The Christmas Truce
Myth, Memory, and the First World War
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.
The Christmas Truce
Buy for $19.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Byrwec Ellison
About this listen
In late December 1914, German and British soldiers on the Western Front initiated a series of impromptu, unofficial ceasefires. Enlisted men across No Man's Land abandoned their trenches and crossed enemy lines to sing carols, share food and cigarettes, and even play a little soccer. Collectively known as the Christmas Truce, these fleeting moments of peace occupy a mythical place in remembrances of World War I. Yet new accounts suggest that the heartwarming tale ingrained in the popular imagination bears little resemblance to the truth.
In this detailed study, Terri Blom Crocker provides the first comprehensive analysis of both scholarly and popular portrayals of the Christmas Truce from 1914 to present. This new examination shows how a variety of works have both explored and enshrined this outbreak of peace amid overwhelming violence. The vast majority of these accounts depict the soldiers as acting in defiance of their superiors. Crocker, however, analyzes official accounts as well as private letters that reveal widespread support among officers for the détentes. Furthermore, she finds that truce participants describe the temporary ceasefires not as rebellions by disaffected troops but as acts of humanity and survival by professional soldiers deeply committed to their respective causes.
The Christmas Truce studies these ceasefires within the wider war, demonstrating how generations of scholars have promoted interpretations that ignored the nuanced perspectives of the many soldiers who fought.
The book is published by the University Press of Kentucky. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.
©2015 The University Press of Kentucky (P)2019 Redwood AudiobooksListeners also enjoyed...
-
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 17,873
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 15,423
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 15,355
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
-
Christmas Eve, 1914
- By: Charles Olivier
- Narrated by: Cameron Daddo, Xander Berkeley, Cody Fern, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 13 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 18,916
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 17,100
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 17,037
In 1914, the war which was to have been wrapped up by Christmas had - in reality - only just begun, as all sides entrenched themselves deeper into the Great War. Christmas Eve, 1914 follows one company of British officers as they rotate forward to spend their Christmas on the front lines, a mere 80 yards from the German guns. Upper- and working-class men and boys are thrown together into one trench and struggle to survive.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
I was just reading about this in my news paper
- By Bonnie on 12-22-14
By: Charles Olivier
-
A Hobbit, A Wardrobe and a Great War
- How J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Rediscovered Faith, Friendship, and Heroism in the Cataclysm of 1914-1918
- By: Joseph Loconte
- Narrated by: Dave Hoffman
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,218
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,095
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,096
The First World War laid waste to a continent and brought about the end of innocence — and the end of faith. Unlike a generation of young writers who lost faith in the God of the Bible, however, J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis found that the Great War deepened their spiritual quest. Both men served as soldiers on the Western Front, survived the trenches, and used the experience of that conflict to ignite their Christian imagination.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
My Tolkien-Lewis students will read this book
- By Orson on 10-14-15
By: Joseph Loconte
-
Rites of Spring
- The Great War and the Birth of the Modern Age
- By: Modris Eksteins
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 14 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 110
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 91
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 93
Dazzling in its originality, Rites of Spring probes the origins, impact, and aftermath of World War I from the premiere of Stravinsky's ballet "The Rite of Spring" in 1913 to the death of Hitler in 1945. "The Great War", as Modris Eksteins writes, "was the psychological turning point...for modernism as a whole. The urge to create and the urge to destroy had changed places."
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fantastic
- By Anonymous User on 11-17-17
By: Modris Eksteins
-
A World Undone
- The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918
- By: G. J. Meyer
- Narrated by: Robin Sachs
- Length: 27 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 215
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 195
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 195
On a summer day in 1914, a nineteen-year-old Serbian nationalist gunned down Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. While the world slumbered, monumental forces were shaken. In less than a month, a combination of ambition, deceit, fear, jealousy, missed opportunities, and miscalculation sent Austro-Hungarian troops marching into Serbia, German troops streaming toward Paris, and a vast Russian army into war, with England as its ally. As crowds cheered their armies on, no one could guess what lay ahead in the First World War.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A great book!
