Given Up for Dead
America's Heroic Stand at Wake Island
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Given Up for Dead
Buy for $25.79
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
David Cochran Heath
-
By:
-
Bill Sloan
About this listen
On December 8, 1941, just five hours after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Japanese planes attacked a remote US outpost in the westernmost reaches of the Pacific. It was the beginning of an incredible 16-day fight for Wake Island, a tiny but strategically valuable dot in the ocean. Unprepared for the stunning assault, the small battalion was dangerously outnumbered and outgunned. But they compensated with a surplus of bravery and perseverance, waging an extraordinary battle against all odds.
When it was over, a few hundred American Marines, sailors, and soldiers, along with a small army of heroic civilian laborers, had repulsed enemy forces several thousand strong - but it was still not enough. Among the Marines was 20-year-old PFC Wiley Sloman. By Christmas Day, he lay semiconscious in the sand, struck by enemy fire. Another day would pass before he was found - stripped of his rifle and his uniform. Shocked to realize he hadn't awakened to victory, Sloman wondered: Had he been given up for dead - and had the Marines simply given up?
In this riveting account, veteran journalist Bill Sloan re-creates this history-making battle, the crushing surrender, and the stories of the uncommonly gutsy men who fought it.
©2003 Bill Sloan (P)2021 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Cactus Air Force
- Air War Over Guadalcanal
- By: Eric Hammel, Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
- Narrated by: Adam Henderson
- Length: 14 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 143
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 124
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 124
In The Cactus Air Force, Pacific War expert Thomas McKelvey Cleaver worked closely with Eric to build on his collection of diary entries, interviews and first-hand accounts to create a vivid narrative of the struggle in the air over the island of Guadalcanal between August 20 and November 15, 1942.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent Book!
- By Eric Peterson on 09-16-22
By: Eric Hammel, and others
-
Undefeated
- America's Heroic Fight for Bataan and Corregidor
- By: Bill Sloan
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 83
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 73
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 73
Abandoned by their government, the men and women of the American garrison struggled against impossible military odds, rampant disease, and slow starvation to delay inevitable surrender by the largest American military force ever. Rather than picturing these defenders as little more than helpless victims of an overwhelmingly powerful and sadistic enemy-as most previous books about the Philippines campaign have done- Undefeated credits American troops with the unexcelled heroism and indomitable spirit they displayed under the worst imaginable conditions.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Mesmerizing
- By Amazon Customer on 03-30-17
By: Bill Sloan
-
Dark Waters, Starry Skies
- The Guadalcanal-Solomons Campaign, March–October 1943
- By: Jeffrey Cox
- Narrated by: John Chancer
- Length: 31 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 71
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 60
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 59
Thousands of miles from friendly ports, the US Navy had finally managed to complete the capture of Guadalcanal from the Japanese in early 1943. Now the Allies sought to keep the offensive momentum won at such a high cost. This is the central plotline running through this page-turning history beginning with the Japanese Operation I-Go and the American ambush of Admiral Yamamoto and continuing on to the Allied invasion of New Georgia, northwest of Guadalcanal in the middle of the Solomon Islands and the location of a major Japanese base.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
great but way too much alliteration...
- By Greg on 06-16-23
By: Jeffrey Cox
-
The Ultimate Battle
- Okinawa 1945: The Last Epic Struggle of World War II
- By: Bill Sloan
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 14 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 911
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 753
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 754
The Ultimate Battle is the full story of the largest land-sea-air battle ever waged by the United States, a battle whose staggering casualties and take-no-prisoners ferocity led Truman to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. From April through June 1945, more than 250,000 American and Japanese lives were lost, including those of nearly 150,000 civilians who either committed suicide or were caught in the crossfire. This book tells a gripping story of heroism, sacrifice, and death.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Takes you into the mud and death
- By Ron on 02-02-08
By: Bill Sloan
-
Their Backs Against the Sea
- The Battle of Saipan and the Greatest Banzai Attack of World War II
- By: Bill Sloan
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 53
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 50
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 50
In the midst of the largest banzai attack of the war, US Army Lt. Col. William O'Brien, grievously wounded and out of ammunition, grabbed a sabre from a fallen Japanese soldier and flailed away at a small army of assailants, screaming to his men, "Don't give them a damn inch"! When his body was recovered the next day, 30 dead enemies were piled around him. The Battle of Saipan lasted 25 hellish days in the summer of 1944, and the stakes couldn't have been higher. If Japan lost possession of the island, all hope for victory would be lost.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Thank you!
