Chris Hummel
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If You Survive
- From Normandy to the Battle of the Bulge to the End of World War II - One American Officer's Riveting True Story
- De: George Wilson
- Narrado por: Brian Keeler
- Duración: 8 h y 29 m
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George Wilson has garnered much acclaim for this shattering and enlightening memoir. Detailing his odyssey from July, 1944 until the following summer, If You Survive is a startling first-person account of the final year of World War II. Wilson was the only man from his original company to finish the war. As a Second Lieutenant, he went ashore at Utah Beach after the D-Day invasion amidst burned vehicles, sunken landing craft, and broken fortifications.
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the best story of the war in Europe I've read
- De David en 02-18-17
- If You Survive
- From Normandy to the Battle of the Bulge to the End of World War II - One American Officer's Riveting True Story
- De: George Wilson
- Narrado por: Brian Keeler
Honest, No Frills Account Still Holds Up
Revisado: 07-05-25
Wilson's straightforward, war-focused memoir of his experiences has rightly been praised. With dramatic but never overdone accounts of battles, wounds, and death, Wilson tells his story of a replacement officer serving in two different divisions after D-Day. He does an exceptional job showing the high casualties in his units, especially among officers, giving an especially chilling (in more ways than one) account of the terrible toll of the fighting in the Hurtgen Forest prior to the Battle of the Bulge. Wilson, still in his early 20s by the end of the war, shows the effect of nearly 8 months of almost unbroken frontline service on both his physical and mental well-being, ultimately resulting in his emergence of a different and often more forceful and confident human being. Given that this was written fairly early among the "last narratives" of frontline soldiers and officers (in the 1980s), it isn't surprising that it doesn't comment much on the long term emotional effects of the war on Wilson and he shows a middle of the road view on what is today called PTSD. While noting that some men never recovered from their war experiences and that each man has a breaking point past which they could not psychologically endure, he also states (and I think accurately and honestly in this case) that men sometimes used "combat fatigue" as an excuse to avoid frontline service. Company Commander would be a good book to read alongside this account. Highly recommended.
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Vengeance Is Mine
- The Mountain Meadows Massacre and Its Aftermath
- De: Richard E. Turley, Barbara Jones Brown
- Narrado por: T. Ryder Smith
- Duración: 17 h y 29 m
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Published in 2008, Massacre at Mountain Meadows was a bombshell of a book, revealing the story of one of the grimmest episodes in Latter-day Saint history, when settlers in southwestern Utah slaughtered more than 100 members of a California-bound wagon train in 1857. In this much-anticipated sequel, Richard E. Turley Jr. and Barbara Jones Brown examine the aftermath of this atrocity. Vengeance Is Mine documents southern Utah leaders’ attempts to cover up their crime by silencing witnesses and spreading lies.
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One of the best historical audible books ever
- De Tonuster en 08-18-23
- Vengeance Is Mine
- The Mountain Meadows Massacre and Its Aftermath
- De: Richard E. Turley, Barbara Jones Brown
- Narrado por: T. Ryder Smith
Detailed, But Not Boring, Assessment
Revisado: 06-19-25
Well sourced follow up to this controversial incident, it provides an adequate description of the massacre to set up what follows. Manages to make what might have been a painful discussion of the Massacre's political and legal fall out interesting, though the narrators often well done characterization can be a little over the top at times.
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The Nail in the Skull and Other Victorian Urban Legends
- De: Simon Young
- Narrado por: Jonathan Johns
- Duración: 7 h y 44 m
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In the last 50 years, folklorists have amassed an extraordinary corpus of contemporary legends including "the Choking Doberman," "the Eaten Ticket," and "the Vanishing Hitchhiker." But what about the urban legends of the past? These legends and tales have rarely been collected, and when they occasionally appear, they do so as ancestors or precursors of the urban legends of today, rather than as stories in their own right. In The Nail in the Skull and Other Victorian Urban Legends, Simon Young fills this gap for British folklore (and for the wider English-speaking world) of the 1800s.
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Fun, Fairly Light Listening
- De Chris Hummel en 06-19-25
Fun, Fairly Light Listening
Revisado: 06-19-25
Convincing proof, drawn largely from online newspapers, that "urban legends" are probably as old as civilization. If I have any real complaint, it might be that some incidents/legends are so short or seem to amount to running jokes more than full blown stories.
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Persians
- The Age of the Great Kings
- De: Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
- Narrado por: Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
- Duración: 18 h y 42 m
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The Achaemenid Persian kings ruled over the largest empire of antiquity, stretching from Libya to the steppes of Asia and from Ethiopia to Pakistan. In Persians, historian Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones tells the epic story of this dynasty and the world it ruled. Drawing on Iranian inscriptions, cuneiform tablets, art, and archaeology, he shows how the Achaemenid Persian Empire was the world’s first superpower—one built, despite its imperial ambition, on cooperation and tolerance. This is the definitive history of the Achaemenid dynasty and its legacies in modern-day Iran.
