
The Strategists
Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt, Mussolini, and Hitler: How War Made Them and How They Made War
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Narrated by:
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Justin Price
About this listen
Churchill. Hitler. Stalin. Mussolini. Roosevelt. Five of the most impactful leaders of WW2, each with their own individualistic and idiosyncratic approach to warfare. But if we want to understand their military strategy, we must first understand the strategist.
In The Strategists, Professor Phillips Payson O'Brien shows how the views these five leaders forged in WW1 are crucial to understanding how they fought WW2. For example, Churchill's experiences of facing the German Army in France in 1916 made him unwilling to send masses of British soldiers back there in the 1940s, while Hitler's mistakes on the Eastern Front were influenced by his reluctance to accept that conditions had changed since his own time fighting. The implications of the power of leaders remain with us to this day: to truly understand what is happening in Ukraine, for example, requires us to know what has influenced the leaders involved.
This is a history in which leaders—and their choices—matter. For better or worse.
©2024 Phillips Payson O'Brien (P)2024 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
“Phillips Payson O’Brien is one of our finest historical thinkers. The Strategists shows him at the height of his powers: a book full of deep perception, convincingly challenging many entrenched views and examining these five leaders that so shaped the modern world in an entirely fresh, brilliantly insightful and utterly compelling way. Everyone with an interest in not just the Second World War, but the twentieth century and beyond, should read this without delay.”—James Holland, author of Normandy ’44
"An exploration of grand strategy. Compelling."—Kirkus
“[A] captivating study. . . . O’Brien’s fluid prose makes for enchanting reading; there’s never a dull moment . . . . For military history buffs, this is a must-read."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
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Story
Patrimony, a true story, touches the emotions as strongly as anything Philip Roth has ever written. Roth watches as his 86-year-old father - famous for his vigor, his charm, and his repertoire of Newark recollections - battles with the brain tumor that will kill him. The son, full of love, anxiety, and dread, accompanies his father through each fearful stage of his final ordeal, and, as he does so, discloses the survivalist tenacity that has distinguished his father's long, stubborn engagement with life.
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You must not forget anything
- By Darwin8u on 06-19-18
By: Philip Roth
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How to Be Alone
- Essays
- By: Jonathan Franzen
- Narrated by: Jonathan Franzen, Brian d'Arcy James
- Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections was the best-loved and most-written-about novel of 2001. Nearly every in-depth review of it discussed what became known as "The Harper's Essay," Franzen's controversial 1996 investigation of the fate of the American novel. This essay is reprinted for the first time in How to be Alone, along with the personal essays and the dead-on reportage that earned Franzen a wide readership before the success of The Corrections.
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The first story is the best
- By Susan S. on 01-20-14
By: Jonathan Franzen
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Franklin D. Roosevelt
- A Political Life
- By: Robert Dallek
- Narrated by: Rick Adamson
- Length: 29 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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In an era of such great national divisiveness, there could be no more timely biography of one of our greatest presidents than one that focuses on his unparalleled political ability as a uniter and consensus maker. Robert Dallek's Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Political Life takes a fresh look at the many compelling questions that have attracted all his biographers: how did a man who came from so privileged a background become the greatest presidential champion of the country's needy?
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Not bad but,
- By Christopher on 12-20-17
By: Robert Dallek
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World Class
- One Mother's Journey Halfway Around the Globe in Search of the Best Education for Her Children
- By: Teru Clavel
- Narrated by: Teru Clavel
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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A must-hear firsthand exploration of why Asian students are outpacing their American counterparts and how to help our children excel in today’s competitive world.
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World Class Education In An Ever Changing World
- By civicus on 06-04-23
By: Teru Clavel
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The Price of Peace
- Money, Democracy, and the Life of John Maynard Keynes
- By: Zachary D. Carter
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 22 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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At the dawn of World War I, a young academic named John Maynard Keynes hastily folded his long legs into the sidecar of his brother-in-law’s motorcycle for an odd, frantic journey that would change the course of history. Swept away from his placid home at Cambridge University by the currents of the conflict, Keynes found himself thrust into the halls of European treasuries to arrange emergency loans and packed off to America to negotiate the terms of economic combat.
