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A Game of Birds and Wolves
- The Ingenious Young Women Whose Secret Board Game Helped Win World War II
- Narrated by: Elliot Fitzpatrick
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
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Publisher's summary
As heard on the New Yorker Radio Hour: The triumphant and "engaging history" (The New Yorker) of the young women who devised a winning strategy that defeated Nazi U-boats and delivered a decisive victory in the Battle of the Atlantic.
By 1941, Winston Churchill had come to believe that the outcome of World War II rested on the battle for the Atlantic. A grand strategy game was devised by Captain Gilbert Roberts and a group of 10 Wrens (members of the Women's Royal Naval Service) assigned to his team in an attempt to reveal the tactics behind the vicious success of the German U-boats. Played on a linoleum floor divided into painted squares, it required model ships to be moved across a make-believe ocean in a manner reminiscent of the childhood game Battleship. Through play, the designers developed "Operation Raspberry", a counter-maneuver that helped turn the tide of World War II.
Combining vibrant novelistic storytelling with extensive research, interviews, and previously unpublished accounts, Simon Parkin describes for the first time the role that women played in developing the Allied strategy that, in the words of one admiral, "contributed in no small measure to the final defeat of Germany". Rich with unforgettable cinematic detail and larger-than-life characters, A Game of Birds and Wolves is a heart-wrenching tale of ingenuity, dedication, perseverance, and love, bringing to life the imagination and sacrifice required to defeat the Nazis at sea.
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Best of the best
- By Robert on 08-29-18
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Days of Steel Rain
- The Epic Story of a WWII Vengeance Ship in the Year of the Kamikaze
- By: Brent E. Jones
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Sprawling across the Pacific, this untold story follows the crew of the newly-built "vengeance ship" USS Astoria, named for her sunken predecessor lost earlier in the war. At its center lies US Navy Captain George Dyer, who vowed to return to action after suffering a horrific wound. He accepted the ship's command in 1944, knowing it would be his last chance to avenge his injuries and salvage his career. Yet with the nation's resources and personnel stretched thin by the war, he found that just getting the ship into action would prove to be a battle.
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The Other Side of the Story: USS Astoria CL-90
- By Mike Williams on 11-16-21
By: Brent E. Jones
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Admiral Bill Halsey
- A Naval Life
- By: Thomas Alexander Hughes
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 17 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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William Halsey was the most famous naval officer of World War II. His fearlessness in carrier raids against Japan, his steely resolve at Guadalcanal, and his impulsive blunder at the Battle of Leyte Gulf made him the "Patton of the Pacific" and solidified his reputation as a decisive, aggressive fighter prone to impetuous errors of judgment in the heat of battle.
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Finally a fair assessment
- By Stephen Breen on 06-28-20
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The Wolf
- How One German Raider Terrorized the Allies in the Most Epic Voyage of WWI
- By: Richard Guilliatt, Peter Hohnen
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1916, a nondescript freighter left Germany carrying 465 submarine mines, 16 torpedoes, eight cannons, 1,400 shells, a seaplane, and 346 men who believed they were embarking on a suicide mission. That ship became known to Allied forces as the Wolf, and by the time it returned to Germany more than a year later, it was home to more than 800 men, women, and children from 25 different nations, including its own crew.
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Too little sea action.
- By Joseph on 05-02-12
By: Richard Guilliatt, and others
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Operation Kronstadt
- The Greatest True Tale of Espionage to Come Out of the Early Years of MI6
- By: Harry Ferguson
- Narrated by: Gideon Emery
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Part Blackhawk Down, part The Riddle of the Sands, former MI6 officer Harry Ferguson has written an extraordinarily gripping non-fiction thriller. Operation Kronstadt not only reveals the early days of intelligence services but also uncovers a truly dramatic story from the Russian Revolution involving a daring rescue attempt and a "mission impossible" against the best defended naval target in Russia.
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Gripping Story
- By Anonymous User on 06-21-10
By: Harry Ferguson
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Battleship Commander
- The Life of Vice Admiral Willis A. Lee Jr.
