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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 World War Interwar Period Imperialism Submarine Royalty Prisoners of War Holocaust Air Force King Hungary

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)

What listeners say about The Second World War

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Profile Image for Neill

Both comprehensive and interesting

Beevor's approach is all-encompassing. He covers the political ground, as well as including the perspective from all ranks and fronts involved. From Supreme Commanders to buck-privates to house-wives, the listener is presented with a rounded picture of the key events and conditions of the major theatres in the war. There is a comprehensive coverage of the Asian and Pacific theatres of war; it is not just a Euro-centred account.
Sean Barrett has gravitas and reads with an easy command of the language. His pronunciation of European words and phrases is impressive, as are the accents he adopts for different nationalities. They never seem too much, and give 'just enough' for an impression of different perspectives.
Overall, a thoroughly entertaining audible book.

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Profile Image for Joel

Great author of historical conflicts

Would you consider the audio edition of The Second World War to be better than the print version?

I enjoy listening rather than reading so would recommend the audio version over the paper version. The only thing I would say is that because WWII was fought on many fronts it can sometimes be hard to follow where parts of the audio drop off and pick up although the book is narrated generally by date.

Any additional comments?

Antony Beevor is a great author and I would recommend any of his Titles having read most. I don't rate this as good as Stalingrad or Berlin: The Downfall but still a great read to understand what happened where during WWII

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Enter Narrative History

A great piece of narrative history with well founded conclusions, no less supported by a deep understanding of sources, as well as judiciously timed and thematically related quotes from individual sources.

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Profile Image for Juniper Downdale

Comprehensive and fascinating

If you’ve ever been interested in the Second World War, this novel is a wonderful amalgamation of the overlapping conflicts across opposing theatres. It does not go into great depth on any individual conflict, there is too much to cover across the entire subject for that, but it gives a rich account of the individual arenas that were in action across at any given time during the conflict. It is well written, thoroughly comprehensive and read in a soothing manner which makes it easy to focus on the narrative. I recommend to any that have an interest in this portion of history.

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Profile Image for Tim Lehmann

Essential listening

Well written and researched material, expertly delivered. Can't recommend this audio book enough to all history buffs.

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Profile Image for Anonymous User

Overwhelming

The story of WW2 takes no less than 40 hours to tell and even then it is like drinking from a fire hose. A must listen to.

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Amazingly detailed and readable (listenable)

This audio book is a wonderful way to get across events that spanned all theatres of the war. A fantastic achievement.

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You want WWII? This is THE book

I haven't read every book there is on WWII, but I'm pre-emptively confident in rating this one as the gold standard of non-fiction books on the subject. This is the one. I've recommended it to everyone, my dad, my boss, my misso, my misso's dog. Everyone should read this book.
It's like 42 hours long and I think I've listened to it 3 times, yet here I am gearing up for a 4th. Can't stop, won't stop.
As far as I'm concerned this is straight up the best value-for-money audiobook you can find. Get it.

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Good read and well read

Great read!! A lot of details that I never knew! Some very disturbing stories that brings more to the story of WW2 that times, places and dates

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Profile Image for Justin Plummer

simply a must for all who value history.

Tackles all sides really well. a clear leader in compiled histories. dont miss out on a chance to learn and relearn.

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