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Good History and Historiography
- De David A en 04-19-22
- Persians
- The Age of the Great Kings
- De: Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
- Narrado por: Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
Well-written Valuable History
Revisado: 05-22-25
A good knowledge of the Persians is vital to understanding ancient history. This is a great place to start. Based on careful research, good historical imagination (in the best sense), and realistic analysis, the author provides a corrective both to the Herodotan view that the Persians were oppressors determined to destroy Greek culture or an entirely peaceful and beneficial presence to their subject peoples. Very highly recommended.
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Europe Against the Jews
- 1880-1945
- De: Gotz Aly
- Narrado por: Sean Runnette
- Duración: 14 h y 41 m
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The Holocaust was perpetrated by the Germans, but it would not have been possible without the assistance of other countries. If we are to understand how and why the Holocaust happened, Götz Aly argues in this groundbreaking study, we must examine its prehistory throughout Europe. We must look at countries as far-flung as Romania and France, Russia and Greece, where, decades before the Nazis came to power, a deadly combination of envy, competition, nationalism, and social upheaval fueled a surge of anti-Semitism, creating the preconditions for the deportations and murder to come.
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this is on par with Bloodlands
- De Denis Chernyi en 02-24-21
- Europe Against the Jews
- 1880-1945
- De: Gotz Aly
- Narrado por: Sean Runnette
Highly Recommended
Revisado: 05-15-25
Aly's vital and challenging work successfully argues the connection between early German anti-semitic policies and the nationalist policies of various countries, political leaders, and parties. This includes population exchange policies, especially after WW1, and a growing anti-semitic emphasis generated by Jews' perceived economic and educational success, especially in Eastern European countries like Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, and Lithuania, but also visible in France and the Netherlands to some extent. Though never losing sight of Nazi Germany's responsibility for the Holocaust, Aly persuavily argues for coinciding goals of the much of the nationalist leadership and populist supporters of many of these nations in seeing the Jews excluded from the national circle of identity, if not outright eliminated. In some cases, this resulted in direct participation in the killings (notably in Romania and the Baltic States), in others, more or less voluntary assistance in locating, assembling and deporting Jews to their ultimate fate by extermination (as in Poland and France). Everywhere anti-semitism influenced local leaders and populations, Aly argues, this greatly assisted Nazi perpetrators, in contrast to the relatively few places (such as Denmark and parts of Italy, for example) where these sentiments did not exist in in powerful or popular circles. Aly further concludes that the rise of better educational opportunities and popularly elected governments actually provided new outlets for anti-semitism based on envy and resentment of Jewish (perceived) success or advantage. Democracy and dictatorship worked hand in hand in some cases to produce the Holocaust, with the obvious preconditions provided by war and social conflict. So too did Nazis often enroll or at least silence people and governments in occupied Europe by sharing the material and financial spoils of appropriating Jewish property and wealth. Once corrupted, few would speak out for the preservation of the Jews, also demonstrated in the often negative reception Jewish survivors received when they attempted to resettle in their pre-war homelands. A sobering and highly recommended work.
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The Vanquished
- Why the First World War Failed to End
- De: Robert Gerwarth
- Narrado por: Michael Page
- Duración: 10 h y 49 m
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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
- De John en 02-16-17
- The Vanquished
- Why the First World War Failed to End
- De: Robert Gerwarth
- Narrado por: Michael Page
Useful Review of an Underexamined Period
Revisado: 05-07-25
While those with a strong background in the Russian Revolution and the origins of Weimar Germany may be familiar with some of what the book covers, even those with broad knowledge of European history are likely to find something new to them here. The main focus is the pivotal period of 1917-1923, when remarkable numbers of new countries were formed, borders established, and often a surprising number of casualties were inflicted in little known conflicts. In addition to filling in the blanks of historical knowledge for many of us (from Finland to Turkey, from Romania to Greece), this work also points us toward the common impact of the Great War on (especially eastern) Europe's history and government. Though you will want to learn more about these countries, this is an excellent start.
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The Borgias
- Power and Depravity in Renaissance Italy
- De: Paul Strathern
- Narrado por: Julian Elfer
- Duración: 11 h y 12 m
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The Borgia family have become a byword for evil. Corruption, incest, ruthless megalomania, avarice, and vicious cruelty - all have been associated with their name. And yet, paradoxically, this family lived when the Renaissance was coming into its full flowering in Italy. Examples of infamy flourished alongside some of the finest art produced in western history.
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Gossip
- De Amazon Customer en 10-02-19
- The Borgias
- Power and Depravity in Renaissance Italy
- De: Paul Strathern
- Narrado por: Julian Elfer
Deep and Engaging
Revisado: 04-17-25
Fine work, as usual, by this author. Strathern's interesting, balanced, and un-sensationalized account of this famous/infamous family shines a spotlight on a fascinating era in Italian history. He places Machiavelli, Da Vinci, and other key figures successfully and seamlessly into his account and goes far to explain both the author of The Prince and later scholars' fascination with this daring and conniving would-be dynasty.
