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The Second World War
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
- Length: 39 hrs and 18 mins
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Publisher's summary
Over the past two decades, Antony Beevor has established himself as one of the world's premier historians of World War II. His multi-award winning books have included Stalingrad and The Fall of Berlin 1945. Now, in his newest and most ambitious book, he turns his focus to one of the bloodiest and most tragic events of the 20th century, The Second World War.
In this searing narrative, which takes us from Hitler's invasion of Poland on September 1st, 1939 to V-J day on August 14th, 1945, and the war's aftermath, Beevor describes the conflict and its global reach - one that included every major power. The result is a dramatic and breathtaking single-volume history that provides a remarkably intimate account of the war that, more than any other, still commands attention and an audience.
Thrillingly written and brilliantly researched, Beevor's grand and provocative account is destined to become the definitive work on this complex, tragic, and endlessly fascinating period in world history. It confirms once more that he is a military historian of the first rank.
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This is the strange and fascinating life of Erwin Rommel, from his days as a youth in Imperial Germany - when he had a child out of wedlock with an early girlfriend - through his lauded military exploits during World War I to his death by suicide during World War II, after he attempted a failed coup against Hitler. Rommel was a man of contradictions: a soldier who wrote a best-selling book about World War I, a commander who went from commanding Hitler's bodyguard to trying to kill him, and a serious military mind who was known for participating in practical jokes.
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Amazing Detail, Amazing Story!
- By Al888 on 05-19-19
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The Korean War
- By: Max Hastings
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 17 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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It was the first war we could not win. At no other time since World War II have two superpowers met in battle. Max Hastings, preeminent military historian, takes us back to the bloody, bitter struggle to restore South Korean independence after the Communist invasion of June 1950.
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Inspiring and Hard Hitting
- By David Ewing on 08-06-07
By: Max Hastings
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Shanghai 1937
- Stalingrad on the Yangtze
- By: Peter Harmsen
- Narrated by: George Backman
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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This deeply researched book describes one of the great forgotten battles of the 20th century. At its height it involved nearly a million Chinese and Japanese soldiers, while sucking in three million civilians as unwilling spectators and, often, victims. It turned what had been a Japanese adventure in China into a general war between the two oldest and proudest civilizations of the Far East. Ultimately, it led to Pearl Harbor and to seven decades of tumultuous history in Asia. The Battle of Shanghai was a pivotal event that helped define and shape the modern world.
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The Curtain to World War Two
- By Michael on 03-01-16
By: Peter Harmsen
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The Battle of the Tanks
- Kursk, 1943
- By: Lloyd Clark
- Narrated by: David Baker
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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On July 5, 1943, the greatest land battle in history began when Nazi and Red Army forces clashed near the town of Kursk, on the western border of the Soviet Union. Code named Operation Citadel, the German offensive would cut through the bulge in the eastern front that had been created following Germany's retreat at the battle of Stalingrad. But the Soviets, well informed about Germany's plans through their network of spies, had months to prepare.
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Good enough
- By Val Shebeko on 05-28-15
By: Lloyd Clark
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Dunkirk
- The Complete Story of the First Step in the Defeat of Hitler
- By: Norman Gelb
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1940, the last patch of resistance to the Nazi war machine was a little strip of beach whose name would soon be famous around the world: Dunkirk. Over 300,000 Allied soldiers crowded into the little harbor. If Hitler destroyed them, Britain would be left defenseless, and the war would almost be over. The British had other ideas. Over the next ten days, the people of Britain launched an unprecedented rescue effort. Countless little ships steamed forth from every port in England to bring the boys back home.
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The Real Dunkirk Story: Not the Movie Version
- By William R. Todd-Mancillas (Name includes hyphen and capitalized M). on 08-09-17
By: Norman Gelb
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The Fall of the Ottomans
- The Great War in the Middle East
- By: Eugene Rogan
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 17 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Fall of the Ottomans, award-winning historian Eugene Rogan brings the First World War and its immediate aftermath in the Middle East to vivid life, uncovering the often ignored story of the region's crucial role in the conflict.
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Great Book About A Little Known Part of WWI
- By Nostromo on 06-08-15
By: Eugene Rogan
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Hubris
- The Tragedy of War in the Twentieth Century
- By: Alistair Horne
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Sir Alistair Horne has been a close observer of war and history for more than 50 years, and in this wise and masterly work he revisits six battles of the past century and examines the strategies, leadership, preparation, and geopolitical goals of aggressors and defenders to reveal the one trait that links them all: hubris.
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I Never Heard W ll Explained this Way!
- By John on 09-01-16
By: Alistair Horne
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Blitzkrieg
- Myth, Reality, and Hitler's Lightning War: France 1940
- By: Lloyd Clark
- Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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In the spring of 1940, the Germans launched a military offensive in France and the Low Countries that married superb intelligence, the latest military thinking, and new technology. It was a stunning victory, altering the balance of power in Europe in one stroke, and convincing the entire world that the Nazi war machine was unstoppable. But as Lloyd Clark, a leading British military historian and academic, argues, much of our understanding of this victory, and blitzkrieg itself, is based on myth.
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Very good and detailed about the Fall of France
- By Arthur on 03-15-17
By: Lloyd Clark
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Rommel
- Leadership Lessons from the Desert Fox
- By: Charles Messenger
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 5 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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This exciting series opens with “the Desert Fox”, the most famous German field marshal in World War II, Erwin Rommel. A hero of the people of the Third Reich and widely respected by his opponents, Rommel proved himself highly adept at blitzkrieg warfare. He displayed an outstanding ability to seize the initiative and retain it, and here, Charles Messenger draws on the skills behind this ability for the benefit of modern-day leaders.
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Not particularly new, insightful, or good.
- By William Simkiss on 08-17-21
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World War Two
- A Short History
- By: Norman Stone
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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After the unprecedented destruction of the Great War, the world longed for a lasting peace. The victors, however, valued vengeance even more than stability and demanded a massive indemnity from Germany in order to keep it from rearming. The results, as eminent historian Norman Stone describes in this authoritative history, were disastrous. In World War Two, Stone provides a remarkably concise account of the deadliest war of human history, showing how the conflict roared to life from the ashes of World War One.
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Great primer before taking on the big tomes.
- By Amazon Customer on 11-14-18
By: Norman Stone
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Fighting a lost war
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Nazi Germany expected its airborne attack on Crete in 1941 to be a textbook victory based on tactical surprise. Little did they know that the British, using Ultra intercepts, had already laid a careful trap. It should have been the first German defeat of the war, but a fatal misunderstanding turned the battle around.
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World War I altered the landscape of the modern world in every conceivable arena. Millions died; empires collapsed; new ideologies and political movements arose; poison gas, warplanes, tanks, submarines, and other technologies appeared. "Total war" emerged as a grim, mature reality. In The Great War, Peter Hart provides a masterful combat history of this global conflict.
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A vivid and incisive portrait of Winston Churchill during wartime from acclaimed historian Max Hastings, Winston’s War captures the full range of Churchill’s endlessly fascinating character. At once brilliant and infuriating, self-important and courageous, Hastings’s Churchill comes brashly to life as never before. Beginning in 1940, when popular demand elevated Churchill to the role of prime minister, and concluding with the end of the war, Hastings shows us Churchill at his most intrepid and essential, when, by sheer force of will, he kept Britain from collapsing.
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On August 5, 1942, giant pillars of dust rose over the Russian steppe, marking the advance of the 6th Army, an elite German combat unit dispatched by Hitler to capture the industrial city of Stalingrad and press on to the oil fields of Azerbaijan. The Germans were supremely confident; in three years, they had not suffered a single defeat. The Luftwaffe had already bombed the city into ruins. German soldiers hoped to complete their mission and be home in time for Christmas.
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The First World War
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The First World War created the modern world. A conflict of unprecedented ferocity, it abruptly ended the relative peace and prosperity of the Victorian era, unleashing such demons of the 20th century as mechanized warfare and mass death. It also helped to usher in the ideas that have shaped our times - modernism in the arts, new approaches to psychology and medicine, radical thoughts about economics and society - and in so doing shattered the faith in rationalism and liberalism that had prevailed in Europe since the Enlightenment.
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Best Military History of First World War
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Stalingrad
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"Stalingrad" beretter om rædslerne fra Hitlers invasion af Rusland i 1941 til tilintetgørelsen af den store tyske 6. Armé og feltmarskal Paulus‘ overgivelse i 1943. Med isnende nærvær fortælles om tyskernes forsøg på at løbe Stalin over ende, om misinformation, internt nid og nag i begge lejre, helte og dødsforagt, angsten for det hemmelige politi, konstante bombardementer, kampvognsangreb og mand til mand-kampe med bajonetter. Antony Beevor har udgivet flere historiske bestsellere om Anden Verdenskrig.
