Rating: 
Summary: Comprehensive in the best way...
Review: I was assigned this book for a college class on Nazism and my professor recommended that I read it over the summer in preparation... I just finished it and suggest that anyone who has ever wondered how Hitler gained power so quickly and fully buy this book as soon as possible. I will walk into class with a complete understanding of the 'perfect storm' of conditions which conspired in Weimar Germany to allow Hitler and his regime into power.
Rating: 
Summary: Sensible, average, but not innovative.
Review: I'm not sure I got value for money when I bought this book. It provides a sensible and fairly exhaustive overview of the rise of the Nazis. But I'm also disappointed. The book contains nothing unique or original. In terms of fact and interpretation it is safe and conforming, and devoid of originality.
Perhaps my standards are unrealistic, or maybe my expectation of a book by Professor Evans, a distinguished academic at Cambridge University, was too high. Either way I don't rate this book as a lofty contribution. It lacks the penetrating analytical touch of Michael Burleigh's similar but better work, and as the first work of a trilogy does not inspire me to think about buying the next two volumes.
Rating:
Summary: Sensible, average, but not innovative.
Review: I'm pleased I bought this book. It provides a sensible and fairly exhaustive overview of the rise of the Nazis. But I'm also disappointed. The book contains nothing unique or original. In terms of fact and interpretation it is safe and conforming, and devoid of originality. Perhaps my standards are unrealistic, or maybe my expectation of a book by Professor Evans, a distinguished academic at Cambridge University, was too high. Either way I don't rate this book as a lofty contribution. It lacks the penetrating analytical touch of Michael Burleigh's similar but better work, and as the first work of a trilogy does not inspire me to think about buying the next two volumes.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting account of Hitler's rise to power
Review: In this book, Evans is highly critical of German political and judicial systems in the nineteen twenties and early thirties. Evans criticizes German judges for turning a blind eye to atrocities committed by German nationalists against Communists and Social Democrats. Also Evans criticizes Germany's Social Democratic Party for siding with the unpopular Brunning government in 1930 and for not resisiting Von Papen's coup. The weaknesses of the German judicial system and the Social Democrats made it easy for the Nazis to consolidate power in 1933.
In the last one hundred pages of the book, Evans describes the Nazi attiudes toward culture and ideology. The Nazis were against any modernists works of art and considered the Jews to be the originaters of what they perceived to be inferior art. As a result Jews were purged from concert halls, movie studios, and universities. In the final chapter Evans states that the Nazi ideology was based on race and fighting Marxism and had no coherent economic or social plans unlike its Communist counterpart. The only weakness of Evans book is that he does not write much about the technocratic movement in Nazi culture as mentioned in the works by Jeffery Herf and Peter Fritzsche, but otherwise this is a highly readable and interesting book.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Reading!
Review: Interesting read which is not hard to follow if you do not have an extensive history background. The book is written well and I am anxiously awaiting the next installment.
Rating:
Summary: First Rate Historical Account
Review: Many historical works about Nazi Germany focus on the cult of personality that surrounded Adolf Hitler. And while it is true that without Hitler there would have been no Nazi movement, it is equally true that Hitler as a leader could only have flourished in the hothouse political environment that was post-World War I Germany. Historian Richard Evans's "The Coming of the Third Reich," the first in a trilogy about the Nazis that takes the movement up to Hitler's 1933 ascension to power, concentrates on those qualities of the German nation that made it susceptible to his virulent brand of fanatical nationalism and racism. This is an important historical work that will soon take its place alongside the best books ever written about the subject. Evans is a meticulous researcher, but even more importantly he is a good storyteller whose easy prose brings the subject matter to life for the reader. He begins his story in the days of the legendary Otto von Bismark, the so-called "Iron Chancellor," who once and for all united the German nation in 1870. Evans shows how the latent intellectual seeds of ferocious nationalism, militarism and subdued but prevalent anti-Semitism that would later spring to life so forcefully were sown into the body politic of Germany, waiting for the catastrophic defeat of the First World War to help bring them into full flower. This worthwhile examination of previous German history is often overlooked, or gets only perfunctory treatment, in other books about the Nazis. Indeed, Hitler himself is not mentioned by name here until after almost 160 pages of text. Evans goes on to describe early Nazi history, dramatically illustrating how Hitler and his henchmen tapped into the currents of discontent flowing just under the surface of 1920s Weimar democracy, particularly among military veterans. He graphically depicts the street violence that was so much a part of the fledging democracy, as thugs beholden to the Nazis, the Communists and even democratic parties like the Social Democrats engaged constantly in pitched battles the ultimately undermined the republic. Even in this environment, however, the Nazi movement needed the drastic economic upheavals of the 1930s before they could turn from a fringe party to a mass movement. The final tragedy of the book comes in late January 1933 when Hitler, whose party had peaked short of 40% of the popular vote and was actually declining, is invited to become chancellor by some contemptible and hopelessly misguided conservative politicians who thought they could control him. Overall, "The Coming of the Third Reich" is an outstanding historical work that is aimed at general readers, but should appeal to anyone with an interest in this important subject.
