
A Game of Birds and Wolves
The Ingenious Young Women Whose Secret Board Game Helped Win World War II
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $21.83
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Elliot Fitzpatrick
-
By:
-
Simon Parkin
About this listen
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Combining vibrant novelistic storytelling with extensive research, interviews, and previously unpublished accounts, Simon Parkin describes for the first time the role that women played in developing the Allied strategy that, in the words of one admiral,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.
©2020 Simon Parkin (P)2020 Little, Brown & CompanyListeners also enjoyed...
-
Rocket Men
- The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man's First Journey to the Moon
- By: Robert Kurson
- Narrated by: Ray Porter, Robert Kurson
- Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By August 1968, the American space program was in danger of failing in its two most important objectives: to land a man on the moon by President Kennedy's end-of-decade deadline and to triumph over the Soviets in space. With its back against the wall, NASA made an almost unimaginable leap: It would scrap its usual methodical approach and risk everything on a sudden launch, sending the first men in history to the moon - in just four months.
-
-
The Men Who Saved 1968
- By Gillian on 04-04-18
By: Robert Kurson
-
Race of Aces
- WWII's Elite Airmen and the Epic Battle to Become the Master of the Sky
- By: John R. Bruning
- Narrated by: Brian Troxell
- Length: 16 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1942, America's deadliest fighter pilot, or "ace of aces" - the legendary Eddie Rickenbacker - offered a bottle of bourbon to the first US fighter pilot to break his record of 26 enemy planes shot down. Seizing on the challenge to motivate his men, General George Kenney promoted what they would come to call the "race of aces" as a way of boosting the spirits of his war-weary command.
-
-
Boring, confusing storyline, some technical details wrong
- By ATM on 04-09-20
By: John R. Bruning
-
Humble Pi
- When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World
- By: Matt Parker
- Narrated by: Matt Parker
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Exploring and explaining a litany of glitches, near misses, and mathematical mishaps involving the internet, big data, elections, street signs, lotteries, the Roman Empire, and an Olympic team, Matt Parker uncovers the bizarre ways math trips us up, and what this reveals about its essential place in our world. Getting it wrong has never been more fun.
-
-
Fascinating & enlightening even for da mathphobic✏️
- By C. White on 01-23-20
By: Matt Parker
-
Imperfect Union
- How Jessie and John Frémont Mapped the West, Invented Celebrity, and Helped Cause the Civil War
- By: Steve Inskeep
- Narrated by: Steve Inskeep
- Length: 13 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With rare detail and in consummate style, Steve Inskeep tells the story of a couple whose joint ambitions and talents intertwined with those of the nascent United States itself. Taking advantage of expanding news media, aided by an increasingly literate public, the two linked their names to the three great national movements of the time - westward settlement, women’s rights, and opposition to slavery. Together, John and Jessie Frémont took parts in events that defined the country and gave rise to a new, more global America.
-
-
The ending is odd.
- By Kevin E. Werner on 12-26-20
By: Steve Inskeep
-
Bunker Hill
- A City, a Siege, a Revolution
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Chris Sorensen
- Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the opening volume of his acclaimed American Revolution series, Nathaniel Philbrick turns his keen eye to pre-Revolutionary Boston and the spark that ignited the American Revolution. In the aftermath of the Boston Tea Party and the violence at Lexington and Concord, the conflict escalated and skirmishes gave way to outright war in the Battle of Bunker Hill. It was the bloodiest conflict of the revolutionary war, and the point of no return for the rebellious colonists.
-
-
Another Fantastic Story by Philbrick
- By Rick on 09-30-13
-
Marvel Comics
- The Untold Story
- By: Sean Howe
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 17 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The defining, behind-the-scenes chronicle of one of the most extraordinary, beloved, and dominant pop cultural entities in America’s history - Marvel Comics - and the outsized personalities who made Marvel, including Martin Goodman, Stan Lee, and Jack Kirby.
