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On Desperate Ground
- The Marines at the Reservoir, the Korean War's Greatest Battle
- Narrated by: David Pittu
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
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Publisher's summary
"Superb... A masterpiece of thorough research, deft pacing and arresting detail... This war story - the fight to break out of a frozen hell near the Chosin Reservoir - has been told many times before. But Sides tells it exceedingly well, with fresh research, gritty scenes and cinematic sweep." (Washington Post)
From the New York Times best-selling author of Ghost Soldiers and In the Kingdom of Ice, a chronicle of the extraordinary feats of heroism by Marines called on to do the impossible during the greatest battle of the Korean War.
On Oct. 15, 1950, General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander of UN troops in Korea, convinced President Harry Truman that the Communist forces of Kim Il-sung would be utterly defeated by Thanksgiving. The Chinese, he said with near certainty, would not intervene in the war.
As he was speaking, 300,000 Red Chinese soldiers began secretly crossing the Manchurian border. Led by some 20,000 men of the First Marine Division, the Americans moved deep into the snowy mountains of North Korea, toward the trap Mao had set for the vainglorious MacArthur along the frozen shores of the Chosin Reservoir. What followed was one of the most heroic - and harrowing - operations in American military history, and one of the classic battles of all time. Faced with probable annihilation, and temperatures plunging to 20 degrees below zero, the surrounded, and hugely outnumbered, marines fought through the enemy forces with ferocity, ingenuity, and nearly unimaginable courage as they marched their way to the sea.
Hampton Sides' superb account of this epic clash relies on years of archival research, unpublished letters, declassified documents, and interviews with scores of marines and Koreans who survived the siege. While expertly detailing the follies of the American leaders, On Desperate Ground is an immediate, grunt's-eye view of history, enthralling in its narrative pace and powerful in its portrayal of what ordinary men are capable of in the most extreme circumstances.
Hampton Sides has been hailed by critics as one of the best nonfiction writers of his generation. As the Miami Herald wrote, "Sides has a novelist's eye for the propulsive elements that lend momentum and dramatic pace to the best nonfiction narratives."
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"Superb...a masterpiece of thorough research, deft pacing and arresting detail...Sides shows how brave Marines - officers and grunts - innovated, organized, and blasted their way out of the trap their fabulously famous boss had helped set. This war story - the fight to break out of a frozen hell near the Chosin Reservoir - has been told many times before. But Sides tells it exceedingly well, with fresh research, gritty scenes, and cinematic sweep." (Washington Post)
“To this pantheon [of the best books on the Korean War] we can now add Hampton Sides’ On Desperate Ground, which hits all the right notes.... It’s a story Marines are rightly proud of and one that should be of interest to anyone who wants to know more about the remains that just returned home from Korea, and why those men deserve to be remembered.” (Wall St. Journal)
"No one writes war and extreme life-and-death tales as vividly and authentically as Hampton Sides. As a veteran of the 1st Marine Division, I found his new book about one of the most desperate battles in American history to be riveting and beautifully told. Sides gets it all right, from the heroism of the Marines trapped in the frozen mountains to the chess moves of the generals and politicians who put them there. An incredible page-turner of a book, a must-read." (William Broyles Jr., acclaimed screenwriter of Jarhead, Apollo 13, Flags of Our Fathers, and Cast Away)
“What a book! Through moment-by-moment, intensely-researched details, On Desperate Ground utterly immerses the reader in this harrowing battle. Hampton Sides gives us a better understanding of the history behind current US relations with Korea and China while offering a series of captivating profiles in human courage - an absolutely riveting read.” (Anthony Doerr, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of All the Light We Cannot See)
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On August 5, 1942, giant pillars of dust rose over the Russian steppe, marking the advance of the 6th Army, an elite German combat unit dispatched by Hitler to capture the industrial city of Stalingrad and press on to the oil fields of Azerbaijan. The Germans were supremely confident; in three years, they had not suffered a single defeat. The Luftwaffe had already bombed the city into ruins. German soldiers hoped to complete their mission and be home in time for Christmas.
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An Unforgettable and Haunting Read
- By Jean on 02-03-16
By: William Craig
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Ghost Soldiers
- The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission
- By: Hampton Sides
- Narrated by: James Naughton
- Length: 5 hrs and 57 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
At once a gripping depiction of men at war and a compelling story of redemption, Ghost Soldiers joins such landmark works as Flags of Our Fathers and The Greatest Generation Speaks in preserving the legacy of World War II for future generations.
