-
The American Civil War
- A Military History
- Narrated by: Robin Sachs
- Length: 16 hrs and 32 mins
- Categories: History, Military
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $34.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The First World War
- By: John Keegan
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 20 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Best Military History of First World War
- By Amazon Customer on 06-13-19
By: John Keegan
-
A History of Warfare
- By: John Keegan
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 19 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Starting with the premise that all civilizations owe their origins to warmaking, Keegan probes the meanings, motivations, and methods underlying war in different societies over the course of more than two thousand years. Following the progress of human aggression in its full historical sweep, from the strangely ritualistic combat of Stone Age peoples to the warfare of mass destruction in the present age, his illuminating and lively narrative gives us all the world's great warrior cultures.
-
-
Complete, Informative, and Insightful
- By Dan on 11-07-05
By: John Keegan
-
The Napoleonic Wars
- By: Alexander Mikaberidze
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 35 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Napoleonic Wars saw fighting on an unprecedented scale in Europe and the Americas. It took the wealth of the British Empire, combined with the might of the continental armies, almost two decades to bring down one of the world's greatest military leaders and the empire that he had created. Napoleon's ultimate defeat was to determine the history of Europe for almost 100 years. From the frozen wastelands of Russia, through the brutal fighting in the Peninsula to the blood-soaked battlefield of Waterloo, this book tells the story of the dramatic rise and fall of the Napoleonic Empire.
-
-
No description of battles
- By John Gaston on 01-15-21
-
Battle Cry of Freedom
- The Civil War Era
- By: James Macpherson
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 39 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Battle Cry of Freedom vividly traces how a new nation was forged when a war both sides were sure would amount to little dragged for four years and cost more American lives than all other wars combined. Narrator Jonathan Davis powerful reading brings to life the many voices of the Civil War.
-
-
Outstanding history
- By NOAM NEUSNER on 03-08-21
By: James Macpherson
-
The Face of Battle
- By: John Keegan
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this major and wholly original contribution to military history, John Keegan reverses the usual convention of writing about war in terms of generals and nations in conflict, which tends to leave the common soldier as cipher. Instead, he focuses on what a set battle is like for the man in the thick of it.
-
-
Amazing! But probably better in print.
- By D. Martin on 04-20-13
By: John Keegan
-
This Hallowed Ground
- A History of the Civil War
- By: Bruce Catton
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 18 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This audiobook is the classic one-volume history of the American Civil War by Pulitzer Prize winner Bruce Catton. Covering events from the prelude of the conflict to the death of Lincoln, Catton blends a gripping narrative with deep, yet unassuming, scholarship to bring the war alive in an almost novelistic way. It is this gift for narrative that led contemporary critics to compare this book to War and Peace, and call it a "modern Iliad." Now over 50 years old, This Hallowed Ground remains one of the best-loved and admired general Civil War books.
-
-
Still one of the best!
- By Homer on 04-21-19
By: Bruce Catton
-
The First World War
- By: John Keegan
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 20 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Best Military History of First World War
- By Amazon Customer on 06-13-19
By: John Keegan
-
A History of Warfare
- By: John Keegan
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 19 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Starting with the premise that all civilizations owe their origins to warmaking, Keegan probes the meanings, motivations, and methods underlying war in different societies over the course of more than two thousand years. Following the progress of human aggression in its full historical sweep, from the strangely ritualistic combat of Stone Age peoples to the warfare of mass destruction in the present age, his illuminating and lively narrative gives us all the world's great warrior cultures.
-
-
Complete, Informative, and Insightful
- By Dan on 11-07-05
By: John Keegan
-
The Napoleonic Wars
- By: Alexander Mikaberidze
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 35 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Napoleonic Wars saw fighting on an unprecedented scale in Europe and the Americas. It took the wealth of the British Empire, combined with the might of the continental armies, almost two decades to bring down one of the world's greatest military leaders and the empire that he had created. Napoleon's ultimate defeat was to determine the history of Europe for almost 100 years. From the frozen wastelands of Russia, through the brutal fighting in the Peninsula to the blood-soaked battlefield of Waterloo, this book tells the story of the dramatic rise and fall of the Napoleonic Empire.
-
-
No description of battles
- By John Gaston on 01-15-21
-
Battle Cry of Freedom
- The Civil War Era
- By: James Macpherson
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 39 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Battle Cry of Freedom vividly traces how a new nation was forged when a war both sides were sure would amount to little dragged for four years and cost more American lives than all other wars combined. Narrator Jonathan Davis powerful reading brings to life the many voices of the Civil War.
-
-
Outstanding history
- By NOAM NEUSNER on 03-08-21
By: James Macpherson
-
The Face of Battle
- By: John Keegan
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this major and wholly original contribution to military history, John Keegan reverses the usual convention of writing about war in terms of generals and nations in conflict, which tends to leave the common soldier as cipher. Instead, he focuses on what a set battle is like for the man in the thick of it.
