A Prophet Without Honor

By: Joseph Wurtenbaugh

Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin

Length: 19 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

In the first months of 1936, Adolf Hitler risked everything by ordering his untrained military to reoccupy the Rhineland. It was a bluff. The Germans would have been forced to retreat if the French or British had offered the slightest opposition. But the bluff succeeded. History changed decisively. Hitler quieted the opposition at home, and marched the world relentlessly on, to the edge of destruction and beyond.

A Prophet Without Honor examines that lost chance in detail. The result is a compelling story full of intrigue, danger, romance, and action, culminating in the reckoning that Hitler might have faced, had events taken a different course. It's a hugely entertaining story, written in epistolary style (though journal entries, letters, excerpts from biographies, etc.) with a richly textured sense of time and place.

©2017 Frank Dudley Berry, Jr. (P)2021 Tantor

An excellent alternative history

Telling the story through chronological fake primary and secondary sources was a brilliant narrative strategy and took nothing away from the pathos and power of this alternative history of the Third Reich. The author's interpretation of Hitler's personality was thoroughly convincing; that of Ike's further removed from reality. Thoroughly enjoyable performance by the narrator.

Enthralling Story With Great Characters

I've read a lot of alternate histories over the years. The idea of Hitler being defeated during the Rhineland affair was intriguing to me & the plot & history was very well executed, with what I consider to be relatively minor, believable historical divergences that were in of themselves interesting to consider. What I had not reckoned with was the author's great writing ability to make these characters seem flesh and blood. I found myself getting wrapped up in the lives of Heinrich, Elizabeth, Karl & Rosamunde, wanting them to succeed & live happily ever after. Not just good Alt Hist., but a great piece of literature too. My complements to the narrator on an excellent rendition.

Excellent audiobook for intermittent listeners

Wurtenbaugh Has written an excellent book, accompanied by an excellent performance. Written in a diary/letters format, it’s easy to pick up and put down and is a listen to in a long single binge or from time to time. This is an excellent book that travels across 4 decades but continues to tell an interesting, well planned out story that doesn’t feel forced or strenuously lengthened. Excellent listening!

Fun what-if alternate history with good characters

Very interesting approach, a sweeping grand story and a great plot. It's a novel, pure fiction, about a man who stood up against Nazis, his family, and his two great loves. But it's spun as if it were collected research of somebody organizing old letters, relevant pieces of history, formal communications, etc. The story of these people emerges quite well from their letters woven into a pageant that also includes pieces of history from old texts, military communications, and memoirs (real and imagined) of other figures of the time. We meet a young Eisenhower along the way, key British figures, and of course events in Germany and German leaders during the two decades rise of Hitler and the Nazis. But throughout, it's a novel, about the people it presents and their lives and loves.

It's a great example of the possibilities of alternative history in that the author weaves historical fact with what might have happened, but didn't. Like Cabaret the play/movie and Berlin Stories that inspired Cabaret, the Nazis are key to the story but the story itself is about people who feel real, even if they are fictional characters. And it does include a fascinating "what-if" plot that focuses on key moments that might have altered history — if they had gone differently.

The audio performance is quite good. Martin does an excellent job with accents and voices, switching from male to female and from a German accent in English to American spoken English and educated British English. There is a rhythm to it, from letter to letter, that works very well .

well worth a listen

This audio book is well performed. the story is interesting. the characters are well written.

This book is made up of people reading from letters

If I knew this whole book was going to require me to listen to people read letter I would not have wasted my time. It could be a decent story if it was told in story fashion. Not excerpts from letters.