Rating:
Summary: Riveting and Frightening
Review: Richard J. Evans has done his homework. The Coming of the Third Reich is the first in a projected three-volume work intended to explore the Third Reich. Volume One takes us up as far as the summer of 1933. The use of the term "Third Reich" in the title is intentional. While there is, inevitably, a focus on the Nazi party, Evans branches out to cover as many other aspects of German society as he can, with particular attention to the other political movements contemporary with the Nazis. The result is a broad picture of a Germany searching for its identity, struggling with revolution, economic depression, international humiliation, and political violence. Evans reveals that every element of the Nazi agenda was present, even if only in the fringes, in German society before World War One, and masterfully shows how both nationalism and anti-semitism grew in virulence and scope as the Weimar Republic decayed. Where Evans particulary shines is in his account of how rapidly and efficiently the Nazis consolidated their power once Hitler was appointed Chancellor in January, 1933. The pace with which the Nazis destroyed all political rivals is dizzying; it was a blitzkrieg of all potential opposition, with violence and intimidation at its root. If there is a complaint to be had, it is with Evans' (perhaps unconscious) lack of honesty about his viewpoint. Evans declares in his prologue that it is "inappropriate for a work of history to indulge in the luxury of moral judgment. For one thing, it is unhistorical; for another it is arrogant and presumptuous." Yet the book is full of moral judgments, if not of the German people as a whole, then of the Nazis themselves. Near the end, for example, Evans talks about the "poison" of Nazism. Do not mistake me - I agree with Evans moral judgment of the Nazis. I simply take exception to his declaration that he will not make such a judgment. Personal judgments are entirely appropriate in history, especially in history intended for mass consumption, so long as the historian is honest about his perspective and does not allow his personal views cloud the presentation of facts. Yet that is a relatively minor complaint of an otherwise outstanding work. Those who have read Shirer's Rise and Fall of the Third Reich will find Evans' work less personal, yet more comprehensive. Indeed, the two books in many ways compliment each other, as Evans himself intended.
Rating: 
Summary: First of three books on third reich get 3 stars from me!
Review: Richard J. Evans is an eminent British historian of the Thrid Reich. This is the first volume of a three work set exploring Nazi Germany from its origins in the fruitcake fringe of ultra-
right wing and paramilitary forces in Germany in the post-World War I era. Volume 2 will cover 1933-1939 while the third book
will deal with the war years from 1939-1945.
Evans has done his homework inculding an extensive foray into German language secondary works as well as first person accounts.
Following World War I Germany was strapped with outrageous
indemnity payments to Britain and France leading to widespread
inflation, unemployment and anarcy in the streets.
Evans goes into extensive detail concerning the roots of Anti-
semitism in the works of men like Houston Chamberlain and the operas of Richard Wagner.
The motivating factors leading to the rise of Nazism were Anti-Semitism, a hatred of democratic liberalism and fear of Communism in all its forms.
Hitler and his cronies were skillful in winning power by their
manipulation of the democratic process leading to the naming of Hitler to a coalition cabinet in 1932. As Reich Chancellor Hitler's men soon took power away from the military, conservative
governmental leaders and led Germany to destruction. While they never won a majority vote in several elections they did use the
dark days of the Depression and the divisiveness of their opponents to win ultimate power.
Evans is good in showing the complex machinations which occurred in Germans politics to win the Nazis their supremacy.
Events such as the Reichstag Fire led to Hitler's being able to rule the land based on an enabling act giving him ultimate power.
Evans takes a broad view of German cultural developments as he chronicles the way in which the Nazis warred against intellectuals in realms from art, literature, music, movies to nuclear science. One of the chief weapons in the rubber truncheon wielding hands of the SS and SA thugs was terror. I was surprised to see how soon after the Nazi takeover in January 1933 the evil empire set up concentration camps for opponents, stifled a free press and became a police state under the cruel
Himmler.
As one who has read on the Thrid Reich for years this book was
well done even though the general reader may become bored with the incredible detail Evans devotes to German politics . The democratic Weimar Republic never had a chance against the Nazis
due to its weakn leaders, high inflationary economy and widespread unemployment.
I will read the next two volumes from Evans.
As a footnote readers will be aided in their study by the maps and the election trends included in the book by the author.
A sober, dry and factual account we in our age of terrorism and
police regimes should study, ponder and learn from. This book will become a requisite in any future study of the period.
Rating:
Summary: An informed and informative comprehensive analysis
Review: Richard J. Evans' Coming Of The Third Reich isn't just another chronological coverage of events during World War II, but a specialized focus on just how the Third Reich came to power, blending German history with comments on the social, political and cultural trends which made Nazism possible in the first place. While the Nazi rise to power was not inevitable, Evans persuasively argues that there were cultural backgrounds and traditions specifically German in nature which fostered the sentiments expressed by Nazis. An informed and informative comprehensive analysis, Coming Of The Third Reich is an impressive and highly recommended for personal, academic, and community library collections.