- By Jodi Bernard on 07-11-23
By: G. J. Meyer
-
The Generals: American Military Command from World War II to Today
- By: Thomas E. Ricks
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 15 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 770
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 663
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 656
A widening gulf between performance and accountability has caused history to be kinder to the American generals of World War II than to those of later wars. In The Generals we meet leaders from World War II to the present who rose to the occasion - and those who failed.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Provocative
- By Jean on 04-30-15
By: Thomas E. Ricks
-
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 17,873
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 15,423
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 15,355
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
-
Christmas Eve, 1914
- By: Charles Olivier
- Narrated by: Cameron Daddo, Xander Berkeley, Cody Fern, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 13 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 18,916
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 17,100
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 17,037
In 1914, the war which was to have been wrapped up by Christmas had - in reality - only just begun, as all sides entrenched themselves deeper into the Great War. Christmas Eve, 1914 follows one company of British officers as they rotate forward to spend their Christmas on the front lines, a mere 80 yards from the German guns. Upper- and working-class men and boys are thrown together into one trench and struggle to survive.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
I was just reading about this in my news paper
- By Bonnie on 12-22-14
By: Charles Olivier
-
A Hobbit, A Wardrobe and a Great War
- How J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Rediscovered Faith, Friendship, and Heroism in the Cataclysm of 1914-1918
- By: Joseph Loconte
- Narrated by: Dave Hoffman
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,218
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,095
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,096
The First World War laid waste to a continent and brought about the end of innocence — and the end of faith. Unlike a generation of young writers who lost faith in the God of the Bible, however, J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis found that the Great War deepened their spiritual quest. Both men served as soldiers on the Western Front, survived the trenches, and used the experience of that conflict to ignite their Christian imagination.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
My Tolkien-Lewis students will read this book
- By Orson on 10-14-15
By: Joseph Loconte
-
Rites of Spring
- The Great War and the Birth of the Modern Age
- By: Modris Eksteins
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 14 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 110
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 91
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 93
Dazzling in its originality, Rites of Spring probes the origins, impact, and aftermath of World War I from the premiere of Stravinsky's ballet "The Rite of Spring" in 1913 to the death of Hitler in 1945. "The Great War", as Modris Eksteins writes, "was the psychological turning point...for modernism as a whole. The urge to create and the urge to destroy had changed places."
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fantastic
- By Anonymous User on 11-17-17
By: Modris Eksteins
-
A World Undone
- The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918
- By: G. J. Meyer
- Narrated by: Robin Sachs
- Length: 27 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 215
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 195
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 195
On a summer day in 1914, a nineteen-year-old Serbian nationalist gunned down Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. While the world slumbered, monumental forces were shaken. In less than a month, a combination of ambition, deceit, fear, jealousy, missed opportunities, and miscalculation sent Austro-Hungarian troops marching into Serbia, German troops streaming toward Paris, and a vast Russian army into war, with England as its ally. As crowds cheered their armies on, no one could guess what lay ahead in the First World War.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A great book!
- By Jodi Bernard on 07-11-23
By: G. J. Meyer
-
The Generals: American Military Command from World War II to Today
- By: Thomas E. Ricks
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 15 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 770
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 663
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 656
A widening gulf between performance and accountability has caused history to be kinder to the American generals of World War II than to those of later wars. In The Generals we meet leaders from World War II to the present who rose to the occasion - and those who failed.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Provocative
- By Jean on 04-30-15
By: Thomas E. Ricks
-
Erwin Rommel
- The Life and Career of the Desert Fox
- By: Charles River Editors
- Narrated by: Colin Fluxman
- Length: 2 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 36
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 31
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 31
One of his biographers called him "a complex man: a born leader, a brilliant soldier, a devoted husband, a proud father; intelligent, instinctive, brave, compassionate, vain, egotistical, and arrogant." As that description suggests, every account of Erwin Rommel's life must address what appears to be its inherent contradictions.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Rommel Review
- By EHDR Maintenence on 01-14-23
-
The First World War
- A Complete History
- By: Martin Gilbert
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 33 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 439
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 387
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 387
It was to be the war to end all wars, and it began at 11:15 on the morning of June 28, 1914, in an outpost of the Austro-Hungarian Empire called Sarajevo. It would officially end nearly five years later. Unofficially, however, it has never ended: Many of the horrors we live with today are rooted in the First World War. The Great War left millions of civilians and soldiers maimed or dead. It also saw the creation of new technologies of destruction: tanks, planes, and submarines; machine guns and field artillery; poison gas and chemical warfare.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Unbiased true facts of the first world war
- By troy a myers on 07-27-20
By: Martin Gilbert
-
The Face of Battle
- By: John Keegan
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 743
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 640
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 638
In this major and wholly original contribution to military history, John Keegan reverses the usual convention of writing about war in terms of generals and nations in conflict, which tends to leave the common soldier as cipher. Instead, he focuses on what a set battle is like for the man in the thick of it.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Amazing! But probably better in print.
- By D. Martin on 04-20-13
By: John Keegan
-
Russia
- The Story of War
- By: Gregory Carleton
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 112
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 97
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 98
No nation is a stranger to war, but for Russians war is a central part of who they are. Their "motherland" has been the battlefield where some of the largest armies have clashed, the most savage battles have been fought, the highest death tolls paid. Having prevailed over Mongol hordes and vanquished Napoleon and Hitler, many Russians believe no other nation has sacrificed so much for the world.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A bit dry and academic
- By Mike From Mesa on 07-16-17
By: Gregory Carleton
-
The Battle of the Little Bighorn
- A Captivating Guide to One of the Most Significant Actions of the Great Sioux War and How Custer's Last Stand Impacted the Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Colin Fluxman
- Length: 1 hr and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 36
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 33
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, which is also commonly referred to by American historians as Custer’s Last Stand, is one of the most iconic events during the Great Sioux War that occurred between 1875 and 1876. The war itself became widespread among other tribes within the surrounding regions of the Black Hills territory of present-day South Dakota after conflicts started between the U.S government and the local Lakota and Cheyenne tribes in 1854, which lasted all the way to 1890.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Source, and beautiful to look at
- By Isabel Jimenez on 02-29-20
-
Waterloo: The Campaign of 1815
- From Elba to Ligny and Quatre Bras Volume I
- By: John Hussey
- Narrated by: Ric Jerrom
- Length: 34 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 40
The first of two ground-breaking volumes on the Waterloo campaign, this audiobook is based upon a detailed analysis of sources old and new in four languages. It highlights the political stresses between the Allies, the problems of feeding and paying for the Allied forces assembling in Belgium during the undeclared war and how a strategy was thrashed out. It studies the neglected topic of how the Allies beyond the Rhine hampered the plans of Blücher and Wellington, thus allowing Napoleon to snatch the initiative from them.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent: Where is Volume 2
- By History Reader on 12-11-20
By: John Hussey
-
The Irish Soldiers of Mexico
- By: Michael Hogan
- Narrated by: Emil Nicholas Gallina
- Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 24
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 24
The Irish Soldiers of Mexico tells the story of the Irish immigrants who joined the Mexican Army in the War of 1846-48 and were later hanged by the U.S. Army. The University Press original sold out four editions in English and two editions in Spanish from 1997 to 2001. It was the basis for an MGM feature film and two documentaries; it has also been used in many history classes both in the United States and abroad.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Compelling overlooked chapter in American, Mexican, and Irish history.
- By Steve Adams on 04-22-17
By: Michael Hogan
-
Siege at Jadotville
- The Irish Army’s Forgotten Battle
- By: Declan Power
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 114
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 106
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 106
The Irish soldier has never been a stranger to fighting the enemy with the odds stacked against him. The notion of charging into adversity has been a cherished part of Ireland's military history. In September 1961, another chapter should have been written into the annals, but it is a tale that lay shrouded in dust for years. The men of A Company, 35th Irish Infantry Battalion, arrived in the Congo as a United Nations contingent to help keep the peace. For many it would be their first trip outside their native shores.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fitting tribute to those who fought.
- By K4Kristina on 03-01-16
By: Declan Power
-
Churchill's Shadow
- The Life and Afterlife of Winston Churchill
- By: Geoffrey Wheatcroft
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 23 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 53
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 44
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 42
Winston Churchill is generally considered one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century, revered for his opposition to appeasement, his defiance in the face of German bombing of England, his political prowess, and his memorable speeches. He became the savior of his country, as prime minister during the most perilous period in British history, World War II, and is now perhaps even more beloved in America than in England. This revelatory book takes on Churchill in his entirety, separating the man from the myth that he so carefully cultivated.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
A few facts and a quote in context, would be nice.
- By Arlene on 01-30-22
-
Ivan's War
- Life and Death in the Red Army, 1939-1945
- By: Catherine Merridale
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 16 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 195
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 164
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 165
Of the 30 million who fought in the eastern front of World War II, 8 million died, driven forward in suicidal charges, shattered by German shells and tanks. They were the men and women of the Red Army, a ragtag mass of soldiers who confronted Europe's most lethal fighting force and by 1945 had defeated it. Sixty years have passed since their epic triumph, but the heart and mind of Ivan - as the ordinary Russian soldier was called-remain a mystery. We know something about how the soldiers died, but nearly nothing about how they lived, how they saw the world, or why they fought.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Bird's eye view of the Eastern Front in WW2.
- By Mike From Mesa on 01-16-20
-
The Wounded Knee Massacre
- A Captivating Guide to the Battle of Wounded Knee and Its Impact on the Native Americans After the Final Clash Between Federal Troops and the Sioux
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Colin Fluxman
- Length: 1 hr and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 17
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 16
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 16
The Wounded Knee Massacre is often glossed over in textbooks, talking about the event in a generalized manner. But such a generalized representation undermines the real impact and significance of the events that happened on that fateful day, making it one of the most tragic events in Native American history. In this audiobook, we aim to provide the listener with a more in-depth look at the factors and major players in the Wounded Knee Massacre, as well as the significance of its aftermath.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Bravo!
- By Donovan P on 03-28-20
-
Poland 1939
- The Outbreak of World War II
- By: Roger Moorhouse
- Narrated by: Roger Moorhouse
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 138
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 120
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 121
For Americans, World War II began in December of 1941, with the bombing of Pearl Harbor; but for Poland, the war began on September 1, 1939, when Hitler's soldiers invaded, followed later that month by Stalin's Red Army. The conflict that followed saw the debut of many of the features that would come to define the later war-blitzkrieg, the targeting of civilians, ethnic cleansing, and indiscriminate aerial bombing-yet it is routinely overlooked by historians.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Always Overlooked
- By C. G. Telcontar on 05-27-21
By: Roger Moorhouse
Critic reviews
"A sharp look at the so-called 'Christmas truce' of 1914, discovering that distortion has colored many accounts of it." (Kirkus)
"Powerful and convincing." (Washington Times)
"This is certain to be the standard work on the subject." (NYMAS Review)
Related to this topic
-
Rites of Spring
- The Great War and the Birth of the Modern Age
- By: Modris Eksteins
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 14 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 110
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 91
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 93
Dazzling in its originality, Rites of Spring probes the origins, impact, and aftermath of World War I from the premiere of Stravinsky's ballet "The Rite of Spring" in 1913 to the death of Hitler in 1945. "The Great War", as Modris Eksteins writes, "was the psychological turning point...for modernism as a whole. The urge to create and the urge to destroy had changed places."
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fantastic
- By Anonymous User on 11-17-17
By: Modris Eksteins
-
Soldaten
- On Fighting, Killing, and Dying
- By: Sonke Neitzel, Harald Welzer, Jefferson Chase - translator
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 14 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 101
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 92
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 94
On a visit to the British National Archive in 2001, Sonke Neitzel made a remarkable discovery: reams of meticulously transcribed conversations among German POWs that had been covertly recorded and recently declassified. Neitzel would later find another collection of transcriptions, twice as extensive, in the National Archive in Washington, D.C. These were discoveries that would provide a unique and profoundly important window into the true mentality of the soldiers in the Wehrmacht, the Luftwaffe, the German navy, and the military in general - almost all of whom had insisted on their own honorable behavior during the war.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
More accounts less analysis please!
- By Tony on 01-14-13
By: Sonke Neitzel, and others
-
Panzer General
- Heinz Guderian and the Blitzkrieg Victories of WWII
- By: Kenneth Macksey
- Narrated by: Jonathan Cowley
- Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 53
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 45
Kenneth Macksey's highly regarded biography of Generaloberst Heinz Guderian gives clear insight into the mind and motives of the father of modern tank warfare. Panzer General shows Guderian as a man of ideas equipped with the ability to turn inspiration into reality. A master of strategy and tactics, he was the officer most responsible for creating blitzkrieg in World War II.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Terrible narration/pronunciation
- By Amazon Customer on 01-23-22
By: Kenneth Macksey
-
Leadership in War
- Essential Lessons from Those Who Made History
- By: Andrew Roberts
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 165
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 147
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 147
Taking us from the French Revolution to the Cold War, Andrew Roberts presents us with a bracingly honest and deeply insightful look at nine major figures in modern history: Napoleon Bonaparte, Horatio Nelson, Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, George C. Marshall, Charles de Gaulle, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Margaret Thatcher. Each one of these leaders fundamentally shaped the outcome of the war in which their nation was embroiled.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fantastic
- By Amazon Customer on 01-15-20
By: Andrew Roberts
-
Hitler and Stalin
- The Tyrants and the Second World War
- By: Laurence Rees
- Narrated by: John Sackville
- Length: 18 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 68
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 56
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 56
Two 20th century tyrants stand apart from all the rest in terms of their ruthlessness and the degree to which they changed the world around them. Briefly allies during World War II, Adolph Hitler and Josef Stalin then tried to exterminate each other in sweeping campaigns unlike anything the modern world had ever seen, affecting soldiers and civilians alike. Millions of miles of Eastern Europe were ruined in their fight to the death, millions of lives sacrificed.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Biased in favor of capitalism
- By Gerald Paduano on 04-10-21
By: Laurence Rees
-
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
-
Rites of Spring
- The Great War and the Birth of the Modern Age
- By: Modris Eksteins
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 14 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 110
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 91
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 93
Dazzling in its originality, Rites of Spring probes the origins, impact, and aftermath of World War I from the premiere of Stravinsky's ballet "The Rite of Spring" in 1913 to the death of Hitler in 1945. "The Great War", as Modris Eksteins writes, "was the psychological turning point...for modernism as a whole. The urge to create and the urge to destroy had changed places."
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fantastic
- By Anonymous User on 11-17-17
By: Modris Eksteins
-
Soldaten
- On Fighting, Killing, and Dying
- By: Sonke Neitzel, Harald Welzer, Jefferson Chase - translator
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 14 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 101
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 92
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 94
On a visit to the British National Archive in 2001, Sonke Neitzel made a remarkable discovery: reams of meticulously transcribed conversations among German POWs that had been covertly recorded and recently declassified. Neitzel would later find another collection of transcriptions, twice as extensive, in the National Archive in Washington, D.C. These were discoveries that would provide a unique and profoundly important window into the true mentality of the soldiers in the Wehrmacht, the Luftwaffe, the German navy, and the military in general - almost all of whom had insisted on their own honorable behavior during the war.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
More accounts less analysis please!
- By Tony on 01-14-13
By: Sonke Neitzel, and others
-
Panzer General
- Heinz Guderian and the Blitzkrieg Victories of WWII
- By: Kenneth Macksey
- Narrated by: Jonathan Cowley
- Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 53
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 45
Kenneth Macksey's highly regarded biography of Generaloberst Heinz Guderian gives clear insight into the mind and motives of the father of modern tank warfare. Panzer General shows Guderian as a man of ideas equipped with the ability to turn inspiration into reality. A master of strategy and tactics, he was the officer most responsible for creating blitzkrieg in World War II.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Terrible narration/pronunciation
- By Amazon Customer on 01-23-22
By: Kenneth Macksey
-
Leadership in War
- Essential Lessons from Those Who Made History
- By: Andrew Roberts
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 165
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 147
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 147
Taking us from the French Revolution to the Cold War, Andrew Roberts presents us with a bracingly honest and deeply insightful look at nine major figures in modern history: Napoleon Bonaparte, Horatio Nelson, Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, George C. Marshall, Charles de Gaulle, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Margaret Thatcher. Each one of these leaders fundamentally shaped the outcome of the war in which their nation was embroiled.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fantastic
- By Amazon Customer on 01-15-20
By: Andrew Roberts
-
Hitler and Stalin
- The Tyrants and the Second World War
- By: Laurence Rees
- Narrated by: John Sackville
- Length: 18 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 68
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 56
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 56
