Fascinating Insight Into A Dark Time.... - Rated 
Very detailed and extensively researched work.
One chapter in particular I found fascinating - examining the association between the Nazi party and Classical music - obviously Richard Wagner is the most notable name-check here. Absorbing to read which composers were officially endorsed and the ones that were 'black listed' by The Third Reich.
A good read for dark days.
How To Handle A Country - Rated 
This is a superb book and a fine companion piece to RJ Evans first work in this trio. It is an once utterly engaging and terrifying when one sees the true callous nature of those in power.
It's true genius is the narrative flow and the clarity brought to the governance of a nation once revered for it's poets and thinkers.
I eagerly await the final book, The Third Reich At War.
Evans is brilliant.
Good, no doubt about it - Rated
I am an A-level student who just took the exam for the 'Life in Hitler's Germany 1933-1939' module. My teacher is not the best in the world and so when I bought this book I was looking for an authorative, interesting and accessible text. I found it.
Firstly, there is no need to worry if you hadn't read the companion book 'The Comming of the Third Reich' as what you need to know is nicely summed up in a prologue. 'The Third Reich In Power' manages to cover the social aspects of the Third Reich, and along the way gives an idea of the political structure of the Nazi reigme. There is a intensely satisfying attention to detail in Evans' book which clarifies a lot of things which you may not realise you don't know the actual specifics of. The level of analysis is very high, which is both objective and offers the author's personal conclusions. The level of research comes through with the sheer amount of sources/maps included, as well as relevant figures and satistics. This may alienate some more casual readers but I found you can take or skip-over detail acording to need/interest.
What is perhaps most enjoyable about this book is the fact that alongide the conventional important facts are also stimulating sections that I didn't expect, these include looks at the indvidual lives on people under the Third Reich that reveals a lot about the time and even a section looking at the kind of dreams and nightmares the German people had during Nazi rule. These sections are much more relevant than they sound, and it was refreshing and engaging to find them here.
At the begining I called this text accessible, and it is, but remember this is not a revision guide. It will take time to read it becuase it is quite long and, if you are reading it with the view to pass an exam like I was, there will be a huge amount of information that is not strictly relevant to your specification. I did find, however, the comprehensive look this book offered helped me truly understand what I did need to know and I often included interesting points raised by the book in essays. The only criticism that can be made of the book is that perhaps the sections are not given clear enough titles,therefore quick reference is difficult.
Good, not doubt about it - Rated
I am an A-level student currently studying the 'Life in Hitler's Germany 1933-1939' module. My teacher is not the best in the world and so when I bought this book I was looking for an authorative, interesting and accessible text. I found it.
Firstly, there is no need to worry if you hadn't read the companion book 'The Comming of the Third Reich' as what you need to know is nicely summed up in a prologue. 'The Third Reich In Power' manages to cover the social aspects of the Third Reich, and along the way gives an idea of the political structure of the Nazi reigme. There is a intensely satisfying attention to detail in Evans' book which clarifies a lot of things which you may not realise you don't know the actual specifics of. The level of analysis is very high, which is both objective and offers the author's personal conclusions. The level of research comes through with the sheer amount of sources/maps included, as well as relevant figures and satistics. This may alienate some more casual readers but I found you can take or skip-over detail acording to need/interest.
What is perhaps most enjoyable about this book is the fact that alongide the conventional important facts are also stimulating sections that I didn't expect, these include looks at the indvidual lives on people under the Third Reich that reveals a lot about the time and even a section looking at the kind of dreams and nightmares the German people had during Nazi rule. These sections are much more relevant than they sound, and it was refreshing and engaging to find them here.
At the begining I called this text accessible, and it is, but remember this is not a revision guide. It will take time to read it becuase it is quite long and, if you are reading it with the view to pass an exam like I was, there will be a huge amount of information that is not strictly relevant to your specification. I did find, however, the comprehensive look this book offered helped me truly understand what I did need to know and I often included interesting points raised by the book in essays. The only criticism that can be made of the book is that perhaps the sections are not given clear enough titles,therefore quick reference is difficult.
History at its best and clearest - Rated
The second volume of this trilogy fully maintains the excellent standard of the first. It covers the period from when the Nazis came to power in 1933 to the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. While all the familiar foreign policy developments are there, the book's real focus is on life for the German people during the period. This covers, in a very comprehensive way, all levels, schools, the arts, leisure, work etc, and those the Nazis saw as enemies or dispensable. It is of course grim in many places. The author lets facts speak for themselves and writes in a very clear style aimed at the general reader rather than the specialist. The final volume will cover the remainder of the era of the Third Reich till Germany (along with much of Europe around it) lay in ruins in 1945 and will, I am sure, be grimmer still.
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