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Ghost soldiers
- By Zach on 09-07-03
By: Hampton Sides
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The Last Stand of Fox Company
- A True Story of U.S. Marines in Combat
- By: Bob Drury, Tom Clavin
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Last Stand of Fox Company is a fast-paced and gripping account of heroism and self-sacrifice in the face of impossible odds. The authors have conducted dozens of firsthand interviews with the battle's survivors, and they narrate the story with the immediacy of such classic accounts of single battles as Guadalcanal Diary, Pork Chop Hill, and Black Hawk Down.
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Outstanding story, poor narration
- By Stephen on 03-05-09
By: Bob Drury, and others
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Give Me Tomorrow
- The Korean War’s Greatest Untold Story - The Epic Stand of the Marines of George Company
- By: Patrick K. O’Donnell
- Narrated by: Lloyd James
- Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
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Performance
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Story
“If I were God, what would you want for Christmas?” With a thousand-yard stare, a haggard and bloodied marine looked incredulously at the war correspondent who asked him this question. In an answer that took “almost forever,” the marine responded, “Give me tomorrow." After nearly four months of continuous and bloody combat in Korea, such a wish seemed impossible.
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The boys of Summer Camp….Amazing!!
- By James on 05-18-11
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The Greatest U.S. Marine Corps Stories Ever Told
- Unforgettable Stories of Courage, Honor, and Sacrifice
- By: Iain Martin, Colonel Joseph H. Alexander - introduction
- Narrated by: Pete Simonelli
- Length: 12 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
On Friday, November 10, 1775, the Continental Congress approved a resolution for the organization of the Corps, creating what would become the hallowed few, the proud - the Marines. Since then, the men and women of the United States Marine Corps have created the finest traditions of service and honor, and supplied a pantheon of heroes who have upheld them.
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Marines Will Hate This Narrator.
- By Blaine E. Moyer on 04-18-17
By: Iain Martin, and others
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Goodbye, Darkness
- A Memoir of the Pacific War
- By: William Manchester
- Narrated by: Barrett Whitener
- Length: 15 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
This memoir offers an unrivaled firsthand account of World War II in the Pacific - what it looked like, sounded like, smelled like, and most of all, what it felt like to one who underwent all but the ultimate of its experiences.
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The best war memoir ever
- By Doug on 05-31-07
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An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa (1942-1943)
- The Liberation Trilogy, Volume 1
- By: Rick Atkinson
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 26 hrs and 5 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The liberation of Europe and the destruction of the Third Reich is a story of courage and enduring triumph, of calamity and miscalculation. In this first volume of the Liberation Trilogy, Rick Atkinson shows why no modern learner can understand the ultimate victory of the Allied powers without a grasp of the great drama that unfolded in North Africa in 1942 and 1943. That first year of the Allied war was a pivotal point in American history, the moment when the United States began to act like a great power.
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Fascinating book, great performance
- By Ted on 05-30-16
By: Rick Atkinson
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September Hope
- The American Side of a Bridge Too Far
- By: John C. McManus
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 14 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In September Hope, acclaimed historian John C. McManus explores World War II’s most ambitious invasion, an immense, daring offensive to defeat Nazi Germany before the end of 1944. Operation Market-Garden is one of the war’s most famous, but least understood, battles, and McManus tells the story of the American contribution to this crucial phase of the war in Europe.
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Go yanks go !
- By Alan on 03-06-13
By: John C. McManus
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Invasion Diary
- By: Richard Tregaskis
- Narrated by: Pat Grimes
- Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The Allied invasions of Sicily and Italy in 1943 were bloody and pivotal, securing the Mediterranean, capitalizing on the overthrow of Mussolini, and pinning down German troops that could have been used on the Russian Front or in France after D-Day. The men who made the Allied victories in Sicily and Italy possible - soldiers and officers, bombardiers and drivers, doctors and generals - are honored and remembered in these minutes by famed war correspondent Richard Tregaskis.