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The Battle for Isurava
- Fighting on the Kokoda Track in the Heart of the Owen Stanleys
- De: David W. Cameron
- Narrado por: Steve Shanahan
- Duración: 14 h y 56 m
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Within 24 hours of the Japanese invasion of Northern New Guinea at Gona in July 1942, the Australian militiamen of ‘B’ Company, 39th Battalion, spent four weeks fighting a delaying action against a crack Japanese force outnumbered by three to one. By mid-August, the rest of the battalion had arrived, and these men took up a position at Isurava, in the heart of the cloud-covered mountains and jungles of the Owen Stanley Range. The battle for Isurava would be the defining battle of the Kokoda Campaign and has rightfully been described as Australia’s Thermopylae.
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David Cameron continues to amaze
- De J.Brock en 02-17-23
- The Battle for Isurava
- Fighting on the Kokoda Track in the Heart of the Owen Stanleys
- De: David W. Cameron
- Narrado por: Steve Shanahan
Fine Account of Both Australians and Japanese
Revisado: 04-12-25
Cameron provides a solid, colorful, and detailed account about the Japanese and Australian fighting for New Guinea in 1942 incorporating, whenever possible, the perspectives of both armies. Drawing from official accounts, reports, and soldiers' letters and diaries, he brings to life and important story that most Americans know very little about--but should. While not sparing some discussion of Japanese atrocities, he does a good job of showing the Japanese troops as human beings who themselves suffered in the fighting and the uniquely challenging conditions of the time and region. If there is anything that might be missing for a reader unfamiliar with the Australian role and New Guinea's place in the Pacific War it would be a more general overview to provide more context to the less initiated. This seems mainly directed at an Australian audience with some preknowledge of these broader campaigns. Still, I would recommend this as a fine addition and general introduction to the Japanese-Australian conflict in the Pacific.
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The Rising Sun
- The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945
- De: John Toland
- Narrado por: Tom Weiner
- Duración: 41 h y 9 m
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This Pulitzer Prize-winning history of World War II chronicles the dramatic rise and fall of the Japanese empire, from the invasion of Manchuria and China to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Told from the Japanese perspective, The Rising Sun is, in the author’s words, "a factual saga of people caught up in the flood of the most overwhelming war of mankind, told as it happened - muddled, ennobling, disgraceful, frustrating, full of paradox."
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A political as well as military history
- De Mike From Mesa en 07-30-15
- The Rising Sun
- The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945
- De: John Toland
- Narrado por: Tom Weiner
A Classic Worth Reading
Revisado: 03-14-25
Toland's award-winning history of World War 2 from the Japanese perspective, first published in 1970, remains well worth reading for anyone truly interested in the war in Asia and the Pacific. Some terminology is a bit dated ("Oriental" is used a number of times), but Toland's overall approach provides meaningful insight into Japan at war. His major contribution, beyond a number of revelations that have become a standard part of the historical literature (such as the poor translations between countries that contributed to conflict) is to prevent the war at a personal level. From political and diplomatic leaders to individual soldiers and survivors of bombing, Toland reminds readers of the fact that Japanese were people of a very different culture from their opponents but still individuals who made both good and bad decisions. While pursuing accurately and matter of faculty, the author still brings the reader closer to sympathizing with the Japanese as a people confronted with a set of difficult realities. He doesn't ignore Japanese atrocities or failings, but doesn't demonize them either. While major areas of the historical record have been more closely analyzed and developed in recent decades, Toland provides a great introduction to these issues to the general reader, including thoughtful and moving looks at the consequences of Tokyo firebombings and Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
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The Wars of Reconstruction
- The Brief, Violent History of America's Most Progressive Era
- De: Douglas R. Egerton
- Narrado por: Eric Jason Martin
- Duración: 16 h y 4 m
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A groundbreaking new history, telling the stories of hundreds of African-American activists and officeholders who risked their lives for equality - in the face of murderous violence - in the years after the Civil War. By 1870, just five years after Confederate surrender and 13 years after the Dred Scott decision ruled blacks ineligible for citizenship, Congressional action had ended slavery and given the vote to black men. That same year, Hiram Revels and Joseph Hayne Rainey became the first African-American U.S. senator and congressman respectively.
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Atrocities
- De Tad Davis en 07-05-18
- The Wars of Reconstruction
- The Brief, Violent History of America's Most Progressive Era
- De: Douglas R. Egerton
- Narrado por: Eric Jason Martin
Solid Effort with Great Last Chapter
Revisado: 02-13-25
Being a historian who has read much about Reconstruction in the past few years, I find Egerton to have done a clear, solid, and straightforward job with the period. His set up of the last period of the war and (no surprise, given some of his other work) of the approach and importance of black Union troops and veterans is very strong and provides good context for his detailed discussed of what another author has called "the war after the war." His argument that the Johnson administration frittered away a major opportunity to remake the country is well taken (if not original), as is his formulation of the post 1865 era in the South as a continuing of war by other means with no clear endpoint before the mid 20th Century Civil Rights era. Perhaps the most useful part of the book is the final chapter, which carries Reconstruction forward into the 20th Century and has a discussion of both white and African-American authored history, drama, and filmmaking that taught me a lot. I had no idea Black film pioneer Oscar Michaud made a film in 1920 in response to Griffith's Birth of a Nation and similarly racist films. The book is well worth reading for either general readers or historians of the era. Highly recommended.
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