• Black Earth

  • The Holocaust as History and Warning
  • By: Timothy Snyder
  • Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
  • Length: 16 hrs and 28 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (568 ratings)

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Black Earth  By  cover art

Black Earth

By: Timothy Snyder
Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
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Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “[Timothy] Snyder identifies the conditions that allowed the Holocaust—conditions our society today shares. . . . He certainly couldn’t be more right about our world.”—The New Republic

A “gripping [and] disturbingly vivid” (The Wall Street Journal) portrait of the defining tragedy of our time, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of On Tyranny

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR—The Washington Post, The Economist, Publishers Weekly

In this epic history of extermination and survival, Timothy Snyder presents a new explanation of the great atrocity of the twentieth century, and reveals the risks that we face in the twenty-first. Based on untapped sources from eastern Europe and forgotten testimonies from Jewish survivors, Black Earth recounts the mass murder of the Jews as an event that is still close to us, more comprehensible than we would like to think and thus all the more terrifying.

By overlooking the lessons of the Holocaust, Snyder concludes, we have misunderstood modernity and endangered the future. The early twenty-first century is coming to resemble the early twentieth, as growing preoccupations with food and water accompany ideological challenges to global order. Our world is closer to Hitler’s than we like to admit, and saving it requires us to see the Holocaust as it was—and ourselves as we are.

Groundbreaking, authoritative, and utterly absorbing, Black Earth reveals a Holocaust that is not only history but warning.

New York Times Editors’ Choice • Finalist for the Samuel Johnson Prize; the Mark Lynton History Prize; the Arthur Ross Book Award

©2015 Timonthy Snyder (P)2015 Random House Audio
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Critic reviews

“Clear-eyed . . . Arresting . . . An unorthodox and provocative account . . . Snyder is admirably relentless.”The New Yorker

Black Earth is mesmerizing . . . Remarkable . . . Gripping . . . Disturbingly vivid . . . Mr. Snyder is sometimes mordant, often shocked, always probing.”The Wall Street Journal

“Revelatory . . . Evocative . . . Most relevant today.”The Atlantic

What listeners say about Black Earth

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Tough book but worth it!

What did you like best about this story?

completely new perspective

What about Mark Bramhall’s performance did you like?

good pacing

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Wow. Just…wow. I completely misunderstood what this book was going to be about. I first heard the author as a participant in a discussion of some of the current ISIL/Syria/Iraq issues on the radio. The references to the book intrigued me, so I picked it up. I thought it was going to be using facts and details behind the Holocaust as a parallel to better understand todays fun.

Wrong. Absototalutely freaking wrong. Black Earth is a deep dive into the political maneuverings that went on in Europe leading up to (and including, although not in as much detail) World War II, specifically dealing with the Holocaust. Yup, fun reading.

Any additional comments?

This was unlike any reading I’ve discovered on the topic. First of all, I actually almost understand (yeah, that sounds freaky) where some of the delusional mindsets of Hitler came from. And why it resonated so successfully with so many people who could still (I can only assume) look themselves in the mirror each day.

Also the details behind the concepts of states and statelessness. In the case of countries that were conquered (but the “state” survived), the numbers of people killed, though tragic by any rational measure, were relatively low. But in countries where the “state” was completely destroyed (Poland for all purposes as a state ceased to exist for much of the war) almost all Jews were put to death. The author makes an interesting case that the removal of the “state” removes some of the restrictions of our base instincts. The number of people put to death within Germany itself, as an example, is significantly lower than Poland. And the number of non-Germans directly involved with the killing cannot be ignored (though I think we try).

We also tend to think of Nazis (and Hitler) as absolutely planned to a T, with his “Final Solution” in place from day one. On this topic the author points out many times where the plans of Hitler were of smaller “solutions” or conquests, but was driven in different directions by fate and miscalculation.

We all love to claim we would never do these things. We’d never turn neighbors into the police so we can claim their apartments. We’d never trick people into gathering so they can be shot. We’d never turn children away from our door when they were hiding from certain death.

