Darkest Hour
How Churchill Brought England Back from the Brink
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Narrated by:
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John Lee
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By:
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Anthony McCarten
About this listen
From the acclaimed novelist and screenwriter of The Theory of Everything comes a revisionist look at the period immediately following Winston Churchill's ascendancy to prime minister - soon to be a major motion picture starring Gary Oldman.
May 1940. Britain is at war, Winston Churchill has unexpectedly been promoted to prime minister, and the horrors of Blitzkrieg witness one Western European democracy fall after another in rapid succession. Facing this horror, with pen in hand and typist-secretary at the ready, Churchill wonders what words could capture the public mood when the invasion of Britain seems mere hours away.
It is this fascinating period that Anthony McCarten captures in this deeply researched and wonderfully written new book, The Darkest Hour. A day-by-day (and often hour-by-hour) narrative of this crucial moment in history provides a revisionist look at Churchill - a man plagued by doubt through those turbulent weeks but who emerged having made himself into the iconic, lionized figure we remember.
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In this stirring book, Martin Gilbert tells the intensely human story of Winston Churchill's profound connection to America, a relationship that resulted in an Anglo-American alliance that has stood at the center of international relations for more than a century.
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Learning has never been so much fun.
- By Mark Kabbash on 07-21-24
By: Martin Gilbert
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De Gaulle
- By: Julian Jackson
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 41 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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In a definitive biography of the mythic general who refused to accept Nazi domination of France, Julian Jackson captures this titanic figure as never before. Drawing on unpublished letters, memoirs, and resources of the recently opened de Gaulle archive, he reveals how this volatile visionary put a broken France back at the center of world affairs.
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Extremely British approach to de Gaulle
- By Keith on 05-31-19
By: Julian Jackson
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Hitler
- A Biography
- By: Ian Kershaw
- Narrated by: Alan Robertson
- Length: 46 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Hailed as the most compelling biography of the German dictator yet written, Ian Kershaw's Hitler brings us closer than ever before to the heart of its subject's immense darkness. From his illegitimate birth in a small Austrian village to his fiery death in a bunker under the Reich chancellery in Berlin, Adolf Hitler left a murky trail, strewn with contradictory tales and overgrown with self-created myths. One truth prevails: the sheer scale of the evils that he unleashed on the world has made him a demonic figure without equal in the 20th century.
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An Excellent Read
- By Rodney on 09-19-13
By: Ian Kershaw
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The China Mission
- By: Daniel Kurtz-Phelan
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 13 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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As World War II came to an end, General George Marshall was renowned as the architect of Allied victory. Set to retire, he instead accepted what he thought was a final mission - this time not to win a war, but to stop one. Across the Pacific, conflict between Chinese Nationalists and Communists threatened to suck in the United States and escalate into revolution. His assignment was to broker a peace, build a Chinese democracy, and prevent a Communist takeover, all while staving off World War III.
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A Previously Untold Story of a Failed Mission
- By Jonathan Love on 05-29-18
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Masters and Commanders
- How Four Titans Won the War in the West, 1941-1945
- By: Andrew Roberts
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 26 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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An epic joint biography, Masters and Commanders explores the degree to which the course of the Second World War turned on the relationships and temperaments of four of the strongest personalities of the 20th century: political masters Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt and the commanders of their armed forces, General Sir Alan Brooke and General George C. Marshall.
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Holocaust?
- By binkabul on 09-21-20
By: Andrew Roberts
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The Collapse of the Third Republic
- An Inquiry into the Fall of France in 1940
- By: William L. Shirer
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 48 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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As an international war correspondent and radio commentator, William L. Shirer didn't just research the fall of France. He was there. In just six weeks, he watched the Third Reich topple one of the world's oldest military powers - and institute a rule of terror and paranoia. Based on in-person conversation with the leaders, diplomats, generals, and ordinary citizens who both shaped the events of this time and lived through them on a daily basis, Shirer shapes a compelling account of historical events - without losing sight of the personal experience.
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So much information
- By Daniel L Carmony on 05-14-19
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1914
- The Year The World Ended
- By: Paul Ham
- Narrated by: Robert Meldrum
- Length: 22 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Few years can justly be said to have transformed the earth: 1914 did. In July that year, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Britain and France were poised to plunge the world into a war that would kill or wound 37 million people, tear down the fabric of society, uproot ancient political systems and set the course for the bloodiest century in human history.
