Islands of Destiny
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Islands of Destiny
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Narrated by:
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Richard Ferrone
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By:
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John Prados
About this listen
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.
©2012 John Prados (P)2013 Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
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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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Civil Rights for All not just limited segments of society.
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-
Astonishingly good.
- By Mike From Mesa on 09-01-12
By: Ian W. Toll
-
Morning Star, Midnight Sun
- The Early Guadalcanal-Solomons Campaign of World War II August–October 1942
- By: Jeffrey R. Cox
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 20 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 612
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 545
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 534
Following the disastrous Java Sea campaign, the Allies went on the offensive in the Pacific in a desperate attempt to halt the Japanese forces that were rampaging across the region. With the conquest of Australia a very real possibility, the stakes were high. Their target: the Japanese-held Soloman Islands, in particular the southern island of Guadalcanal. Hamstrung by arcane pre-war thinking and a bureaucratic mind-set, the US Navy had to adapt on the fly in order to compete with the mighty Imperial Japanese Navy, whose ingenuity had fostered the creation of its Pacific empire.
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4 out of 5 stars
-
Very enjoyable popular history
- By Sheldon Campbell on 08-17-19
By: Jeffrey R. Cox
-
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.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Civil Rights for All not just limited segments of society.
- By Patricia A Gustafson on 06-02-24
-
Tidal Wave
- From Leyte Gulf to Tokyo Bay
- By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 86
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 76
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 75
The United States Navy won such overwhelming victories in 1944 that had the Navy faced a different enemy the war would have been over at the conclusion of the Battle of Leyte Gulf. However, in the moment of victory on October 25, 1944, the US Navy found itself confronting an enemy that had been inconceivable until it appeared. The kamikaze, meaning 'divine wind' in Japanese, was something Americans were totally unprepared for; a violation of every belief held in the West.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Horrible writing
- By DearMrDear on 06-02-18
-
Rising Sun Victorious
- Alternate Histories of the Pacific War
- By: Peter G. Tsouras
- Narrated by: David Baker
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 41
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 35
In war, victory can be held hostage to seemingly insignificant incidents - chance events, opportunities seized or cast aside - that can derail the most brilliant military strategies and change the course of history. What if the Japanese had conquered India and driven out the British? What if the strategic link between the United States and Australia had been severed? What if Vice Admiral Nagumo had launched a third attack on Pearl Harbor? What if the US Navy's gamble at Midway had backfired?
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3 out of 5 stars
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victorious
- By Amazon Customer on 05-17-16
By: Peter G. Tsouras
-
Pacific Thunder
- The US Navy's Central Pacific Campaign, August 1943–October 1944
- By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 13 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 236
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 207
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 207
On 27 October 1942, four "Long Lance" torpedoes fired by the Japanese destroyers Makigumo and Akigumo exploded in the hull of the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8). Minutes later, the ship that had launched the Doolitte Raid six months earlier slipped beneath the waves of the Coral Sea 100 miles northeast of the island of Guadalcanal and just north of the Santa Cruz Islands, taking with her 140 of her sailors. With the loss of Hornet, the United States Navy now had one aircraft carrier left in the South Pacific.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Good for what it is, but not what it claims to be
- By David Maher on 12-18-17
-
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.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent Book!
- By Eric Peterson on 09-16-22
By: Eric Hammel, and others
-
Shattered Sword
- The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
- By: Jonathan Parshall, Anthony Tully
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 24 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,029
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,747
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,735
Many consider the Battle of Midway to have turned the tide of the Pacific War. It is without question one of the most famous battles in history. Now, for the first time since Gordon W. Prange's best-selling Miracle at Midway, Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully offer a new interpretation of this great naval engagement. Shattered Sword makes extensive use of Japanese primary sources. It also corrects the many errors of Mitsuo Fuchida's Midway: The Battle That Doomed Japan It thus forces a major, potentially controversial reevaluation of the great battle.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Shattered Myths - These authors got it right?