-
-
It's as if this book was written for me!
- By Greg on 03-15-13
By: Sean Howe
-
Rocket Men
- The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man's First Journey to the Moon
- By: Robert Kurson
- Narrated by: Ray Porter, Robert Kurson
- Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By August 1968, the American space program was in danger of failing in its two most important objectives: to land a man on the moon by President Kennedy's end-of-decade deadline and to triumph over the Soviets in space. With its back against the wall, NASA made an almost unimaginable leap: It would scrap its usual methodical approach and risk everything on a sudden launch, sending the first men in history to the moon - in just four months.
-
-
The Men Who Saved 1968
- By Gillian on 04-04-18
By: Robert Kurson
-
Race of Aces
- WWII's Elite Airmen and the Epic Battle to Become the Master of the Sky
- By: John R. Bruning
- Narrated by: Brian Troxell
- Length: 16 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1942, America's deadliest fighter pilot, or "ace of aces" - the legendary Eddie Rickenbacker - offered a bottle of bourbon to the first US fighter pilot to break his record of 26 enemy planes shot down. Seizing on the challenge to motivate his men, General George Kenney promoted what they would come to call the "race of aces" as a way of boosting the spirits of his war-weary command.
-
-
Boring, confusing storyline, some technical details wrong
- By ATM on 04-09-20
By: John R. Bruning
-
Humble Pi
- When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World
- By: Matt Parker
- Narrated by: Matt Parker
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Exploring and explaining a litany of glitches, near misses, and mathematical mishaps involving the internet, big data, elections, street signs, lotteries, the Roman Empire, and an Olympic team, Matt Parker uncovers the bizarre ways math trips us up, and what this reveals about its essential place in our world. Getting it wrong has never been more fun.
-
-
Fascinating & enlightening even for da mathphobic✏️
- By C. White on 01-23-20
By: Matt Parker
-
Imperfect Union
- How Jessie and John Frémont Mapped the West, Invented Celebrity, and Helped Cause the Civil War
- By: Steve Inskeep
- Narrated by: Steve Inskeep
- Length: 13 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With rare detail and in consummate style, Steve Inskeep tells the story of a couple whose joint ambitions and talents intertwined with those of the nascent United States itself. Taking advantage of expanding news media, aided by an increasingly literate public, the two linked their names to the three great national movements of the time - westward settlement, women’s rights, and opposition to slavery. Together, John and Jessie Frémont took parts in events that defined the country and gave rise to a new, more global America.
-
-
The ending is odd.
- By Kevin E. Werner on 12-26-20
By: Steve Inskeep
-
Bunker Hill
- A City, a Siege, a Revolution
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Chris Sorensen
- Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the opening volume of his acclaimed American Revolution series, Nathaniel Philbrick turns his keen eye to pre-Revolutionary Boston and the spark that ignited the American Revolution. In the aftermath of the Boston Tea Party and the violence at Lexington and Concord, the conflict escalated and skirmishes gave way to outright war in the Battle of Bunker Hill. It was the bloodiest conflict of the revolutionary war, and the point of no return for the rebellious colonists.
-
-
Another Fantastic Story by Philbrick
- By Rick on 09-30-13
-
Marvel Comics
- The Untold Story
- By: Sean Howe
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 17 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The defining, behind-the-scenes chronicle of one of the most extraordinary, beloved, and dominant pop cultural entities in America’s history - Marvel Comics - and the outsized personalities who made Marvel, including Martin Goodman, Stan Lee, and Jack Kirby.
-
-
It's as if this book was written for me!
- By Greg on 03-15-13
By: Sean Howe
-
How To
- Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems
- By: Randall Munroe
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For any task you might want to do, there's a right way, a wrong way, and a way so monumentally complex, excessive, and inadvisable that no one would ever try it. How To is a guide to the third kind of approach. It's full of highly impractical advice for everything from landing a plane to digging a hole.
