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The Battle of the Atlantic
- How the Allies Won the War
- Narrated by: Jonathan Dimbleby
- Length: 20 hrs and 43 mins
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Summary
Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of The Battle of the Atlantic, written and read by Jonathan Dimbleby.
The Battle of the Atlantic was - though often overlooked - crucial to victory in the Second World War. If the German U-boats had prevailed, the maritime artery across the Atlantic would have been severed. Mass hunger would have consumed Britain, and the Allied armies would have been prevented from joining in the invasion of Europe. There would have been no D-Day.
Through fascinating contemporary diaries and letters from the leaders and from the sailors on all sides, Jonathan Dimbleby creates a thrilling narrative that uniquely places the campaign in the context of the entire Second World War.
Challenging conventional wisdom on the use of intelligence and on Churchill's bombing campaign, The Battle of the Atlantic tells the epic story of the decisions that led to victory and the horror and humanity of life on those perilous seas.
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What listeners say about The Battle of the Atlantic
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Paul J Day
- 29-01-16
Brilliant but faulty editing
Really interesting book and very well read. Especially interesting were the personal stories.
However, the recording has at least 2 sections where sections were left in where Jonathan makes a mistake, apologised then restarts the reading.
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11 people found this helpful
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- grant
- 02-06-16
Good but runs out of steam
Is there anything you would change about this book?
The book is great although terribly edited with regular mistakes and repeated phrases not removed. There are 18 hours of coverage of 1939-1942 and then two hours for the rest. The period where the allies were losing is brilliantly described in significant detail but it feels that he realised he had to cram the rest of the war into two hours and rushed it. The sinking of 5 submarines in 24 hours is given 60 seconds.
What other book might you compare The Battle of the Atlantic to, and why?
Max Hastings does this better
Did the narration match the pace of the story?
His narration is brilliant as you would expect of one of our best ever broadcasters but some basic editing would have also helped.
Do you think The Battle of the Atlantic needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?
No
Any additional comments?
Could have been great but seems very unbalanced.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Woody
- 29-05-17
Poor editing
Did no one proof listen to this? Clearly not.
A terrific performance ruined because whoever produced it did not take out where Jonathan had clearly faltered and started a line again.
A real shame as it distracted from a cracking book
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4 people found this helpful
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- David
- 15-04-17
Lazy editing.
Lazy editing. Some obvious mistakes have been left in. A few mispronounciations also grated on me.
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2 people found this helpful
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- A. DONALDSON
- 15-02-17
More Politics than Eye Witness accounts
A mixed review. If like me you are a fan of Antony Beevor who mixes eye wifness accounts with an overvview but with more of tbe former then you may find this disappointing. Poorly edited with several coughs and pauses by the narrator/writer it is very heavy on politics and fairly repetitive repeatedly referring to Churchill and Roosevelts interactions (with Dimblebys poor Churchill impression used constantly). It also pays a great deal of attention to the early stages of the battle then quickly speeds through the crucial 1942-1943 stage and gets largely distracted by other war theatres. One chapter 'the war in the air' pays little attention to the actual battle between aircraft and submarine and is entirely focused on the battle between the various air commands to secure the aircraft needed. So although the book had some positives it was not my best listen and I have read superior books on the Battle of the Atlantic
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2 people found this helpful
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- timothy davies
- 25-05-16
Poorly edited!
What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?
Enjoyable listen but the editing and continuity has a few glaring mistakes, and Mr Dimbleby's pronunciation of German ranks and terms is somewhat inconsistent!
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2 people found this helpful
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- niton jazz
- 28-08-23
One man’s madness
I was only a child during WW2 but I well remember the blitz,dog fights, and the shooting down of a Me 110. But that was minor to the loss of life by both sides in the battle of the Atlantic. The thousands of lives lost on both sides. Right up until the end and caused by one man Hitler this book needs to be read by all
Brilliant!!
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1 person found this helpful
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- lee
- 21-06-16
Editing!
The book overall was very good and informative with good eye witness accounts. Dimblebys impressions of Roosevelt, Churchill and so on, leave a little to be desired.
The one poor thing was the editing. There are a number of places where Dimbleby repeats himself as he made an error, at one point actually saying sorry. Also coughing a spluttering in places, surely this could have been edited out!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon UK Customer
- 24-05-16
Good but more politics than 'on the water'
Would you consider the audio edition of The Battle of the Atlantic to be better than the print version?
Yes, for listening in the car. The quality is patchy as there are a number of 're-recordings' left in the audio, and the levels vary between Jonathan's recording sessions. Could do with a final edit and balancing out.
Any additional comments?
The narrative itself is tilted strongly towards the politician's perspective of the battle. I'd say 55% White House/Downing Street/Berlin, 35% on the water and 10% implications of the battle. Rather too much of the political back and forth for me; though it is a vital part of the story, I would rather have had the politics/water proportions reversed.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Rob
- 15-04-16
Recording errors
If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?
The book was fine and so was the performance, but there was quite a few repeated bits of takes, which I wouldn't expect in a commercial release.
What aspect of Jonathan Dimbleby’s performance might you have changed?
The over use of Latin, which doesn't add anything in my view, particularly if you have to look up what it meant.
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