-
Command
- The Politics of Military Operations from Korea to Ukraine
- Narrated by: Richard Burnip
- Length: 24 hrs and 16 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $23.24
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
Throughout history, the concept of command—as both a way to achieve objectives and as an assertion of authority—has been essential to military action and leadership. But, as Sir Lawrence Freedman shows, it is also deeply political.
Military command has been reconstructed and revolutionized since the Second World War by nuclear warfare, small-scale guerrilla land operations and cyber interference. Freedman takes a global perspective, systematically investigating its practice and politics since 1945 through a wide range of conflicts from the French Colonial Wars, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Bangladesh Liberation War to North Vietnam's Easter Offensive of 1972, the Falklands War, the Iraq War and Russia's wars in Chechnya and Ukraine. By highlighting the political nature of strategy, Freedman shows that military decision-making cannot be separated from civilian priorities and that commanders must now have the sensibility to navigate politics as well as warfare.
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Strategy
- A History
- By: Lawrence Freedman
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 32 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Strategy: A History, Sir Lawrence Freedman, one of the world's leading authorities on war and international politics, captures the vast history of strategic thinking, in a consistently engaging and insightful account of how strategy came to pervade every aspect of our lives.
-
-
Comprehensive 'Tour de Force' on Strategy
- By Logical Paradox on 07-20-14
-
The Origins of Victory
- How Disruptive Military Innovation Determines the Fates of Great Powers
- By: Andrew F. Krepinevich Jr
- Narrated by: Adam Barr
- Length: 20 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This book by military strategist Andrew F. Krepinevich, Jr., is the definitive take on the race for military dominance in the twenty-first century. It shows how militaries that successfully pursue disruptive innovation can gain a major advantage over their rivals, while those that fail to do so risk exposing their countries to great danger.
-
-
Interesting listen
- By Gerry on 11-11-23
-
Ukraine and the Art of Strategy
- By: Lawrence Freedman
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 5 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014, subsequent war in Eastern Ukraine, and economic sanctions imposed by the West transformed European politics. The conflict did not escalate to the levels originally feared but nor was either side able to bring it to a definitive conclusion. Ukraine suffered a loss of territory but was not forced into changing its policies away from the Westward course adopted as a result of the EuroMaidan uprising of February 2014. President Putin was left supporting a separatist enclave as Russia's economy suffered significant damage.
-
-
Essential Outline of Ukraine By Master Strategist
- By Theo Horesh on 06-14-22
-
The Future of War
- A History
- By: Lawrence Freedman
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 12 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Future of War - which covers civil wars to as yet unknown nuclear conflicts, proxy wars (real) to the Cold War (not), fashionably small wars to the War to End All Wars (it didn't) - is filled with insight and fascinating nuggets of military history and culture from one of the most brilliant military and strategic historians of his generation.
-
-
A good historical review of the progression of war
- By Ian R. Graham on 06-14-18
-
Putin's Wars
- From Chechnya to Ukraine
- By: Mark Galeotti
- Narrated by: David Sibley
- Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Putin's Wars is a timely overview of the conflicts in which Russia has been involved since Vladimir Putin became prime minister and then president of Russia, from the First Chechen War to the two military incursions into Georgia, the annexation of Crimea and the eventual invasion of Ukraine itself. But it also looks more broadly at Putin's recreation of Russian military power and its expansion to include a range of new capabilities, from mercenaries to operatives in a relentless information war against Western powers.
-
-
Botched Attempt on Russian Stress
- By Alexey B. on 12-20-22
By: Mark Galeotti
-
On Operations
- Operational Art and Military Disciplines
- By: B. A. Friedman
- Narrated by: Derek Dysart
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On Operations: Operational Art and Military Disciplines traces the history of the development of military staffs and ideas on the operational level of war and operational art from the Napoleonic Wars to today, viewed through the lens of Prussia/Germany, the Soviet Union, and the United States. B. A. Friedman concludes that the operational level of war should be rejected, but that operational art is an accurate description of the activities of the military staff, an organization developed to provide the brainpower necessary to manage the complexity of modern military operations.
