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The Dreyfus Affair
- The Scandal That Tore France in Two
- Narrated by: David Pevsner
- Length: 16 hrs and 40 mins
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Publisher's summary
July 20, 1894: The German Military Attache in Paris, Colonel Maximillien von Schwarzkoppen received a visit from a seedy-looking middle-aged Frenchman who would not give his name. He told Schwarzkoppen that he was a French army officer serving on the General Staff; that he was in desperate need of money; and was therefore prepared to sell military secrets to the Germans.
Captain Alfred Dreyfus, then aged 35, was a high-flying career artillery officer. Shy, reserved, sometimes awkward, but intelligent and ambitious, Dreyfus had everything he might have hoped for: a wife, two enchanting children, plenty of money, and a post on the General Staff. However, Dreyfus' rise in the army had not made him friends. Many of them came from the impoverished Catholic aristocracy and disliked Dreyfus because he was rich, bourgeois and, above all, a Jew.
On October 13, Captain Dreyfus was summoned by the General de Boisdeffre to the Ministry of War. Despite minimal evidence against him he was placed under arrest for the crime of high treason. Not long afterward Dreyfus was incarcerated on Devil's Island.
But how did an innocent man come to be convicted? And why was he kept locked up for so long?
The Dreyfus Affair uniquely combines a fast-moving mystery story with a snapshot of France at a moment of great social flux and cultural richness - the Belle Epoque, the Impressionists, novelists such as Flaubert, Zola, the Goncourts, Proust. It is a key to an understanding of later history; the Holocaust and Zionism: the virulent anti-Semitism of the anti-Dreyfusards and the decision that the Jews must have a state of their own.
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- By: John Tusa, Ann Tusa
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 25 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Here is a gripping account of the major postwar trial of the Nazi hierarchy in World War II. The Nuremberg Trial brilliantly recreates the trial proceedings and offers a reasoned, often profound examination of the processes that created international law. From the whimpering of Kaltenbrunner and Ribbentrop on the stand to the icy coolness of Goering, each participant is vividly drawn.
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Detailed and rewarding listen for history buffs
- By Ronnie on 08-25-17
By: John Tusa, and others
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Heinrich Himmler
- The SS, Gestapo, His Life and Career
- By: Roger Manvell, Heinrich Fraenkel
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Authors Roger Manvell and Heinrich Fraenkel, notable biographers of the World War II German leaders Joseph Goebbels and Herman Goring, delve into the life of one of the most sinister, clever, and successful of all the Nazi leaders: Heinrich Himmler. As the head of the feared SS, Himler supervised the extermination of millions. Here is the story of how a seemingly ordinary boy grew into an obsessive and superstitious man who ventured into herbalism, astrology, and homeopathic medicine before finally turning to the “science” of racial purity and the belief in the superiority of the Aryan people.
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A new and insightful look at a Monster
- By Doc Pearce on 07-26-13
By: Roger Manvell, and others
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Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician
- By: Anthony Everitt
- Narrated by: John Curless
- Length: 15 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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In this dynamic and engaging biography, Anthony Everitt plunges us into the fascinating, scandal-ridden world of ancient Rome in its most glorious heyday. Accessible to us through his legendary speeches but also through an unrivaled collection of unguarded letters to his close friend Atticus, Cicero comes to life here as a witty and cunning political operator.
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An eloquent man, and a patriot
- By Darwin8u on 01-19-15
By: Anthony Everitt
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Liberty's First Crisis
- Adams, Jefferson, and the Misfits Who Saved Free Speech
- By: Charles Slack
- Narrated by: Brian Holsopple
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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When the United States government passed the Bill of Rights in 1791, its uncompromising protection of speech and of the press were unlike anything the world had ever seen before. But by 1798, the once-dazzling young republic of the United States was on the verge of collapse. Suddenly, the First Amendment, which protected harsh commentary of the weak government, no longer seemed as practical. So that July, President John Adams and the Federalists in control of Congress passed an extreme piece of legislation that made criticism of the government and its leaders a crime.
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Marvelous Book....
- By Douglas on 01-07-17
By: Charles Slack
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Eichmann in Jerusalem
- A Report on the Banality of Evil
- By: Hannah Arendt
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Sparking a flurry of heated debate, Hannah Arendt's authoritative and stunning report on the trial of German Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann first appeared in The New Yorker in 1963. This revised edition includes material that came to light after the trial, as well as Arendt's postscript. A major journalistic triumph by an intellectual of singular influence, Eichmann in Jerusalem is as shocking as it is informative - an unflinching look at one of the most unsettling (and unsettled) issues of the 20th century.