- By Ol'BlueEyes on 05-13-19
By: Jonathan Parshall, and others
-
Coral Sea and Midway
- The History of the World War II Battles That Turned the Tide in the Pacific Theater
- By: Charles River Editors
- Narrated by: Ken Teutsch
- Length: 2 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 31
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 25
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 25
The growing buzz of aircraft engines disturbed the Japanese military construction personnel hauling equipment ashore on the beige coral sand of Tulagi Island at 8:20 AM on May 4th, 1942. Offshore, the large IJN (Imperial Japanese Navy) minelayer Okinoshima, flagship of Admiral Shima Kiyohide, lay at anchor, along with two destroyers, Kikuzuki and Yutsuki, and transport ships.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The Consummate Treatise
- By Sam on 11-23-20
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War at the End of the World
- Douglas MacArthur and the Forgotten Fight for New Guinea 1942-1945
- By: James P. Duffy
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 105
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 96
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 97
One American soldier called it "a green hell on Earth". Monsoon-soaked wilderness, debilitating heat, impassable mountains, torrential rivers, and disease-infested swamps - New Guinea was a battleground far more deadly than the most fanatical of enemy troops. Japanese forces numbering some 600,000 men began landing in January 1942, determined to seize the island as a cornerstone of the empire's strategy to knock Australia out of the war.
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4 out of 5 stars
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The WW2 New Guinea Campaign
- By William R. Todd-Mancillas (Name includes hyphen and capitalized M). on 09-26-18
By: James P. Duffy
-
Miracle at Midway
- By: Gordon W. Prange, Donald M. Goldstein
- Narrated by: Qarie Marshall
- Length: 17 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 100
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 86
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 86
Six months after Pearl Harbor, the seemingly invincible Imperial Japanese Navy prepared a decisive blow against the United States. After sweeping through Asia and the South Pacific, Japan's military targeted the tiny atoll of Midway, an ideal launching pad for the invasion of Hawaii and beyond. But the United States Navy was waiting for them. Thanks to cutting-edge code-breaking technology, tactical daring, and a huge stroke of luck, the Americans under Admiral Chester W. Nimitz dealt the Japanese navy its first major defeat of the war.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Greatest Book on Midway Battle
- By WISDOC on 04-12-21
By: Gordon W. Prange, and others
-
Neptune's Inferno
- The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal
- By: James D. Hornfischer
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 18 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 2,359
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,034
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 2,031
With The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors and Ship of Ghosts, James D. Hornfischer created essential and enduring narratives about America’s World War II Navy, works of unique immediacy distinguished by rich portraits of ordinary men in extremis and exclusive new information. Now he does the same for the deadliest, most pivotal naval campaign of the Pacific war: Guadalcanal. Neptune’s Inferno is at once the most epic and the most intimate account ever written of the contest for control of the seaways of the Solomon Islands.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
The WWII Pacific Theater Explodes In My Lazy Chair
- By Rum Runner on 03-01-11
-
At Close Quarters
- PT Boats in the United States Navy
- By: Robert J. Bulkley, John F. Kennedy, Ernest McNeill Eller
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 18 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 99
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 90
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 90
Small though they were, PT boats played a key role in World War II, carrying out an astonishing variety of missions where fast, versatile, and strongly armed vessels were needed. Called "weapons of opportunity", they met the enemy at closer quarters and with greater frequency than any other type of surface craft. Among the most famous PT commanders was John F. Kennedy, whose courageous actions in the Pacific are now well known to the American public.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Dry as the dessert in July!
- By Mat J Monk on 07-11-18
By: Robert J. Bulkley, and others
-
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
-
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
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 188
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 171
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 170
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
-
100th Anniversary of the Aircraft Carrier
- By Jean on 08-05-17
By: Barrett Tillman
-
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
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 356
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 321
-
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
-
Ugh, Perhaps a Second Listen is Required?
- By Matthew on 09-05-15
By: Ed Offley
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- The Philippine Invasion and the Destruction of the Japanese Navy
- By: John Prados
- Narrated by: Ricard Ferrone
- Length: 16 hrs and 27 mins
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 133
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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!
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By: John Prados
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The Ghosts of Langley
- Into the CIA's Heart of Darkness
- By: John Prados
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 37
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The Ghosts of Langley is a provocative and panoramic new history of the Central Intelligence Agency that relates the agency's current predicament to its founding and earlier years, telling the story of the agency through the eyes of key figures in CIA history, including some of its most troubling covert actions around the world. It reveals how the agency, over seven decades, has resisted government accountability, going rogue in a series of highly questionable ventures that reach their apotheosis with secret overseas prisons and torture programs.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Slanted
- By M. Henderson on 12-29-17
By: John Prados
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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
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 71
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 60
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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.