By: B. A. Friedman
-
Strategy
- A History
- By: Lawrence Freedman
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 32 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Strategy: A History, Sir Lawrence Freedman, one of the world's leading authorities on war and international politics, captures the vast history of strategic thinking, in a consistently engaging and insightful account of how strategy came to pervade every aspect of our lives.
-
-
Comprehensive 'Tour de Force' on Strategy
- By Logical Paradox on 07-20-14
-
The Origins of Victory
- How Disruptive Military Innovation Determines the Fates of Great Powers
- By: Andrew F. Krepinevich Jr
- Narrated by: Adam Barr
- Length: 20 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This book by military strategist Andrew F. Krepinevich, Jr., is the definitive take on the race for military dominance in the twenty-first century. It shows how militaries that successfully pursue disruptive innovation can gain a major advantage over their rivals, while those that fail to do so risk exposing their countries to great danger.
-
-
Interesting listen
- By Gerry on 11-11-23
-
Ukraine and the Art of Strategy
- By: Lawrence Freedman
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 5 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014, subsequent war in Eastern Ukraine, and economic sanctions imposed by the West transformed European politics. The conflict did not escalate to the levels originally feared but nor was either side able to bring it to a definitive conclusion. Ukraine suffered a loss of territory but was not forced into changing its policies away from the Westward course adopted as a result of the EuroMaidan uprising of February 2014. President Putin was left supporting a separatist enclave as Russia's economy suffered significant damage.
-
-
Essential Outline of Ukraine By Master Strategist
- By Theo Horesh on 06-14-22
-
The Future of War
- A History
- By: Lawrence Freedman
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 12 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Future of War - which covers civil wars to as yet unknown nuclear conflicts, proxy wars (real) to the Cold War (not), fashionably small wars to the War to End All Wars (it didn't) - is filled with insight and fascinating nuggets of military history and culture from one of the most brilliant military and strategic historians of his generation.
-
-
A good historical review of the progression of war
- By Ian R. Graham on 06-14-18
-
Putin's Wars
- From Chechnya to Ukraine
- By: Mark Galeotti
- Narrated by: David Sibley
- Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Putin's Wars is a timely overview of the conflicts in which Russia has been involved since Vladimir Putin became prime minister and then president of Russia, from the First Chechen War to the two military incursions into Georgia, the annexation of Crimea and the eventual invasion of Ukraine itself. But it also looks more broadly at Putin's recreation of Russian military power and its expansion to include a range of new capabilities, from mercenaries to operatives in a relentless information war against Western powers.
-
-
Botched Attempt on Russian Stress
- By Alexey B. on 12-20-22
By: Mark Galeotti
-
On Operations
- Operational Art and Military Disciplines
- By: B. A. Friedman
- Narrated by: Derek Dysart
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On Operations: Operational Art and Military Disciplines traces the history of the development of military staffs and ideas on the operational level of war and operational art from the Napoleonic Wars to today, viewed through the lens of Prussia/Germany, the Soviet Union, and the United States. B. A. Friedman concludes that the operational level of war should be rejected, but that operational art is an accurate description of the activities of the military staff, an organization developed to provide the brainpower necessary to manage the complexity of modern military operations.
By: B. A. Friedman
-
Conflict
- The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine
- By: David Petraeus, Andrew Roberts
- Narrated by: David Petraeus, Robert Fass
- Length: 18 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two leading authorities—an acclaimed historian and the outstanding battlefield commander and strategist of our time—collaborate on a landmark examination of war since 1945. Conflict is both a sweeping history of the evolution of warfare up to Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine, and a penetrating analysis of what we must learn from the past—and anticipate in the future—in order to navigate an increasingly perilous world.
-
-
The Story of My Life
- By Nice guy on 03-06-24
By: David Petraeus, and others
-
China as a Twenty-First-Century Naval Power
- Theory Practice and Implications
- By: Michael A. McDevitt
- Narrated by: Ian Putnam
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Xi Jinping has made his ambitions for the People's Liberation Army (PLA) perfectly clear, first, that China should become a "great maritime power" and secondly, that the PLA "become a world-class armed force by 2050." China as a Twenty-First-Century Naval Power focuses on China's navy and how it is being transformed to satisfy the "world class" goal.
