Decision at Sea
Five Naval Battles That Shaped American History
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Narrated by:
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Stephen R. Thorne
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By:
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Craig L. Symonds
About this listen
From thunderous broadsides traded between wooden sailing ships on Lake Erie, to the carrier battles of World War II, to the devastating high-tech action in the Persian Gulf, here is a gripping history of five key battles that defined the evolution of naval warfare - and the course of the American nation.
Acclaimed military historian Craig Symonds offers spellbinding narratives of crucial engagements, showing how each battle reveals the transformation of technology and weaponry from one war to the next; how these in turn transformed naval combat; and how each event marked a milestone in American history. Symonds records these encounters in detail so vivid that listeners can hear the wind in the rigging and feel the pounding of the guns. Yet he places every battle in a wide perspective, revealing their significance to America's development as it grew from a new Republic on the edge of a threatening frontier to a global superpower.
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.
©2005 Craig L. Symonds (P)2020 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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Narrator Ruined the Book
- By Duncan on 08-20-20
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Atlantic Nightmare
- The Longest Continuous Military Campaign in World War Ii
- By: Richard Freeman
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- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
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Overall
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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.
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Slanted Badly
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By: Richard Freeman
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Hunt the Bismarck
- The Pursuit of Germany’s Most Famous Battleship
- By: Angus Konstam
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Bismarck entered service in the summer of 1940. She was well-armed, with eight 15-inch guns as well as a powerful array of lighter weapons, while her armored protection earned her the reputation of being unsinkable. This claim was finally put to the test in May 1941, when she sortied into the Atlantic and fought the legendary battle of the Denmark Strait, destroying HMS Hood, the pride of the Royal Navy. Bismarck was now loose in the North Atlantic.
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A fresh look at a well known story!
- By Donald Hill on 10-26-19
By: Angus Konstam
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Sink ‘Em All
- Submarine Warfare in the Pacific
- By: Charles A. Lockwood
- Narrated by: Eric Martin
- Length: 16 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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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.
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Best of the best
- By Robert on 08-29-18
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Jutland
- The Unfinished Battle
- By: Nick Jellicoe
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 18 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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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.
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Well done
- By William on 03-30-20
By: Nick Jellicoe
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The Deadly Deep
- The Definitive History of Submarine Warfare
- By: Iain Ballantyne
- Narrated by: Paul Ansdell
- Length: 28 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Iain Ballantyne considers the key episodes of submarine warfare and vividly describes the stories of brave individuals who have risked their lives under the sea, often with fatal consequences. His analysis of underwater conflict begins with Archimedes discovering the principle of buoyancy. This clandestine narrative then moves through the centuries and focuses on prolific characters with deadly motives.
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American Effors Get Short Shift
- By GEORGE on 03-22-19
By: Iain Ballantyne
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Storm over Leyte
- The Philippine Invasion and the Destruction of the Japanese Navy
- By: John Prados
- Narrated by: Ricard Ferrone
- Length: 16 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
As Allied ships prepared for the invasion of the Philippine island of Leyte, every available warship, submarine, and airplane was placed on alert while Japanese admiral Kurita Takeo stalked Admiral William F. Halsey's unwitting American armada. It was the beginning of the epic Battle of Leyte Gulf - the greatest naval battle in history.
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Startling revelations to a 72 year battle!
- By Chiefkent on 07-31-16
By: John Prados
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On Wave and Wing
- The 100 Year Quest to Perfect the Aircraft Carrier
- By: Barrett Tillman
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
What defended the US after the attack on Pearl Harbor, defeated the Soviet Union in the Cold War, and is an essential tool in the fight against terror? Aircraft carriers. For 70 years, these ships remained a little-understood cornerstone of American power. In his latest book, On Wave and Wing, Barrett Tillman sheds light on the history of these floating leviathans and offers a nuanced analysis of the largest man-made vessel in the history of the world.