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4 out of 5 stars
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great but way too much alliteration...
- By Greg on 06-16-23
By: Jeffrey Cox
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The Twilight Warriors
- The Deadliest Naval Battle of World War II and the Men Who Fought It
- By: Robert Gandt
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 166
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 134
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April 1945. The end of World War II finally appears to be nearing. The Nazis are collapsing in Europe, and the Americans are vastly overpowering the Japanese in the Pacific. For a group of pilots in their early 20s who were trained during the twilight of the war, the biggest concern is that they'll never actually see real action and will go home without having a chance to face the enemy.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent Selection: One of the Best in this Genre
- By David on 09-22-11
By: Robert Gandt
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The Battle for Hell's Island
- How a Small Band of Carrier Dive Bombers Helped Save Guadalcanal
- By: Stephen L. Moore
- Narrated by: Pete Bradbury
- Length: 15 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 78
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 72
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 70
From the author of Pacific Payback comes the gripping true story of the Cactus Air Force and how this rugged crew of dive bombers helped save Guadalcanal and won the war. November 1942: Japanese and American forces have been fighting for control of Guadalcanal, a small but pivotal island in Japan's expansion through the South Pacific.
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2 out of 5 stars
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agonizing audiobook full of facts
- By chris on 04-13-16
By: Stephen L. Moore
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Pacific Thunder
- The US Navy's Central Pacific Campaign, August 1943–October 1944
- By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 13 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 236
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 207
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On 27 October 1942, four "Long Lance" torpedoes fired by the Japanese destroyers Makigumo and Akigumo exploded in the hull of the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8). Minutes later, the ship that had launched the Doolitte Raid six months earlier slipped beneath the waves of the Coral Sea 100 miles northeast of the island of Guadalcanal and just north of the Santa Cruz Islands, taking with her 140 of her sailors. With the loss of Hornet, the United States Navy now had one aircraft carrier left in the South Pacific.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Good for what it is, but not what it claims to be
- By David Maher on 12-18-17
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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 133
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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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The Ghosts of Langley
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 37
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 33
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The Ghosts of Langley is a provocative and panoramic new history of the Central Intelligence Agency that relates the agency's current predicament to its founding and earlier years, telling the story of the agency through the eyes of key figures in CIA history, including some of its most troubling covert actions around the world. It reveals how the agency, over seven decades, has resisted government accountability, going rogue in a series of highly questionable ventures that reach their apotheosis with secret overseas prisons and torture programs.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Slanted
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Dark Waters, Starry Skies
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- By: Jeffrey Cox
- Narrated by: John Chancer
- Length: 31 hrs and 15 mins
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 71
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 60
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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.
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4 out of 5 stars
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great but way too much alliteration...
- By Greg on 06-16-23
By: Jeffrey Cox
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The Twilight Warriors
- The Deadliest Naval Battle of World War II and the Men Who Fought It
- By: Robert Gandt
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 166
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 134
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 137
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent Selection: One of the Best in this Genre
- By David on 09-22-11
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The Battle for Hell's Island
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- Narrated by: Pete Bradbury
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 78
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 72
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Story4 out of 5 stars 70
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2 out of 5 stars
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agonizing audiobook full of facts
- By chris on 04-13-16
By: Stephen L. Moore
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Pacific Thunder
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- By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 13 hrs and 13 mins
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 236
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 207
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On 27 October 1942, four "Long Lance" torpedoes fired by the Japanese destroyers Makigumo and Akigumo exploded in the hull of the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8). Minutes later, the ship that had launched the Doolitte Raid six months earlier slipped beneath the waves of the Coral Sea 100 miles northeast of the island of Guadalcanal and just north of the Santa Cruz Islands, taking with her 140 of her sailors. With the loss of Hornet, the United States Navy now had one aircraft carrier left in the South Pacific.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Good for what it is, but not what it claims to be
- By David Maher on 12-18-17
-
Morning Star, Midnight Sun
- The Early Guadalcanal-Solomons Campaign of World War II August–October 1942
- By: Jeffrey R. Cox
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 20 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 612
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 545
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 534
Following the disastrous Java Sea campaign, the Allies went on the offensive in the Pacific in a desperate attempt to halt the Japanese forces that were rampaging across the region. With the conquest of Australia a very real possibility, the stakes were high. Their target: the Japanese-held Soloman Islands, in particular the southern island of Guadalcanal. Hamstrung by arcane pre-war thinking and a bureaucratic mind-set, the US Navy had to adapt on the fly in order to compete with the mighty Imperial Japanese Navy, whose ingenuity had fostered the creation of its Pacific empire.