-
-
Excellent, well-organized overview
- By WLC on 05-27-23
-
White Sun War
- The Campaign for Taiwan
- By: Mick Ryan
- Narrated by: Joshua Saxon
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After decades of poising on the brink, the United States and China finally go to war when China invades the island of Taiwan. Deploying their most futuristic technologies in this grand strategic competition of the twenty-first century, the stakes could not be higher. Not only the future of the Taiwanese people but the fate of the world lies in the balance. In an era when humans no longer just use machines, but partner with them in all aspects of military operations, this fictional account views this future war through the eyes of the American, Chinese, and Taiwanese caught up in the maelstrom.
-
-
Like a Clancy Novel w/50% of the Research
- By Mike on 06-22-24
By: Mick Ryan
-
War Transformed
- The Future of Twenty-First-Century Great Power Competition and Conflict
- By: Mick Ryan
- Narrated by: Grant Cartwright
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
War Transformed provides insights for those involved in the design of military strategy, and the forces that must execute that strategy. Emphasizing the impacts of technology, strategic competition, demography, and climate change, Mick Ryan uses historical and contemporary anecdotes to highlight key challenges faced by nations in a new era of great power rivalry. Just as previous industrial revolutions have advanced societies, the nascent fourth industrial revolution will have a similar impact on how humans fight, compete, and build military power in the twenty-first century.
-
-
Good but is quickly becoming dated
- By howiepalms on 06-12-23
By: Mick Ryan
-
Chip War
- The Quest to Dominate the World's Most Critical Technology
- By: Chris Miller
- Narrated by: Stephen Graybill
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
You may be surprised to learn that microchips are the new oil—the scarce resource on which the modern world depends. Today, military, economic, and geopolitical power are built on a foundation of computer chips. Virtually everything—from missiles to microwaves—runs on chips, including cars, smartphones, the stock market, even the electric grid. Until recently, America designed and built the fastest chips and maintained its lead as the #1 superpower, but America’s edge is in danger of slipping, undermined by players in Taiwan, Korea, and Europe taking over manufacturing.
-
-
Great history, but could poor narration
- By Lily Wong on 10-26-22
By: Chris Miller
-
The Twilight Struggle
- What the Cold War Teaches Us About Great-Power Rivalry Today
- By: Hal Brands
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 13 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The United States is entering an era of great-power competition with China and Russia. Such global struggles happen in a geopolitical twilight, between the sunshine of peace and the darkness of war. In this innovative and illuminating book, Hal Brands, a leading historian and former Pentagon adviser, argues that America should look to the history of the Cold War for lessons in how to succeed in great-power rivalry today.
-
-
one word
- By Stormchaser on 12-06-23
By: Hal Brands
-
Call Sign Chaos
- Learning to Lead
- By: Jim Mattis, Bing West
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Call Sign Chaos is the account of Jim Mattis’ storied career, from wide-ranging leadership roles in three wars to ultimately commanding a quarter of a million troops across the Middle East. Along the way, Mattis recounts his foundational experiences as a leader, extracting the lessons he has learned about the nature of warfighting and peacemaking, the importance of allies, and the strategic dilemmas - and short-sighted thinking - now facing our nation.
-
-
A pleasant surprise
- By Fountain of Chris on 09-06-19
By: Jim Mattis, and others
-
On Grand Strategy
- By: John Lewis Gaddis
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For over 20 years, a select group of Yale undergraduates has been admitted into the year-long "Grand Strategy" seminar team-taught by John Lewis Gaddis and Paul Kennedy. Its purpose: to provide a grounding in strategic decision-making in the face of crisis to prepare future American leaders for important work. Now, John Lewis Gaddis has transposed the experience of that course into a wonderfully succinct, lucid and inspirational book, a view from the commanding heights of statesmanship across the landscape of world history from the ancient Greeks to Lincoln, and beyond.
-
-
Interesting, but fails to offer real lessons.
