Churchill and Orwell
The Fight for Freedom
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Narrated by:
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James Lurie
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By:
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Thomas E. Ricks
About this listen
A New York Times best seller!
A New York Times Book Review Notable Book of 2017
A dual biography of Winston Churchill and George Orwell, who preserved democracy from the threats of authoritarianism, from the left and right alike.
Both George Orwell and Winston Churchill came close to death in the mid-1930s - Orwell shot in the neck in a trench line in the Spanish Civil War and Churchill struck by a car in New York City. If they'd died then, history would scarcely remember them. At the time, Churchill was a politician on the outs, his loyalty to his class and party suspect. Orwell was a mildly successful novelist, to put it generously. No one would have predicted that by the end of the 20th century they would be considered two of the most important people in British history for having the vision and courage to campaign tirelessly, in words and in deeds, against the totalitarian threat from both the left and the right. In a crucial moment, they responded first by seeking the facts of the matter, seeing through the lies and obfuscations, and then they acted on their beliefs. Together, to an extent not sufficiently appreciated, they kept the West's compass set toward freedom as its due north.
It's not easy to recall now how lonely a position both men once occupied. By the late 1930s, democracy was discredited in many circles, and authoritarian rulers were everywhere in the ascent. There were some who decried the scourge of communism but saw in Hitler and Mussolini "men we could do business with", if not in fact saviors. And there were others who saw the Nazi and fascist threat as malign but tended to view communism as the path to salvation.
Churchill and Orwell, on the other hand, had the foresight to see clearly that the issue was human freedom - that whatever its coloration, a government that denied its people basic freedoms was a totalitarian menace and had to be resisted. In the end, Churchill and Orwell proved their age's necessary men.
The glorious climax of Churchill and Orwell is the work they both did in the decade of the 1940s to triumph over freedom's enemies. And though Churchill played the larger role in the defeat of Hitler and the Axis, Orwell's reckoning with the menace of authoritarian rule in Animal Farm and 1984 would define the stakes of the Cold War for its 50-year course and continues to give inspiration to fighters for freedom to this day. Taken together, in Thomas E. Ricks' masterful hands, their lives are a beautiful testament to the power of moral conviction and to the courage it can take to stay true to it, through thick and thin.
©2017 Thomas E. Ricks (P)2017 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Only two Americans held positions of great influence throughout the Cold War; ironically, they were the chief advocates for the opposing strategies for winning---and surviving---that harrowing conflict. Both men came to power during World War II, reached their professional peaks during the Cold War's most frightening moments, and fought epic political battles that spanned decades.
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Two outstanding people in the US Government
- By Nina Donnard on 11-05-09
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Troublesome Young Men
- The Rebels Who Brought Churchill to Power and Helped Save England
- By: Lynne Olson
- Narrated by: Dennis Kleinman
- Length: 14 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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On May 7, 1940, the House of Commons began perhaps the most crucial debate in British parliamentary history. On its outcome hung the future of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's government and also of Britain - indeed, perhaps, the world. Troublesome Young Men is Lynne Olson's fascinating account of how a small group of rebellious Tory MPs defied the Chamberlain government's defeatist policies that aimed to appease Europe's tyrants and eventually forced the prime minister's resignation.
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Spectacular Narrative History Book
- By Nostromo on 11-30-18
By: Lynne Olson
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The Road Not Taken
- Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam
- By: Max Boot
- Narrated by: Henry Strozier
- Length: 27 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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In chronicling the adventurous life of legendary CIA operative Edward Lansdale, The Road Not Taken definitively reframes our understanding of the Vietnam War. In this epic biography of Edward Lansdale (1908-1987) best-selling historian Max Boot demonstrates how Lansdale pioneered a "hearts and mind" diplomacy, first in the Philippines, then in Vietnam. It was a visionary policy that, as Boot reveals, was ultimately crushed by America's giant military bureaucracy.
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An honest look at Vietnam Nam and USA
- By Catherine on 01-16-18
By: Max Boot
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The Duel
- The 80-Day Struggle Between Churchill and Hitler
- By: John Lukacs
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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This is a day-by-day account of the 80-day struggle in 1940 between Hitler, poised on the edge of absolute victory, and Churchill, threatened by imminent invasion and defeat.