-
-
Amazing! But probably better in print.
- By D. Martin on 04-20-13
By: John Keegan
-
This Hallowed Ground
- A History of the Civil War
- By: Bruce Catton
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 18 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This audiobook is the classic one-volume history of the American Civil War by Pulitzer Prize winner Bruce Catton. Covering events from the prelude of the conflict to the death of Lincoln, Catton blends a gripping narrative with deep, yet unassuming, scholarship to bring the war alive in an almost novelistic way. It is this gift for narrative that led contemporary critics to compare this book to War and Peace, and call it a "modern Iliad." Now over 50 years old, This Hallowed Ground remains one of the best-loved and admired general Civil War books.
-
-
Still one of the best!
- By Homer on 04-21-19
By: Bruce Catton
-
Six Armies in Normandy
- From D-Day to the Liberation of Paris
- By: John Keegan
- Narrated by: Fred Williams
- Length: 17 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a burnished, driving prose, incorporating a myriad of fresh sources, John Keegan tells the story of the Allies' greatest military achievement as he chronicles the 1944 invasion of Normandy, from D-Day to the liberation of Paris.
-
-
Not for the casual WWII reader
- By Jay on 12-13-05
By: John Keegan
-
Imperial Germany and War, 1871-1918
- Modern War Studies
- By: Daniel J. Hughes, Richard L. DiNardo
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 21 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Written by two of the world's leading authorities on the subject, Imperial Germany and War, 1871-1918 examines the most essential components of the imperial German military system, with an emphasis on such foundational areas as theory, doctrine, institutional structures, training, and the officer corps. In the period between 1871 and 1918, rapid technological development demanded considerable adaptation and change in military doctrine and planning.
-
-
Very well researched
- By Jeff Wise on 04-27-20
By: Daniel J. Hughes, and others
-
The First World War
- A Complete History
- By: Martin Gilbert
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 33 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was to be the war to end all wars, and it began at 11:15 on the morning of June 28, 1914, in an outpost of the Austro-Hungarian Empire called Sarajevo. It would officially end nearly five years later. Unofficially, however, it has never ended: Many of the horrors we live with today are rooted in the First World War. The Great War left millions of civilians and soldiers maimed or dead. It also saw the creation of new technologies of destruction: tanks, planes, and submarines; machine guns and field artillery; poison gas and chemical warfare.
-
-
Unbiased true facts of the first world war
- By troy a myers on 07-27-20
By: Martin Gilbert
-
Twilight of the Gods
- War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945
- By: Ian Toll
- Narrated by: P.J. Ochlan
- Length: 36 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twilight of the Gods is a riveting account of the harrowing last year of World War II in the Pacific, when the US Navy won the largest naval battle in history; MacArthur made good his pledge to return to the Philippines; waves of kamikazes attacked the Allied fleets; the Japanese fought to the last man on one island after another; B-29 bombers burned down Japanese cities; and Hiroshima and Nagasaki were vaporized. Toll's narratives of combat in the air, at sea, and on the beaches are gripping, but he also takes the listener into the halls of power in Washington and Tokyo.
-
-
Food for WWII History Buffs
- By Dr. Schtick on 12-20-20
By: Ian Toll
-
The Civil War: A Narrative, Vol. 2
- Fredericksburg to Meridian
- By: Shelby Foote
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 52 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Civil War: A Narrative, Vol. 2 continues one of the most remarkable works of history ever fashioned. Focusing on the pivotal year of 1863, the second volume in Shelby Foote's masterful narrative history brings to life some of the most dramatic and important moments in the Civil War, including the Battle of Gettysburg and Grant's Vicksburg Campaign. The word narrative is the key to this book's extraordinary incandescence and truth: The story is told entirely from the point of view of the people involved.
-
-
Excellent in breadth and depth.
- By W.F. Clancy on 09-16-17
By: Shelby Foote
-
Intelligence in War
- Knowledge of the Enemy from Napoleon to Al-Qaeda
- By: John Keegan
- Narrated by: Richard Matthews
- Length: 15 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In fiction, the spy is a glamorous figure whose secrets make or break peace, but, historically, has intelligence really been a vital step to military victories? In this breakthrough study, the preeminent war historian John Keegan goes to the heart of a series of important conflicts to develop a powerful argument about military intelligence. In his characteristically wry and perceptive prose, Keegan offers us nothing short of a new history of war through the prism of intelligence.
-
-
Military history more than history of intelligence
- By D. Littman on 01-10-04
By: John Keegan
-
The Civil War: A Narrative, Volume I, Fort Sumter to Perryville
- By: Shelby Foote
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 42 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Civil War: A Narrative, Volume 1 begins one of the most remarkable works of history ever fashioned. All the great battles are here, of course, from Bull Run through Shiloh, the Seven Days Battles, and Antietam, but so are the smaller ones: Ball's Bluff, Fort Donelson, Pea Ridge, Island Ten, New Orleans, and Monitor versus Merrimac.
