Fateful Choices
Ten Decisions That Changed the World, 1940-1941
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Narrated by:
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Bruce Mann
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By:
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Ian Kershaw
About this listen
The newest immensely original undertaking from the historian who gave us the defining two-volume portrait of Hitler, Fateful Choices puts Ian Kershaw's analytical and storytelling gifts on dazzling display.
From May 1940 to December 1941, the leaders of the world's six major powers made a series of related decisions that determined the final outcome of World War II and shaped the course of human destiny.
As the author examines the connected stories of these profound choices, he restores a sense of drama and contingency to this pivotal moment, producing one of the freshest, most important books on World War II in years - one with powerful contemporary relevance.
©2007 Ian Kershaw (P)2020 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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While most historians of the Vietnam War focus on the origins of US involvement and the Americanization of the conflict, Lien-Hang T. Nguyen examines the international context in which North Vietnamese leaders pursued the war and American intervention ended. This riveting narrative takes the listener from the marshy Mekong Delta swamps to the bomb-saturated Red River Delta, from the corridors of power in Hanoi and Saigon to the Nixon White House, and from the peace negotiations in Paris to high-level meetings in Beijing and Moscow.
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Understanding politics in SE Asia.
- By Mark U. on 04-26-15
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The Devils' Alliance
- Hitler's Pact With Stalin, 1939-1941
- By: Roger Moorhouse
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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History remembers the Soviets and the Nazis as bitter enemies and ideological rivals - the two opposing totalitarian regimes of World War II whose conflict would be the defining and deciding clash of the war. Yet for nearly a third of the conflict's entire timespan, Hitler and Stalin stood side by side as partners.
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Fascinating look at much neglected peiod
- By Mike From Mesa on 07-11-15
By: Roger Moorhouse
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Britain's War
- Volume 1, Into Battle, 1937-1941
- By: Daniel Todman
- Narrated by: Ric Jerrom
- Length: 35 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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The most terrible emergency in Britain's history, the Second World War, required an unprecedented national effort. An exhausted country had to fight an unexpectedly long war and found itself much diminished amongst the victors. The outcome of the war was nonetheless a triumph, not least for a political system that proved well adapted to the demands of a total conflict and for a population who had to make many sacrifices but who were spared most of the horrors experienced in the rest of Europe.
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Great Performance, Biased with out a warning!
- By dell992 on 06-21-16
By: Daniel Todman
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The Cold War
- A New History
- By: John Lewis Gaddis
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- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
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Drawing on new and often startling information from newly opened Soviet, Eastern European, and Chinese archives, this thrilling account explores the strategic dynamics that drove the Cold War, provides illuminating portraits of its major personalities, and offers much fresh insight into its most crucial events. Riveting, revelatory, and wise, it tells a story whose lessons it is vitally necessary to understand as America once more faces an implacable ideological enemy.
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WOW
- By Cordell eddings on 10-13-07
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On China
- By: Henry Kissinger
- Narrated by: Nicholas Hormann
- Length: 20 hrs and 10 mins
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In this sweeping and insightful history, Henry Kissinger turns for the first time at book length to a country he has known intimately for decades and whose modern relations with the West he helped shape. On China illuminates the inner workings of Chinese diplomacy during such pivotal events as the initial encounters between China and tight line modern European powers, the formation and breakdown of the Sino-Soviet alliance, the Korean War, and Richard Nixon’s historic trip to Beijing.
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Another History of China
- By Elton on 09-23-11
By: Henry Kissinger
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Yalta
- The Price of Peace
- By: S. M. Plokhy
- Narrated by: Henry Strozier
- Length: 22 hrs and 38 mins
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Award-winning Harvard historian S.M. Plokhy delivers a “convincing revisionist analysis” ( Publishers Weekly) of the February 1945 Yalta conference. Bolstered by Soviet wiretaps, Plokhy’s engrossing narrative of Stalin, Churchill, and FDR’s negotiations reveals the West did better than previously thought.
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The depth and breadth of understanding
- By Robin LaCorte on 06-27-19
By: S. M. Plokhy
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Doomed to Succeed
- The U.S.-Israel Relationship from Truman to Obama
- By: Dennis Ross
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 18 hrs and 50 mins
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In Doomed to Succeed, Ross takes us through every administration from Truman to Obama, throwing into dramatic relief each president's attitudes toward Israel and the region, the often tumultuous debates between key advisers, and the events that drove the policies and at times led to a shift in approach.