- By: Paul Stillwell
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Battleship Commander explores Lee's life from boyhood in Kentucky through his eventual service as commander of the fast battleships from 1942 to 1945. Said to be down to earth, modest, forgiving, friendly, and with a wry sense of humor, Lee eschewed the media and, to the extent possible, left administrative details to others.
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An Unassuming Leader
- By D. Baker on 08-06-23
By: Paul Stillwell
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The Jersey Brothers
- A Missing Naval Officer in the Pacific and His Family's Quest to Bring Him Home
- By: Sally Mott Freeman
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 18 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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They are three brothers, all navy men, who end up coincidentally and extraordinarily at the epicenter of three of the war's most crucial moments. Bill is picked by Roosevelt to run his first map room in Washington. Benny is the gunnery and antiaircraft officer on the USS Enterprise, one of the only carriers to escape Pearl Harbor and by the end of 1942 the last one left in the Pacific to defend against the Japanese. Barton, the youngest and least distinguished of the three, is shuffled off to the Navy Supply Corps because his mother wants him out of harm's way.
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Brothers Unbroken
- By Gillian on 05-12-17
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The Mathews Men
- Seven Brothers and the War Against Hitler's U-boats
- By: William Geroux
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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From the author of The Ghost Ships of Archangel, one of the last unheralded heroic stories of World War II: The U-boat assault off the American coast against the men of the US Merchant Marine who were supplying the European war, and one community’s monumental contribution to that effort. Mathews County, Virginia, is a remote outpost on the Chesapeake Bay with little to offer except unspoiled scenery - but it sent an unusually large concentration of sea captains to fight in World War II.
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Engaging Read Not About Brothers, but Men
- By Gillian on 04-22-16
By: William Geroux
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Unsinkable
- Five Men and the Indomitable Run of the USS Plunkett
- By: James Sullivan
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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In the best-selling tradition of Indianapolis and In Harm’s Way comes a “captivating...gripping” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) account of the USS Plunkett - a US Navy destroyer that sustained the most harrowing attack on any Navy ship by the Germans during World War II, later made famous by John Ford and Herman Wouk.
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Poorly researched.
- By Kindle Customer on 02-05-21
By: James Sullivan
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War Beneath the Sea
- Submarine Conflict During World War II
- By: Peter Padfield
- Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell
- Length: 25 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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This riveting chronicle of submarine warfare is the first to cover all the major submarine campaigns of the war, describing, in detail, the operations of the British, American, Japanese, Italian, and German submarine and anti-submarine forces. Beginning with a vivid re-creation of the sinking of the passenger liner Athenia by a German U-boat in September 1939, critically acclaimed military historian Peter Padfield's compelling narrative casts an unflinching eye on the devastating consequences of maritime warfare.
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Fills in the gaps of other submarine books
- By Ben on 05-19-21
By: Peter Padfield
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Grey Wolves
- The U-Boat War 1939–1945
- By: Philip Kaplan
- Narrated by: A. T. Chandler
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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In the early years of the Second World War, the elite force of German submariners known as the Ubootwaffe came perilously close to perfecting underwater battle tactics and successfully cutting Britain's transatlantic lifeline. To the Allies, these enemy sailors were embarking on a mission of unequivocal evil. Each member of the Ubootwaffe understood that he must take pride in being part of a unique brotherhood. He had to do so because he was setting out on a journey that would test his mental and physical endurance to the very limits, and which he had little chance of surviving.
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Like a Jr High Book Report, Performance Bad Too
- By Bill Sayer on 12-03-15
By: Philip Kaplan
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Decision at Sea
- Five Naval Battles That Shaped American History
- By: Craig L. Symonds
- Narrated by: Stephen R. Thorne
- Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Decision at Sea is a powerful and illuminating look at pivotal moments in the history of the Navy and of the United States. It is also a compelling study of the unchanging demands of leadership at sea, where commanders must make rapid decisions in the heat of battle with lives - and the fate of nations - hanging in the balance.
