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The Battle of Britain
- Five Months That Changed History; May-October 1940
- Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 26 hrs and 40 mins
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Publisher's summary
The Battle of Britain paints a stirring picture of an extraordinary summer when the fate of the world hung by a thread. Historian James Holland has now written the definitive account of those months based on extensive new research from around the world, including thousands of new interviews with people on both sides of the battle.
If Britain's defenses collapsed, Hitler would have dominated all of Europe. With France facing defeat and British forces pressed back to the Channel, there were few who believed Britain could survive; but, thanks to a sophisticated defensive system and the combined efforts of the Royal Air Force, the Royal Navy, and the defiance of a new prime minister, Britain refused to give in.
From clashes between coastal convoys and Schnellboote in the Channel to astonishing last stands in Flanders, slaughter by U-boats in an icy Atlantic, and dramatic aerial battles over England, The Battle of Britain tells this epic World War II story in a fresh and compelling voice.
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The Battle of Midway was, on paper, an improbable victory for the smaller, less experienced American navy and air force, so much so that it was quickly described as “a miracle.” This new history demonstrates that luck, let alone miracles, had little to do with it. In The Silver Waterfall, Brendan Simms and Steven McGregor show how the efforts of America’s peacetime navy combined with creative innovations made by designers and industrialists were largely responsible for the victory.
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Read "The Silver Waterfall"
- By Tiffany Gemas on 06-17-22
By: Brendan Simms, and others
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Morning Star, Midnight Sun
- The Early Guadalcanal-Solomons Campaign of World War II August–October 1942
- By: Jeffrey R. Cox
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 20 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Following the disastrous Java Sea campaign, the Allies went on the offensive in the Pacific in a desperate attempt to halt the Japanese forces that were rampaging across the region. With the conquest of Australia a very real possibility, the stakes were high. Their target: the Japanese-held Soloman Islands, in particular the southern island of Guadalcanal. Hamstrung by arcane pre-war thinking and a bureaucratic mind-set, the US Navy had to adapt on the fly in order to compete with the mighty Imperial Japanese Navy, whose ingenuity had fostered the creation of its Pacific empire.
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Very enjoyable popular history
- By Sheldon Campbell on 08-17-19
By: Jeffrey R. Cox
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The Men Who Killed the Luftwaffe
- The U.S. Army Air Forces Against Germany in World War II
- By: Jay A. Stout
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 15 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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In this dramatic story of World War II, Jay A. Stout describes how the US built an air force of 2.3 million men after starting with 45,000 and defeated the world's best air force. In order to defeat Germany in World War II, the Allies needed to destroy the Third Reich's industry and invade its territory, but before they could effectively do either, they had to defeat the Luftwaffe, whose state-of-the-art aircraft and experienced pilots protected German industry and would batter any attempted invasion.
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A must read for WWII buffs
- By david on 07-27-17
By: Jay A. Stout
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Crete 1941
- The Battle and the Resistance
- By: Antony Beevor
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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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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Engrossing
- By Jean on 02-01-16
By: Antony Beevor
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Lucky 666
- The Impossible Mission
- By: Bob Drury, Tom Clavin
- Narrated by: Jeremy Bobb
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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From the authors of the New York Times best-selling The Heart of Everything That Is and Halsey's Typhoon comes the dramatic untold story of a daredevil bomber pilot and his misfit crew who fly their lone B-17 into the teeth of the Japanese Empire in 1943, engage in the longest dogfight in history, and change the momentum of the war in the Pacific - but not without making the ultimate sacrifice.
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A WWII Pacific Tale
- By A. L. DeWitt on 11-15-16
By: Bob Drury, and others
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Neptune
- The Allied Invasion of Europe and the D-Day Landings
- By: Craig L. Symonds
- Narrated by: Craig L. Symonds
- Length: 15 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Seventy years ago, more than 6000 Allied ships carried more than a million soldiers across the English Channel to a 50-mile-wide strip of the Normandy coast in German-occupied France. It was the greatest sea-borne assault in human history. The code names given to the beaches where the ships landed the soldiers have become immortal: Gold, Juno, Sword, Utah, and especially Omaha, the scene of almost unimaginable human tragedy.