Two 20th century tyrants stand apart from all the rest in terms of their ruthlessness and the degree to which they changed the world around them. Briefly allies during World War II, Adolph Hitler and Josef Stalin then tried to exterminate each other in sweeping campaigns unlike anything the modern world had ever seen, affecting soldiers and civilians alike. Millions of miles of Eastern Europe were ruined in their fight to the death, millions of lives sacrificed.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Biased in favor of capitalism
- By Gerald Paduano on 04-10-21
By: Laurence Rees
-
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
-
Secret Germany
- Stauffenberg and the True Story of Operation Valkyrie
- By: Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh
- Narrated by: Fleet Cooper
- Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 99
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 92
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 92
By July of 1944, the Third Reich's days were numbered. Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, a general staff insider with open eyes (and access to the Fuhrer), was convinced that assassinating Hitler was the only way to prevent the destruction of the Fatherland and the deaths of millions. On July 20, he hid a bomb-stuffed briefcase at a high-level meeting. The explosion tore through the room, but a table leg spared Hitler from the blast. The result was a witch hunt, a wave of executions, and a further pointless year of war. Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh deliver an exhilarating and definitive portrait of the anti-Nazi movement (called "Secret Germany") that almost killed Hitler. Secret Germany is the story of "World War II's boldest plot-that-failed" (Time), a coup that was a moral and spiritual necessity.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
False Advertising
- By Alan on 02-26-13
By: Michael Baigent, and others
-
Supreme Command
- Soldiers, Statesmen, and Leadership in Wartime
- By: Eliot A. Cohen
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 196
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 167
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 165
The relationship between military leaders and political leaders has always been a complicated one, especially in times of war. When the chips are down, who should run the show, the politicians or the generals? In Supreme Command, Eliot Cohen examines four great democratic war statesmen - Abraham Lincoln, Georges Clemenceau, Winston Churchill, and David Ben-Gurion - to reveal the surprising answer - the politicians. The generals may think they know how to win, but the statesmen are the ones who see the big picture.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Dated material
- By Charlotte R. Shover on 11-21-20
By: Eliot A. Cohen
-
Looking for the Good War
- American Amnesia and the Violent Pursuit of Happiness
- By: Elizabeth D. Samet
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 14 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 64
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 51
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 51
In Looking for the Good War, Elizabeth D. Samet reexamines the literature, art, and culture that emerged after World War II, bringing her expertise as a professor of English at West Point to bear on the complexity of the postwar period in national life. She exposes the confusion about American identity that was expressed during and immediately after the war, and the deep national ambivalence toward war, violence, and veterans - all of which were suppressed in subsequent decades by a dangerously sentimental attitude toward the United States' "exceptional" history and destiny.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Essential reading for military officers and political decision makers.
- By Arlene S. Burke on 02-23-22
-
Sickles at Gettysburg
- The Controversial Civil War General Who Committed Murder, Abandoned Little Round Top, and Declared Himself the Hero of Gettysburg
- By: James A. Hessler
- Narrated by: Bob Neufeld
- Length: 14 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 33
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 29
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 29
Sickles at Gettysburg by licensed battlefield guide James Hessler, is the most deeply-researched, full-length biography to appear on this remarkable American icon. No individual who fought at Gettysburg was more controversial, both personally and professionally, than Major General Daniel E. Sickles. By 1863, Sickles was notorious as a disgraced former Congressman who murdered his wife’s lover on the streets of Washington and used America’s first temporary insanity defense to escape justice.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Backbiting
- By Anonymous User on 04-08-24
By: James A. Hessler
-
1914
- The Year The World Ended
- By: Paul Ham
- Narrated by: Robert Meldrum
- Length: 22 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 109
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 102
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 99
Few years can justly be said to have transformed the earth: 1914 did. In July that year, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Britain and France were poised to plunge the world into a war that would kill or wound 37 million people, tear down the fabric of society, uproot ancient political systems and set the course for the bloodiest century in human history.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
How the war started
- By Jean on 02-24-14
By: Paul Ham
-
Five Days in London, May 1940
- By: John Lukacs
- Narrated by: Geoffrey Howard
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 379
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 282
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 281
In the days between May 24th and 28th, 1940, the British War Cabinet held a historical debate over whether to negotiate with Hitler or to continue the war. In this magisterial work, John Lukacs demonstrates the decisive importance of those five days. Lukacs takes us hour by hour into the critical unfolding of events at 10 Downing Street, where Churchill, who had only been prime minister for a fortnight, painfully considered his war responsibilities.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Less Than Meets the Eye
