The Last Battle

De: Cornelius Ryan

Narrado por: Simon Vance

The classic account of the final offensive against Hitler’s Third Reich.

The Battle for Berlin was the culminating struggle of World War II in the European theater. The last offensive against Hitler’s Third Reich, it devastated one of Europe’s historic capitals and marked the final defeat of Nazi Germany. It was also one of the war’s bloodiest and most pivotal battles, whose outcome would shape international politics for decades to come.

The Last Battle is Cornelius Ryan’s compelling account of this final battle, a story of brutal extremes, of stunning military triumph alongside the stark conditions that the civilians of Berlin experienced in the face of the Allied assault. As always, Ryan delves beneath the military and political forces that were dictating events to explore the more immediate imperatives of survival, where, as the author describes it, “to eat had become more important than to love, to burrow more dignified than to fight, to endure more militarily correct than to win.”

The Last Battle is the story of ordinary people, both soldiers and civilians, caught up in the despair, frustration, and terror of defeat. It is history at its best, a masterful illumination of the effects of war on the lives of individuals, and one of the enduring works on World War II.

©1966 Cornelius Ryan; 1994 by Victoria Ryan Bida and Geoffrey J. M. Ryan (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“A rare accomplishment…Will be of interest to generations to come.” (James A. Michener, Pulitzer Prize–winning author)

Outstanding

The presentation was extremely well done. I spent time in Weisbaden, Frankfurt and Berlin in 1963 and 1986. My first visit was as an OSI agent stationed in Turkey and second time as the Disaster Preparedness Officer subbing for the permanent officer who was on leave to the States. My maternal grandparents were from Pomerania .

Very interesting, start to finish

Where does The Last Battle rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

If only the history books in school were as well written as this one. A good read/listen from the beginning all the way through. No matter what you thought you knew about the Battle for Berlin, you will know more after listening to this book.

a fascinating account you'll never find elsewhere

loved it, an account from the inside and leaving no stone unturned and not speculative.

bookgirl

a great read but very unsettling. A well written account of a horrible battle. Really brings home the suffering of civilians. Berlin reaped what Hitler sowed. German's supported a monster who did not care at all about his people, only his ego.

excellent coverage of the battle of Berlin

I very much enjoyed the story of the red army and the United States racing to capture Berlin excellent stories of individual soldiers and civilian. the narrator is a little monotone but it doesn't detract. this is a great listing for a fan of history or military experience.

Informative and well written

This was a well written and well performed audiobook. The narrator did a nice job.

Unbelievable!

Intense battle for Berlin! The Americans were spared a lot by not entering the city.

do not miss this one

im not sure I would have bought this one if i knew howling ago it was written, and that would've been my loss. This is written with bits and snatches of many of the civilians,military leaders and t every day people woven in and out of the story. The pure evil, fear, hate, greed, are there to be seen. The love of a zoo keeper for his doomed animals, was so touching and disturbing. It is less about the triumph of good over evil--and more about the scale of suffering. The ability for so many to deny the reality of the situation is brought home. Highly recommend this book.

Well done

Detailed, but only enough to give the reader the scope of the event being described contained. Lately I've reading several books concerning the war in Europe in 1945, especially on the eastern front, and this one ranks among the best of several very good books.
. Nice Englsh accent and speed, and he didn't butcher the few words of Germam contained.

Masterful Work

Somehow, "The Last Battle" is probably Cornelius Ryan's lesser known work on WWII, after his very famous books "The Longest Day" and "A Bridge Too Far" (yes, both prominent WWII films are based on his material).

If you've seen "The Longest Day" film, you have some idea what this book's narrative is going to be like. It covers the events from as many perspectives as possible...from high-ranking commanders to infantrymen to civilians...many of whom were interviewed by Ryan himself in the 1960's. In fact, many of the most poigiant moments of "The Last Battle" are told from the perspective of German civilians, who attempt to go about their daily lives as the Third Reich collapses in flames all around them.

Essentially, "The Last Battle" covers the invasion of Germany proper, on both the Western and Eastern Fronts, and the titular Battle of Berlin.

But, the heft of this work is in the individual stories. German commanders describe to Ryan how Hitler reacted to his own lunacy coming full circle in the last days of the war. Soviet generals compete to see which Russian army will seize the city first. American pilots reveal how the last aerial dogfight in WWII involved US scout flyers shooting down a opposing German observation plane with Colt .45 1911 pistols. In Berlin, Zoo keepers desperately try to save the animals they were charged with caring for. Nuns struggle to prepare their maternity ward for the worst once Soviet rear-eschelon troops, drunk and prone to rape, arrive to exact revenge for atrocities commited aganist the USSR.

This book is a powerful, moving, and highly informative work.