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4 out of 5 stars
-
Very enjoyable popular history
- By Sheldon Campbell on 08-17-19
By: Jeffrey R. Cox
-
Pacific Carrier War
- Carrier Combat from Pearl Harbor to Okinawa
- By: Mark E. Stille
- Narrated by: Christopher Douyard
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 12
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 10
A detailed and comprehensive study of the carrier formations of the Pacific War, including their origins, development, and key battles from the Coral Sea, through Midway and Guadalcanal to the battle of the Philippine Sea.
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4 out of 5 stars
-
Great book, poor narration
- By Matt on 07-15-23
By: Mark E. Stille
-
Black Thursday
- The Story of the Schweinfurt Raid
- By: Martin Caidin
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 220
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 191
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 191
On Thursday, October 14, 1943, 291 B-17 Flying Fortresses set out for a strategic bombing raid on the factories in Schweinfurt. Sixty of those planes never returned and 650 men were lost during the course of that mission. It was the greatest failure that the United States Air Force had ever suffered and became known as "Black Thursday". Martin Caidin's Black Thursday: The Story of the Schweinfurt Raid is a brilliant account of that day that should never be forgotten. This audiobook uncovers in thrilling detail the build-up to that fateful raid.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The Best Look at Bomb Groups of the 8th
- By Nicholas Robinson on 09-19-18
By: Martin Caidin
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Rising Sun, Falling Skies
- The Disastrous Java Sea Campaign of World War II
- By: Jeffrey Cox
- Narrated by: Theodore O'Brien
- Length: 22 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 115
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 99
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 98
Few events have ever shaken a country in the way that the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor affected the United States. After the devastating attack, Japanese forces continued to overwhelm the Allies, attacking Malaya with its fortress of Singapore, and taking resource-rich islands in the Pacific - Borneo, Sumatra, and Java - in their own blitzkrieg offensive. Allied losses in these early months after America's entry into the war were great, and among the most devastating were those suffered during the Java Sea Campaign.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
The first months of the war were frightening.
- By michael s on 10-07-22
By: Jeffrey Cox
-
The Battle of Britain
- Five Months That Changed History; May-October 1940
- By: James Holland
- Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 26 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 811
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 731
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 725
The Battle of Britain paints a stirring picture of an extraordinary summer when the fate of the world hung by a thread. Historian James Holland has now written the definitive account of those months based on extensive new research from around the world, including thousands of new interviews with people on both sides of the battle.
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4 out of 5 stars
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The battle up to The Battle of Britain
- By Chiefkent on 11-07-17
By: James Holland
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South Pacific Cauldron
- World War II's Great Forgotten Battlegrounds
- By: Alan Rems
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 46
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 45
Unlike most other World War II accounts, this work covers the South Pacific operations in detail. The audiobook includes many now-forgotten operations that deserve to be well remembered. Significantly, the official Australian history of World War II correctly observed that Australia's part in the Pacific war is barely mentioned in American histories. This volume finally brings the major Australian contribution to the fore.