-
-
One of the great literary achievements of all time
- By Judd Bagley on 01-09-09
By: Shelby Foote
-
The Civil War: A Narrative, Vol. 3
- Red River to Appomattox
- By: Shelby Foote
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 58 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Civil War: A Narrative, Vol. 3, Shelby Foote follows the events of the war from 1862 through 1864, discussing the strategies of both the North and the South and assessing the performance of the Union generals. The book opens with the beginning of the two final, major confrontations of the war: Grant against Lee in Virginia and Sherman pressing Johnston in North Georgia. In vivid narrative as seen from both sides, he tells of the climactic struggles, great and small, on and off the field of battle, that finally decided the fate of this nation.
-
-
let the future not repeat the past
- By Circlekay1 Gulfport MS on 10-18-17
By: Shelby Foote
-
The Second World War: A Complete History
- By: Martin Gilbert
- Narrated by: Bernard Mayes
- Length: 43 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Martin Gilbert, the official biographer of Winston Churchill, offers a complete history of World War II. It began with the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. By the time it came to an end on V-Day - August 14, 1945 - it had involved every major power, and had become global in its reach. In the final accounting, it would turn out to be - in both human terms and material resources - the costliest war in history, taking the lives of forty-six million people.
-
-
A Catalog of Atrocities, Ignores the Japanese
- By Doc G on 02-28-19
By: Martin Gilbert
-
Vicksburg
- Grant's Campaign That Broke the Confederacy
- By: Donald L. Miller
- Narrated by: Rick Adamson
- Length: 21 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Vicksburg, Mississippi, was the last stronghold of the Confederacy on the Mississippi River. It prevented the Union from using the river for shipping between the Union-controlled Midwest and New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico. The Union navy tried to take Vicksburg, which sat on a high bluff overlooking the river, but couldn't do it. It took Grant's army and Admiral David Porter's navy to successfully invade Mississippi and lay siege to Vicksburg, forcing the city to surrender.
-
-
Fantastic!
- By Dennis Coello on 11-16-19
By: Donald L. Miller
-
Pandora’s Box
- A History of the First World War
- By: Jorn Leonhard, Patrick Camiller - translator
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 39 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this monumental history of the First World War, Germany's leading historian of the 20th century's first great catastrophe explains the war's origins, course, and consequences. With an unrivaled combination of depth and global reach, Pandora's Box reveals how profoundly the war shaped the world to come. Jörn Leonhard treats the clash of arms with a sure feel for grand strategy, the everyday tactics of dynamic movement and slow attrition, the race for ever more destructive technologies, and the grim experiences of frontline soldiers.
-
-
Excellent reading of a complex book
- By chris on 02-26-19
By: Jorn Leonhard, and others
-
World War II at Sea
- A Global History
- By: Craig L. Symonds
- Narrated by: Eric Martin
- Length: 25 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
World War II at Sea offers a global perspective, focusing on the major engagements and personalities and revealing both their scale and their interconnection: the U-boat attack on Scapa Flow and the Battle of the Atlantic; the "miracle" evacuation from Dunkirk and the pitched battles for control of Norway fjords; Mussolini's Regia Marina - at the start of the war the fourth-largest navy in the world - and the dominance of the Kidö Butai and Japanese naval power in the Pacific; Pearl Harbor then Midway; and much more.
-
-
Outstanding
- By Patrick on 02-14-19
By: Craig L. Symonds
Publisher's Summary
Now Keegan examines these and other puzzles with a peerless understanding of warfare, uncovering dimensions of the conflict that have eluded earlier historiography.
While offering original and perceptive insights into psychology, ideology, demographics, and economics, Keegan reveals the war's hidden shape - a consequence of leadership, the evolution of strategic logic, and, above all, geography, the Rosetta Stone of his legendary decipherments of all great battles.
The American topography, Keegan argues, presented a battle space of complexity and challenges virtually unmatched before or since. Out of a succession of mythic but chaotic engagements, he weaves an irresistible narrative illuminated with comparisons to the Napoleonic Wars, the First World War, and other conflicts.
The American Civil War is sure to be hailed as a definitive account of its eternally fascinating subject.
More from the same
What listeners say about The American Civil War
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- margot
- 11-18-12
A Novel Approach (As Opposed to Novelistic)
I had to listen to this two or three times with half an ear before I appreciated Keegan's cunning arrangement of the story. It is not a straight narrative, does not compete directly with the 119-course meals of Shelby Foote and Bruce Catton. It does not arrange the story in a linear timeline like a choo-choo train (THIS happened and then THIS happened...). No, it's done in the style of a digressive essay, like a long book review. Keegan spends most of the first half dilating upon the topics that most interest him: 19th Century American culture in general, Southern civilization vs Northern, the variances in technological development, the astounding spottiness of topographical knowledge (basically, maps that were poor or nonexistent), the prosperity and ease of the old-stock middle class, and in general how strange and novel American civilization appeared to those from the Old World.