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The most aggravating history lecture ever
- By Sidney on 12-31-08
By: John Lukacs
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The Conquerors
- Roosevelt, Truman, and the Destruction of Hitler's Germany, 1941-1945
- By: Michael Beschloss
- Narrated by: Michael Beschloss
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Abridged
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From Michael Beschloss, one of America's most respected historians, The Conquerors reveals one of the most important stories of World War II. As Allied soldiers fought the Nazis, Franklin Roosevelt and, later, Harry Truman fought in private with Churchill and Stalin over how to ensure that Germany could never threaten the world again.
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Poor narration
- By Gary Bradt on 02-01-03
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Writer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy
- Ernest Hemingway's Secret Adventures, 1935-1961
- By: Nicholas Reynolds
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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While he was the curator of the CIA Museum, Nicholas Reynolds, a longtime military intelligence expert, began to discover tantalizing clues that suggested Ernest Hemingway's involvement in the Second World War was much more complex and dangerous than has been previously understood. Writer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy brings to light for the first time this riveting secret side of Hemingway's life - when he worked closely with both the American OSS and the Soviet NKVD to defeat Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.
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So entertaining you'd think it was fiction
- By Austin on 03-16-17
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Practicing History
- Selected Essays
- By: Barbara W. Tuchman
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Master historian Barbara W. Tuchman looks at history in a unique way and draws lessons from what she sees. This accessible introduction to the subject of history offers striking insights into America's past and present, trenchant observations on the international scene, and thoughtful pieces on the historian's role. Here is a splendid body of work, the story of a lifetime spent "practicing history".
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Barbara Tuchman fan faced with reality
- By J. Whittle on 09-27-18
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The General
- Charles De Gaulle and the France He Saved
- By: Jonathan Fenby
- Narrated by: Robin Bloodworth
- Length: 28 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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No leader of modern times was more uniquely patriotic than Charles de Gaulle. As founder and first president of the Fifth Republic, General de Gaulle saw himself as "carrying France on [his] shoulders." In his 20s, he fought for France in the trenches and at the epic battle of Verdun. In the 1930s, he waged a lonely battle to enable France to better resist Hitler's Germany. Thereafter, he twice rescued the nation from defeat and decline by extraordinary displays of leadership, political acumen, daring, and bluff, heading off civil war and leaving a heritage adopted by his successors of right and left.
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Book Great Read. Narrator Horrible-slow dead voice
- By marigoyle on 10-23-13
By: Jonathan Fenby
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Prague Winter
- A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937-1948
- By: Madeleine Albright
- Narrated by: Madeleine Albright
- Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Before Madeleine Albright turned twelve, her life was shaken by the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia—the country where she was born—the Battle of Britain, the near total destruction of European Jewry, the Allied victory in World War II, the rise of communism, and the onset of the Cold War. Albright's experiences, and those of her family, provide a lens through which to view the most tumultuous dozen years in modern history.
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History from a Personal Perspective
- By Jeanette Finan on 02-22-13
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There Was a Country
- A Personal History of Biafra
- By: Chinua Achebe
- Narrated by: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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The defining experience of Chinua Achebe's life was the Nigerian civil war, also known as the Biafran War, of 1967-1970. The conflict was infamous for its savage impact on the Biafran people, Chinua Achebe's people, many of whom were starved to death after the Nigerian government blockaded their borders. Immediately after, Achebe took refuge in an academic post in the United States, and for more than 40 years he has maintained a considered silence on the events of those terrible years. Now, decades in the making, comes a towering reckoning with one of modern Africa's most fateful events.
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The Audible Edition Is a Disaster
- By Olu on 11-28-12
By: Chinua Achebe
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Operation Snow
- How a Soviet Mole in FDR’s White House Triggered Pearl Harbor
- By: John Koster
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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On December 7, 1941, the nation of Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and prompted the United States’ entry into the bloodiest war in human history. Americans have long debated the cause of the bombing; many have argued that the attack was a brilliant Japanese military coup or a failure of US intelligence agencies or even a conspiracy of the Roosevelt administration. But despite the attention historians have paid to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the truth about that fateful day has remained a mystery - until now.
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PUT IT IN THE FILE BLAMING FDR FOR PEARL HARBOR
- By Ron on 11-21-20
By: John Koster
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The Allies
- Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin, and the Unlikely Alliance That Won World War II
- By: Winston Groom
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 15 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Best-selling author Winston Groom tells the complex story of how Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin - the three iconic and vastly different Allied leaders - aligned to win World War II and created a new world order.