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Both a Monster and a Clown
- By Darwin8u on 08-13-13
By: Hannah Arendt
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Gandhi Before India
- By: Ramachandra Guha
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 23 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Ramachandra Guha takes us from Gandhi's birth in 1869 through his upbringing in Gujarat, his two years as a student in London, and his two decades as a lawyer and community organizer in South Africa. Guha has uncovered myriad previously untapped documents, including private papers of Gandhi's contemporaries. Using this wealth of material in an exuberant, brilliantly nuanced and detailed narrative, Guha describes the social, political, and personal worlds inside of which Gandhi began the journey that would earn him the honorific Mahatma: "Great Soul".
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Somewhat repetitive and lacking
- By freehope on 03-10-21
By: Ramachandra Guha
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Gandhi
- The Years That Changed the World, 1914-1948
- By: Ramachandra Guha
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 36 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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This volume opens with Mohandas Gandhi's arrival in Bombay in January 1915 and takes us through his epic struggles over the next three decades. In reconstructing Gandhi's life and work, author Ramachandra Guha has drawn on 60 different archival collections. Using this wealth of material, Guha creates a portrait of Gandhi and of those closest to him that illuminates the complexity inside his thinking, his motives, his actions, and their outcomes as he engaged with every important aspect of social and public life in the India of his time.
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Well researched and heart touching
- By M Umar Khan on 02-01-21
By: Ramachandra Guha
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Lenin
- The Man, the Dictator, and the Master of Terror
- By: Victor Sebestyen
- Narrated by: Jonathan Aris
- Length: 20 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Drawing on new research, including the diaries, memoirs, and personal letters of both Lenin and his friends, Victor Sebestyen's unique biography - the first in English in nearly two decades - is not only a political examination of one of the most important historical figures of the 20th century but a portrait of Lenin the man. Unexpectedly, Lenin was someone who loved nature, hunting, and fishing and could identify hundreds of species of plants, a despotic ruler whose closest ties and friendships were with women.
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Lenin totally took an extra piece of that cake.
- By John Gathly on 05-14-19
By: Victor Sebestyen
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The Nazi Hunters
- By: Andrew Nagorski
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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More than seven decades after the end of the Second World War, the era of the Nazi hunters is drawing to a close as they and the hunted die off. Their saga can now be told almost in its entirety. After the Nuremberg trials and the start of the Cold War, most of the victors in World War II lost interest in prosecuting Nazi war criminals. Many of the lower-ranking perpetrators quickly blended in with the millions who were seeking to rebuild their lives in a new Europe, while those who felt most at risk fled the continent.
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Best on subject
- By night owl on 03-09-17
By: Andrew Nagorski
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Trotsky
- Downfall of a Revolutionary
- By: Bertrand M. Patenaude
- Narrated by: Matthew Waterson
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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In Trotsky: Downfall of a Revolutionary, Stanford University lecturer Bertrand M. Patenaude tells the dramatic story of Leon Trotsky's final years in exile in Mexico. Shedding new light on Trotsky's tumultuous friendship with painter Diego Rivera, his affair with Rivera’s wife Frida Kahlo, and his torment as his family and comrades become victims of the Great Terror, Trotsky: Downfall ofa Revolutionary brilliantly illuminates the fateful and dramatic life of one of history's most famous yet elusive figures.
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Good Trotsky Book, BAD conclusions at end
- By Darius on 02-09-15
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Stalin
- The First In-depth Biography Based on Explosive New Documents from Russia's Secret Archives
- By: Edvard Radzinsky
- Narrated by: David McCallum
- Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins
- Abridged
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The Kremlin intrigues, the private worlds of the Soviet Empire's ruling class, Radzinsky thrillingly brings them to life. And the riddle of that most cold-blooded of leaders, a man for whom nothing was sacred in his pursuit of absolute might, and perhaps the greatest mass murderer in Western history, is solved.
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A Great Book About a Great Tyrant
- By Moon Man on 05-01-05
By: Edvard Radzinsky
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The Eichmann Trial
- By: Deborah E Lipstadt
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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The capture of SS Lieutenant Colonel Adolf Eichmann by Israeli agents in Argentina in May of 1960 and his subsequent trial in Jerusalem by an Israeli court electrified the world. The public debate it sparked on where, how, and by whom Nazi war criminals should be brought to justice, and the international media coverage of the trial itself, was a watershed moment in how the civilized world in general and Holocaust survivors in particular found the means to deal with the legacy of genocide on a scale that had never been seen before.
