The Last Battle

When US and German Soldiers Joined Forces in the Waning Hours of World War II in Europe

By: Stephen Harding

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

May 1945. Hitler is dead, and the Third Reich is little more than smoking rubble. No GI wants to be the last man killed in action against the Nazis. But for cigar-chewing, rough-talking, hard-drinking, hard-charging Captain Jack Lee and his men, there is one more mission: rescue 14 prominent French prisoners held in an SS-guarded castle high in the Austrian Alps. It's a dangerous mission, but Lee has help from a decorated German Wehrmacht officer and his men, who voluntarily join the fight.

Based on personal memoirs, author interviews, and official American, German, and French histories, The Last Battle is the nearly unbelievable story of the most improbable battle of World War II—a tale of unlikely allies, bravery, cowardice, and desperate combat between implacable enemies.

©2013 Stephen Harding (P)2013 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Great story, but the names make it hard to follow

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Any time we get to learn about those that triumphed during WWII, and their remarkable stories is time well spent.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

It was tough to discern all the foreign names. Because of this, it was hard to track the various characters throughout the book. I hate to say this, but perhaps use nicknames, or abbreviations of the names, to make it easier to track. Also, I enjoyed learning about the various backgrounds of each of the characters...but I would have preferred to hear more about the defense of the castle.

What about Joe Barrett’s performance did you like?

Well spoken. Easy to understand, even at various speeds.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Yes

Long on details, short on story

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I would have spent less time retelling the entire life stories of every single prisoner. So much detail is provided, it almost felt like the author was padding the book's length. The actual battle, and the events surrounding it, were well told. It just took hours and hours to get to it.

Would you be willing to try another book from Stephen Harding? Why or why not?

Yes, I would. He's a competent storyteller, and maybe this book just suffered from a lack of editing.

Which character – as performed by Joe Barrett – was your favorite?

Definitely Captain Jack Lee, the American tank commander who led the defense of the castle.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Yes, I would. It's a good story, and one that few know about. A film version would refocus the book away from historical minutia, and towards the actual events.

Any additional comments?

There are so many prisoners, and the book spends so long on each one, I had trouble keeping track of who was who. Making a few quick notes on each one might help.

Great story - weird performance.

The work by Harding is top notch--a thoroughly researched, well-written story. However, I have never heard an audiobook where the narrator takes on a foreign accent. He feigned a French accent (while speaking English, mind you) when reading direct quotes from French characters, a German accent for German characters, etc. That was an odd stylistic choice.

pronunciations were amazing and great research

good book what the title above said..I .would definitely recoment to ppl who have already read a lot about ww2 but r looking for a story that hasn't already been told a 100 times

I found it very slow to the actual story

didn't grab my attention until the last few chapters was wondering when does the last battle start

Great history lesson

Great listen, love the reader. Story moves very quickly so brush up on your WW2 history and Austrian locations.

Great book, narrator needs to speak better German

Great story, very interesting.
the end seemed to be a bit anti climatic
the narrator had lots of trouble pronouncing the large amount of German throughout the book.

if it's not a movie, it should be.

a little bit of a hard start but it was well-read and a very good story. If it's not a movie yet it should be I'd go see it.

One hell of a story!

Enjoyed this quick read of an impressive historical event. I'd never heard of this battle and it really was a bizarre, important and inspiring story. The educational/informative style of the writing, though rather dry, gave ample information and background on all the players and events in the story. The Last Battle is plenty exciting and drew me in despite the detached perspective. Loved it!

Good read

It was a really good listen. Saw some people give it 4 stars but I think the author set it up well; I have listened to several books read by Joe Barrett… I think he is really good especially in the war genre.