- By Robert on 01-29-19
By: Bill Sloan
-
40 Thieves on Saipan
- The Elite Marine Scout-Snipers in One of WWII's Bloodiest Battles
- By: Joseph Tachovsky, Cynthia Kraack
- Narrated by: Qarie Marshall
- Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,138
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,043
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,044
Behind enemy lines on the island of Saipan - where firing a gun could mean instant discovery and death - the 40 Thieves killed in silence during the grueling battle for Saipan, the D-Day of the Pacific.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Incredibly written, incredibly told!
- By licensedtorock on 09-05-20
By: Joseph Tachovsky, and others
-
The Cactus Air Force
- Air War Over Guadalcanal
- By: Eric Hammel, Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
- Narrated by: Adam Henderson
- Length: 14 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 143
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 124
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 124
In The Cactus Air Force, Pacific War expert Thomas McKelvey Cleaver worked closely with Eric to build on his collection of diary entries, interviews and first-hand accounts to create a vivid narrative of the struggle in the air over the island of Guadalcanal between August 20 and November 15, 1942.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent Book!
- By Eric Peterson on 09-16-22
By: Eric Hammel, and others
-
Undefeated
- America's Heroic Fight for Bataan and Corregidor
- By: Bill Sloan
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 83
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 73
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 73
Abandoned by their government, the men and women of the American garrison struggled against impossible military odds, rampant disease, and slow starvation to delay inevitable surrender by the largest American military force ever. Rather than picturing these defenders as little more than helpless victims of an overwhelmingly powerful and sadistic enemy-as most previous books about the Philippines campaign have done- Undefeated credits American troops with the unexcelled heroism and indomitable spirit they displayed under the worst imaginable conditions.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Mesmerizing
- By Amazon Customer on 03-30-17
By: Bill Sloan
-
Dark Waters, Starry Skies
- The Guadalcanal-Solomons Campaign, March–October 1943
- By: Jeffrey Cox
- Narrated by: John Chancer
- Length: 31 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 71
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 60
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 59
Thousands of miles from friendly ports, the US Navy had finally managed to complete the capture of Guadalcanal from the Japanese in early 1943. Now the Allies sought to keep the offensive momentum won at such a high cost. This is the central plotline running through this page-turning history beginning with the Japanese Operation I-Go and the American ambush of Admiral Yamamoto and continuing on to the Allied invasion of New Georgia, northwest of Guadalcanal in the middle of the Solomon Islands and the location of a major Japanese base.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
great but way too much alliteration...
- By Greg on 06-16-23
By: Jeffrey Cox
-
The Ultimate Battle
- Okinawa 1945: The Last Epic Struggle of World War II
- By: Bill Sloan
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 14 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 911
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 753
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 754
The Ultimate Battle is the full story of the largest land-sea-air battle ever waged by the United States, a battle whose staggering casualties and take-no-prisoners ferocity led Truman to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. From April through June 1945, more than 250,000 American and Japanese lives were lost, including those of nearly 150,000 civilians who either committed suicide or were caught in the crossfire. This book tells a gripping story of heroism, sacrifice, and death.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Takes you into the mud and death
- By Ron on 02-02-08
By: Bill Sloan
-
Their Backs Against the Sea
- The Battle of Saipan and the Greatest Banzai Attack of World War II
- By: Bill Sloan
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 53
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 50
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 50
In the midst of the largest banzai attack of the war, US Army Lt. Col. William O'Brien, grievously wounded and out of ammunition, grabbed a sabre from a fallen Japanese soldier and flailed away at a small army of assailants, screaming to his men, "Don't give them a damn inch"! When his body was recovered the next day, 30 dead enemies were piled around him. The Battle of Saipan lasted 25 hellish days in the summer of 1944, and the stakes couldn't have been higher. If Japan lost possession of the island, all hope for victory would be lost.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Thank you!