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Avoid this one
- By Alan on 04-08-11
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For Liberty and Glory
- Washington, Lafayette, and Their Revolutions
- By: James R. Gaines
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 21 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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On April 18, 1775, a riot over the price of flour broke out in the French city of Dijon. That night, across the Atlantic, Paul Revere mounted the fastest horse he could find and kicked it into a gallop. So began what have been called the "sister revolutions" of France and America. In a single, thrilling narrative, this audiobook tells the story of those revolutions and shows just how deeply intertwined they actually were.
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Excellent presentation
- By Hal on 08-20-12
By: James R. Gaines
What listeners say about The Dreyfus Affair
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Danyel Healey Moulden
- 09-20-24
Incredible history!
The unknown history (in the US) of the lead up to the wars of the 20th century. And beyond..
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- Amazon Customer
- 01-21-23
A Horrific Story Thoroughly Told
The book is quite good, although I will say that it's hard to listen to as a Jew for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that the book quotes antisemitic sentiments and the audiobook doesn't make completely clear that these are not editorializations. otherwise, it's very compelling but the ending drags on a bit, as the accounts of how everyone died were for the most part superfluous to one's understanding of the affair.
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- W. Brian Hall
- 10-27-13
Gripping look at an important moment in history
This was a very interesting and in-depth look at the Dreyfus Affair. The author explains in detail the historical, social and political context in which the event took place. The roots of the affair trace back to the schism between the traditionalists and secularists in the French Revolution, and Dreyfus became a pawn between these competing forces. Very balanced in presenting the thoughts and motives of those on both sides of the issue, and very moving in describing Dreyfus's imprisonment. A fascinating look at how an injustice could both be perpetrated by those with noble motives and how decisions become self-perpetuating.
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10 people found this helpful
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- Jane Doe
- 08-08-20
Great
Breathtaking story, both from the human and the historical perspective. Some listeners complained about the narration; it didn't bother me so much. It is slow, but I played it at x1.2 speed and it was fine. The French pronunciation apparently isn't great, but if you don't speak French I guess you can't tell. The story is very detailed, I had to listen twice to get all the different characters and their roles. But it was not boring for a moment.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Mike
- 01-05-24
Needed a good editor
I don't know who the audience for this book is supposed to be. For someone like me, looking for a detailed background on the affair to help me understand Proust and the larger religious divisions in France, this book is too long by 20–30%. Some obvious things, like the role of the French Revolution and Commune in reifying French anti-semitism and the post-Affair anti-Catholic laws, are overexplained. Some crucial things, like the means of social dissemination of anti-semitism, are under-explained or under-exampled. I would have preferred for Read to offer a deeper analysis of the social currents and less superficial detail of dates and events.
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- Joel D Offenberg
- 10-03-18
Interesting history, but as dry as the Sahara
I've heard a bit about the Dreyfus Affair but never really had a chance to study it in depth. So I decided to gamble a credit on this offering.
The background and context (history of Antisemitism in France, French history after Napoleon) and the background were useful but long and perhaps could have been shortened somewhat. The actual story (Dreyfus' situation, his arrest, the evidence against him, the periodic debates over Dreyfus, how Esterhazy was unmasked and the aftermath) is interesting, but every so often gets broken up with long-winded background material.
I think the writing could be better (maybe a few edits to trim about 10% would liven things up, and maybe a little less scholarly in tone) but the real problem with this book is the narration. David Pevenser is a plodding, slow-pace reader who sounds like he's expecting the listener to be taking notes. I changed the playback speed to 1.25x on my Audible app for some of it, and it improved. Also, I'm not an expert in French, but I suspect his accent is less "Left Bank" and more "US High School."
In summary: Not loving it and definitely not good with the narration.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Sue Slack
- 02-14-22
Everything about Dreyfus Affair
The book covers French history, Anti-Semitism in France, the French army officer corps, Jesuit influences on Catholicism in n France and the Dreyfus family and their background. Everything that could be related to the story is touched upon. Beware the story can be depressing and upsetting at times.
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- Richard
- 04-10-16
Needs better narrator
I was unable to get past the second chapter--Mr. Pevsner is a very stilted reader of English, and he completely butchers the French language. The combination of these two issues led me to return the audio book and buy a print copy, because I really want to read this book!
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5 people found this helpful