The Liberator

One World War II Soldier's 500-Day Odyssey from the Beaches of Sicily to the Gates of Dachau

By: Alex Kershaw

Narrated by: Fred Sanders

Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

The true story of the bloodiest and most dramatic march to victory of the Second World War: the battlefield odyssey of a maverick U.S. Army officer and his infantry unit as they fought for over five hundred days to liberate Europe - from the invasion of Italy to the gates of Dachau.

From July 10, 1943, the date of the Allied landing in Sicily, to May 8, 1945, when victory in Europe was declared - the entire time it took to liberate Europe - no regiment saw more action, and no single platoon, company, or battalion endured worse, than the ones commanded by Felix Sparks, who had entered the war as a greenhorn second lieutenant of the 157th "Eager for Duty" Infantry Regiment of the 45th "Thunderbird" Division. Sparks and his fellow Thunderbirds fought longest and hardest to defeat Hitler, often against his most fanatical troops, when the odds on the battlefield were even and the fortunes of the Allies hung in the balance - and when the difference between defeat and victory was a matter of character, not tactics or armor.

Drawing on extensive interviews with Sparks and dozens of his men, as well as over five years of research in Europe and in archives across the US, historian Alex Kershaw masterfully recounts one of the most inspiring and heroic journeys in military history. Over the course of four amphibious invasions, Sparks rose from captain to colonel as he battled from the beaches of Sicily through the mountains of Italy and France, ultimately enduring bitter and desperate winter combat against the diehard SS on the Fatherland's borders. Though he lost all of his company to save the Allied beach-head at Anzio and an entire battalion in the dark forests of the Vosges, Sparks miraculously survived the long bloody march across Europe and was selected to lead a final charge to Bavaria to hunt down Adolf Hitler.

In the dying days of the Third Reich, Sparks and his men crossed the last great barrier in the West, the Rhine, only to experience some of the most intense street fighting and close combat suffered by Americans in WWII. When they finally arrived at the gates of Dachau, Hitler's first and most notorious concentration camp, the Thunderbirds confronted scenes that robbed the mind of reason. With victory within grasp, Sparks confronted the ultimate test of his humanity: after all he had faced, could he resist the urge to wreak vengeance on the men who had caused untold suffering and misery?

Written with the narrative drive and vivid immediacy of Kershaw's previous best-selling books about American infantrymen in WWII, The Liberator is a story for the ages, an intensely human and dramatic account of one of history's greatest warriors and his unheralded role in America's finest achievement - the defeat of Nazi Germany.

©2012 Alex Kershaw (P)2012 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"[Kershaw] is a captivating narrator, hammering home the chaos and carnage of war, sparing no sensory detail to paint a cohesive picture. [His] portrayal of his subject (based on interviews with Sparks, who died in 2007, and other survivors) makes for a riveting, almost epic tale of a larger-than-life, underappreciated figure." ( Publishers Weekly)

"This engrossing wartime narrative offers a fresh look at the European campaign and an intimate sense of the war’s toll on individual participants." ( Kirkus Reviews)

"A searing, brilliantly told story of the heroism and horror of war, Alex Kershaw's The Liberator is a book that's impossible to put down. A must read for anyone who loved Band of Brothers." (Lynne Olson, author of Citizens of London)

Great person and well told story

Sometimes the story gets too real but it’s all real. Brave and honorable leader l wish I could have me him and heard his story

The Good and Bad of the Human character

Would you consider the audio edition of The Liberator to be better than the print version?

Sorry never read the print version

What did you like best about this story?

Despite being in hellish situations the good of men can come to fore

Have you listened to any of Fred Sanders’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not a chance

Best WORLD WAR 2 book since to HELL and Back. NETFLIX DID NOT DO THIS BOOK THE JUSTICE THAT IT WAS DUE.

HIGHLY ENJOYABLE (skip the Last Chapter if you Don’t want to hear about GUN CONTROL) Excellent story. Great Development and Background. I had no idea who FELIX SPARKS prior to covering this book. This was a very interesting and Highly inspirational book about one (1) of the most Pivotal times in WORLD HISTORY. The war the warrior and insight into the lives of the men that fought and died for America. A picture of AMERICA both before and After WORLD WAR TWO (2). Keen insight regarding both sides of the War.

Love the story. Narrator shouldn't do accents!

As an army veteran from a different era I found this story informative, enlightening, inspiring and sad. This is a great listen for any student of world war 2 history!

The narration was fine overall. However, reading english words with German, French or British accents was distracting and very unnecessary, At times is was almost comical and truly unpleasant.

Amazing story of the Tunderbirds and the man who .

Great narration. I read the book before , but somehow listening to it, make it come to life. There is just not words to describe how brutal war is.
You'll love this book.

great WWII book

awesome account of great Americans doing hard work of fighting for liberty & against pure evil of national socialism

powerful

powerful and inspiring book. one of the best I have read in many years. a tribute to a great leader and his love for his men

American Hero

I wish I would met this man while he was alive. His experiences would have broke most,yet he was rock solid. Good bye and thank u Felix.

An ESSENTIAL companion to Band of Brothers.

if you are a fan of Band of Brothers and how it tracks and traces dick Winters and the hundred first Airborne from their training through the end of the war then this book is an absolutely essential book for you. coming from so very many simultaneously opposite and yet similar frames of reference this book Felix Sparks As He commands men from anzio to the Battle of the Bulge to the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp. the Thunderbirds that he leads passed through some of the highest attrition rates of any units in the US army fighting during World War II, and this audiobook frames his experience and those of his men in an immersive and constantly revelatory narrative that kept me up late many nights. I cannot recommend this book and the quality of the of the narration highly enough. You will not be disappointed.

Great story line

What did you like best about this story?

This is an amazing story of what the soldiers went through. There is a lot in this story about Italy and how hard they had to fight to win.