The much vaunted cooperation between Great Britain and the United States during WWII has long been due for reassessment, and this study of the intelligence services of both countries may signal its start. Stafford's close examination suggests as much competition as cooperation, for the ambitions of both leaders--Roosevelt and Churchill--and their national interests, beyond winning the war, were largely incompatible. In a forceful narration Richard McGonagle produces near lifelike imitations of the two men--the urbane, upper-Hudson Roosevelt and the gravelly, sardonic Churchill--that at times brim over with their delight in each other and their work. Underneath, however, boils a tension that always threatens to break out, as the two try to balance the competing demands of their intelligence services against common strategic interests. In a voice familiar to those of us who cut our teeth on TV documentaries like "Victory at Sea," McGonagle recreates those tense moments between Allies whose secret interests were worlds apart, yet who nonetheless assembled the most effective spy network in the history of the world.
Pub Date: 2001
Duration: 11 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Audio Partners
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Kristin Atherton is the absolute right choice to narrate this riveting and complex history of the rise of global terrorism. The research provided here is ambitious, providing a clear-eyed, deeply considered history of the nature of terrorist acts, the motivations for which were hard for news broadcasts of the 1970s to fully capture. Atherton's narration never wavers as Burke covers the well-known events of airplane hijackings, the Munich Olympic attacks, and the Beirut bombings of 1983, "the bloodiest year." The result is an insightful history that gives context to events that may have seemed disparate to casual observers. Atherton maintains a comprehensive, consistent voice throughout this long, gripping audiobook.
Pub Date: 2025
Duration: 25 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217018796
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Tim Campbell's sonorous voice is a splendid match for Wellerstein's account of the decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan in 1945. Wellerstein, a scholar of the history of nuclear weapons and the creator of the website NUKEMAP, delves deep into American nuclear policy. His conclusion is that President Harry S. Truman was almost entirely out of the decision loop. After the bombings, Truman made sure that American nuclear policy was firmly under the control of the president. While somewhat staccato, Campbell's delivery is never hurried or hard to follow. His voice has a slight gravelly quality, but is quite winsome and appropriately expressive throughout. Campbell's narration quickly draws the listener into this history.
Pub Date: 2025
Duration: 11 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063379459
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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