Download Top 100 Full Audiobooks in History, 20th Century

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Title: Sybil Exposed

Subtitle: The Extraordinary Story Behind the Famous Multiple Personality Case

Author: Debbie Nathan

Narrator: Marguerite Gavin

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-26-11

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 98 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

Journalist Debbie Nathan reveals the true story behind the famous case of Sybil, the woman with sixteen different personalities.

Critic Reviews:

"Leveling a steady eye on her oft-sensationalized subject, Nathan serves up a tale just as shocking as the famed original," (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Was it all a hoax? Well never know.

I didnt care for the book that much; I didnt feel like I was uncovering an extraordinary scoop. Sure some parts were interesting, but overall it was just ok.

In a nut shell, its the biography of The Real Sybil, her overzealous doctor, and the author of the 1973 book Sybil.

Essentially, the doctors highest interest was the advancement of her own career and saw in Sybil what she wanted to see. She and the writer had dollar signs in their eyes and really getting to the bottom of Sybils issues was secondary to making money and achieving fame through her story.

Was it all a hoax? Well never know. I am certain Sybil was not in her right mind, but Im ready to believe elements of her case were exaggerated and sensationalized.

Fascinating and educational

Very interesting book with solid research. Readers who questioned "so was it all a hoax?" after listening have missed the incredible depth and nuance of the story. I learned a lot about multiple personality disorder and gained a greater understanding of the mental health system.

The Narrator was excellent

Would you try another book from Debbie Nathan and/or Marguerite Gavin?

I'm unsure if I would read another.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

It was most interesting to hear how a psychotherapist destroyed a woman's life, tried to make herself a hero in the psychotherapy society, and then how the entire world ate it up. There was too much back story on the author of Sybil, Flora Rheta Schreiber, to make it interesting. I had to really push to get through the last 2 hours.

Bravo! A+ Book!

Once in a while, a book comes along that provides a jaw dropping moment in almost every chapter. This is one such book. Nathan's methods of research and the manner in which she dissects the myth of Sybil are so fantastic that I cannot help but hear Kelso's voice (from That '70s Show) saying, "Burn!" every time she chips away at another dearly held belief. The evidence presented is so solid it will destroy your previous notions. So many people fell in love with the story, the fragile but surprisingly strong heroin, the champion doctor, and the strange and wonderful things the human mind can do in the face of severe trauma. If you are are in love with that narrative and do not want it destroyed, in the strongest, juiciest, and most interesting way possible, don't read this book. Your ideals of Sybil and helpful Dr. Wilbur not survive.

How do you create a Sybil? Nathan can lay it out, step by step, for you. I enjoyed every page of this book. Nathan does a great job of sifting out fact from fiction (oh so much fiction). She fully understands what dissociation is and how it can be useful but also fully understands how it was exploited to provide a story that we all craved, one that satiated our need for novelty and oddity. Sybil was gaper porn. We got to see, or we thought we got to see, the most private, humiliating, and crazy parts of a mind destroyed before it triumphed once again.

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Title: The Secret History of MI6: 1909-1949

Author: Keith Jeffery

Narrator: John Curless

Format: Unabridged

Length: 36 hrs and 51 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-13-11

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 43 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

Keith Jefferys fascinating and revealing account draws on a wealth of archival materials never before seen by any outsider to unveil the inner workings of the worlds first spy agency. Britains Secret Intelligence Serviceor MI6was born a century ago amid rising fears of foreign military powers, especially Germany. The next 40 years saw MI6 taking an increasingly importantand, until now, largely hiddenrole in shaping the history of Europe and the world.

Members Reviews:

How to make the fascinating totally boring!

This is not a book that lends itself to the audio format. It is jammed full of facts with little or no real insights into the personalities of the people involved. Having recently read A Legacy of Ashes by Tim Weiner, I anticipated a book of comparable interest. I found myself drifting off mentally and losing interest. The narrator adds little with his flat, upper crust OxBridge accent. It may well be an excellent source book for scholars, but for the casual reader seeking to understand the development of the British secret service it is far too involved in the minutia. You rapidly loose the forest as the author examines each tree in detail.

Too Much Irrelevant Detail

I bought this book expecting a history of the often amazing intelligence activities of MI6 during the first half of the twentieth century. Unfortunately, this book pays more attention to political bickering among organizations in the British government about MI6 than it does to what MI6 actually did. The section on the first world war is particularly dull and basically skips everything MI6 did during the war to focus on how MI6 was organized and who controlled it. People wanting to hear interesting stories about espionage should shop elsewhere.

Like reading a budget report

Good for 15 minute sessions when trying to fall asleep. There is no "story" to hold your attention.

Small beginnings

Any additional comments?

I couldn't get through this book. The story was so confined/small during it's early stages it didn't interest me. In fairness, the full story might build and be of interest. But it's early stages seemed too mundane for me to expend the time to hear the whole story.

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Title: Kokoda (by Peter FitzSimons)

Author: Peter FitzSimons

Narrator: Lewis FitzGerald

Format: Unabridged

Length: 16 hrs and 58 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-09-11

Publisher: Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 448 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

For Australians, Kokoda is the iconic battle of World War II, yet few people know just what happened and just what our troops achieved. Now, best-selling author Peter FitzSimons tells the Kokoda story in a gripping, moving story for all Australians.

Conditions on the track were hellish - rain was constant, the terrain close to inhospitable, food and ammunition supplies were practically non-existent, and the men constantly battled malaria and dysentery, as well as the Japanese. Kokoda was a defining battle for Australia - a small force of young, ill-equipped Australians engaged a highly experienced and hitherto unstoppable Japanese force on a narrow, precarious jungle track - and defeated them.

Members Reviews:

A Tribute to Fighting Australians

This rendition kept me awake all night, with tears of sorrow and chest pumping pride.

Despite the petty politics of the 'high ups' these few men were there to do a job. Stop the Japs. They did, but at a cost.

This book is about mate-ship and lost mates. It makes you proud to be Australian to learn more of the New Guinea campaign's details and the privations endured by our fathers and grandfathers in support of their families back home.

Great perspective

Would you listen to Kokoda again? Why?

Great story of an under-appreciated part of WWII

Any additional comments?

Not sure I liked the "echo"effect when the narrator was reading a direct quote. Unnecessary distraction

Deserving Tribute

It seems appropriate to write a review of this title on Australia Day. FitzSimons tells a familiar historical tale of the misuse of Australian troops by persons far away and without adequate appreciation of the facts as they were at the battleface. Like many stories of former gallantry, there is a sense of the inevitable and of the unnecessary. FitzSimons captures all of this and more. He is unflattering in his condemnation of criminal negligence, whether it was Blamey's or McArthur's. He is patriotic to a fault and respectful of the Digger and the Digger's duty to his mates. He tells the story, often in the first person, relying on interviews with survivors, diaries and other contemporaneous records. It reads like a novel in parts and a documentary in others. At times it choked me up, but it often made me smile. It is a strange thing that one can be proud of some much bloodshed. That said, if the book has a failing, it is that it is a wee bit too empathic for me and, I suspect many Australians, preferring as we do to let the result speak for itself and not boast about it. Of course there are exceptions, and FitzSimons might have found a valid one here.

As for FitzGerald's reading, I thought it an outstanding performance from an accomplished artist. He captured the fervor, the frustration and the brutality, and his nuance was pitched perfectly. I loved the use of the 1940's Australian idiom (now, sadly, dying) but I thought the use of an echo on many of the quotations was an unnecessary dramatic device. I liked the Chapter divides military segue. I note that the new edition of the hardcopy contains an Afterword that is not in this production, but which is short and could be read in the bookshop waiting in line!

I think this is an important read for most Australians. I was heartened to see from the reviews on this site that it struck a chord with many others, too.

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Title: The Quiet World

Subtitle: Saving Alaska's Wilderness Kingdom, 1879-1960

Author: Douglas Brinkley

Narrator: Andrew Garman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 23 hrs and 6 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-18-11

Publisher: HarperAudio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 37 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

A riveting history of America's most beautiful natural resources, The Quiet World documents the heroic fight waged by the U.S. federal government from 1879 to 1960 to save wild Alaska - Mount McKinley, the Tongass and Chugach national forests, Gates of the Arctic, Glacier Bay, Lake Clark, and the Coastal Plain of the Beaufort Sea, among other treasured landscapes - from the extraction industries.

Award-winning historian Douglas Brinkley traces the wilderness movement in Alaska, from John Muir to Theodore Roosevelt to Aldo Leopold to Dwight D. Eisenhower, with narrative verve. Basing his research on extensive new archival material, Brinkley shows how a colorful band of determined environmentalists created the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge just before John F. Kennedy became president.