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The Whys of D-Day
- By Mike From Mesa on 02-09-15
By: Craig L. Symonds
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Pearl Harbor
- From Infamy to Greatness
- By: Craig Nelson
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 18 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Published in time for the 75th anniversary, a gripping and definitive account of the event that changed 20th-century America - Pearl Harbor - based on years of research and new information uncovered by a New York Times best-selling author.
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Poorly researched, author loses credibility.
- By booger on 12-23-18
By: Craig Nelson
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Miracle at Midway
- By: Gordon W. Prange, Donald M. Goldstein
- Narrated by: Qarie Marshall
- Length: 17 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Story
Six months after Pearl Harbor, the seemingly invincible Imperial Japanese Navy prepared a decisive blow against the United States. After sweeping through Asia and the South Pacific, Japan's military targeted the tiny atoll of Midway, an ideal launching pad for the invasion of Hawaii and beyond. But the United States Navy was waiting for them. Thanks to cutting-edge code-breaking technology, tactical daring, and a huge stroke of luck, the Americans under Admiral Chester W. Nimitz dealt the Japanese navy its first major defeat of the war.
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Greatest Book on Midway Battle
- By WISDOC on 04-12-21
By: Gordon W. Prange, and others
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Douglas MacArthur
- American Warrior
- By: Arthur Herman
- Narrated by: Henry Strozier
- Length: 39 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Douglas MacArthur was arguably the last American public figure to be worshipped unreservedly as a national hero, the last military figure to conjure up the romantic stirrings once evoked by George Armstrong Custer and Robert E. Lee. But he was also one of America's most divisive figures, a man whose entire career was steeped in controversy. Was he an avatar or an anachronism, a brilliant strategist or a vainglorious mountebank?
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Claims to be balanced... glosses over flaws
- By Us 5 Camp on 07-03-18
By: Arthur Herman
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Into the Bright Sunshine
- Young Hubert Humphrey and the Fight for Civil Rights (Pivotal Moments in American History Series)
- By: Samuel G. Freedman
- Narrated by: Mike Lenz
- Length: 17 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
During one sweltering week in July 1948, the Democratic Party gathered in Philadelphia for its national convention. The most pressing and controversial issue facing the delegates was not whom to nominate for president—the incumbent, Harry Truman, was the presumptive candidate—but whether the Democrats would finally embrace the cause of civil rights and embed it in their official platform. On the convention's final day, Hubert Humphrey, the relatively obscure mayor of the midsized city of Minneapolis, ascended the podium.
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Important history for today’s generation
- By Nancy M on 09-29-23
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D-Day
- The Battle for Normandy
- By: Antony Beevor
- Narrated by: Cameron Stewart
- Length: 19 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Renowned historian Antony Beevor, the man who "single-handedly transformed the reputation of military history" (The Guardian) presents the first major account in more than 20 years of the Normandy invasion and the liberation of Paris. This is the first book to describe not only the experiences of the American, British, Canadian, and German soldiers, but also the terrible suffering of the French caught up in the fighting.
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A commendable book
- By Michael on 01-19-10
By: Antony Beevor
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The Few
- The American "Knights of the Air" Who Risked Everything to Save Britain in the Summer of 1940
- By: Alex Kershaw
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
World War II had been raging for nearly a year. Hitler was now planning an invasion of England to seal Europe's fate. Though the United States was still neutral, a few Americans decided they couldn't remain on the sidelines. They joined Britain's Royal Air Force - with the future of civilization hanging in the balance. The Few tells the dramatic story of these Americans who defied their own country's neutrality laws and risked their very citizenship to fight side-by-side with England's finest pilots.
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Fantastic
- By Laurie on 02-02-12
By: Alex Kershaw
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The night of 16 May, 1943: Nineteen specially adapted Lancaster bombers take off from RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, each with a huge 9000-lb cylindrical bomb strapped underneath it. Their mission: to destroy three dams deep within the German heartland, which provide the lifeblood to the industries supplying the Third Reich's war machine.