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Even Handed Report
- By Jean on 11-21-15
By: Dennis Ross
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A Failed Empire
- The Soviet Union in the Cold War from Stalin to Gorbachev
- By: Vladimir Zubok
- Narrated by: Nick Sullivan
- Length: 20 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Western interpretations of the Cold War--both realist and neoconservative--have erred by exaggerating either the Kremlin's pragmatism or its aggressiveness, argues Vladislav Zubok. Explaining the interests, aspirations, illusions, fears, and misperceptions of the Kremlin leaders and Soviet elites, Zubok offers a Soviet perspective on the greatest standoff of the 20th century.
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Focus on the Top Leadership
- By Augustus T. White on 08-13-10
By: Vladimir Zubok
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HITLER: 1936-1945 Nemesis
- By: Ian Kershaw
- Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 38 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
As Nemesis opens, Adolf Hitler has achieved absolute power within Germany and triumphed in his first challenge to the European powers. Idolized by large segments of the population and firmly supported by the Nazi regime, Hitler is poised to subjugate Europe. Nine years later, his vaunted war machine destroyed, Allied forces sweeping across Germany, Hitler will end his life with a pistol shot to his head.
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Well worn ground
- By Mike From Mesa on 04-06-14
By: Ian Kershaw
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Potsdam
- The End of World War II and the Remaking of Europe
- By: Michael Neiberg
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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After Germany's defeat in World War II, Europe lay in tatters. Millions of refugees were dispersed across the continent. Food and fuel were scarce. Britain was bankrupt while Germany had been reduced to rubble. In July 1945, Harry Truman, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin gathered in a quiet suburb of Berlin to negotiate a lasting peace - a peace that would finally put an end to the conflagration that had started in 1914, a peace under which Europe could be rebuilt.
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Richly told and entertaining.
- By John Kaiser on 06-20-15
By: Michael Neiberg
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As 1862 dawned, the American republic was at death’s door. The federal government appeared overwhelmed, the U.S. Treasury was broke, and the Union’s top general was gravely ill. The Confederacy - with its booming economy, expert military leadership, and commanding position on the battlefield - had a clear view to victory. To a remarkable extent, the survival of the country depended on the judgment, cunning, and resilience of the unschooled frontier lawyer who had recently been elected president. Twelve months later, the Civil War had become a cataclysm but the tide had turned.
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Excellent Deep Dive into 1862
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Revolution 1989
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Unsurpassed
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Germany's winter campaign of 1941-1942 has commonly been seen as its "first defeat". In Retreat from Moscow, David Stahel argues that, in fact, it was its first strategic success in the east. Though the Red Army managed to push the Wehrmacht back from Moscow, the Germans lost far fewer men (one to six), frustrated their enemy's strategic plan, and emerged in the spring unbroken and poised to recapture the initiative.
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Nothing new on the Eastern front basically!
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The Triumph and Tragedy of Lyndon Johnson
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President Lyndon Johnson was bigger than life - and no one who worked for him or was subjected to the "Johnson treatment" ever forgot it. As Johnson's "Deputy President of Domestic Affairs", Joseph A. Califano's unique relationship with the president greatly enriches our understanding of our 36th president. Califano shows listeners LBJ's commitment to economic and social revolution, and his willingness to do whatever it took to achieve his goals.
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LBJ The Greatest President of 20th century
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What listeners say about Fateful Choices
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- William E. Bemis
- 06-03-21
Awful, distracting narration
Good book but incredibly annoying narration that distracted me ever second. It is a painful listen but the information is fascinating which is why it should be recorded again by another narrator.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Mike From Mesa
- 07-02-20
Extraordinary
The Second World War was the war of my father’s generation and so became the prism through which my generation saw the world and the basis on which many subsequent decisions were made. Because of this I have read a considerable amount on the period from 1930 through 1945 to understand the causes that led to so much destruction and loss of life and Mr Kershaw’s book has been very helpful in understanding why some things occurred as compared to how they occurred.
What Mr Kershaw has done is take 10 decisions made from May 1940 through December 1941 which he feels changed the world. When I first approached this book my assumption was that these were 10 decisions made by heads of government on who to fight and how to wage the war but my outlook was too narrow as one of those decisions had nothing to do specifically with the waging the war itself. What the book does is examine each of these 10 decisions in detail.
The author looks at the background behind each decision, the decision process itself in considerable detail, the effects of the decision and some possible alternatives that could have been made instead. Many of the decision themselves - Britain’s decision to continue fighting after the defeat of France, Hitler’s decision to attack the Soviet Union, Roosevelt’s decision to provide Britain help through the Destroyers for Bases deal and Lend Lease, Japan’s decision to go to war rather than allow diplomacy to continue and Hitler’s decision to declare war on the US - are those that anyone who studied the war would have included in a list of the 10 most important decisions, but some are surprises and Mr Kershaw goes to some length to explain why he feels that the decisions were made and why they were important.
Although I have read a great deal about World War II there was not a single decision covered in the book that did not tell me something I did not know, and much of it was in such detail that it explained not only how, but why the decision was made and I found this very helpful in understanding things I always wondered about. For example, why did Japan decide to “go south” in its attacks instead of attacking the Soviet Union, it’s old enemy? Why did Hitler decide to declare war on the US in spite of the fact that his alliance with Japan did not require him to do so? Why did Japan attack the US when none of its politicians really believed it could win a long war?
Also a bit surprising are some of the decisions left out of the list. I had expected to see France’s decision to capitulate instead of continuing to fight after the German attack and the decision to proceed with the Manhattan Project to be included but neither was.
The narration is adequate, although a bit slow and I ended up listening at 1.1X normal speed to compensate. Still I found the book so interesting and so informative that I ended up finishing it in a little over a week. Since the book is about 27 hours long that meant about 3 hours a day and that is a lot for me. Basically I found it hard to put down, and I recommend this book to anyone interested in why some decisions were made during The Second World War rather than how they were implemented.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Michael M-M
- 02-11-22
Just couldn't stand the narrator
I rarely return a book without finishing but I just could not stand the narrator and returned after 6 hours. I just couldn't imagine going another 21 hours. PLEASE list to the sample before deciding!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Sandy Addison
- 05-10-20
Thought provoking listening
A new audio book of Kershaw's 2007 book. 'Fateful Choices' shows it's age well and it still very worthwhile listen, and often challenges a lot of 'conventional' that is still present in popular culture today.
Unfortunately while the narrator is competent and his voice engaging enough so that I didn't fall asleep. His speaking speed was very slow in my opinion. I'd suggest listening to the book at 1.25 speed for greater enjoyment. As well there were several technical gaffes; where the narrator asked questions to the editor that made it into the recording.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Drew
- 08-26-22
Good book but needs better editing
This is the first audiobook (out of hundreds) in which I heard verbal notes left by the narrator to the editor. It didn’t diminish the effect of the story but were surprising nonetheless.
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- Nancy
- 06-11-23
Interesting!
It's an interesting book, very thoughtful and well written, but much of it repeats material from other books. Even so, worth the time. I did have some difficulty with narrator...I did become more accustomed to his style by the time I finished..
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- Suzi Robinson
- 12-13-21
Interesting and insightful
I very much enjoyed the way the author took apart the decisions and the factors that influenced them.
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- Dennis M. Boyer
- 05-18-23
Riveting Story
How quickly nations can slip into war - world war. We should take heed in 2023. Loved the book. Did not like the narrator. Distracted from the story.
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- vicki hester
- 09-15-23
You may grind your teeth to powder
Hard to get to content because the reader was wrong for the content. We didn't get past an hour because the opening provided a list of each of the characters and their positions—with no context. We lost faith in the writer soon into chapter one.
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- C. G. Telcontar
- 03-02-21
Recitation is not Explanation
First off, the narrator is just not cut out for this business. He has no flow and his pronunciation of one of the key words in this book, 'war', sounds like anything from whoa to wow to wall. It makes for a tedious listen.
Next, the material. I'm not totally convinced this is Kershaw writing this book. Having read his two volume bio of Hitler, which was published earlier than this book, it's just not the same author's voice. This is redundant, dull, splattered with unprofessional phrases such as 'way back'' and 'way beyond' and often times infers emotions and conclusions of leaders that are distractions from the dilemmas he is examining. The dilemmas themselves are exhaustively explored but in excruciatingly pedantic fashion, which I consider totally unnecessary. No casual is going to stumble on this book and think, "Wow, what a great first book on WW2 I've found!" He's writing to a specialist audience yet treats it as a college lecture and the result is awful.
Specifically, his analysis of Hitler's declaration of war on the USA is far off the mark. He wants to reduce it some kind of rationality but his reasons aren't convincing in the least. His final chapter on the decision to engage in genocide is, as he admits, hardly a forced decision point, made no sense in relation to winning the war and the alternatives to genocide given the nature of National Socialism's inherent racism was unlikely to have had any traction. So why include it here, except as drama? He thoroughly examined the Holocaust in relation to Hitler in his bio of Hitler, which is where it properly belongs, not here, considering decision points that could possibly have altered the course of the war.
The most interesting chapter was the one of Mussolini's entrance into the war. Aside from that, this is a grandiose swing and a miss.
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4 people found this helpful