But if the government was gone…completely gone? And food was scarce? And what passes for security can arrest, convict and imprison you (or worse) at the drop of a hat?

But the fact is, given the right circumstances, I suspect most of us would.
Many of us Americans (and sadly I have to include myself) love to talk a good talk. We’d never…we wouldn’t let…there’s no way we could…

But if we honestly look at how we rise to the occasion when there’s little or no risk? I dunno.
The book is split into really 4 sections. The rise of the Nazi party (and the concepts that rose with), the early years of the war, some anecdotal stories of courage, and some parallels for today. By far and away the strength of the book lies in the first two parts, although the rest was useful as well. The final section was a bit on the opinionated side, but not overly so.

All told, a difficult, disturbing and brilliant read.

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34 people found this helpful

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A masterfully written book.

With the Holocaust slowly passing from living memory into the mists of the past, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding one of the most cataclysmic and prolonged bursts of violence in human history.

Regarding the performance of the narrator -- it was pitch perfect. The reading was clear and straightforward -- letting the subject matter speak for itself. It's challenging when there are so many names, places, and phrases that may be hard to pronounce for a native English-speaker but Mark Bramhall invariably makes the correct (or at least non-jarring) choice every time.

Worth listening to a second time.

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16 people found this helpful

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Black Earth

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Though provoking thesis of the roots and reason for the Holocaust, the destruction of states, explains the reason why an Auchwitz was not built in France or Austria. Chilling similarity of the two totalitarian regimes and their body counts.

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12 people found this helpful

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Highly Recommended!

There has clearly been a sharp increase in the number of books on this topic as of late. And so an argument could well be made that there, too, has been in increase in peoples' interest in the subject. It would be easy to toss up a handful of reasons for this, including the apparent rise in authoritarian tendencies globally. However, having worked in the field of publishing for many years, I have noticed that the number of books on the history of WW II -- and the Third Reich in particular -- ebbs and flows in quite regular waves. Unfortunately, the vast majority of such books as these have very little to offer the student in terms of new information and insight. Most of them are little more than books about other books. One major exception is this one.

"Black Earth" is not simply a book about books. This is the first one to come along in decades that offers very thoughtful and truly fresh insight.
So much has been written about the Nazis, Hitler, and the Holocaust by now that, as far as historical details are concerned, it isn't likely anything heretofore undiscovered will turn up. Nevertheless, Timothy Snyder's effort here certainly belongs in the scholar's library not for any new historical details per se (although there are some); but for its fresh insight, both brilliantly thought out, and masterfully written.

I highly recommend this audiobook especially to those among you who already have a solid foundation on the history of the Third Reich. You have a real gem here. You will find yourself listening to it almost like a student new to the subject (rather than picking it apart and almost unconsciously checking it for errors as one does with so many books of this kind).

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9 people found this helpful

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this book is about climate change

the last chapter is of a fable called climate change and the author attempts to say that if you don't believe in climate change you're like Hitler

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8 people found this helpful

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WOW!

This book really makes you think about your life and the future! A must read!

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6 people found this helpful

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We Are living this again

In the age of Trump this should be required reading. America is living this time again.

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5 people found this helpful

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Essential reading

This is one of the most horrifying and terrifying books I've experienced, and I believe it to be one of the most important.

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Some times tuff to listen to

A very detailed and well researched history of the Holocaust. Sometimes it became difficult to hear of so much murder and destruction. What I did like was the very personal stories of individuals whose lives were lost and those that were saved. Clearly some very brave individuals risked much to save fellow human beings

It was sometimes difficult to follow his point of view and I wish it had been more clearly and simply expressed. In the end it seems the point of this lengthy review of the Holocaust is that we need to be cautious, because this could happen again

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Would have rated higher...

Bulk of the book was outstanding. The audio performance was excellent. The last chapter was an absurd application of the thesis. Climate change presents the greatest threat to Jews? I think Hamas, belligerent states in the region, and terrorism is general present greater threats to Jews in Israel. Or residual anti-Semitism in Europe and in America. Very unfortunate that an otherwise outstanding history and analysis are tarnished by the conclusion.

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4 people found this helpful