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The Kamikazes
- The History of Japan's World War II Suicide Pilots
- Narrated by: Stan Chandler
- Length: 1 hr and 28 mins
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The Kamikazes
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Publisher's summary
One of the most fascinating aspects of World War II was Japan's use of suicide pilots known around the globe as kamikazes, though the Japanese referred to them as Tokubetsu kōgekitai ("Special Attack Units"). Translated as "God Wind", "Divine Wind", and "God Spirit", kamikazes would sink 47 Allied vessels and damage over 300 by the end of the war, but the rise in the use of kamikaze attacks was evidence of the loss of Japan's air superiority and its waning industrial might. This method of fighting would become more common by the time Iwo Jima was fought over in early 1945, and it was especially prevalent during the invasion of Okinawa in April 1945. The "privilege" of being selected as a kamikaze pilot played directly into the deep-seated Japanese mindset of "death before defeat". The pilot training manual assured each kamikaze candidate that when they eliminated all thoughts of life and death, fear of losing the earthly life can be easily overcome.
Still, not all cases of those chosen to be kamikazes were equally noble. Recruits were trained with torturous regimens or corporal punishment, and stories of mental impairment caused by drugs or saki abound. Some were described as "tottering" and dazed, being carried to their planes by maintenance officers, and forcibly pushed in if they backed down. Pilots who could not find their targets were told to turn around and spare their own lives for another day, but if a pilot returned nine times, he was to be shot. At the moment of collision, he was instructed to keep his eyes open at all times, and to shout "Hissatsu" ("clear kill").
The Kamikazes chronicles the history of Japan's famous suicide pilots and explains when, why, and how Japan resorted to their use near the end of war.
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- Length: 27 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 663
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 591
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Story5 out of 5 stars 581
In his critically acclaimed Armageddon, Hastings detailed the last twelve months of the struggle for Germany. Here, in what can be considered a companion volume, he covers the horrific story of the war against Japan. By the summer of 1944 it was clear that Japan’s defeat was inevitable, but how the drive to victory would be achieved remained to be seen. The ensuing drama–that ended in Japan’s utter devastation–was acted out across the vast stage of Asia.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A superb study by one of the world's finest histor
- By Easton Reader on 12-22-16
By: Max Hastings
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Firestorm
- Allied Airpower and the Destruction of Dresden
- By: Marshall De Bruhl
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 13 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 75
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 38
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Story4 out of 5 stars 36
On February 13 and 14, 1945, three successive waves of British and U.S. aircraft rained down thousands of tons of high explosive and incendiary bombs on the largely undefended German city of Dresden. Night and day, Dresden was engulfed in a vast sea of flame, a firestorm that generated 1,500-degree temperatures and hurricane-force winds. Thousands suffocated in underground shelters where they had fled to escape the inferno above.
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1 out of 5 stars
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slanted view of air attacks during war
- By Ed Yusis on 03-31-14
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Inferno
- The World at War, 1939-1945
- By: Max Hastings
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 31 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 384
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 330
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Story5 out of 5 stars 328
From one of our finest military historians, a monumental work that shows us at once the truly global reach of World War II and its deeply personal consequences.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Superb
- By David on 04-05-21
By: Max Hastings
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Hit the Target
- Eight Men Who Led the Eighth Air Force to Victory over the Luftwaffe
- By: Bill Yenne
- Narrated by: Corey M. Snow
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 27
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 23
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 23
Less than a month after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the US Army formed its first air force designated to operate overseas, the Eighth. Within four months they had set up base in England. Three months later they were bombing German targets in occupied Europe. The Eighth was the first bomber command on either side to commit to strategic daylight bombing. It was a major change in tactics - and the men of the Eighth paid the price in both lives and blood.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Lots of history, kinda boring.
- By Annie on 11-12-23
By: Bill Yenne
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Admiral Bill Halsey
- A Naval Life
- By: Thomas Alexander Hughes
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 17 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 171
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 154
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 154
William Halsey was the most famous naval officer of World War II. His fearlessness in carrier raids against Japan, his steely resolve at Guadalcanal, and his impulsive blunder at the Battle of Leyte Gulf made him the "Patton of the Pacific" and solidified his reputation as a decisive, aggressive fighter prone to impetuous errors of judgment in the heat of battle.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Finally a fair assessment
- By Stephen Breen on 06-28-20
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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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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 298
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 268
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 267
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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1 out of 5 stars
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Poorly researched, author loses credibility.
- By booger on 12-23-18
By: Craig Nelson
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Bloody Sixteen
- The USS Oriskany and Air Wing 16 During the Vietnam War
- By: Peter Fey
- Narrated by: John McLain
- Length: 15 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 33
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 25
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Story5 out of 5 stars 25
Strategy and reality collide in Peter Fey's gripping history of aircraft carrier USS Oriskany's three deployments to Vietnam with Carrier Air Wing 16 (CVW-16). Its tours coincided with the most dangerous phases of Operation Rolling Thunder, the ill-fated bombing campaign against North Vietnam, and accounted for a quarter of all the naval aircraft lost during Rolling Thunder. The Johnson administration's policy of gradually applied force meant that Oriskany arrived on station just as previous restrictions were lifted and bombing raids increased.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great Listen!