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A must read for post COVID-19 crisis
- By Amazon Customer on 06-02-20
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Lincoln vs. Davis
- The War of the Presidents
- By: Nigel Hamilton
- Narrated by: Rick Adamson
- Length: 32 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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From a renowned biographer comes the greatest untold story of the Civil War: how two American presidents faced off as the fate of the nation hung in the balance—and how Abraham Lincoln came to embrace emancipation as the last, best chance to save the Union. With a cast of unforgettable characters, from first ladies to fugitive coachmen to treasonous cabinet officials, Lincoln vs. Davis is a spellbinding dual biography from renowned presidential chronicler Nigel Hamilton: a saga that will surprise, touch, and enthrall.
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Disappointing
- By J B Tipton on 02-14-25
By: Nigel Hamilton
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George Marshall
- Defender of the Republic
- By: David L. Roll
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 27 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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The extraordinary career of George Catlett Marshall - America’s most distinguished soldier - statesman since George Washington - whose selfless leadership and moral character influenced the course of two world wars and helped define the American century. Set against the backdrop of five major conflicts - two world wars, Palestine, Korea, and the Cold War - Marshall's education in military, diplomatic, and political power, replete with their nuances and ambiguities, runs parallel with America's emergence as a global superpower.
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There are better books about Marshall
- By JustinT on 09-24-19
By: David L. Roll
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The Path to Blitzkrieg
- Doctrine and Training in the German Army, 1920 - 1939
- By: Robert M. Citino
- Narrated by: Mark Ashby
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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In the wake of World War I, the German army lay in ruins - defeated in the war, sundered by domestic upheaval, and punished by the Treaty of Versailles. A mere 20 years later, Germany possessed one of the finest military machines in the world, capable of launching a stunning blitzkrieg attack against Poland in 1939. Well-known military historian Robert M. Citino shows how Germany accomplished this astonishing reversal and developed the doctrine, tactics, and technologies that its military would use to devastating effect in World War II.
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Thorough review of Reichswehr in Weimar years
- By Rodney W. Schmisseur on 06-19-24
By: Robert M. Citino
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Heretic Queen
- Queen Elizabeth I and the Wars of Religion
- By: Susan Ronald
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Acclaimed biographer Susan Ronald delivers a stunning account of Elizabeth I that focuses on her role in the Wars of Religion - the battle between Protestantism and Catholicism that tore Europe apart in the sixteenth century. Elizabeth’s 1558 coronation procession was met with an extravagant outpouring of love. Only 25 years old, the young queen saw herself as the nation’s Protestant savior, aiming to provide new hope, prosperity, and independence from the foreign influence that had plagued her sister Mary’s reign. Given the scars of the Reformation, Elizabeth would need all of the powers of diplomacy and tact she could summon.
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a thorough history of a great lady
- By Angelus56 on 07-24-18
By: Susan Ronald
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The Stalin Affair
- The Impossible Alliance That Won the War
- By: Giles Milton
- Narrated by: Giles Milton
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Enter Averell Harriman: a railroad magnate and, at the start of the war, the fourth-richest man in America. At Roosevelt’s behest, he traveled to Britain to serve as a liaison between the president and Churchill and to spearhead what became known as the Harriman Mission. Together with his fashionable young daughter Kathy, an unforgettable cast of British diplomats, and Churchill himself, he would eventually manage to wrangle Stalin into the partnership the Allies needed to defeat Hitler.
By: Giles Milton
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Mr. Churchill in the White House
- The Untold Story of a Prime Minister and Two Presidents
- By: Robert Schmuhl
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Mr. Churchill in the White House presents a new perspective on the politician, war leader, and author through his intimate involvement with one Democratic and one Republican president during his two terms as prime minister.
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good added depth
- By Amazon Customer on 03-17-25
By: Robert Schmuhl
mussolini stood out as an arrogant lunatic
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