They Fought Alone
The True Story of the Starr Brothers, British Secret Agents in Nazi-Occupied France
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Narrated by:
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Allan Corduner
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By:
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Charles Glass
About this listen
“Highly detailed and fast-paced, Charles Glass’s They Fought Alone is a must-read for those whose passion is the Resistance literature of World War II.” (Alan Furst, author of A Hero of France)
From the best-selling author of Americans in Paris and The Deserters, the astounding story of Britain's Special Operations Executive, one of World War II's most important secret fighting forces
As far as the public knew, Britain's Special Operations Executive (SOE) did not exist. After the defeat of the French Army and Britain's retreat from the Continent in June 1940, Prime Minister Winston Churchill created the top-secret espionage operation to "set Europe ablaze". The agents infiltrated Nazi-occupied territory, parachuting behind enemy lines and hiding in plain sight, quietly but forcefully recruiting, training, and arming local French résistants to attack the German war machine. SOE would change not only the course of the war but the nature of combat itself. Of the many brave men and women conscripted, two Anglo-American recruits, the Starr brothers, stood out to become legendary figures to the guerillas, assassins, and saboteurs they led.
While both brothers were sent across the channel to organize against the Germans, their fates in war could hardly have been more different. Captain George Starr commanded networks of résistants in southwest France, cutting German communications, destroying weapons factories, and delaying the arrival of Nazi troops to Normandy by 17 days after D-day. Younger brother Lieutenant John Starr laid groundwork for resistance in the Burgundy countryside until he was betrayed, captured, tortured, and imprisoned by the Nazis in France and sent to a series of concentration camps in Germany and Austria. Feats of boldness and bravado were many, but appalling scandals, including George's supposed torture and execution of Nazis prisoners, and John's alleged collaboration with his German captors, overshadowed them all. At the war's end, Britain, France, and the United States awarded both brothers medals for heroism, and George would become one of only three among thousands of SOE operatives to achieve the rank of colonel. Yet their battle honors did little to allay postwar allegations against them, and when they returned to England, their government accused both brothers of heinous war crimes.
Here, for the first time, is the story of one of the great clandestine organizations of World War II and of two heroic brothers whose ordeals during and after the war challenged the accepted myths of Britain's wartime resistance in occupied France. Written with complete and unrivaled access to only recently declassified documents from Britain's SOE files, French archives, family letters, diaries, and court records, along with interviews from surviving wartime Resistance fighters, They Fought Alone is a real-life thriller. Renowned journalist and war correspondent Charles Glass exposes a dramatic tale of spies, sabotage, and the daring men and women who risked everything to change the course of World War II.
©2018 Charles Glass (P)2018 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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MacArthur's Spies
- The Soldier, the Singer, and the Spymaster Who Defied the Japanese in World War II
- By: Peter Eisner
- Narrated by: Peter Eisner
- Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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A thrilling story of espionage, daring, and deception set in the exotic landscape of occupied Manila during World War II. On January 2, 1942, Japanese troops marched into Manila unopposed by US forces. Manila was a strategic port, a romantic American outpost, and a jewel of a city. Tokyo saw its conquest of the Philippines as the key in its plan to control all of Asia, including Australia.
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A Must For Travelers To Manila
- By Pete Andresen on 06-20-17
By: Peter Eisner
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Americans in Paris
- Life and Death under Nazi Occupation
- By: Charles Glass
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 15 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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In Americans in Paris, tales of adventure, intrigue, passion, deceit, and survival unfold season by season as renowned journalist Charles Glass tells the story of a remarkable cast of expatriates and their struggles in Nazi Paris. Before the Second World War began, approximately thirty thousand Americans lived in Paris, and when war broke out in 1939 almost five thousand remained.
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Informative, but average engagement
- By Leann on 05-09-17
By: Charles Glass
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Operation Columba - The Secret Pigeon Service
- The Untold Story of World War II Resistance in Europe
- By: Gordon Corera
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Gordon Corera uses declassified documents and extensive original research to tell the story of the Operation Columba and the Secret Pigeon Service for the first time. A tale of wartime espionage, bitter rivalries, extraordinary courage, astonishing betrayal, harrowing tragedy, and a quirky, quarrelsome band of spy masters and their special mission, Operation Columba opens a fascinating new chapter in the annals of World War II. It is ultimately, the story of how, in one of the darkest and most dangerous times in history, under threat of death, people bravely chose to resist.