- By Zack on 07-04-18
-
The Weaponisation of Everything
- A Field Guide to the New Way of War
- By: Mark Galeotti
- Narrated by: Mark Galeotti
- Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hybrid war, grey-zone warfare, unrestricted war: Today, traditional conflict - fought with guns, bombs, and drones - has become too expensive to wage, too unpopular at home, and too difficult to manage. In an age when America threatens Europe with sanctions, and when China spends billions buying influence abroad, the world is heading for a new era of permanent low-level conflict, often unnoticed, undeclared, and unending.
-
-
Clear, concise, and thought provoking
- By Dad / Husband (who rarely reviews) on 03-08-22
By: Mark Galeotti
-
Iron and Blood
- A Military History of the German-Speaking Peoples Since 1500
- By: Peter H. Wilson
- Narrated by: Rory Alexander
- Length: 34 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
German military history is typically viewed as an inexorable march to the rise of Prussia and the two world wars, the road paved by militarism and the result a specifically German way of war. Peter Wilson challenges this narrative. Looking beyond Prussia to German-speaking Europe across the last five centuries, Wilson finds little unique or preordained in German militarism or warfighting. Iron and Blood takes as its starting point the consolidation of the Holy Roman Empire, which created new mechanisms for raising troops but also for resolving disputes diplomatically.
-
-
Awesome
- By Will Georgiadis on 04-11-23
By: Peter H. Wilson
-
Danger Zone
- The Coming Conflict with China
- By: Hal Brands, Michael Beckley
- Narrated by: Nancy Wu
- Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Sino-American contest is driven by clashing geopolitical interests and a stark ideological dispute over whether authoritarianism or democracy will dominate the twenty-first century. But both history and China's current trajectory suggest that this rivalry will reach its moment of maximum danger in the 2020s. The Chinese challenge will most likely prove more manageable than many pessimists currently believe—but during the 2020s, the pace of Sino-American conflict will accelerate, and the prospect of war will be frighteningly real.
-
-
Quality control issues
- By Rock Island on 09-17-22
By: Hal Brands, and others
-
The Strategy of Denial
- American Defense in an Age of Great Power Conflict
- By: Elbridge A. Colby
- Narrated by: Mike Lenz
- Length: 13 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Elbridge A. Colby was the lead architect of the 2018 National Defense Strategy, the most significant revision of US defense strategy in a generation. Here he lays out how America's defense must change to address China's growing power and ambition. Based firmly in the realist tradition but deeply engaged in current policy, this book offers a clear framework for what America's goals in confronting China must be, how its military strategy must change, and how it must prioritize these goals over its lesser interests.
-
-
A Rational Liberalist Approach in a Realists World
- By Joshua Carroll on 06-23-23
Related to this topic
-
Putin's Wars
- From Chechnya to Ukraine
- By: Mark Galeotti
- Narrated by: David Sibley
- Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Putin's Wars is a timely overview of the conflicts in which Russia has been involved since Vladimir Putin became prime minister and then president of Russia, from the First Chechen War to the two military incursions into Georgia, the annexation of Crimea and the eventual invasion of Ukraine itself. But it also looks more broadly at Putin's recreation of Russian military power and its expansion to include a range of new capabilities, from mercenaries to operatives in a relentless information war against Western powers.
-
-
Botched Attempt on Russian Stress
- By Alexey B. on 12-20-22
By: Mark Galeotti
-
Storm Clouds over the Pacific, 1931-1941
- War in the Far East Series, Book 1
- By: Peter Harmsen
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Storm Clouds over the Pacific begins the story long before Pearl Harbor, showing how the war can only be understood if ancient hatreds and long-standing geopolitics are taken into account. Harmsen demonstrates how Japan and China's ancient enmity led to increased tensions in the 1930s, which, in turn, exploded into conflict in 1937.
-
-
Interesting Story
- By Coach Mark on 03-25-23
By: Peter Harmsen
-
When France Fell
- The Vichy Crisis and the Fate of the Anglo-American Alliance
- By: Michael S. Neiberg
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
According to US Secretary of War Henry Stimson, the "most shocking single event" of World War II was not the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, but rather the fall of France in spring 1940. Michael Neiberg offers a dramatic history of the American response - a policy marked by panic and moral ineptitude, which placed the United States in league with fascism and nearly ruined the alliance with Britain.
