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No Simple Victory: World War II in Europe, 1939–1945 Audiobook
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(4.00) - 290 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
If history really belongs to the victor, what happens when there's more than one side declaring victory? That's the conundrum Norman Davies unravels in his groundbreaking book No Simple Victory. Far from being a revisionist history, No Simple Victory instead offers a clear-eyed reappraisal, untangling and setting right the disparate claims made by America, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union in order to get at the startling truth.
In detailing the clash of political philosophies that drove the war's savage engine, Davies also examines how factors as diverse as technology, economics, and morale played dynamic roles in shaping battles, along with the unsung yet vital help of Poland, Greece, and the Ukraine (which suffered the highest number of casualties). And while the Allies resorted to bombing enemy civilians to sow terror, the most damning condemnation is saved for the Soviet Union, whose glossed-over war crimes against British soldiers and its own people prove that Communism and Nazism were two sides of the same brutal coin.
No Simple Victory is an unparalleled work that will fascinate not only history buffs but anyone who is interested in discovering the reality behind what Davies refers to as "the frozen perspective of the winners' history."
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"In general this effort was to avoid looking at the war through rose-coloured glasses. It succeeds but some of the author's invective did creep in, so I wouldn't call his a totally objective point of view. Very informative and stretches the mind open; history is more useful to use when we question it."
— Richie (4 out of 5 stars)
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“Infused with irony and paradox, qualities essential to understanding history…[No Simple Victory] rearranges and juxtaposes facts and events in often unexpectedly illuminating ways.”
— Atlantic -
A riveting, sustained performance.
— Publishers Weekly Audio Review -
“Davies cuts against the grain of popular war histories like Stephen Ambrose’s accounts of D-day and the Bulge, but his interpretations rest on solid scholarly work.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“A lively and contrary historiography, skillfully written.”
— Library Journal
No Simple Victory Listener Reviews
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" A historical assessment of the Eastern front during World War II. Davies concentrates on the battles, politics, soldiers, and civilians that were involved with Germany's conflicts with Poland, Russia, and other eastern European countries. He is heavily critical of the Western tradition's viewpoint of the war and believes that the U.S. dominates World War II history. Good book, but there are too few sources. "
— Keith, 1/23/2014 -
" Davies uses an interesting approach to discuss the war in Europe: by topic, rather than by chronology. He makes a compelling argument that literature is biased or skewed in favor of the country in which the literature emanated. It is quite opinionated. I give it a neutral on recommending, due to its length. "
— Jeff, 1/15/2014 -
" More like a college textbook. Fact, facts and more facts. Too much for me. Had to read every page 2-3 times. "
— Scott, 1/15/2014 -
" Good intro for Americans who think of the European War in terms of "Saving Private Ryan" or "Band of Brothers." "
— Shonan_naminori, 1/4/2014 -
" Great detail on World War II, particularly with many of the more minor European players. "
— Marko, 8/8/2013 -
" Along with Snyder's Bloodlands, a book that made me realize how little I really know about World War II. Not a definitive account but thought provoking and well written. "
— Dan, 7/6/2013 -
" A detailed exploration of World War II. The author attempts to remove historical biases when discussing the various participants in the war. "
— David, 6/24/2011 -
" Parts better than the whole, esp., Politics. "
— Ron, 4/12/2011 -
" Excellent. I've read several boooks on WWII. This gives a very different perspective - the major battles of the Eastern Front and the scale of them in comparison to those on the Western Front. For example, in the whole scope of WWII, D-Day does not even fall into the top 10 battles fought. "
— Kim, 10/22/2010 -
" extremely informative "
— Mark, 7/16/2010 -
" So you think the Atlantic allies defeated the Nazis? It's a myth, says Davies. The real credit for saving civilization goes to Uncle Joe Stalin and the Russians. "
— Steve, 5/10/2010 -
" More like a college textbook. Fact, facts and more facts. Too much for me. Had to read every page 2-3 times. "
— Scott, 3/28/2010 -
" Excellent. I've read several boooks on WWII. This gives a very different perspective - the major battles of the Eastern Front and the scale of them in comparison to those on the Western Front. For example, in the whole scope of WWII, D-Day does not even fall into the top 10 battles fought. "
— Kim, 2/18/2010 -
" A detailed exploration of World War II. The author attempts to remove historical biases when discussing the various participants in the war. "
— David, 12/27/2009 -
" Parts better than the whole, esp., Politics. "
— Ron, 7/30/2009 -
" So you think the Atlantic allies defeated the Nazis? It's a myth, says Davies. The real credit for saving civilization goes to Uncle Joe Stalin and the Russians. "
— Steve, 3/24/2009 -
" Great, and one of the more unbiased overviews of the war <br/> <br/>If only there was such thing as objectivity.. =) "
— Kirill, 1/31/2009
About Norman Davies
Norman Davies is a professor emeritus of the University of London and a fellow of Wolfson College in Oxford. He is the author of several books on Polish and European history, including God’s Playground, The Isles, and White Eagle, Red Star.
About Simon Vance
Simon Vance (a.k.a. Robert Whitfield) is an award-winning actor and narrator. He has earned more than fifty Earphones Awards and won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration thirteen times. He was named Booklist’s very first Voice of Choice in 2008 and has been named an AudioFile Golden Voice as well as an AudioFile Best Voice of 2009. He has narrated more than eight hundred audiobooks over almost thirty years, beginning when he was a radio newsreader for the BBC in London. He is also an actor who has appeared on both stage and television.