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Belgium Pigeon
- By Don Rottiers on 08-10-21
By: Gordon Corera
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The Saboteur
- The Aristocrat Who Became France's Most Daring Anti-Nazi Commando
- By: Paul Kix
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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In the tradition of Agent Zigzag comes this breathtaking biography, as fast-paced and emotionally intuitive as the very best spy thrillers, which illuminates an unsung hero of the French Resistance during World War II - Robert de La Rochefoucald, an aristocrat turned anti-Nazi saboteur - and his daring exploits as a résistant trained by Britain's Special Operations Executive.
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Brave outstanding young man
- By paula wright on 06-02-20
By: Paul Kix
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The Assassination of Heydrich
- Hitler's Hangman and the Czech Resistance
- By: Jan G. Wiener
- Narrated by: Mark Kamish
- Length: 5 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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If you only listen to one book about what it felt like to be present during the worst time in modern human history, a time when your life could be snuffed out for having the mere thought of opposition against the Nazi regime, this should be the book. It is told by survivors and by one of the greatest survivors of them all, Jan Wiener.
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Hard to listen to
- By Amazon Customer on 01-26-23
By: Jan G. Wiener
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Avenue of Spies
- A True Story of Terror, Espionage, and One American Family's Heroic Resistance in Nazi-Occupied Paris
- By: Alex Kershaw
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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The leafy Avenue de Foch, one of the most exclusive residential streets in Nazi-occupied France, was Paris' hotbed of daring spies, murderous secret police, amoral informers, and Vichy collaborators. So when American physician Sumner Jackson, who lived with his wife and young son, Phillip, at Number 11, found himself drawn into the Liberation network of the French resistance, he knew the stakes were impossibly high.
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Gripping, inspirational, and informative!!
- By Constance M. Specht on 09-26-15
By: Alex Kershaw
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Hunting Eichmann
- Chasing Down the World's Most Notorious Nazi
- By: Neal Bascomb
- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Best-selling author Neal Bascomb has garnered critical acclaim for such riveting nonfiction as Higher and Red Mutiny. Based on extensive interviews and previously classified details, Hunting Eichmann is a compelling account of the relentless hunt for the nefarious Adolf Eichmann.
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A Fascinating Story of Eichmann's Capture
- By S. Perry on 03-15-09
By: Neal Bascomb
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Prisoners of the Castle
- An Epic Story of Survival and Escape from Colditz, the Nazis' Fortress Prison
- By: Ben Macintyre
- Narrated by: Ben Macintyre
- Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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In this gripping narrative, Ben Macintyre tackles one of the most famous prison stories in history and makes it utterly his own. During World War II, the German army used the towering Colditz Castle to hold the most defiant Allied prisoners. For four years, these prisoners of the castle tested its walls and its guards with ingenious escape attempts that would become legend. But as Macintyre shows, the story of Colditz was about much more than escape.
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Another chapter of history brought to life by a master
- By Steve on 09-28-22
By: Ben Macintyre
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Operatives, Spies, and Saboteurs
- The Unknown Story of World War II's OSS
- By: Patrick K. O'Donnell
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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"A revealing look into the intrigue and extraordinary courage of our intelligence gatherers of World War II. A rare combination of suspense thriller and true heroism by a great American writer." (Clive Cussler, New York Times best-selling author)
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Great book...
- By Nicholas G. on 05-11-05
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Sons and Soldiers
- The Untold Story of the Jews Who Escaped the Nazis and Returned with the U.S. Army to Fight Hitler
- By: Bruce Henderson
- Narrated by: Brett Barry
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1942 the US Army unleashed one of its greatest secret weapons in the battle to defeat Adolf Hitler: training nearly 2,000 German-born Jews in special interrogation techniques and making use of their mastery of the German language, history, and customs. Known as the Ritchie Boys, they were sent in small, elite teams to join every major combat unit in Europe, where they interrogated German POWs and gathered crucial intelligence that saved American lives and helped win the war.
