
Eighteen Days in October
The Yom Kippur War and How It Created the Modern Middle East
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Narrated by:
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Jonathan Todd Ross
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By:
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Uri Kaufman
About this listen
October 2023 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, a conflict that shaped the modern Middle East. The War was a trauma for Israel, a dangerous superpower showdown, and, following the oil embargo, a pivotal reordering of the global economic order. The Jewish State came shockingly close to defeat. A panicky cabinet meeting debated the use of nuclear weapons. After the war, Prime Minister Golda Meir resigned in disgrace, and a 9/11-style commission investigated the "debacle."
But, argues Uri Kaufman, from the perspective of a half century, the War can be seen as a pivotal victory for Israel. After nearly being routed, the Israeli Defense Force clawed its way back to threaten Cairo and Damascus. In the war's aftermath both sides had to accept unwelcome truths: Israel could no longer take military superiority for granted—but the Arabs could no longer hope to wipe Israel off the map. A straight line leads from the battlefields of 1973 to the Camp David Accords of 1978 and all the treaties since. Like Michael Oren's Six Days of War, this is the definitive account of a critical moment in history.
©2023 Uri Kaufman (P)2023 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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- By Fountain of Chris on 09-06-19
By: Jim Mattis, and others
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The Battle for Okinawa
- A Japanese Officer's Eyewitness Account of the Last Great Campaign of World War II
- By: Colonel Hiromichi Yahara, Frank B. Gibney
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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This critically acclaimed account of the Battle for Okinawa is told through the eyes of Colonel Hiromichi Yahara, the senior staff officer of the 32nd Japanese Army. It features segments on the Japanese preparation for battle, the American assault, and a summary of how the battle ended. Following the events that occurred in the life of Colonel Hiromichi Yahara, journalist Frank Gibney is able to lay out the importance of the battle and the ways in which both parties fought hard and strategically.
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Blessed HEAVEN—An Actual Japanese Person Narrating
- By Nicholas Robinson on 10-06-21
By: Colonel Hiromichi Yahara, and others
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The Coldest Winter
- America and the Korean War
- By: David Halberstam
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
- Length: 13 hrs and 51 mins
- Abridged
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Up until now, the Korean War has been the black hole of modern American history. The Coldest Winter changes that. Halberstam gives us a masterful narrative of the political decisions and miscalculations on both sides. He charts the disastrous path that led to the massive entry of Chinese forces near the Yalu, and that caught Douglas MacArthur and his soldiers by surprise. He provides astonishingly vivid and nuanced portraits of all the major figures.
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Almost as good as The Best and the Brightest
- By Doug on 10-02-07
By: David Halberstam
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Sicily '43
- The First Assault on Fortress Europe
- By: James Holland
- Narrated by: Al Murray
- Length: 19 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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On July 10, 1943, the largest amphibious invasion ever mounted took place, larger even than the Normandy invasion 11 months later: 160,000 American, British, and Canadian troops came ashore or were parachuted onto Sicily, signaling the start of the campaign to defeat Nazi Germany on European soil. Operation HUSKY, as it was known, was enormously complex, involving dramatic battles on land, in the air, and at sea. Yet, despite its paramount importance to ultimate Allied victory, and its drama, very little has been written about the 38-day Battle for Sicily.
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Great writing, great narration, interesting topic
- By ItalCali on 08-02-21
By: James Holland
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Cobra II
- The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq
- By: Michael R. Gordon, Bernard E. Trainor
- Narrated by: Craig Wasson
- Length: 25 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Unimpeachably sourced, Cobra II describes how the American rush to Baghdad provided the opportunity for the virulent insurgency that followed. The brutal aftermath in Iraq was not inevitable and was a surprise to the generals on both sides; Cobra II provides the first authoritative account as to why. It is a book of enduring importance and incisive analysis, a comprehensive account of the most reported yet least understood war in American history.