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3 out of 5 stars
-
A little dry but informative
- By Damien on 02-20-15
By: Alan Rems
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Sea of Thunder
- By: Evan Thomas
- Narrated by: George Wilson
- Length: 15 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 140
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 97
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 95
The book focuses on four naval commanders, two American, two Japanese, whose lives collided at the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944 - a clash involving more ships (almost 300), more men (nearly 200,000) and covering a larger area (more than 100 thousand square miles, roughly the size of the British Isles) than any naval battle in recorded history.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Good
- By Hika on 12-28-09
By: Evan Thomas
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Tower of Skulls
- A History of the Asia-Pacific War, Vol. 1 (July 1937 - May 1942)
- By: Richard B. Frank
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 26 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 304
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 262
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Story5 out of 5 stars 258
This story casts penetrating light on how struggles in Europe and Asia merged into a tightly entwined global war. It features not just battles, but also the sweeping political, economic, and social effects of the war, and are graced with a rich tapestry of individual characters from top-tier political and military figures down to ordinary servicemen, as well as the accounts of civilians of all races and ages.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Outstanding
- By Patrick on 03-16-20
By: Richard B. Frank
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Pacific Payback
- The Carrier Aviators Who Avenged Pearl Harbor at the Battle of Midway
- By: Stephen L. Moore
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 122
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 110
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 110
Sunday, December 7, 1941, dawned clear and bright over the Pacific....
But for the Dauntless dive-bomber crews of the USS Enterprise returning to their home base on Oahu, it was a morning from hell. Flying directly into the Japanese ambush at Pearl Harbor, they lost a third of their squadron and witnessed the heart of America's Navy broken and smoldering on the oil-slicked waters below.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent companion to Dawn like Thunder
- By G. Bruce Greer on 07-21-14
By: Stephen L. Moore
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When Titans Clashed
- How the Red Army Stopped Hitler
- By: David M. Glantz, Jonathan M. House
- Narrated by: James Romick
- Length: 17 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 87
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 76
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Story5 out of 5 stars 76
Revised and updated to reflect recent Russian and Western scholarship on the subject, this new edition maintains the 1995 original's distinction as a crucial volume in the history of World War II and of the Soviet Union and the most informed and compelling perspective on one of the greatest military confrontations of all time.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The largest conflict in human history
- By Eddie on 05-15-22
By: David M. Glantz, and others
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Clash of the Carriers
- The True Story of the Marianas Turkey Shoot of World War II
- By: Barrett Tillman, Stephen Coonts
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 279
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 252
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 247
The incredible true story of the most spectacular aircraft-carrier battle in history - World War II's Great Marianas Turkey Shoot. Here is the true account of those great and terrible days - by those who were there, in the thick of the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Drawing upon numerous interviews with American and Japanese veterans as well as official sources, Clash of the Carriers is an unforgettable testimonial to the bravery of those who fought and those who died in a battle that will never be forgotten.
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5 out of 5 stars
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OUTSTANDING BOOK!!
- By Bill on 10-30-18
By: Barrett Tillman, and others
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Halsey's Typhoon
- By: Bob Drury, Tom Clavin
- Narrated by: Eric Conger
- Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 254
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 164
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Story5 out of 5 stars 162
December 1944, the Pacific Theater. General Douglas MacArthur has vowed to return to the Philippines. He will need the help of Admiral William "Bull" Halsey's Pacific Fleet. But at the height of the invasion, Halsey's ships are blindsided by a typhoon of unprecedented strength and scope. Battleships are tossed like toys, fighter planes are blown off carriers, destroyers are capsized, and hundreds of sailors are swept into the roiling, shark-infested sea.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Weather and Naval History Masterpiece
- By M. Taussig on 02-17-07
By: Bob Drury, and others
What listeners say about Islands of Destiny
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Eric
- 01-15-17
Way too much detail
This is one of my favorite subjects to read about so i was very interested in this book. I feel like Prados goes into so much detail he detracts from the story. Tons of Facts and figures that aren't really needed to progress the narrative. The choice of narrator isn't the best either, it was hard to listen for long period of time and stay interested. But I did learn a lot and after all that's why I read/listen to books.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Paul
- 06-01-23
Great story about a lesser known part of the war
Great story! This book fills in a lot of details that I was unaware of for this portion of the Pacific war. That said, I found the narration sometimes detracted from the story with confusing transitions.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- John H. Trotti
- 08-12-18
How the worm turned
For the layman or the researcher the book provides an insightful view of the South Pacific campaign. Well worth your time.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gregg D
- 01-05-19
Chapters play out of order
Content is good but the chapters do not align and are out of sequence. For example chapter 1 plays at chapter 11. Very annoying.
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2 people found this helpful