-
-
Proceeds from a faulty premise
- By Buretto on 12-11-21
-
America's War for the Greater Middle East
- A Military History
- By: Andrew J. Bacevich
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro, Andrew J. Bacevich
- Length: 15 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the end of World War II until 1980, virtually no American soldiers were killed in action while serving in the Greater Middle East. Since 1990, virtually no American soldiers have been killed in action anywhere else. What caused this shift? Andrew J. Bacevich, one of the country's most respected voices on foreign affairs, offers an incisive critical history of this ongoing military enterprise - now more than 30 years old and with no end in sight.
-
-
A Key to Understanding the US Need for Perp. War
- By Darwin8u on 05-01-16
-
How Wars End
- Why We Always Fight the Last Battle
- By: Gideon Rose
- Narrated by: Gideon Rose
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1991, the United States Army trounced the Iraqi army in battle only to stumble blindly into postwar turmoil. Then in 2003 the United States did it again. How could this happen? How could the strongest power in modern history fight two wars against the same opponent in just over a decade, win lightning victories both times, and yet still be woefully unprepared for the aftermath? Because Americans always forget the political aspects of war.
-
-
Excellent book
- By Luis on 11-04-10
By: Gideon Rose
-
Embers of War
- The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America's Vietnam
- By: Fredrik Logevall
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 32 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this landmark work that will forever change your understanding of how and why America went to war in Vietnam, author Fredrik Logevall taps newly accessible diplomatic archives in several nations and traces the path that led two Western nations to tragically lose their way in the jungles of Southeast Asia. He brings to life the bloodiest battles of France’s final years in Indochina - and describes how, from an early point, a succession of American leaders made disastrous policy choices that put America on its own collision course with history.
-
-
Understanding Why We failed the People of Vietnam
- By VA on 03-22-21
By: Fredrik Logevall
-
Putin's Wars
- From Chechnya to Ukraine
- By: Mark Galeotti
- Narrated by: David Sibley
- Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Putin's Wars is a timely overview of the conflicts in which Russia has been involved since Vladimir Putin became prime minister and then president of Russia, from the First Chechen War to the two military incursions into Georgia, the annexation of Crimea and the eventual invasion of Ukraine itself. But it also looks more broadly at Putin's recreation of Russian military power and its expansion to include a range of new capabilities, from mercenaries to operatives in a relentless information war against Western powers.
-
-
Botched Attempt on Russian Stress
- By Alexey B. on 12-20-22
By: Mark Galeotti
-
Storm Clouds over the Pacific, 1931-1941
- War in the Far East Series, Book 1
- By: Peter Harmsen
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Storm Clouds over the Pacific begins the story long before Pearl Harbor, showing how the war can only be understood if ancient hatreds and long-standing geopolitics are taken into account. Harmsen demonstrates how Japan and China's ancient enmity led to increased tensions in the 1930s, which, in turn, exploded into conflict in 1937.
-
-
Interesting Story
- By Coach Mark on 03-25-23
By: Peter Harmsen
-
When France Fell
- The Vichy Crisis and the Fate of the Anglo-American Alliance
- By: Michael S. Neiberg
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
According to US Secretary of War Henry Stimson, the "most shocking single event" of World War II was not the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, but rather the fall of France in spring 1940. Michael Neiberg offers a dramatic history of the American response - a policy marked by panic and moral ineptitude, which placed the United States in league with fascism and nearly ruined the alliance with Britain.
-
-
Proceeds from a faulty premise
- By Buretto on 12-11-21
-
America's War for the Greater Middle East
- A Military History
- By: Andrew J. Bacevich
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro, Andrew J. Bacevich
- Length: 15 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the end of World War II until 1980, virtually no American soldiers were killed in action while serving in the Greater Middle East. Since 1990, virtually no American soldiers have been killed in action anywhere else. What caused this shift? Andrew J. Bacevich, one of the country's most respected voices on foreign affairs, offers an incisive critical history of this ongoing military enterprise - now more than 30 years old and with no end in sight.