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A must for anyone interested in Air Warfare
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Great writing, great narration, interesting topic
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A must for anyone interested in Air Warfare
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Personal connection to a book section
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Wade McClusky and the Battle of Midway
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Clean Sweep
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On August 7, 1942, two events of major military importance occurred on separate sides of the planet. In the South Pacific, the United States went on the offensive, landing the First Marine Division at Guadalcanal. In England, 12 B-17 bombers of the new Eighth Air Force’s 97th Bombardment Group bombed the Rouen–Sotteville railroad marshalling yards in France. While the mission was small, the aerial struggle that began that day would ultimately cost the United States more men killed and wounded by the end of the war in Europe than the Marines would lose in the Pacific War.
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may be factual but poorly written
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Six months after Pearl Harbor, the seemingly invincible Imperial Japanese Navy prepared a decisive blow against the United States. After sweeping through Asia and the South Pacific, Japan's military targeted the tiny atoll of Midway, an ideal launching pad for the invasion of Hawaii and beyond. But the United States Navy was waiting for them. Thanks to cutting-edge code-breaking technology, tactical daring, and a huge stroke of luck, the Americans under Admiral Chester W. Nimitz dealt the Japanese navy its first major defeat of the war.
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Greatest Book on Midway Battle
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Shattered Sword
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Many consider the Battle of Midway to have turned the tide of the Pacific War. It is without question one of the most famous battles in history. Now, for the first time since Gordon W. Prange's best-selling Miracle at Midway, Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully offer a new interpretation of this great naval engagement. Shattered Sword makes extensive use of Japanese primary sources. It also corrects the many errors of Mitsuo Fuchida's Midway: The Battle That Doomed Japan It thus forces a major, potentially controversial reevaluation of the great battle.
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Shattered Myths - These authors got it right?
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Neptune
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Seventy years ago, more than 6000 Allied ships carried more than a million soldiers across the English Channel to a 50-mile-wide strip of the Normandy coast in German-occupied France. It was the greatest sea-borne assault in human history. The code names given to the beaches where the ships landed the soldiers have become immortal: Gold, Juno, Sword, Utah, and especially Omaha, the scene of almost unimaginable human tragedy.
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The Whys of D-Day
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The Fall of Berlin 1945
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The Red Army had much to avenge when it finally reached the frontiers of the Third Reich in January 1945. Frenzied by their terrible experiences with Wehrmacht and SS brutality, they wreaked havoc - tanks crushing refugee columns, mass rape, pillage, and unimaginable destruction. Hundreds of thousands of women and children froze to death or were massacred; more than seven million fled westward from the fury of the Red Army. It was the most terrifying example of fire and sword ever known.
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Engrossing
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What listeners say about The Battle of Britain
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- Chiefkent
- 11-07-17
The battle up to The Battle of Britain
The sub-title of 'Five Months That Changed History; May-October 1940', is inaccurate in as at least half of the book is taken up WHY, The Battle of Britain took place. The other half is HOW, The Battle of Britain took place. Please don't get me wrong, I listened raptly and was surprised to learn details that I either forgot or plain didn't know. Anytime I learn new information, I'm one happy camper. Thing is that I was really expecting 26 hours on The Battle of Britain. Happily the narration was smooth and upper crust Brit, making for an easy 26 hours.
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- B Taub
- 12-15-17
WW2 Thru the Battle of Britain
While filled with a huge number of personal accounts, this book also delves deeply into the strategies that brought about the Battle of Britain and the tactics that led to its outcome. The book starts well before the BoB, though, and spends a huge amount of time on the invasion of France and then the evacuation at Dunkirk. So, it would probably have better been titled WW2 Through the Battle of Britain but, I suppose, that's not as marketable. However, if you're ok with that, there's a lot to learn here. I, personally, ended up happy that I learned more than I originally expected.
For example, we're all brought up to think of Hitler as doing things just out of evil, which he most certainly was. But, he did also have strategic concerns about the rise of communism and Germany's geographic position in Europe. Understanding these help, at least, explain his expansion into Western Europe. The book gives you that nuance, as well as an understanding of Goering that transcends his reputation as a purely comical figure.
The book is also very sympathetic to Neville Chamberlin and the role he eventually played in Churchill's government.