- By Michael Moore on 01-06-09
By: John Lukacs
-
The Myth of the Lost Cause and Civil War History
- By: Gary W. Gallagher - editor, Alan T. Nolan - editor
- Narrated by: Keith McCarthy
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 66
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 63
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 63
Was the Confederacy doomed from the start in its struggle against the superior might of the Union? Did its forces fight heroically against all odds for the cause of states’ rights? In reality, these suggestions are an elaborate and intentional effort on the part of Southerners to rationalize the secession and the war itself. Unfortunately, skillful propagandists have been so successful in promoting this romanticized view that the Lost Cause has assumed a life of its own.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Putting down "The Great Pro-Slavery Rebellion"
- By Buretto on 07-30-18
By: Gary W. Gallagher - editor, and others
-
The Duel
- The 80-Day Struggle Between Churchill and Hitler
- By: John Lukacs
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 137
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 88
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 88
This is a day-by-day account of the 80-day struggle in 1940 between Hitler, poised on the edge of absolute victory, and Churchill, threatened by imminent invasion and defeat.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
The most aggravating history lecture ever
- By Sidney on 12-31-08
By: John Lukacs
-
Retreat from Moscow
- A New History of Germany’s Winter Campaign, 1941-1942
- By: David Stahel
- Narrated by: Matthew Waterson
- Length: 15 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 152
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 125
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 124
Germany's winter campaign of 1941-1942 has commonly been seen as its "first defeat". In Retreat from Moscow, David Stahel argues that, in fact, it was its first strategic success in the east. Though the Red Army managed to push the Wehrmacht back from Moscow, the Germans lost far fewer men (one to six), frustrated their enemy's strategic plan, and emerged in the spring unbroken and poised to recapture the initiative.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Nothing new on the Eastern front basically!
- By philippe jacob on 03-28-20
By: David Stahel
-
Underdogs
- The Making of the Modern Marine Corps
- By: Aaron B. O'Connell
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 32
The Marine Corps has always considered itself a breed apart. Since 1775, America's smallest armed service has been suspicious of outsiders and deeply loyal to its traditions. Marines believe in nothing more strongly than the Corps' uniqueness and superiority, and this undying faith in its own exceptionalism is what has made the Marines one of the sharpest, swiftest tools of American military power. Along with unapologetic self-promotion, a strong sense of identity has enabled the Corps to exert a powerful influence on American politics and culture.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
The making of the Marine Corps
- By Jean on 04-17-13
-
The Cause
- The American Revolution and Its Discontents, 1773-1783
- By: Joseph J. Ellis
- Narrated by: Graham Winton
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 407
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 349
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 349
George Washington claimed that anyone who attempted to provide an accurate account of the war for independence would be accused of writing fiction. At the time, no one called it the “American Revolution”: Former colonists still regarded themselves as Virginians or Pennsylvanians, not Americans, while John Adams insisted that the British were the real revolutionaries, for attempting to impose radical change without their colonists’ consent. With The Cause, Ellis takes a fresh look at the events between 1773 and 1783.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Modest history primer, wished for more substance
- By Buretto on 10-21-21
By: Joseph J. Ellis
-
The Nazis
- A Warning from History
- By: Laurence Rees
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 99
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 85
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 84
Following the success of Rees's best-selling Auschwitz, this substantially revised and updated edition of The Nazis - A Warning from History tells the powerfully gripping story of the rise and fall of the Third Reich. During a 16-year period, acclaimed author and documentary-maker Laurence Rees met and interviewed a large number of former Nazis, and his unique insights into the Nazi psyche and World War II received enormous praise.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
HOW TO STEAL A COUNTRY
- By Bowen Florsheim on 09-14-21
By: Laurence Rees
What listeners say about The Christmas Truce
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Chris
- 01-22-21
Slow as hell, but worth it.
I dont know wether it was because of the narrator or writing style. But getting through this book was a drag. Dont get me wrong, the subject is interesting and its worth a Read of nothing more to dispell some myths a out the first world war. I have studied war history and the philosophy of War, and I would recommend this book... If you can get through it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Andy
- 11-08-19
Certainly a good effort.
I did find the book interesting, but very repetitive. The Christmas Truce was a valid time in WWI. This writer has produced more of an academic study of the truce and not a story or a discussion. For those looking for a treatise, this is for you. For those who are looking for a fast paced story, this book is not it. Well researched and many accounts of survivors however.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nicholas Perry
- 03-18-24
Excellent look at Christmas Truce
The book is a thorough examination of both what actually happened with the 1914 Christmas Truce and how it has been interpreted since then. Recommended for those interested in WW1 and how the war has been understood since then.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!