-
-
Bad Ideas So BAD They Are NEARLY Irresistable! 🤓
- By C. White on 09-03-19
By: Randall Munroe
-
The Wizard and the Prophet
- Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow's World
- By: Charles C. Mann
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 18 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 40 years, Earth's population will reach 10 billion. Can our world support that? What kind of world will it be? Those answering these questions generally fall into two deeply divided groups - Wizards and Prophets, as Charles Mann calls them in this balanced, authoritative, nonpolemical new book. The Prophets, he explains, follow William Vogt, a founding environmentalist who believed that in using more than our planet has to give, our prosperity will lead us to ruin.
-
-
Fantastic
- By BKATX on 01-26-18
By: Charles C. Mann
-
The Science of Storytelling
- By: Will Storr
- Narrated by: James Clamp
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How do master storytellers compel us? There have been many attempts to understand what makes a good story, but few have used a scientific approach. In The Science of Storytelling, Will Storr applies dazzling psychological research and cutting-edge neuroscience to our myths and archetypes to show how we can tell better stories, revealing, among other things, how storytellers - and also our brains - create worlds by being attuned to moments of unexpected change.
-
-
A great portal into human psychology
- By Stephanie Romer on 02-13-21
By: Will Storr
-
Fly Girls
- How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History
- By: Keith O'Brien
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Between the world wars, no sport was more popular, or more dangerous, than airplane racing. Thousands of fans flocked to multi-day events, and cities vied with one another to host them. The pilots themselves were hailed as dashing heroes who cheerfully stared death in the face. Fly Girls recounts how a cadre of women banded together to break the original glass ceiling: the entrenched prejudice that conspired to keep them out of the sky.
-
-
For women, and dads
- By Cecilia Avanelle on 08-08-18
By: Keith O'Brien
-
Who Can Hold the Sea
- The U.S. Navy in the Cold War 1945-1960
- By: James D. Hornfischer
- Narrated by: Christopher Newton, Sharon Hornfischer
- Length: 17 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This landmark account of the U.S. Navy in the Cold War, Who Can Hold the Sea combines narrative history with scenes of stirring adventure on—and under—the high seas. In 1945, at the end of World War II, the victorious Navy sends its sailors home and decommissions most of its warships. But this peaceful interlude is short-lived, as Stalin, America’s former ally, makes aggressive moves in Europe and the Far East.
-
-
James D. Hornfisher's last work
- By JWHayn4563 on 05-05-22
-
Code Girls
- The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II
- By: Liza Mundy
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Recruited by the US Army and Navy from small towns and elite colleges, more than 10,000 women served as codebreakers during World War II. While their brothers and boyfriends took up arms, these women moved to Washington and learned the meticulous work of codebreaking. Their efforts shortened the war, saved countless lives, and gave them access to careers previously denied to them.
-
-
Just released, about 80% through this story
- By Roobah on 10-11-17
By: Liza Mundy
-
Rogue Heroes
- The History of the SAS, Britain's Secret Special Forces Unit That Sabotaged the Nazis and Changed the Nature of War
- By: Ben Macintyre
- Narrated by: Ben Macintyre
- Length: 13 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Britain's Special Air Service - or SAS - was the brainchild of David Stirling, a young, gadabout aristocrat whose aimlessness in early life belied a remarkable strategic mind. Where most of his colleagues looked at a battlefield map of World War II's African theater and saw a protracted struggle with Rommel's desert forces, Stirling saw an opportunity: Given a small number of elite, well-trained men, he could parachute behind enemy lines and sabotage their airplanes and war matériel.
-
-
Those Who Dared, Won!
