• 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
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (470 ratings)

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The Last Battle  By  cover art

The Last Battle

By: Stephen Harding
Narrated by: Joe Barrett
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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.
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about The Last Battle

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

A Maddening Book

What disappointed you about The Last Battle?

This is not a bad book. At times it does feel like Harding's pay was based on how many stock, trite war phrases he could work into the narrative, but stale verbiage aside it's not a poorly written book. My displeasure is with the choice he made to introduce all the players in this drama, through evidently well-researched biographical sketches, prior to the battle referenced in the title. We don't get a whiff of the battle until nearly the end of the book. Again, that choice does not make this a bad book, but it did make me really dislike it. It is a heavily researched book, but the pedantic details show up at odd times, giving this strange and almost surreal, human drama the feel of an old-school, names-and-dates antiquarian history. I wish he had gone the other way, allowing himself to speculate more on the human drama; the prison lives of these political foes locked together as VIP POWS. But Harding's discipline is firm, and we get the facts as they have been recorded. The actual battle, which takes place in the final 1/5 of the book feels largely anticlimactic. Acts of bravery and betrayal accompany scenes of comedy and tragedy, but they are fleeting and fail to land fully.I can't recommend this book, but if you're okay listening to a story structured like I've described, you may love it.

Would you ever listen to anything by Stephen Harding again?

I would give it a shot, sure.

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

No.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Write the book, THEN the screenplay.

This book as a screenplay, which may have been at the back of the author's mind. There are a couple of themes you could work with - the continuum of loyalism, especially after the death of Hitler is one, how to best arrange for one's personal destiny if you know you're going to be on the losing side is another.

Ironically, the author spends much more time fleshing out the portrayal of the detainees and various German/Austrian notables. It could be he couldn't resist the thought of forcing the swashbuckling tank commander into a yankee stereotype, best introduced in a headlong rush of action.

There are the makings of a much better narrative than that which was told. Ultimately disappointing. A popular history written by someone hoping the screenplay gets picked up.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

The darndest thing

Been struggling to finish books in this pandemic world. listened to this straight through.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

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.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Title is very misleading

The time of the book is very misleading in the sense that 95% of the book had nothing to do with the battle itself but with the politics between the French at the castle. The battle itself was very interesting but because the title I expected to hear more of the tactics and the collaboration between the Germans and the Americans and fighting this last battle. If you want a book about politics more than actually about war and a battle this would be looking to buy if you're looking for a book that has to do with an actual fight and how the battle developed this is not what you're looking for

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great history lesson

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

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Lost History Revealed

Well written story of a little known episode at the close of WWII in Europe. Unlikely allies doing the right thing. I recommend this book.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A gripping story of the last battle of World War Two

Well researched and written with a great narration.
I highly recommend this audio book. Thanks

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story!

Well told and researched. A worthwhile read.It is the kind of story that would bake a great novel and it is even better because it is true.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent WWII story

Marvelous true story of WWII happening, for all history fans, well told, exciting, should be a movie along the lines of Private Ryan, Bridge at Remagen, etc.

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1 person found this helpful