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The Victors (Abridged): Eisenhower and His Boys: The Men of World War II Audiobook
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(3.02) - 1,019 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
From America's preeminent military historian, Stephen E. Ambrose, comes a brilliant telling of the war in Europe, from D-Day, June 6, 1944, to the end, eleven months later, on May 7, 1945. This authoritative narrative account is drawn by the author himself from his five acclaimed works about that conflict, most particularly from the definitive and comprehensive D-Day and Citizen Soldiers.
But it is, as always with Stephen Ambrose, the ranks, the ordinary boys and men, who command his attention and his awe. The Victors tells their stories, how citizens became soldiers in the best army in the world. Ambrose draws on thousands of interviews and oral histories from government and private archives, from the high command -- Eisenhower, Bradley, Patton -- on down though officers and enlisted men, to re-create the last year of the Second World War when the Allied soldiers pushed Germany out of France, chased them across Germany, and destroyed the Nazi regime.
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"I love the stories from World War II, and when it is written by a terrific author, even better. Ambrose does such a thorough job and delves into great details about the stories of these soldiers. It's as if you are there watching through their eyes and seeing the action first hand."
— Zack (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Ambrose is a superb historian.”
— New York Times Book Review -
“[Ambrose's] skill at weaving his interviews into a good read is impressive.”
— New Yorker -
“Fresh and riveting.”
— Atlanta Journal-Constitution -
“A brief, readable, and necessary remembrance of a generation that met and overcome this century's greatest test.”
— Dallas Morning News -
“No historian writing today understands and empathizes with the World Ware II generation of Americans better than Stephen Ambrose...Reading this book will leave only a profound understanding of an undeniable truth.”
— St. Petersburg Times -
“The Victors is an absolutely wonderful book...a compelling narrative of a time when the average American youth exhibited heroism and grace to save the world.”
— Wisconsin State Journal
Awards
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A New York Times bestseller
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A 1998 New York Times Notable Book for Nonfiction
The Victors Listener Reviews
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" starts as a short version of the Dday book, but then adds more details after June 6th 1944. "
— Matthew, 2/18/2014 -
" Made feel good to be an American. What they did in WWII was an amazing feat in the history of the world. We fought a major war, not to conquer, or defend our country, but to free conquered countries. "
— Paul, 2/18/2014 -
" Great historical documentary...though a bit repetitious. "
— Chad, 2/17/2014 -
" Enjoying it. "
— Tom, 2/10/2014 -
" Another Ambrose classic! He provided much insight into the planning and execution of this incredible event. A 'must read' for any history buff. "
— Steve, 2/10/2014 -
" I, like many readers, found some sections very familiar. In fact, they were the sections from Ambrose's previous books, of which I had read one. So I can't recommend this book as the the sections from the other books don't really go together all that well. It is like that episode on TV that is a conglomerate of other episodes from the same series. No one likes those semi-reruns, and your better of reading the other Ambrose books than this Frankenstein book. "
— Mark, 1/30/2014 -
" It was a pretty good read and provided a view of the surprisingly grind-it-out strategy employed after D-Day. I didn't expect such a critical and honest look at the command structure. "
— Ben, 1/26/2014 -
" It's Ambrose. You love history, you generally can sit down and share some time with Ambrose. This one covers the soldier's stories from WW II. . .If you've read Citizen Soldiers and D-Day, this book should be a slam-dunk "
— Floyd, 1/23/2014 -
" For all the critcism that Ambrose receives, this has to be one of the best single volume histories about WWII. He loves to talk about the non-coms and how pivotal they were in some of the biggest battles. "