- By MeathookWX on 09-21-18
By: Peter Fey
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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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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 83
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 71
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Story5 out of 5 stars 71
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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5 out of 5 stars
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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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When Tigers Ruled the Sky
- The Flying Tigers: American Outlaw Pilots over China in World War II
- By: Bill Yenne
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 69
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 59
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 59
In 1940 Pearl Harbor had not yet happened, and America was not yet at war with Japan. But China had been trying to stave off Japanese aggression for three years - and was desperate for aircraft and trained combat pilots. General Chiang Kai-shek sent military aviation advisor Claire Chennault to Washington, where President Roosevelt was sympathetic but knew he could not intervene overtly. Instead he quietly helped Chennault put together a group of American volunteer pilots.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Well Written Historical Perspective
- By Donald Hill on 11-21-17
By: Bill Yenne
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To Risk It All
- Nine Conflicts and the Crucible of Decision
- By: Admiral James Stavridis
- Narrated by: Marc Cashman
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 212
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 184
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 181
At the heart of Admiral James Stavridis’s training as a naval officer was the preparation to lead sailors in combat, to face the decisive moment in battle whenever it might arise. In To Risk It All, he offers up nine of the most useful and enthralling stories from the US Navy’s nearly 250-year history, and draws from them a set of insights that we can all put to use when confronted with fateful choices.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A great book
- By John A. on 06-06-22
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Rising Sun Victorious
- Alternate Histories of the Pacific War
- By: Peter G. Tsouras
- Narrated by: David Baker
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 39
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 33
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Story4 out of 5 stars 33
In war, victory can be held hostage to seemingly insignificant incidents - chance events, opportunities seized or cast aside - that can derail the most brilliant military strategies and change the course of history. What if the Japanese had conquered India and driven out the British? What if the strategic link between the United States and Australia had been severed? What if Vice Admiral Nagumo had launched a third attack on Pearl Harbor? What if the US Navy's gamble at Midway had backfired?
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3 out of 5 stars
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victorious
- By Amazon Customer on 05-17-16
By: Peter G. Tsouras
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Whirlwind
- The Air War Against Japan, 1942-1945
- By: Barrett Tillman
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 128
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 75
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Story4 out of 5 stars 79
Whirlwind is the only book to examine in depth the human drama behind the most important bombing campaign in history. While the air war against Nazi Germany has been covered in-depth by many books, Barrett Tillman, a renowned authority on military aircraft and the air war in the Pacific, is the first to tackle the air war against Japan. For decades, historians and politicians have debated whether or not Japan was on the verge of surrender in August 1945---before the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Good, but ultimately disappointing
- By Michael on 10-16-10
By: Barrett Tillman
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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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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 163
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 146
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 143
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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5 out of 5 stars
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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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Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942
- By: Ian W. Toll
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 22 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 3,816
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,403
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Story5 out of 5 stars 3,388
On the first Sunday in December 1941, an armada of Japanese warplanes appeared suddenly over Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and devastated the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Six months later, in a sea fight north of the tiny atoll of Midway, four Japanese aircraft carriers were sent into the abyss. Pacific Crucible tells the epic tale of these first searing months of the Pacific war, when the U.S. Navy shook off the worst defeat in American military history and seized the strategic initiative.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Astonishingly good.
- By Mike From Mesa on 09-01-12
By: Ian W. Toll
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Who Can Hold the Sea
- The U.S. Navy in the Cold War 1945-1960
- By: James D. Hornfischer
- Narrated by: Christopher Newton, Sharon Hornfischer
- Length: 17 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 268
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 227
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Story5 out of 5 stars 226
This landmark account of the U.S. Navy in the Cold War, Who Can Hold the Sea combines narrative history with scenes of stirring adventure on—and under—the high seas. In 1945, at the end of World War II, the victorious Navy sends its sailors home and decommissions most of its warships. But this peaceful interlude is short-lived, as Stalin, America’s former ally, makes aggressive moves in Europe and the Far East.
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5 out of 5 stars
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James D. Hornfisher's last work
- By JWHayn4563 on 05-05-22
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American Heritage History of World War II
- By: Stephen E. Ambrose, C. L. Sulzberger
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 112
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 101
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Story5 out of 5 stars 101
In planes and foxholes, in deserts and jungles, on ships and beaches, Ambrose shines a light on the people involved - the leaders, the fighters, the victims. With chapters on the atrocities of the Holocaust and revelations about the secret war of espionage, Ambrose's analysis also offers insight into the events that precipitated the Cold War.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent overview of WWII
- By Laura Kernen on 11-15-18
By: Stephen E. Ambrose, and others
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A Higher Form of Killing
- Six Weeks in World War I That Forever Changed the Nature of Warfare
- By: Diana Preston
- Narrated by: Christine Williams
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 52
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 43
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 41
In six weeks during April and May 1915, as World War I escalated, Germany forever altered the way war would be fought. On April 22, at Ypres, German canisters spewed poison gas at French and Canadian soldiers in their trenches; on May 7, the German submarine U-20, without warning, torpedoed the passenger liner Lusitania, killing 1,198 civilians; and on May 31, a German Zeppelin began the first aerial bombardment of London and its inhabitants.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Very Informative
- By Anonymous User on 05-24-23
By: Diana Preston