Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • The Greatest Day in History

  • How the First World War Finally Came to an End
  • By: Nicholas Best
  • Narrated by: John Haag
  • Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (12 ratings)
Get this deal Try for £0.00
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
The Greatest Day in History cover art

The Greatest Day in History

By: Nicholas Best
Narrated by: John Haag
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £18.99

Buy Now for £18.99

Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

 London in the Eighteenth Century cover art
A People’s Tragedy cover art
SAS cover art
The Greatest Escape cover art
Stars and Spies cover art
Mildred on the Marne cover art
Carve Her Name with Pride cover art
Sherman's March cover art
Sword of Bone cover art
Captured by History cover art
Albanian Assignment cover art
Britain's Last Tommies cover art
The Guns of August cover art
In Their Own Words cover art
The International Brigades cover art
Soldiers cover art

Summary

World War I did not end neatly with the Germans' surrender. After a dramatic week of negotiations, military offensives, and the beginning of a Communist revolution, the German Imperial regime collapsed. The Allies eventually granted an armistice to a new German government, and at 11:00 on November 11, the guns officially ceased fire - but only after 11,000 more casualties had been sustained. The London Daily Express proclaimed it "the greatest day in history".

Nicholas Best tells the story in sweeping, cinematic style, following a set of key participants through the twists and turns of these climactic events, and sharing the impressions of eyewitnesses, including Adolf Hitler, Charles de Gaulle, Harry S. Truman, Anthony Eden, and future famous generals MacArthur, Patton, and Montgomery.
©2008 Nicholas Best (P)2009 Audible, Inc.
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History
United States Europe Military
Show More Show Less

Critic reviews

"What might have been merely a kaleidoscopic series of vignettes is given shape and focus by Best's skill at paraphrasing the narratives and synergizing the experiences of those who lived through the greatest day in history, knowing they had survived the deadliest war up to then - and suddenly asking, What happens now?" (Publishers Weekly)
"The sense that the last four years could not be repeated is very strong among these witnesses, except for a certain Adolf Hitler, who feels that Germany has to try again. All expanding WWI collections need this book." (Booklist)

What listeners say about The Greatest Day in History

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.co.uk reviews

Amazon reviews
Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Gwyn

Great Book, shame about the narration

This book was written by a Brit and should have been narrated by one. The American narrator sounds strange talking about a car's 'bonnet', instead of the 'hood', or sounding a jarring note by saying such things as 8 November, instead of the more Anglicised 8th of November. That said, the book itself is fascinating and wide ranging, wide ranging and bringing in all sorts of details such as the impact of Spanish flu, or the fact that Germany teetered on the brink of becoming a Socialist republic, using the USSR as a model. Best also brings in a large cast of characters, all of whom were contemporaries - Bertram Russell, Vera Britain, Oswald Mosely, Ghandi, Marie Currie, Hitler and so on. So, well worth getting and would repay repeat listening, even if the American accent grates a little.

Report this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful