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Combining vibrant novelistic storytelling with extensive research, interviews, and previously unpublished accounts, Simon Parkin describes for the first time the role that women played in developing the Allied strategy that, in the words of one admiral,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)
Related to this topic
-
Operation Pedestal
- The Fleet that Battled to Malta, 1942
- By: Max Hastings
- Narrated by: Max Hastings, John Hopkins
- Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Renowned historian Max Hastings recreates one of the most thrilling events of World War II: Operation Pedestal, the British action to save its troops from starvation on Malta - an action-packed tale of courage, fortitude, loss, and triumph against all odds.
-
-
Sir Max Hastings at his best
- By J.Brock on 10-27-22
By: Max Hastings
-
The Ghost Ships of Archangel
- The Arctic Voyage That Defied the Nazis
- By: William Geroux
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the fourth of July, 1942, four Allied ships traversing the Arctic separated from their decimated convoy to head further north into the ice field of the North Pole, seeking safety from Nazi bombers and U-boats in the perilous white maze of ice floes, growlers, and giant bergs. Despite the risks, they had a better chance of survival than the rest of Convoy PQ-17, a fleet of 35 cargo ships carrying $1 billion worth of war supplies to the Soviet port of Archangel - the limited help Roosevelt and Churchill extended to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin to maintain their fragile alliance.
-
-
A lot of chaff
- By J. Willson on 02-01-22
By: William Geroux
-
Atlantic Nightmare
- The Longest Continuous Military Campaign in World War Ii
- By: Richard Freeman
- Narrated by: Will Huggins
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No other battle of the Second World War lasted longer than the 2,075 days of the Battle of the Atlantic. It raged from the opening day of the war in September 1939 until it ended almost six years later with Germany’s surrender in May 1945. Vital supplies of food, fuel, and the raw materials needed by the Allies to wage war had to be transported in merchant ships in escorted convoys across the Atlantic Ocean, where they were at the mercy of German U-boats and warships.
-
-
Slanted Badly
- By Christopher on 07-07-24
By: Richard Freeman
-
Submarine Commander
- A Story of World War II and Korea
- By: Paul R. Schratz
- Narrated by: John N. Gully
- Length: 15 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A fascinating personal memoir of underwater combat in World War II, told by a man who played a major role in those dangerous operations. Frank and beautifully written, this book will be of lasting value as a submarine history by an expert and as an enduring military and political analysis.
-
-
Engrossing Memoir
- By Jean on 12-24-15
By: Paul R. Schratz
-
Dead Wake
- The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
- By: Erik Larson
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On May 1, 1915, with WWI entering its tenth month, a luxury ocean liner as richly appointed as an English country house sailed out of New York, bound for Liverpool, carrying a record number of children and infants. The passengers were surprisingly at ease, even though Germany had declared the seas around Britain to be a war zone. For months, German U-boats had brought terror to the North Atlantic.
-
-
Naivety VS Barbarians Of War
- By Sara on 03-05-16
By: Erik Larson
-
Jutland
- The Unfinished Battle
- By: Nick Jellicoe
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 18 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
More than a century later, historians still argue about this controversial and misunderstood World War I naval battle off the coast of Denmark. It was the 20th century's first engagement of dreadnoughts - and while it left Britain in control of the North Sea, both sides claimed victory and decades of disputes followed. This book not only retells the story of the battle from both a British and German perspective based on the latest research, but also helps clarify the context of Germany's inevitable naval clash and the aftermath after the smoke had cleared.
-
-
Well done
- By William on 03-30-20
By: Nick Jellicoe
-
Operation Pedestal
- The Fleet that Battled to Malta, 1942
- By: Max Hastings
- Narrated by: Max Hastings, John Hopkins
- Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Renowned historian Max Hastings recreates one of the most thrilling events of World War II: Operation Pedestal, the British action to save its troops from starvation on Malta - an action-packed tale of courage, fortitude, loss, and triumph against all odds.
-
-
Sir Max Hastings at his best
- By J.Brock on 10-27-22
By: Max Hastings
-
The Ghost Ships of Archangel
- The Arctic Voyage That Defied the Nazis
- By: William Geroux
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the fourth of July, 1942, four Allied ships traversing the Arctic separated from their decimated convoy to head further north into the ice field of the North Pole, seeking safety from Nazi bombers and U-boats in the perilous white maze of ice floes, growlers, and giant bergs. Despite the risks, they had a better chance of survival than the rest of Convoy PQ-17, a fleet of 35 cargo ships carrying $1 billion worth of war supplies to the Soviet port of Archangel - the limited help Roosevelt and Churchill extended to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin to maintain their fragile alliance.