Rating:
Summary: Welcome to the Jungle
Review: Richard J. Evans' new book on the origins of the third Reich is the first of a trilogy that will discuss the entire history of the Nazi regime. The result promises to be the definitive work on the subject. This book discusses the origins of the Third Reich from the unification of Germany, through to the Weimar Republic, up to the assumption of power until July 1933, when the final non-Nazi party was dissolved. If you can only read one book on the subject this is it. It is based on the most thorough command of the secondary literature, its focus is comprehensive and wide, and its conclusions are sensible and subtle. What are Evans' conclusions? They will not be surprising to specialists. The Nazis' militarism, antisemitism and authoritarianism had deep roots going back to the unification of Germany, but for most of the preceding sixty years these beliefs were on the margins of public life. But practically all non-socialist parties and institutions in the Weimar Republic, whether it be the political parties, the industrialists, the civil service, the army, the judiciary and the universities had noticeable minorities hostile to democratic rule even in the best of times. By 1932 only the Social Democratic Party truly supported the republic. Evans is not sympathetic to Bruning, Hindenburg, and Schleicher's attempts to stop Hitler. Specialists might note that Evans does not directly refute the argument that Bruning's desperate deflationary strategy was the only economic policy possible. Since the argument amounts to the statement that the surgery was a success but the patient died, perhaps that is not surprising. Bruning's temporary ban on the SA did not prevent sweeping Nazi gains in state elections a couple of weeks after it was enacted. Schleicher never intended to use the army against Hitler, and he had neither the power or the resolution or even the intention to crush Hitler. One theme that may be surprising to readers is the limited role of ideology. Antisemitism had limited (but growing) popularity among the population, and it played a small role in attracting people to the party. Indeed the party platform was vague and that too attracted people. The Nazis were able to combine a vacuous populism with enough clichés of the right to whipsaw the non-socialist, non-Catholic parties and acquire most of their support. Although the party claimed at times to be revolutionary, their vision of the future was vague, "they had little or no concept of an inner transformation of Germany beyond purging it of Jews and 'Marxists'", with the stormtroopers murdered at the beginning of the next volume wanting little more than continued street brawling. Evans has deliberately structured his work as a narrative, so as to obtain a wider readership. How successful is he? Many narrative historians, such as Simon Schama and Orlando Figes, spice their works with amusing anecdotes. And Evans provides some useful details here. Antisemites are unpleasant people and Evans tells of a prominent 19th century one who embezzled the funds for the children's Christmas party at his school. William Marr, the man who coined and advocated the term "Anti-Semitism", had two Jewish wives. We learn Gerald Hauptmann, the Nobel prize-winning playwright admit that he supported the Nazis out of cowardice. Fredrich Ebert, the only democratic President the Weimar Republic ever had, invoked the emergency powers of Article 48 on 136 separate occasions, and also launched 173 unsuccessful libel suits. During Hitler's criminally short one-year imprisonment after the Beer Hall Putsch, his prison accommodations were so accomodating he was able to receive 500 visitors. We learn that Martin Heidegger did not bother to attend the funeral of his Jewish mentor, Edmund Husserl, though the conservative historian Gerhard Ritter did. More helpfully, Evans reminds us that the Nazis did not burn down the Reichstag, Horst Wessel was murdered for political reasons, and that Goering did not say "When I hear the word culture, I reach for my gun!" (A less catchier version comes from a Nazi play). But fundamentally Evans' book is not a collection of amusing anecdotes. It is a work of considerable depth and scope (more so than Figes or Schama). Consider the second chapter "The Failure of Democracy." First we have a discussion of the Weimar Republic's presidents, its electoral system and its political parties, followed by the lack of loyalty shown by the army and the civil service. Then we have a discussion of the Great Inflation of 1923, the scars that it left on the body politic and its ambiguous winners and losers, then an account of the difficulties of the industrialists, many of whom gained from the Inflation but who wanted their pre-1914 influence. Evans then discusses culture, looking at the media, architecture, jazz, sexuality, the young, and the unsympathetic judiciary. Finally Evans looks at the new welfare system and the complaints of the conservative middle class. All these subjects are discussed accurately and concisely, based on the more complete and recent literature. The same thoroughness is valuable in the grim last two chapters of the book, as Hitler seizes power. He discusses the attacks on the Communists and the Social Democrats, then the suppression of the trade unions and the SPD. We then learn of the suppression of the Catholic Centre Party, followed by the dissolution of the much smaller parties of the right and center. We learn of the purges of the civil service (most of whom stayed) and the "coordination" of Germany's rich associational life under the Nazis. We follow with purges of musicians, cinema, literature, painting, the universities, the sciences and finally the Jews. Only the churches, the army and the major corporations retain their independence, but they cared little for democracy and showed little principled opposition to the Nazis. All this, and the Nazis' fatalities are still in the low four digits.
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