Brinkley introduces a lively gallery of characters influential in preserving Alaska's wilderness resources. And wildlife fervently comes to life in The Quiet World: Brinkley tells incredible stories about the sea otters in the Aleutians, moose in the Kenai Peninsula, and birdlife across the Yukon Delta expanse while exploring the devastating effects that reckless overfishing, seal slaughter, and aerial wolf hunting have wrought on Alaska's once-abundant fauna. While taking into account Exxon Valdez-like oil spills, The Quiet World mainly celebrates how the U.S. government has preserved many of Alaska's great wonders for future generations to enjoy.

Members Reviews:

Where are Native Alaskans?

Any additional comments?

The history coverage was exceptional, I appreciated the context and depth.

It might better have been sub-titled, A Federal/National Perspective. Alaskans, save Mardy Murie, Celia Hunter and Ginny Woods were largely left out. Native Alaskans were ignored. How could a writer, who otherwise seems a great chronicler, mention Project Chariot and completely ignore the Native Alaskan voice?

I marked down the otherwise excellent narration because he murdered Alaskans names both people, e.g. Brina Kessel and places, e.g. Nunamiut, which grates on the reader.

A us history of alaskas wildlife

If you could sum up The Quiet World in three words, what would they be?

Alaska wildlife protection history

Who was your favorite character and why?

teddy roosevelt for starting the nature preservation movement

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

even though it has a lot of history in this book it involves a lot of wildlife nature making is a really nice audio book

Inspiring!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Quiet World to be better than the print version?

I thought this book might be tedious to get through: it's not at all. The author weaves a good tale which is inspiring. Let's persist in preserving ANWR!

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Title: Hellcats

Subtitle: The Epic Story of World War II's Most Daring Submarine Raid

Author: Peter Sasgen

Narrator: Grover Gardner

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-14-11

Publisher: Oasis Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 69 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

The incredible true story of nine Hellcat submarines assigned to penetrate the dense minefields protecting the sea of Japan. In 1945 - with no knowledge of the development of the atomic bomb- American submarine commanders, desperate to avoid an invasion of the home islands, believed that if the Japanese merchant fleet was sunk, the enemy would be forced to surrender.

The problem: the ships were protected in the Sea of Japan from American submarines by a seemingly impenetrable barrier of deadly minefields. For the first time, Peter Sasgen tells the gripping story of Operation Barney, a mission in which nine submarines, nicknamed Hellcats, were tasked with the impossible - get through the underwater mines and decimate the enemy fleet. Success would hinge on a new experimental sonar system that would, with luck, guide American submarines safely past the mines. Drawing on original documents and the poignant personal letters of one brave Hellcat commander, Sasgen crafts a classic naval tale of the heroic submariners and one of World War II's most ambitious and dangerous missions.

Members Reviews:

A WWII story well worth learning about

What did you like best about Hellcats? What did you like least?

With a tale to tell the author concentrated on two characters that brought the story to life. This I agree was the best way to present the details.

The part I liked least was the lack of suspense related to one characters demise. You knew he was lost and the book just took too long to explain what was unable to be explained. The Navy basically lost contact with a sub that the Japs likely took out based on post war records etc.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

I would see it because it would make a better movie when presented with good visuals which are of course left to the readers imagination as the audio story is presented. It has been too long without a good Submarine movie hitting the theaters.

Incredibly gripping and interesting!

I have listened to many books on WW2 submarines, and this is one of the very best. The story is very historic, dramatic, gripping and interesting. It is well told technically historically and dramatically Very well read. All in all wonderful.

Several Hellcats books, Start with this one

What did you love best about Hellcats?

The writing, the flow, the description of the equipment and evolution of the new FM radar.

What about Grover Gardners performance did you like?

His enthusiasm.

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

Forget Ronald Reagan. What a bad movie. Would be nice to try again, but "Fury" may be the last good WWII movie.

Any additional comments?

The Navy's Undersea Warfare magazine is an incredible source of information for the heroes of WWII in the submarines. The archives begin with a great commander in each issue. Buy the actual commander's books and read them, they weren't idiots and somewhat educated (Annapolis). Better than Star Trek, the subs really did go out on missions totally on their own.

fascinating slice of WWII history

Where does Hellcats rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

Any Grover Gardener narrated audiobook is bound to be at the top of my list. This was a wonderful exploration of the early submarine force.

