John Lukacs has 4 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 4 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4.8★ across 3 ratings. The most-rated is The Duel.
Five Days in London
Summary
In May 1940, the course of history hung in the balance for five long days while Churchill’s War Cabinet debated whether to negotiate with Hitler or continue opposition. In this compelling narrative, scholar and renowned author John Lukacs draws on memoirs and papers to convey the drama of those troubled times. Prime Minister Winston Churchill, regarded by many to be hotheaded, has only been in office for a fortnight when a quarter of a million British solders become trapped by the Germans at Dunkirk. With the public illinformed and the Cabinet divided on what action to take, Churchill fights an uphill battle to gain both political and popular support. As the events unfold hour by hour, Churchill struggles to rally the citizenry and persuade the politicians to stand fast. John Lukacs’ literary style and Aelred Rosser’s compelling interpretation transport you to London to listen in on the high level talks at 10 Downing Street and observe the mood of the people in the street.
©1999 John Lukacs (P)2000 Recorded Books, LLC
Five Days in London, May 1940
Summary
In the days between May 24th and 28th, 1940, the British War Cabinet held a historical debate over whether to negotiate with Hitler or to continue the war. In this magisterial work, John Lukacs demonstrates the decisive importance of those five days. Lukacs takes us hour by hour into the critical unfolding of events at 10 Downing Street, where Churchill, who had only been prime minister for a fortnight, painfully considered his war responsibilities. We see how the military disasters taking place on the Continent - particularly the plight of the nearly 400,000 British soldiers bottled up in Dunkirk - affected Churchill's fragile political situation, and how the citizenry, though only partly informed about the dangers that faced them, nevertheless began to support Churchill's determination to stand fast.
©1999 John Lukacs (P)1999 Blackstone Audio Inc.
A Short History of the Twentieth Century
Summary
The historian John Lukacs offers a concise history of the twentieth century-its two world wars and cold war, its nations and leaders. The great themes woven through this spirited narrative are inseparable from the author's own intellectual preoccupations: the fading of liberalism, the rise of populism and nationalism, the achievements and dangers of technology, and the continuing democratization of the globe. The historical twentieth century began with the First World War in 1914 and ended seventy-five years later with the collapse of the Soviet Empire in 1989. The short century saw the end of European dominance and the rise of American power and influence throughout the world. The twentieth century was an American century-perhaps the American century. Lukacs explores in detail the phenomenon of national socialism (national socialist parties, he reminds us, have outlived the century), Hitler's sole responsibility for the Second World War, and the crucial roles played by his determined opponents Churchill and Roosevelt. Between 1939 and 1942 Germany came closer to winning than many people suppose. Lukacs casts a hard eye at the consequences of the Second World War-the often misunderstood Soviet-American cold war-and at the shifting social and political developments in the Far and Middle East and elsewhere. In an eloquent closing meditation on the passing of the twentieth century, he reflects on the advance of democracy throughout the world and the limitations of human knowledge.
©2013 John Lukacs (P)2013 Tantor