Road to Surrender
Three Men and the Countdown to the End of World War II
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.
Road to Surrender
Buy for $18.14
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Robert Fass
-
By:
-
Evan Thomas
About this listen
At 9:20 a.m. on the morning of May 30, General Groves receives a message to report to the office of the secretary of war “at once.” Stimson is waiting for him. He wants to know: has Groves selected the targets yet?
So begins this suspenseful, impeccably researched history that draws on new access to diaries to tell the story of three men who were intimately involved with America’s decision to drop the atomic bomb—and Japan’s decision to surrender. They are Henry Stimson, the American Secretary of War, who had overall responsibility for decisions about the atom bomb; Gen. Carl “Tooey” Spaatz, head of strategic bombing in the Pacific, who supervised the planes that dropped the bombs; and Japanese Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo, the only one in Emperor Hirohito’s Supreme War Council who believed even before the bombs were dropped that Japan should surrender.
Henry Stimson had served in the administrations of five presidents, but as the U.S. nuclear program progressed, he found himself tasked with the unimaginable decision of determining whether to deploy the bomb. The new president, Harry S. Truman, thus far a peripheral figure in the momentous decision, accepted Stimson’s recommendation to drop the bomb. Army Air Force Commander Gen. Spaatz ordered the planes to take off. Like Stimson, Spaatz agonized over the command even as he recognized it would end the war. After the bombs were dropped, Foreign Minister Togo was finally able to convince the emperor to surrender.
To bring these critical events to vivid life, bestselling author Evan Thomas draws on the diaries of Stimson, Togo and Spaatz, contemplating the immense weight of their historic decision. In Road to Surrender, an immersive, surprising, moving account, Thomas lays out the behind-the-scenes thoughts, feelings, motivations, and decision-making of three people who changed history.
©2023 Evan Thomas (P)2023 Penguin Random House US AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
Ike's Bluff
- President Eisenhower's Secret Battle to Save the World
- By: Evan Thomas
- Narrated by: Brian Troxell
- Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 499
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 438
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 437
Upon assuming the presidency in 1953, Dwight Eisenhower came to be seen by many as a doddering lightweight. Yet behind the bland smile and apparent simplemindedness was a brilliant, intellectual tactician. As Evan Thomas reveals in his provocative examination of Ike's White House years, Eisenhower was a master of calculated duplicity. As with his bridge and poker games he was eventually forced to stop playing, Ike could be patient and ruthless in the con, and generous and expedient in his partnerships.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Seems like he played a lot of golf
- By Jean on 09-30-14
By: Evan Thomas
-
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
-
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.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Good
- By Hika on 12-28-09
By: Evan Thomas
-
First
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- By: Evan Thomas
- Narrated by: Kirsten Potter
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 479
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 428
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 426
She was born in 1930 in El Paso and grew up on a cattle ranch in Arizona. At a time when women were expected to be homemakers, she set her sights on Stanford University. When she graduated near the top of her law school class in 1952, no firm would even interview her. But Sandra Day O’Connor’s story is that of a woman who repeatedly shattered glass ceilings - doing so with a blend of grace, wisdom, humor, understatement, and cowgirl toughness.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Remarkable woman, well served in this book.
- By KathrynVB on 04-05-19
By: Evan Thomas
-
Robert Kennedy
- His Life
- By: Evan Thomas
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 20 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 326
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 245
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 243
Traditionally, Robert F. Kennedy has been viewed as either the "Good Bobby", who saw wrong and tried to right it, or the "Bad Bobby" of countless conspiracy theories. Evan Thomas' achievement is to realize RFK as a human being, to bring to life an extraordinarily complex man who was at once kind and cruel, devious and honest, fearful and brave. The portrait that emerges is unvarnished but sympathetic, packed with new details about Kennedy's early life and his behind-the-scenes machinations.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
A good book spoiled
- By Andrew on 03-07-07
By: Evan Thomas
-
The Wise Men
- Six Friends and the World They Made
- By: Evan Thomas, Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Jonathan Reese
- Length: 33 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 393
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 328
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 333
Six close friends shaped the role their country would play in the dangerous years following World War II. They were the original best and brightest, whose towering intellects, outsize personalities, and dramatic actions would bring order to the postwar chaos, and whose strong response to Soviet expansionism would leave a legacy that dominates American policy to this day. In April 1945, they converged to advise an untutored new president, Harry Truman.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Dull with poor narration
- By KD6161 on 03-31-17
By: Evan Thomas, and others
-
Elon Musk
- By: Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Jeremy Bobb, Walter Isaacson
- Length: 20 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 7,628
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 6,677
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 6,670
When Elon Musk was a kid in South Africa, he was regularly beaten by bullies. One day a group pushed him down some concrete steps and kicked him until his face was a swollen ball of flesh. He was in the hospital for a week. But the physical scars were minor compared to the emotional ones inflicted by his father, an engineer, rogue, and charismatic fantasist.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
megalomania on display
- By JP on 09-12-23
By: Walter Isaacson
-
Ike's Bluff
- President Eisenhower's Secret Battle to Save the World
- By: Evan Thomas
- Narrated by: Brian Troxell
- Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 499
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 438
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 437
Upon assuming the presidency in 1953, Dwight Eisenhower came to be seen by many as a doddering lightweight. Yet behind the bland smile and apparent simplemindedness was a brilliant, intellectual tactician. As Evan Thomas reveals in his provocative examination of Ike's White House years, Eisenhower was a master of calculated duplicity. As with his bridge and poker games he was eventually forced to stop playing, Ike could be patient and ruthless in the con, and generous and expedient in his partnerships.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Seems like he played a lot of golf
- By Jean on 09-30-14
By: Evan Thomas
-
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
-
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.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Good
- By Hika on 12-28-09
By: Evan Thomas
-
First
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- By: Evan Thomas
- Narrated by: Kirsten Potter
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 479
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 428
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 426
She was born in 1930 in El Paso and grew up on a cattle ranch in Arizona. At a time when women were expected to be homemakers, she set her sights on Stanford University. When she graduated near the top of her law school class in 1952, no firm would even interview her. But Sandra Day O’Connor’s story is that of a woman who repeatedly shattered glass ceilings - doing so with a blend of grace, wisdom, humor, understatement, and cowgirl toughness.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Remarkable woman, well served in this book.
- By KathrynVB on 04-05-19
By: Evan Thomas
-
Robert Kennedy
- His Life
- By: Evan Thomas
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 20 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 326
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 245
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 243
Traditionally, Robert F. Kennedy has been viewed as either the "Good Bobby", who saw wrong and tried to right it, or the "Bad Bobby" of countless conspiracy theories. Evan Thomas' achievement is to realize RFK as a human being, to bring to life an extraordinarily complex man who was at once kind and cruel, devious and honest, fearful and brave. The portrait that emerges is unvarnished but sympathetic, packed with new details about Kennedy's early life and his behind-the-scenes machinations.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
A good book spoiled
- By Andrew on 03-07-07
By: Evan Thomas
-
The Wise Men
- Six Friends and the World They Made
- By: Evan Thomas, Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Jonathan Reese
- Length: 33 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 393
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 328
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 333
Six close friends shaped the role their country would play in the dangerous years following World War II. They were the original best and brightest, whose towering intellects, outsize personalities, and dramatic actions would bring order to the postwar chaos, and whose strong response to Soviet expansionism would leave a legacy that dominates American policy to this day. In April 1945, they converged to advise an untutored new president, Harry Truman.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Dull with poor narration
- By KD6161 on 03-31-17
By: Evan Thomas, and others
-
Elon Musk
- By: Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Jeremy Bobb, Walter Isaacson
- Length: 20 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 7,628
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 6,677
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 6,670
When Elon Musk was a kid in South Africa, he was regularly beaten by bullies. One day a group pushed him down some concrete steps and kicked him until his face was a swollen ball of flesh. He was in the hospital for a week. But the physical scars were minor compared to the emotional ones inflicted by his father, an engineer, rogue, and charismatic fantasist.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
megalomania on display
- By JP on 09-12-23
By: Walter Isaacson
-
American Prometheus
- The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
- By: Kai Bird, Martin J. Sherwin
- Narrated by: Jeff Cummings
- Length: 26 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,651
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,722
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,734
J. Robert Oppenheimer was one of the iconic figures of the 20th century, a brilliant physicist who led the effort to build the atomic bomb but later confronted the moral consequences of scientific progress. When he proposed international controls over atomic materials, opposed the development of the hydrogen bomb, and criticized plans for a nuclear war, his ideas were anathema to powerful advocates of a massive nuclear buildup during the anti-Communist hysteria of the early 1950s.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An American Tragedy
- By Edith on 12-13-07
By: Kai Bird, and others
-
Going Infinite
- The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon
- By: Michael Lewis
- Narrated by: Michael Lewis
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,052
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,843
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,841
When Michael Lewis first met him, Sam Bankman-Fried was the world’s youngest billionaire and crypto’s Gatsby. CEOs, celebrities, and leaders of small countries all vied for his time and cash after he catapulted, practically overnight, onto the Forbes billionaire list. Who was this rumpled guy in cargo shorts and limp white socks, whose eyes twitched across Zoom meetings as he played video games on the side?
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
really expected more rigor from Michael Lewis
- By Wowhello on 10-04-23
By: Michael Lewis
-
José Martí: A Revolutionary Life
- By: Alfred J. López
- Narrated by: Kevin Moriarty
- Length: 15 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 4
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 4
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 4
José Martí (1853–1895) was the founding hero of Cuban independence. In all of modern Latin American history, arguably only the “Great Liberator” Simón Bolívar rivals Martí in stature and legacy. Today he is revered by both the Castro regime and the Cuban exile community, whose shared veneration of the “apostle” of freedom has led to his virtual apotheosis as a national saint.
By: Alfred J. López
-
The Wager
- A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
- By: David Grann
- Narrated by: Dion Graham, David Grann
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,086
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,497
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,495
On January 28, 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, barely alive, and they had an extraordinary tale to tell. They were survivors of His Majesty’s Ship the Wager, a British vessel that had left England in 1740 on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain. While the Wager had been chasing a Spanish treasure-filled galleon known as “the prize of all the oceans,” it had wrecked on a desolate island off the coast of Patagonia.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Gasping for Air
- By Jean Engle on 04-19-23
By: David Grann
-
Conflict
- The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine
- By: David Petraeus, Andrew Roberts
- Narrated by: David Petraeus, Robert Fass
- Length: 18 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 185
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 169
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 169
Two leading authorities—an acclaimed historian and the outstanding battlefield commander and strategist of our time—collaborate on a landmark examination of war since 1945. Conflict is both a sweeping history of the evolution of warfare up to Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine, and a penetrating analysis of what we must learn from the past—and anticipate in the future—in order to navigate an increasingly perilous world.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The Story of My Life
- By Nice guy on 03-06-24
By: David Petraeus, and others
-
Spies
- The Epic Intelligence War Between East and West
- By: Calder Walton
- Narrated by: Dugald Bruce-Lockhart
- Length: 20 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 116
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 98
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 98
Spies is the history of the secret war that Russia and the West have been waging for a century. Espionage, sabotage, and subversion were the Kremlin’s means to equalize the imbalance of resources between the East and West before, during, and after the Cold War. There was nothing “unprecedented” about Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election. It was simply business as usual, new means used for old ends.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
A detailed history, inexcusably marred by politics
- By Thomas Randolph on 08-12-23
By: Calder Walton
-
Citizens of London
- The Americans Who Stood with Britain in Its Darkest, Finest Hour
- By: Lynne Olson
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 17 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,589
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,198
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,206
Here is the behind-the-scenes story of how the United States forged its wartime alliance with Britain, told from the perspective of three key American players in London: Edward R. Murrow, Averell Harriman, and John Gilbert Winant. Drawing from a variety of primary sources, Olson skillfully depicts the dramatic personal journeys of these men who, determined to save Britain from Hitler, helped convince a cautious Franklin Roosevelt and a reluctant American public to support the British at a critical time.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
If we are together nothing is impossible
- By Susan on 03-06-10
By: Lynne Olson
-
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
- A History of Nazi Germany
- By: William L. Shirer
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 57 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 17,869
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 15,420
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 15,352
Since its publication in 1960, William L. Shirer’s monumental study of Hitler’s German empire has been widely acclaimed as the definitive record of the 20th century’s blackest hours. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich offers an unparalleled and thrillingly told examination of how Adolf Hitler nearly succeeded in conquering the world. With millions of copies in print around the globe, it has attained the status of a vital and enduring classic.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Held my interest for 57 hours and 13 minutes
- By Jonnie on 11-08-10
-
Collision of Power
- Trump, Bezos, and the Washington Post
- By: Martin Baron
- Narrated by: Liev Schreiber
- Length: 16 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 116
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 106
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 106
Marty Baron took charge of The Washington Post newsroom in 2013, after nearly a dozen years leading The Boston Globe. Just seven months into his new job, Baron received explosive news: Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, would buy the Post, marking a sudden end to control by the venerated family that had presided over the paper for 80 years. Just over two years later, Donald Trump won the presidency.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An Excellent Reminder Of Why We Need Journalists
- By C. Rosen on 12-12-23
By: Martin Baron
-
Judgment at Tokyo
- World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia
- By: Gary J. Bass
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 31 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 100
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 84
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 84
In the weeks after Japan finally surrendered to the Allies to end World War II, the world turned to the question of how to move on from years of carnage and destruction. For Harry Truman, Douglas MacArthur, Chiang Kai-shek, and their fellow victors, the question of justice seemed clear: Japan’s militaristic leaders needed to be tried and punished for the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Biased revisionist history
- By Amazon Customer on 12-31-23
By: Gary J. Bass
-
The Splendid and the Vile
- A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz
- By: Erik Larson
- Narrated by: John Lee, Erik Larson
- Length: 17 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 11,879
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 10,170
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 10,091
On Winston Churchill’s first day as prime minister, Adolf Hitler invaded Holland and Belgium. Poland and Czechoslovakia had already fallen, and the Dunkirk evacuation was just two weeks away. For the next 12 months, Hitler would wage a relentless bombing campaign, killing 45,000 Britons. It was up to Churchill to hold his country together and persuade President Franklin Roosevelt that Britain was a worthy ally - and willing to fight to the end. In The Splendid and the Vile, Erik Larson shows how Churchill taught the British people "the art of being fearless."
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
John Lee’s narration is a struggle
- By Leslie Rathjens on 03-05-20
By: Erik Larson
-
The Accidental President
- Harry S. Truman and the Four Months That Changed the World
- By: A. J. Baime
- Narrated by: Tony Messano
- Length: 14 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,268
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,973
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,965
The dramatic, pulse-pounding story of Harry Truman's first four months in office, when this unlikely president had to take on Germany, Japan, Stalin, and the atomic bomb, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Exceptional
- By Jean on 11-14-17
By: A. J. Baime
Related to this topic
-
140 Days to Hiroshima
- The Story of Japan’s Last Chance to Avert Armageddon
- By: David Dean Barrett
- Narrated by: Stephen Graybill
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 149
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 116
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 115
On the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki comes this heart-pounding account of the war-room drama inside the cabinets of the United States and Japan that led to Armageddon on August 6, 1945. Here are the secret strategy sessions, fierce debates, looming assassinations, and planned invasions that resulted in history’s first use of nuclear weapons in combat, and the ensuing chaotic days as the Japanese government struggled to respond to the reality of nuclear war.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Never Giving Up
- By Rick B on 07-11-20
-
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Volume I: Visions of Glory 1874-1932
- By: William Manchester
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 41 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,653
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,151
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 2,145
Winston Churchill is perhaps the most important political figure of the 20th century. His great oratory and leadership during the Second World War were only part of his huge breadth of experience and achievement. Studying his life is a fascinating way to imbibe the history of his era and gain insight into key events that have shaped our time.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Superb - Review of Both Volume I & Volume II
- By Wolfpacker on 01-23-09
-
The Brilliant Disaster
- JFK, Castro, and America's Doomed Invasion of Cuba
- By: Jim Rasenberger
- Narrated by: Bob Walter
- Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 140
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 123
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 122
The U.S.-backed military invasion of Cuba in 1961 remains one of the most ill-fated blunders in American history, with echoes of the event reverberating even today. Despite the Kennedy administration’s initial public insistence that the United States had nothing to do with the invasion, it soon became clear that the complex operation had been planned and approved by the best and brightest minds at the highest reaches of Washington, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff and President John F. Kennedy himself.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
US Government Perspective
- By Kindle Customer on 05-25-11
By: Jim Rasenberger
-
The Abyss
- Nuclear Crisis Cuba 1962
- By: Max Hastings
- Narrated by: Max Hastings, John Hopkins
- Length: 19 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 183
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 166
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 164
Bestselling author Max Hastings offers a welcome re-evaluation of one of the most gripping and tense international events in modern history—the Cuban Missile Crisis—providing a people-focused narrative that explores the attitudes and conduct of Russians, Cubans, Americans, and a terrified world that followed each moment as it unfolded.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Good book, but has some issues
- By Mike From Mesa on 11-10-22
By: Max Hastings
-
The Start
- 1904-1930
- By: William L. Shirer
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 22 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 153
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 132
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 131
