Evans then focuses on what is, after all, the point of the book:  “The Rise of Nazism.”  We get Hitler’s background, the Bavarian Revolution of 1919, and the evolution of the NSDAP. Developments that seem inevitable in retrospect were by no means so at the time, and in writing this book I have tried to remind the reader repeatedly that things could easily have turned out very differently to the way they did at a number of points in the history of Germany in the second half of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth. £25.00 RICHARD J. EVANS, Das Dritte Reich, vol. This wasn’t the case; he was installed as Chancellor through a deal with some right-wing politicians who were under the woeful misapprehension that they would easily be able to control him. The Coming of the Third Reich In 1900 Germany was generally viewed as one of the world’s most progressive, dynamic and impressive nations. Not for me. Why was Germany such fertile soil? “The Coming of the Third Reich” is the first volume of British historian Richard J. Evans’ masterful three-volume history of Nazi Germany. I’m not exaggerating by much when I say I literally fell asleep within five pages of opening the book most of the times I read it. I have always been aware of the great Shawnee Indian war chief Tecumseh. He is also sure to include the institutional continuations between Imperial and Weimar Germany, and the importance of "scientific racism" in Nazi thinking. Start by marking “The Coming of the Third Reich (The History of the Third Reich, #1)” as Want to Read: Error rating book. This is the first volume of a series about the Third Reich, providing a history of Germany from the formation of the Second Reich until the Nazi assumption of power during the first months of 1933. That opus is in my distant teenaged past, and for that reason it's hard for me to say definitely that Evans's work is an improvement on the understanding of those tumultuous years. And they were, but they were also an example of flawed glory. Here, a few dirty beggars of the “Occupy” movement risk nothing and march in the streets, threatening occasional violence because they know they face no threat. Evans was then tasked with reading all of Irving's books, tracing back all of the sources that he was citing, and writing a memorandum for the court detailing all of the instances in which Irving skued valid historical sources in order to back up his Holocaust denying arguments. But we can’t, because, as always in America, it’s because of the Left that we can’t have nice things. The Coming of the Third Reich by Richard J Evans Penguin/Allen Lane £25, pp480. Politics was shifting to the right, political violence was more or less the norm, and the destruction of civil liberties wasn't unusual. Every question I had about how and why Hitler was able to rise to prominence and so swiftly overtake not just the political but also the cultural, educational, and military institutions in Germany has been answered. This is a “broad, general, large-scale history of Nazi Germany.”  It is a chronological history, not a cultural examination, much less a view of Germany through the lens of the forgotten common man or some such unoriginal and unhelpful frame. As a reader of this book, The Coming of the Third Reich, will quickly figure out, such comparisons are both vicious and ignorant. But not linear decline, and that matters. . As with most Robert Heinlein novels, the point is more the ideas than plot or character. — Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, A little less conversation, a little more action, please / All this aggravation ain't satisfactioning me . Excellent coverage of the Weimar's economic problems during the years of Versailles, the Young Plan and the hyperinflationary era. Richard J. Evans' The Coming of the Third Reich: How the Nazis Destroyed Democracy and Seized Power in Germany explores how the First World War, the Weimar Republic and the Great Depression paved the way for Nazi rule. Heinlein... We all know religious devotion has declined precipitously in America. Buy The Coming of the Third Reich: How the Nazis Destroyed Democracy and Seized Power in Germany New Ed by Evans, Richard J. In 1900 Germany was the most progressive and dynamic nation in Europe, the only country whose rapid technological and social growth and change challenged that of the United States. In it, Evans tells the story of what happened in Germany from the end of World War I (1918) to the consolidation of power by the Nazis in mid-1933. . I'm no historian so cannot comment on the accuracy of what Evans writes, but I was impressed with his thoroughness and readability. We get the early version of Hitler’s management style, designed such that “the most ruthless, the most dynamic and the most efficient would rise to positions of power within the movement.”  We also get the early usage of bemoaning violence publicly, but condemning it vaguely enough that the rank-and-file take the condemnation as an endorsement (something we see in recent cut-rate American political violence, but as I say, we have thin gruel compared to 1920s Germany). But it was still fifteen hours at that speed, and it materially made finishing the book harder. 1: Aufstieg, trans. When the so-called historian David Irving, who was a blatent Holocaust denier, sued some of his collegues for accusing him skuing historical sources to make his arguments, Richard J. Evans was asked by the court to be the expert witness for the plantiff in the case. Welcome back. One of the greatest problems in writing history is to imagine oneself back in the world of the past, with all the doubts and uncertianties people faced in dealing with a future that for the historian has also become the past. That opus is in my distant teenaged past, and for that reason it's hard for me to say definitely that Evans's work is an improvement on the understanding of those tumultuous years. The several maps the author has included so far are converted well and easy to understand. However, as a recent adherent to Eastern Orthodoxy, I approach analysis, as opposed to knowledge, of Orthodox theology as presumptively... You have likely never heard of the Finnish Civil War. She had lived through World War II as a young woman. Kudos for Evans' objectivity, which unfortunately makes for a dry narrative to read. Nonetheless, this is an interesting book of history, and just because it’s not a warning, per se, does not mean that it does not contain interesting lessons. Leftists use this to ensure that innumerable books... Do any American children learn about William Tell today? Crawford expands our minds by exploring... Michael Anton’s latest, half analysis and half prophecy, is simultaneously terrifying and clarifying. This is good history. Democracies were failing in Europe, he writes. The Coming of the Third Reich (Book) : Evans, Richard J. : From one of the world's most