The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: 57 Hours of History

This third reich audiobook review starts with numbers, because that is how most people actually decide. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich runs 57 hours and 12 minutes, narrated by Grover Gardner, and it costs one Audible credit. At the standard $14.95 credit price that works out to about $0.26 an hour. It holds a 5.0-star rating from more than 1,790 listeners. If you are building a shelf of best history audiobooks, this is the title people measure everything else against.

The book at a glance

• Runtime: 57 hours 12 minutes (3431 minutes, unabridged)
• Author: William L. Shirer, CBS correspondent in Berlin from 1934 to 1940
• Narrator: Grover Gardner, a reliable voice for long nonfiction
• Rating: 5.0 stars from 1,793 reviews
• Price: $20.77 in cash, or one credit
• Value Score: 13.8 (hours per dollar on the high side)

What Shirer's 57 hours actually cover

The book moves from Hitler's rise in 1933 through the machinery of the Nazi state, the turning points of World War Two, and the collapse of Berlin in 1945. What makes it unusual is the point of view. Shirer was there, filing for CBS from inside Germany, and he wove his own daily notes into the archival record. So you get the official documents and the feel of the street in the same chapter. It is a reporter's history, not a dry academic one, which is exactly why it works as an audiobook. Long stretches that would feel like homework in print move at a clip when Gardner reads them.

How it sits among best history audiobooks

Put it next to the other giants of the category and the pattern is clear: the classics that endure are the ones with a strong narrator and a strong personal angle. Shirer has both. Historians have pushed back on parts of his interpretation since the 1990s, and you should hear that caveat. But for a listener who wants one definitive, listenable account of the Third Reich, there is still nothing else quite like it. Among long nonfiction audiobooks it stands out because it never forgets it is telling a story with stakes, not just stacking facts.

Who should spend a credit on it

• WW2 history fans who want the classic account, not a summary
• Commuters who want one book that lasts two months instead of two days
• Anyone easing into long nonfiction audiobooks and looking for a proven entry point
• Listeners who prefer a journalist's eyewitness tone over textbook neutrality
• Skip it if you want a short overview; this is a marathon, by design

FAQ

Is The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich worth an Audible credit?

Yes, for most listeners. 57 hours at $0.26 an hour with a 5.0-star rating puts it among the highest value-per-credit titles in the catalog, especially if you like history.

How long is the audiobook?

It runs 57 hours and 12 minutes. At an average commute of 45 minutes a day, that is roughly two months of listening.

Is Shirer's account still considered accurate?

The broad narrative holds up. Later scholarship has revised parts of his analysis, especially around responsibility and intention, so treat it as a classic account with a journalist's bias rather than the final word.

Verdict

Spend the credit. There is no cheaper way to get 57 hours of serious history that also happens to be genuinely listenable, and at $0.26 an hour it is an easy yes. Check the full value breakdown on the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich book page and run your own math in the credit calculator before you commit.

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