By: Antony Beevor, and others
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Paris
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In this brilliant synthesis of social, political, and cultural history, Antony Beevor and Artemis Cooper present a vivid and compelling portrayal of the City of Lights after its liberation. Paris became the diplomatic battleground in the opening stages of the Cold War.
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Worthwhile listen
- By DanBudda on 07-27-16
By: Antony Beevor, and others
What listeners say about The Second World War
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- DJM
- 07-31-12
It Fills in Gaps I Didn't Know Existed
I've been reading histories of WWII and watching the documentaries for forty years or so. (If I count the High School books about WWII fighter battles it's more like 50 years.) I'd recently gone back and listened to ???The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich,??? a book I hadn't read since 1970. I thought that I had a pretty good handle on the major events. Yet, time and again Beevor was able to illuminate some aspect of the events that I had either never considered or had never heard about. His skillful blending of macro historical details with first-hand accounts from soldiers' letters home made listening to the book a riveting experience. If you are interested in the history of this global conflict, it is definitely worth the two credits.
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- Mike From Mesa
- 11-03-12
Wide ranging history of World War II
I bought this history of the Second World War because I had previously read Mr. Beevor’s book on D-Day and thought it was both well written and thorough and this book is no different. It covers all of World War II including those theaters like Burma and China which are often ignored because they do not seem to have played a central role in the conflict. He logically follows the events of the war in chronological order and this often has chapters switching around the globe to follow what is happening. Some, like me, will need a map to follow events in places where their knowledge of the geography is skimpy.
Mr. Beevor covers events thoroughly with descriptions of the battles often describing attempts to take little known but important hill positions or road junctions. While the descriptions are clear they sometimes seem a little too detailed for those wanting an overview of the battles. The book is full of little vignettes which are often informative enough to clarify the political as well as military events. One example would be Georgy Zhukov’s assumption, when summoned by Stalin in 1938 to take charge of the First Soviet Mongolian Army Group, that he needed to bring his personal belonging because he was probably being sent to the Gulag. No description of the political atmosphere in The Soviet Union could more clearly show the climate of fear and repression than that simple story. Similar little stories, often taken from letters or diary entries, from politicians, soldiers, husbands, wives and others are sprinkled throughout the book and they help to explain the true situation in ways that simple narrative could not.
There is an oddity in this book. Mr. Beevor lists the date of Pearl Harbor as Dec 8. When I first heard this I assumed that perhaps he was talking about the date in Tokyo, but the book specifically states that planes left the carrier at 6:05 on December 8th. An odd thing since everyone knows it was december 7th.
Another thing that I feel should be mentioned is Mr. Beevor’s distain for many of those in either political or military positions of importance. Erwin Rommel, generally thought of as one of the more moral and insightful generals of the German army, is described as careless, unwilling to face facts, ignorant of logistics and unwilling to listen to his superiors (a trait that I always thought was one of his best). General Eisenhower is spoken of as “politically naïve” while current biographies speak of him as a brilliant politician (see Jean Edward Smith’s biography or Evan Thomas’ book “Ike’s Bluff”). Churchill, the man recently voted the greatest figure in UK history, is treated poorly by Mr. Beevor, Franklin Roosevelt is presented as short sighted, the picture of general Stillwell in this book is a very different pricture than that presented in "Stillwell And The American Experience In China", and the list goes on. I am so much not taking issue with Mr. Beevor’s opinions – one of the reasons I buy books like this one is to see and hear differing opinions – as to point them out to the potential reader.
Sean Barrett’s reading of this book is adequate although not inspired. Perhaps inspiration is too much to ask for a narrator who has to read a 39 hour plus book and I should mention that his narration never really gets tiring. I have given this book 4 stars party because of the narration (which is good but not great), partly because this book requires 2 credits but mostly because I personally find much of what Mr. Beevor writes too much at odds with many of the other books I have read on this and related topics. It is, I think, worth reading but if the listener wants to read only one book on World War II I might suggest Inferno by Max Hastings
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56 people found this helpful
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- todd a schlichter
- 07-19-15
Brilliant Overview
The best overview of the war I've read (probably read half a dozen or more over the years). Finds a perfect balance between flowing narrative, first hand accounts, historical evaluation, and enough just depth of the events and people conducting the war for context. Also probably the only overview that doesn't exclude or give short shrift to the China / Burma campaign. Extremely good tactical analysis of commanders and decisions as well. Should be the default intro text for study of the war! Narration is also spot on. Wish I could give it more than 5 stars.
