Download the Popular Authors Audiobooks in History, 20th Century

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Title: Never Give In!

Subtitle: The Best of Winston Churchill's Speeches

Author: Winston S. Churchill - compilation, Winston Churchill

Narrator: Winston Churchill

Format: Original Recording

Length: 17 hrs and 16 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-07-14

Publisher: BN Publishing

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 58 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

Winston Churchill was the most eloquent and expressive statesman of his time. It was as an orator that Churchill became most completely alive, and it was through his oratory that his words made their greatest and most enduring impact. While the definitive collection of Churchill's speeches fills eight volumes, here for the first time, his grandson, Winston S. Churchill, has put together a personal selection of his favorite speeches in a single, indispensable volume. He has chosen from his grandfather's entire output and thoughtfully introduces each selection. The audiobook covers the whole of Churchill's life, from the very first speech he made to those of his last days. It includes some of Churchill's best-known speeches as well as some that have never before been published in popular form. Today, Sir Winston Churchill is revered as an indomitable figure and his wisdom is called upon again and again. Listening to these speeches, from the perspective of a new century, we can once again see Sir Winston Churchill's genius and be moved and inspired by his words.

Members Reviews:

The Great Orator

It is great to listen to Winston Spence Churchills speeches. The slight lisp makes him seem vulnerable. The book is a compilation of WSCs speeches compiled by his grandson Winston Churchill. The book also contains sections of Churchill reading excerpts of his writings with explanations about why and when he wrote them. Winston, the grandson, provides the introduction to each speech with a bit of historical context and scene setting.

I enjoyed his speech explaining about the British Parliament and how it had evolved into its current format along with pros and cons of its current form. There were a number of speeches such as the one about parliament I had never heard probably because they were given in parliament rather than over the radio to the world. The opening was great considering this is the anniversary of World War One. He says It is the eleventh day of the eleventh month just before the eleventh hour and I am standing looking out across Trafalgar Square watching Big Ben getting ready to strike the eleventh hour. I could picture it as if I was standing there with him.

I can now understand why he was such a great orator. I felt he was speaking to me as an individual even over my iPod. I have been a fan of WSCs writings and of his exquisite use of the English language but listening to him I could hear the eloquence and rhythm of his spoken word. This book is a must for the fans of Winston S. Churchill and would make a great gift.

..Churchill Was the Anti-Nahzee..

Winston Churchill is a towering figure in the history of the twentieth century, and a master of the English language. I recommend that you listen to the three volume, 132 hour-long, biography by William Manchester (vol. 3 with Paul Reid) titled collectively, The Last Lionin order to get a picture of the man Churchill before delving into his voice in these speeches.

Churchill has been called a great orator, and that is certainly true, but this not because he possessed a Stentorian voice, or even great talent of diction. On the contrary, his voice is almost comically wispy and his annunciation is often muddled. He had a slight speech impediment that brings to mind Elmer Fudd when you hear him speak.

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Title: Rena's Promise

Subtitle: A Story of Sisters in Auschwitz

Author: Rena Kornreich Gelissen, Heather Dune Macadam

Narrator: Heather Dune Macadam

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-07-13

Publisher: Rena's Promise LLC

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 156 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

"I do not hate. To hate is to let Hitler win." - Rena Kornreich Gelissen.

On March 26, 1942, the first mass transport of Jews - 999 young women - arrived in Auschwitz. Among them was Rena Kornreich, the 716th woman numbered in camp. A few days later, her sister Danka arrives and so begins a trial of love and courage that will last three years and 41 days, from the beginning Auschwitz death camp to the end of the war.

Rena's Promise stands out from other memoirs not only for the mere length of time she spent in the camps (no other survivor from the first transport has ever written about her experience) but for her dedication to honoring the bonds between mothers, daughters, and sisters, prisoners, and even guards. From her escape from Dr. Mengele's experiment detail to her surreal meetings with SS woman Irma Grese, Rena tells a dynamic tale of courage and compassion that reminds us of the resiliency of the human spirit, and the power of people to help one another in unimaginable circumstances, be they Gentile or Jew, German or Pole, kapo or prisoner.

