The Military category has 1,612 audiobooks on Listento.it, with an average listener rating of 4.6★ across 5,283 ratings. The most-rated is The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.
Mussolini's War
Summary
Brought to you by Penguin. While staying closely aligned with Hitler, Mussolini remained carefully neutral until the summer of 1940. Then, with the wholly unexpected and sudden collapse of the French and British armies, Mussolini declared war on the Allies in the hope of making territorial gains in Southern France and Africa. This decision proved a horrifying miscalculation, dooming Italy to its own prolonged and unwinnable war, immense casualties and an Allied invasion in 1943 which ushered in a terrible new era for the country. John Gooch's new audiobook is the definitive account of Italy's war experience. Beginning with the invasion of Abyssinia and ending with Mussolini's arrest, Gooch brilliantly portrays the nightmare of a country with too small an industrial sector, too incompetent a leadership and too many fronts on which to fight. Everywhere - whether in the USSR, the Western Desert or the Balkans - Italian troops found themselves against either better-equipped or more motivated enemies. The result was a war entirely at odds with the dreams of pre-war Italian planners - a series of desperate improvisations against Allies who could draw on global resources and against whom Italy proved helpless. This remarkable audiobook rightly shows the centrality of Italy to the war, outlining the brief rise and disastrous fall of the Italian military campaign.
©2020 John Gooch (P)2020 Penguin Audio
The Art of War
Summary
"The Art of War," literally "The Laws of War by Master Sun" is the most famous ancient Chinese treatise, dedicated to a military strategy and policy, written by Sun Tzu. The treatise by Sun Tzu influenced crucially on a whole military art of the East. Although it is the first treatise on the military art, it includes clearly expressed common principles of strategy as well as tactics. A special place in a military theoretical literature belongs to comments on Sun Tzu, the earliest of which appeared in the Han era (206-220 AD), and the new ones are still being created... The traditional story of Lao-Tzu is that he was a 6th-century B.C.E. philosopher and teacher in China. Indeed, his very name means 'Old Master.' Lao-Tzu was a keeper of records for the Zhou Dynasty while he also taught philosophy to any who would listen. One of these, purportedly, was the giant of Chinese philosophy, Confucius, who in his own writings speaks of meeting with Lao-Tzu. "The Art of War" is divided into 13 chapters: Laying Plans, Waging War, Attack by Stratagem, Tactical Dispositions, Use of Energy, Weak Points and Strong, Maneuvering an Army, Variation of Tactics, The Army on the March, Classification of Terrain, The Nine Situations, Attack by Fire, Use of Spies.
©2020 Strelbytskyy Multimedia Publishing (P)2020 Strelbytskyy Multimedia Publishing
The Silent Service in World War II
Summary
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the US Navy had a total of 111 submarines. However, this fleet was not nearly as impressive as the number suggests. It was mostly a collection of aging boats from the late teens and early twenties, with only a few of the newer, more modern Gato-class boats. Fortunately, with the war in Europe was already two years old and friction with Japan ever increasing, help from what would become known as the Silent Service in the Pacific was on the way: there were 73 of the new fleet submarines under construction. The Silent Service in World War II tells the story of America's intrepid underwater warriors in the words of the men who lived the war in the Pacific against Japan. The enemy had already begun to deploy advanced boats, but the U.S. was soon able to match them. By 1943, the new Gato-class boats were making a difference, carrying the war not just to the Japanese Imperial Navy but to the vital merchant fleet that carried the vast array of materiel needed to keep the land of the Rising Sun afloat. As the war progressed, American success in the Solomons, starting with Guadalcanal, began to constrict the Japanese sea lanes, and operating singly or in wolfpacks, they were able to press their attacks on convoys operating beyond the range of our airpower, making daring forays even into the home waters of Japan itself in the quest for ever more elusive targets. Also taking on Japanese warships, as well as rescuing downed airmen (such as the grateful first President Bush), US submarines made an enormous contribution to our war against Japan.
