William Manchester has 11 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 11 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4.6★ across 127 ratings. The most-rated is The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Volume I: Visions of Glory 1874-1932.
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Volume I: Visions of Glory 1874-1932
Summary
Winston Churchill is perhaps the most important political figure of the 20th century. His great oratory and leadership during the Second World War were only part of his huge breadth of experience and achievement. Studying his life is a fascinating way to imbibe the history of his era and gain insight into key events that have shaped our time.
In political office at the end of WWI, Churchill foresaw the folly of Versailles and feared what a crippled Germany would do to the balance of power. In his years in the political wilderness, from 1931 to 1939, he alone of all British public men, continually raised his voice against Hitler and his appeasers. For over 50 years, he was constantly involved in, and usually at the center of, the most important events of his age. It was, however, his obduracy on matters of principle, his fortitude in the face of opposition, and his perseverance in standing alone that defined him.
©1983 William Manchester (P)1990 Blackstone Audio Inc.
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Volume 3
Summary
Spanning the years 1940 to 1965, Defender of the Realm, the third volume of William Manchester’s The Last Lion, picks up shortly after Winston Churchill became prime minister - when his tiny island nation stood alone against the overwhelming might of Nazi Germany. The Churchill portrayed by Manchester and Reid is a man of indomitable courage, lightning-fast intellect, and an irresistible will to action. This volume brilliantly recounts how Churchill organized his nation’s military response and defense, compelled President Roosevelt to support America’s beleaguered cousins, and personified the "never surrender" ethos that helped the Allies win the war, while at the same time adapting himself and his country to the inevitable shift of world power from the British Empire to the United States. More than 20 years in the making, The Last Lion presents a revelatory and unparalleled portrait of this brilliant, flawed, and dynamic leader. This is popular history at its most stirring.
©2012 John Manchester, Julie Manchester, Laurie Manchester and Paul Reid; published by arrangement with John Manchester, Julie Manchester and Laurie Manchester (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Volume II: Alone, 1932-1940: Winston Spencer Churchill, Volume II: Alone, 1932-1940
Summary
This second volume in William Manchester's three-volume biography of Winston Churchill challenges the assumption that Churchill's finest hour was as a wartime leader. During the years 1932-1940, he was tested as few men are. Pursued by creditors (at one point he had to put up his home for sale), he remained solvent only by writing an extraordinary number of books and magazine articles. He was disowned by his own party, and dismissed by the BBC, Fleet Street, and the social and political establishments as a warmonger, and twice nearly lost his seat in Parliament. Churchill stood almost alone against Nazi aggression and the pusillanimous British and French policy of appeasement. Manchester tracks with new insights this complex, fascinating history, without ever losing sight of Churchill the man - a man whose vision was global and whose courage was boundless.
©1988 William Manchester (P)1990 Blackstone Audio Inc.
The Arms of Krupp
Summary
In this narrative of extraordinary richness, depth, and authority, America's preeminent biographer/historian explored the German national character as no other writer has done. The Arms of Krupp brings to life Europe's wealthiest, most powerful family, a 400-year German dynasty that developed the world's most technologically advanced weapons, from cannons to submarines to antiaircraft guns; provided arms to generations of German leaders, including the Kaiser and Hitler; operated private concentration camps during the Nazi era; survived conviction at Nuremberg; and wielded enormous influence on the course of world events. William Manchester's galvanizing account of the rise and fall of the Krupp dynasty is history as it should be written - alive with all its terrifying power.
©1968 William Manchester (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
American Caesar
Summary
Virtually all Americans above a certain age hold strong opinions about Douglas MacArthur. They either worship him or despise him. Now, in this superb book, one of our most outstanding writers, after a meticulous three-year examination of the record, presents his startling insights about the man. The narrative is gripping, because the general's life was fascinating. It is moving, because he was a man of vision. It ends, finally, in tragedy, because his character, though majestic, was tragically flawed.
©1978 William Manchester (P)1991 Blackstone Audio Inc.
Goodbye, Darkness
Summary
In this intensely powerful memoir, America's pre-eminent biographer-historian, who has written so brilliantly about World War II in his acclaimed lives of General Douglas MacArthur ( American Caesar) and Winston Churchill ( The Last Lion), looks back at his own early life. This memoir offers an unrivaled firsthand account of World War II in the Pacific - what it looked like, sounded like, smelled like, and most of all, what it felt like to one who underwent all but the ultimate of its experiences.