- By Robert on 01-29-19
By: Bill Sloan
-
40 Thieves on Saipan
- The Elite Marine Scout-Snipers in One of WWII's Bloodiest Battles
- By: Joseph Tachovsky, Cynthia Kraack
- Narrated by: Qarie Marshall
- Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,138
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,043
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,044
Behind enemy lines on the island of Saipan - where firing a gun could mean instant discovery and death - the 40 Thieves killed in silence during the grueling battle for Saipan, the D-Day of the Pacific.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Incredibly written, incredibly told!
- By licensedtorock on 09-05-20
By: Joseph Tachovsky, and others
-
The Story of Wake Island
- By: James P.S. Devereux
- Narrated by: Joel Schrank
- Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 3
Just hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, 36 Japanese bombers attacked Wake Island and destroyed eight of its 12 aircraft. Two more raids shortly followed, further reducing the defensive possibilities for the men who were left to defend this small area of American soil in the center of the Pacific Ocean. The Story of Wake Island takes the listener to the heart of the action from the point of view of the commanding officer. It is a brilliant account of this tragic event that demonstrated the fighting spirit of the American soldier even in the face of unbeatable odds.
-
Wahoo
- The Patrols of America's Most Famous World War II Submarine
- By: Richard H. O'Kane
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 382
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 342
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 341
The career of the USS Wahoo in sinking Japanese ships in the farthest reaches of the Empire is legendary in submarine circles. Christened three months after Pearl Harbor, Wahoo was commanded by the astonishing Dudley W. "Mush" Morton, whose originality and daring new techniques led to results unprecedented in naval history; among them, successful "down the throat" barrage against an attacking Japanese destroyer, voracious surface-running gun attacks, and the sinking of a four-ship convoy in one day.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
story is excellent...narrator...aarrgg
- By Rudy Ganther on 04-26-20
-
Marine Raiders
- The True Story of the Legendary WWII Battalions
- By: Carole Engle Avriett
- Narrated by: Qarie Marshall
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 115
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 103
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 104
The United States' first Special Forces unit in World War II was known as the Marine Raiders. As one Raider explained, Raiders learned a deadly proficiency with the bayonet, they learned to use knives in hand-to-hand combat, and they learned to throw them with the infallible accuracy of vaudeville experts. Marine Raiders gives a gripping account of what it took to become a member of the elite battalions known as Raiders and how they survived their desperate fight in the South Pacific.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Unreal heroes!
- By Stacey Clark on 12-31-21
-
Against All Odds
- A True Story of Ultimate Courage and Survival in World War II
- By: Alex Kershaw
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 701
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 642
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 639
As the Allies raced to defeat Hitler, four men, all in the same unit, earned medal after medal for battlefield heroism. Maurice “Footsie” Britt, a former professional football player, became the very first American to receive every award for valor in a single war. Michael Daly was a West Point dropout who risked his neck over and over to keep his men alive. Keith Ware would one day become the first and only draftee in history to attain the rank of general before serving in Vietnam. In WWII, Ware owed his life to the finest soldier he ever commanded, a baby-faced Texan named Audie Murphy.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The Greatest Generation.