— Gary, 1/18/2014 -
" Good book, but it feels like Ambrose keeps printing the same material with a different name. "
— Bill, 1/10/2014 -
" Stephen Ambrose recycles heavily to crank out another book! "
— José, 12/11/2013 -
" Another great book by Stephen Ambrose, who brings us the hero's of our great country, and shows us the men that made our country so great, and the amazing things they went through, and sacraficed for all of us to make the USA what it is today! "
— Eric, 12/9/2013 -
" Not Ambrose's most well-written book, but still interesting to read. "
— Stasy, 12/3/2013 -
" It's a great sample serving of Mr. Ambrose's work. For those people who haven't read any of his books, this is a good way to find out which (if any of them) you'd like to read. They did a fine job of taking parts from the different books and making a concise read. "
— Brian, 11/27/2013 -
" Completely changed the way I thought about World War II, Ike, and war in general. "
— Matt, 11/13/2013 -
" A book that can be at times enjoyable to read, but deeply, deeply flawed as history. "
— David, 11/2/2013 -
" Having not read the other books of Stephen Ambrose on the Second World War, I find this volume that features sections from his various books on the subject good, as it still presents the continuity of the big story. "
— Michael, 9/1/2012 -
" Account of American involvement in European theater in WWII. "
— Tara, 8/17/2012 -
" True showing of strong leadership and willingness of soldiers. "
— Kirk, 5/26/2012 -
" One of several books that Ambrose wrote about World War II Europe. Not the best of all of them, but readable nonetheless. "
— Troy, 2/1/2012 -
" It's mostly a rehash of Ambrose's other WWI books, so I found it to be repetitive. "
— Jack, 11/7/2011 -
" Not as strong as his other books. Maybe I've just read enough of his work to feel like he didn't break any ground with this one. "
— Paul, 10/26/2011 -
" One of his best books "
— Danny, 2/27/2011 -
" Sometimes this one is way too obviously a compilation. "
— John, 11/13/2010 -
" Well written, but more a tribute than history book. So one sided it reminded me classic Soviet era WWII historiography. Also includes a lot of copy/pasted material from older Ambrose's writings. "
— Dusan, 7/24/2010 -
" A very good look into WWII American push into Europe and continues to add to my perspective of this history. "
— Trent, 5/3/2010 -
" Another quick overview by Ambrose. I prefer "The Longest Day." "
— Philip, 4/21/2010 -
" It's Ambrose. You love history, you generally can sit down and share some time with Ambrose. This one covers the soldier's stories from WW II. . .If you've read Citizen Soldiers and D-Day, this book should be a slam-dunk "
— Floyd, 2/15/2010 -
" Account of American involvement in European theater in WWII. "
— Tara, 1/23/2010 -
" Made feel good to be an American. What they did in WWII was an amazing feat in the history of the world. We fought a major war, not to conquer, or defend our country, but to free conquered countries. "
— Paul, 9/4/2009 -
" Great book. Borrowed heavily from Citizen Soldiers "
— Bill, 10/22/2008 -
" For all the critcism that Ambrose receives, this has to be one of the best single volume histories about WWII. He loves to talk about the non-coms and how pivotal they were in some of the biggest battles. "
— Gary, 3/11/2008 -
" Not as strong as his other books. Maybe I've just read enough of his work to feel like he didn't break any ground with this one. "
— Paul, 1/24/2008 -
" One of several books that Ambrose wrote about World War II Europe. Not the best of all of them, but readable nonetheless. "
— Troy, 9/23/2007
About Stephen E. Ambrose
Stephen E. Ambrose (1936–2002) was the author of several New York Times bestsellers, including Citizen Soldiers, Undaunted Courage, and D-Day, as well as biographies of Presidents Eisenhower and Nixon. He also founded the Eisenhower Center and was president of the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. His book, Band of Brothers, was the basis for the HBO miniseries. He was also a contributing editor for the Quarterly Journal of Military History, a member of the board of directors for American Rivers, and a member of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Council Board.
About Cotter Smith
Cotter Smith is an American actor of stage, film, and television. As an audiobook narrator, he has won two Earphones Awards and was a finalist in 1997 for the prestigious Audie Award.