- By Matthew on 10-07-16
By: Ben Macintyre
-
The Ice Diaries
- The Untold Story of the USS Nautilus and the Cold War’s Most Daring Mission
- By: Captain William R. Anderson, Don Keith - contributor
- Narrated by: Roger Mueller
- Length: 10 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Ice Diaries tells the incredible true story of Captain William R. Anderson and his crew's harrowing top-secret mission aboard the USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear-powered submarine. Bristling with newly classified, never-before-published information, The Ice Diaries takes listeners on a dangerous journey beneath the vast, unexplored Arctic ice cap during the height of the Cold War.
-
-
a great book about brave men
- By TDL Martin on 02-05-20
By: Captain William R. Anderson, and others
-
Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942
- By: Ian W. Toll
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 22 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the first Sunday in December 1941, an armada of Japanese warplanes appeared suddenly over Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and devastated the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Six months later, in a sea fight north of the tiny atoll of Midway, four Japanese aircraft carriers were sent into the abyss. Pacific Crucible tells the epic tale of these first searing months of the Pacific war, when the U.S. Navy shook off the worst defeat in American military history and seized the strategic initiative.
-
-
Astonishingly good.
- By Mike From Mesa on 09-01-12
By: Ian W. Toll
-
The Splendid and the Vile
- A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz
- By: Erik Larson
- Narrated by: John Lee, Erik Larson
- Length: 17 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On Winston Churchill’s first day as prime minister, Adolf Hitler invaded Holland and Belgium. Poland and Czechoslovakia had already fallen, and the Dunkirk evacuation was just two weeks away. For the next 12 months, Hitler would wage a relentless bombing campaign, killing 45,000 Britons. It was up to Churchill to hold his country together and persuade President Franklin Roosevelt that Britain was a worthy ally - and willing to fight to the end. In The Splendid and the Vile, Erik Larson shows how Churchill taught the British people "the art of being fearless."
-
-
John Lee’s narration is a struggle
- By Leslie Rathjens on 03-05-20
By: Erik Larson
-
War of Shadows
- Codebreakers, Spies, and the Secret Struggle to Drive the Nazis from the Middle East
- By: Gershom Gorenberg
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 14 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As World War II raged in North Africa, General Erwin Rommel was guided by an uncanny sense of his enemies' plans and weaknesses. In the summer of 1942, he led his Axis army swiftly and terrifyingly toward Alexandria, with the goal of overrunning the entire Middle East. Each step was informed by detailed updates on British positions. The Nazis, somehow, had a source for the Allies' greatest secrets.
-
-
Interesting history: mediocre narration.
- By William R. Todd-Mancillas (Name includes hyphen and capitalized M). on 06-12-22
-
D-Day
- June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of WW II
- By: Stephen E. Ambrose
- Narrated by: Jesse Boggs
- Length: 25 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Stephen E. Ambrose draws from hundreds of interviews with US Army veterans and the brave Allied soldiers who fought alongside them to create this exceptional account of the day that shaped the twentieth century. D-Day is above all the epic story of men at the most demanding moment of their existence, when the horrors, complexities and triumphs of life are laid bare and courage and heroism come to the fore.
-
-
What an epic story what great men
- By Michael on 02-12-14
Critic reviews
"With novelistic flair, Parkin transforms material gathered from research, interviews, and unpublished accounts into a highly readable book that celebrates the ingenuity of a British naval 'reject' and the accomplishments of the formerly faceless women never officially rewarded for their contribution to the Allied defeat of Germany. A lively, sharp WWII history." (Kirkus Reviews)
"A Game of Birds and Wolves brings to life one of the most elusive aspects of war...compelling." (New York Times Book Review)
"History writing at its best." (Booklist, starred review)
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
In the Blood
- How Two Outsiders Solved a Centuries-Old Medical Mystery and Took On the US Army
- By: Charles Barber
- Narrated by: Ron Butler
- Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, dramatized by the popular film Black Hawk Down, the majority of soldiers who died were killed instantly or bled to death before they could reach an operating table. This tragedy reinforced the need for a revolutionary treatment that could transform trauma medicine. So, when Frank Hursey and Bart Gullong—who had no medical or military experience—discovered that a cheap, crushed rock called zeolite had blood‑clotting properties, they brought it to the military's attention. The Marines and the Navy adopted the resulting product, QuikClot, immediately.