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Interesting book...but not great
- By Anonymous User on 11-22-20
By: Craig L. Symonds
What listeners say about A Game of Birds and Wolves
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Ellen
- 03-11-21
Honoring women's vital role
This account of the vital and unrecognized role of women during World War II's Battle of the Atlantic is well worth reading.
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- another know it all
- 08-27-20
pretty good for non fiction
I mostly listen to fiction because I prefer to read non fiction. but I found this easy to listen to. almost to much background about the people involved but that just made the story more relatable. a lesser known part of WW2 I am glad to know about.
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- Mo
- 08-22-20
Title is misleading...
but the book is interesting.
It's about u-boat warfare in the Atlantic and the man who developed the game which was crucial to the British defense (used to develop strategy and train officials).
The fact that women were involved in this effort is effectively highlighted by the author but they aren't the focus here. Instead, his attempts to make the book about them give it a bit of a split personality.
So, I have some issues with the overall organization, but I gave the book 4 stars. Why? It's one of those history books which does work in this audio format. Overall, it's easy to stay engaged and follow ideas. In the end, it was a mix of military and social history that left me with new insights into WWII.
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- Gary
- 01-10-21
Outstanding rendition of an important but overlooked legacy
Over 30,000 merchant sailors died in the Second World War Battle of the Atlantic. The unrecognized intelligence work of the thousands of women who raced to save them needs to be honoured. This book is an excellent memorial to their unsung, top secret dedication to duty.
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4 people found this helpful
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- BookReader
- 09-01-20
A Game of Birds and Wolves
Basic plot: A bit of WWII history. Not a riveting story of ocean battle, like C. S. Forester's The Good Shepherd, but rather a study of North Atlantic battle strategies to protect allied supply convoys from German U-boat attacks. The strategies are developed by the British using a large warehouse-type floor, string, models of ships and submarines, and Wrens. Wrens are the British equivalent of the US Wacs and Waves, the women who, in my opinion, were the backbone of the armed services. WWII would not have been a victory for the allies if not for these underpaid, incredible heroines ruefully ignored in the written history of the war until recently.
Liked. Learning a hidden history.
Not so hot. The first half of the book is a backstory of submariners, officers, one-upmanship, egos - both British and German - pre-game-development. The actual game development and successful strategies aren't presented until Chapter 11. Some, in my opinion, is fill not relevant to the story. The book is a bit misogynistic, but I suppose true to the time; the Wrens are almost incidental to the story - in reality, they were not. That's just me; you may find it peachy.
Written by Simon Parkin, narrated by Elliot Fitzpatrick, just over ten hours of listening, released in January 2020 by Little, Brown & Company.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Scott C Paine
- 08-22-20
Fascinating account
Brilliantly written and narrated, great story of unsung heroes and heroines of WWII's Atlantic War
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- Leo K
- 10-23-21
For a book about women naval strategist
...the author pick an odd filter to tell their tale, from the men's point of view. I never knew the history of Wren's involvement during WWII and now only know a bit more than before after listening to this book. The author chose relay the information about this organization of women naval strategist from nearly a completely male centric point of view. Even going so far as the relay anecdotal account from the men U-boat captains, where they partied, what they drank, and what women they slept with.
I'm not sure.what to make of this book. had the books byline simply stated that this was a book navy tactics between allied forces and Nazi Germany, then I may not have been this critical, but it didn't say that.
not a bad book, just wished the summary would have been different.
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- Vicki
- 10-13-21
A misleading explanation about the story
I enjoyed this book, but it had VERY little content about the women who did so much. It was quite informative about the operation, but gave very little credit to the women.
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- Kate
- 02-18-20
Important History
It was an important story to be told. And as the author says in the book, it is really heart breaking that relatives don't save women's diaries and papers. The men got medals and permission to write their histories but the women were held to the promises of secrecy that they made and minimal recognition. So much history is lost.
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60 people found this helpful
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- Joan
- 09-11-20
The Orchestration of WW-2
An Audible experience that put me on the front lines of WW-2 amidst the chaos of war and the militia responsible for saving lives while winning the war. This story acknowledges the significance of the Wrens. A must listen, or read, to understand what goes on behind the fighting front lines.
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