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No Simple Victory
- World War II in Europe, 1939-1945
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 20 hrs and 35 mins
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Publisher's summary
In detailing the clash of political philosophies that drove the war's savage engine, Davies also examines how factors as diverse as technology, economics, and morale played dynamic roles in shaping battles, along with the unsung yet vital help of Poland, Greece, and Ukraine (which suffered the highest number of casualties). And while the Allies resorted to bombing enemy civilians to sow terror, the most damning condemnation is saved for the Soviet Union, whose glossed-over war crimes against British soldiers and its own people prove that Communism and Nazism were two sides of the same brutal coin.
No Simple Victory is an unparalleled work that will fascinate not only history buffs but anyone who is interested in discovering the reality behind what Davies refers to as "the frozen perspective of the winners' history".
Critic reviews
"This is a self-consciously contrary book, cutting against the grain of much self-congratulatory Western writing since 1945." (London Sunday Telegraph)
"Davies' topical approach judiciously surveys the military, economic and political aspects of the war....His interpretations rest on solid scholarly work." (Publishers Weekly)
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Thorough and scholarly
- By Mary A. on 03-23-18
By: Ben H. Shepherd
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The Vanquished
- Why the First World War Failed to End
- By: Robert Gerwarth
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Vanquished, a highly original and gripping work of history, Robert Gerwarth asks us to think again about the true legacy of the First World War. In large part it was not the fighting on the Western Front that proved so ruinous to Europe's future but the devastating aftermath, as countries on both sides of the original conflict were savaged by revolutions, pogroms, mass expulsions, and further major military clashes.
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little-known period following WWI is illuminated
- By John on 02-16-17
By: Robert Gerwarth
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History of Germany
- A Captivating Guide to German History, Starting from 1871 through the First World War, Weimar Republic, and World War II to the Present
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Jason Zenobia
- Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Germany is one of the richest and most influential countries in the world, which is amazing when you consider that the nation is only about the size of the US states of Oregon and Washington combined. It’s even more astounding when you consider that at the end of World War II, every major German city (and many minor ones) had been flattened by the Allied bombing campaign. Still more amazing is that the country has gone from international pariah and home of the Holocaust to one of the most well-regarded and humanitarian nations on Earth.
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Concise
- By J Stewart on 04-09-24
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Pandora’s Box
- A History of the First World War
- By: Jorn Leonhard, Patrick Camiller - translator
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 39 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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In this monumental history of the First World War, Germany's leading historian of the 20th century's first great catastrophe explains the war's origins, course, and consequences. With an unrivaled combination of depth and global reach, Pandora's Box reveals how profoundly the war shaped the world to come. Jörn Leonhard treats the clash of arms with a sure feel for grand strategy, the everyday tactics of dynamic movement and slow attrition, the race for ever more destructive technologies, and the grim experiences of frontline soldiers.
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Excellent reading of a complex book
- By chris on 02-26-19
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A Savage War of Peace
- Algeria 1954-1962
- By: Alistair Horne
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 29 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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The Algerian War lasted from 1954 to 1962. It caused the fall of six French governments, led to the collapse of the Fourth Republic, and came close to provoking a civil war on French soil. More than a million Muslim Algerians died in the conflict, and as many European settlers were driven into exile. From the perspective of half a century, it looks less like the last colonial war than the first postmodern one.
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Excellent history of France's Viet Nam
- By David on 04-10-16
By: Alistair Horne
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The Iraq War
- By: John Keegan
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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John Keegan, whom the New York Review of Books calls "the best historian of our day", now brings his extraordinary expertise to bear on perhaps the most controversial war of our time. In exclusive interviews with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and General Tommy Franks, John Keegan has gathered information about the war that adds immeasurably to our grasp of its causes, complications, costs, and consequences.
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A Solid, Quick Overview
- By Charles on 12-08-04
By: John Keegan
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Deathride
- Hitler vs. Stalin: The Eastern Front, 1941-1945
- By: John Mosier
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 12 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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John Mosier presents a revisionist retelling of the war on the Eastern Front. The conventional wisdom is that Hitler was mad to think he could defeat the USSR, because of its vast size and population, and that the Battle of Stalingrad marked the turning point of the war. Neither statement is accurate, says Mosier; Hitler came very close to winning outright.