Perhaps only an English military historian could handle this with the detachment that Keegan shows. This is not to say he shows no biases at all; he definitely faults the South for being technologically deficient and maybe culturally backward; and he thinks the world of Abraham Lincoln. But this is just a function of using a book-review idiom, in which one accepts the conventional outlook overall, while reserving creative insight for one's one narrow and favorite specialties. Thus when discussing strategy in the many theaters of war, Keegan comes back again and again to his own pet methodologies, analyzing the problems of managing a war over a vast terrain that no one comprehended very well, and comparing the topographical problems of waging battles in Tidewater Virginia versus the campaigns in the trans-Appalachian West. Again and again it's mainly an issue of good maps and efficient geopolitical outlook, much as in the First World War.
The performance is pretty good. The mispronunciations of place names (mainly "Po-to-mack" for Potomac) is amusing and forgivable, given the British actor during the narration.
14 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ian
- 04-15-13
Missing pages
What would have made The American Civil War better?
If the latter portion of page 124, the entirety of page 125 and the first portion of page 126 had been included in the audio. Instead, we're left with a comment about Grant being great at math and then he's suddenly confronted by Fort Donelson, with the entirety of his early career skipped (it's in the book, just not the audio).
Would you ever listen to anything by John Keegan again?
Yes
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mike From Mesa
- 10-12-19
An excellent look at the American Civil War
John Keegan is one of my favorite authors of military history and I have read many of his books, including his biography of Winston Churchill which was a bit of a change for him. All were excellent - well written, interesting and informative - and this book is no exception. It was one of many histories of this period that I have read, but it had its own unique approach and much that I had not seen in other books.
In particular I found his analysis of the generalship of the various commanders extraordinarily interesting and something that I had not seen in other books. As a young boy growing up and attending public school I always heard about how great a general Robert E Lee was and how poor a general Ulysses Grant was and it has been interesting to see how the more recent books on the US Civil War have changed that view. As I read more books on the subject my view of the generalship of the various figures in the war changed and it became clear to me how the earlier views taught in public schools were generally uninformed.
Mr Keegan covers all of the major battles of the war and the political background of both the North and South and as a military historian he explains why this or that action was important and what effect it had. He also covers the use of freed slaves by the North and their proposed use by the South as well and how Grant's overall strategy was the only war winning strategy proposed by any general or politician during the war. His comments on Grant, Sherman, Lee, Jackson and others are especially interesting.
The narration is excellent and I recommend this book to anyone interested in reading about the US Civil War, regardless of whether they know much or little of the war.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Chris
- 03-01-10
Another outstanding effort
Everything by Keegan is outstanding and this is no different. Well worth a listen if you have any interest at all in the subject.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Carroll
- 11-19-17
An amazing analysis of our Civil War from outside!
A dedicated student of the Civil War, I was fascinated & intrigued by Keegan's different view of the many events I've read & studied... hearing a different set of questions & discussions about a "known event" was amazing... yes, I listened to it 3 times in a row to scratch my head & research to points he discusses & I overlooked.. Wish I found it sooner!!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- James
- 01-05-15
Excellent overview of the Civil War.
Keegan does an admirable job of capturing the political and military circumstances that led to the outbreak of hostilities between north & south. He also discuss major battles and prominent individuals with enough detail to giver the listener/reader a good grasp of their character.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mr.
- 08-19-20
Great book, to be taken with a grain of salt
John Keegan is a great historian, and this work is proof of that. It is well-detailed but not to a point of being an exhausting experience to the reader. Keegan fleshes out the characters, reflecting on their motivations and providing enough background to help the reader understand why some History-changing decisions were made.
This, however, is also Keegan’s weak point, as he passes judgement on these same characters, getting very close to stereotyping them. In other words, Keegan does not distance himself from the events he tells, but does not have enough room in his book, or patience, to properly characterize his characters and motivations, and eventually comes up as a partial judge, mixing historical facts with his opinions.
Overall a great book about this terrible conflict, which revisits so many important questions not commonly asked by most.
Highly recommend it.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 12-31-19
Excellent
Very much enjoyed it. Good perspective and insights. The chapters are well constructed and to the point.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mateo M.
- 12-02-19
One of the best voices
This is a great book to listen to if you and a non-American perspective and summary of the Civil War. The speaker’s voice is one of the best that I have heard.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mark W. Monaghan
- 11-11-19
not that gôod
Not well put together. Was expecting a more description of actual events. Did not understand the constant relationships to WW1