- By Jay Voigt on 05-28-22
By: Alex Kershaw
-
Hogs in the Sand
- A Gulf War A-10 Pilot's Combat Journal
- By: Buck Wyndham
- Narrated by: Jim Seybert
- Length: 15 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 558
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 495
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 494
The mighty, iconic A-10 Warthog was first thrust into battle in Operation Desert Storm. The men who took it through walls of flak and surface-to-air missiles to help defeat the world's fourth-largest army were as untested as their airplanes, so they relied on personal determination and the amazing A-10 to accomplish their missions, despite the odds.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Weak
- By KL on 12-29-22
By: Buck Wyndham
-
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
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 13
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 12
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 12
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.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Civil Rights for All not just limited segments of society.
- By Patricia A Gustafson on 06-02-24
-
The Rising Sun
- The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945
- By: John Toland
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 41 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,967
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,625
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,620
This Pulitzer Prize-winning history of World War II chronicles the dramatic rise and fall of the Japanese empire, from the invasion of Manchuria and China to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Told from the Japanese perspective, The Rising Sun is, in the author’s words, "a factual saga of people caught up in the flood of the most overwhelming war of mankind, told as it happened - muddled, ennobling, disgraceful, frustrating, full of paradox."
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A political as well as military history
- By Mike From Mesa on 07-30-15
By: John Toland
-
The Flying Tigers
- The Untold Story of the American Pilots Who Waged a Secret War Against Japan
- By: Sam Kleiner
- Narrated by: Stephen Graybill
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 510
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 453
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 450
Sam Kleiner’s The Flying Tigers uncovers the hidden story of the group of young American men and women who crossed the Pacific before Pearl Harbor to risk their lives defending China. Led by legendary army pilot Claire Chennault, these men left behind an America still at peace in the summer of 1941 using false identities to travel across the Pacific to a run-down airbase in the jungles of Burma.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
This really happened.
- By Jason on 07-26-20
By: Sam Kleiner
-
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
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 3,956
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,530
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 3,515
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.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Astonishingly good.
- By Mike From Mesa on 09-01-12
By: Ian W. Toll
-
Black Snow
- Curtis LeMay, the Firebombing of Tokyo, and the Road to the Atomic Bomb
- By: James M. Scott
- Narrated by: L.J. Ganser
- Length: 12 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 130
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 107
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 106
Seven minutes past midnight on March 10, 1945, nearly 300 American B-29s thundered into the skies over Tokyo. Their payloads of incendiaries ignited a firestorm that reached up to 2,800 degrees, liquefying asphalt and vaporizing thousands; sixteen square miles of the city were flattened and more than 100,000 men, women, and children were killed. Black Snow is the story of this devastating operation, orchestrated by Major General Curtis LeMay, who famously remarked: "If we lose the war, we'll be tried as war criminals."
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Top notch!
- By anonymous on 10-24-22
By: James M. Scott
-
Island Infernos
- The US Army's Pacific War Odyssey, 1944
- By: John C. McManus
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 25 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 102
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 90
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 88
After some two years at war, the Army in the Pacific held ground across nearly a third of the globe, from Alaska’s Aleutians to Burma and New Guinea. The challenges ahead were enormous: supplying a vast number of troops over thousands of miles of ocean; surviving in jungles ripe with dysentery, malaria, and other tropical diseases; fighting an enemy prone to ever-more desperate and dangerous assaults. Yet the Army had proven they could fight. Now, they had to prove they could win a war.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful book, but incomplete and poorly narrated.
- By Linda S. on 02-24-22
By: John C. McManus
-
The Last Hill
- The Epic Story of a Ranger Battalion and the Battle That Defined WWII
- By: Bob Drury, Tom Clavin
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 162
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 144
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 142
They were known as “Rudder’s Rangers,” the most elite and experienced attack unit the Army had. In December 1944, they would be the spearhead into Germany, taking the war into Hitler’s homeland at last. Their colonel was given this objective: Take Hill 400. After two days, when they were finally relieved, only 16 Rangers remained to stagger down from the top of Hill 400. The Last Hill is filled with unforgettable action and characters—a gripping, finely detailed saga of what the survivors of the battalion would call “our longest day.”
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
more a history of the rangers in ww2
- By M. Johannes on 10-12-23
By: Bob Drury, and others
Related to this topic
-
But Not in Shame
- The Six Months After Pearl Harbor
- By: John Toland
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 18 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 62
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 51
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 51
What were the events which determined the Pearl Harbor catastrophe? What were the last few days on Wake Island like? What really occurred on the infamous Bataan Death March, and why did it happen? How did MacArthur make his dramatic escape from Corregidor? And what is the story behind the greatest capitulation in American history, General Wainwright’s forced surrender of the Philippines?
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Great story
- By dexter on 03-03-20
By: John Toland
-
Saipan
- The Battle that Doomed Japan in World War II
- By: James H. Hallas
- Narrated by: Tim Dixon
- Length: 22 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 364
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 322
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 320
The story of the Battle of Saipan has it all. Marines at war: on Pacific beaches, in hellish volcanic landscapes in places like Purple Heart Ridge, Death Valley, and Hell's Pocket, under a commander known as "Howlin' Mad." Naval combat: carriers battling carriers from afar, fighters downing Japanese aircraft, submarines sinking carriers. Marine-army rivalry. Fanatical Japanese defense and resistance. A turning point of the Pacific War. James Hallas reconstructs the full panorama of Saipan in a way that no recent chronicler of the battle has done.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Outstanding!
- By Patrick on 03-08-20
By: James H. Hallas
-
Guadalcanal Marine
- By: Kerry L. Lane
- Narrated by: Kenneth Lee
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 40
In Guadalcanal Marine, Lt. Col. Kerry L. Lane recounts the dark reality of combat experienced by the men of the 1st Marine Division fighting on Guadalcanal and Cape Gloucester. With 80 gripping photographs and his text, he brings to life the struggles of his companions as they achieve these two astonishing victories.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
I want to give a very honest review.
- By Jfm on 07-12-15
By: Kerry L. Lane
-
War Stories II
- Heroism in the Pacific
- By: Oliver North, Joe Musser
- Narrated by: Joel Leffert
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 69
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 32
New York Times best-selling author Oliver North, popular host of FOX News Channel's top-rated War Stories program, provided an insightful look at Operation Iraqi Freedom in the first hard-hitting book based on his show. Now in this second book, North shares the accomplishments of the heroic men who fought in the Pacific theater of World War II.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Another winner
- By Kindle Customer on 04-20-05
By: Oliver North, and others
-
Sand and Steel
- The D-Day Invasion and the Liberation of France
- By: Peter Caddick-Adams
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 37 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 85
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 77
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 76
Sand and Steel gives us D-Day, arguably the greatest and most consequential military operation of modern times, beginning with the years of painstaking and costly preparation, through to the pitched battles fought along France's northern coast, from Omaha Beach to the Falaise and the push east to Strasbourg.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Details, details, details
- By Mike From Mesa on 11-11-21
-
Sicily '43
- The First Assault on Fortress Europe
- By: James Holland
- Narrated by: Al Murray
- Length: 19 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 185
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 164
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 163
On July 10, 1943, the largest amphibious invasion ever mounted took place, larger even than the Normandy invasion 11 months later: 160,000 American, British, and Canadian troops came ashore or were parachuted onto Sicily, signaling the start of the campaign to defeat Nazi Germany on European soil. Operation HUSKY, as it was known, was enormously complex, involving dramatic battles on land, in the air, and at sea. Yet, despite its paramount importance to ultimate Allied victory, and its drama, very little has been written about the 38-day Battle for Sicily.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great writing, great narration, interesting topic
- By ItalCali on 08-02-21
By: James Holland
-
But Not in Shame
- The Six Months After Pearl Harbor
- By: John Toland
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 18 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 62
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 51
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 51
What were the events which determined the Pearl Harbor catastrophe? What were the last few days on Wake Island like? What really occurred on the infamous Bataan Death March, and why did it happen? How did MacArthur make his dramatic escape from Corregidor? And what is the story behind the greatest capitulation in American history, General Wainwright’s forced surrender of the Philippines?