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33 people found this helpful
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- Gary
- 10-28-12
Covers everything and loaded with facts
Every major step of the war is covered in detail with its significance to the overall outcome of the war. The author speaks with historical authority and corrects many misconceptions that I had about the war. The book is choke full of facts but the most pleasant part is for every major battle the author finds a diary or a letter from a low level participant and personalizes the engagement through the participants eyes.
After having listened to this book, I can't even imagine listening to any other book about the second WW. He covers the material that well at both the big picture and the personnel level.
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26 people found this helpful
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- Jared
- 02-21-15
Best WWII history book I've ever read
Voice actor takes a little to get used to, but once you do it's a great audio book.
If you want to learn about wwii you should read Antony Beevor. I put this book up there with "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich"
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- Nicholson
- 07-23-12
Riveting
I am an old guy born on the eve of America's involvement.(Feb 1942.) WWII. I have read quite a few books and seen a lot of TV programs about WWII. This book has it all,and fills in many gaps in my knowledge.I am about a third way through it.I can't get in my car without put it on with my Kindle and listening to it through the speakers. Sometimes I sit there with the engine running waiting for a particularly dramatic portion to finish.
I would disagree with anyone who says that the book is dull,or that it does not cover all the areas,such as the Russian or Asian fronts.
Much of the stuff that happened is sad beyond belief. If this was a good war,I would hate to see a bad one.The book is is powerfully dramatic yet understated. The thing that comes across again and again is the boneheadedness of leader after leader including generals and politicians who ignored the obvious in pursuit of their fixed ideas. It was way the innocent who paid the price for their stupidity. Also we should not complain so much about out bad times,as we do not know what bad times are.
The book operates on a macro level with fascinating evaluation of what went on behind the scenes yet is sprinkled with fascinating details. There is even humor as in the fate of of the captured Italian divisions prostitutes who taken prisoner and forced to spent the rest of the war in a convent.
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- JT
- 08-12-15
Loved it - Great for the History Buff
If you could sum up The Second World War in three words, what would they be?
"Second World War". This is the comprehensive story of WWII and I think the book's title says it all. If you have an interest in WWII, this book is a wonderful overview.
What other book might you compare The Second World War to and why?
Probably something like The Guns of August or another comprehensive battle story.
What does Sean Barrett bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
A lack of eye-strain and back problems. :)
As someone who has both read the book and listened to the audio book, Sean's narration is quite good. The Second World War is a BIG book with small type. It's far easier to listen to it than it is to carry that thing around!
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Nope. It's not that kind of story.
Any additional comments?
It's a great listen/read for anyone with an interest in the subject matter - probably the best comprehensive WWII recounting out there.
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- Roger S. Borovoy
- 12-05-12
Maximally enjoyable for WWII buffs end-to-end
What did you love best about The Second World War?
A wonderfully written and thorough history of the War, read magnificently. Sean Barrett not only speaks melodious and extremely clear "English English," but is a master of other European languages as well. When he speaks a German, French or Russian name, he does it in German, French or Russian - adding much to the enjoyment of the listener.The book itself is a continuum of small stories which, in their aggregate, give a total picture of the horrors or WWII. Mr. Beevor calls it like it is - no favoritism whatsover, whether to Ike, Monty, De Gaulle, Stalin, Churchill or Roosevelt. I have read (or listened to) other WWII histories, but none was as exceptional as this one. I give much credit to the reader for holding my attention (even while driving).
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Second World War?
Beevor's description of the Holocaust, although necessarily short, gave one of the best pictures I've read. His blow-by-blow tales of each of the major WWII battles makes you feel like you were there.
What does Sean Barrett bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
He brings the book to life!
If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
The film would last days!
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- timothy
- 02-02-13
Well written and Excellent summation
What made the experience of listening to The Second World War the most enjoyable?
Very well written account of the war. Concise, yet informative. Keeps your interest by adding lesser known facts about what the people who were not in the armed forces were going thru.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Second World War?
The horrible treatment of women and girls by both sides
Which character – as performed by Sean Barrett – was your favorite?
Churchill - did his voice the best
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
yes .
Any additional comments?
If you want a great summation of WW 2 without being engulfed in minutia that only a historian would want, this is the book for you. Complete, easy to follow, yet very complete with the major facts, as well as lesser known events that keep the whole book interesting.
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- Roscoe's Masked Avenger
- 02-19-15
Excellent
An excellent, comprehensive overview of the most destructive conflict in history. I really like how the author concentrates on political as well as military aspects of the war.
Very long, but well worth the time invested
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