The Rise of Germany, 1939-1941

The War in The West, Volume 1

De: James Holland

Narrado por: Paul Boehmer

For seven decades, our understanding of World War II has been shaped by a standard narrative built on conventional wisdom, propaganda, the dramatic but narrow experiences of soldiers on the ground, and an early generation of historians. For his new history, James Holland has spent over 12 years unearthing new research, recording original testimony, and visiting battlefields and archives that have never before been so accessible.

In The Rise of Germany, the first of a major new three-part history of World War II in the West, he weaves together the experiences of dozens of individuals, from civilians and infantrymen to line officers, military strategists, diplomats, and heads of state, as well as war strategy, tactics, and the economic, political, and social aspects of the war to create a captivating audiobook that redefines and enhances our understanding of one of the most significant conflicts in history.

Beginning with the lead-up to the outbreak of war in 1939 and ending in 1941 on the eve of Operation Barbarossa, the Nazi invasion of Russia, The Rise of Germany is a masterful history of the war on land, in the air, and at sea, destined to generate significant scholarly debate and listener interest.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2015 James Holland. First published in Great Britain in 2015 by Bantam Press, an imprint of Transworld Publishers. Recorded by arrangement with Grove Atlantic, Inc. (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

A must listen!

James Holland sheds new light on a subject that many may believe has been covered to the point of exhaustion!! From his re-examination of the myth of Wehrmacht mechanization and “blitzkrieg” to his in depth look at the nuts and bolts operational level of the war.

Paul Boehmer does a magnificent job narrating! Right down to spot on pronunciations of names and technical terminology along with various accents that, along with tone help keep a 28hr book alive and interesting!

Looking forward to volumes 2 and 3 of this series!!

Epic

listened to part 1, 2, 3 in reverse. Fascinating. The authors level of detail and use of personal storys is great

Reader striving for linguistic accuracy

Where does The Rise of Germany, 1939-1941 rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The reader reviews really had me worried until I listened and realized he had put great effort in to getting all of the French, German and even English pronunciation accurate. We are so used to lazy anglicized versions that the correct pronunciation does seem somewhat jarring, but after a short while it really adds to the authenticity.

What other book might you compare The Rise of Germany, 1939-1941 to and why?

I have read all of the classic WW II books from Churchill to Shirer but none of them capture the personal accounts or the macro economics of the war the way this book does. I thought the publisher was making outlandish claims when they promised a new perspective, but I think the book actually lived up to this. I am now waiting eagerly for the second book.

Very good treatment of two critical years

Holland provides context for the 1939-41 period of WWII. These years are mostly overlooked by most Americans; we tend to think of WWII’s beginning as December 7, 1941, with the attack on Pearl Harbor. Holland provides analysis of the factors present in almost every European country that contributed to the war’s outbreak. His discussion of the Balkan, North African, and Mediterranean theaters sheds light on Germany’s decision-making during this period and aids in understanding why Germany’s invasion of Russia ultimately failed because of its unplanned involvement in these theaters. Very good performance by the narrator.

Great

James Holland is famous historian and I was thrilled to download this title. This book gives data not typically read WW2 books.

Fascinating perspective

Great storytelling with tremendous detail. Not a quick read but loved perspective and the first hand accounts paired with it. On to his next book….

Good listen

I really enjoyed this book. It gives a good birds-eye view of the conflict.

Good Story; Bad Reader

Would you consider the audio edition of The Rise of Germany, 1939-1941 to be better than the print version?

No opinion

Who was your favorite character and why?

No opinion

How did the narrator detract from the book?

His French pronunciation is appalling; he even gets some English words wrong. He is overly dramatic. He did a bad job on The Red Flag too.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Old war; new facts

Two historical and epic years.

Great detail of specific events and persons. It favored the Allied perspective. The narrator brought good energy.

Excellent

I'm glad I ignored some of the other reviews. I personally thought it was well-written and well performed. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the events between 1939 and 1941.