Decision at Sea
Five Naval Battles That Shaped American History
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Decision at Sea
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Narrated by:
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Stephen R. Thorne
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By:
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Craig L. Symonds
About this listen
From thunderous broadsides traded between wooden sailing ships on Lake Erie, to the carrier battles of World War II, to the devastating high-tech action in the Persian Gulf, here is a gripping history of five key battles that defined the evolution of naval warfare - and the course of the American nation.
Acclaimed military historian Craig Symonds offers spellbinding narratives of crucial engagements, showing how each battle reveals the transformation of technology and weaponry from one war to the next; how these in turn transformed naval combat; and how each event marked a milestone in American history. Symonds records these encounters in detail so vivid that listeners can hear the wind in the rigging and feel the pounding of the guns. Yet he places every battle in a wide perspective, revealing their significance to America's development as it grew from a new Republic on the edge of a threatening frontier to a global superpower.
Decision at Sea is a powerful and illuminating look at pivotal moments in the history of the Navy and of the United States. It is also a compelling study of the unchanging demands of leadership at sea, where commanders must make rapid decisions in the heat of battle with lives - and the fate of nations - hanging in the balance.
©2005 Craig L. Symonds (P)2020 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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- By: Craig L. Symonds
- Narrated by: Eric Martin
- Length: 25 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,415
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,263
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Story5 out of 5 stars 1,256
World War II at Sea offers a global perspective, focusing on the major engagements and personalities and revealing both their scale and their interconnection: the U-boat attack on Scapa Flow and the Battle of the Atlantic; the "miracle" evacuation from Dunkirk and the pitched battles for control of Norway fjords; Mussolini's Regia Marina - at the start of the war the fourth-largest navy in the world - and the dominance of the Kidö Butai and Japanese naval power in the Pacific; Pearl Harbor then Midway; and much more.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Outstanding
- By Patrick on 02-14-19
By: Craig L. Symonds
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Tin Cans and Greyhounds
- The Destroyers That Won Two World Wars
- By: Clint Johnson
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 78
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 65
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 64
In Tin Cans and Greyhounds, author Clint Johnson brings listeners inside the quarter-inch hulls of destroyers to meet the men who manned the ships' five-inch guns and fought America's wars from inside a "tin can" - risking death by cannon shell, shrapnel, bomb, fire, drowning, exposure, and sharks.
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1 out of 5 stars
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a lengthy history lessonn
- By SCOTTY on 09-14-19
By: Clint Johnson
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Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942
- By: Ian W. Toll
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 22 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 4,000
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,566
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Story5 out of 5 stars 3,551
On the first Sunday in December 1941, an armada of Japanese warplanes appeared suddenly over Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and devastated the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Six months later, in a sea fight north of the tiny atoll of Midway, four Japanese aircraft carriers were sent into the abyss. Pacific Crucible tells the epic tale of these first searing months of the Pacific war, when the U.S. Navy shook off the worst defeat in American military history and seized the strategic initiative.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Astonishingly good.
- By Mike From Mesa on 09-01-12
By: Ian W. Toll
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War Beneath the Sea
- Submarine Conflict During World War II
- By: Peter Padfield
- Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell
- Length: 25 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 165
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 142
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 141
This riveting chronicle of submarine warfare is the first to cover all the major submarine campaigns of the war, describing, in detail, the operations of the British, American, Japanese, Italian, and German submarine and anti-submarine forces. Beginning with a vivid re-creation of the sinking of the passenger liner Athenia by a German U-boat in September 1939, critically acclaimed military historian Peter Padfield's compelling narrative casts an unflinching eye on the devastating consequences of maritime warfare.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fills in the gaps of other submarine books
- By Ben on 05-19-21
By: Peter Padfield
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Blazing Star, Setting Sun
- The Guadalcanal-Solomons Campaign November 1942-March 1943
- By: Jeffrey Cox
- Narrated by: Lance C Fuller
- Length: 24 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 260
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 226
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 224
By the end of February 1944, thanks to hard-fought and costly American victories in the first and second naval battles of Guadalcanal, the battle of Empress Augusta Bay and the battle of Cape St George, the Japanese would no longer hold the materiel or skilled manpower advantage. From this point on, although the war was still a long way from being won, the American star was unquestionably on the ascendant, slowly, but surely, edging Japanese imperialism towards its sunset.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Narrator Ruined the Book
- By Duncan on 08-20-20
By: Jeffrey Cox
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Atlantic Nightmare
- The Longest Continuous Military Campaign in World War Ii
- By: Richard Freeman
- Narrated by: Will Huggins
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 28
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 23
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 23
No other battle of the Second World War lasted longer than the 2,075 days of the Battle of the Atlantic. It raged from the opening day of the war in September 1939 until it ended almost six years later with Germany’s surrender in May 1945. Vital supplies of food, fuel, and the raw materials needed by the Allies to wage war had to be transported in merchant ships in escorted convoys across the Atlantic Ocean, where they were at the mercy of German U-boats and warships.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Slanted Badly
- By Christopher on 07-07-24
By: Richard Freeman
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Hunt the Bismarck
- The Pursuit of Germany’s Most Famous Battleship
- By: Angus Konstam
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 157
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 136
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Story5 out of 5 stars 137
Bismarck entered service in the summer of 1940. She was well-armed, with eight 15-inch guns as well as a powerful array of lighter weapons, while her armored protection earned her the reputation of being unsinkable. This claim was finally put to the test in May 1941, when she sortied into the Atlantic and fought the legendary battle of the Denmark Strait, destroying HMS Hood, the pride of the Royal Navy. Bismarck was now loose in the North Atlantic.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A fresh look at a well known story!
