The Germans and Europe
A Personal Frontline History
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The Germans and Europe
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Narrated by:
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Damian Lynch
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By:
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Peter Millar
About this listen
Based on a lifetime living in and reporting on Germany and Central Europe, award-winning journalist and author Peter Millar tackles the fascinating and complex story of the people at the heart of our continent.
Focussing on nine cities (only six of which are in the Germany of today), he takes us on a zigzag ride back through time via the fall of the Berlin Wall through the horrors of two world wars and the patchwork states of the Middle Ages to the splendour of Charlemagne and the fall of Rome, with side swipes at everything on the way, from Henry VIII to the Spanish Empire.
Included are mini portraits of aspects of German culture, from sex and money to food and drink. Not just a book about Germany but about Europe as a whole and how we got where we are today - and where we might be tomorrow.
©2017 Peter Millar (P)2018 Audible, LtdListeners also enjoyed...
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Engaging and Informative
- By William on 06-15-24
By: Neil MacGregor
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The Greeks
- A Global History
- By: Roderick Beaton
- Narrated by: Anna Crowe
- Length: 16 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 109
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 90
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 88
More than 2,000 years ago, the Greek city-states, led by Athens and Sparta, laid the foundation for much of modern science, the arts, politics, and law. But the influence of the Greeks did not end with the rise and fall of this classical civilization. As historian Roderick Beaton illustrates, over three millennia Greek speakers produced a series of civilizations that were rooted in southeastern Europe but again and again ranged widely across the globe.
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4 out of 5 stars
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An Ethnography of the Greeks
- By gmurphy92 on 03-27-22
By: Roderick Beaton
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The Viking Heart
- How Scandinavians Conquered the World
- By: Arthur Herman
- Narrated by: Kiff VandenHeuvel
- Length: 18 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 159
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 136
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Story4 out of 5 stars 137
Scandinavia has always been a world apart. For millennia Norwegians, Danes, Finns, and Swedes lived a remote and rugged existence among the fjords and peaks of the land of the midnight sun. But when they finally left their homeland in search of opportunity, these wanderers — including the most famous, the Vikings — would reshape Europe and beyond.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Confused and not worth the time and money
- By Jacob The Dane on 08-16-21
By: Arthur Herman
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A Brief History of Japan
- Samurai, Shogun and Zen: The Extraordinary Story of the Land of the Rising Sun
- By: Jonathan Clements
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 290
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 248
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 248
With intelligence and wit, author Jonathan Clements blends documentary and storytelling styles to connect the past, present, and future of Japan, and in broad yet detailed strokes reveals a country of paradoxes: a modern nation steeped in ancient traditions; a democracy with an emperor as head of state; a famously safe society built on 108 volcanoes resting on the world's most active earthquake zone; a fast-paced urban and technologically advanced country whose land consists predominantly of mountains and forests.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Brief Review of the Book
- By Than on 12-07-19
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A Brief History of Indonesia
- Sultans, Spices, and Tsunamis: The Incredible Story of Southeast Asia's Largest Nation
- By: Tim Hannigan
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 147
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 126
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 126
Indonesia is by far the largest nation in Southeast Asia and has the fourth-largest population in the world after the United States. Indonesian history and culture are especially relevant today as the island nation is an emerging power in the region with a dynamic new leader. It is a land of incredible diversity and unending paradoxes that has a long and rich history stretching back a thousand years and more.
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4 out of 5 stars
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More Indonesian history please Audible
- By Damien on 08-20-19
By: Tim Hannigan
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In Putin's Footsteps
- Searching for the Soul of an Empire Across Russia's Eleven Time Zones
- By: Nina Khrushcheva, Jeffrey Tayler
- Narrated by: Kathleen Gati
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 33
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 29
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 28
With exclusive insider status as Nikita Khrushchev’s great grand-daughter, and an ex-pat living and reporting on Russia and the Soviet Union since 1993, Nina Khrushcheva and Jeffrey Tayler offer a poignant exploration of the largest country on Earth through their recreation of Vladimir Putin’s fabled New Year’s Eve speech planned across all 11 time zones.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Up to date assessment of Russia in 2019
- By Joseph C. Wilson on 04-10-19
By: Nina Khrushcheva, and others
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The Birth of Classical Europe
- A History from Troy to Augustine
- By: Simon Price, Peter Thonemann
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 145
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 119
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Story4 out of 5 stars 118
To an extraordinary extent we continue to live in the shadow of the classical world. At every level, from languages to calendars to political systems, we are the descendants of a “classical Europe,” using frames of reference created by ancient Mediterranean cultures. As this consistently fresh and surprising new audio book makes clear, however, this was no less true for the inhabitants of those classical civilizations themselves, whose myths, history, and buildings were an elaborate engagement with an already old and revered past - one filled with great leaders and writers....