-
-
A lot of chaff
- By J. Willson on 02-01-22
By: William Geroux
-
Atlantic Nightmare
- The Longest Continuous Military Campaign in World War Ii
- By: Richard Freeman
- Narrated by: Will Huggins
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No other battle of the Second World War lasted longer than the 2,075 days of the Battle of the Atlantic. It raged from the opening day of the war in September 1939 until it ended almost six years later with Germany’s surrender in May 1945. Vital supplies of food, fuel, and the raw materials needed by the Allies to wage war had to be transported in merchant ships in escorted convoys across the Atlantic Ocean, where they were at the mercy of German U-boats and warships.
-
-
Slanted Badly
- By Christopher on 07-07-24
By: Richard Freeman
-
Submarine Commander
- A Story of World War II and Korea
- By: Paul R. Schratz
- Narrated by: John N. Gully
- Length: 15 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A fascinating personal memoir of underwater combat in World War II, told by a man who played a major role in those dangerous operations. Frank and beautifully written, this book will be of lasting value as a submarine history by an expert and as an enduring military and political analysis.
-
-
Engrossing Memoir
- By Jean on 12-24-15
By: Paul R. Schratz
-
Dead Wake
- The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
- By: Erik Larson
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On May 1, 1915, with WWI entering its tenth month, a luxury ocean liner as richly appointed as an English country house sailed out of New York, bound for Liverpool, carrying a record number of children and infants. The passengers were surprisingly at ease, even though Germany had declared the seas around Britain to be a war zone. For months, German U-boats had brought terror to the North Atlantic.
-
-
Naivety VS Barbarians Of War
- By Sara on 03-05-16
By: Erik Larson
-
Jutland
- The Unfinished Battle
- By: Nick Jellicoe
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 18 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
More than a century later, historians still argue about this controversial and misunderstood World War I naval battle off the coast of Denmark. It was the 20th century's first engagement of dreadnoughts - and while it left Britain in control of the North Sea, both sides claimed victory and decades of disputes followed. This book not only retells the story of the battle from both a British and German perspective based on the latest research, but also helps clarify the context of Germany's inevitable naval clash and the aftermath after the smoke had cleared.
-
-
Well done
- By William on 03-30-20
By: Nick Jellicoe
-
Sink ‘Em All
- Submarine Warfare in the Pacific
- By: Charles A. Lockwood
- Narrated by: Eric Martin
- Length: 16 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sink 'Em All was originally published in 1951 by Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, the US Navy commander of the Pacific submarine fleet during World War II. Lockwood, in his leadership role, knew the skippers and crews of the submarines and retells their wartime successes and tragedies with an intimacy and realism often missing in second-hand accounts.
-
-
Best of the best
- By Robert on 08-29-18
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
The Other Side of the Story: USS Astoria CL-90
- By Mike Williams on 11-16-21
By: Brent E. Jones
-
Admiral Bill Halsey
- A Naval Life
- By: Thomas Alexander Hughes
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 17 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Finally a fair assessment
- By Stephen Breen on 06-28-20
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Too little sea action.
- By Joseph on 05-02-12
By: Richard Guilliatt, and others
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Gripping Story
- By Anonymous User on 06-21-10
By: Harry Ferguson
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
An Unassuming Leader
- By D. Baker on 08-06-23
By: Paul Stillwell
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Brothers Unbroken
- By Gillian on 05-12-17
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Engaging Read Not About Brothers, but Men
- By Gillian on 04-22-16
By: William Geroux
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Poorly researched.
- By Kindle Customer on 02-05-21
By: James Sullivan
-
War Beneath the Sea
- Submarine Conflict During World War II
- By: Peter Padfield
- Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell
- Length: 25 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Fills in the gaps of other submarine books
- By Ben on 05-19-21
By: Peter Padfield
-
Grey Wolves
- The U-Boat War 1939–1945
- By: Philip Kaplan
- Narrated by: A. T. Chandler
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Like a Jr High Book Report, Performance Bad Too
- By Bill Sayer on 12-03-15
By: Philip Kaplan
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
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.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
- 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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Scott C Paine
- 08-22-20
Fascinating account
Brilliantly written and narrated, great story of unsung heroes and heroines of WWII's Atlantic War
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
60 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!