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How the war started
- By Jean on 02-24-14
By: Paul Ham
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The Mantle of Command
- FDR at War, 1941–1942
- By: Nigel Hamilton
- Narrated by: Brad Sanders
- Length: 20 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Based on years of archival research and interviews with the last surviving aides and Roosevelt family members, Nigel Hamilton offers a definitive account of FDR’s masterful - and underappreciated - command of the Allied war effort. Hamilton takes listeners inside FDR’s White House Oval Study - his personal command center - and into the meetings where he battled with Churchill about strategy and tactics and overrode the near mutinies of his own generals and secretary of war.
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Great Book, Terrible Narration
- By Ross Mackey on 04-11-22
By: Nigel Hamilton
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Troublesome Young Men
- The Rebels Who Brought Churchill to Power and Helped Save England
- By: Lynne Olson
- Narrated by: Dennis Kleinman
- Length: 14 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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On May 7, 1940, the House of Commons began perhaps the most crucial debate in British parliamentary history. On its outcome hung the future of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's government and also of Britain - indeed, perhaps, the world. Troublesome Young Men is Lynne Olson's fascinating account of how a small group of rebellious Tory MPs defied the Chamberlain government's defeatist policies that aimed to appease Europe's tyrants and eventually forced the prime minister's resignation.
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Spectacular Narrative History Book
- By Nostromo on 11-30-18
By: Lynne Olson
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The General vs. the President
- MacArthur and Truman at the Brink of Nuclear War
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 15 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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From master storyteller and historian H. W. Brands comes the riveting story of how President Harry Truman and General Douglas MacArthur squared off to decide America's future in the aftermath of World War II.
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A Vivid Dramatic Accounting
- By Jean on 11-11-16
By: H. W. Brands
What listeners say about Darkest Hour
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- mumsy
- 04-24-18
Winston Spencer Churchill was amazing!
After seeing the film, I figured I'd give the book a try. So worth it!
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- Rick
- 06-20-18
not too long which was just right
not too long which was just right
not too long which was just right
not too long which was just right
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- Maureen
- 10-04-19
Shining in the Darkest Hour
This is an exceptional look at a man who was not expected to be the Prime Minister of England. His ability to make the correct decisions regarding the war against Hitler. There were those still in Chamberlin's camp who believed negotiating with the Nazis was the best option. Churchill may have even considered this during the Darkest Hour. However, he knew England could easily fall, he worked with his allies and tried to cajole Roosevelt to commit to the war cause. It all could have gone badly for the allies, but in the end, Churchill excelled in the Darkest Hour.
This is an excellent book, John Lee is an excellent narrator and brought the book to life.
Highly recommended.
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1 person found this helpful
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- CJ
- 12-27-21
Smartly done...
Churchill is always a riveting subject matter. Lee is an exquisite voice actor. He definitely added layers to the storytelling.
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- Alexandru
- 05-11-18
This is how a leader looks like
Everybody should read this book, if for no other reason just to see what we should expect from politicians. In a very difficult time, British politicians look pretty good, putting the good of the nation and the values of civilization first.
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- Samuel Culper
- 07-12-18
Excellent
Great story and excellent performance. Made history come alive in detailing events and emotions. Highly recommended.
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- Russell Bernard
- 07-25-18
Orator for our age
Churchill was a master orator and accomplished so much good with his words. It is truly inspiring to listen to his speeches and to realize how hard he worked on them. one hour for each minute do delivered. We sure could use that in todays world leaders.
The narration was wonderful and not to be missed. I did find some of the book tedious but other parts gripping. I thought Halifax was a bit boring and not very helpful. I guess he was from the old guard and did not fully understand the gravity of the times, as Winston did and had tried to warn England about the tyrant in Germany.
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- Theologator
- 02-04-22
Great Account - Shaky Thesis
The author gives a detailed account of the first month or so of Churchill’s leadership at the outset of WWII and its immediate precursors. Quite fine. He also inserts a shaky thesis that Churchill wanted to negotiate a costly peace while rallying the country to rescue the soldiers at Dunkirk and steeling themselves to fight to the last breath for freedom. While there is evidence that Churchill acceded to allow Halifax to make his insured inquiry, there is no indication Churchill expected anything from it. No contingencies were considered, no brake on thorough planning and execution for every aspect of total war. Worth a listen but I’m not convinced at all.
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- David McGlothlin
- 01-31-18
World history most Americans do not know
This is a very good history of the beginning of WWII most Americans do not know. And how close world history came to about as we know it today versus something completely different.
The movie has Dunkirk being a day. This book has it being much longer.
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4 people found this helpful
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- david
- 04-02-18
Awesome
Excellent story—great background to the challenges facing Britain at the beginning of the conflict with Hitler & Nazi Germany. A fair presentation of Churchill’s personality & temperament. Loved it!
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