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Informative military account of the War in Iraq
- By Graham on 09-02-07
By: Michael R. Gordon, and others
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Eagle Against the Sun
- The American War With Japan
- By: Ronald H. Spector
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 23 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Spector reassesses US and Japanese strategy and offers some provocative interpretations. He shows that the dual advance across the Pacific by MacArthur and Nimitz was less a product of strategic calculation and more a pragmatic solution to bureaucratic, doctrinal, and public relations problems facing the Army and Navy. He also argues that Japan made its fatal error not in the Midway campaign but in abandoning its offensive strategy after that defeat and allowing itself to be drawn into a war of attrition.
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OK as an overview, but too little detail
- By Mike From Mesa on 03-21-22
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The Korean War
- By: Max Hastings
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 17 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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It was the first war we could not win. At no other time since World War II have two superpowers met in battle. Max Hastings, preeminent military historian, takes us back to the bloody, bitter struggle to restore South Korean independence after the Communist invasion of June 1950.
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Inspiring and Hard Hitting
- By David Ewing on 08-06-07
By: Max Hastings
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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
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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.
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Interesting Story
- By Coach Mark on 03-25-23
By: Peter Harmsen
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The Frozen Chosen
- The 1st Marine Division and the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir
- By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 15 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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The Frozen Chosen is an account of the breakout from the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea by the First Marine Division from November to December 1950, following the intervention of Red China in the Korean War. Fought during the worst blizzard in a century, it is considered by the US Marine Corps to be the Corps' finest hour. Fourteen Medals of Honor, a record for any American battle, and 85 Navy Crosses attest to the intensity of the battle.
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Fascinating story, very bad narration
- By Mat J Monk on 03-31-17
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A World Undone
- The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918
- By: G. J. Meyer
- Narrated by: Robin Sachs
- Length: 27 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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On a summer day in 1914, a nineteen-year-old Serbian nationalist gunned down Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. While the world slumbered, monumental forces were shaken. In less than a month, a combination of ambition, deceit, fear, jealousy, missed opportunities, and miscalculation sent Austro-Hungarian troops marching into Serbia, German troops streaming toward Paris, and a vast Russian army into war, with England as its ally. As crowds cheered their armies on, no one could guess what lay ahead in the First World War.
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A great book!
- By Jodi Bernard on 07-11-23
By: G. J. Meyer
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War of Shadows
- Codebreakers, Spies, and the Secret Struggle to Drive the Nazis from the Middle East
- By: Gershom Gorenberg
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 14 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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As World War II raged in North Africa, General Erwin Rommel was guided by an uncanny sense of his enemies' plans and weaknesses. In the summer of 1942, he led his Axis army swiftly and terrifyingly toward Alexandria, with the goal of overrunning the entire Middle East. Each step was informed by detailed updates on British positions. The Nazis, somehow, had a source for the Allies' greatest secrets.
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Interesting history: mediocre narration.
- By William R. Todd-Mancillas (Name includes hyphen and capitalized M). on 06-12-22
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Desert Fox
- The Storied Military Career of Erwin Rommel
- By: Samuel W. Mitcham Jr.
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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This is the strange and fascinating life of Erwin Rommel, from his days as a youth in Imperial Germany - when he had a child out of wedlock with an early girlfriend - through his lauded military exploits during World War I to his death by suicide during World War II, after he attempted a failed coup against Hitler. Rommel was a man of contradictions: a soldier who wrote a best-selling book about World War I, a commander who went from commanding Hitler's bodyguard to trying to kill him, and a serious military mind who was known for participating in practical jokes.
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Amazing Detail, Amazing Story!
- By Al888 on 05-19-19
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maybe with a different reader.
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In 1973, Israel would face the greatest challenge to its very existence. Egypt and Syria launched massive simultaneous invasions intended to recapture territory occupied by Israel during the Six-Day War. Israel was taken completely by surprise by this attack, launched on the day of one of the most important Jewish holidays, Yom Kippur. Israeli intelligence, which had proved so effective in previous conflicts, failed to provide any warning, and the armed forces of Israel were completely unprepared to face this onslaught on two fronts. This is the story of the Yom Kippur War.