-
-
Excellent medical history
- By Anthony on 07-01-23
By: Charles Barber
-
The Targeter
- My Life in the CIA, Hunting Terrorists and Challenging the White House
- By: Nada Bakos, Davin Coburn
- Narrated by: Christine Lakin
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1999, 30-year-old Nada Bakos moved from her lifelong home in Montana to Washington, DC, to join the CIA. Quickly realizing her affinity for intelligence work, Nada was determined to rise through the ranks of the agency first as an analyst and then as a Targeting Officer, eventually finding herself on the frontline of America's War against Islamic extremists. In this role, Nada was charged with determining if Iraq had a relationship with 9/11 and Al-Qaida, and finding the mastermind behind this terrorist activity: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
-
-
Terrible book. Feminazi Propaganda
- By Dan Wells on 08-24-19
By: Nada Bakos, and others
-
The Heart of the Woods
- By: Wyl Menmuir
- Narrated by: Wyl Menmuir
- Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Throughout history, trees have determined the tools we use, the boats we build, the stories we tell about the world and ourselves, the songs we sing, and some of our most important rituals. As such, our lives are intertwined with those of the trees and woodlands around us. In this journey deep into the woods, Wyl Menmuir travels the length and breadth of Britain and Ireland to meet the people who plant trees, the ecologists who study them, those who shape beautiful objects and tools from wood, and those who use them to help others.
-
-
Perfect for all who love the outdoors!
- By Hannah on 09-10-24
By: Wyl Menmuir
-
The Best Strangers in the World
- Stories from a Life Spent Listening
- By: Ari Shapiro
- Narrated by: Ari Shapiro
- Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In his first book, broadcaster Ari Shapiro takes us around the globe to reveal the stories behind narratives that are sometimes heartwarming, sometimes heartbreaking, but always poignant. He details his time traveling on Air Force One with President Obama, or following the path of Syrian refugees fleeing war, or learning from those fighting for social justice both at home and abroad.
-
-
Interesting life…….
- By Amy birnbach on 06-05-23
By: Ari Shapiro
-
Never Alone
- Prison, Politics, and My People
- By: Natan Sharansky, Gil Troy
- Narrated by: Natan Sharansky, Gil Troy, Peter Lownds
- Length: 22 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1977, Natan Sharansky, a leading activist in the democratic dissident movement in the Soviet Union and the movement for free Jewish emigration, was arrested by the KGB. He spent nine years as a political prisoner, convicted of treason against the state. Never Alone reveals how Sharansky's years in prison, many spent in harsh solitary confinement, prepared him for a very public life after his release. As an Israeli politician and the head of the Jewish Agency, Sharansky brought extraordinary moral clarity and uncompromising, often uncomfortable, honesty.
-
-
Fantastic
- By Danna Azrieli on 02-06-21
By: Natan Sharansky, and others
-
You Don't Belong Here
- How Three Women Rewrote the Story of War
- By: Elizabeth Becker
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kate Webb, an Australian iconoclast, Catherine Leroy, a French daredevil photographer, and Frances FitzGerald, a blue-blood American intellectual, arrived in Vietnam with starkly different life experiences but one shared purpose: to report on the most consequential story of the decade. At a time when women were considered unfit to be foreign reporters, Frankie, Catherine, and Kate challenged the rules imposed on them by the military, ignored the belittlement of their male peers, and ultimately altered the craft of war reportage for generations.
