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Title: Grunts

Subtitle: Inside the American Infantry Combat Experience, World War II through Iraq

Author: John C. McManus

Narrator: Joe Barrett

Format: Unabridged

Length: 18 hrs and 25 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-09-18

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

From the acclaimed author of The Dead and Those About to Die comes a sweeping narrative of six decades of combat, and an eye-opening account of the evolution of the American infantry. From the beaches of Normandy and the South Pacific Islands to the deserts of the Middle East, the American soldier has been the most indispensable - and most overlooked - factor in wartime victory. In Grunts, renowned historian John C. McManus examines 10 critical battles - from Hitler's massive assault on US soldiers at the Battle of the Bulge to counterinsurgency combat in Iraq - where the skills and courage of American troops proved the crucial difference between victory and defeat. Based on years of research and interviews with veterans, this powerful history reveals the ugly face of war in a way few books have and demonstrates the fundamental, and too often forgotten, importance of the human element in serving and protecting the nation.

Members Reviews:

Very well written book, documents the combat of Infantry ...

Very well written book, documents the combat of Infantry units not as well known as say the Screaming Eagles. Gritty taste of combat of the men executing the will of our government on the ground. Highly recommended

McManus is an eloquent voice for the American Grunt; the soldier at the point of the spear.

This an outstanding account of the importance of the infantryman from WW II to Iraq. These men and now, women are the point of the spear. The author pretty much debunks the push button war types reiterating the need for, unfortunately but thankfully for this fine historian Johhn McManus to so eloquently remind us. I recommend this book without reservation. I have also read his The Deadly Brotherhood as well as September Hope.

Insight

Insight into the behavior of the American military and government and the changes that have occurred in the last 60 years from the perspective of the grunt. The average ground pounding pogue has changed little. They still show the same skill and dedication but the military leadership and even more so, the political leadership has been deteriorating over the years

but great.

Rough,but great.

Pretty good book

I enjoyed the book. There was enough technical information that I felt the book was well researched. This book brings out how special the men are who will endure the hell of combat and are proud of the fact they have done something most of the military soldiers never had to preform.

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Title: Carrying the War to the Enemy: American Operational Art to 1945

Subtitle: Campaigns and Commanders Series

Author: Michael R. Matheny

Narrator: Kirk Winkler

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 47 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-20-17

Publisher: University Press Audiobooks

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

Military commanders turn tactics into strategic victory by means of "operational art", the knowledge and creative imagination commanders and staff employ in designing, synchronizing, and conducting battles and major operations to achieve strategic goals. Until now, historians of military theory have generally agreed that modern operational art developed between the first and second world wars, not in the United States but in Germany and the Soviet Union, whose armies were supposedly the innovators and greatest practitioners of operational art. Some have even claimed that US forces struggled in World War II because their commanders had no systematic understanding of operational art.

Michael R. Matheny believes previous studies have not appreciated the evolution of US military thinking at the operational level. Although they may rightly point to the US Army's failure to modernize or develop a sophisticated combined arms doctrine during the interwar years, they focus too much on technology or tactical doctrine. In his revealing account, Matheny shows that it was at the operational level, particularly in mounting joint and combined operations, that senior American commanders excelled - and laid a foundation for their country's victory in World War II.

Examining in detail the development of American operational art as land, sea, and air power matured in the 20th century, he shows that, contrary to conventional wisdom, US war colleges educated and trained commanders during the interwar years specifically for the operational art they employed in World War II.

Published by University of Oklahoma Press.

"Matheny fills a vacuum in military historiography with this book, while reminding us that great victories are not won by accident." - Military History

Members Reviews:

Nuts and bolts on thinking

The work covers the development of Operational level thinking and planning in the US military, showing that it has a long history (back to the Civil War), but concentrating on the interwar and World War II periods in detail. I would regard int as essential reading for anyone who seriously studies American planning and operations for that period.

Highly Recommended, Mostly Concerns Amphibious Warfare

This is an excellent, well written, and one of a kind book on an unusual topic. Although it has been said that the US military neglected operational thought prior to and during World War II, the author instead shows that they excelled at joint operations, particularly amphibious warfare. He shows how the US developed war colleges where theory was developed, scenarios were wargamed, and the services learned to cooperate effectively. This cooperation was unique in the world at the time and was developed to suit America's unique position of "carrying the war to the enemy" - in places far from home. As a result, logistics were stressed in the US military much more so than in other nations. The author points out, for example, that German army staff organization stressed operational planning over logistics, which resulted in good battlefield performance that was often counteracted by disappointing and unexpected supply difficulties.

The flaws in the book are few - and mainly ones of omission.

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Title: Plutopia

Subtitle: Nuclear Families, Atomic Cities, and the Great Soviet and American Plutonium Disasters

Author: Kate Brown

Narrator: Susan Ericksen

Format: Unabridged

Length: 18 hrs and 10 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-19-17

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

In Plutopia, Kate Brown draws on official records and dozens of interviews to tell the extraordinary stories of Richland, Washington, and Ozersk, Russia - the first two cities in the world to produce plutonium.

To contain secrets, American and Soviet leaders created plutopias - communities of nuclear families living in highly subsidized, limited-access atomic cities. Fully employed and medically monitored, the residents of Richland and Ozersk enjoyed all the pleasures of consumer society while nearby, migrants, prisoners, and soldiers were banned from plutopia - they lived in temporary "staging grounds" and often performed the most dangerous work at the plant.

Brown shows that the plants' segregation of permanent and temporary workers and of nuclear and non-nuclear zones created a bubble of immunity where dumps and accidents were glossed over and plant managers freely embezzled and polluted. In four decades the Hanford plant near Richland and the Maiak plant near Ozersk each issued at least 200 million curies of radioactive isotopes into the surrounding environment.

An untold and profoundly important piece of Cold War history, Plutopia invites listeners to consider the nuclear footprint left by the arms race and the enormous price of paying for it.

Critic Reviews:

"An angry but fascinating account of negligence, incompetence and injustice justified (as it still is) in the name of national security." (

Kirkus)

Members Reviews:

Who can make a bigger Plutonium disaster mess in their country?

Both the United States and the Soviet Union built Plutonium manufacturing plants and their supporting cities. This book talks about the building of these plants, the elite way of life of the scientists and technicians that lived in these cities compared to their other country men, the nuclear accidents and disasters that contaminated the surrounding countrysides, and the long term adverse effects still taking place today.

Social engineering at its best/worse: whether in Russia or in the US

Brown's concept is brilliant: put side by side US and Russian nuclear fuel secret production cities. The parallels are amazing. Same secrecy, same way to attract people to work in a city that officially doesn't exist. The same disregard for the welfare of surrounding communities, the same resulting environmental disaster. There are so many facets to this book, it is hard to give a true description of its depth. I'll choose one: beyond the obvious "make atomic fuel at any cost", there is the idea of planned communities. Check-out "Invented Edens" from Kargon & Molella and "Hoover Dam" from Stevens. Brown goes in depth in the social engineering of single purpose cities and how, in the end, they are incompatible with the concept of personal freedom; whether in Russia or US.

History the US government would rather forget..

This book is an interesting, illuminating read that details the negligence of American and Russian government nuclear programs and their reckless dumping of radionuclides into unwitting nearby communities.

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Title: Infamy

Subtitle: Pearl Harbor and Its Aftermath

Author: John Toland

Narrator: Traber Burns

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-12-17

Publisher: Blackstone Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

A revealing and controversial account of the events surrounding Pearl Harbor.

Pulitzer Prize - winning author John Toland presents evidence that FDR and his top advisors knew about the planned Japanese attack but remained silent.

Infamy reveals the conspiracy to cover up the facts and find scapegoats for the greatest disaster in United States military history. New York Times best-seller.

Members Reviews:

A different history you should read about

Superb, albeit controversial, book that I plan to present for a men's book club in a few months.

Toland has a long-term reputation for being scrupulously honest in his research and writing,

yet was castigated for his "take" on Pearl Harbor.

"Infamy" is well worth reading, then you can decide for yourself.

Riveting and informative.

This is an excellent read for anyone who is interested in history or politics.

The book is well written and flows easily. I felt it was well researched and was a book that filled a void created by the secrets and deceptions imposed on our nation during the entirety of WW11.

When the Administration adopted the "Ends justify the means" policy laced with lies and deception, thousands upon thousands of lives were lost in the Pacific, and many of our good military officer's lives were changed forever,their reputations tarnished beyond repair.

Perhaps this book brought some measure of closure to an entire nation. It is a shame it was so long in coming.

The story Hidden of Pearl Harbor.

As someone alive during the Pearl Harbor incident There were so many things I didn't remember. My uncles tried to share their ideas and prejudice with me. This book brought out so many horrible traitorious incidents that I had not known,History has a way of hiding truth.

Its amazing how much history has been altered to in plain ...

As expected there is a lot more to the story than we have been led to believe. Its amazing how much history has been altered to in plain words go to war. Well worth the read

Great factual book

This book is based upon facts and research that the author gleaned from documents and actual interviews. It is , in my opinion, a must read for people who like to read non-fiction as I do. There are quite a few pictures at the end of some of the key players in the attack and the subsequent congressional hearings.

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Title: The World War 2 Trivia Book: Interesting Stories and Random Facts from the Second World War

Subtitle: Trivia War Books, Book 1

Author: Bill O'Neill, Dwayne Walker

Narrator: Derek Newman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 14 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-05-17

Publisher: LAK Publishing

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 14 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

When was the last time someone around you brought up World War Two?

Its a pretty popular war. Maybe you heard about it yesterday. Maybe last month. But it was probably recent. And when it came up, did you wish that you could be the one to casually drop a fact that would have everyone in the room going, Wow, I never knew that!

With this audiobook, you can be that person.

You can listen to it just a few minutes a day.

Chapters are bite-sized and easy-to-read, meant for normal people instead of war historians!

Each chapter ends with a bonus helping of trivia and some quick questions to test your knowledge.

Youll zoom through this book and be hungry for more.

Get ready to impress your friends with your knowledgenot just of the main events of World War Two, but of all the gritty details and weird true facts. By the time you finish this book, youll have a fact for every occasion, from the first moment someone thought about having a Second World War, to the most recent blockbuster movies about it.

So get ready to meet characters from Adolf Hitler, rejected art student, to Jack Churchill, the broadsword-swinging male model. Find out why World War Two started in the first place, and why its never a good idea to invade Russia in winter. Learn why the United States was going to stay out of the war, how Canadians stole airplanes for the British, and what an orange soft drink has to do with the Nazis.

Some of the things youre going to learn are sad. Some are scary. Some are sexy. And some are downright strange! Its everything your history teacher never got around to telling you.

Members Reviews:

Interesting facts on World War 2

Bill O'Neills facts and trivia on World War 2 are very interesting and informative. Many of the facts I didn't know before and it was fun to learn them.

I was given this Audiobook for free in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting!

Note: I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

WWII history has always fascinated me. While there was a lot of things in this book that I already knew, I learned a few new interesting bits of trivia. The narrator did a solid job of delivering the information in an engaging way.

Recommended for anyone with an interest in history - especially WWII history.

Great intro to WW2!

Would you consider the audio edition of The World War 2 Trivia Book: Interesting Stories and Random Facts from the Second World War to be better than the print version?

I would like to start off by saying I enjoyed the audiobook version of this. The chapters are short enough that for commuting it works very well. The only small gripe I have is the list of facts at the end of each chapter get monotonous to listen to.

1.

2.

...

21

And so on... The good news is that the lists only take a few minutes to go through.

What about Derek Newmans performance did you like?

Clear tone that isn't monotonous. Great enunciation and diction. Excellent performance!

Any additional comments?

I feel like this is a great INTRODUCTION to a ton of great topics on the war!

Briefly mentioned are things like the night of the long knives, d-day, and Both the pacific and Italian campaigns.

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Title: The Gifted Generation

Subtitle: When Government Was Good

Author: David Goldfield

Narrator: Mike Chamberlain

Format: Unabridged

Length: 23 hrs and 10 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-30-17

Publisher: HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

In The Gifted Generation, historian David Goldfield examines the generation immediately after World War II and argues that the federal government was instrumental in the great economic, social, and environmental progress of the era.

Following the sacrifices of the Greatest Generation, the returning vets and their children took the unprecedented economic growth and federal activism to new heights. This generation was led by presidents who believed in the commonwealth ideal: the belief that federal legislation, by encouraging individual opportunity, would result in the betterment of the entire nation. In the years after the war, these presidents created an outpouring of federal legislation that changed how and where people lived, their access to higher education, and their stewardship of the environment. They also spearheaded historic efforts to level the playing field for minorities, women and immigrants.

But this dynamic did not last, and Goldfield shows how the shrinking of the federal government shut subsequent generations off from those gifts. David Goldfield brings this unprecedented surge in American legislative and cultural history to life as he explores the presidencies of Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Lyndon Baines Johnson.

Contact me for any questions: [email protected]

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Title: The London Cage

Subtitle: The Secret History of Britain's World War II Interrogation Centre

Author: Helen Fry

Narrator: Jennifer M. Dixon

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-21-17

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

Behind the locked doors of three mansions in London's exclusive Kensington Palace Gardens neighborhood, the British Secret Service established a highly secret prison in 1940: the London Cage. Here recalcitrant German prisoners of war were subjected to "special intelligence treatment". The stakes were high: the war's outcome could hinge on obtaining information German prisoners were determined to withhold. After the war, high-ranking Nazi war criminals were housed in the Cage, revamped as an important center for investigating German war crimes.

This riveting book reveals the full details of operations at the London Cage and subsequent efforts to hide them. Helen Fry's extraordinary original research uncovers the grim picture of prisoners' daily lives and of systemic Soviet-style mistreatment. The author also provides sensational evidence to counter official denials concerning the use of "truth drugs" and "enhanced interrogation" techniques. Bringing dark secrets to light, this groundbreaking book at last provides an objective and complete history of the London Cage.

Members Reviews:

War: The Fortunes of.

Lots of mistakes here. The prison was not secret. Every German prisoner knew by war's end about the facility. The lucky infantry grunts who farmed potatoes in Canada knew they were lucky.The word "interrogator" is not defined, mostly because Scotland, the boss, did not own those men and women competent to bedevil their subjects. For example, in a normal prison submarine trained officers interrogate captured submarine officers. Scotland had junior army officers asking captured flyers, engineers etal. questions of whose background they knew little. No wonder that no truly serious war changing report emerged from Scotland's amateurish management. I am willing to bet that by playing milk toast many prisoners weaseled their way out of serious conversations or worse. All prisoners, that is all, have determined what persona they will act out during an interrogation. The problem here for Scotland was that his men and women had

to wait a good time before their charges arrived at the Cage. The interrogators did not know how many of each category they were to handle, squaddies or battalion COs, supply clerks or artillery spotters? By the time they had arrived at the Cage the shock of captivity had worn off all. They had become accustomed to tea and stodge. The mild and meek were

ready with their tales of humble ignorance as were the arrogant thugs with their defiant smirks. Many had learned jail house English.

Undaunted by the lack of help given her in her research on The Cage itself, Miss Fry came up with enough gory tales to fill pages of the War Crimes Commission's files. The "Adverso Section" of American English speaking stoolies is too ittle told.

The names of Probst, Behrens and Falkenhust who participated in the murder of legitimate British POWs are well inscribed. The latter virtually escaped punishment for his awful slaughter of British enlisted men. A life sentence for him was dismissed, he was transferred to a hospital and died a free man in 1968. The Ardeatine Massacre of 355 was especially gruesome. The burial cave was blown up on orders from the SS Chief Keppler.

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Title: The Partition of the British Mandate of Palestine

Subtitle: The History and Legacy of the United Nations Partition Plan and the Creation of the State of Israel

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: Colin Fluxman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 29 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-14-17

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

The conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians is technically 69 years old and counting, but it has its roots in over 2,000 years of history. With so much time and history, the Middle East peace process has become laden with unique, politically sensitive concepts like the right of return, contiguous borders, secure borders, demilitarized zones, and security requirements, with players like the Quartet, Palestinian Authority, Fatah, Hamas, the Arab League and Israel. Over time, it has become exceedingly difficult for even sophisticated political pundits and followers to keep track of it all.

Nearly a century before the state of Israel was founded in 1948, Palestine was under the control of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, consisting mostly of Arabs. During the 1850s, Jews began settling in small villages across the lands that once comprised Judea and Samaria, which the Jews considered their ancient Biblical homeland. These efforts to buy property were driven by the motivation of some Jews to help reestablish the land as the Jewish homeland. These Jews became known as Zionists, in reference to Zion, which is often thought of as a reference to all of Israel but is in fact a reference to part of Jerusalem. The Zionists attempted to establish a Jewish National Fund that would assist Jews in buying land in Palestine for Jewish settlement.

In the middle of World War I, the British pledged their support to the Zionist cause and the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine through the Balfour Declaration of November 1917. At the time, the British realized the strategic importance of Palestine because it was near the Suez Canal, and they saw the Zionists as potentially helpful allies in the region following the war. British foreign secretary Arthur James Balfour sent a letter to Lord Rothschild on November 2, 1917, declaring the governments sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations, and favoring the establishment in Palestine of a National Home for the Jewish People, with an intent to assist the Jews in achieving it.

In 1947, the British delegated the issue of partitioning the British Mandate to the United Nations, and the UN General Assembly set up the Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP). UNSCOP eventually came up with what is now known as the UN Partition Plan of 1947.

Members Reviews:

Great outline easy to listen to

Very helpful in explaining the situation in a practical straightforward way. Good background reading. Learned a lot

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Title: Marshall and His Generals

Subtitle: U.S. Army Commanders in World War II

Author: Stephen R. Taaffe

Narrator: James Anderson Foster

Format: Unabridged

Length: 17 hrs and 1 min

Language: English

Release date: 10-24-17

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 9 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

General George C. Marshall, chief of staff of the US Army during World War II, faced the daunting task not only of overseeing two theaters of a global conflict but also of selecting the best generals to carry out American grand strategy. Marshall and His Generals is the first and only book to focus entirely on that selection process and the performances, both stellar and disappointing, that followed from it.

Stephen Taaffe explores how and why Marshall selected the Army's commanders. Among Marshall's chief criteria were character (including "unselfish and devoted purpose"), education (whether at West Point, Fort Leavenworth, or the Army War College), and striking a balance between experience and relative youth in a war that required both wisdom and great physical stamina. As the war unfolded, Marshall also factored into his calculations the combat leadership his generals demonstrated and the opinions of his theater commanders.

Delving deeper than other studies, this path-breaking work produces a seamless analysis of Marshall's selection process of operational-level commanders. Taaffe also critiques the performance of these generals during the war and reveals the extent to which their actions served as stepping stones to advancement.

Critic Reviews:

"Taaffe's penetrating look at the Army's 'one indispensable man' shows how commanders like Omar Bradley, 'Vinegar Joe' Stilwell, Courtney Hodges, and their peers were selected and deployed - and how they kept their jobs." (Wall Street Journal)

Members Reviews:

Marshall's Black Book

George Marshall was appointed Chief of Staff of the Army on the day Britain declared war on Germany. The army was small and had suffered decades of austerity. The promotions had been stagnant and there was lots of deadwood. Marshall had to quickly get rid of the deadwood, increase the size of the army and provide it with the latest equipment as he prepared the army for World War II.

The book is less about Marshall the man, but focuses on how he chose his generals and a brief biography of each of his generals. Taaffe provides a good understanding of how Marshalls command appointment directly influenced the war. Taaffe points out the strong and weak points of each general. The author includes the famous and lesser known generals and covers both the European and Pacific theatres.

The book is well written and researched. The author left me with a good understanding of the command staff during World War II. The book is easily readable.

The book is just over seventeen hours. James Anderson Foster does a good job narrating the book. Foster is a ten-time Voice Arts nominated Audiobook Narrator. He won in 2015, 2016 and 2017. This is my first experience listening to Foster. This is also the first time I have read a book by historian, Stephen R. Taaffe.

An Arid listen

I was looking for an extended version of Brothers, rivals, & victors but instead got an extended college like paper (that is really an exaggeration it wasnt that difficult) on the generals.

I actually gave up 1/2 way through.

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Title: King of Spies

Subtitle: The Dark Reign of America's Spymaster in Korea

Author: Blaine Harden

Narrator: Mark Bramhall

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-03-17

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 26 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

The New York Times best-selling author of Escape from Camp 14 returns with the untold story of one of the most powerful spies in American history, shedding new light on the US role in the Korean War and its legacy.

In 1946, Master Sergeant Donald Nichols was repairing jeeps on the sleepy island of Guam when he caught the eye of recruiters from the army's Counter Intelligence Corps. After just three months' training, he was sent to Korea, then a backwater beneath the radar of MacArthur's Pacific Command. Though he lacked the pedigree of most US spies - Nichols was a seventh-grade dropout - he quickly metamorphosed from army mechanic to black ops phenomenon. He insinuated himself into the affections of America's chosen puppet in South Korea, President Syngman Rhee, and became a pivotal player in the Korean War, warning months in advance about the North Korean invasion, breaking enemy codes, and identifying most of the targets destroyed by American bombs in North Korea.

But Nichols' triumphs had a dark side. Immersed in a world of torture and beheadings, he became a spymaster with his own secret base, his own covert army, and his own rules. He recruited agents from refugee camps and prisons, sending many to their deaths on reckless missions. His closeness to Rhee meant that he witnessed - and did nothing to stop or even report - the slaughter of tens of thousands of South Korean civilians in anticommunist purges. Nichols' clandestine reign lasted for an astounding 11 years.

In this riveting book, Blaine Harden traces Nichols' unlikely rise and tragic ruin, from his birth in an operatically dysfunctional family in New Jersey to his sordid postwar decline, which began when the US military sacked him in Korea, sent him to an air force psych ward in Florida, and subjected him - against his will - to months of electroshock therapy. But King of Spies is not just the story of one American spy: With napalmed villages and severed heads, high-level lies and long-running cover-ups, it reminds us that the darkest sins of the Vietnam War - and many other conflicts that followed - were first committed in Korea.

Members Reviews:

Reads like a Spy Novel!!

A brutal look into how Donald Nichols, an Air Force mechanic with a 7th grade education, became the most feared, controversial, reviled, and revered Spymaster in US military history! Not a feel-good story by far. Given an environment of unchecked power, and indiscretion, held an iron grip on subversion, and intelligence gathering before/during/after the Korean War. I enjoyed how the author toyed around with Nichols' proneness to hyperbole.

This book challenged my knowledge of the Korean War, and exactly how close the Soviet, and then Chinese backed North Korea pushed the US, and their many poor decisions to a crushing defeat. Thoroughly enjoyed this Audible book!

I can see why the N Koreans don't like the US

Having lived in S Korea for 7 yrs, I got to know a bit about their history and their natural distrust of foreigners - this guy epitomizes the term "ugly American".

excellent story

loved the war and history components woven into an honest critique of the dark hero Donald Nichols was.