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In 1812 the most powerful man in the world assembled the largest army in history and marched on Moscow with the intention of consolidating his dominion. But within months, Napoleon's invasion of Russia—history's first example of total war—had turned into an epic military disaster. Over 400,000 French and Allied troops perished and Napoleon was forced to retreat.
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1948 Arab-Israeli War
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When the establishment of the State of Israel was announced on May 14, 1948, it seemed to many people that the new nation could not survive for long. The haste with which it was created meant that Israel lacked the infrastructure of government, and its armed forces consisted of little more than a handful of lightly armed former guerilla fighters. Ranged against it were some of the most powerful nations in the Arab world, including Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, and Syria.
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Revisionist conclusions
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I hope this book will help
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The companion to the Oscar-nominated documentary, an unparalleled look inside Israel's security establishment. Imagine the following situation: You have just received a tip that six suicide bombers are making their way into the heart of Israel's major cities, each one to a different city, to set off explosions in the most crowded centers of population. How far would you go to stop the attacks?
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Excellent Narrator
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The Prime Ministers is the first and only insider account of Israeli politics from the founding of the Jewish State to the near-present day. It reveals stunning details of life-and-death decision-making, top-secret military operations and high level peace negotiations. The Prime Ministers brings listeners into the orbits of world figures, including Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Rabin, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Henry Kissinger, Yasser Arafat, Margaret Thatcher, Princess Diana and the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
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Great and fascinating book, wrong narrator.
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The Yom Kippur War
- The History and Legacy of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and Its Impact on the Middle East Peace Process
- By: Charles River Editors
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Welcome to the Middle East conflict, a conflict that is technically 63 years old and counting but has its roots in over 2,000 years of history. With so much time and history, the peace process has become laden with unique, politically sensitive concepts, like the right of return, contiguous borders, secure borders, demilitarized zones, and security requirements, with players like the Quartet, Palestinian Authority, Fatah, Hamas, the Arab League, and Israel. Over time, it has become exceedingly difficult for even sophisticated political pundits and followers to keep track of it all.
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Wish for more detail but good telling of history
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What listeners say about Eighteen Days in October
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- Alex Troy
- 11-12-23
gripping history
M. Kaufman has written a concise and gripping account of a complex two-front war and of the diplomacy that ended it. He has done the invaluable service of challenging the conventional understanding of the war. I came to the book believing that Israel had suffered a moral, if not martial defeat, that Golda Meir had failed as a war time leader, and that Richard Nixon had proven to be a surprising but steadfast friend of Israel. Mr. Kaufman shows that none of these views is correct. He has given me new appreciation for PM Meir's excellence in guiding the Jewish state-- a woman in "orthopedic shoes" successfully standing up, at various times, against Soviet threats, American pressure, and, of course the combined Egyptian-Syrian onslaught.
Mr. Kaufman's always crisp prose occasionally soars to poetic heights, giving striking images of war's terrible beauty. He also has an admirable sense of humor, and his wit is enhanced by the narrator's excellent timing. Another of Mr. Kaufman's gifts is his ability to relate an anecdote that captures a historical figure in a few strokes.
This book is exceptional, a great work of scholarship that is also a page turner. it is worth your time.
I would add that, at the war's end, both Syria and Egypt were not only beaten but vulnerable to further devastating blows. In the fifty years since the war, neither nation has shown any interest in a sequel. Perhaps there is a lesson here for American policymakers who want to see quiet (peace is too tall an order) in the Middle East, that roughest of neighborhoods.
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- Mark Bruns
- 06-12-24
Insights From Declassified Material
The example of the Yom Kippur war illustrates in fabulous detail why conversations between the generals [generally available only after those guys are dead and cannot manage the spin] is extremely helpful to understanding history.
