Get a free audiobook
-
The Fight for History
- 75 Years of Forgetting, Remembering, and Remaking Canada's Second World War
- Narrated by: J. D. Nicholsen
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Categories: History, Military
People who bought this also bought...
-
The Secret History of Soldiers
- How Canadians Survived the Great War
- Written by: Tim Cook
- Narrated by: J.D. Nicholsen
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There have been thousands of books on the Great War, but most have focused on commanders, battles, strategy, and tactics. Less attention has been paid to the daily lives of the combatants, how they endured the unimaginable conditions of industrial warfare: the rain of shells, bullets, and chemical agents. In The Secret History of Soldiers, Tim Cook, Canada's foremost military historian, examines how those who survived trench warfare on the Western Front found entertainment, solace, relief, and distraction from the relentless slaughter.
-
Breakout from Juno
- First Canadian Army and the Normandy Campaign, July 4 - August 21, 1944
- Written by: Mark Zuehlke
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The ninth book in the Canadian Battle Series, Breakout from Juno, is the first dramatic chronicling of Canada's pivotal role throughout the entire Normandy Campaign following the D-Day landings.
-
-
Fantastic Book. Narration needs work.
- By JT Walsh on 2018-11-15
-
Stalingrad
- Written by: David M. Glantz, Jonathan M. House
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 18 hrs and 39 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tantor Audio presents the complete audio version of the long awaited one-volume campaign history from the leading experts of the decisive clash of Nazi and Soviet forces at Stalingrad. Stalingrad is an abridged edition of the five-volume Stalingrad Trilogy.
-
-
The bitter story of Stalingrad
- By braden on 2019-10-17
-
Ortona
- Canada's Epic World War II Battle
- Written by: Mark Zuehlke
- Narrated by: William Dufris
- Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In one furious week of fighting in December 1943, the First Canadian Infantry Division took Ortona, Italy, from elite German paratroopers ordered to hold the medieval port at all costs. When the battle was over, the Canadians emerged victorious despite heavy losses.
-
-
I had no idea...
- By Ryan on 2019-03-09
-
The Korean War
- Written by: Max Hastings
- Narrated by: Cameron Stewart
- Length: 19 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On 25 June, 1950, the invasion of South Korea by the Communist North launched one of the bloodiest conflicts of the last century. The seemingly limitless power of the Chinese-backed North was thrown against the ferocious firepower of the UN-backed South in a war that can be seen today as the stark prelude to Vietnam.
-
-
Articulate and deeply informative.
- By Liam on 2020-04-30
-
War: How Conflict Shaped Us
- Written by: Margaret MacMillan
- Narrated by: Deepti Gupta
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The instinct to fight may be innate in human nature, but war — organized violence — comes with organized society. War has shaped humanity’s history, its social and political institutions, its values and ideas. Our very language, our public spaces, our private memories, and some of our greatest cultural treasures reflect the glory and the misery of war. War is an uncomfortable and challenging subject not least because it brings out both the vilest and the noblest aspects of humanity.
-
The Secret History of Soldiers
- How Canadians Survived the Great War
- Written by: Tim Cook
- Narrated by: J.D. Nicholsen
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There have been thousands of books on the Great War, but most have focused on commanders, battles, strategy, and tactics. Less attention has been paid to the daily lives of the combatants, how they endured the unimaginable conditions of industrial warfare: the rain of shells, bullets, and chemical agents. In The Secret History of Soldiers, Tim Cook, Canada's foremost military historian, examines how those who survived trench warfare on the Western Front found entertainment, solace, relief, and distraction from the relentless slaughter.
-
Breakout from Juno
- First Canadian Army and the Normandy Campaign, July 4 - August 21, 1944
- Written by: Mark Zuehlke
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The ninth book in the Canadian Battle Series, Breakout from Juno, is the first dramatic chronicling of Canada's pivotal role throughout the entire Normandy Campaign following the D-Day landings.
-
-
Fantastic Book. Narration needs work.