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wounding by shrapnel and survival is an incredible story
- By B. Herbert on 07-24-22
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Citizen Soldiers
- The U.S. Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany
- By: Stephen E. Ambrose
- Narrated by: George K. Wilson
- Length: 21 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
A masterful biography of the U.S. Army in the European Theater of Operations during World War II, Citizen Soldiers provides a compelling account of the extraordinary stories of ordinary men in their fight for democracy. From the high command on down to the enlisted men, Stephen E. Ambrose draws on hundreds of interviews and oral histories from men on both sides who were there.
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Required reading, excellent narration
- By Jeremy on 06-30-11
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The Great Raid on Cabanatuan
- Rescuing the Doomed Ghosts of Bataan and Corregidor
- By: William B. Breuer
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Before General MacArthur could fulfill his stirring promise of "I shall return" and retake the Philippines from Japanese control, a remarkable rescue mission would have to take place. Captured American soldiers, emaciated and ill from brutal mistreatment, were still being held at the notorious Cabanatuan prison camp. A small band of Army Rangers set out on a daring rescue effort: to penetrate thirty miles into Japanese-controlled territory, storm the camp, and escape with the POWs...
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A Great Story
- By PCB on 11-08-05
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The Ghost Mountain Boys
- Their Epic March and the Terrifying Battle for New Guinea
- By: James Campbell
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
New Guinea became the site of one of the World War II's most savage campaigns. Despite their lack of jungle training, the 32nd Division's Ghost Mountain Boys were assigned the most grueling mission of the entire Pacific campaign: to march 130 miles over rugged mountains and to protect the right flank of the Australian army as they fought to push the Japanese back to the village of Buna.
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painful reading
- By richard on 10-29-09
By: James Campbell
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Soldier, Sailor, Frogman, Spy, Airman, Gangster, Kill or Die
- How the Allies Won on D-Day
- By: Giles Milton
- Narrated by: Giles Milton
- Length: 15 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Seventy-five years have passed since D-Day, the greatest seaborne invasion in history. The outcome of the Second World War hung in the balance on that chill June morning. Giles Milton’s bold new history narrates the day’s events through the tales of survivors from all sides: the teenage Allied conscript, the crack German defender, the French resistance fighter. Soldier, Sailor, Frogman, Spy, Airman, Gangster, Kill or Die lays bare the absolute terror of those trapped in the front line of Operation Overlord.
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Needs a map
- By James Lucas on 03-24-19
By: Giles Milton
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Rogue Heroes
- The History of the SAS, Britain's Secret Special Forces Unit That Sabotaged the Nazis and Changed the Nature of War
- By: Ben Macintyre
- Narrated by: Ben Macintyre
- Length: 13 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Britain's Special Air Service - or SAS - was the brainchild of David Stirling, a young, gadabout aristocrat whose aimlessness in early life belied a remarkable strategic mind. Where most of his colleagues looked at a battlefield map of World War II's African theater and saw a protracted struggle with Rommel's desert forces, Stirling saw an opportunity: Given a small number of elite, well-trained men, he could parachute behind enemy lines and sabotage their airplanes and war matériel.
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Those Who Dared, Won!
- By Matthew on 10-07-16
By: Ben Macintyre
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Saving Bravo
- The Greatest Rescue Mission in Navy SEAL History
- By: Stephan Talty
- Narrated by: Henry Strozier
- Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The untold story of the most important rescue mission not just of the Vietnam War, but the entire Cold War: one American aviator who knew our most important secrets crashed behind enemy lines and was sought by the entire North Vietnamese and Russian military machines. One Navy SEAL and his Vietnamese partner had to sneak past them all to save him.
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What a story!
- By Kindle Customer on 02-27-19
By: Stephan Talty
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Undefeated
- America's Heroic Fight for Bataan and Corregidor
- By: Bill Sloan
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Abandoned by their government, the men and women of the American garrison struggled against impossible military odds, rampant disease, and slow starvation to delay inevitable surrender by the largest American military force ever. Rather than picturing these defenders as little more than helpless victims of an overwhelmingly powerful and sadistic enemy-as most previous books about the Philippines campaign have done- Undefeated credits American troops with the unexcelled heroism and indomitable spirit they displayed under the worst imaginable conditions.
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Mesmerizing
- By Amazon Customer on 03-30-17
By: Bill Sloan
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Hellhound on His Trail
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Publisher's summary does not do it justice
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It was the first war we could not win. At no other time since World War II have two superpowers met in battle. Max Hastings, preeminent military historian, takes us back to the bloody, bitter struggle to restore South Korean independence after the Communist invasion of June 1950.