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Great story
- By dexter on 03-03-20
By: John Toland
-
Saipan
- The Battle that Doomed Japan in World War II
- By: James H. Hallas
- Narrated by: Tim Dixon
- Length: 22 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 364
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 322
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 320
The story of the Battle of Saipan has it all. Marines at war: on Pacific beaches, in hellish volcanic landscapes in places like Purple Heart Ridge, Death Valley, and Hell's Pocket, under a commander known as "Howlin' Mad." Naval combat: carriers battling carriers from afar, fighters downing Japanese aircraft, submarines sinking carriers. Marine-army rivalry. Fanatical Japanese defense and resistance. A turning point of the Pacific War. James Hallas reconstructs the full panorama of Saipan in a way that no recent chronicler of the battle has done.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Outstanding!
- By Patrick on 03-08-20
By: James H. Hallas
-
Guadalcanal Marine
- By: Kerry L. Lane
- Narrated by: Kenneth Lee
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 40
In Guadalcanal Marine, Lt. Col. Kerry L. Lane recounts the dark reality of combat experienced by the men of the 1st Marine Division fighting on Guadalcanal and Cape Gloucester. With 80 gripping photographs and his text, he brings to life the struggles of his companions as they achieve these two astonishing victories.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
I want to give a very honest review.
- By Jfm on 07-12-15
By: Kerry L. Lane
-
War Stories II
- Heroism in the Pacific
- By: Oliver North, Joe Musser
- Narrated by: Joel Leffert
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 69
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 32
New York Times best-selling author Oliver North, popular host of FOX News Channel's top-rated War Stories program, provided an insightful look at Operation Iraqi Freedom in the first hard-hitting book based on his show. Now in this second book, North shares the accomplishments of the heroic men who fought in the Pacific theater of World War II.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Another winner
- By Kindle Customer on 04-20-05
By: Oliver North, and others
-
Sand and Steel
- The D-Day Invasion and the Liberation of France
- By: Peter Caddick-Adams
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 37 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 85
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 77
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 76
Sand and Steel gives us D-Day, arguably the greatest and most consequential military operation of modern times, beginning with the years of painstaking and costly preparation, through to the pitched battles fought along France's northern coast, from Omaha Beach to the Falaise and the push east to Strasbourg.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Details, details, details
- By Mike From Mesa on 11-11-21
-
Sicily '43
- The First Assault on Fortress Europe
- By: James Holland
- Narrated by: Al Murray
- Length: 19 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 185
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 164
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 163
On July 10, 1943, the largest amphibious invasion ever mounted took place, larger even than the Normandy invasion 11 months later: 160,000 American, British, and Canadian troops came ashore or were parachuted onto Sicily, signaling the start of the campaign to defeat Nazi Germany on European soil. Operation HUSKY, as it was known, was enormously complex, involving dramatic battles on land, in the air, and at sea. Yet, despite its paramount importance to ultimate Allied victory, and its drama, very little has been written about the 38-day Battle for Sicily.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great writing, great narration, interesting topic
- By ItalCali on 08-02-21
By: James Holland
-
The Ultimate Battle
- Okinawa 1945: The Last Epic Struggle of World War II
- By: Bill Sloan
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 14 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 911
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 753
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 754
The Ultimate Battle is the full story of the largest land-sea-air battle ever waged by the United States, a battle whose staggering casualties and take-no-prisoners ferocity led Truman to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. From April through June 1945, more than 250,000 American and Japanese lives were lost, including those of nearly 150,000 civilians who either committed suicide or were caught in the crossfire. This book tells a gripping story of heroism, sacrifice, and death.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Takes you into the mud and death
- By Ron on 02-02-08
By: Bill Sloan
-
The First Wave
- The D-Day Warriors Who Led the Way to Victory in World War II
- By: Alex Kershaw
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 799
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 699
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 700
Beginning in the predawn darkness of June 6, 1944, The First Wave follows the remarkable men who carried out D-Day’s most perilous missions. The charismatic, unforgettable cast includes the first American paratrooper to touch down on Normandy soil; the glider pilot who braved antiaircraft fire to crash-land mere yards from the vital Pegasus Bridge; the brothers who led their troops onto Juno Beach under withering fire; as well as a French commando, returning to his native land, who fought to destroy German strongholds on Sword Beach and beyond.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Thoughtful and Sobering
- By Anonymous User on 10-07-19
By: Alex Kershaw
-
By Water Beneath the Walls
- The Rise of the Navy SEALs
- By: Benjamin H. Milligan
- Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith
- Length: 22 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 428
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 384
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 383
How did the US Navy - the branch of the US military tasked with patrolling the oceans - ever manage to produce a unit of raiders trained to operate on land? And how, against all odds, did that unit become one of the world’s most elite commando forces, routinely striking thousands of miles from the water on the battlefields of Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, even Central Africa?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Extra. Ordinary.