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent overview of the Classical World
- By David I. Williams on 01-12-14
By: Simon Price, and others
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Alaric the Goth
- An Outsider's History of the Fall of Rome
- By: Douglas Boin
- Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 127
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 107
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Story4 out of 5 stars 106
Denied citizenship by the Roman Empire, a soldier named Alaric changed history by unleashing a surprise attack on the capital city of an unjust empire. Stigmatized and relegated to the margins of Roman society, the Goths were violent "barbarians" who destroyed "civilization," at least in the conventional story of Rome's collapse. But a slight shift of perspective brings their history, and ours, shockingly alive.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Can't finish it.
- By Stan K. Smith on 06-21-20
By: Douglas Boin
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History of France
- A Captivating Guide to French History
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Jason Zenobia
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 62
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 56
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 56
France has influenced the course of history in Europe and the world for centuries. Considered one of the world’s most beautiful countries and home to some of the world’s most visited tourist locations, France has enthralled and fascinated the people who’ve discovered that, in many ways, the history of France encompasses both the good and bad in the human character.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Quick Overview of French History - Great Reader
- By JJares on 06-23-21
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Paris, City of Dreams
- Napoleon III, Baron Haussmann, and the Creation of Paris
- By: Mary McAuliffe
- Narrated by: Tim H. Dixon
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 33
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 29
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Story5 out of 5 stars 29
Acclaimed historian Mary McAuliffe vividly recaptures the Paris of Napoleon III, Claude Monet, and Victor Hugo as Georges Haussmann tore down and rebuilt Paris into the beautiful City of Light we know today. Paris, City of Dreams traces the transformation of the City of Light during Napoleon III’s Second Empire into the beloved city of today.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Superb
- By Cheri Stocking on 02-17-23
By: Mary McAuliffe
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A Brief History of China
- Dynasty, Revolution and Transformation: From the Middle Kingdom to the People's Republic
- By: Jonathan Clements
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 82
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 66
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 65
In his retelling of a Chinese history stretching back 5,000 years, author and China-expert Jonathan Clements focuses on the human stories which led to the powerful transformations in Chinese society - from the unification of China under its first emperor, Qinshi Huangdi, to the Mongol invasion under Genghis Khan and the consolidation of Communist rule under Mao Zedong. Clements even brings listeners through to the present day, outlining China's economic renaissance under Deng Xiaoping and Xi Jinping.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Succinct and detailed overview of a huge topic
- By Stephen Sheafer on 08-19-20
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Scottish History for Dummies
- By: William Knox PhD
- Narrated by: Matthew Waterson
- Length: 12 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 54
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 41
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 40
Want to discover how a small country on the edge of Northern Europe packs an almighty historical punch? Scottish History for Dummies is your guide to the story of Scotland and its place within the historical narratives of Britain, Europe, and the rest of the world. You'll find out how Scotland rose from the ashes to forge its own destiny, understand the impact of Scottish historical figures such as William Wallace, Robert the Bruce, and David Hume and be introduced to the wonderful world of Celtic religion, architecture, and monuments.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Scottish history with no Scottish narrator :(
- By Mary Katherine Van on 10-11-21
By: William Knox PhD
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Germany
- A Nation in Its Time: Before, During, and After Nationalism, 1500-2000
- By: Helmut Walser Smith
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 20 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 51
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 42
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Story4 out of 5 stars 41
For nearly a century, historians have depicted Germany as a rabidly nationalist land, born in a sea of aggression. Not so, says Helmut Walser Smith, who, in this groundbreaking 500-year history, challenges traditional perceptions of Germany's conflicted past, revealing a nation far more thematically complicated than 20th-century historians have imagined.