William L. Shirer was a CBS foreign correspondent and renowned author of New York Times best-selling nonfiction about World War II, and this is the first part of his three-part autobiography. A renowned journalist and author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, William L. Shirer chronicles his own life story in a personal history that parallels the greater historical events for which he served as a witness.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Clouds gathering on the horizon in Europe
- By Nancy on 08-12-20
-
1941: Fighting the Shadow War
- A Divided America in a World at War
- By: Marc Wortman
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 84
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 73
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 74
In 1941: Fighting the Shadow War: A Divided America in a World at War, historian Marc Wortman thrillingly explores the little-known history of America's clandestine involvement in World War II before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Prior to that infamous day, America had long been involved in a shadow war. Winston Churchill, England's beleaguered new prime minister, pleaded with Franklin D. Roosevelt for help. FDR concocted ingenious ways to come to his aid without breaking the Neutrality Acts.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fascinating, well worth the time to read or listen.
- By tennreader on 06-07-16
By: Marc Wortman
-
140 Days to Hiroshima
- The Story of Japan’s Last Chance to Avert Armageddon
- By: David Dean Barrett
- Narrated by: Stephen Graybill
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 149
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 116
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 115
On the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki comes this heart-pounding account of the war-room drama inside the cabinets of the United States and Japan that led to Armageddon on August 6, 1945. Here are the secret strategy sessions, fierce debates, looming assassinations, and planned invasions that resulted in history’s first use of nuclear weapons in combat, and the ensuing chaotic days as the Japanese government struggled to respond to the reality of nuclear war.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Never Giving Up
- By Rick B on 07-11-20
-
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Volume I: Visions of Glory 1874-1932
- By: William Manchester
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 41 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,653
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,151
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 2,145
Winston Churchill is perhaps the most important political figure of the 20th century. His great oratory and leadership during the Second World War were only part of his huge breadth of experience and achievement. Studying his life is a fascinating way to imbibe the history of his era and gain insight into key events that have shaped our time.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Superb - Review of Both Volume I & Volume II
- By Wolfpacker on 01-23-09
-
The Brilliant Disaster
- JFK, Castro, and America's Doomed Invasion of Cuba
- By: Jim Rasenberger
- Narrated by: Bob Walter
- Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 140
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 123
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 122
The U.S.-backed military invasion of Cuba in 1961 remains one of the most ill-fated blunders in American history, with echoes of the event reverberating even today. Despite the Kennedy administration’s initial public insistence that the United States had nothing to do with the invasion, it soon became clear that the complex operation had been planned and approved by the best and brightest minds at the highest reaches of Washington, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff and President John F. Kennedy himself.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
US Government Perspective
- By Kindle Customer on 05-25-11
By: Jim Rasenberger
-
The Abyss
- Nuclear Crisis Cuba 1962
- By: Max Hastings
- Narrated by: Max Hastings, John Hopkins
- Length: 19 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 183
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 166
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 164
Bestselling author Max Hastings offers a welcome re-evaluation of one of the most gripping and tense international events in modern history—the Cuban Missile Crisis—providing a people-focused narrative that explores the attitudes and conduct of Russians, Cubans, Americans, and a terrified world that followed each moment as it unfolded.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Good book, but has some issues
- By Mike From Mesa on 11-10-22
By: Max Hastings
-
The Start
- 1904-1930
- By: William L. Shirer
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 22 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 153
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 132
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 131
William L. Shirer was a CBS foreign correspondent and renowned author of New York Times best-selling nonfiction about World War II, and this is the first part of his three-part autobiography. A renowned journalist and author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, William L. Shirer chronicles his own life story in a personal history that parallels the greater historical events for which he served as a witness.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Clouds gathering on the horizon in Europe
- By Nancy on 08-12-20
-
1941: Fighting the Shadow War
- A Divided America in a World at War
- By: Marc Wortman
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 84
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 73
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 74
In 1941: Fighting the Shadow War: A Divided America in a World at War, historian Marc Wortman thrillingly explores the little-known history of America's clandestine involvement in World War II before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Prior to that infamous day, America had long been involved in a shadow war. Winston Churchill, England's beleaguered new prime minister, pleaded with Franklin D. Roosevelt for help. FDR concocted ingenious ways to come to his aid without breaking the Neutrality Acts.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fascinating, well worth the time to read or listen.