-
-
Good book for Vietnam buffs
- By Penelopatty on 03-27-21
By: Elizabeth Becker
-
In the Blood
- How Two Outsiders Solved a Centuries-Old Medical Mystery and Took On the US Army
- By: Charles Barber
- Narrated by: Ron Butler
- Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, dramatized by the popular film Black Hawk Down, the majority of soldiers who died were killed instantly or bled to death before they could reach an operating table. This tragedy reinforced the need for a revolutionary treatment that could transform trauma medicine. So, when Frank Hursey and Bart Gullong—who had no medical or military experience—discovered that a cheap, crushed rock called zeolite had blood‑clotting properties, they brought it to the military's attention. The Marines and the Navy adopted the resulting product, QuikClot, immediately.
-
-
Excellent medical history
- By Anthony on 07-01-23
By: Charles Barber
-
The Targeter
- My Life in the CIA, Hunting Terrorists and Challenging the White House
- By: Nada Bakos, Davin Coburn
- Narrated by: Christine Lakin
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1999, 30-year-old Nada Bakos moved from her lifelong home in Montana to Washington, DC, to join the CIA. Quickly realizing her affinity for intelligence work, Nada was determined to rise through the ranks of the agency first as an analyst and then as a Targeting Officer, eventually finding herself on the frontline of America's War against Islamic extremists. In this role, Nada was charged with determining if Iraq had a relationship with 9/11 and Al-Qaida, and finding the mastermind behind this terrorist activity: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
-
-
Terrible book. Feminazi Propaganda
- By Dan Wells on 08-24-19
By: Nada Bakos, and others
-
The Heart of the Woods
- By: Wyl Menmuir
- Narrated by: Wyl Menmuir
- Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Throughout history, trees have determined the tools we use, the boats we build, the stories we tell about the world and ourselves, the songs we sing, and some of our most important rituals. As such, our lives are intertwined with those of the trees and woodlands around us. In this journey deep into the woods, Wyl Menmuir travels the length and breadth of Britain and Ireland to meet the people who plant trees, the ecologists who study them, those who shape beautiful objects and tools from wood, and those who use them to help others.
-
-
Perfect for all who love the outdoors!
- By Hannah on 09-10-24
By: Wyl Menmuir
-
The Best Strangers in the World
- Stories from a Life Spent Listening
- By: Ari Shapiro
- Narrated by: Ari Shapiro
- Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In his first book, broadcaster Ari Shapiro takes us around the globe to reveal the stories behind narratives that are sometimes heartwarming, sometimes heartbreaking, but always poignant. He details his time traveling on Air Force One with President Obama, or following the path of Syrian refugees fleeing war, or learning from those fighting for social justice both at home and abroad.
-
-
Interesting life…….
- By Amy birnbach on 06-05-23
By: Ari Shapiro
-
Never Alone
- Prison, Politics, and My People
- By: Natan Sharansky, Gil Troy
- Narrated by: Natan Sharansky, Gil Troy, Peter Lownds
- Length: 22 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1977, Natan Sharansky, a leading activist in the democratic dissident movement in the Soviet Union and the movement for free Jewish emigration, was arrested by the KGB. He spent nine years as a political prisoner, convicted of treason against the state. Never Alone reveals how Sharansky's years in prison, many spent in harsh solitary confinement, prepared him for a very public life after his release. As an Israeli politician and the head of the Jewish Agency, Sharansky brought extraordinary moral clarity and uncompromising, often uncomfortable, honesty.
-
-
Fantastic
- By Danna Azrieli on 02-06-21
By: Natan Sharansky, and others
-
You Don't Belong Here
- How Three Women Rewrote the Story of War
- By: Elizabeth Becker
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kate Webb, an Australian iconoclast, Catherine Leroy, a French daredevil photographer, and Frances FitzGerald, a blue-blood American intellectual, arrived in Vietnam with starkly different life experiences but one shared purpose: to report on the most consequential story of the decade. At a time when women were considered unfit to be foreign reporters, Frankie, Catherine, and Kate challenged the rules imposed on them by the military, ignored the belittlement of their male peers, and ultimately altered the craft of war reportage for generations.
-
-
Good book for Vietnam buffs
- By Penelopatty on 03-27-21
By: Elizabeth Becker
-
Labyrinths
- Emma Jung, Her Marriage to Carl, and the Early Years of Psychoanalysis
- By: Catrine Clay
- Narrated by: Karen Cass
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Clever and ambitious, Emma Jung yearned to study the natural sciences at the University of Zurich. But the strict rules of proper Swiss society at the beginning of the 20th century dictated that a woman of Emma's stature - one of the richest heiresses in Switzerland - travel to Paris to "finish" her education, to prepare for marriage to a suitable man. Engaged to the son of one of her father's wealthy business colleagues, Emma's conventional and predictable life was upended when she met Carl Jung.
-
-
Carl plays center stage
- By Sparrowhawk on 12-23-16
By: Catrine Clay
-
But Will You Love Me Tomorrow?
- An Oral History of the '60s Girl Groups
- By: Laura Flam, Emily Sieu Liebowitz
- Narrated by: Laura Flam, Emily Sieu Liebowitz, Robin Eller, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The girl group sound, made famous and unforgettable by acts like The Ronettes, The Shirelles, The Supremes, and The Vandellas, took over the airwaves by capturing the mixture of innocence and rebellion emblematic of America in the 1960s. But while the songs are essential to the American canon, many of the artists remain all but anonymous to most listeners. But Will You Love Me Tomorrow?: An Oral History of 60s Girl Groups tells a national coming-of-age story that gives particular insight into the experiences of the female singers and songwriters who created the movement.
-
-
Now More Than Ever
- By priest on 09-15-23
By: Laura Flam, and others
-
RedHanded
- An Exploration of Criminals, Cannibals, Cults, and What Makes a Killer Tick
- By: Suruthi Bala, Hannah Maguire
- Narrated by: Suruthi Bala, Hannah Maguire, Denise Mina
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Based off Hannah Maguire and Suruthi Bala's popular podcast of the same name, RedHanded explores real-life true-crime cases to help answer once and for all if a killer is born or made.
-
-
Deeply investigated, full of light
- By Amy Castenell on 10-08-21
By: Suruthi Bala, and others
-
On the Psychology of Military Incompetence
- By: Norman F. Dixon
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 17 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Crimea, the Boer War, the Somme, Tobruk, Pearl Harbor, the Bay of Pigs: these are just some of the milestones in a century of military incompetence, of costly mishaps and tragic blunders. Are these simple accidents—as the "bloody fool" theory has it—or are they inevitable? The psychologist Norman F. Dixon argues that there is a pattern to inept generalship, and locates this pattern within the very act of creating armies in the first place, which in his view produces a levelling down of human capability that encourages the mediocre and limits the gifted.
-
-
Great book. Should be read by Secretary of Defense!
- By Amazon Customer on 08-04-24
By: Norman F. Dixon
-
After the Miracle
- The Political Crusades of Helen Keller
- By: Max Wallace
- Narrated by: Christine Lakin
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this powerful new history, New York Times bestselling author Max Wallace draws on groundbreaking research to reframe Helen Keller’s journey after the miracle at the water pump, vividly bringing to light her rarely discussed, lifelong fight for social justice across gender, class, race, and ability. Peeling back the curtain that obscured Keller’s political crusades in favor of her “inspirational” childhood, After the Miracle chronicles the complete legacy of one of the 20th century’s most extraordinary figures.
-
-
Excellent book
- By steve on 05-31-23
By: Max Wallace
-
Silent Spring Revolution
- John F. Kennedy, Rachel Carson, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and the Great Environmental Awakening
- By: Douglas Brinkley
- Narrated by: Stephen Graybill
- Length: 29 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York Times bestselling author and acclaimed presidential historian Douglas Brinkley chronicles the rise of environmental activism during the Long Sixties (1960-1973), telling the story of an indomitable generation that saved the natural world under the leadership of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon.
-
-
Need one more book...