- By Anonymous User on 12-15-21
-
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
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 3,956
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,530
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 3,515
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.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Astonishingly good.
- By Mike From Mesa on 09-01-12
By: Ian W. Toll
-
Undefeated
- America's Heroic Fight for Bataan and Corregidor
- By: Bill Sloan
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 83
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 73
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 73
Abandoned by their government, the men and women of the American garrison struggled against impossible military odds, rampant disease, and slow starvation to delay inevitable surrender by the largest American military force ever. Rather than picturing these defenders as little more than helpless victims of an overwhelmingly powerful and sadistic enemy-as most previous books about the Philippines campaign have done- Undefeated credits American troops with the unexcelled heroism and indomitable spirit they displayed under the worst imaginable conditions.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Mesmerizing
- By Amazon Customer on 03-30-17
By: Bill Sloan
-
Normandy '44
- D-Day and the Epic 77-Day Battle for France
- By: James Holland
- Narrated by: John Sackville
- Length: 24 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 543
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 484
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 479
D-Day, June 6, 1944, and the 76 days of bitter fighting in Normandy that followed the Allied landing, have become the defining episode of World War II in the west - the object of books, films, television series, and documentaries. Yet as familiar as it is, as James Holland makes clear in his definitive history, many parts of the OVERLORD campaign, as it was known, are still shrouded in myth and assumed knowledge.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent account of Normandy but be weary...
- By S. H. Moore on 02-22-20
By: James Holland
-
The Fleet at Flood Tide
- America at Total War in the Pacific, 1944-1945
- By: James D. Hornfischer
- Narrated by: Pete Larkin
- Length: 23 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,341
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,193
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,188
With its thunderous assault on the Mariana Islands in June 1944, the United States crossed the threshold of total war. In this tour de force of dramatic storytelling, distilled from extensive research in newly discovered primary sources, James D. Hornfischer brings to life the campaign that was the fulcrum of the drive to compel Tokyo to surrender—and that forever changed the art of modern war.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Hornfischer's Philosophical Summary Up to VJ Day
- By Hollywood Dave on 01-08-17
-
D-Day
- June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of WW II
- By: Stephen E. Ambrose
- Narrated by: Jesse Boggs
- Length: 25 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 3,425
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,066
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 3,053
Stephen E. Ambrose draws from hundreds of interviews with US Army veterans and the brave Allied soldiers who fought alongside them to create this exceptional account of the day that shaped the twentieth century. D-Day is above all the epic story of men at the most demanding moment of their existence, when the horrors, complexities and triumphs of life are laid bare and courage and heroism come to the fore.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
What an epic story what great men
- By Michael on 02-12-14
-
D-Days in the Pacific
- By: Donald L. Miller
- Narrated by: Gary Dikeos
- Length: 17 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 87
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 82
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 83
Although most people associate the term D-day with the Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944, it is military code for the beginning of any offensive operation. In the Pacific theater during World War II there were more than one hundred D-days. The largest - and last - was the invasion of Okinawa on April 1, 1945, which brought together the biggest invasion fleet ever assembled, far larger than that engaged in the Normandy invasion. D-Days in the Pacific tells the epic story of the campaign waged by American forces to win back the Pacific islands from Japan.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Terrific one volume history of the Pacific war.
