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The Ultimate Battle
- Okinawa 1945: The Last Epic Struggle of World War II
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 14 hrs and 7 mins
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The Ultimate Battle
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Publisher's Summary
Using the same grunt's-eye-view narrative style of Sloan's acclaimed Brotherhood of Heroes, The Ultimate Battle is the full story of the largest land-sea-air battle ever waged by the United States, a battle whose staggering casualties and take-no-prisoners ferocity led Truman to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. From April through June 1945, more than 250,000 American and Japanese lives were lost, including those of nearly 150,000 civilians who either committed suicide or were caught in the crossfire. This book tells a gripping story of heroism, sacrifice, and death.
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What listeners say about The Ultimate Battle
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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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Brian Hogan
- 2022-05-03
OKINAWA Battle
A great account of the bravery and sacrifice of the men that fought in this historic battle
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Langer MD
- 2022-05-12
Remarkably Well-Balanced
There are essentially two approaches to documenting the campaigns of World War II: in-depth academic discussions of strategy/tactics (including hill numbers, names & dates, etc); and dramatic on-the-ground anecdotes per the men who fought (including recountings of bravery & horror).
Bill Sloan succeeds in finding an effective combination of both. The painstaking compilation of maproom decision-making is textbook-quality.. and the chronicling of experiences during the taking of Okinawa is gritty, viscerally-affecting, and pulse-generating.
This book does a very nice job of meeting the expectations of serious students of history and casual readers alike (Sloan provides both pinpoint-accurate debates among Generals & Admirals and captivating glimpses into life on deck under attack from Kamikazees, in halftracks during unrelenting artillery barrages, in cockpits engaged in dogfights, and crouching in foxholes while 'Banzai' bayonet charges crash like waves on a beach).
The book is by no means perfect, mind you: The pacing is occasionally off (there are battles that fly by - covered superficially - and relatively inconsequential encounters that drag on and on) and the +/- hypothetical dialogue between soldiers is frequently painfully dramatic/maudlin, for example.
As to the presentation: The reading by Robertson Dean is best described as "adequate". He does a professional job reading the book - with praiseworthy diction and timbre - but takes frequent noticeable deep breaths (avoid earbuds) and reads with a striking monotone. Setting playback speed at 1.20X corrects for some of the deficiencies.. but a different reader could have performed the book with similar efficacy (or maybe even a little better). Mr. Dean was a "decent" casting choice.
Taken altogether, I rate 'The Ultimate Battle' worthy of 9 stars out of 10. If you can get it included with your subscription - as a 'Plus' selection - it's a no-brainer.. this audiobook is a fantastic investment of time. It is likely worth it even were they to ask for a Credit.
ATTN PRODUCERS: Including a PDF with a Glossary, Timeline, and Maps would improve this product considerably
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