• No Less Than Victory

  • A Novel of World War II
  • By: Jeff Shaara
  • Narrated by: Paul Michael
  • Length: 19 hrs and 3 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (1,081 ratings)

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No Less Than Victory  By  cover art

No Less Than Victory

By: Jeff Shaara
Narrated by: Paul Michael
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Publisher's summary

No Less Than Victory is the crowning achievement in master storyteller Jeff Shaara's soaring World War II trilogy, revealing the European war's unforgettable and harrowing final act.

After the success of the Normandy invasion, the Allied commanders are buoyantly confident that the war in Europe will be over in a matter of weeks, that Hitler and his battered army have no other option than surrender. But despite the advice of his best military minds, Hitler will hear no talk of defeat.

In mid-December 1944, the Germans launch a desperate and ruthless counteroffensive in the Ardennes forest, utterly surprising the unprepared Americans who stand in their way. Through the frigid snows of the mountainous terrain, German tanks and infantry struggle to realize Hitler's goal: divide the Allied armies and capture the vital port at Antwerp. The attack succeeds in opening up a wide gap in the American lines, and for days chaos reigns in the Allied command.

Thus begins the Battle of the Bulge, the last gasp by Hitler's forces that becomes a horrific slugging match, some of the most brutal fighting of the war. As American commanders respond to the stunning challenge, the German spear is finally blunted.

Though some in the Nazi inner circle continue the fight to secure Germany's postwar future, the Führer makes it clear that he is fighting to the end. He will spare nothing - not even German lives - to preserve his twisted vision of a "Thousand Year Reich". But in May 1945, the German army collapses, and with Russian troops closing in, Hitler commits suicide.

As the Americans sweep through the German countryside, they unexpectedly encounter the worst of Hitler's crimes, the concentration camps, and young GIs find themselves absorbing firsthand the horrors of the Holocaust.

Presenting his riveting account through the eyes of Eisenhower and Patton and the young GIs who struggle face-to-face with their enemy, and through the eyes of Germany's old soldier Gerd von Rundstedt and Hitler’s golden boy, Albert Speer, Jeff Shaara carries the listener on a journey that defines the spirit of the soldier and the horror of a madman’s dreams. No Less Than Victory further solidifies Shaara’s reputation as this era’s most accomplished author of historical military fiction.

Listen to another Novel of World War II by Jeff Shaara.
©2009 Jeff Shaara (P)2009 Random House

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A Must for WWII aficionados! Best of the trilogy!

Would you listen to No Less Than Victory again? Why?

A few books are good enough to listen to every 5-7 years. After some time passes, you remember that you enjoyed it very much, but you have forgotten those parts that made the story so engaging. This is one such book, which I will return to.

What did you like best about this story?

I really got a picture of the foot soldier's predicament. Shaara placed me THERE with them in the Ardennes, shivering in the foxhole, going out on my first patrol, wondering about the noises coming through the woods, cowering before enemy artillery bombardments, amazed at the war machine coming toward me with the intention of killing my just-arrived butt. I've read several of Shaara's books, and they all are excellent. The first two books of this trilogy were very fine, but I was particularly struck by following these foot soldiers as they fought the Battle Of The Bulge. At last I have a feel for what they went through.

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7 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars

No Less Than Victory

Another brilliant look into the people and their emotions in the drive toward Berlin. Hard to stop listening to this one too.. Great Listen.

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6 people found this helpful

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An awesome narrative of brutal times!

Again, his research with survivors, beyond documents, resulted in a narrative I could not put down.... the classic histories cover all the facts, but Shaara's ability to weave surviving veterans interviews in to first person drama is amazing.... for any veteran who's been fired on, a reader gets the same shocks soldiers try to suppress and still fight... that's a big challenge for most writers! Well done.

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Gripping Narrative of WW II

'No Less Than Victory' is an outstanding reading of Jeff Shaara's final book in the WW II trilogy of the European theatre. It contains incredible details beyond what you find in high school and college history survey courses. Jeff Shaara has done remarkable research to come up with believable, though fictional, first person accounts of an incredible time in our nation's and the world's history -- "our finest hour" as Winston Churchill put it. Paul Michael delivers a superb performance deftly conveying the raw emotion and intensity of the battle and excels in the character acting of the various voices including Churchill, General Dwight Eisenhower, General George Patton, and Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, to name a few, as well as paratroopers, tankers, general infantry, and bomber aircrew. I'd highly recommend this series to all those interested in knowing more about WW II's European theater from Operation Torch, the Normandy invasion, the Battle of the Bulge, the end of the Nazi regime, and concluding with the Victory in Europe. As a student of history, I learned a lot, and I think you will too.

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NO LESS THAN GREAT

This is a fantastic conclusion to the European side of Jeff Shaara's WWII epic. The author makes you feel cold, frightened then desperate and lonely...but in the end, he makes you feel relief that the war ended. This book is history with a strong beating pulse--you don't just learn history, you feel it. This work is amazing, and I don't think anyone can read it without feeling profoundly impacted. The description of the Battle of the Bulge is by far the highlight. I also love how he ends the book with a discussion of what happened to each character in the future. This is a "must read" book.

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Nicely written, well narrated - Good Listen

Very well done book and narration. Nice historical research, WWII vet concurs with unit action too.

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    2 out of 5 stars

Not the same energy

Mr. Shaara again tells a great story with superb skill; however, it does not have the same energy and grip as the first two in the series. He moves away from the Airborne and other elite forces in tell the story of November 1944 through the end of the war. It would have been nice if they had again been included. Still a good read.

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Jeff Shaara Brings History to Life

I wish more young American students were asked to read historical recounts by U.S. soldiers from WWI and WWII. It would help to discount the notion of American soldiers as blood thirsty conquerors, rather than the dutiful but terrified young men that they were. The four European war books by Shaara are deeply moving...told through the eyes of the individual rather than a simple retelling of facts. Make this required reading in your high school classes.

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Another Masterpeice by Jeff Shaara!

I have loved Jeff Shaara's books since I read his first book Gods and Generals, I had the pleasure to meet Jeff Shaara and listen to him speak about how he decided to follow his father's writing of "Killer Angels" with "Gods and Generals" I now enjoy his books even more when I listen to Paul Michael read the book to me. He makes me feel like I am in the fox holes with the American infantry. I will definitely listen to this series again!!

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Great Trilogy

Enjoyed all three Audible books in the series. Looking forward to the story of the Pacific war.

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