- By tennreader on 06-07-16
By: Marc Wortman
-
End of a Berlin Diary
- The Berlin Diary Series, Book 2
- By: William L. Shirer
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 15 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 163
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 142
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 142
A radio broadcaster and journalist for Edward R. Murrow at CBS, William L. Shirer was new to the world of broadcast journalism when he began keeping a diary while on assignment in Europe during the 1930s. Shirer’s Berlin Diary, which is considered the first full record of what was happening in Germany during the rise of the Third Reich, appeared in 1941. Shirer returned to the European front in 1944 to cover the end of the war. End of a Berlin Diary chronicles this year-long study of Germany after Hitler.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Mr Shrier might is an excellent Historian but pass
- By Clarence Nelson on 07-19-20
-
The Mantle of Command
- FDR at War, 1941–1942
- By: Nigel Hamilton
- Narrated by: Brad Sanders
- Length: 20 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 5
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 5
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5
Based on years of archival research and interviews with the last surviving aides and Roosevelt family members, Nigel Hamilton offers a definitive account of FDR’s masterful - and underappreciated - command of the Allied war effort. Hamilton takes listeners inside FDR’s White House Oval Study - his personal command center - and into the meetings where he battled with Churchill about strategy and tactics and overrode the near mutinies of his own generals and secretary of war.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Great Book, Terrible Narration
- By Ross Mackey on 04-11-22
By: Nigel Hamilton
-
Our Man in Tokyo
- An American Ambassador and the Countdown to Pearl Harbor
- By: Steve Kemper
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 87
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 81
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 81
A gripping, behind-the-scenes account of the personalities and contending forces in Tokyo during the volatile decade that led to World War II, as seen through the eyes of the American ambassador who attempted to stop the slide to war.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
I learned so much
- By Kay on 05-29-23
By: Steve Kemper
-
Never Surrender
- Winston Churchill and Britain's Decision to Fight Nazi Germany in the Fateful Summer of 1940
- By: John Kelly
- Narrated by: Gordon Greenhill
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 30
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 30
London in April, 1940, was a place of great fear and conflict. Everyone was on edge; civilization itself seemed imperiled. The Germans are marching. They have taken Poland, France, Holland, Belgium, and Czechoslovakia. They now menace Britain. Should Britain negotiate with Germany? The members of the War Cabinet bicker, yell, lose their control, and are divided. Churchill, leading the faction to fight, and Lord Halifax, cautioning that prudence is the way to survive, attempt to usurp one another by any means possible.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A Vivid Account
- By Jean on 01-21-16
By: John Kelly
-
Citizens of London
- The Americans Who Stood with Britain in Its Darkest, Finest Hour
- By: Lynne Olson
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 17 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,589
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,198
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,206
Here is the behind-the-scenes story of how the United States forged its wartime alliance with Britain, told from the perspective of three key American players in London: Edward R. Murrow, Averell Harriman, and John Gilbert Winant. Drawing from a variety of primary sources, Olson skillfully depicts the dramatic personal journeys of these men who, determined to save Britain from Hitler, helped convince a cautious Franklin Roosevelt and a reluctant American public to support the British at a critical time.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
If we are together nothing is impossible
- By Susan on 03-06-10
By: Lynne Olson
-
War of Shadows
- Codebreakers, Spies, and the Secret Struggle to Drive the Nazis from the Middle East
- By: Gershom Gorenberg
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 14 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 86
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 70
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 70
As World War II raged in North Africa, General Erwin Rommel was guided by an uncanny sense of his enemies' plans and weaknesses. In the summer of 1942, he led his Axis army swiftly and terrifyingly toward Alexandria, with the goal of overrunning the entire Middle East. Each step was informed by detailed updates on British positions. The Nazis, somehow, had a source for the Allies' greatest secrets.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting history: mediocre narration.
