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Overlord
- D-Day and the Battle for Normandy 1944
- Narrated by: Barnaby Edwards
- Length: 16 hrs and 10 mins
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Summary
With an introduction read by Max Hastings. The famous D-Day landings of 6 June, 1944, marked the beginning of Operation Overlord, the battle for the liberation of Europe.
Republished as part of the Pan Military Classics series, Max Hastings’ acclaimed account overturns many traditional legends in this memorable study. Drawing together the eyewitness accounts of survivors from both sides, plus a wealth of previously untapped sources and documents, Overlord provides a brilliant, controversial perspective on the devastating battle for Normandy. Max Hastings, author of over 20 books, was born in 1945. He was a scholar at Charterhouse and University College, Oxford, before working as foreign correspondent for newspapers and BBC television, reporting from over 50 countries. He was editor of the Daily Telegraph for almost a decade, and then for six years edited the Evening Standard. He has won many awards for his journalism, particularly for his dispatches from the South Atlantic in 1982. He was knighted in 2002.
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What listeners say about Overlord
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- Ronan
- 06-06-15
Excellent unbiased account of Overlord
Great audiobook. Well read. It would be great if you could include a PDFs of the campaign maps.
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12 people found this helpful
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- J
- 21-05-15
A True Masterpiece
For anyone with even a passing interest in military history and especially World War 2 this is a must have in their library. From a truly remarkable historian who has written numerous well rounded and informative narrative this look at one of the pivotal moments of WW2 is fantastic.
With a well balanced look from both an Axis and Allies viewpoint the book is raised to the highest heights possible by the narration of Barnaby Edwards. With an easy to listen to voice and the ability to keep me engaged on a long drive without losing focus only adds to this great piece of historical writing.
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10 people found this helpful
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- EJ
- 05-10-14
Max Hastings is a credit to history
If you could sum up Overlord in three words, what would they be?
Informative, horrifying, brilliant.
What did you like best about this story?
Max Hastings brings to life what happened on those terrible days in Normandy. A very informative book on D Day and after. A book I just kept on reading to the end.
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9 people found this helpful
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- Dave
- 29-06-17
Top author, top performance
Hastings is a fantastic author, and the readers for his books on audible are generally good considering the usual monotonous treatment history audiobooks in particular are often given. Here though the reader goes above and beyond and really brings life to the stories that Hastings tells so well. Highly recommended, and more of the same please!
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8 people found this helpful
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- SEATON BURN
- 20-07-15
SEVENTY YEARS ON WE CAN SEE MORE CLEARLY
What made the experience of listening to Overlord the most enjoyable?
The author's complete mastery of his material, and his ability seamlessly to blend accounts of grand strategy, tactics, the hundreds of small scale engagements that go to make up a battle like this, with personal anecdotage from both sides. It is impossible for a book or a film to recreate the experience of war, but this one comes as near to doing it as anything else I have read.
What did you like best about this story?
What I relished most about the story was the unflinching way it faced unpleasant facts: incompetent commanders, cowardly officers, men being urged into battle at gunpoint, mistakes that cost lives and war crimes committed by soldiers driven past normal rationalism by the hideousness of war. As George Orwell remarked, autobiography is only to be trusted if it reveals something disgraceful: the same is true of history, and on this showing this is a thoroughly truthful book.
Have you listened to any of Barnaby Edwards’s other performances? How does this one compare?
Not that I am aware: but the power of Hastings's writing was very well served by this narrator. His level, well modulated and well proportioned reading added greatly to the book's impact. The truly dreadful thing about war is that it eventually makes the horrific seem everyday, and Mr Edwards's reading helped to emphasise that fact.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No, for the simple reason that to do so would have been emotionally overwhelming. I listened to the account of the battle the way it was fought, day by day.
Any additional comments?
Everything I know about Max Hastings suggests that if I met him I would find him a very difficult man indeed to like. Nonetheless, in his own field as a military historian, there are very few to touch him.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Bella
- 01-08-17
Not For Beginners
What did you like most about Overlord?
It was very informative and in depth with regards to D-Day and Overlord.
What does Barnaby Edwards bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
The ability to listen while driving the car. Reading a book while driving is frowned upon in the UK. Narration was very good.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No, it was too heavy for one sitting, plus I needed to research some of the things that were talked about and work out the acronyms that were mentioned, before proceeding.
Any additional comments?
I felt I learned a lot but there seemed to be quite a high degree of assumed knowledge of military acronyms, types of weapons, tank types and generally in depth knowledge of WWII. In hindsight I think a book that details D-Day at a higher level would have been a good pre-read before embarking on this one.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Richard
- 08-10-15
Incredibly negative.
The authors voracious appetite to point out every single failing of the allied forces gets really tiresome after a while.
Had to give up listening in the end.
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3 people found this helpful
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- A. DONALDSON
- 03-09-17
Excellent book. Well read
Very good account of D day from all sides. A balanced account showing the difficulties the allies faced. Not afraid to show the shortcomings of allied troops and equipment compared to some other accounts. A good balance of soldier accounts and the overall strategy of the invasion
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2 people found this helpful
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- Bergenpiper
- 11-01-17
Eye opening and shocking, but brilliant!
A shocking piece of history brilliantly brought to life by Max Hastings and Barnaby Edwards!
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2 people found this helpful
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- richard mckenzie
- 04-12-15
A Remarkable Listen
What did you like most about Overlord?
It give an incredible overview of the thoughts and opinions of those brave men who stormed the beaches on D-Day
What did you like best about this story?
The mix of personal accounts combined with Army and Battalion level detail
What does Barnaby Edwards bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
His richness of tone, ability to with between accents and dialects, and his reading style, all added to the enjoyment of the listen
If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
Brave Men, Doing the Impossible
Any additional comments?
Simply a stunning book, mace into a stunning listening experience
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2 people found this helpful