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The Second World War

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The Second World War

By: Antony Beevor
Narrated by: Sean Barrett
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About this listen

A magisterial, single volume history of the greatest conflict the world has ever known, by our foremost military historian.

The Second World War began in August 1939 on the edge of Manchuria and ended there exactly six years later with the Soviet invasion of northern China. The war in Europe appeared completely divorced from the war in the Pacific and China, and yet events on opposite sides of the world had profound effects.

Using the most up to date scholarship and research, Beevor assembles the whole picture in a gripping narrative that extends from the North Atlantic to the South Pacific and from the snowbound steppe to the North African Desert.

Although filling the broadest canvas on a heroic scale, Beevor's The Second World War never loses sight of the fate of the ordinary soldiers and civilians whose lives were crushed by the titanic forces unleashed in this, the most terrible war in history.

Read by Sean Barrett.

©2012 Antony Beevor (P)2012 Orion Publishing Group 20th Century Military Modern World War Interwar Period Imperialism Scary Thought-Provoking Submarine Royalty Prisoners of War Holocaust King Hungary Air Force

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Critic reviews

His singular ability to make huge historical events accessible to a general audience recalls the golden age of British narrative history, whose giants include Gibbon, Macaulay and Carlyle (Boyd Tonkin)
Beevor can be credited with single-handedly transforming the reputation of military history (David Edgar)
The myriad pieces of this intricate kaleidoscope are pieced together with exemplary skill ... This is a splendid book, erudite, with an admirable clarity of thought and expression (Roger Moorhouse)
His accounts of the key moments in the Second World War have a sense of colour, drama and immediacy that few narrative historians can match (Dominic Sandbrook)
You feel yourself being carried along on the narrative flow, channelled this way and that through the pools and rapids by Beevor's expert helmanship (Patrick Bishop)
Beevor's book is a pleasure to read and an example of intelligent, lively historical writing at its best (Tony Barber)
This is as comprehensive and objective an account of the course of the war as we are likely to get, and the most humanly moving to date (John Gray)
A British historian of great distinction and range, who ... demonstrates his mastery of his sources (Gordon Craig)
All stars
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This, together with its second volume, are exactly what you would expect from Anthony Beevor - a comprehensive, well researched and thorough account of a monumental event. Sean Barratt reads it beautifully, and it is well written, but I thought it is probably both too long and too short - it can drag in places (the build up to Operation Torch for instance) and too short to cover the whole WW2 in sufficient detail (the book acknowledges this.) Having said that, and having a better knowledge of the war since I first listened to this, I'll probably give it another go.

DWISOTT

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What did you like most about The Second World War?

I liked the comprehensive way this book broke down the huge story, spanning many individual conflicts and ideologies, into understandable and easily digestible segments.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Second World War?

I think the realisation that the leaders of the Allied cause I had been taught to revere as a child were in many ways as deeply flawed as the Japanese, Russians and the Germans, together with the realisation of just how much sheer luck was involved in the allies winning the war.

What about Sean Barrett’s performance did you like?

The reader was excellent. His delivery of some of the more horrific facts was sombre and responsible.

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

I think the passages dealing with the suffering of the ordinary people caught up in a war they could not do anything to influence or stop. You could not listen to the sections on the suffering of the jews, Roma and Slavs and the ordinary Russians without being deeply moved.

Any additional comments?

It is a sober and clearly stated explanation of the causes, execution and consequences of the second world war. It is not easy to listen to in parts, particularly the section on the liberation of the concentration camps, but it is important to understand the past to avoid repeating the same mistakes again. It has also shown me that some of the long held beliefs surrounding the war and its causes are wrong but are still influencing thinking today.

This is a fascinating and distrubing read

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It took a long while but well worth it. I've read a lot of different books on various aspects of WW11 but this puts all the global theatres into perspective in a chronological sequence. So many battles occurring simultaneously which brings home the enormity and horror of it all.
Let's hope we learn from history and that it won't happen again, but sadly the prospects are that it might. But if more read or listened to this it might not.

Marvellous

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took me 2 months to finish this book but I enjoy every minute of it. Really great listen if you like the genre.

comprehensive

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I have never thought I knew enough about WW2 & this book proved it. I shall listen many times until I am able to grasp its complexities. Brilliant.

Comprehensively Facinating

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Everyone everywhere should listen to this account of world war two. From the many facets of political agendas, military might and the civilian struggle to survive. Depressingly good.

Brutal, shocking and a must listen

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very in depth and interesting record of the war years, giving in depth details to a number of important battles. it includes large sections on the Pacific theatre, and the far East, which are sometimes missed in accounts of this war. the audio book recounts a terrible story really well.

compelling record of WWII

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An intimate but highly objective study of all the relevant and widely varied ingredients that make up the story of the Second World War. The author captures the whole story with great authority and attention to detail without dwelling on any one of thousands of parts that make up the whole story. A really intelligent and descriptive tale of the whole terrible story of World War Two. Well worth reading for anybody of any age and sure to become a work of authoritative reference for future study of this engrossing period of our past history. All credit to the author, I look forward to reading his further works.

Exceptional throughout

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This book in my opinion is up there with The world at War as a colossal piece of work which re accounts one the darkest parts of human history.
Having read a lot of the authors previous works the undertaking of this book must be seen as his greatest achievement. The way all the political issues of the time coupled with anger and jealousy of the country’s taking part, both allies and axis are expertly guided and explained giving the reader not only accounts of the battles that took place but the powers that be very little disregard for human life whilst they manoeuvre themselves into power.

The narrator is excellent in his delivery and given the grim nature of the subject delivers the book with excellent prose

This isn’t a light read and many times I needed to take a few days break from listening as I found it difficult to deal with the things done in the name of war and national pride and how humanity can do the things that was done,the chapter on the holocaust is particularly harrowing as it should be ,but the blunt factual way the author goes about it and the accounts from the time makes what actually happened even harder to fathom even now nearly eighty years later.
Anyone who has an interest in the Second World War or don’t really know what happened must read this book it is in my humble opinion the greatest book on the Second World War ever written.

Epic journey into the dark history of humanity

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Hard to write a review, words cant really explain the feelings on listening to this ww2 account. I listened to this twice in the last few months. The scale of "evil", destruction, death and mayhem is almost unbelievable. It should never be forgotten, how mankind got itself in this position and its an example of how bad things can get and what humans are capable of in terms of war and killing which were the deadly results of politics failing and ruthless extremist people getting into power. Some of these individuals, hitler, stalin, mussolini, mao were nothing more than selfish ego maniacs purely out for themselves...these kind of people should be no where near the levers of power and leading people and organisations, a lesson we need to remember today. Wonderful absolutely enthralling account of ww2, expertly and entertainingly read.

Absolutely enthralling listen

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