The Last Battle
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The Last Battle
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Narrated by:
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Simon Vance
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By:
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Cornelius Ryan
About this listen
The classic account of the final offensive against Hitler’s Third Reich.
The Battle for Berlin was the culminating struggle of World War II in the European theater. The last offensive against Hitler’s Third Reich, it devastated one of Europe’s historic capitals and marked the final defeat of Nazi Germany. It was also one of the war’s bloodiest and most pivotal battles, whose outcome would shape international politics for decades to come.
The Last Battle is Cornelius Ryan’s compelling account of this final battle, a story of brutal extremes, of stunning military triumph alongside the stark conditions that the civilians of Berlin experienced in the face of the Allied assault. As always, Ryan delves beneath the military and political forces that were dictating events to explore the more immediate imperatives of survival, where, as the author describes it, “to eat had become more important than to love, to burrow more dignified than to fight, to endure more militarily correct than to win.”
The Last Battle is the story of ordinary people, both soldiers and civilians, caught up in the despair, frustration, and terror of defeat. It is history at its best, a masterful illumination of the effects of war on the lives of individuals, and one of the enduring works on World War II.
©1966 Cornelius Ryan; 1994 by Victoria Ryan Bida and Geoffrey J. M. Ryan (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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What listeners say about The Last Battle
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 20-11-17
a great read
very informative, a great read for anyone wishing to know about the fall of Berlin.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Karrie
- 12-03-14
All the information you will ever need.
What did you like most about The Last Battle?
The details of the end of WW11, its' really well described.This has been the ONLY book I've known about to make the battle of Berlin such a visual experience, & to give so much information..
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Last Battle?
The simple futility of the killing of the few remaining soldiers and civilians who saw the war finished. Never the less this carried on right to the end. Squads were going around hanging what they saw as traitors.
Which scene did you most enjoy?
Not sure as I enjoy is the correct word for a subject like this, however I learnt a lot about how humans react in a dire crisis.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The futility of the battle at the end.
Any additional comments?
In this audible version the narrator achieves a moving account of the war, as it was played out in Germany and Berlin, in the final conclusion.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Craig
- 19-01-20
Brilliant
Historical fact at its best. A great listen. Nothing here is new but it's genuinely interesting to listen to the timeliness and how this last battle ended. Great listen for history buffs.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Finn
- 12-06-18
Beautifully read
Loved this great story great narrative and narration sad it is has finished looking for my next book
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Roland
- 01-09-13
A Good One
This is a narrative history well suited to be an audiobook. Not too technical, it's a compilation of people's experiences which follows the invasion of Germany at the end of the war, and the fate of Berlin. It's easy to listen to and I very much like Simon Vance's voice.
Various generals and their adjutants come into the story, German, Russian and American, but the story of Gotthard Heinrici is particularly captivating, as he tries to stave off the Russians and defy Hitler's crazy ideas at the same time. He wanted to give as many Germans as possible the chance to surrender to the western allies.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- geoff luck
- 09-02-18
very fine narrating
a fantastic and thorough book, a must read for anyone interested.
the book is simply an incredibly easy read, yet conveys many layers of this time.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 05-08-17
Top book
I have read other books about the battle for Berlin and I have found this the be the best.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- mcsmall
- 11-12-18
Interesting but dated account
Since this book was written, there has been further research notably by Ian Kershaw and Antony Beevor which highlights some of the inadequacies of Ryan's account.In particular, he gives credence to Speer's assertion at the Nuremberg Trial that he was planning to kill Hitler, for which there is no evidence.Other anecdotes are also presented as fact without any corroborative evidence.
Despite this-and the anomaly of an American book with a British narrator, it's an interesting listen.
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1 person found this helpful