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A fine story of the American West
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Give Me Tomorrow
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“If I were God, what would you want for Christmas?” With a thousand-yard stare, a haggard and bloodied marine looked incredulously at the war correspondent who asked him this question. In an answer that took “almost forever,” the marine responded, “Give me tomorrow." After nearly four months of continuous and bloody combat in Korea, such a wish seemed impossible.
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The boys of Summer Camp….Amazing!!
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In Mortal Combat
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In this brilliant narrative of America's first limited war, Toland lets both the events and the participants speak for themselves, employing scrupulous archival research and interviews as the bases for the drama and accuracy of his writing. In Mortal Combat reveals Mao's prediction of the date and place of MacArthur's Inchon landing, Russia's indifference to the war, Mao's secret leadership of the North Korean military, and the true nature of both sides' treatment and repatriation of POWs.
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The Frozen Chosen is an account of the breakout from the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea by the First Marine Division from November to December 1950, following the intervention of Red China in the Korean War. Fought during the worst blizzard in a century, it is considered by the US Marine Corps to be the Corps' finest hour. Fourteen Medals of Honor, a record for any American battle, and 85 Navy Crosses attest to the intensity of the battle.
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The Last Stand of Fox Company
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The Last Stand of Fox Company is a fast-paced and gripping account of heroism and self-sacrifice in the face of impossible odds. The authors have conducted dozens of firsthand interviews with the battle's survivors, and they narrate the story with the immediacy of such classic accounts of single battles as Guadalcanal Diary, Pork Chop Hill, and Black Hawk Down.
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Outstanding story, poor narration
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On Friday, November 10, 1775, the Continental Congress approved a resolution for the organization of the Corps, creating what would become the hallowed few, the proud - the Marines. Since then, the men and women of the United States Marine Corps have created the finest traditions of service and honor, and supplied a pantheon of heroes who have upheld them.
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Marines Will Hate This Narrator.
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Die Polarfahrt
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Er galt als blinder Fleck, als Problem, als Ende der Welt und ewig ungelöstes Geheimnis: der Nordpol. Während andere rätselten und rechneten, schritt ein verrückter Zeitungsverleger auf der Jagd nach Sensationsgeschichten zur Tat. Er kaufte ein Schiff, erkor einen Kapitän und schickte im Juli 1879 dreiunddreißig Männer ins Eis - fest überzeugt von der Theorie eines offenen Polarmeeres. Doch nördlich der Beringstraße blieb die USS Jeannette im Packeis stecken.
By: Hampton Sides
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Mutiny on the Bounty
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The mutiny on HMS Bounty, in the South Pacific on 28 April 1789, is one of history's truly great stories - a tale of human drama, intrigue and adventure of the highest order - and in the hands of Peter FitzSimons it comes to life as never before. Commissioned by the Royal Navy to collect breadfruit plants from Tahiti and take them to the West Indies, the Bounty's crew found themselves in a tropical paradise. Five months later, they did not want to leave.
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You don't know the whole story.
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By: Peter FitzSimons
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The Korean War
- A History
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In sobering detail, The Korean War chronicles a US home front agitated by Joseph McCarthy, where absolutist conformity discouraged open inquiry and citizen dissent. Cumings incisively ties our current foreign policy back to Korea: an America with hundreds of permanent military bases abroad, a large standing army, and a permanent national security state at home, the ultimate result of a judicious and limited policy of containment evolving into an ongoing and seemingly endless global crusade.
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A real eye-opener
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On Desperate Ground
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The thrilling story of men and women caught up in the death throes of Nazi Germany, struggling to maintain those things precious to them - life, an end to killing, and even sanity itself. Colonel Johann Faust has lost everyone he ever loved and feels he is going inexorably insane. He hears the haunting voice of his dead fiancée and the demons that roar through his mind as he perfects a plan to save Nazi Germany from defeat and insure a greater and deadlier new world war.