After the fall of France, the book does a great job of proceeding through the BoB and how the battle evolved.
I don't want to give the impression that the book is only about politics, though. That is maybe 20% of it. The rest is dedicated to tactics, technologies, and individual stories.
I've read a ton of aviation history but I still learned a lot here. For example, the author makes a good argument that, objectively, the Me109e was better than the Spitfire Mk1 and way better than the Hurricane. He may have ignored a few details but, overall, his analysis seems sound.
My only complaint about the book is that a few basic concepts were just wrong. The one that grated on my nerves most was that the author almost always referred to g-forces as negative-g. Negative-g just didn't make sense in many of the cases where he described it - it was just g! But, overall, I think he knew what he's talking about (he's probably not a pilot, though).
In the final analysis, most people will finish this book (after some time - it is quite long) with a far more nuanced understanding of the Battle of Britain, it's importance, and why it went the way it did.
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23 people found this helpful
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- Patrick
- 10-31-17
Outstanding!
I have read several books about the Battle of Britain, this was the best. It blended the macro level issues with the individual on land, sea, and air. This is the second James Holland book I have listened to with Audible, both were great! The narrator does need to work on his pronunciation of GERMAN names and military ranks.
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- Sharon S. George
- 11-09-17
Misleading
The Battle of Britain storyline does not start until 2/3 into the book. It should be called The first year of the war.
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14 people found this helpful
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- Andrew
- 11-06-17
Missing facts about the Polish pilots
What about the Polish Air Force squadrons and Polish RAF fighter pilots? Another book that
completely ignores these heroes. Missing facts about Polish pilots during Battle of Britain is like modifying history and creating fake history.
The 303 squadron was one of 16 Polish squadrons in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. It was not just the highest scoring squadron (126 kills) during the Battle of Britain, but it had the highest ratio of enemy aircraft destroyed to their own lost.
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- Joseph
- 11-08-17
Brilliant! Compelling and personal
A thorough look into both sides. Gives you that in-the- cockpit feel of the action. Also analyzes in depth Britain's and Germany's strategy long-term, beginning in autumn 1939.
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9 people found this helpful
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- J. C. Guy
- 09-26-18
Dodgy Narration
The narrator has a pleasant speaking voice and cadence, but his word pronunciation of anything other than English words is terrible. The book is written to use the French and German language terms for places, ranks, names, units, equipment, and weapons systems; that requires a narrator who knows how to use the language. This wasn’t him.
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- S. H. Moore
- 11-01-20
This is a great book, but the Battle of Britain is only the half of it.
Seriously, this book take a long time to get going. Now, this is not bad per se, in that it is a very in-depth telling of the state of the war for Great Britain and lays the ground work for her disposition going into the Battle of Britain, however it is far more than I think most people would expect. There is a good 10 hours before you start nearing the battle.
I’m not knocking the book, it is very very well done. Good story telling. It is far reaching. Logistics, personnel issues, leadership rivalry it is all here. Even someone whom considered themselves VERY well versed in military history got some things out of this book. Just be prepared to invest sometime getting to the actual fighting the book is named for.
So for that one thing I knocked a star. It please, by all means, if you want the most detailed Battle of Britain narrative the on Audible, snatch it up. Stick with it. You’ll get there and it’s very very good.
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- Nicole
- 01-20-19
The story from both sides!
This was a fantastic book! I have read a lot of books on WWII and very rarely do they give equal amounts of attention to both sides of the conflict. It shares the accounts of both the British pilots that flew in the battle and then goes into accounts from their German counterparts to give a full view of the conflict. It is a comprehensive look at the conflict not only in the broad terms of that was happening at the time and why, but also keeps things intimate with the personal accounts of the people who live it.
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- jack
- 03-02-18
Starts out slow but gathers speed and is very interesting.
The book starts out slow and a bit stilted But by chapter five it is off and running. It really becomes when the author starts talking about the air war over Britain. Excellent descriptions of the German and British strategies how they were modified and the result. A great explanation of how the two groups of fighter pilots coped with the war. A great discussion of the leaders of both countries and how they influenced the outcome of th battle
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4 people found this helpful