-
-
A Key to Understanding the US Need for Perp. War
- By Darwin8u on 05-01-16
-
How Wars End
- Why We Always Fight the Last Battle
- By: Gideon Rose
- Narrated by: Gideon Rose
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1991, the United States Army trounced the Iraqi army in battle only to stumble blindly into postwar turmoil. Then in 2003 the United States did it again. How could this happen? How could the strongest power in modern history fight two wars against the same opponent in just over a decade, win lightning victories both times, and yet still be woefully unprepared for the aftermath? Because Americans always forget the political aspects of war.
-
-
Excellent book
- By Luis on 11-04-10
By: Gideon Rose
-
Embers of War
- The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America's Vietnam
- By: Fredrik Logevall
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 32 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this landmark work that will forever change your understanding of how and why America went to war in Vietnam, author Fredrik Logevall taps newly accessible diplomatic archives in several nations and traces the path that led two Western nations to tragically lose their way in the jungles of Southeast Asia. He brings to life the bloodiest battles of France’s final years in Indochina - and describes how, from an early point, a succession of American leaders made disastrous policy choices that put America on its own collision course with history.
-
-
Understanding Why We failed the People of Vietnam
- By VA on 03-22-21
By: Fredrik Logevall
-
A Better War
- The Unexamined Victories and Final Tragedy of America's Last Years in Vietnam
- By: Lewis Sorley
- Narrated by: Basil Sands
- Length: 13 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Neglected by scholars and journalists alike, the years of conflict in Vietnam from 1968 to 1975 offer surprises not only about how the war was fought, but about what was achieved. Drawing on authoritative materials not previously available, including thousands of hours of tape-recorded allied councils of war, award-winning military historian Lewis Sorley has given us what has long been needed - an insightful, factual, and superbly documented history of these important years.
-
-
A thought-provoking history of the war 68-75
- By Rodney W. Schmisseur on 02-05-14
By: Lewis Sorley
-
1941: The Year Germany Lost the War
- By: Andrew Nagorski
- Narrated by: Michael David Axtell
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Best-selling historian Andrew Nagorski takes a fresh look at the decisive year 1941, when Hitler’s miscalculations and policy of terror propelled Churchill, FDR, and Stalin into a powerful new alliance that defeated Nazi Germany.
-
-
Interesting but problematic
- By Thor Olson on 06-14-19
By: Andrew Nagorski
-
Stilwell and the American Experience in China, 1911-45
- By: Barbara W. Tuchman
- Narrated by: Pam Ward
- Length: 29 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this Pulitzer Prize - winning biography, Barbara Tuchman explores American relations with China through the experiences of one of our men on the ground. In the cantankerous but level-headed "Vinegar Joe", Tuchman found a subject who allowed her to perform, in the words of the National Review, "one of the historian's most envied magic acts: conjoining a fine biography of a man with a fascinating epic story."
-
-
A period that directly affected our world today
- By Charlotte on 08-29-12
-
Gambling with Armageddon
- Nuclear Roulette from Hiroshima to the Cuban Missile Crisis
- By: Martin J. Sherwin
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 18 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this groundbreaking look at the Cuban Missile Crisis, Martin Sherwin not only gives us a riveting sometimes hour-by-hour explanation of the crisis itself, but also explores the origins, scope, and consequences of the evolving place of nuclear weapons in the post-World War II world. Mining new sources and materials, and going far beyond the scope of earlier works on this critical face-off between the United States and the Soviet Union — triggered when Khrushchev began installing missiles in Cuba at Castro's behest....
-
-
Important History
- By J. B. Evans on 06-12-21
-
Surge
- My Journey with General David Petraeus and the Remaking of the Iraq War
- By: Peter R. Mansoor, General David Petraeus - foreword
- Narrated by: Mark Boyett
- Length: 17 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Surge is an insider's view of the most decisive phase of the Iraq War. Using newly declassified documents, unpublished manuscripts, interviews, author notes, and published sources, Surge explains how President George W. Bush, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Ambassador Crocker, General Petraeus, and other U.S. and Iraqi political and military leaders shaped the surge from the center of the maelstrom in Baghdad and Washington.