©1979, 1980 William Manchester (P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc.
The Death of a President
Summary
As the world still reeled from the tragic and historic events of November 22, 1963, William Manchester set out, at the request of the Kennedy family, to create a detailed, authoritative record of President John F. Kennedy's death, including the days immediately preceding and following the assassination. Through hundreds of interviews, extensive travel, and first hand observation, and with unique access to the proceedings of the Warren Commission, Manchester conducted an exhaustive historical investigation, accumulating 45 volumes of documents, exhibits, and transcribed tapes. His ultimate objective - to set down as a whole the national and personal tragedy that was JFK's assassination - is brilliantly achieved in this galvanizing narrative, a book universally acclaimed as a landmark work of modern history.
©2013 William Manchester (P)2013 Blackstone Audio
The Glory and the Dream
Summary
This great time capsule of a book captures the abundant popular history of the United States from 1932 to 1972. It encompasses politics, military history, economics, the lively arts, science, fashion, fads, social change, sexual mores, communications, graffiti...everything and anything indigenous that can be captured in print. The Glory and the Dream chronicles the progress of life in the United States, from the time William Manchester and his generation reached the beginning of awareness in the desperate summer of '32 to President Nixon's Second Inaugural Address and the opening scenes of Watergate. Masterfully compressing four crowded decades of our history, Manchester relives the epic, significant, or just memorable events that befell the generation of Americans whose lives pivoted between the America before and the America after the Second World War.
©1974 William Manchester (P)1994 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Portrait of a President
Summary
An up-close look at John F. Kennedy by one of his closest confidants, a New York Times best-selling biographer Written by a prize-winning historian and biographer of such giants as Winston S. Churchill and Douglas MacArthur, this intimately detailed account provides a rare personal glimpse into the emotions behind the Kennedy administration - from the elation of victory to the frustrating challenges facing a young president at a pivotal turning point in US history. Originally published in 1962 - before the assassination of JFK - Portrait of a President is William Manchester’s first biography of the 35th president of the United States. In addition to firsthand encounters with JFK, the biography draws from over 40 interviews conducted in the first year of his presidency. In speaking with those closest to the commander-in-chief, both in his administration and his family, Manchester captures a complete portrait of one of the most highly regarded figures of the 20th century. This edition includes a new introduction and epilogue written by Manchester in the aftermath of November 1963, adding to the mythos by documenting not just how President Kennedy lived but also the legacy he left behind.
©1962, 1967 by William Manchester; © renewed 1990 by William Manchester (P)2020 by Blackstone Publishing
No End Save Victory Vol. 1
Summary
Stephen Ambrose tells the miraculous story of how a single American company took the Remagen Bridge over the Rhine, a river Hitler had considered an impenetrable barrier. John Keegan takes us to Berlin in April 1945, all the way to Hitler's bunker, for the most intense city siege in history. Caleb Carr illuminates the only war Hitler ever won - the 1939 Blitzkreig campaign over Poland. We also meet Major General Edward King, the unsung America hero of Bataan; learn how forces inside the Japanese army worked to keep Emperor Hirohito's surrender from being announced to his people; and experience two riveting eyewitness accounts: the diary of an American tail gunner who made 26 bombing raids over Europe, and the story of a Japanese kamikaze who somehow survived his suicide mission against an American carrier. Includes: Poland 1939 by Caleb Carr Diary of a Tail Gunner by John Gabay Berlin by John Keegan The Last Barrier by Stephen E. Ambrose King of Bataan by Thaddeus Holt A Kamikaze's Story by Kanji Suzuki The Voice of the Crane by Thomas B. Allen and Norman PolmarEdited by Robert Cowley, editor of the What If? series.
©2001 American Historical Publications Inc. (P)2001 HighBridge Company
One Brief Shining Moment
Summary
William Manchester was friends with John F. Kennedy for two decades before the President's assassination. In this work, the best-selling author of Portrait of a President and The Death of a President puts aside the tragedy of JFK's death to celebrate the brightness of his life. Manchester recalls in intimate detail everything from family gatherings at Hyannis Port, to grueling campaign trips, and quiet evenings alone with the president in the White House family quarters. The resulting portrait provides listeners with myriad anecdotes and insights into a life of a man that bristled with vigor, competitiveness, and an unflagging drive for excellence, and shone with elegance, intelligence, and compassion. The book was important when it was first published, but now fills a new role as an antidote to the wave of political disillusionment in America.
©2016 William Manchester (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.