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The Miracle of Dunkirk
- Narrated by: Jeff Cummings
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
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The Miracle of Dunkirk
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Publisher's Summary
On May 24, 1940, Hitler's armies were on the brink of a shattering military victory. Only 10 miles away, 400,000 Allied troops were pinned against the coast of Dunkirk. But just 11 days later, 338,000 men had been successfully evacuated to England. How did it happen? Walter Lord's remarkable account of how "the miracle of Dunkirk" came about is based on hundreds of interviews with survivors of all nations who fought among the sand dunes of northern France.
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Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- David T
- 2022-02-02
excellent book. Insight great story
must be the inspiration for Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk.
the personal stories provide excellent insight
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Langer MD
- 2022-04-21
A 'Very Good' Read/Listen
Author/Historian & Yale Law alumnus Walter Lord seems to be unsure if he wants to deliver a pinpoint accurate war chronicle or an on-the-ground account of the men & women involved in one of the pivotal initiatives of early WWII. He settles for a broad tactical/strategic discussion colored with anecdotes - and largely succeeds in presenting the dumbfounding success of the evacuation of virtually all of the British Expeditionary Force from a single port on the coast of France in 1940.. using a hodge-podge volunteer Navy of merchantmen, commercial fishing boats & ferries, and River Thames pleasure boats.
Without this desperate move, the British army would have doubtless been totally destroyed by Hitler's Blitzkreig and Luftwaffe. The Dunkirk evacuation truly was a "miracle" that saved the Allies from almost certain overall defeat.
Unfortunately, Lord's execution lets the story down somewhat: For example, the book is too long (an aggressive editor could easily have cut it in half) and the documentary/docudrama balance falls just short of making the book acceptable to either tenured historians or readers of historical fiction.
Fortunately, the audiobook is saved somewhat by unparalleled sound quality from Blackstone Audio and exemplary narration from Jeff Cummings. Sound editors do a great job softening Cummings's natural sibilance and the splicing is seamless.. and while Cummings reads too slowly (listen at 1.15X), he exhibits marvellous diction, timbre, and cadence while reading with a remarkably interested tone.
On the other hand, Cummings's French is *brutal*. This is an imperfect but praiseworthy performance.
I am grateful to Audible for offering this 8.5/10 star book as part of the 'Plus' catalogue.. it's not Lord's best work, but 'The Miracle of Dunkirk' would actually rate a Credit for casual readers interested in learning about an event that encapsulated the combination of bravery, ingenuity, and luck that ensured the Allies' victory in WWII.
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