November 1942
An Intimate History of the Turning Point of World War II
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Narrated by:
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Mark Bramhall
About this listen
The New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice • An intimate history of the most important month of World War II, completely based on the diaries, letters and memoirs of the people who lived through it
At the beginning of November 1942, it looked as if the Axis powers could still win the Second World War; at the end of that month, it was obviously just a matter of time before they would lose. In between were el-Alamein, Guadalcanal, the French North Africa landings, the Japanese retreat in New Guinea and the Soviet encirclement of the German 6th Army at Stalingrad. It may have been the most important thirty days of the twentieth century. In this hugely innovative and riveting history, Peter Englund has reduced an epoch-making event to its basic component: the individual experience.
Englund’s narrative is based solely on what he learned from the writings of soldiers and ordinary citizens alike. They comprise a remarkable, deeply personal resource. In thirty memorable days, among those we meet are: a Soviet infantryman at Stalingrad; an American pilot on Guadalcanal; an Italian truck driver in the North African desert; a partisan in the Belarussian forests; a machine gunner in a British bomber; a twelve-year-old girl in Shanghai; a university student in Paris; a housewife on Long Island; a shipwrecked Chinese sailor; a prisoner in Treblinka; a Korean “comfort woman” in Mandalay; Albert Camus, Vasily Grossman and Vera Brittain—forty characters in all. In addition, we experience the construction and launching of SS James Oglethorpe, a Liberty ship built in Savannah; the fate of U-604, a German submarine; the building of the first nuclear reactor in Chicago; and the making of Casablanca.
Not since the publication of the author’s last book, The Beauty and the Sorrow, which similarly looked at the First World War, have we had such a mesmerizing work of history.
©2023 Peter Englund, Peter Graves (P)2023 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"Swedish historian Englund takes a captivating firsthand look at a pivotal month of WWII by drawing on the diaries, letters, and memoirs of 39 people who lived through it...This gripping and propulsive account, expertly translated by Graves in lyrical prose, recreates the daily uncertainty of war as experienced by regular people with limited information and few resources. It’s a monumental work of history." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
"An astonishing achievement." —Antony Beevor, author of Stalingrad
"By interweaving the detailed experiences of 40 individuals from all parts of the conflict, Englund presents an extraordinary panorama of this pivotal moment. A haunting narrative imaginatively conceived, brilliantly told." —Julia Boyd, author of Travelers in the Third Reich
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In 1992, the deadliest year in Chicago’s history, seven-year-old Dantrell Davis was shot and killed in front of his elementary school inside the public housing complex Cabrini-Green. What happened to Dantrell led to a truce among Chicago’s gangs, but it also ignited a national panic about poverty and violence in America’s cities. Dantrell’s name would soon be used to demolish all of Chicago’s high-rise public housing, displacing tens of thousands of low-income families.
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A Gripping and Necessary Work
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The Autobiography of Malcolm X
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- Length: 16 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Experience a bold take on this classic autobiography as it’s performed by Oscar-nominated Laurence Fishburne. In this searing classic autobiography, originally published in 1965, Malcolm X, the Muslim leader, firebrand, and Black empowerment activist, tells the extraordinary story of his life and the growth of the Human Rights movement. His fascinating perspective on the lies and limitations of the American dream and the inherent racism in a society that denies its non-White citizens the opportunity to dream, gives extraordinary insight into the most urgent issues of our own time.
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it's Nearly perfect
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Mythology: Mega Collection
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Do you know how many wives Zeus had? Or how the famous Trojan War was caused by one beautiful lady? Or how Thor got his hammer? Give your imagination a real treat. This Mega Mythology Collection of eight audiobooks is for you....
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An interesting set of introductions.
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By: Scott Lewis
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Flannery O'Connor and the Scandal of Faith
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Across six revealing lectures, Professor Jessica Hooten Wilson will introduce you to one of the 20th century’s most fascinating and divisive writers in Flannery O’Connor and the Scandal of Faith. Beginning with an overview of her brief but remarkable life, Professor Wilson will then take you through an exploration of themes in O’Connor’s work and the hallmarks of her literary style. You’ll get a clearer picture of O’Connor’s historical and geographical context while digging into how her stories can transcend time and place.
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The author reading her own book.
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The Pagan World
- Ancient Religions Before Christianity
- By: Hans-Friedrich Mueller, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Hans-Friedrich Mueller
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
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In The Pagan World: Ancient Religions Before Christianity, you will meet the fascinating, ancient polytheistic peoples of the Mediterranean and beyond, their many gods and goddesses, and their public and private worship practices, as you come to appreciate the foundational role religion played in their lives. Professor Hans-Friedrich Mueller, of Union College in Schenectady, New York, makes this ancient world come alive in 24 lectures with captivating stories of intrigue, artifacts, illustrations, and detailed descriptions from primary sources of intriguing personalities.
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The Pagan World
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The Roman Empire: From Augustus to the Fall of Rome
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The Roman Empire: From Augustus to the Fall of Rome traces the breathtaking history from the empire’s foundation by Augustus to its Golden Age in the 2nd century CE through a series of ever-worsening crises until its ultimate disintegration. Taught by acclaimed Professor Gregory S. Aldrete of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, these 24 captivating lectures offer you the chance to experience this story like never before, incorporating the latest historical insights that challenge our previous notions of Rome’s decline.
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Gregory S. Aldrete is a treasure
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Fingerprints of the Gods is the revolutionary rewrite of history that has persuaded millions of listeners throughout the world to change their preconceptions about the history behind modern society. An intellectual detective story, this unique history audiobook directs probing questions at orthodox history, presenting disturbing new evidence that historians have tried - but failed - to explain.
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Classic in Historical Mysteries
- By Kelly on 09-05-19
By: Graham Hancock
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What listeners say about November 1942
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- David Trindle
- 01-20-24
Disappointing
This is all done in a thick, upper-class British accent, which I found difficult to follow as an American. The stories were not that compelling, and about half of them. I just did not follow at all.
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- Darrell HANSCHEN
- 12-18-23
Intriguing look at WWII
I really enjoyed all the different points of view from the people who actually lived during the war. Ordinary people, regular soldiers from the US, the UK, Russia, Japan, Australia, Italy and Germany, Holocaust victims, resistance fighters, housewives, comfort girls, refugees, they’re all here. Englund used their diaries, journals and memoirs to create the most complete first person account of the war that I have ever read. Focusing on one crucial month as lived by many people from all theaters of the war provides a totally unique, global perspective. Mark Bramhall is one of my favorite readers and he was terrific as usual. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has even a casual interest in the war.
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- Landon Thorne
- 04-14-24
A Window into a Remarkable Time
An extraordinary window into individual lives that represent microcosms of the war experience. I feel deeply connected to this book because it takes place in the month I was born.
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- ACHG
- 02-26-24
Excellent book but not well suited for audio reading.
The book itself is excellent, but not well-suited for audio. Tracking 39 characters throughout the book was too difficult. The sections between character descriptions cannot be detected on audio; therefore it became confusing to follow. Also, the detailed footnotes in the book were essential to understand the context of the characters’ experiences, but footnotes are not included in audio. I highly recommend having the hard copy or e-copy.
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- Richard Van Voris
- 11-30-23
interesting take of the war, narrator angered me
Working day by day through what is arguably the fulcrum month of the Second World War is an interesting approach and it works pretty well until the Narrator , Mark Bramhall, started slaging Vera Brittain, author of "Testament of Youth" and one of my personal heroes
I think it must be the writing about her, to start with, but Bramhill affects such a snotty, swarmy voice to read the passages that I almost threw my phone out the window.
Brittian was a pacifist and yes she was probably wrong about the second wold war but she had a valid point of view if you understand her experiences during the 1914-18 war. She was not wrong about Churchill who although a brilliant orator and a third class watercolorist really screwed the pooch with his actions in the Dardanelles, Ask any Anzac survivor how they feel about the man.
Too bad because it spoiled a reasonably good book and I will be asking for my money back.
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- Amazon Customer
- 02-19-24
One of the Best Narrators Yet
At first, the format was a bit confusing, but once in, things fell into the intended narrative. A mosaic of stories and events.
I think that I should have had the Kindle edition in front of me.
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- M. E. Newell
- 11-07-24
This was a great book
I love reading / listening about books about World War 2, but "November 1942" Peter Englund was one of the best books I have listen to in a while. November 1942 was a mix of the famous and not so famous. You got a real understanding on how the average person survived the war and how the events of one month in the long war was so important.
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- mary mcculloch
- 01-03-24
Too many stats
Boring; too much reading if stats! More human interest would have enlivened the narrative - never picked up
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- Chaim
- 10-15-24
Random compilation of stories
Low effort publication of fragments of history. I’d stick to regular histories of specific narratives
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