©2012 Edward Monroe-Jones and Michael Green (P)2018 Tantor
Tobruk
Summary
In the early days of April 1941, the 14,000 Australian forces garrisoned in the Libyan town of Tobruk were told to expect reinforcements and supplies within eight weeks. Eight months later these heroic, gallant, determined "Rats of Tobruk" were rescued by the British Navy having held the fort against the might of Rommel's never-before-defeated Afrika Corps.
Like Gallipoli and Kokoda, the siege of Tobruk is an iconic battle in Australia's military history. Under ceaseless attack from Rommel's men, the Australian defense held strong. In Tobruk, Peter FitzSimons relates the personal histories and stories not only of the men who defended the garrison against the German onslaught but of the Desert Fox, Erwin Rommel, and the powers back in both Berlin and Britain.
©2006 Peter FitzSimons (P)2007 Bolinda Publishers Pty Ltd.
Kokoda (by Peter FitzSimons)
Summary
For Australians, Kokoda is the iconic battle of World War II, yet few people know just what happened and just what our troops achieved. Now, best-selling author Peter FitzSimons tells the Kokoda story in a gripping, moving story for all Australians. Conditions on the track were hellish - rain was constant, the terrain close to inhospitable, food and ammunition supplies were practically non-existent, and the men constantly battled malaria and dysentery, as well as the Japanese. Kokoda was a defining battle for Australia - a small force of young, ill-equipped Australians engaged a highly experienced and hitherto unstoppable Japanese force on a narrow, precarious jungle track - and defeated them.
©2005 Peter FitzSimons (P)2013 Audiobook recording produced by Evan Croker.
The Middle Ages
Summary
In this indispensable volume, one of America's ranking scholars combines a life's work of research and teaching with the art of lively narration. Both authoritative and beautifully told, The Middle Ages is the full story of the thousand years between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance - a time that saw the rise of kings and emperors, the flowering of knighthood, the development of Europe, the increasing power of the Catholic Church, and the advent of the middle class.
©2015 American Heritage (P)2017 HighBridge, a Division of Recorded Books
Gettysburg
Summary
Best-selling author and acclaimed Civil War expert Stephen W. Sears, hailed by The New York Times Book Review as “arguably the preeminent living historian of the war’s eastern theater,” crafts what will stand the test of time as the definitive history of the greatest battle ever fought on American soil. Drawing on years of research, Sears focuses on the big picture, capturing the entire essence of the momentous three day struggle while offering fresh insights that will surprise even the best versed Civil War buffs.
©2003 Stephen W. Sears (P)2003 Recorded Books, LLC
The Avro Arrow
Summary
Declassified government records shed additional light on the cancellation and subsequent destruction of the Avro Arrow. The controversial cancellation of the Avro Arrow - an extraordinary achievement of Canadian military aviation - continues to fire debate today. When the program was scrapped in 1959, all completed aircraft and those awaiting assembly were destroyed, along with tooling and technical information. Was abandoning the program the right decision? Did Canada lose more than it gained? Brimming with information to fill in gaps in the Arrow's troubled history, and with an update on the latest search for the scale models launched deliberately into Lake Ontario as part of the test program, The Avro Arrow tackles the outstanding questions head on. Cover design by Laura Boyle by permission of Dundurn Press Limited.
©2019 Palmiro Campagna (P)2020 Heraclon Publishing Canada
The Ultimate Battle
Summary
Respected historian Bill Sloan tells the full story of the Battle of Okinawa as it has never been told before, through the eyes of the men in battle. Using the same grunt's-eye-view narrative style of Sloan's acclaimed Brotherhood of Heroes, The Ultimate Battle is the full story of the largest land-sea-air battle ever waged by the United States, a battle whose staggering casualties and take-no-prisoners ferocity led Truman to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. From April through June 1945, more than 250,000 American and Japanese lives were lost, including those of nearly 150,000 civilians who either committed suicide or were caught in the crossfire. This book tells a gripping story of heroism, sacrifice, and death.