distinguished historians, a magisterial new reckoning with Hitler's rise to power and the collapse of civilization in Nazi Germany. This book appears, to the casual reader, to be propaganda designed to persuade a Great Power, the United States, to aid the Kurdish fight for independence. The only question was would it be Hitler, or someone else at the top. The natural state of so-called civilized man is somewhere between today’s Venezuela and today’s Somalia. But this book just fell flat for me. Why was Germany such fertile soil? These conditions included not only the historical context in which they lived, but also the way in which they thought, the assumptions they acted upon, and the principles and beliefs that informed their behavior. But... Si vis pacem, para bellum. The natural end state of this is a reaction from the other side increasing political participation and pushback, the beginnings of which we may be seeing. I wanted to read this for a variety of reasons, but the main reason was that I wanted to get a clearer picture of how a Western democracy - 1920s Germany in this instance - could devolve into a violent terroristic regime like the Nazis. As a reader of this book, The Coming of the Third Reich, will quickly figure out, such comparisons are both vicious and ignorant. He spoke slowly, and, more importantly, he continuously (and I mean in every sentence) paused slightly at random places. How could the German people have been so accepting of Hitler? When the so-called historian David Irving, who was a blatent Holocaust denier, sued some of his collegues for accusing him skuing historical sources to make his arguments, Richard J. Evans was a. Penguin Press, 622 pp. Not for me. How could democracy be replaced so easily? There is no story in twentieth-century history more important to understand than Hitler's rise to power and the collapse of civilization in Nazi Germany. LibraryThing is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers I have the impression that the book contains a lot of maps and some illustrations and photos? Evans writes: "Shirer's book was universally panned by historians. 1st American ed. It’s standard history with nothing new which hasn’t already been said in the past century. With a mother raised in Nazi Germany, I have a real interest in how the Nazis came to power, and this book provides a lucid and readable explanation. The Coming of the Third Reich is a masterwork of the historian's art and the book by which all others on the subject will be judged. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. (ISBN: 9780141009759) from Amazon's Book Store. Richard J. Evans's The Coming of the Third Re‐ ichis the first volume of a projected three-volume opus on the history of National Socialist Germany. We think that, in essence, “there but for the grace of God go I”—or rather, since we lack humility, we think “there, but for my good efforts, go my political opponents, where they really want to go.”  Either way, though, the fear is that since the Germans are like us, we may someday follow their path. The current gold-standard survey. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published 1: Aufstieg G. Bulletin RICHARD J. EVANS, The Coming of the Third Reich (London: Allen Lane, Penguin, 2003), 584 pp. I want, and have always wanted, money, for what money can do. When Evans explained how Nazi political beliefs were consistent with basic German values and preconceived ideas, it's how I've always understood it. Classifications. There was nothing inevitable about the coming of the Third Reich. There are no new insights here. How could one of the most advanced, highly cultured, industrialized and modern nation states in Europe allow such horrors to come to pass? If you have any question about this novel, Please don't hesitate to contact us … Evans does a good job of tracing the development of the Nazi movement in Germany. During the Cold War, because of its buffer position, it was occasionally in the news. The Great Dep. Thus, American bureaucrats have rarely viewed themselves as a true elite; they have always had a chip on their shoulder, since most citizens look down on them. I haven't see any photos yet. I was really looking forward to reading this book since I find the formation of the Third Reich an interesting subject. I also wrote my undergrad thesis on this time period, so I am very interested in the subject. Evans then completed his task and even underwent cross examination in court, quite literally defending history, and Irving lost his defamation suit. . Clear and well written. I always believed Hitler was elected Reich Chancellor by popular vote. The Coming of the Third Reich, New York: Penguin, 2004. The Coming of the Third Reich (The History of the Third Reich, #1), Many questions perplex us about the Nazis, about the atrocities they committed and about the beginnings of the Second World War. In it, Evans tells the story of what happened in Germany from the end of World War I (1918) to the consolidation of power by the Nazis in mid-1933. This is the first book in Richard J Evan's Third Reich trilogy, and it is a brilliantly written, thoroughly researched, and engrossing journey through the history of Germany from the nineteenth century to 1933 when Adolf Hitler became Chancellor. ... Shirer's book cannot really deliver a history of Nazi Germany that meets the demands of the early twenty-first -century reader." One thinks one knows how the Third Reich came to be; one is probably somewhat if not more than mistaken and this book helps one understand how a minority party came to power even without quite winning an election and then transformed a country; highly, highly recomended, This, the 1st volume of the celebrated trilogy by Richard J Evans, is a long way from my reading of William L Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. I have always been keenly interested in comparative theology. This wasn’t the case; he was installed as Chancellor through a deal with some right-wing politicians who were under the woeful misapprehension t. The Coming of the Third Reich by Richard J Evans charts the forces at work in Germany from the end of the Bismarck era, through the Wilhelmine period which led up to the end of WWI, then on through the years of the Weimar Republic and the rise of the Nazis from fringe group to power. The Third Reich was rooted in the German past, although Evans carefully insists that saying this is not the same as ascribing cause and effect. A few “anti-fascists” with delusions of grandeur and a dubious grasp of history burn trash cans and cause mild disorder to shut down speech, but only on campuses and in cities totally friendly to them. Quite the contrary—it... Much modern popular history is mendacious, written with an ideological agenda that deliberately distorts, or omits, or simply lies about, the truth. 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