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Title: Utmost Savagery

Subtitle: The Three Days of Tarawa

Author: Joseph H. Alexander

Narrator: Tom Weiner

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-07-11

Publisher: Findaway World, LLC

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 79 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

On November 20, 1943, in the first trial by fire of Americas fledgling amphibious assault doctrine, 5,000 men stormed the beaches of Tarawa, a seemingly invincible Japanese island fortress barely the size of the 300-acre Pentagon parking lots. Before the first day ended, one-third of the marines who had crossed Tarawas deadly reef under murderous fire were killed, wounded, or missing. In three days of fighting, four Americans would win the Medal of Honor and six thousand combatants would die.

Now, Colonel Joseph Alexander, a combat marine himself, presents the full story of Tarawa in all its horror and glory: the extreme risks, the horrific combat, and the heroic breakthroughs. Based on exhaustive research, never-before-published accounts from marine survivors, and new evidence from Japanese sources, Colonel Alexander captures the grit, guts, and relentless courage of United States Marines overcoming outrageous odds to deliver victory for their country.

Colonel Joseph H. Alexander (Ret.), a combat veteran who served in the Marine Corps for 28 years, is the author of six books and has helped produce 25 military documentaries. He lives in Asheville, North Carolina.

Critic Reviews:

The first complete and definitive account of the Battle of Tarawa. (Major General Mike Ryan, USMC [Ret.], Navy Cross recipient)

A gripping narrative of one of the bloodiest battles of WWII in the Pacific theater. (Publishers Weekly)

Without a doubt the best narrative of the struggle ever produced. (Richard B. Frank, author of Guadalcanal)

Members Reviews:

The Definitive Battle History of Tarawa

Col. Alexander's "Utmost Savagery: The Three Days of Tarawa" is the definitive battle history of this epic event. It is my understanding that he worked closely with historian Richard B. Frank and was able to tap into newly translated official Japanese war histories to uncover the Japanese side of the story. He also drew upon numerous interviews with veteran participants including war correspondent Robert Sherrod who landed with the Marines. Alexander's work is one of the finest battle histories I have ever read. Expertly narrated, I highly recommend this title to anyone interested in WW2 history.

Utmost Savagery.

A Great Story about Tarawa and the Pacific War. I like history and espically WW ll in the Pacific so naturally I was drawn to this Book. I would recommend this book to others.

Not what at all it advertises

This book wasn???t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Anyone unfamiliar with the battle for Tarawa may gain some knowledge.

What could Joseph H. Alexander have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

If this book had truly contained the kind of information available only to those who were there on the ground and what they experienced and saw the book miight have been great. Instead it was primarily a rehash of what the major players (e.g., generals, colonels, majors admirals, etc.) did and said. I stopped reading about 2/3s of the way through due the lack of individual marine or soldiers reports.

Which scene was your favorite?

None

You didn???t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

It was well written as a command report.

With the Marines at Tarawa

This is why I listen to books. This little book is densely packed with tons of great research. I tried to read this in print and got stuck. But, on audio, I blew through this book quickly.

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Title: Americans in Paris

Subtitle: Life and Death under Nazi Occupation

Author: Charles Glass

Narrator: Malcolm Hillgartner

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 hrs and 17 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-23-10

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 42 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

Acclaimed journalist Charles Glass looks to the American expatriate experience of Nazi-occupied Paris to reveal a fascinating forgotten history of the greatest generation.

In Americans in Paris, tales of adventure, intrigue, passion, deceit, and survival unfold season by season as renowned journalist Charles Glass tells the story of a remarkable cast of expatriates and their struggles in Nazi Paris.

Before the Second World War began, approximately 30,000 Americans lived in Paris, and when war broke out in 1939, almost 5,000 remained. As citizens of a neutral nation, the Americans in Paris believed they had little to fear. They were wrong. Glass discovery of letters, diaries, war documents, and police files reveals as never before how Americans were trapped in a web of intrigue, collaboration, and courage.

Artists, writers, scientists, playboys, musicians, cultural mandarins, and ordinary businessmenall were swept up in extraordinary circumstances and tested as few Americans before or since. These stories come together to create a unique portrait of an eccentric, original, and diverse American community.

Charles Glass has written an exciting, fast-paced, and elegant account of the moral contradictions faced by Americans in Paris during Frances dangerous occupation years. For four hard years, from the summer of 1940 until U.S. troops liberated Paris in August 1944, Americans were intimately caught up in the citys fate. Americans in Paris is an unforgettable tale of treachery by some, cowardice by others, and unparalleled bravery by a few.