-
-
Helpful for the Army War College
- By BBP on 02-24-18
By: Peter R. Mansoor, and others
-
Before the First Shots Are Fired
- How America Can Win or Lose Off the Battlefield
- By: Tony Koltz, Tony Zinni
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For the better part of the last half century, the United States has been the world's police, claiming to defend ideologies, allies, and our national security through brute force. But is military action always the most appropriate response? Drawing on his vast experience, retired four-star general Tony Zinni argues that we have a lot of work to do to make the process of going to war-or not-more clear-eyed and ultimately successful.
-
-
A must read for leaders
- By Ted on 06-17-22
By: Tony Koltz, and others
-
Call Sign Chaos
- Learning to Lead
- By: Jim Mattis, Bing West
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Call Sign Chaos is the account of Jim Mattis’ storied career, from wide-ranging leadership roles in three wars to ultimately commanding a quarter of a million troops across the Middle East. Along the way, Mattis recounts his foundational experiences as a leader, extracting the lessons he has learned about the nature of warfighting and peacemaking, the importance of allies, and the strategic dilemmas - and short-sighted thinking - now facing our nation.
-
-
A pleasant surprise
- By Fountain of Chris on 09-06-19
By: Jim Mattis, and others
-
The Endgame
- The Inside Story of the Struggle for Iraq, from George W. Bush to Barack Obama
- By: Michael R. Gordon, Bernard E. Trainor
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 32 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Endgame is Michael R. Gordon and General Bernard E. Trainor's most ambitious and news-breaking book to date. A peerless work of investigative journalism and historical recreation ranging from 2003 to 2012, it gives us the first comprehensive, inside account of arguably the most widely reported yet least understood war in American history - from the occupation of Iraq to the withdrawal of American troops.
-
-
Interesting Perspective, but One-Sided
- By Benjamin on 02-09-14
By: Michael R. Gordon, and others
-
The Iraq War
- By: John Keegan
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
A Solid, Quick Overview
- By Charles on 12-08-04
By: John Keegan
-
HITLER: 1936-1945 Nemesis
- By: Ian Kershaw
- Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 38 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As Nemesis opens, Adolf Hitler has achieved absolute power within Germany and triumphed in his first challenge to the European powers. Idolized by large segments of the population and firmly supported by the Nazi regime, Hitler is poised to subjugate Europe. Nine years later, his vaunted war machine destroyed, Allied forces sweeping across Germany, Hitler will end his life with a pistol shot to his head.
-
-
Well worn ground
- By Mike From Mesa on 04-06-14
By: Ian Kershaw
-
Nuclear Folly
- A History of the Cuban Missile Crisis
- By: Serhii Plokhy
- Narrated by: Keith Sellon-Wright
- Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nearly 30 years after the end of the Cold War, today's world leaders are abandoning disarmament treaties, building up their nuclear arsenals, and exchanging threats of nuclear strikes. To survive this new atomic age, we must relearn the lessons of the most dangerous moment of the Cold War: the Cuban missile crisis. Serhii Plokhy offers an international perspective on the crisis, tracing the tortuous decision-making that produced and then resolved it, which involved John Kennedy and his advisers, Nikita Khrushchev and Fidel Castro, and their commanders on the ground.
-
-
A Must Read
- By Robert from Brookline on 08-22-21
By: Serhii Plokhy
-
Supreme Command
- Soldiers, Statesmen, and Leadership in Wartime
- By: Eliot A. Cohen
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The relationship between military leaders and political leaders has always been a complicated one, especially in times of war. When the chips are down, who should run the show, the politicians or the generals? In Supreme Command, Eliot Cohen examines four great democratic war statesmen - Abraham Lincoln, Georges Clemenceau, Winston Churchill, and David Ben-Gurion - to reveal the surprising answer - the politicians. The generals may think they know how to win, but the statesmen are the ones who see the big picture.
-
-
Dated material
- By Charlotte R. Shover on 11-21-20
By: Eliot A. Cohen