- By JT Walsh on 2018-11-15
-
Stalingrad
- Written by: David M. Glantz, Jonathan M. House
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 18 hrs and 39 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tantor Audio presents the complete audio version of the long awaited one-volume campaign history from the leading experts of the decisive clash of Nazi and Soviet forces at Stalingrad. Stalingrad is an abridged edition of the five-volume Stalingrad Trilogy.
-
-
The bitter story of Stalingrad
- By braden on 2019-10-17
-
Ortona
- Canada's Epic World War II Battle
- Written by: Mark Zuehlke
- Narrated by: William Dufris
- Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In one furious week of fighting in December 1943, the First Canadian Infantry Division took Ortona, Italy, from elite German paratroopers ordered to hold the medieval port at all costs. When the battle was over, the Canadians emerged victorious despite heavy losses.
-
-
I had no idea...
- By Ryan on 2019-03-09
-
The Korean War
- Written by: Max Hastings
- Narrated by: Cameron Stewart
- Length: 19 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On 25 June, 1950, the invasion of South Korea by the Communist North launched one of the bloodiest conflicts of the last century. The seemingly limitless power of the Chinese-backed North was thrown against the ferocious firepower of the UN-backed South in a war that can be seen today as the stark prelude to Vietnam.
-
-
Articulate and deeply informative.
- By Liam on 2020-04-30
-
War: How Conflict Shaped Us
- Written by: Margaret MacMillan
- Narrated by: Deepti Gupta
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The instinct to fight may be innate in human nature, but war — organized violence — comes with organized society. War has shaped humanity’s history, its social and political institutions, its values and ideas. Our very language, our public spaces, our private memories, and some of our greatest cultural treasures reflect the glory and the misery of war. War is an uncomfortable and challenging subject not least because it brings out both the vilest and the noblest aspects of humanity.
-
The Battle of Arnhem
- The Deadliest Airborne Operation of World War II
- Written by: Antony Beevor
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
- Length: 16 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On September 17, 1944, General Kurt Student, the founder of Nazi Germany's parachute forces, heard the groaning roar of airplane engines. He went out onto his balcony above the flat landscape of southern Holland to watch the air armada of Dakotas and gliders, carrying the legendary American 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions and the British 1st Airborne Division. Operation Market Garden, the plan to end the war by capturing the bridges leading to the Lower Rhine and beyond, was a bold concept, but could it have ever worked? The cost of failure was horrendous, above all for the Dutch.
-
Blood Red Snow
- The Memoirs of a German Soldier on the Eastern Front
- Written by: Günter K. Koschorrek
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gunter K. Koschorrek was a machine-gunner on the Russian front in WWII. He wrote his illicit diary on any scraps of paper he could lay his hands on. As keeping a diary was strictly forbidden, he sewed the pages into the lining of his thick winter coat and deposited them with his mother on infrequent trips home on leave. The diary went missing, and it was when he was reunited with his daughter in America some 40 years later that it came to light and became Blood Red Snow.
-
-
The author cuts out or invents things altogether
- By Pavel on 2019-12-28
-
Battle for the Falklands
- Written by: Max Hastings
- Narrated by: Cameron Stewart
- Length: 16 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Falklands War was one of the strangest in British history - 28,000 men sent to fight for a tiny relic of empire 8,000 miles from home. At the time, many Britons saw it as a tragic absurdity, but the British victory confirmed the quality of British arms and boosted the political fortunes of the Conservative government.
-
-
Detailed walkthrough of the Falklands War.
- By Amazon Customer on 2020-10-14
-
Panzer Ace
- The Memoirs of an Iron Cross Panzer Commander from Barbarossa to Normandy
- Written by: Richard Freiherr von Rosen, Robert Forczyk
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Richard Freiherr von Rosen was a highly decorated Wehrmacht soldier and outstanding panzer commander. After serving as a gunlayer on a Pz.Mk.III during Barbarossa, he led a company of Tigers at Kursk. Later he led a company of King Tiger panzers at Normandy and in late 1944 commanded a battle group (12 King Tigers and a flak company) against the Russians in Hungary in the rank of junior, later senior lieutenant (from November 1944, his final rank). Only 489 of these King Tiger tanks were ever built.