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captured the time
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By: James R. Benn
What listeners say about On Desperate Ground
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- workhardplayhard
- 08-20-19
Exceptional history, storytelling & narration
I was thoroughly impressed by this book. Poignant, captivating, and fascinating lesser-known history of the Korean war. The narration was moving, the pace of the book kept me interested (enthralled is more accurate!), and the first hand accounts and individual actions were simply incredible. For the first time in my life I have a solid understanding and appreciation for what the Korean war was all about. Bravo Hampton, thanks for contributing this to the world of literature and history.
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- H. R. Daniel Guerra
- 08-29-19
So much information that I didn't know!
So much information about the USA, Truman, McArthur, and both North and South Korea that I never knew. This books is a must for those lovers of history that want to know why our country and North Korea are still at odds (and the Chinese) . Hampton Sides' well researched book is fantastic!
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- Lisa Balestrini
- 10-31-18
Phenomenal recount of a grim battle
What an incredible story of terror, valor, and survival. This book lays it out in great detail following notable events and soldiers.
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- J.Brock
- 10-30-20
One of the Best Korean War Epics
Hampton Sides does it again. "On Desperate Ground" is without a doubt one of the very best books on the battle of the Chosin Reservoir, and also an overview of the Korean War itself. Sides recalls the fall of MacArthur and Almond, largely due to hubris and catastrophic strategic blunders, but then counters with tales of some of the most brave acts in all of warfare. The conditions the soldiers faced at Chosin were unparalleled and truly desperate in the very since of the word. It's a miracle any survived, much less made the battle one where each side could claim victory. The Allies were caught completely off guard and the cold was so extreme it went down in the record books. But they prevailed against all odds.
The Korean War is one that cannot be written about enough. Though it was not as massive in scale as the world wars, there are so many tales of heroism that have gone nearly forgotten over the decades. But as time goes on and more stories are told, appreciation for the heroes of the forgotten war grows exponentially. Thank you Hampton Sides. And David Pittu's narration is as good as it gets. Five stars!!!
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- Jay
- 10-12-18
Highly Recommend
A very well written and well orated book. I had no idea what those men endured. Inspiring and horrifying. I was freezing just reading about it. My next read is going to be "Devotion", a more in depth look at two pilots featured in this book.
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- blackstar
- 11-27-18
You'll be telling your friends about this book!
On Desperate Ground is hand down one of the most compelling war narratives I've ever come across. I first discovered Side's writing in his acclaimed Ghost Soldiers, and here his work excels even that book.
Firmly rooted in research, first-hand accounts, and primary source documentation, ON DESPERATE GROUND provides a memorable—and riveting—account of the Korean War's most epic standoff—when the United States marched toward Manchuria and encountered a massive Chinese army.
Along the way he introduces you to the characters that defined these events and helps readers understand their struggle personally, highlighting the human in the Marines who became the 'frozen chosen.'
You will never regret spending time with this book, and the narrative will help you gain a greater understanding of what US soldiers endured in Korea.
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- Robert
- 09-18-20
Well Told and Concise With Much Bias
This is a great story told very well, much as you would expect from Hampton Sides. While “Blood and Thunder” and “Hellhound on His Trail” are two of my favorite books, this effort is weaker, and at times seems slightly unfocused.
For example, there is a sub-story about a North Korean who escaped to the South that seems shoehorned in. I kept waiting to see how it would connect to the larger story, but it never really got there.
He also seems determined to lambast every American officer that wasn’t on the ground during the battle - often coming off as sarcastic or just nasty. Yes, mistakes were made, and yes there were problems with the conduct of the Korean War. But there is very much a hero/villain mentality presented between the officers on the ground and those commanding from a distance.
The narrator was wonderful, but he often took a far too sarcastic approach with how he delivered simple words and phrases from people like General MacArthur. Yes, he is just following the tone the author set in motion, but adding a tinge of sarcasm or judgement to quoted dialogue goes a little far.
These small problems aside, it’s a very interesting story told very well. Just don’t let it be your only source of information on the motives and decisions of the Korean War commanders.
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- William Robinson
- 01-18-21
great
Great book, increase my knowledge of the Korean war albeit one conflict focused. Great book
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- tom
- 05-03-21
Excellent. Riveting. Comprehensive
My Grandfather fought in Korea. My respect for his sacrifice grew while listening to this.
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- Kindle Customer
- 02-08-23
Compelling history; undaunted courage.
Must listen. Compelling and vivid narrative of brutal battle and courageous soldiers; unflinching and heart rending.
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