Critic Reviews:

A vivid gallery of expatriates animates this chronicle of Paris during the Second World War. Drawing heavily on primary source material, Glass narrates the Nazi Occupation year by year, unfolding stories of resilience and despair.... By focusing with exhaustive thoroughness on a relatively small group, Glass is able to capture the complex stories of as diverse a collection of opposed beliefs and backgrounds as in any American metropolis. (The New Yorker)

Once upon a time, historians told stories about the brave and the cowardly, about heroes, villains, and the many whose lives lay somewhere in between. Thats what Glasshas done in this extraordinary narrativeThis is outstanding popular history, well researched and told and never oversimplified. Its difficult to conceive of anyone who wouldnt enjoy this exceptional book. (Library Journal)

A fascinating treat. (Telegraph, London)

Members Reviews:

Informative, but average engagement

Very interesting historic perspective. Its definitely a factual, history read. There is little narrative creativity. It was very informative, but I wasnt engaged by the various storylines as much as I would have liked. The many different storylines jumped around and back-and-forth, so it was difficult to get attached to any one person. It was a great overview of German occupation of Paris/France from an American perspective.

Narration- average, very straightforward. It sounded like a newsreel on radio from the 40s.

Absolutely must read.

Americans in Paris is a powerl audio book that fills in many of the blind spots concerning the occupation of Paris. It is Important to the history of WWII and makes it difficult to Formulate an opinion about whether the French cooperated with the Germans strictly for benefit. Or whether it was more a matter of survival.

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Title: Memory

Subtitle: A Very Short Introduction

Author: Jonathan K. Foster

Narrator: Elisabeth Rodgers

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 35 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-04-10

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 24 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

Memories are an integral part of being human. They haunt us, we cherish them, and in our lives we collect more of them with each new experience. Without memory, you would not be able to maintain a relationship, drive your car, talk to your children, read a poem, watch television, or do much of anything at all. Memory: A Very Short Introduction explores the fascinating intricacies of human memory. Is it one thing or many? Why does it seem to work well sometimes and not others? What happens when it "goes wrong"? Can it be improved or manipulated through techniques such as mnemonic rhymes or "brain implants"? How does memory change as we age? And what about so-called recovered memories--can they be relied upon as a record of what actually happened in our personal past? This book brings together our most recent knowledge to address (in a scientifically rigorous but highly accessible way) these and many other important questions about how memory works, and why we can't live without it.

Members Reviews:

Thought Provoking

It is likely this book will change the way you understand the phenomenon of memory and our approaches to understanding it. Rather than straightforwardly positing a theory of memory, the book explores ideas surrounding our understanding of memory and raises questions about how to study it. That is probably the best approach, given this is "A Very Short Introduction." I got a lot out of this book, though I'm not sure I really understand memory much better.

rambling, too simplistic

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

a better organized presentation--more about neuroscience and less philosophy/acecdotes

What could Jonathan K. Foster have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

a better organized presentation--more about neuroscience and less philosophy/acecdotes

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Elisabeth Rodgers?

don't know

What character would you cut from Memory?

n/a

Any additional comments?

better if you have never taken much psych coursework

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Title: East of Chosin

Subtitle: Entrapment and Breakout in Korea, 1950

Author: Roy E. Appleman

Narrator: Sean Runnette

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 24 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-24-10

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 32 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

Roy Appleman's East of Chosin, first published in 1987, won acclaim from reviewers, readers, and veterans and their families. For the first time, there was one complete and accessible record of what happened to the army troops trapped east of the Chosin Reservoir during the first wintry blast of the Korean War. Based heavily on the author's interviews and correspondence with the survivors, East of Chosin provided some of those men with their first clue to the fate of fellow soldiers.

In November 1950, U.S. forces had pushed deep into North Korea. Unknown to them, Chinese troops well equipped for below-zero temperatures and blizzard conditions were pushing south. With the 1st Marine Division on the west side of the frozen Chosin Reservoir, the army's hastily assembled 31st Regimental Combat Team, 3,000 strong, advanced up the east side of the reservoir. Task Force Faith in the extreme northern position caught the surprise Chinese attack. With rifles and vehicles often immobilized in the cold and snow, the task force struggled to retreat through a tortuous mountain gauntlet of enemy fire. With truckloads of dead and wounded trapped along the road, a few of the 385 survivors trudged across the frozen reservoir to alert the marines to their plight.