- By Donald Hill on 10-26-19
By: Angus Konstam
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Sink ‘Em All
- Submarine Warfare in the Pacific
- By: Charles A. Lockwood
- Narrated by: Eric Martin
- Length: 16 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 404
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 359
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 358
Sink 'Em All was originally published in 1951 by Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, the US Navy commander of the Pacific submarine fleet during World War II. Lockwood, in his leadership role, knew the skippers and crews of the submarines and retells their wartime successes and tragedies with an intimacy and realism often missing in second-hand accounts.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Best of the best
- By Robert on 08-29-18
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Jutland
- The Unfinished Battle
- By: Nick Jellicoe
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 18 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 98
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 83
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 83
More than a century later, historians still argue about this controversial and misunderstood World War I naval battle off the coast of Denmark. It was the 20th century's first engagement of dreadnoughts - and while it left Britain in control of the North Sea, both sides claimed victory and decades of disputes followed. This book not only retells the story of the battle from both a British and German perspective based on the latest research, but also helps clarify the context of Germany's inevitable naval clash and the aftermath after the smoke had cleared.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Well done
- By William on 03-30-20
By: Nick Jellicoe
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The Deadly Deep
- The Definitive History of Submarine Warfare
- By: Iain Ballantyne
- Narrated by: Paul Ansdell
- Length: 28 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 111
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 99
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 98
Iain Ballantyne considers the key episodes of submarine warfare and vividly describes the stories of brave individuals who have risked their lives under the sea, often with fatal consequences. His analysis of underwater conflict begins with Archimedes discovering the principle of buoyancy. This clandestine narrative then moves through the centuries and focuses on prolific characters with deadly motives.
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2 out of 5 stars
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American Effors Get Short Shift
- By GEORGE on 03-22-19
By: Iain Ballantyne
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Storm over Leyte
- The Philippine Invasion and the Destruction of the Japanese Navy
- By: John Prados
- Narrated by: Ricard Ferrone
- Length: 16 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 134
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 123
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 123
As Allied ships prepared for the invasion of the Philippine island of Leyte, every available warship, submarine, and airplane was placed on alert while Japanese admiral Kurita Takeo stalked Admiral William F. Halsey's unwitting American armada. It was the beginning of the epic Battle of Leyte Gulf - the greatest naval battle in history.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Startling revelations to a 72 year battle!
- By Chiefkent on 07-31-16
By: John Prados
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On Wave and Wing
- The 100 Year Quest to Perfect the Aircraft Carrier
- By: Barrett Tillman
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 189
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 172
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 171
What defended the US after the attack on Pearl Harbor, defeated the Soviet Union in the Cold War, and is an essential tool in the fight against terror? Aircraft carriers. For 70 years, these ships remained a little-understood cornerstone of American power. In his latest book, On Wave and Wing, Barrett Tillman sheds light on the history of these floating leviathans and offers a nuanced analysis of the largest man-made vessel in the history of the world.
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3 out of 5 stars
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100th Anniversary of the Aircraft Carrier
- By Jean on 08-05-17
By: Barrett Tillman
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The Burning Shore
- How Hitler's U-Boats Brought World War II to America
- By: Ed Offley
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 356
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 321
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 322
On June 15, 1942, as thousands of vacationers lounged in the sun on Virginia Beach, a massive fireball erupted from a convoy of oil tankers steaming into Chesapeake Bay. By the next day, three ships lay at the bottom of the channel, victims of Lieutenant-Commander Horst Degen and his crew on the German submarine U-701. In The Burning Shore, acclaimed military reporter Ed Offley presents a thrilling account of Degen's rampage along the American coast and of US Lieutenant Harry J. Kane's quest to bring him down.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Ugh, Perhaps a Second Listen is Required?
- By Matthew on 09-05-15
By: Ed Offley
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Islands of Destiny
- By: John Prados
- Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
- Length: 17 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 75
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 62
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 63
Acclaimed WWII historian and military intelligence expert John Prados offers a provocative reassessment of the Allies’ battle for the Solomon Islands - a turbulent, dramatic campaign that, he argues, was the true turning point of the Pacific conflict.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Way too much detail
- By Eric on 01-15-17
By: John Prados
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The War for the Seas
- A Maritime History of World War II
- By: Evan Mawdsley
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 28 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 145
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 131
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 131
Command of the oceans was crucial to winning World War II. By the start of 1942 Nazi Germany had conquered mainland Europe, and Imperial Japan had overrun Southeast Asia and much of the Pacific. How could Britain and distant America prevail in what had become a "war of continents"? In this definitive account, Evan Mawdsley traces events at sea from the first U-boat operations in 1939 to the surrender of Japan. He argues that the Allied counterattack involved not just decisive sea battles, but a long struggle to control shipping arteries and move armies across the sea.
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2 out of 5 stars
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An Unengaging Survey that Disappoints
- By Scott Eckert on 08-06-20
By: Evan Mawdsley
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Into the Bright Sunshine
- Young Hubert Humphrey and the Fight for Civil Rights (Pivotal Moments in American History Series)
- By: Samuel G. Freedman
- Narrated by: Mike Lenz
- Length: 17 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 15
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 14
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 14
During one sweltering week in July 1948, the Democratic Party gathered in Philadelphia for its national convention. The most pressing and controversial issue facing the delegates was not whom to nominate for president—the incumbent, Harry Truman, was the presumptive candidate—but whether the Democrats would finally embrace the cause of civil rights and embed it in their official platform. On the convention's final day, Hubert Humphrey, the relatively obscure mayor of the midsized city of Minneapolis, ascended the podium.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Narrator bungles pronunciations
- By ARV on 09-23-23
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Lincoln and His Admirals
- By: Craig L. Symonds
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 14 hrs and 44 mins
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 99
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