- By Chuck Wofford on 02-23-23
By: Douglas Brinkley
-
Bloody Okinawa
- The Last Great Battle of World War II
- By: Joseph Wheelan
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 13 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On Easter Sunday, April 1, 1945, more than 184,000 US troops began landing on the only Japanese home soil invaded during the Pacific war. Just 350 miles from mainland Japan, Okinawa was to serve as a forward base for Japan's invasion in the fall of 1945. Nearly 140,000 Japanese and auxiliary soldiers fought with suicidal tenacity from hollowed-out, fortified hills and ridges. Under constant fire and in the rain and mud, the Americans battered the defenders with artillery, aerial bombing, naval gunfire, and every infantry tool.
-
-
Very Technical
- By J.Brock on 07-16-21
By: Joseph Wheelan
-
A Question of Power
- Electricity and the Wealth of Nations
- By: Robert Bryce
- Narrated by: Robert Bryce
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Global demand for power is doubling every two decades, but electricity remains one of the most difficult forms of energy to supply and do so reliably. Today, some three billion people live in places where per-capita electricity use is less than what's used by an average American refrigerator. How we close the colossal gap between the electricity rich and the electricity poor will determine our success in addressing issues like women's rights, inequality, and climate change.
-
-
Not the complete story
- By John on 08-11-20
By: Robert Bryce
-
Beast
- John Bonham and the Rise of Led Zeppelin
- By: C. M. Kushins, Dave Grohl - foreword
- Narrated by: Matthew Wolf, Chris Abell
- Length: 14 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first full-length narrative biography of Led Zeppelin's John Bonham, considered by many to be one of the greatest drummers in rock history, and a genuine wild man of epic (and sadly fatal) proportions.
-
-
In-Depth and Entertaining
- By Amazon Customer on 09-09-21
By: C. M. Kushins, and others
-
Pandora's Box
- How Guts, Guile, and Greed Upended TV
- By: Peter Biskind
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Instead of focusing on one service, like HBO, Pandora’s Box asks, “What did HBO do, besides give us The Sopranos?” The answer: It gave us a revolution. Biskind bites off a big chunk of entertainment history, following HBO from its birth into maturity, moving on to the basic cablers like FX and AMC, and ending up with the streamers and their wars, pitting Netflix against Amazon Prime Video, Max, and the killer pluses—Disney, Apple TV, and Paramount.
-
-
The rise and fall of peak TV
- By AlexBenBlock on 02-16-24
By: Peter Biskind
-
The Truth About Aaron
- My Journey to Understand My Brother
- By: Jonathan Hernandez
- Narrated by: Josh Bloomberg
- Length: 5 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Filled with headline-making revelations, The Truth About Aaron is a shocking and moving account of promise, tragedy, and loss - of one man’s descent into rage and violence, as told by the person who knew him more closely than anyone else.
-
-
Worst book ever
- By julia athey on 01-15-19
-
My Life in Plants
- Flowers I've Loved, Herbs I've Grown, and Houseplants I've Killed on the Way to Finding Myself
- By: Katie Vaz
- Narrated by: Taylor Meskimen
- Length: 1 hr and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From Katie Vaz, author of Don’t Worry, Eat Cake, the beloved Make Yourself Cozy, and The Escape Manual for Introverts, comes My Life in Plants. Her newest book tells the story of her life through the thirty-nine plants that have played both leading and supporting roles, from her childhood to her wedding day. Plants include a homegrown wildflower bouquet wrapped in duct tape that she carried on stage at age three, to a fragrant basil plant that brought her and her kitchen back to life after grief.
By: Katie Vaz
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.
Title is misleading...
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Honoring women's vital role
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
pretty good for non fiction
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Outstanding rendition of an important but overlooked legacy
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
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.
A Game of Birds and Wolves
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Fascinating account
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
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.
For a book about women naval strategist
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A misleading explanation about the story
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Important History
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The Orchestration of WW-2
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.