- By Bill on 12-01-12
By: Donald L. Miller
-
Guadalcanal Diary
- 2nd Edition
- By: Richard Tregaskis
- Narrated by: Pete Cross
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 399
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 346
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 344
This celebrated classic gives a soldier's-eye-view of the Guadalcanal battles; crucial to World War II, the war that continues to fascinate us all. Unlike some of those on Guadalcanal in the fall of 1942, Richard Tregaskis volunteered to be there. One of only two on-location news correspondents, he lived alongside the soldiers: sleeping on the ground - only to be awoken by air raids - eating meager rations, and braving some of the most dangerous battlefields of World War II.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
WOW, GREAT TRUTH FOR THOSE POOR BOY'S
- By Andrea Longwith on 02-28-17
-
A Tomb Called Iwo Jima
- Firsthand Accounts from Japanese Survivors
- By: Dan King
- Narrated by: Drew Bott
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 80
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 73
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 73
Firsthand accounts from Japanese WW II soldiers, sailors, and pilots who fought in the battle for Iwo Jima and survived. Some were evacuated before the Marines landed, and others were taken as prisoners of war. The Japanese army and navy combatants are given a voice to share their experiences in the battle that coined the phrase "uncommon valor was a common virtue".
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Surprising and shocking. It explains a lot.
- By Maggie on 07-18-20
By: Dan King
-
Pacific Glory
- World War II Navy, Book 1
- By: P. T. Deutermann
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 15 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 970
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 870
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 867
Marsh Vincent, Mick McCarty, and Tommy Lewis were inseparable friends during their naval academy years, each man in love with the beautiful, unattainable Glory Hawthorne. Only Tommy wins her heart and marries Glory after graduation. Different skills set the three men on separate paths in the Navy, but they are all forever changed by the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941.
Glory, now Tommy’s widow, is a tough Navy nurse still grieving her loss while trying to save lives at the Pearl Harbor naval hospital.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best of PT Deutermann
- By MM on 11-27-11
By: P. T. Deutermann
What listeners say about Given Up for Dead
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 07-21-21
For want of a nail...
Wake fell because our phone lines were not buried and the Japs cut them so that Deverau could not obtain a proper strategic view. This point is not adequately presented. The Marines were actually pushing them into the sea.
anyone who loves the US Marines will love this story.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- J. Dangelo
- 08-07-21
Excellent
Little known story but was well worth the listen. Highly recommended for World war 2 buffs.
Excellent.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Midnightsailor
- 11-07-22
One of the Best Accounts of Wake
I have read several accounts of the Battle go Wake Island ,and I can say this is my favorite and probably the best account I've read. The detail of the Battle itself, and of the equipment, ,resources, and weapons excellent. Only exceeded by the emotions I felt from listening to the description of the gallant fighting men and their trials and tribulations. Definitely at the top of my list of battles fought by our military. The only omission that puzzles me is that of the 98 stone,where unknown person inscribed “98 US PW 5-10-43" on it .It was found after the slaughter of the 98 civilian workers at the end of Japanese occupation.
My heart goes out to all those brave souls who fought and died there. The Japanese did not take Wake cheaply.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance1 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rob K
- 06-26-24
Narrator ruins great book
Great story about the Marines and Sailors on Wake. Unfortunately the narrator did not take the time to pronounce locations or even military aircraft names properly.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Cliff R.
- 07-23-24
Outstanding and well researched narrative
Outstanding reference for my paper!! Great research and wonderful narration. Must hear for any one interested in this battle.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!