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3 out of 5 stars
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He may understand the past but he does not comprehend the present.
- By Max TN on 06-23-23
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1913: In Search of the World Before the Great War
- By: Charles Emerson
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 19 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 117
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 106
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Story4 out of 5 stars 106
Today, 1913 is inevitably viewed through the lens of 1914: as the last year before a war that would shatter the global economic order and tear Europe apart, undermining its global pre-eminence. Our perspectives narrowed by hindsight, the world of that year is reduced to its most frivolous features last summers in grand aristocratic residences or its most destructive ones: the unresolved rivalries of the great European powers, the fear of revolution, violence in the Balkans.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Good book ruined by bad read
- By GANESHi on 08-02-13
By: Charles Emerson
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Powers and Thrones
- A New History of the Middle Ages
- By: Dan Jones
- Narrated by: Dan Jones
- Length: 24 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,662
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,434
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Story5 out of 5 stars 1,428
When the once-mighty city of Rome was sacked by barbarians in 410 and lay in ruins, it signaled the end of an era—and the beginning of a thousand years of profound transformation. In a gripping narrative bursting with big names—from St Augustine and Attila the Hun to the Prophet Muhammad and Eleanor of Aquitaine—Dan Jones charges through the history of the Middle Ages. Powers and Thrones takes listeners on a journey through an emerging Europe, the great capitals of late Antiquity, as well as the influential cities of the Islamic West.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Hard to take a break from it!
- By Mariano's Music on 12-09-21
By: Dan Jones
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The Anglo-Saxons
- A History of the Beginnings of England: 400 - 1066
- By: Marc Morris
- Narrated by: Roy McMillan
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 917
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 808
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 804
Sixteen hundred years ago Britain left the Roman Empire and swiftly fell into ruin. Grand cities and luxurious villas were deserted and left to crumble, and civil society collapsed into chaos. Into this violent and unstable world came foreign invaders from across the sea, and established themselves as its new masters. The Anglo-Saxons traces the turbulent history of these people across the next six centuries. It explains how their earliest rulers fought relentlessly against each other for glory and supremacy, and then were almost destroyed by the onslaught of the vikings.
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3 out of 5 stars
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"Pretty Good"
- By Stephen on 05-30-21
By: Marc Morris
What listeners say about The Germans and Europe
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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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
- Tom Dudley
- 07-16-20
Admitted German-o-Phile
This is the best history of Germany out there. Its interwoven with the Author’s own story living in Germany. And he tells the history of the country through different German cities. Incredibly interesting. I would highly recommend this audiobook
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1 person found this helpful
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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
- Shaun
- 05-17-18
One of the best books I have listened to on here
This is a great book; to quickly sum it up it's a look at Germany through the major cities in (or what was) the German speaking world: Berlin, Vienna, Hamburg, Dresden, Munich, Konigsberg (formerly in East Prussia, now Kalingrad in Russia) and Strasbourg (now in France). The author weaves his insanely interesting personal experiences living, working (as a Reuters journalist), and visiting these places to tell their histories. Some great ones included living in East Berlin in the 1980's and being under surveillance by the Stasi, accidently starting a pro-Democracy protest in Dresden (then in the DDR), and having a friendship with the late Otto von Hapsburg. But this isn't just a travel book; the history is seamlessly weaved in. Ignore the crazed review below and take the plunge on this book if you are interested in Germany.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- rbergen
- 02-27-18
Left of reality
Author is a self described hippie who refers to the National Socialists (Nazi's) as "right wing" and communist East Germans as "conservative". Apparently nobody on the left is capable of horrors such as Dresden etc. Of course the Soviets proved differently as they raped and killed all the way through Berlin.
Much excuse making from this Berlin native. Hand wringing over WW2 Allied bombing is tiresome and ridiculous. Germany got the total war it sought to inflict on the world.
I'm sending this book back.
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2 people 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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Story2 out of 5 stars
- DUCKLover
- 08-30-18
This could have a much more interesting tale.
The story was narrated well.
My problem was the way this reporter mix personal experience, concurrent history and politics with cold war history. I just could not maintain an interest in continuing the story.
On the other hand if your like hearing a personal view of the happenings on the closing of the cold enjoy.
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