- By William R. Todd-Mancillas (Name includes hyphen and capitalized M). on 06-12-22
-
Eight Days at Yalta
- How Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin Shaped the Post-War World
- By: Diana Preston
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 13 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 30
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 26
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 26
In the last winter of the Second World War, Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin arrived in the Crimean resort of Yalta. Over eight days of bargaining, bombast, and intermittent bonhomie, they decided on the conduct of the final stages of the war against Germany, on how a defeated and occupied Germany should be governed, on the constitution of the nascent United Nations, and on spheres of influence in Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and Greece.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The book has the best female voice narration.
- By Anonymous User on 10-05-24
By: Diana Preston
-
Roosevelt's Centurions
- FDR and the Commanders He Led to Victory in World War II
- By: Joseph E. Persico
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 24 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 63
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 57
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 56
All American presidents are commanders in chief by law. Few perform as such in practice. In Roosevelt’s Centurions, distinguished historian Joseph E. Persico reveals how, during World War II, Franklin D. Roosevelt seized the levers of wartime power like no president since Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. Declaring himself "Dr. Win-the-War", FDR assumed the role of strategist in chief, and, though surrounded by star-studded generals and admirals, he made clear who was running the war. FDR was a hands-on war leader, involving himself in everything from choosing bomber targets to planning naval convoys to the design of landing craft.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Superficial description of World War II
- By Mike From Mesa on 06-23-13
-
Operation Snow
- How a Soviet Mole in FDR’s White House Triggered Pearl Harbor
- By: John Koster
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 278
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 255
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 253
On December 7, 1941, the nation of Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and prompted the United States’ entry into the bloodiest war in human history. Americans have long debated the cause of the bombing; many have argued that the attack was a brilliant Japanese military coup or a failure of US intelligence agencies or even a conspiracy of the Roosevelt administration. But despite the attention historians have paid to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the truth about that fateful day has remained a mystery - until now.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
PUT IT IN THE FILE BLAMING FDR FOR PEARL HARBOR
- By Ron on 11-21-20
By: John Koster
-
The Nazi Conspiracy
- The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill
- By: Brad Meltzer, Josh Mensch
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 892
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 793
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 790
In 1943, as the war against Nazi Germany raged abroad, President Franklin Roosevelt had a critical goal: a face-to-face sit-down with his allies Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill. This first-ever meeting of the Big Three in Tehran, Iran, would decide some of the most crucial strategic details of the war. Yet when the Nazis found out about the meeting, their own secret plan took shape—an assassination plot that would’ve changed history.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fabulous book!
- By Luke Einfeldt on 01-18-23
By: Brad Meltzer, and others
-
The Accidental President
- Harry S. Truman and the Four Months That Changed the World
- By: A. J. Baime
- Narrated by: Tony Messano
- Length: 14 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,268
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,973
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,965
The dramatic, pulse-pounding story of Harry Truman's first four months in office, when this unlikely president had to take on Germany, Japan, Stalin, and the atomic bomb, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Exceptional
- By Jean on 11-14-17
By: A. J. Baime
-
The Splendid and the Vile
- A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz
- By: Erik Larson
- Narrated by: John Lee, Erik Larson
- Length: 17 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 11,879
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 10,170
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 10,091
On Winston Churchill’s first day as prime minister, Adolf Hitler invaded Holland and Belgium. Poland and Czechoslovakia had already fallen, and the Dunkirk evacuation was just two weeks away. For the next 12 months, Hitler would wage a relentless bombing campaign, killing 45,000 Britons. It was up to Churchill to hold his country together and persuade President Franklin Roosevelt that Britain was a worthy ally - and willing to fight to the end. In The Splendid and the Vile, Erik Larson shows how Churchill taught the British people "the art of being fearless."
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
John Lee’s narration is a struggle
- By Leslie Rathjens on 03-05-20
By: Erik Larson