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100th Anniversary of the Aircraft Carrier
- By Jean on 08-05-17
By: Barrett Tillman
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The Burning Shore
- How Hitler's U-Boats Brought World War II to America
- By: Ed Offley
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
On June 15, 1942, as thousands of vacationers lounged in the sun on Virginia Beach, a massive fireball erupted from a convoy of oil tankers steaming into Chesapeake Bay. By the next day, three ships lay at the bottom of the channel, victims of Lieutenant-Commander Horst Degen and his crew on the German submarine U-701. In The Burning Shore, acclaimed military reporter Ed Offley presents a thrilling account of Degen's rampage along the American coast and of US Lieutenant Harry J. Kane's quest to bring him down.
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Ugh, Perhaps a Second Listen is Required?
- By Matthew on 09-05-15
By: Ed Offley
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Islands of Destiny
- By: John Prados
- Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
- Length: 17 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Acclaimed WWII historian and military intelligence expert John Prados offers a provocative reassessment of the Allies’ battle for the Solomon Islands - a turbulent, dramatic campaign that, he argues, was the true turning point of the Pacific conflict.
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Way too much detail
- By Eric on 01-15-17
By: John Prados
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The War for the Seas
- A Maritime History of World War II
- By: Evan Mawdsley
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 28 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Command of the oceans was crucial to winning World War II. By the start of 1942 Nazi Germany had conquered mainland Europe, and Imperial Japan had overrun Southeast Asia and much of the Pacific. How could Britain and distant America prevail in what had become a "war of continents"? In this definitive account, Evan Mawdsley traces events at sea from the first U-boat operations in 1939 to the surrender of Japan. He argues that the Allied counterattack involved not just decisive sea battles, but a long struggle to control shipping arteries and move armies across the sea.
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An Unengaging Survey that Disappoints
- By Scott Eckert on 08-06-20
By: Evan Mawdsley
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Into the Bright Sunshine
- Young Hubert Humphrey and the Fight for Civil Rights (Pivotal Moments in American History Series)
- By: Samuel G. Freedman
- Narrated by: Mike Lenz
- Length: 17 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
During one sweltering week in July 1948, the Democratic Party gathered in Philadelphia for its national convention. The most pressing and controversial issue facing the delegates was not whom to nominate for president—the incumbent, Harry Truman, was the presumptive candidate—but whether the Democrats would finally embrace the cause of civil rights and embed it in their official platform. On the convention's final day, Hubert Humphrey, the relatively obscure mayor of the midsized city of Minneapolis, ascended the podium.
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Civil Rights for All not just limited segments of society.
- By Patricia A Gustafson on 06-02-24
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Bismarck entered service in the summer of 1940. She was well-armed, with eight 15-inch guns as well as a powerful array of lighter weapons, while her armored protection earned her the reputation of being unsinkable. This claim was finally put to the test in May 1941, when she sortied into the Atlantic and fought the legendary battle of the Denmark Strait, destroying HMS Hood, the pride of the Royal Navy. Bismarck was now loose in the North Atlantic.
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A fresh look at a well known story!
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Tidal Wave
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The United States Navy won such overwhelming victories in 1944 that had the Navy faced a different enemy the war would have been over at the conclusion of the Battle of Leyte Gulf. However, in the moment of victory on October 25, 1944, the US Navy found itself confronting an enemy that had been inconceivable until it appeared. The kamikaze, meaning 'divine wind' in Japanese, was something Americans were totally unprepared for; a violation of every belief held in the West.
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Horrible writing
- By DearMrDear on 06-02-18
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Tin Cans and Greyhounds
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Overall
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Performance
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In Tin Cans and Greyhounds, author Clint Johnson brings listeners inside the quarter-inch hulls of destroyers to meet the men who manned the ships' five-inch guns and fought America's wars from inside a "tin can" - risking death by cannon shell, shrapnel, bomb, fire, drowning, exposure, and sharks.
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a lengthy history lessonn
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Sea of Thunder
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Overall
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The book focuses on four naval commanders, two American, two Japanese, whose lives collided at the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944 - a clash involving more ships (almost 300), more men (nearly 200,000) and covering a larger area (more than 100 thousand square miles, roughly the size of the British Isles) than any naval battle in recorded history.