Critic Reviews:

"A highly suspenseful account of a military catastrophe and...an inverted object lesson in field command under the worst possible conditions." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Dense account of over-shawdowed tragedy

I read this in print shortly after it came out and have re-read it in print at least once since. When I saw it on Audible, I just had to give it a listen hands and eye free to soak it in again and follow along with topo maps of the positions and terrain.

Excellent narration - as I imagine Appleman would have approved.

I'd say this is strictly for those intensely interested in the subject as it is steeped in details and backstory. I feel Appleman objectively presents the issues well to more than allow the reader to interpret themselves what went wrong as a lot just is not known or may never be. But plenty of dots to connect.

If I went back in time, I would have told Faith and MacClean to occupy and hold hill 1221 (as the Marine Lt. they were replacing intimated) with firm connectivity between the schoolhouse to the south and the inlet, but no further north of the inlet until the reinforcements arrived....which of course, they never did.

Apologist for MacArthur and Ned Almond

I have read many books about a the Korean War and the break out from the Chosin Res. but I have never read that O. P. Smith was to blame for the debacle. O. P. Smith saved the 1st Marine Division and in any case the 1st had a hard enough time saving itself. Poor dithering Leadership, poor training and discipline and poor communications exacerbated the Army's problems but MacArthur and Almond pushed the troops into untenable positions while refusing to believe intelligence being gathered in the field. A real thumbs down on this book.

pretty good

Butchered the Korean language though. You really need a map in front of you to follow along also.

Disappointed

This was very disappointing. The book seems a thinly veiled apology for X Corps commander Ned Almond's actions that set up the tragedy.

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Title: Deathride

Subtitle: Hitler vs. Stalin: The Eastern Front, 1941-1945

Author: John Mosier

Narrator: Michael Prichard

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 53 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-07-10

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 126 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

John Mosier presents a revisionist retelling of the war on the Eastern Front. Although the Eastern Front was the biggest and most important theater in World War II, it is not well known in the United States, as no American troops participated in the fighting. Yet historians agree that this is where the decisive battles of the war were fought.

The conventional wisdom about the Eastern Front is that Hitler was mad to think he could defeat the USSR, because of its vast size and population, and that the Battle of Stalingrad marked the turning point of the war. Neither statement is accurate, says Mosier; Hitler came very close to winning outright.

Mosier's history of the Eastern Front will generate considerable controversy, both because of his unconventional arguments and because he criticizes historians who have accepted Soviet facts and interpretations. Mosier argues that Soviet accounts are utterly untrustworthy and that accounts relying on them are fantasies. Deathride argues that the war in the East was Hitler's to lose, that Stalin was in grave jeopardy from the outset of the war, and that it was the Allied victories in North Africa and consequent threat to Italy that forced Hitler to change his plans and saved Stalin from near-certain defeat. Stalin's only real triumph was in creating a legend of victory.

Members Reviews:

The tone grows wearisome after a few chapters

Any additional comments?

Any book on the subject of the Eastern Front of WWII is welcome. It's a part of WWII that for my generation (graduated college during the Cold War) was mostly ignored in history class. Yet it was the largest and deadliest theater of the war. However, Mosier's tone and pet phrases such as "You would think...but you'd be wrong", "Contrary to conventional wisdom..." gets more and more grating with each chapter.

Despite his insistence that he is speaking the truth against the official accepted history, much of his view of the Eastern Front is not unique or shocking. His scrutiny of evidence from the belligerents is biased to support his thesis (that the Germans were much closer to victory in the East, and that it was the Allied offensive in the West that compelled Germany to retreat in the East to better defend the West). Official Soviet numbers (from casualties to weapons production et al) are laboriously explained away as propaganda, but rarely is the same level of examination given to Nazi numbers. In fact, to support his contrarian view that German troops were not demoralized during their retreat Mosier refers to photos of happy German soldiers from that period. He insists without proof that they were candid and not staged, and somehow a handful of photos is a clear indicator of overall sangfroid up and down the German lines as they marched backwards through Poland.

Overall, I can't recommend this book. However, I will give Mosier credit for his insights at the end of Deathride. No single book could sum up what a tragedy the War was for the people of Eastern Europe, but Mosier's overview of the staggering human costs can be felt as it is read. His summary of the post-war consequences of Stalin is apt and thoughtful, too.