Preview
  • The Bitter Road to Freedom

  • A New History of the Liberation of Europe
  • By: William I. Hitchcock
  • Narrated by: Mel Foster
  • Length: 18 hrs and 5 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (42 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Bitter Road to Freedom

By: William I. Hitchcock
Narrated by: Mel Foster
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.20

Buy for $20.20

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Americans are justly proud of the role the United States played in liberating Europe from Nazi tyranny. For many years, we have celebrated the courage of the Allied soldiers, sailors, and aircrews who defeated Hitler's regime and restored freedom to the continent. But in recounting the heroism of the "greatest generation," Americans often overlook the wartime experiences of European people themselves - the very people for whom the war was fought.

In this brilliant new book, historian William I. Hitchcock surveys the European continent from D-Day to the final battles of the war and the first few months of the peace. Based on exhaustive research in five nations and dozens of archives, Hitchcock's groundbreaking account shows that the liberation of Europe was both a military triumph and a human tragedy of epic proportions.

Hitchcock gives voice to those who were on the receiving end of liberation, moving them from the edge of the story to the center. From France to Poland to Germany, from concentration camp internees to refugees, farmers to shopkeepers, husbands and wives to children, the experience of liberation was often difficult and dangerous. Their gratitude was mixed with guilt or resentment. Their lives were difficult to reassemble.

This strikingly original, multinational history of liberation brings to light the interactions of soldiers and civilians, the experiences of noncombatants, and the trauma of displacement and loss amid unprecedented destruction. This book recounts a surprising story, often jarring and uncomfortable, and one that has never been told with such richness and depth.

Today, with American soldiers once again waging wars of liberation in faraway lands, this book serves as a timely and sharp reminder of the terrible human toll exacted by even the most righteous of wars.

©2008 William I. Hitchcock (P)2008 Tantor
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Editorial reviews

In a story about the liberation of Europe during WWII, the author places a sad and shocking focus on the suffering of civilians caught among the warring armies. Instead of concentrating on the movement of troops or war strategy, Hitchcock investigates such subjects as hunger, rape, and postwar internment. At first, narrator Mel Foster sounds stilted and emotionless. However, in a short while, his voice moves to the background as the author's appealing knack for prose takes the limelight in a story filled with eloquent word pictures. Foster's French far exceeds his skill with German. His narration on the writings of Ernie Pyle, the most famous war correspondent, may be the best part of his performance.

What listeners say about The Bitter Road to Freedom

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    17
  • 4 Stars
    17
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    9
  • 4 Stars
    8
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    11
  • 4 Stars
    8
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Revisionist History in the GOOD sense of the word

There are audiobooks that make you laugh out loud in public but this one had me in tears on the subway more than once. Fortunately, the reader had an academic style, which kept the book from being even more difficult to bear. The book is also academic in nature with distinct chapters devoted to various populations. In addition to actually learning a lot of history, what I got from the book was a sense that I (and a lot of other people who grew up in the '50s) had been effectively brainwashed - the book contrasts press presentations such as those of The Allies entering Paris with the lack of information on the misery and devastation on the Normandy front, the starvation of Holland, and a number of other situations in which 'the little people' felt the pain of the efforts underway to free them from Nazi rule ranging from actual bombing to misplaced political and military decisions. Not an easy read, but a must read for anyone attempting to understand WWII and the years that followed (up to the future for that matter).

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Illunminating

Any additional comments?

Wonderful listen and gripping account of WWII through a western lens. While this book is a perfect standalone work, I would highly recommend reading "Bloodlands: Europe between Hitler and Stalin" (by Timothy Snyder) as a companion book. While Hitchcock's book provides a vivid western account, there is a whole other side of the war that goes for the most part unmentioned. Snyder's book provides a gut-wrenching account of the atrocities committed by both the German and Soviet forces in eastern Europe and helps to provide a more complete context for the war. After reading both books I felt as though I had a complete understanding of the European theater of WWII rather than a fragmented western view.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Must listening and necessary history

First of all William I. Hitchcock is always a pleasure to listen to. His works are thoroughly researched, generally objective and he's a great writer. Second, this history of the injuries and atrocities suffered on all sides should be required reading for military leaders in the U.S. That said, particularly at the beginning of the book and again at the very end Hitchcock does some armchair quarterbacking - sincerely trying to summarize and interpret the information - which seems a bit unreasonable. The allied leaders were trying to defeat the forces of the axis' various national-level socialisms and the victory was not at all guaranteed. And in retrospect leadership for the axis side did come from a relatively small group of socialist political and military leaders. I would have enjoyed the book more if Hitchcock could have limited his introduction and summaries to facts. Still, 4 1/2 stars. A brilliant read and necessary history.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!