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Couldn't put it down
- By P. Voelker on 08-06-17
By: Bruce Henderson
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Spymistress
- The True Story of the Greatest Female Secret Agent of World War II
- By: William Stevenson
- Narrated by: Nicholas Camm
- Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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A rousing tale of espionage and unsung valor, this is the captivating true story of Vera Atkins, Great Britain's spymistress from the age of 25. With her fierce intelligence, blunt manner, personal courage, and exceptional informants, Vera ran countless missions throughout the 1930s. After rising to the leadership echelon in the Special Operations Executive (SOE), a covert intelligence agency formed by Winston Churchill, she became head of a clandestine army in World War II.
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Great Story - Unfortunately Monotone Performance
- By Glenn on 03-29-14
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Code Name: Lise
- The True Story of the Woman Who Became WWII's Most Highly Decorated Spy
- By: Larry Loftis
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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1942: World War II is in full swing. Odette Sansom decides to follow in her war hero father’s footsteps by becoming an SOE agent to aid Britain and her beloved homeland, France. Five failed attempts and a plane crash later, she finally lands in occupied France to begin her mission. It is here that she meets her commanding officer, Captain Peter Churchill. As they successfully complete mission after mission, Peter and Odette fall in love. All the while, they are being hunted by the cunning German secret police sergeant, Hugo Bleicher, who finally succeeds in capturing them.
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SKIP THE PROLOGUE!
- By Erica J. Conway on 09-17-19
By: Larry Loftis
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Agent Garbo
- The Brilliant, Eccentric Secret Agent Who Tricked Hitler & Saved D-Day
- By: Stephan Talty
- Narrated by: Clinton Wade
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Before he remade himself as the master spy known as Garbo, Juan Pujol was nothing more than a Barcelona poultry farmer. But as Garbo, he turned in a masterpiece of deception that changed the course of World War II. Posing as the Nazis’ only reliable spy inside England, he created an imaginary million-man army, invented armadas out of thin air, and brought a vast network of fictional subagents to life. The scheme culminated on June 6, 1944, when Garbo convinced the Germans that the Allied forces approaching Normandy were just a feint - the real invasion would come at Calais.
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Good story, writing overly dramatic
- By Matthew on 08-13-13
By: Stephan Talty
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Destination Casablanca
- Exile, Espionage, and the Battle for North Africa in World War II
- By: Meredith Hindley
- Narrated by: Matthew Waterson
- Length: 17 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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In November 1942, as a part of Operation Torch, 33,000 American soldiers sailed undetected across the Atlantic and stormed the beaches of French Morocco. Seventy-four hours later, the Americans controlled the country and one of the most valuable wartime ports: Casablanca. In the years preceding, Casablanca had evolved from an exotic travel destination to a key military target after France's surrender to Germany. Jewish refugees from Europe poured in, hoping to obtain visas and passage to the United States and beyond.
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A city of intrigue
- By David on 11-30-17
By: Meredith Hindley
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Disciples
- The World War II Missions of the CIA Directors Who Fought for Wild Bill Donovan
- By: Douglas Waller
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 16 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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They are the most famous and controversial directors the CIA has ever had - Allen Dulles, Richard Helms, William Colby, and William Casey. Disciples is the story of these dynamic agents and their daring espionage and sabotage in wartime Europe under OSS Director Bill Donovan.
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A "Boys in the Boat" for WWII Intrigue
- By Annie M. on 03-21-16
By: Douglas Waller
What listeners say about They Fought Alone
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Shauny Woo
- 09-26-20
Names Names Names
After beginning to read this book, I began to think “there was no way I was going to finish this novel”. The story had much to slow a start. But this has never been a feature of a book to deter me in the past. What did deter me, was the constant description of every individuals first, middle, last, and nickname, along with the description of their place of origin, current residents, three distant cousins (along with their full biography), and favorite brand of toothpaste. After about the 15th time of investing so much attention into trying to remember each of these individuals, The realization finally materialize that most of these individuals , are never be mentioned again, nor to seem to have much relevance with the story. Luckily, the story picked up a short while after, thus Making the previously mentioned, a inconvenience, but a bearable one going forward.
The story of the The two vastly different experiences was very intriguing. George’s story of commander, and John story of survivor, were both exceptionally portrayed in the story. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in World War II history, with the caution of the over descriptive name recognition.
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- Marc V.
- 05-21-19
hard to listen to
I loved the topic after watching SOE documentaries on the BBC, but this gets into so much daily details it looses the plot
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