-
-
Good but not Great
- By Amazon Customer on 2020-08-20
-
Tigers in the Mud
- The Combat Career of German Panzer Commander Otto Carius
- Written by: Otto Carius
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
World War II began with a metallic roar as the German Blitzkrieg raced across Europe, spearheaded by the most dreaded weapon of the 20th century: the Panzer. No German tank better represents that thundering power than the infamous Tiger, and Otto Carius was one of the most successful commanders to ever take a Tiger into battle, destroying well over 150 enemy tanks during his incredible career.
-
-
An Interesting Man
- By Michael Sherrer on 2020-08-08
-
The War that Ended Peace
- Written by: Margaret MacMillan
- Narrated by: Richard Burnip
- Length: 31 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The First World War followed a period of sustained peace in Europe during which people talked with confidence of prosperity, progress and hope. But in 1914, Europe walked into a catastrophic conflict which killed millions of its men, bled its economies dry, shook empires and societies to pieces, and fatally undermined Europe's dominance of the world. It was a war which could have been avoided up to the last moment - so why did it happen?
-
-
Makes You Pray for the War to Begin
- By john on 2018-08-16
-
Rage
- Written by: Bob Woodward
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bob Woodward’s new book, Rage, is an unprecedented and intimate tour de force of new reporting on the Trump presidency facing a global pandemic, economic disaster, and racial unrest. Woodward, the number-one international best-selling author of Fear: Trump in the White House, has uncovered the precise moment the president was warned that the Covid-19 epidemic would be the biggest national security threat to his presidency.
-
-
Amazing insight
- By HalfMoon on 2020-09-15
-
The Vietnam War
- An Intimate History
- Written by: Geoffrey C. Ward, Ken Burns
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders, Ken Burns, Brian Corrigan
- Length: 31 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
More than 40 years after it ended, the Vietnam War continues to haunt our country. We still argue over why we were there, whether we could have won, and who was right and wrong in their response to the conflict. When the war divided the country, it created deep political fault lines that continue to divide us today. Now, continuing in the tradition of their critically acclaimed collaborations, the authors draw on dozens and dozens of interviews in America and Vietnam to give us the perspectives of people involved at all levels of the war.
-
-
STUNNING
- By Robert Lofstedt on 2017-11-29
-
The Evening and the Morning
- Kingsbridge, Book 4
- Written by: Ken Follett
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 24 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 997 CE, the end of the Dark Ages. England is facing attacks from the Welsh in the west and the Vikings in the east. Those in power bend justice according to their will, regardless of ordinary people and often in conflict with the king. Without a clear rule of law, chaos reigns. In these turbulent times, three characters find their lives intertwined.
-
-
long but enjoyable story
- By Carolyn hateley on 2020-12-10
-
Tragedy at Dieppe
- Operation Jubilee, August 19, 1942
- Written by: Mark Zuehlke
- Narrated by: John Wray
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With its trademark "you are there" style, Mark Zuehlke's 10th Canadian Battle Series volume tells the story of the 1942 Dieppe raid. Nicknamed "The Poor Man's Monte Carlo", Dieppe had no strategic importance, but with the Soviet Union thrown on the ropes by German invasion and America having just entered the war, Britain was under intense pressure to launch a major cross-Channel attack against France. Since 1939, Canadian troops had massed in Britain and trained for the inevitable day of the mass invasion of Europe that would finally occur in 1944.
-
-
lots of stats
- By Barry on 2020-08-25
-
Hoax
- Donald Trump, Fox News, and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth
- Written by: Brian Stelter
- Narrated by: Brian Stelter
- Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Hoax, CNN anchor and chief media correspondent Brian Stelter tells the twisted story of the relationship between Donald Trump and Fox News. From the moment Trump glided down the golden escalator to announce his candidacy in the 2016 presidential election to his acquittal on two articles of impeachment in early 2020, Fox hosts spread his lies and smeared his enemies. Over the course of two years, Stelter spoke with over 250 current and former Fox insiders in an effort to understand the inner workings of Rupert Murdoch's multibillion-dollar media empire.