The whitewashing of history with the spin from the politicians and top figures [Meir, Arafat, Assad, Breznev, Nixon/Haig/Kissinger, whose leadership failures were the primary cause of the war, in the first place] is something that can only be detailed with release of the insights like in this book, long after the fact.
In general a very simple truth always holds, "NEVER, EVER, EVER waste any time consuming pol statements or experts working for newsorgs at the time ... the ONLY thing that pols and experts know how to do is to LIE and spin the story ... the cureent news is ALWAYS worse than useless, because it is necessarily going to be a collection of toxic garbage from soothing liars, spun for misleading the public and misleadingly countering the spin of the misleaders.
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- Julie A Krause
- 01-30-25
Thought provoking and entertaining
A twisting and turning account of the 1973 war. Very entertaining and provides a significant history of this important conflict.
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- JayMK
- 01-10-24
Was this a lesson learned?
This is an extraordinarily well written, well read and informative book! After reading about how unprepared Israel was in 1973 and comparing that lack of preparation to what happened on October 6, 2023, I am left with a concern that some lessons are not well learned and can be repeated to Israel's detriment. Regardless, this book is fantastic! 
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Ongoing regional issue
I liked the detail given to aid an understanding to the reader of a complex regional issue that may never happen until both peoples can live together inspite of religious differences compounded by land awarded by super powers that amounted to theft by those already living there.
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- Michael L Muller
- 05-04-24
Great book, boring audio
The story and facts are very helpful to understanding the history of the Middle East conflict. a great read in that regard. However, the narration is very dry and it takes the reader about half the book to warm up and start sounding less mechancial.
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- D.R. Walker
- 09-20-24
An extraordinary telling
Although I came to adulthood during the Yom Kippur War, I had no clue as to the details. This is an excellent telling of one of Israel’s greatest blunders and how they managed to snatch a victory out of near defeat.
It sheds light on the capabilities of Israeli defenses and should serve as a cautionary tale to those who want to engage in hostilities.
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- Amazon Customer
- 12-30-23
An Excellent Story
A brilliant history lesson. Easy to follow and captivating. Our family enjoyed this presentation the story is very good and the presentation was easy to listen to.
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- John Bozick
- 03-27-24
A Decent Account of the Yom Kippur War
Kaufman may be a repugnant individual, but the quality of his character is not reflected in his writing. Eighteen Days in October is a captivating, well-researched history of the Yom Kippur War. The text focuses heavily on the Israeli perspective during the conflict, including direct accounts from government figures and soldiers. My major complaint is that it would have been fascinating to include more firsthand accounts from the Syrians and Egyptians involved in the conflict. That aside, the text is an entertaining read on a brief but ferocious conflict.
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- ItalCali
- 10-13-23
Gem of a book - highly recommended!
I've read many books about Israel's military history, and this is one of the best.
I can't believe it has so few ratings.
First, it is obviously very well researched, and includes facts that emerged only recently. It changed my perception of the Yom Kippur war. I thought of it as a disaster, but now I think of it differently. It also changed my perception of Golda Meir and many others.
Second, it is a well written book. I found it hard to stop listening when I had to get back to work. There are well written history books; and there are well written books, period. This one is of the latter category. Witty, engaging, informative, and with a point of view. Again great writing.
Third, very good descriptions of battles, you can follow along easily; and of personalities, the main characters in this drama. Hard to find both in the same book.
Lastly, I had been listening to this because of the 50 year anniversary of the Yom Kippur war,,, and then October 7 2023 happened. Listening to this helped me both appreciate the magnitude of what just happened by contrasting with 1973 (I learned from this book that in 18 days of war in 1973, 2,222 Israelis died, almost all soldiers; compared to about 1,300 in a single day, a large proportion of them civilian, in 2023) and it was somehow therapeutic, as Israel has been in bad spots before.
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