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Good
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What listeners say about Decision at Sea
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Boone
- 08-10-20
Everything Craig Symonds writes is great!
General Hagee once told me that “Craig puts a great amount of thought and effort into every sentence he writes.”
I know this is true. It is obvious when you read his work.
I believe that I would have loved to be one of his students. I think he is the kind of history professor that could make you consider changing you major to history.
Authors like Dr. Symonds are why I enjoy history so much.
I would also recommend listening to him speak if you ever get the chance.
This book was great.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Mark Mears
- 06-19-20
I want to read it again
Excellent history perspective. The narrative keep the reader captivated, anticipating the next tidbit of information or connection between historical events.
Many things are obvious, but it is the context which Mr. Symonds provides which is so enjoyable. An example is the weeks long time lapse to get information from combat to Washington during the War of 1812; how when telegraph cables were laid commanders in combat theaters felt like errand boys due to “quick” orders from home. Yet by Operation Preying Mantice in the Gulf War, a pilot waited 3 minutes for the secretary of defense to be contacted, speak to the President, who authorized the pilot to fire. 3 minutes.
Mr. Symonds delivers on a unique comparison of five important naval engagements in American history. It was fascinating.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Martin See
- 10-18-20
Craig Symonds
This is one of the very best books about Naval Warfare. Well written, informative, entertains,and very well narrated. I'm looking for another book by Mr. Almonds right away.
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1 person found this helpful
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- S. H. Moore
- 08-31-20
Pretty good
Pretty good. A found all of his assertions pretty well grounded. Good listen. Good source of info of the battle of Manila Bay, there is nothing else on that battle on audible. So if you like steel era ships and fleet engagements you’ll enjoy chapter 3.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Jack D Kendall
- 02-22-21
One of the best books I've read on naval warfare.
I went through the whole book in 3 days. Fantastic information on Manila Bay and naval engagements in the Persian Gulf that I did not know. The Battles of Lake Erie, Manila Bay and Operation Praying Mantis get too little attention. The first was the first time a British squadron was defeated in their naval history. The second took America to the edge of beginning an empire. The last let the way toward American imperialism. Midway and Hampton Roads, the other two battles discussed, are more well known, but tied into the overall narrative, I found them compelling even though little of the information on those two was new to me. I felt the authors choice of these 5 battles that cleared the way for the political change and the rise of American unilateralism to be well founded. Craig puts together thoughts and ideas that move from one point to another smoothly and make each chapter a fascinating read. This is a book I'll be sharing. It's a must read for anyone with an interest in pivotal sea battles regarding American history.
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1 person found this helpful
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- JMJ
- 07-07-23
Outstanding history
The history was thorough and presented vey well. Symonds story telling is very good and his interpretations of these battles from a new viewpoint were very insightful. One of the most worthwhile histories I have ever read.
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- James
- 07-17-24
Almost Ruined by the Last Part
The first few chapters give an adequate overview of some very pivotal naval engagements of the early United States. But Operation Praying Mantis is incomprehensible and was an unnecessary act of aggression by the US. The author avoids trying to determine the historical Narrative himself, but including it with the events that defined an early America is giving too much precedent to something that never should have been.
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- Anonymous User
- 11-22-20
Interesting book...but not great
I enjoyed the section on the Battle of Lake Erie. It gets far too little attention. Understanding how the aftermath of Manila Bay led America to stumble into holding an empire was also something new to me. But the Midway section left me cold. The book Shattered Sword proved conclusively that the Japanese were not minutes from launching a massive attack on the US carriers when the dive bombers attacked. The Japanese armed and warmed up this aircraft in hangers. Not on the flight deck. All the carriers were flying on and off CAP fighters. the onslaught of attacks ensured there was no chance to get the strike up on deck even if it had been armed and ready to go. It's disappointing that Symonds bought into Fuchida's self serving myth that the Japanese were just five minutes from winning the battle for the sake of drama. it's just not true....
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7 people found this helpful
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- rbergen
- 12-17-20
Garbage book
Waste of time. Author can't keep his own opinions out of it. Even takes cheap shots at the war in Iraq.
I'm returning it.
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