Members Reviews:

Excellent Content / Horrible Production

You could fairly say I am addicted to Holocaust survival stories. I never tire hearing about peoples challenges and how they overcame the worst possible odds its an amazing testament to human resilience. Always impressive.

The production value of this audio book however is the pits! Its as if it was recorded in 3 different rooms, and then spliced together to make one audio file. The sound is jumpy, the volume is inconsistent, I even thought the narrator had changed on occasion it did the subject matter a huge disservice as the cuts were so jarring and distracting.

I wish there was a way to rate this other then lumping it in with performance in Audibles star rating system because this is not a critique of the narrator. Overall, it was great content, just a terrible assembly.

Amazing

I love this book. I chose this memoir for my college Holocaust history corse research paper. It's incredible what those girls had to go through and they still used their agency to live happy successful lives. It's also wonderful how it brings to life the actual people who were sent to these camps, how they were just that. People. not statistics or numbers but actual people who were cast down by their society because of their religion. It's devastating what happened to those people and it should never be forgotten. I believe everyone should read this book. If we don't educate ourselves on subjects like this, if we act ignorant or disassociate ourselves with these people then mass genocide will continue. I also very much appreciate the authors not at the very end about her cat. It brought a smile to my face :)

Holocaust Memoir Overshadowed by Poor Organization

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes; although hard to follow this book shows how the love, mutual commitment, and wit of two sisters helped them to survive years in a concentration camp.

Would you recommend Rena's Promise to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes, see above.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Yes

Was Rena's Promise worth the listening time?

Well yes.

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Title: Go Like Hell

Subtitle: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans

Author: A. J. Baime

Narrator: Jones Allen

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-21-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 425 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

By the early 1960s, Ford Motor Company, built to bring automobile transportation to the masses, was falling behind. Baby boomers were taking to the roads in droves, looking for speed not safety, style not comfort, and Ford didnt offer what these young drivers wanted. Meanwhile, Enzo Ferrari lorded over the European racing scene, crafting beautiful, fast sports cars that epitomized style.

Baime tells the remarkable story of how Henry Ford II, with the help of a young visionary named Lee Iacocca and a former racing champion turned engineer named Carroll Shelby, concocted a scheme to reinvent the Ford company. They would enter the high-stakes world of European car racing, where an adventurous few threw safety and sanity to the wind. They would design, build, and race a car that could beat Ferrari at his own game, at the most prestigious and dangerous race in the world, the 24 Hours of LeMans.

Go Like Hell transports readers to a golden era in racing when Fords innovative strategy led to victories on the track and renewed respect for the American automobile.

Members Reviews:

A Very Entertaining Audiobook

Any additional comments?

Let me put a little of my bias right up front: I don't watch NASCAR, I occasionally watch CART, I always watch F1 (until a single driver is dominant two thirds through the season), and I always make sure I capture a little bit of the 24 Hrs of Le Mans - after all, who can watch the whole thing?!. But I love all the characters and the history of motor racing - and I really love stories about it - in the same way that I love hearing about the Space Race - regardless of how often I hear them.

With that prelude, I really enjoyed this audiobook: the narrator was exceedingly good - and between he and the author, it was a very well told story that succeeded in creating suspense at each stage of the story.

If you don't like racing at all, then it's probably not for you; but if you're looking for a good story - and not inclined to fixate if some details are glossed over in the interest of good story-telling, then this is well worth the investment.

Goldern age of racing

What did you love best about Go Like Hell?