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Great read
- By Kindle Customer on 05-26-19
By: Winston Groom
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Good But . . .
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What listeners say about Churchill and Orwell
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anonymous User
- 02-22-20
review
I really really really really really really liked the book but we pass on the epilogue
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- Anonymous User
- 06-26-19
Outstanding in all aspects.
The research done for this book is nothing short of excellence. The ability to follow both of these legends, not only chronologically, but also simultaneously is a truly amazing privilege. The authors, researchers, and the orator have my genuine thanks for allowing me such a journey.
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- Amazon Customer
- 01-22-19
An Effective Comparative History Lesson
This work is a well-paced and fair handling of two major figures often mischaracterized in modern accounts for petty political aims. It is a humane and fair attempt to get "at the truth of the matter" regarding their origins, shared existence, and their navigation of a time when the present was cataclysmic and the future uncertain.
The author weaves the central anti-authoritarianism thread shared by the two men into a rich lesson on the importance of the vital political center. However, this is not wielded as a blunt instrument supporting an agenda denouncing the rise of extremism in our world of 2019. How both men arrived at their conclusions as to the nature of liberty and the methods they employed to advance that privilege gives the reader authentic view outside the myopic political bubbles that society so often entrenches itself. It conveys the necessary context of their world and experience onto the reader.
I found this work to be an entertaining, often delightfully bold, and occasionally adversarial in the assumed defense of the two subjects who appear regularly in our zeitgeist. By no means are the sharper edges of their lives and strange idiosyncrasies spared. Both men are described, scarred and carrying their victories as a burden, fairly and without genuflection.
Ultimately, it provides a thoroughly rich personal introduction of the two men that would inspire readers to confidently navigate Churchill and Orwell's literary achievements with greater perspective.
Bravo!
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- Ho K Doe Kay
- 11-04-18
Poignant and apt for our fraught times
Tom Ricks is a prescient and important voice for our times. I loved this book.
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- D M BOYCE
- 02-17-18
Best Listen of the New Year
Knew plenty about Churchill but this added many levels. Did not know much about Orwell. What a time as now for him.
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- Amazon Customer
- 08-24-19
a real learning experience in a unique approach
terrific non fiction
applies to today's world as well
final chapter is thought provoking
highly recommended
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- syvdan
- 06-11-17
It rings a bell for the issues government faces today
All around great book. Research and writing are complete and flawless. Narrator does a splendid job and conveys supporting emotional content.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 06-20-17
Great read for our times
I was not sure at first where the story was going, but it comes together forcefully. Particularly important points right up to the end!
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- Noovella
- 06-22-17
An intelligent and gripping dual biography
Where does Churchill and Orwell rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
One of the best. This is an intelligent and gripping dual biography of arguably the most important writer and politician in the twentieth century.
What did you like best about this story?
Ricks has eloquently documented one of the most important periods in the twentieth century. I’d like to think the majority of the United States leaders are familiar with Churchill’s and Orwell’s brutal honesty and the generation that led to the creation of NATO in 1949 that has kept the peace for more than sixty-five years, but it sure doesn’t seem like it for many on the Right. It’s obvious Trump has no clue. I think everyone should read this book.
Which character – as performed by James Lurie – was your favorite?
Churchill and Orwell. Arguably the most important politician and writer in the twentieth century.
What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?
Both men were almost killed in the 1930s: Orwell while fighting for the Left in the Spanish Civil War when he was shot in the neck that missed an artery by millimeters. After he recuperated he found that Stalin had turned on the Left and Orwell barely made it out of Spain alive.
Churchill was captured in the Boer War in South Africa and made a daring escape that made him a hero in England. But it wasn’t in the battlefield where he almost died, but on the streets of New York when he was hit by a car and received serious injuries.
Any additional comments?
According to Ricks, what binds these two together the most is their dedication to getting to the truth. Orwell is now lauded as the ultimate truth teller with the ability to face unpleasant facts. Facing unpleasant facts was also one of Churchill’s greatest gift.
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- Mary
- 04-05-21
Vital Read for our Times
Excellent work and narration. I am taking notes as I listened and I will listen to this book again, that is how good it is!
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