends with The Third Reich At War. It is even more disturbing than the first two books as the Nazis wage total war on the Jews and the USSR among others. Evans does a masterful job of blending the macro overview with micro sources such as letters and diaries. It is a challenge to read the evil that pops up on so many pages but we need to come to terms with it.