The Battle of Britain
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The Battle of Britain
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Narrated by:
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Al Murray
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By:
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James Holland
About this listen
Brought to you by Penguin.
This audio edition includes an exclusive Q&A between James Holland and Al Murray.
'If Hitler fails to invade or destroy Britain, he has lost the war,' Churchill said in the summer of 1940. He was right. The Battle of Britain was a crucial turning point in the history of the Second World War. Had Britain's defences collapsed, Hitler would have dominated all of Europe and been able to turn his full attention east to the Soviet Union.
The German invasion of France and the Low Countries in May 1940 was unlike any the world had ever seen. It hit with a force and aggression that no-one could counter and in just a few short weeks, all in their way crumbled under the force of the Nazi hammer blow. With France facing defeat and with British forces pressed back to the Channel, there were few who believed Britain could possibly survive. Soon, it seemed, Hitler would have all of Europe at his feet.
Yet Hitler's forces were not quite the Goliath they at first seemed, while her leadership lacked the single-minded purpose, vision and direction that had led to such success on land. Nor was Britain any David. Thanks to a sophisticated defensive system and the combined efforts of the RAF, Royal Navy as well as the mounting sense of collective defiance led by a new Prime Minister, Britain was not ready to roll over just yet.
From clashes between coastal convoys and Schnellboote in the Channel to astonishing last stands in Flanders and from the slaughter by the U-boats in the icy Atlantic to the dramatic aerial battles over England, The Battle of Britain tells this most epic of stories from all sides, drawing on extensive new research from around the world. In so doing, it paints a complete picture of that extraordinary summer - a time in which the fate of the world truly hung by a thread.
©2020 James Holland (P)2020 Penguin AudioWhat listeners say about The Battle of Britain
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 12-03-2021
Always enjoyable.
James Holland always delivers well written and researched books. I'm slowly, but happily, getting through his entire non-fiction Audible collection.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gill78
- 27-02-2023
great book
this book covers the battle of France as well which is related and often missed
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 25-05-2022
New Fan
Very informative, listened to it twice to adsorb all the events.
Narrated excerlently making it very enjoyable.
Looking forward to all the other titles.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- David Shaw
- 09-10-2020
AMAZING - A must read for any war/warbird lover
As a war history lover (ex tourguide at Australian War Memorial), Spitfire lover and flying nerd (trainee pilot) this book ticked every box and more. It goes into amazing detail about the setting of WW2, the strategies, the technology, the manufacture and war effort, the training and interviews this amazing personal accounts and 30,000ft strategy. The author has an amazing skill of being able to sit you in the cockpit and even feel the addrenaline these amazing pilots would have felt. The descriptions of flying are truly amazing amd realistic. I can not recommend this book enough. On top of all this the narrator is by far my most favourite of any audio book Ive listened to..and that makes a massive difference. Its almost as if he has time travelled and is telling you his own accounts. I couldnt get enough and have started listening again. Well done gentleman.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sebastian Hands
- 05-12-2023
Fantastic and approachable listen
Very easy to listen to with a lot of interesting details and accounts mixed in.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 13-07-2023
Utterly superb
Well worth a listen as it spans what led to the battle and encompasses all of the major players. Narration by Al Murray was an absolute bonus, and interviews at the between Al and James are great. Discussion about Burma ‘44 is captivating although I had already listened to that and it is also utterly superb.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 04-01-2023
Great coverage but hard to follow the detail
Great narrator, great content but a bit too much jumping around in the timeline making it difficult to follow an individual pilots story
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sam J
- 24-10-2020
Superb book, brilliantly narrated
I can understand why a few readers found James Holland's background story to the Battle of Britain heavy going. It was an extremely traumatic period in British history and takes a degree of dedication to slog through the non-stop run of German victories before our Spitfire boys were able to give the Luftwaffe a taste of their own medicine!
But it is well worth the effort and the story of how Churchill's Britain was able to turn around the looming disaster into a victory is a humbling and emotional read. James Holland has done his research and he is becoming one of the most readable historians of the decade.
The narration by Al Murray is brilliant. His pronunciation of German names is faultless and his enthusiasm for the subject matter is evident.
A superb book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 13-06-2023
The Battle of Britain is a very pivotal part of the Second World War, this book touches on many important aspects of this piece
This book I found to be very interesting and informative of great historical facts, I’m very interested in this part of the war so it had my attention from start to finish and are looking forward to listening to this book again thank you
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Darrian Williams
- 06-06-2020
Al Murray is awesome - and the story is ok too!
Great look under the hood of an epic historic event. Bloody well read as well.
They even squeeze in the operational, strategic and tactical discussion.
Classic Murray and Holland!
Get around it.
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2 people found this helpful