©2007 Bill Sloan (P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc.
Enola Gay
Summary
From the New York Times best-selling coauthors comes a "fascinating...unrivaled" history of the B-29 and its fateful mission to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima (New York Times Book Review). Painstakingly researched, the story behind the decision to send the Enola Gay to bomb Hiroshima is told through firsthand sources. From diplomatic moves behind the scenes to Japanese actions and the US Army Air Force's call to action, no detail is left untold. Touching on the early days of the Manhattan Project and the first inkling of an atomic bomb, investigative journalist Gordon Thomas and his writing partner Max Morgan-Witts take WWII enthusiasts through the training of the crew of the Enola Gay and the challenges faced by pilot Paul Tibbets. A must-listen audiobook that offers "minute-by-minute coverage of the critical periods" surrounding the mission, Enola Gay finally separates myth and reality from the planning of the flight to the moment over Hiroshima when the atomic age was born (Library Journal).
©1977 Gordon Thomas and Max Morgan-Witts (P)2020 Tantor
World War I: A History from Beginning to End
Summary
World War I, or the Great War, was believed to be "the war to end all wars". Because of the incredible extent of destruction and the staggering number of wounded and dead, even those who lived through it could scarcely comprehend its horror. Beginning in 1914, alliances between powerful nations soon plunged the world into a global conflict. Fighting - including miserable trench warfare - broke out in practically every corner of Europe and spread around the world to Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Inside you will hear about.... The Causes of World War I The War in Europe: The Western Front The War in the Balkans and the Ottoman Empire The United States Russia and the War in Eastern Europe The Impact of World War I And much more! Even the peace treaty in 1919, which occurred during a deadly worldwide influenza pandemic, brought no relief; another world war, intricately connected to the first, would break out in only two short decades.
©2017 Hourly History (P)2018 Hourly History
The Vietnam War: History in an Hour
Summary
History for busy people. Listen to a concise history of the Vietnam War in just one hour. War, what is it good for? The Vietnam War: History In an Hour gives a gripping account of the most important Cold War-era conflict, fought between the United States and the Viet Cong, the Vietnam People's Army and their Communist allies. It was one of the most traumatic military conflicts America has ever been involved in – and provoked a backlash of anti-war protests at home. Here are the key events leading up to the Vietnam War, the deadly guerrilla warfare of the Viet Cong, the domestic anti-war movement, and the fall of Saigon. The Vietnam War: History In an Hour is essential listening for anyone interested in post-war history. Love your history? Find out about the world with History in an Hour….
©2012 Neil Smith (P)2012 HarperCollins Publishers Limited
Rescue at Los Banos
Summary
From the best-selling author of Hero Found comes the incredible true story of one of the greatest military rescues of all time, the 1945 World War II prison camp raid at Los Baños in the Philippines - a tale of daring, courage, and heroism that joins the ranks of Ghost Soldiers, Unbroken, and The Boys of Pointe du Hoc. In February 1945, as the US victory in the Pacific drew nearer, the Japanese army grew desperate, and its soldiers guarding US and Allied POWs more sadistic. Starved, shot, and beaten, many of the 2,146 prisoners of the Los Baños prison camp in the Philippines - most of them American men, women, and children - would not survive much longer unless rescued soon. Deeply concerned about the half-starved and ill-treated prisoners, General Douglas MacArthur assigned to the 11th Airborne Division a dangerous rescue mission deep behind enemy lines that became a deadly race against the clock. The Los Baños raid would become one of the greatest triumphs of that war or any war; hailed years later by chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Colin Powell: "I doubt that any airborne unit in the world will ever be able to rival the Los Baños prison raid. It is the textbook operation for all ages and all armies." Combining personal interviews, diaries, correspondence, memoirs, and archival research, Rescue at Los Baños tells the story of a remarkable group of prisoners - whose courage and fortitude helped them overcome hardship, deprivation, and cruelty - and of the young American soldiers and Filipino guerrillas who risked their lives to save them.
©2015 Bruce Henderson (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers
Must History Repeat the Great Conflicts of This Century?
Summary
Twice in the first half of the last century, the great powers engaged in wars that killed nearly 70 million people, with the aftermath of each shaking the international political system, changing the maps of the world, and setting the scene for the next great conflict. And for most of the past 50 years, the Cold War dominated international politics. Is this the history we are condemned to repeat? This series of eight lectures about international politics will hone your ability to approach that question with knowledge and insight. It reveals how concepts such as the balance of power and the international system interweave with and help shape history, showing you what actually happened in the great conflicts and why. The lectures will help you answer many of the key questions those concerned with creating a stable peace must answer every day; did the end of the Cold War bring peace and harmony or war and chaos? Does the United States play a dominant role in international affairs or is its role declining? Is military power still the key to world leadership, or has economic power become more important? Should the United States attempt to play the role of global police force, or should it withdraw from its overseas military commitments?
©1991 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)1991 The Great Courses
The Tango War
Summary
The Tango War by Mary Jo McConahay fills an important gap in World War II history. Beginning in the '30s, both sides were well aware of the need to control not just the hearts and minds but also the resources of Latin America. The fight was often dirty: Residents were captured to exchange for US prisoners of war and rival spy networks shadowed each other across the continent. At all times, it was a Tango War, in which each side closely shadowed the other's steps. Though the Allies triumphed, at the war's inception it looked like the Axis would win. A flow of raw materials in the Southern Hemisphere, at a high cost in lives, was key to ensuring Allied victory, as were military bases supporting the North African campaign, the Battle of the Atlantic and the invasion of Sicily, and fending off attacks on the Panama Canal. Allies secured loyalty through espionage and diplomacy - including help from Hollywood and Mickey Mouse - while Jews and innocents among ethnic groups - Japanese, Germans - paid an unconscionable price. Mexican pilots flew in the Philippines and 25,000 Brazilians breached the Gothic Line in Italy. The Tango War also describes the machinations behind the greatest mass flight of criminals of the century, fascists with blood on their hands who escaped to the Americas.
©2018 Mary Jo McConahay (P)2018 Tantor
Boss of Me
Summary
An Amazon Top 100 Best Seller Patton Fletcher is a devil. Not the devil, but a bossy, sexy, panty-melting, hard-driving devil.... They warned me not to take this job. They said you were ruthless, impossible to please.... I said I was better than them. I wouldn’t fall for your charm, your arrogance, or how sexy you fill out that suit. I wouldn’t fall for your deep brown eyes or the way that muscle moves in your square jaw when you’re pissed. I said I could resist you. I was wrong.... Boss of Me is a stand-alone workplace, enemies to lovers, military romance with a badass alpha boss and the feisty woman who steals his heart. No cheating. No cliffhangers.
©2019 TLM Productions LLC (P)2019 TLM Productions LLC
Spitfire Pilot
Summary
At the outbreak of the Second World War D. M. Crook, of No. 609 Squadron AAF, was at Yeadon, still undergoing his training; by the winter of 1939-40, he had his wings. Successfully applying to return to his Squadron, then on defense duties in northern England, Crook began to familiarize himself with their new fighter: the Spitfire. Soon they were posted to RAF Northolt, and it was at this time that Crook, much to his chagrin, was left grounded, undergoing knee surgery as they flew over Dunkirk. Following the Allied evacuation from France, Crook returned to the air and found himself facing the relentless sorties as the skies above Britain transformed into a battlefield. In one particularly frank passage, Crook recounts how he mistakenly shot down a Blenheim, going on to illustrate how easy it was for pilots to misidentify aircraft. Spitfire Pilot is a remarkable account of one officer's life in 609 Squadron during one of the most famous battles of the Second World War.
