Preview
  • The Hinge Factor

  • How Chance and Stupidity Have Changed History
  • By: Erik Durschmied
  • Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
  • Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars (19 ratings)

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The Hinge Factor

By: Erik Durschmied
Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
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Publisher's summary

From the Trojan Horse to Robert E. Lee's lost battle plans, world history has been as shaped by chance and error as by courage and conviction.

©1999, 2011 Erik Durschmied (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History
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Editorial reviews

A survivor of World War II, Erik Durschmied spent the rest of his life studying battle from the front line as a war correspondent. In The Hinge Factor: How Chance and Stupidity Have Changed History Durschmied discusses how sheer dumb luck has altered the trajectory of civilization. Kevin Stillwell's performance effortlessly brings us to settings and times as diverse as the battlefields of Ancient Rome and the sky above Hiroshama…. Indeed, Durschmied's first anecdote describes how something as simple as cloud cover determined the target of a deadly new weapon.

What listeners say about The Hinge Factor

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good story teller; gets a bit preachy

This book is an excellent listen when the author is relaying historical events. The author, though, does become a bit preachy, especially in the final chapters.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Too Many Details

My mind kept drifting off, and thinking about something else, many times. There were only a few things that interested me.

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