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Speaking the un-speakable
- By Jonathan Gardner on 09-27-10
By: John Mosier
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Army of Evil
- A History of the SS
- By: Adrian Weale
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 14 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In Nazi Germany, they were called the Schutzstaffel. The world would know them as the dreaded SS - the most loyal and ruthless enforcers of the Third Reich...It began as a small squad of political thugs. Yet by the end of 1935, the SS had taken control of all police and internal security duties in Germany - ranging from local village "gendarmes" all they way up to the secret political police and the Gestapo.
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Got lost in the details.
- By Alan on 11-28-12
By: Adrian Weale
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The Phoney Victory
- The World War II Illusion
- By: Peter Hitchens
- Narrated by: Peter Hitchens
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Was World War II really the 'Good War'? In the years since the declaration of peace in 1945, many myths have sprung up around the conflict in the victorious nations. In this audiobook, Peter Hitchens deconstructs the many fables which have become associated with the narrative of the 'Good War'. Whilst not criticising or doubting the need for war against Nazi Germany at some stage, Hitchens does query whether September 1939 was the right moment or the independence of Poland the right issue.
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Interesting but depressing story
- By casey urey on 03-16-19
By: Peter Hitchens
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Good if you know what you're getting
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needs a good editor.
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Outstanding
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needs a good editor.
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Big Ups to Prof. Showalter and Audible
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Engrossing
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Great book, annoying narrator
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each book is better than the first. your writing is genius
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Army of Evil
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Got lost in the details.
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Had to return because of narration
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In life and in his grisly family suicide, Goebbels was one of Hitler's most loyal acolytes. Though powerful in the party and in wartime Germany, Longerich's Goebbels is a man dogged by insecurities and consumed by his fierce adherence to the Nazi cause. Longerich engages and challenges the careful self-portrait that Goebbels left behind in his diaries, and, as he delves deep into the mind of Hitler's master propagandist, Longerich discovers firsthand how the Nazi message was conceived. This complete portrait of the man behind the message is sure to become a standard for historians and students of the Holocaust for years to come.
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Excellent Account of the Private Goebbels, But...
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The Third Reich at War
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Evans interweaves a broad narrative of the war’s progress with viscerally affecting personal testimony from a wide range of people - from generals to front-line soldiers, from Hitler Youth activists to middle-class housewives. The Third Reich at War lays bare the dynamics of a nation more deeply immersed in war than any society before or since. Fresh insights into the conflict’s great events are here, from the invasion of Poland to the Battle of Stalingrad to Hitler’s suicide in the bunker.
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Masterful
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Lenin, Stalin, and Hitler
- The Age of Social Catastrophe
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- Length: 26 hrs and 5 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In Lenin, Stalin, and Hitler, acclaimed historian Robert Gellately focuses on the dominant powers of the time, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, but also analyzes the catastrophe of those years in an effort to uncover its political and ideological nature.
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Incredible research as important now as then
- By Jason on 12-30-21
By: Robert Gellately
What listeners say about No Simple Victory
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Ricky
- 12-28-15
History for those who think they know WW2 history
Would you listen to No Simple Victory again? Why?
A valuable addition to the written collection of WW2 history. Covers the causes and effects of the war from a myriad of perspectives, not otherwise commonly discussed.
Who was your favorite character and why?
NA
Which character – as performed by Simon Vance – was your favorite?
NA
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
NA
Any additional comments?
I have listened to the book twice and may listen to it again
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Performance
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- Stephen
- 10-30-13
Dry But Worth It.
If you could sum up No Simple Victory in three words, what would they be?
I didn't know!
Would you be willing to try another book from Norman Davies? Why or why not?
Yes - no stone left unturned in this book.
Have you listened to any of Simon Vance’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
no
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
Thanks for our todays
Any additional comments?
If you think you know WWII listen to this and then rethink
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- Frank
- 10-01-17
Somber and enlightening account of WW2
This book presents a sobering and enlightening account of the second World War in Europe. This review however has obvious limitations, I do not have the necessary formal training in the science of history to properly judge the ways in which the author has analyzed and interpreted information, but as a trained therapist I can see the painstaking attempts made by Norman Davis to address the subject from a perspective that is decidedly more balanced and less triunfalistic. This book will challenge the uninformed assumptions that are prevalent in most popular portrayals of the events during 1939-45. The authors emphasis on precision may be mildly annoying for some readers (i.e. he provides the birth and death dates of every single individual named on the book), but it makes further independent research into the topics far easier.
