World War II: Impossible Choices and Deeds That Changed History
Written by Michael Bess
Narrated by Michael Bess
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
The lives of five generations, including yours, are indelibly marked by the deeds of those who fought in the Second World War. Join award-winning historian Michael Bess in exploring their stories.
In 24 engaging lectures, WWII historian and celebrated Vanderbilt professor Michael Bess introduces you to the men and women who faced some of history’s toughest choices. You will meet the man who stopped Hitler’s atomic bomb, the pilots who won the Battle of Midway, the Soviet “Man of Steel,” the pacifist who built the bomb, and many more.
World War II was the quintessential “good war.” But it was not free of moral ambiguity, painful dilemmas, and unavoidable compromises. How could ordinary citizens have brought themselves to perpetrate atrocities? Was the United States justified in dropping the atomic bomb? Why didn’t the Allied Powers do more to help the Jews of Europe escape persecution before the war?
Professor Michael Bess marshals a trove of research and letters to probe big questions like these. While honoring the war’s countless heroic deeds, and expressing deep gratitude to those who sacrificed so much for the freedom of subsequent generations, he also seeks a nuanced reckoning with the complicated and ambiguous moral dimensions of one of the most pivotal conflicts in human history.
We owe it to every generation impacted by the Second World War to understand the momentous choices and deeds that shaped our world.
This course is part of the Learn25 collection.
Related to World War II
Related audiobooks
Deathride: Hitler vs. Stalin---the Eastern Front, 1941-1945 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When Britain Saved the West: The Story of 1940 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Heritage History of World War II Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Three Days at the Brink: FDR's Daring Gamble to Win World War II Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Max Hastings On War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Eight Days at Yalta: How Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin Shaped the Post-War World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Second World Wars: How the First Global Conflict Was Fought and Won Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5After Hitler: The Last Ten Days of World War II in Europe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5No Simple Victory: World War II in Europe, 1939-1945 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Miracle at Midway Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Measureless Peril: America in the Fight for the Atlantic, the Longest Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5U-BOATS: Hitler's Sharks Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pearl Harbor: From Infamy to Greatness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Second World War Diary: 1939-1945: The Complete series day by day Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Tank Killers: A History of America's World War II Tank Destroyer Force Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Battle of Britain: A Captivating Guide to One of the Most Critical Battles of World War II Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Battle of Kursk: The History and Legacy of the Biggest Tank Battle of World War II Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/51941: The Year Germany Lost the War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lucky 666: The Impossible Mission Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hell to Pay: Operation Downfall and the Invasion of Japan, 1945-1947 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Allies: Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin, and the Unlikely Alliance That Won World War II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How Carriers Fought: Carrier Operations in WWII Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5War on the Eastern Front: The German Soldier in Russia 1941-1945 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5We March Against England: Operation Sea Lion, 1940–41 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Battle of the Bulge [The Young Readers Adaptation] Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Wars & Military For You
SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5War Against All Puerto Ricans: Revolution and Terror in America's Colony Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Book of Five Rings Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Dirty Tricks Department: Stanley Lovell, the OSS, and the Masterminds of World War II Secret Warfare Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Shortest History of Israel and Palestine: From Zionism to Intifadas and the Struggle for Peace Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Korean War: A History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Diary of Anne Frank Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kill Anything That Moves Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Watchmaker's Daughter: The True Story of World War II Heroine Corrie ten Boom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5On Palestine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Last Kingdom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ghosts of Honolulu: A Japanese Spy, A Japanese American Spy Hunter, and the Untold Story of Pearl Harbor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You're Stepping on My Cloak and Dagger Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Unbroken Bonds of Battle: A Modern Warriors Book of Heroism, Patriotism, and Friendship Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rape of Nanking: The History and Legacy of the Notorious Massacre during the Second Sino-Japanese War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5J. Robert Oppenheimer: The Life and Legacy of the Father of the Atomic Bomb Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Saved: A War Reporter's Mission to Make It Home Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116 Days That Changed the World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Valiant Women: The Extraordinary American Servicewomen Who Helped Win World War II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Invisible Generals: Rediscovering Family Legacy, and a Quest to Honor America's First Black Generals Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Code Name: Lise: The True Story of the Woman Who Became WWII's Most Highly Decorated Spy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for World War II
6 ratings0 reviews