©1942 David M. Crook; Introduction copyright 2006 by Richard Overy; On 609 Squadron copyright 2006 by Sandy Hunter; Preface copyright 2006 by Rosemary Loyd (P)2018 Tantor
17 Carnations
Summary
A meticulously researched historical tour de force about the secret ties among Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, the Duke of Windsor, and Adolf Hitler before, during, and after World War II. Andrew Morton tells the story of the feckless Edward VIII, later Duke of Windsor; his American wife, Wallis Simpson; the bizarre wartime Nazi plot to make him a puppet king after the invasion of Britain; and the attempted cover-up by Churchill, General Eisenhower, and King George VI of the Duke's relations with Hitler. From the alleged affair between Simpson and the German foreign minister to the discovery of top-secret correspondence about the man dubbed "the traitor king" and the Nazi high command, this is a saga of intrigue, betrayal, and deception suffused with a heady aroma of sex and suspicion. For the first time, Morton reveals the full story behind the cover-up of those damning letters and diagrams: the daring heist ordered by King George VI, the smooth duplicity of a Soviet spy, as well as the bitter rows and recriminations among the British and American diplomats, politicians, and academics. Drawing on FBI documents, exclusive pictures, and material from the German, Russian, and British royal archives as well as the personal correspondence of Churchill, Eisenhower, and the Windsors themselves, 17 Carnations is a dazzling historical drama, full of adventure, intrigue, and startling revelations, written by a master of the genre.
©2015 Andrew Morton (P)2015 Hachette Audio
Pacific Payback
Summary
Sunday, December 7, 1941, dawned clear and bright over the Pacific.... But for the Dauntless dive-bomber crews of the USS Enterprise returning to their home base on Oahu, it was a morning from hell. Flying directly into the Japanese ambush at Pearl Harbor, they lost a third of their squadron and witnessed the heart of America's Navy broken and smoldering on the oil-slicked waters below. The next six months, from Pearl Harbor to the Battle of Midway - a dark time during which the Japanese scored victory after victory - this small band of aviators saw almost constant deployment, intense carrier combat, and fearsome casualties. Many were killed by enemy Zero fighters, antiaircraft fire, or deadly crash landings in the Pacific, while others were captured and spent years in POW camps. Yet the Enterprise's Dauntless crews would be the first to strike an offensive blow against Japanese installations in the Marshall Islands, would be the first to sink a Japanese warship, and would shepherd the Doolittle Raiders' bombing of Tokyo. Not until Midway, though, would Dauntless crews get the chance to settle the score. In June 1942, Japan mobilized the best of its Navy to draw out the smaller American carrier fleet for a final showdown designed to destroy the U.S. Navy once and for all. What they didn't anticipate was the gutsy dive-bombing pilots and gunners whose courage and skill would change the course of World War II. Drawing on dozens of new interviews and oral histories, author Stephen L. Moore brings to life inspiring stories of individual sacrifice and bravery - and the sweeping saga of one of America's greatest triumphs.
©2014 Stephen L. Moore (P)2014 Gildan Media LLC
Cuffed
Summary
Between a rock and a hard place.... To Sergeant Zeke Hayes, the expression has always been a non-factor. There's never been a situation he can't blast, punch, or smart-ass his way out of, which makes him the perfect fit for his Special Forces battalion - and a natural-born Dominant who's made a lot of submissives happy from Mt. Rainier to Vancouver. That all changes when Rayna Chestain enters his world. From the moment Z snatches Rayna from the lair of a South Asian slave trafficker, his inner grizzly roars to life. But Z isn't wired to be a one-woman man. Growing up an orphan on the streets of Seattle has taught him that beyond a few hours in a dungeon, trust means disappointment and love leads to agony. Now he's sheltering Rayna in the remote wilderness from a fiend who now wants his pound of revenge flesh from her. Z's never done anything more right in his life. But wanting her? Dreaming of her beneath him, surrendering to his passion and domination? It's the most forbidden fruit he can crave, and the only thing he can't stop thinking about. The only way out is to confront the reality of what Rayna has done to him and the mountain she's moved in his intractable heart.
©2017 Waterhouse Press (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved