Human Smoke
The Beginnings of World War II, the End of Civilization
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Narrated by:
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Norman Dietz
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By:
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Nicholson Baker
About this listen
Praised by critics and readers alike for his exquisitely observant eye and deft, inimitable prose, Baker has assembled a narrative within Human Smoke that unfolds gracefully, tragically, and persuasively. This is an unforgettable book that makes a profound impact on our perceptions of historical events and mourns the unthinkable loss humanity has borne at its own hand.
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Editorial reviews
At the beginning of this production, with its squibs of historical memorabilia, vignettes, diary entries, speech fragments, and the like, one worries that 14 hours of the same might be too much. But soon the shape of Baker's narrative emerges. Drawing mainly on material from the 1930s and '40s, he gives listeners a fresh look at "the good war" and the Holocaust. We hear comments from sources as diverse as Gandhi, Himmler's masseuse, ghetto occupants, and Roosevelt, who, along with Churchill, doesn't come off too well with respect to the events that took place. Norman Dietz doesn't imitate any of the well-known voices. Instead he lets the momentum build naturally, sometimes horrifyingly, sometimes poignantly, until the impact is stronger than it might even be in print.
Critic reviews
"This quite extraordinary book---impossible to put down, impossible to forget---may be the most compelling argument for peace ever assembled." (Simon Winchester, author of The Professor and the Madman)
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It was the war that changed everything, and yet it's been mostly forgotten: in 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia. It dominated newspaper headlines and newsreels. It inspired mass marches in Harlem, a play on Broadway, and independence movements in Africa. As the British Navy sailed into the Mediterranean for a white-knuckle showdown with Italian ships, riots broke out in major cities all over the United States.
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This is not a history, it's a package of anecdotes
- By M2 on 02-03-15
By: Jeff Pearce, and others
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Mao
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- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
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Based on a decade of research and on interviews with many of Mao's close circle in China who have never talked before, and with virtually everyone outside China who had significant dealings with him, this is the most authoritative biography of Mao ever written.
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Fills many gaps! Very good..but!
- By Jene on 08-07-06
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Citizens of London
- The Americans Who Stood with Britain in Its Darkest, Finest Hour
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- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
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Here is the behind-the-scenes story of how the United States forged its wartime alliance with Britain, told from the perspective of three key American players in London: Edward R. Murrow, Averell Harriman, and John Gilbert Winant. Drawing from a variety of primary sources, Olson skillfully depicts the dramatic personal journeys of these men who, determined to save Britain from Hitler, helped convince a cautious Franklin Roosevelt and a reluctant American public to support the British at a critical time.
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If we are together nothing is impossible
- By Susan on 03-06-10
By: Lynne Olson
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Candy Bombers
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Acclaimed author Andrei Cherny tells the gripping saga of a rag-tag band of Americans - with limited resources and little hope for success - keeping West Berliners alive in the face of Soviet tyranny, winning the hearts and minds of former enemies, and giving the world a shining example of fundamental goodness.
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Wonderful Story, Well-Read
- By Alex on 10-07-09
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The Devil's Diary
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- By: Robert K. Wittman, David Kinney
- Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan
- Length: 15 hrs and 9 mins
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A groundbreaking historical contribution, The Devil's Diary is a chilling window into the mind of Adolf Hitler's "chief social philosopher", Alfred Rosenberg, who formulated some of the guiding principles behind the Third Reich's genocidal crusade.
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Fresh perspective on terrible events.
- By Sparkly on 04-20-16
By: Robert K. Wittman, and others
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Supreme Commander
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- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
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He is the most-decorated general in American history - and the only five-star general to receive the Medal of Honor. Yet Douglas MacArthur’s greatest victory was not in war but in peace. As the uniquely titled Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, he was charged with transforming a defeated, militarist empire into a beacon of peace and democracy - "the greatest gamble ever attempted", he called it.
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Compelling book in an pleasant voice
- By Pierke Bosschieter on 04-24-14
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To End All Wars
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World War I stands as one of history's most senseless spasms of carnage, defying rational explanation. In a riveting, suspenseful narrative with haunting echoes for our own time, Adam Hochschild brings it to life as never before. He focuses on the long-ignored moral drama of the war's critics, alongside its generals and heroes. Thrown in jail for their opposition to the war were Britain's leading investigative journalist, a future winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, and an editor who, behind bars, published a newspaper for his fellow inmates on toilet paper.
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A story of personalities
- By Tad Davis on 06-09-11
By: Adam Hochschild
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Audiobook Chapter 11 is actually a repeat of Chapter 9
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What listeners say about Human Smoke
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- Amazon Customer
- 02-24-09
A great book
This book was mind boggling and beautifully read...
Althoguh not a history bookin the classic sense, it is a must read to understand the insanity of war...
One of the best audio books that I have enjoyed!!
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4 people found this helpful
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- David
- 06-25-21
Reading this book is an epiphany.
A mind expanding examination of greed, Imperialism, capitalism and the West descending into madness.
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- Jessica Sheppard
- 07-04-20
Fascinating New Approach
A truly different approach to World War II, not just in content, but in structure and style. Human Smoke will remind you just how many sides there really are to any story.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 11-25-20
Masterful use of primary source material
The vast use of primary source material makes this and truly terrifying ride to ww2
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- Nate Entingh
- 01-13-22
Accurate histories blossom between the lines.
I have always loved this editorial. It juxtaposes conflicting news articles, quotes from famous and notorious figures, and worldviews from key influencers amid WWI and WWII. We must glance back at our forebears on occasion and distill not only their wisdom but their cautionary tales.
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- Roy
- 02-20-09
Not a "History Book" per se
This is a well read, informative book about WWII and related events. It is not a history book so much as a series of stories and anecdotes bringing the era to life. If you are interested in the flow of events moving to WWII, but don't like typical "history" this book might be for you.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Bob
- 06-14-20
The actual reality of U.S. entrance into WW2.
I'm no longer surprised to learn that commonly accepted truths are merely the biased narrative told by their author.
This book is legitimately "just the facts" of the events in years and days leading to December 31, 1941. Absent are glorious celebrations of D-Day and concentration camp liberation.
Their absence is appropriate since an understanding of the facts leads one to the calm realization that the bombing of pearl harbor was predictable and perhaps expected.
Equally unsurprising is learning that the attempted extermination of the Jews that came to be known as the Holocaust wasn't pursued in earnest and may have directly resulted from the U.S. entering the war.
Accordingly, the patriotic messaging received by unknowing school children is mostly a fairy tale since the U.S. was a not-so-passive participant in the war long before it was formally declared.
Universally untaught is U.S. participation as mostly the consequence of perceived German ambitions for global conquest regardless of its inanity.
The U.S. "saving" the Jews and expediting their trip to death camps are not mutually exclusive facts. The fact of the camps alone was not a rallying cry.
I'd say shame on the U.S., but it's more accurate to say shame on us for continuing to support American empire in light of the countless lies and half-truths we *know* we have historicallly been and continue to be told in pursuit of military conflict.
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- Consumer_Sovereignty
- 07-14-20
Greatest WW2 book ever
Such a different story and a different approach.
One of the best WW2 books ever.
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- Hayworth
- 02-02-22
Powerful and incredibly moving
One of the best approaches to World War II I have read. Thoroughly researched and beautifully written, it is a scary investigation of the genesis and pursuance of World War II.
One comment re the narration: Why don't producers and readers thoroughly research the pronunciation of proper names, particularly in a work such as this? For instance:
Duncan Sandys - correct pronunciation: Sands.
Lord Cadogan - correct pronunciation: Ca - duggan.
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- Heidi
- 02-23-12
Disappointing for Baker fans and historians
I count myself among Baker's biggest fans. I find both his fiction and non-fiction smart and funny. However, Human Smoke was neither in the funny camp nor in the smart camp.
There is no question that Baker did a tremendous amount of research, and, true to his nature, he went after the juciest of details--the way Roosevelt stood, or how Hitler was dressed in certain important events. In that way, certainly, some scenes came alive.
Baker's perspective, on the surface, was journalistic. His aim appeared to be to reporting "just the facts, ma'am." However, by so drawing such a clear pictured of the anti-semitic milieu in the U.S. in the late 30's (leading up to the second World War), which is a topic that is sometimes expunged from the discussion, he does take a position. At the same time, he spends much of his time talking about the anti-war effort in the U.S. before the war, which is to take a position as well.
His ideological perspectives didn't bother me, then; both interested me. It was simply that there was no analysis of the events. Here's the pattern of much of the reporting:
Mrs. X of anti-war group y protested with 56 people in Times Square. It was November 1939.
And then he would move on to the next topic.
That kind of laundry list approach made the book feel less like the work of a journalist or a historian and more like a the book report of a student who flipped through books and jotted down the facts he saw without considering their meaning.
I'm truly disapointed with such work from such a fine, capable writer.
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4 people found this helpful