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Goodbye, Darkness: A Memoir of the Pacific War Audiobook
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(4.69) - 19 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
The nightmares began for William Manchester twenty-three years after World War II. In his dreams he lived with the recurring image of himself as a battle-weary youth "angrily demanding to know what had happened to the three decades since he had laid down his arms." To find out, Manchester visited those places in the Pacific where as a young Marine he fought the Japanese.
In this intensely powerful memoir, America's preeminent biographer-historian, who has written so brilliantly about World War II in his acclaimed lives of General Douglas MacArthur (American Caesar) and Winston Churchill (The Last Lion), looks back at his own early life. He offers an unrivaled firsthand account of World War II in the Pacific: of what it looked like, sounded like, smelled like, and most of all, what it felt like to one who underwent all but the ultimate of its experiences.
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"Detailed account of America's war effort in the Pacific in WWII. Must reading for anybody interested in beginning to understand the scope of self sacrifice endured by the greatest generation and the human strife associated with our hard won liberty. "
— Brian (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“A strong and honest account…Manchester’s combat writing…stands comparison with the best.”
— New York Times Book Review -
“Compelling…No other living author could have gotten it all down so well.”
— New York Daily News -
“Belongs with the best war memoirs ever written.”
— Los Angeles Times -
“Gripping…It is impossible for an American to read this book without pride in what his country accomplished in those days of enormous challenge.”
— Christian Science Monitor -
“When Manchester speaks of the awesome heroism and hideous suffering of the Marines he lived with and fought with, he is reverent before the mystery of individual courage and gallantry.”
— Baltimore Sun -
“Narrator Barrett Whitener…knows how to keep the writer in the limelight, letting the fun come from Manchester’s style and content. Whitener’s quiet manner sometimes morphs to a whisper in a delivery perfect for a warrior’s memories. Although this is an entertaining memoir, it also serves as an excellent history of the Pacific Campaign.”
— AudioFile
Awards
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A 1981 Pulitzer Prize Finalist for Nonfiction
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A New York Times bestseller in 1980 for Nonfiction
Goodbye, Darkness Listener Reviews
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Marc orlando, 9/5/2024
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" I was going to rate this book four stars until I came upon the last few pages, and it sums up in those pages what this country has become! "
— Josh, 4/4/2011 -
" William Manchester and Paul Johnson are simply without peer<br/>among modern historians. Goodbye Darkness is my favorite<br/>work on the war in the Pacific. And Paul Johnson's Heroes is<br/>a book to be treasured. "
— Ted, 3/5/2011 -
" Manchester was a great historian and first class writer. He may have been excising his personal demons with this work. I read this in the 1980s. "
— John, 1/15/2011 -
" as full of itself as its title would suggest, but fantastic nonetheless. "
— John, 9/29/2010 -
" Wonderful read if you are a war buff. "
— Frances, 9/24/2010 -
" Amazing narrative about WWII in the Pacific. By the same author as The World Lit Only by Fire "
— Louise, 6/21/2010 -
" It is rare that I read a book twice but this memoir of a WW II marine is very powerful and worth the time. William Manchester is a wonderful author and historian. I should read more of his books. "
— Bob, 6/3/2010 -
" Probably one of the most heart-felt, and authentic accounts of the Pacific War that I've ever read. The utter lethality of those last island battles really comes home. "
— Steve, 4/22/2010
About William Manchester
William Manchester (1922–2004) was an award-winning American author, biographer, historian, and a professor emeritus of history at Wesleyan University. He was awarded the National Humanities Medal and the Abraham Lincoln Literary Award. Among his many New York Times bestselling books are two which made the #1 spot on the list: The Death of a President and The Last Lion: Alone.
About Barrett Whitener
Barrett Whitener has been narrating audiobooks since 1992. His recordings have won several awards, including the prestigious Audie Award and numerous Earphones Awards. AudioFile magazine has named him one of the Best Voices of the Century.