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- Arthur
- 09-21-14
Exhaustingly detailed. Very well written
I thought I knew a lot about the second world war, I grew up at a time when everyone's father or grandfather had served in the conflict, but No Simple Victory made me rethink things.
The author makes two points at the beginning of this book; one, that the history of the second world war as we know it was written at the war's end with little attention paid to recent discoveries; and two, that we should view it as a larger conflict that began in 1914 with the assassination of archduke Fredinand and ended in 1989 with the fall of the soviet union.
He also does not pull any punches when it come to assigning blame to those that deserve it.
I highly advise that you buy the matching Kindle book along with the Audible version (no I don't work for amazon); there is so much info (much of it new) that you will get lost without it.
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Overall
- Amazon Customer
- 11-28-10
Brilliantly narrated.
Although little in this volume can be described as revolutionary, there is a great deal of insightful commentary and fresh perspective. The central thesis of the book - that the war in Europe was won chiefly by the USSR ("Saving Private Ryan" notwithstanding), and that the USSR was, in some ways, as bad as the regime it defeated - is probably under-appreciated in the US, but the point does not seem particularly controversial.
Whatever the merits of the book may be, what made it incredibly enjoyable was, without a doubt, the voice of Simon Vance. The tone and tempo of his reading were perfect. The scorn dripping from his voice as he speaks of those treated too generously by history, in particular Stalin (the "monstah"), is nothing short of delicious.
Good book, narrated brilliantly.
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15 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Eunice
- 01-16-08
Looks at WWII in a different way!
This book was different from any other WWII history I've come across in a number of ways. First is the author's organization of information. Instead of taking a purely chronological approach, Mr. Davies broke out aspects of the war into categories such as geographical and political details, weaponry, generals, etc. Each category was a history in its own right, from its own viewpoint.
Another difference from other histories was his emphasis on the role and character of the Red Army and the USSR. Lots of food for thought, and a new perspective on world events which followed.
This is an excellent book...very informative, well narrated and easily listened to.
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8 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Respivar
- 07-29-11
Easy to listen, full of facts
Much of what is said in the book should by now be common knowledge - the barbarity of the Eastern Front and Stalin's and Hitler's crimes. On the other hand, the book is an easy listen and the writing is personal and witty. Simon Vance does an excellent job as a narrator. The organization of the book is somewhat disconcerting, as the author first offers a short synopsis of the war, mainly from the Eastern Front point of view, and then goes on to dissect several aspects of the conflict, sometimes in minute and often repetitive details. The book is full of facts and figures. I bought the paperback edition just for the notes and bibliography. On the other hand, I was bothered by small mistakes that cast doubt of the veracity of some of the sources. For example, Vlasov was hung with 11 others at the Lubyanka, not shot. The Amber Room was at Catherine's Palace at Tsarskoye Selo, not at Peterhof Palace. At any rate, I did enjoyed listening to the book and recommend it to others, in particular those who wish to have a more balanced view of the war.
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall
- GoTravel1385a
- 04-26-08
Could be better
I am bothered by the number of mistakes in the book. Whether this is in the book or is from the narrator, I don't know. Couple of examples:
1) when describing frigid Eastern front conditions, the narrator states that temperatures got down to 30 deg C (where's the 'minus'). One time, I'll forgive this but not multiple.
2) After a lengthy discourse about the 1 Sep invasion of Poland, the narrator says that Hitler gave the order on 31 July for the invasion to begin the next day....
I don't like sloppy books, this one is sloppy
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5 people found this helpful
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- Patrick J. Fitzgibbons
- 04-10-10
Well done
Overall a well done book. It jumped around a bit chronologically and it did contain the aforementioned temperature errors but I did not feel that it detracted from the book. It is not a narrative of the war but gives some perspective to the significance of the roles of the various combatants and some perspective that helps balance the home country centric view that you may have learned in school.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Matthew&Rebecca
- 09-29-11
Not your average coverage of WWII
This is not a history of the war in Europe. It is a study of multiple facets of WWII. The author attempts to take a very broad overview when looking at causes, factors, and fallout of the war. Very little attention is given to discussing battles.
One major theme is that what you know about the war is heavily biased and incomplete. It is asserted that Russia is greatly undervalued in its contribution to the war, and also overlooked when it comes to atrocities. The author goes out of his way to shed light on the evils of Stalin's regime. The case he makes is compelling.
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