Excellent narration.

Thank you Sean for getting me through this historical work. Without your pronunciation and different accents I would have never have finished, by just reading it.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

"It was quite simply a very bad plan"

There has been a long debate over whether the disaster at Arnhem was the result of a bold plan that didn't come off, or a foolish plan that was unlikely to ever work. Beevor nails his colours firmly to the latter position, and lays the blame squarely at the feet of the British senior commanders, who came up with a plan that ignored basic problems of geography and supply: and seems to have been dictated as much by political as military concerns.

I came away from this dreary story full of admiration for two groups. The British paras who showed astonishing resilience and tenacity in the face of vastly superior German forces: and the Dutch civilian population who displayed unstinting humanity and generosity in spite of the hardships they themselves were enduring. The Poles also deserve an honorable mention, despite having been unfairly blamed by some for the failure.

I expect high quality history from Antony Beevor, and high quality narration from Sean Barrett, neither disappoints here. Beevor taps non-British sources to give a wider and more complete picture of events, and combines traditional operational history with a sympathetic, but never mawkish sensitivity for the very ordinary people caught up in the vast calamity that was world war two.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Masterful telling

The story of Arnhem is well known. This telling of the action, the planning and the aftermath is an amazing account. It paints a horrifying picture of close combat but ably introduces the mistakes of planning and strategy. The clashes of personality and ego are all here. It makes hard reading/ listening only because of the you are drawn in to the story and empathise with the soldiers. A fantastic piece of work I will come back to.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Sublime listen

Cant recommend this book enough very sad but heroic story about the attempt to end the war in 1944

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

A very pleasant piece of work.. Great history.

A long overdue piece of excellent historic research and analysis all cooked up into a fascinating listen. I was very pleased to see the Polish Paratroopers finally admonished from the most awful reputation assigned to them and their commanders after the disastrous Market & Garden operations.
The reader is good and the German excellent. But he reads too slowly for me so I upped the speed to 1.05 and it worked a great deal better.
So many lives lost to save Europe. So many young lives...
And here we are at Brexit and do the Dutch and Belgians wish to help?
Not really.. . European memories are sadly so short..in terms of mankind's time here, those boys are still warm in their graves...
Which is most likely why the elderly in our country decided on mass to Exit the EU.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Fantastic book

Very easy listening couldn't stop once I'd pess play. Lots of myths confirmed and destroyed with supporting evidence

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Excellent, informative & emotional

As the title says... very informative, excellent listen, hard to stop once you stop and emotional to the point of saying what a waste of a generation...

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Definitive Account

The narrators tone was just right for the story, fact packed, excellent listen , definitive account.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Incredible detail

The narrator does a fantastic job of narrating this. The author’s level of detail in research and writing is exceptional. My knowledge around Operation Market Garden was based on the film ‘A Bridge Too Far’. This Audible does a great job of telling the actual story and giving a huge amount of detail about the real Operation Market Garden.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Sosabowski and the Poles vindicated

For years a lot of shameful nonsense had been written about the role of the Polish brigade and Gen. Sosabowski. In recent years it was the veterans of the British 1st Airborne that led the way in restoring the unfairly tarnished reputation of the General and his men (ironically Sosabowski was at one point asked to lead the division, but refused as he felt it would compromise the potential use of his brigade in Poland). This book does them justice.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

15 people found this helpful