Having not been there, the story unfolded wonderfully. It is well researched, captivating, and the narrator is great. I learned a significant amount from this book.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Carrol Shelby, slightly over Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari. They're all legends, but having witnessed the aura of Shelby a little and recently visiting his shop/museum in Vegas, that man is a notch above everyone else in the book and racing history. There are many stories and quotes from Shelby, it's great (including the voice the narrator uses for him).

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Thank God safety in racing has increased so much.

Any additional comments?

This book (story and narration) is so good I had to put off finishing (everything after the flag drops at Le Mans in '66) for about three weeks. I didn't want it to finish.

The book does end a little abruptly. The epilogue is less than 20 minutes, but could easily be 60+ minutes without being boring.

There is supposed to be a film adaptation in the works. I'd be satisfied if it was 1/3 as good as this book. Too bad Shelby cannot have a cameo.

Great Book

Just a great book.

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Title: One Summer

Subtitle: America, 1927

Author: Bill Bryson

Narrator: Bill Bryson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-01-13

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 3060 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

Audie Award Finalist, History, 2014

One of the most admired nonfiction writers of our time retells the story of one truly fabulous year in the life of his native country - a fascinating and gripping narrative featuring such outsized American heroes as Charles Lindbergh, Babe Ruth, and yes Herbert Hoover, and a gallery of criminals (Al Capone), eccentrics (Shipwreck Kelly), and close-mouthed politicians (Calvin Coolidge). It was the year Americans attempted and accomplished outsized things and came of age in a big, brawling manner. What a country. What a summer. And what a writer to bring it all so vividly alive for us in this certain best-seller.

Editorial Reviews:

Editors Select, October 2013 - When I'm in the mood for nonfiction, Bill Bryson's brand of witty, creative narrative is exactly what I look for, which is why One Summer: America, 1927; is on my list for October. In this book, Bryson takes us on an in-depth journey through a particularly eventful five months in American history: May - September, 1927. Not all newsworthy stories make it to the front page, but Bryson ensures the obscure, peculiar, and downright fascinating details of this summer are not forgotten, seamlessly weaving them into the events of the big headlines - Charles Lindbergh's solo flight, Babe Ruth's home run streak, and Al Capone's rise to power, to name a few. Self-narrated, One Summer is sure to be must-listen for Bryson fans, nonfiction listeners, and anyone who found themselves obsessing over the details in history class.

Members Reviews:

Bryson is really good at what he does- a standout

If you have read Bill Bryson before, you know what to expect out of One Summer, but that doesn't make it any less amazing. In fact, in many ways, this is a masterclass in Bryson's unique style: a rapid engaging tour through a series of historical incidents (most of which will be unfamiliar to the reader) organized loosely around an unexpected theme. He has done this with science, with the rooms of a house, and now, oddly enough, with the summer of 1927. This ends up being a particularly interesting choice, since the 1920s is often undercovered in history, and the result is a fascinating glimpse of the world becoming "modern" as talking picture, mass celebrity, airplanes, and a host of technologies become mainstream, even as racism and antisemitism appear in virulent forms.

So, we get to hear about Charles Lindbergh, Al Capone, Babe Ruth, and a range of other compelling figures from the summer of 1927. Bryson does not feel particularly compelled to stick with 1927, and the history weaves back and forth, but, simply because Bryson is so good at this, the story stays compelling and suspenseful despite the loose approach to the telling of history and the many rambling directions of the book. And, of course, Bill Bryson is also a great reader. The whole thing is pleasantly gentle and humorous while full of surprising insights into the time.

Really, just a wonderful example of popular history set in an understudied time.

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Title: Mary's Mosaic

Subtitle: The CIA Conspiracy to Murder John F. Kennedy, Mary Pinchot Meyer, and Their Vision for World Peace

Author: Peter Janney

Narrator: Noah Michael Levine

Format: Unabridged

Length: 17 hrs and 40 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-04-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 139 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

A shocking expos on the life and death of political peace activist Mary Pinchot Meyer, whose relationship with John F. Kennedy sheds new light on the circumstances surrounding his assassination.

Who really murdered Mary Pinchot Meyer in the fall of 1964? Why was there a mad rush by CIA counterintelligence chief James Angleton to immediately locate and confiscate her diary? What in that diary was so explosive and revealing? Had Mary Meyer finally put together the intricate pieces of a bewildering, conspiratorial mosaic of information that revealed a plan to assassinate her lover, President Kennedy, with the trail ultimately ending at the doorstep of the Central Intelligence Agency? And was it mere coincidence that Mary Meyer was killed less than three weeks after the release of the Warren Commission Report?

Based on years of painstaking research and interviews, much of it revealed here for the first time, author Peter Janney traces some of the most important events and influences in the life of Mary Pinchot Meyer - including her first meeting with Jack Kennedy at the Choate School during the winter of 1936, her explorations with psychedelic drugs, and finally how she supported her secret lover, the president of the United States, as he turned away from the Cold War toward the pursuit of world peace. As we approach the fiftieth anniversary of President Kennedy's assassination - and Mary Meyer's - Mary's Mosaic adds to our understanding of why both took place.

This edition has been updated and revised with a significant postscript that focuses on Meyer's alleged assassin, who the author finally located and confronted in person in August 2012, as well as the ongoing saga of Janney's attempt to reopen the case based on new evidence.

Members Reviews:

Another peace lover dies by violence.

Would you consider the audio edition of Mary's Mosaic to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the print version.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Mary's Mosaic?

Discovering more about Ben Bradley beyond the Watergate scandal, the real (?) story about Phil and Katherine Graham and the Luces, and the author's agonizing discovery about his father.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

It was interesting all the way through.

Any additional comments?

This was a murder that morphed into a bizarre conspiracy. I am not surprised that the CIA may have been behind the coverups and killings. Their arrogance likely led them to make some mistakes that helped the defense counsel for the patsy in the long run.

Amazing book!!

This is the most complete and well presented book that I have read so far concerning President Kennedy and the power intrigues of the CIA reaching into even the personal lives of people just trying to get to the truth . I admire the author's courage to print the truth in spite of the pain it must have caused him.

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Title: The Ultimate History of Video Games

Subtitle: From Pong to Pokemon: The Story Behind the Craze that Touched Our Lives and Changed the World

Author: Steven Kent

Narrator: Dan Woren

Format: Unabridged

Length: 21 hrs and 2 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-14-13

Publisher: Audiobooks.com

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 571 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

The Ultimate History of Video Games reveals everything you ever wanted to know and more about the unforgettable games that changed the world, the visionaries who made them, and the fanatics who played them. From the arcade to television and from the PC to the handheld device, video games have entraced kids at heart for nearly 30 years. And author and gaming historian Steven L. Kent has been there to record the craze from the very beginning.

This engrossing audiobook tells the incredible tale of how this backroom novelty transformed into a cultural phenomenon. Through meticulous research and personal interviews with hundreds of industry luminaries, you'll read firsthand accounts of how yesterday's games like "Space Invaders," "Centipede," and "Pac-Man" helped create an arcade culture that defined a generation, and how today's empires like Sony, Nintendo, and Electronic Arts have galvanized a multibillion-dollar industry and a new generation of games. Inside, you'll discover: The video game that saved Nintendo from bankruptcy. The serendipitous story of Pac-Man's design. The misstep that helped topple Atari's $2 billion-a-year empire. The coin shortage caused by "Space Invaders." The fascinating reasons behind the rise, fall, and rebirth of Sega. And much more!

Entertaining, addictive, and as mesmerizing as the games it chronicles, this audiobook is a must-have for anyone who's ever touched a joystick.

Members Reviews:

Surprisingly awesome!

I knew this was going to be a good experience, but it far exceeded my expectations. 20 hours of non-stop information about the beginnings of video games, and crammed full of interviews and quotes from the people who started it all. I'm 26 years old, so most of the events covered in this book were before I was born, but it somehow still made me nostalgic for a generation I didn't get to experience first hand.

Focuses on the industry more than the games

I was sucked into this book and listened to it fairly quickly, so it didn't disappoint at all. But it's important for game fans to go in knowing that this is really a book about the game companies and their battles for the market. It does offer many neat tidbits about individual games and their creators, but most of the time is devoted to why each game or console succeeded or failed. It does a good job of explaining why one format or another may have done poorly due to supply issues, game quality, release times, pricing, etc. So it helps give you a sense of why the history turned out the way it did.

After an initial section on coin-op games, I'd estimate that 35% of the book is devoted to Atari. Considering the generous 22 hour total length of the book, this Atari section could have been a book in itself. I live in Sunnyvale where the company was located, so this was fascinating local history for me. Then it covers the gaming "crash" of 83/84, followed by the later resurgence with Nintendo, Sega and then Sony. Much of this later section gets a bit bogged down by discussions of legal battles between the companies.

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Title: Lawrence in Arabia

Subtitle: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly, and the Making of the Modern Middle East

Author: Scott Anderson

Narrator: Malcolm Hillgartner

Format: Unabridged

Length: 23 hrs and 44 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-06-13

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 1753 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

A thrilling and revelatory narrative of one of the most epic and consequential periods in 20th-century history: the Arab Revolt and the secret game to control the Middle East.

The Arab revolt against the Turks in World War I was, in the words of T. E. Lawrence, "a sideshow of a sideshow". As a result, the conflict was shaped to a remarkable degree by a small handful of adventurers and low-level officers far removed from the corridors of power. Curt Prüfer was an academic attached to the German embassy in Cairo whose clandestine role was to foment jihad against British rule. Aaron Aaronsohn was a renowned agronomist and committed Zionist who gained the trust of the Ottoman governor of Palestine even as he built an elaborate anti-Ottoman spy ring. William Yale was a fallen scion of the American aristocracy who traveled the Ottoman Empire on behalf of Standard Oil, dissembling to the Turks in order to gain valuable oil concessions. At the center of it all was Lawrence. In early 1914 he was an archaeologist digging ruins in Syria; by 1917 he was riding into legend at the head of an Arab army, as he fought a rear guard action against his own government and its imperial ambitions.

Based on four years of intensive primary document research, Lawrence in Arabiadefinitively overturns received wisdom on how the modern Middle East was formed. Sweeping in its action, keen in its portraiture, acid in its condemnation of the destruction wrought by European colonial plots, this is a book that brilliantly captures the way in which the folly of the past creates the anguish of the present.

Members Reviews:

A Middle East Built on Lies

In this well-researched, detailed but highly interesting story, Scott Anderson travels back to World War I and the tottering Ottoman Empire to set the stage for the Middle East we know now. Lawrence of Arabia has a large role, but it's not primarily his story -- it's the story of how war, oil, greed, imperialism, chicanery, empty promises and personalities interacted to fertilize the creation of Saudi Arabia, Israel (then known as Palestine), Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and their neighbors.

T.E. Lawrence is the flywheel of the story, and his deeds lubricate the story, but there is oh so much more, from a wide range of Zionists to the scion of the family that founded Yale, to the Turks and Arabs and military leaders who had a hand in the battles and negotiations. Lawrence isn't idealized -- in fact, no one is idealized. It's not the David Lean movie! But it *is* fascinating.

I found Malcolm Hillgartner a terrific narrator. He uses voices, but he uses them so smoothly and carefully that it's not jarring. (I tend to like my narrators to read rather than dramatize, but Hillgartner's approach could please everyone.)

One note: I found myself often referring to a map. You'll likely find that having one to consult occasionally is helpful.

The sideshow to end all sideshows

In the words of author Scott Anderson, history is often the tale of small moments, chance encounters, casual decisions, or sheer coincidences, that seem of little consequence at the time, but somehow fuse with other small moments to produce something momentous.

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Title: History of the Ancient World: A Global Perspective

Author: The Great Courses

Narrator: Professor Gregory S. Aldrete

Format: Original Recording

Length: 24 hrs and 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-08-13

Publisher: The Great Courses

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 823 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

The ancient world has cast a long shadow, influencing our customs and religious beliefs, our laws, and the form of our governments. It has taught us when and how we make war or pursue peace. It has shaped the buildings we live and work in and the art we hang on our walls. It has given us the calendar that organizes our year and has left its mark on the games we play.

Grasping the full scope of your bequest from the ancient world can't help but give you a more nuanced base from which to make decisions and choose pathways in your own life. These 48 lectures take you on a multidisciplinary journey that ranges across not only the traditional domains of politics and war that are normally the province of history courses, but also those of religion, philosophy, architecture and the visual arts, literature, and science, and more.

You'll examine the ancient world's greatest civilizations from the Mediterranean, Asia, and the Americas - including those of Rome, Greece, China, Persia, India, and the Maya - not in isolation but in the full context of where they came from, the cultures that flourished around them at the same time, and the civilizations that were to come from them. Taking a comparative approach, Professor Aldrete's course includes in-depth analyses of not only key individuals and historical moments, but also history's most important themes, from the nature of rulership and the evolution of religion and philosophy to the practice of warfare and the expression of power through art and architecture.

With its mix of nuanced interpretation, vivid description, and constant attention to exploring history as a coherent whole, this is sure to be one of the most informative and thought-provoking history courses you have ever taken.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

Members Reviews:

Outstanding - Informative AND Entertaining

For me this was one of those 'Can't put it down' epic audio titles. What's more I feel a better person for having listened to it.

Overall, very informative, thought provoking and truly entertaining. I've learned loads and am now looking for more history titles of comparable quality.

It's massive in scope and is truly global in that it manages to weave in all the major civilisations of antiquity. I'd say he's best on Mediterranean and European cultures. At least the coverage of these cultures seems more detailed. It seems to me a Westerner's perspective. However, there's some good stuff on China, India and the Americas. I found it gave me a good introduction to these other cultures.

It's very easy to turn history into a dry collection of facts and dates. This lecture series strikes a good balance between facts and colourful anecdotes character examinations and other diversions. For example, there is a wonderful section on the mind boggling and downright weird Spartans. I couldn't stop laughing as he talked about them. But at the same time, I learned all about a culture that up until a couple of weeks ago, for me had been little more than the name of an ancient group of war-like people who'd once fought the Persians.

His presentation style is really good - full of enthusiasm, wonder and humour. For me he spoke at just the right pace, too.

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Title: World War II: A Military and Social History

Author: The Great Courses

Narrator: Professor Thomas Childers

Format: Original Recording

Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-08-13

Publisher: The Great Courses

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 1017 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

Between 1937 and 1945, approximately 55 million people perished in the series of interrelated conflicts known as the Second World War. No continent was left untouched, no ocean unaffected. The war led to the eclipse of Europe and the emergence of the United States and the Soviet Union as global superpowers; ushered in the atomic age; produced, in the Holocaust, the most horrific crime ever committed in the history of Western civilization, and led to the end of Europe's colonial empires around the world. But though World War II defined an entire epoch in human history, pressing questions remain - about whether Hitler could have been stopped earlier, about Pearl Harbor, about saving more people from the Holocaust, about using the atomic bomb, and even about how close the Allies came to actually losing.

This engaging series of 30 lectures is rich in detail and near-cinematic portraits of leaders and events. It explores not only the origins of the war, including the impact of the Treaty of Versailles, but also how it unfolded on both battlefront and the American home front, with focused looks at key subjects like Nazism and the Holocaust and the philosophy of strategic bombing and its impact on the future nature of warfare.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

Members Reviews:

Misleading title, but a good course

The course is interesting and well performed. However, the title is misleading. It should read something along the lines of "The role of USA in the second world war". It focuses almost exclusivly on the US and primarely on the Pacific front of the war against Japan.

So if you are looking to understand how the US got involved and how the war was fought by american forces; this is a good course. However, if you want to get a broader understanding of the war besides the american perspective, you have to look elsewhere.

To sum up, it is a good course that focuses on a small part of the second world war. If this is the only course you are going to read about the war, you will miss the big picture. But if you have read a bit of other litterature that explains other parts of the war, this course will work well to understand the role of the US.

Excellent review of WWII

What made the experience of listening to World War II: A Military and Social History the most enjoyable?

I did not know much about the details of WWII before listening to these lectures. I now feel that I have a great understanding of all of the theaters of the war and how they were related.

What was one of the most memorable moments of World War II: A Military and Social History?

He had a good balance of the big picture and then would present personal details of how the war affected different individuals.

What about Professor Thomas Childerss performance did you like?

He was an excellent lecturer. The content, the pace and his voice made it very enjoyable.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Usually I cannot just sit down and listen to a book on tape but with this one I was drawn in, it was like a novel unfolding and I wanted to see how everything fit together.

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Title: The Rise and Fall of the British Empire

Author: The Great Courses

Narrator: Professor Patrick N. Allitt

Format: Original Recording

Length: 18 hrs and 8 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-08-13

Publisher: The Great Courses

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 1207 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

What were the forces that thrust the British Empire to its extraordinary position of greatness and then just as powerfully drove it into decline? And why is nearly every nation on earth, in one way or another, the consequence of the British Empire?

In these 36 lectures, Professor Allitt leads you through four centuries of British power, innovation, influence, and, ultimately, diminishment - four profound centuries that literally remade the world and bequeathed the complex global legacy that continues to shape your everyday life. This is a remarkable lecture series; one that will give you fresh insights into world history in a wide range of areas - political, economic, technological, social, and more. And it will also give you a comprehensive overview you won't find offered anywhere else - a context into which you can integrate new knowledge about this country, as well as understand the background of current events in so many other countries that were once part of Britain's empire, from Ireland to China, and in Africa and the Caribbean. Indeed, it seems fair to say that one cannot truly understand the most important aspects of world history without a firm grasp of the history of the British Empire. In giving you that grasp, these lectures draw on a vast range of critical events, riveting personalities, revealing anecdotes, and eloquent quotations.

Compelling, comprehensive, and astonishing in the force of its narrative power, each lecture will give you a refreshing new understanding of what made the British Empire both great in its achievements and vulnerable to its eventual downfall.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

Members Reviews:

Learn About Great Britain from a Great Briton!!!

Any additional comments?

This was a masterful survey of the British Empire. It is a lecture series from the Great Courses series. The professor is intelligent, well organized in his thoughts, and very interesting to listen to. He takes you on a sweeping survey of the British empire from its beginnings in late Medieval Europe to its dismantling after the Second World War and beyond.

What it Covers: The lectures are thematic with a generally chronological progression. In them you will hear about every major part of the empire and its story, including the American Colonies, Canada, the Caribbean, India, South Africa, other African ventures, the British presence in Egypt and the middle east, Ireland, British East Asia, as well as the colonization and development of Australia and New Zealand.

Some Highlights: The professor is thorough and engaging in his covering of the material. He is great at highlighting and bring out the different major personalities that were important to the British Empire such as Cecil Rhodes and Winston Churchill. Touches like this bring life and character to his overview. Likewise he also gives some mention of the arts, especially literature. I also think he was very fair in his approach to the morality of the British empire. He tries hard to be balanced and recognize both the blessings and the curses of British rule. Also, as an added treat, the last few of his lectures go on to talk about Britain in the modern era since the loss of its empire.

Some Limitations: As an overview, the professor covers everything in brief but few things in detail.