Churchill's Confidant
Enemy to Lifelong Friend
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Churchill's Confidant
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Narrated by:
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Peter Noble
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By:
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Richard Steyn
About this listen
Brought together first as enemies in the Anglo-Boer War and later as allies in the First World War, the remarkable and often touching friendship between Winston Churchill and Jan Smuts is a rich study in contrasts.
In youth, they occupied very different worlds: Churchill, the rambunctious and thrusting young aristocrat; Smuts, the aesthetic, philosophical Cape farm boy who would go on to Cambridge. Both were men of exceptional talents and achievements, and between them the pair had to grapple with some of the 20th century's most intractable issues, not least of which was the task of restoring peace and prosperity to Europe after two of mankind's bloodiest wars.
Drawing on a maze of archival and secondary sources including letters, telegrams and the voluminous books written about both men, Richard Steyn presents a fascinating account of two remarkable men in war and peace: one the leader of the empire, the other the leader of a small fractious member of that empire who nevertheless rose to global prominence.
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5 out of 5 stars
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-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 854
May 1940. Britain is at war, Winston Churchill has unexpectedly been promoted to prime minister, and the horrors of Blitzkrieg witness one Western European democracy fall after another in rapid succession. Facing this horror, with pen in hand and typist-secretary at the ready, Churchill wonders what words could capture the public mood when the invasion of Britain seems mere hours away. It is this fascinating period that Anthony McCarten captures in this deeply researched and wonderfully written new book, The Darkest Hour.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Gripping
- By Jean on 12-06-17
By: Anthony McCarten
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The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Volume I: Visions of Glory 1874-1932
- By: William Manchester
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 41 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,653
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,151
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Story5 out of 5 stars 2,145
Winston Churchill is perhaps the most important political figure of the 20th century. His great oratory and leadership during the Second World War were only part of his huge breadth of experience and achievement. Studying his life is a fascinating way to imbibe the history of his era and gain insight into key events that have shaped our time.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Superb - Review of Both Volume I & Volume II
- By Wolfpacker on 01-23-09
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Winston Churchill
- By: John Keegan
- Narrated by: Richard Matthews
- Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 129
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 63
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Story4 out of 5 stars 64
The eminent historian John Keegan charts Churchill's career, following his steadfast leadership during the catastrophic events of World War II while England was dangerously poised on the brink of collapse. With wonderful eloquence, Keegan illuminates Churchill's incredible strength during this crucial moment in history and his unshakable belief that democracy would always prevail.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A good intro/summary
- By Sabrina on 01-07-06
By: John Keegan
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The War That Ended Peace
- The Road to 1914
- By: Margaret MacMillan
- Narrated by: Richard Burnip
- Length: 31 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 990
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 894
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 883
From the best-selling and award-winning author of Paris 1919 comes a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction, a fascinating portrait of Europe from 1900 up to the outbreak of World War I.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Detailed review of 1882 to 1914
- By smarmer on 04-06-14
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The World Remade
- America in World War I
- By: G. J. Meyer
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 24 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 370
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 332
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 331
After years of bitter debate, the United States declared war on Imperial Germany on April 6, 1917, plunging the country into the savage European conflict that would redraw the map of the continent - and the globe. The World Remade is an engrossing chronicle of America's pivotal, still controversial intervention into World War I, encompassing the tumultuous politics and towering historical figures that defined the era and forged the future.
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5 out of 5 stars
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"100% America" - a disturbing place to be
- By DPM on 04-01-17
By: G. J. Meyer
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Ministers at War
- Winston Churchill and His War Cabinet
- By: Jonathan Schneer
- Narrated by: Matthew Brenher
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 268
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 239
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 236
In May 1940, with France on the verge of defeat, Britain alone stood in the path of the Nazi military juggernaut. Survival seemed to hinge on the leadership of Winston Churchill, whom the king reluctantly appointed prime minister as Germany invaded France. Churchill's reputation as one of the great 20th-century leaders would be forged during the coming months and years as he worked tirelessly first to rally his country and then to defeat Hitler.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Welcome addition to the literature of World War II
- By Mike From Mesa on 05-02-15
By: Jonathan Schneer
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Japan 1941
- Countdown to Infamy
- By: Eri Hotta
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 332
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 293
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 293
When Japan attacked the United States in 1941, argues Eri Hotta, its leaders, in large part, understood they were entering a conflict they were bound to lose. Availing herself of rarely consulted material, Hotta poses essential questions overlooked by historians in the seventy years since: Why did these men - military men, civilian politicians, diplomats, the emperor - put their country and its citizens in harm's way? Why did they make a decision that was doomed from the start?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Japanese viewpoint
- By Jean on 01-01-14
By: Eri Hotta
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The Duel
- The 80-Day Struggle Between Churchill and Hitler
- By: John Lukacs
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 137
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 88
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 88
This is a day-by-day account of the 80-day struggle in 1940 between Hitler, poised on the edge of absolute victory, and Churchill, threatened by imminent invasion and defeat.
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2 out of 5 stars
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The most aggravating history lecture ever
- By Sidney on 12-31-08
By: John Lukacs
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De Gaulle
- By: Julian Jackson
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 41 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 173
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 149
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 147
In a definitive biography of the mythic general who refused to accept Nazi domination of France, Julian Jackson captures this titanic figure as never before. Drawing on unpublished letters, memoirs, and resources of the recently opened de Gaulle archive, he reveals how this volatile visionary put a broken France back at the center of world affairs.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Extremely British approach to de Gaulle
- By Keith on 05-31-19
By: Julian Jackson
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A Peace to End All Peace
- The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East
- By: David Fromkin
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 23 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 472
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 404
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 405
The Middle East has long been a region of rival religions, ideologies, nationalisms, and ambitions. All of these conflicts are rooted in the region's political inheritance: the arrangements, unities, and divisions imposed by the Allies after the First World War. Author David Fromkin reveals how and why the Allies drew lines on an empty map that remade the geography and politics of the Middle East. Focusing on the formative years of 1914 to 1922, when all seemed possible, he delivers in this sweeping and magisterial book the definitive account of this defining time.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Still A Great Book On The Topic
- By Nostromo on 02-03-19
By: David Fromkin
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The Balfour Declaration
- The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict
- By: Jonathan Schneer
- Narrated by: Nicholas Guy Smith
- Length: 18 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 62
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 58
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 58
Issued in London in 1917, the Balfour Declaration was one of the key documents of the 20th century. It committed Britain to supporting the establishment in Palestine of "a National Home for the Jewish people", and its reverberations continue to be felt to this day. Now the entire fascinating story of the document is revealed in this impressive work of modern history.
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3 out of 5 stars
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From the Zionist Point of View
- By Sam Peter on 10-11-19
By: Jonathan Schneer
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1914
- The Year The World Ended
- By: Paul Ham
- Narrated by: Robert Meldrum
- Length: 22 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 109
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 102
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 99
Few years can justly be said to have transformed the earth: 1914 did. In July that year, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Britain and France were poised to plunge the world into a war that would kill or wound 37 million people, tear down the fabric of society, uproot ancient political systems and set the course for the bloodiest century in human history.
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4 out of 5 stars
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How the war started
- By Jean on 02-24-14
By: Paul Ham
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George Marshall: A Biography
- By: Debi Unger, Irwin Unger
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 170
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 154
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Story4 out of 5 stars 152
A major historical biography of George C. Marshall - the general who ran the U.S. campaign during the Second World War, the Secretary of State who oversaw the successful rebuilding of post-war Europe, and the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize - and the first to offer a complete picture of his life.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Disappointing
- By Jean on 11-12-14
By: Debi Unger, and others
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The Mantle of Command
- FDR at War, 1941–1942
- By: Nigel Hamilton
- Narrated by: Brad Sanders
- Length: 20 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 5
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 5
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5
Based on years of archival research and interviews with the last surviving aides and Roosevelt family members, Nigel Hamilton offers a definitive account of FDR’s masterful - and underappreciated - command of the Allied war effort. Hamilton takes listeners inside FDR’s White House Oval Study - his personal command center - and into the meetings where he battled with Churchill about strategy and tactics and overrode the near mutinies of his own generals and secretary of war.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Great Book, Terrible Narration
- By Ross Mackey on 04-11-22
By: Nigel Hamilton