The Liberator

One World War II Soldier's 500-Day Odyssey from the Beaches of Sicily to the Gates of Dachau

By: Alex Kershaw

Narrated by: Fred Sanders

The true story of the bloodiest and most dramatic march to victory of the Second World War: the battlefield odyssey of a maverick U.S. Army officer and his infantry unit as they fought for over five hundred days to liberate Europe - from the invasion of Italy to the gates of Dachau.

   From July 10, 1943, the date of the Allied landing in Sicily, to May 8, 1945, when victory in Europe was declared – the entire time it took to liberate Europe – no regiment saw more action, and no single platoon, company, or battalion endured worse, than the ones commanded by Felix Sparks, who had entered the war as a greenhorn second lieutenant of the 157th “Eager for Duty” Infantry Regiment of the 45th “Thunderbird” Division.  Sparks and his fellow Thunderbirds fought longest and hardest to defeat Hitler, often against his most fanatical troops, when the odds on the battlefield were even and the fortunes of the Allies hung in the balance – and when the difference between defeat and victory was a matter of character, not tactics or armor.

   Drawing on extensive interviews with Sparks and dozens of his men, as well as over five years of research in Europe and in archives across the US, historian Alex Kershaw masterfully recounts one of the most inspiring and heroic journeys in military history.  Over the course of four amphibious invasions, Sparks rose from captain to colonel as he battled from the beaches of Sicily through the mountains of Italy and France, ultimately enduring bitter and desperate winter combat against the diehard SS on the Fatherland’s borders.  Though he lost all of his company to save the Allied beach-head at Anzio and an entire battalion in the dark forests of the Vosges, Sparks miraculously survived the long bloody march across Europe and was selected to lead a final charge to Bavaria to hunt down Adolf Hitler.

   In the dying days of the Third Reich, Sparks and his men crossed the last great barrier in the West, the Rhine, only to experience some of the most intense street fighting and close combat suffered by Americans in WWII.  When they finally arrived at the gates of Dachau, Hitler’s first and most notorious concentration camp, the Thunderbirds confronted scenes that robbed the mind of reason.  With victory within grasp, Sparks confronted the ultimate test of his humanity: after all he had faced, could he resist the urge to wreak vengeance on the men who had caused untold suffering and misery?

   Written with the narrative drive and vivid immediacy of Kershaw’s previous bestselling books about American infantrymen in WWII, The Liberator is a story for the ages, an intensely human and dramatic account of one of history’s greatest warriors and his unheralded role in America’s finest achievement – the defeat of Nazi Germany.

Excellent Narration of Great Story

Would you listen to The Liberator again? Why?

Probably not...life is too short, there are so many good books, so I've never listened to an audiobook twice yet...nothing against this one.

What other book might you compare The Liberator to and why?

Its kind of a cross between EB Sledge and Rick Atkinson's Trilogy....alledgedly Sparks' story but lots of context thrown in when there clearly seems to be little known of day-day events in his unit

Which character – as performed by Fred Sanders – was your favorite?

BG Felix Sparks of course

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The helplessness Sparks must have felt when MG Frederick refused to allow his BN to get re-positioned in the Vosges resulting days later in the destruction of his BN....one imagines one would wonder in retrospect whether another approach to the issue at hand could have yielded another outcome

Any additional comments?

The narration on this book is excellent even though not by the author. So any shortcomings lay at the author's feet. Kershaw does yeoman service in the book by highlighting the sort of (horrific) war the 45th division had in WWII.
The one shortcoming in the book is that it lacks insight into WHY decisions were made which adversely impacted Sparks' soldiers...that would have value to future leaders in learning from the challenges faced as described in the book. The book gives you what happened but not insight into as much insight as to why from Sparks' perspective . That said, this book is one which I'll never forget and I highly recommend.

Riveting

An absolutely great book. I could not put it down. A great tale of how an ordinary man was able to survive 500 days in hell. And at the end of the day it was his men whom he cared about the most. I highly recommend

The Liberator

Spellbinding from the very beginning! Should be required reading for all high schoolers, whose knowledge about the war is abysmal! Such courage is almost beyond comprehension!

America's equired reading

This should be required reading for every American to help them better understand where we came from as a nation so that we might not so casually carry the freedom we enjoy.

Overall Great

Great overall book. Clearly read and a great story. Felix Sparks was one of the greatest generations.