-
-
Incredibly Amazing
- By Nuno on 2020-08-31
-
The Second World War
- Written by: Antony Beevor
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
- Length: 39 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over the past two decades, Antony Beevor has established himself as one of the world's premier historians of World War II. His multi-award winning books have included Stalingrad and The Fall of Berlin 1945. Now, in his newest and most ambitious book, he turns his focus to one of the bloodiest and most tragic events of the twentieth century, The Second World War. Thrillingly written and brilliantly researched, Beevor's provocative account is destined to become the definitive work on World War II.
-
-
Spectacular Book
- By silvercity on 2019-02-09
Publisher's Summary
National best seller
A masterful telling of the way World War Two has been remembered, forgotten, and remade by Canada over 75 years.
The Second World War shaped modern Canada. It led to the country's emergence as a middle power on the world stage; the rise of the welfare state; industrialization, urbanization, and population growth. After the war, Canada increasingly turned toward the United States in matters of trade, security, and popular culture, which then sparked a desire to strengthen Canadian nationalism from the threat of American hegemony.
The Fight for History examines how Canadians framed and reframed the war experience over time. Just as the importance of the battle of Vimy Ridge to Canadians rose, fell, and rose again over a 100-year period, the meaning of Canada's Second World War followed a similar pattern. But the Second World War's relevance to Canada led to conflict between veterans and others in society - more so than in the previous war - as well as a more rapid diminishment of its significance.
By the end of the 20th century, Canada's experiences in the war were largely framed as a series of disasters. Canadians seemed to want to talk only of the defeats at Hong Kong and Dieppe or the racially driven policy of the forced relocation of Japanese-Canadians. In the history books and media, there was little discussion of Canada's crucial role in the Battle of the Atlantic, the success of its armies in Italy and other parts of Europe, or the massive contribution of war materials made on the home front. No other victorious nation underwent this bizarre reframing of the war, remaking victories into defeats.
The Fight for History is about the efforts to restore a more balanced portrait of Canada's contribution in the global conflict. This is the story of how Canada has talked about the war in the past, how we tried to bury it, and how it was restored. This is the history of a constellation of changing ideas, with many historical twists and turns, and a series of fascinating actors and events.
What the critics say
"...the influential Canadian military historian Tim Cook...has taken up the torch from Jack Granatstein and the late Desmond Morton as a new generation's pre-eminent voice in the field....Cook's many strengths are again evident. He writes fluidly, with a sharp eye for detail and the telling anecdote....His descriptions of the mental challenges that soldiers faced after the war, drawn from letters, are heartbreaking....After years of neglect, Cook concludes, the Second World War 'has been waiting for us to return to it'. As he explains so eloquently, it's an invitation we need to accept." (Policy Magazine)
“Cook [is] an indispensable war historian...By exploring how Canadians arrived, after so long, at new ways of understanding World War II, Cook shows that even the most calcified historical perspectives can ultimately prove pliable. Anyone fighting for a better grasp of history - whether it’s our constitutional roots, our colonial past, or our heroes and villains - should take heart.”(MacLean's)
More from the same
What listeners say about The Fight for History
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- B Goff
- 2020-11-18
This explains a lot
I grew up with veterans of the first and second world wars, five from my family, I joined the Royal Canadian Legion 35 years ago, ten years before I joined CAF reserves. Tim Cook’s book explains so much about the old school Legion, and so many other aspects of how our recent military history was neglected or influenced by American or British perspective. A great book, must read for a Canadian history enthusiast.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lynne Campbell
- 2020-10-02
Compelling listening.
I have always been most interested in the experiences of veterans. This book gives a good overview of the events and perspectives of the people who lived it. Tim Cook lays out the motivations of those who wished to bury history and those who battled to have their experiences remembered. Recommended. Narration complements the content.
1 person found this helpful