The Battle of Arnhem

The Deadliest Airborne Operation of World War II

By: Antony Beevor

Narrated by: Sean Barrett

The prizewinning historian and internationally bestselling author of D-Day reconstructs the devastating airborne battle of Arnhem in this gripping new account.

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 who risked everything to help. German reprisals were pitiless and cruel, and lasted until the end of the war.

Antony Beevor, using often overlooked sources from Dutch, American, British, Polish, and German archives, has reconstructed the terrible reality of the fighting, which General Student called "The Last German Victory." Yet The Battle of Arnhem, written with Beevor's inimitable style and gripping narrative, is about much more than a single dramatic battle--it looks into the very heart of war.

Interesting

I was able to gain so much knowledge in had not previously known! Great read!

Unbiased perspectives

For any military history fans, especially in World War II this book was an excellent insight on all sides of this monumental battle.

Not Ryan But Its Okay

Sean Barrett's performance reading this book is probably what saved this book for me. It is not nearly as good as Ryan's book A Bridge Too Far, but it is definitely worth getting if you enjoyed Ryan's book. It is not Clive Chafer, but Sean Barrett again tackles the tough German language without fail, having an almost French/German flare to his reading of the book. I was blown away with his ability to get through the hard to even spell German titles, and enjoyed the way he just leads you along through the whole story. Granted he is no Derek Perkins, but he did an amazing job none the less. If you have read/listened to A Bridge Too Far, this is a great follow up novel, but if not, start with that one then get this one.

Excellent with personal touch but British view

I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because I was expecting a more balanced approach to the entire alliance forces. All are touched upon but by no means in any way balanced. For a definitive book on the war it is seriously lacking essential information about this battle and I am not going to be able to use it as a resource for my class but for personal purposes I found it very detailed and the personal diaries made it very easy to remember that these were not just battles but lives at stake and I am very impressed with how he manages to make sure that you are aware of this through the entire book.

Heartbreaking

I learned a lot that A Bridge too Far never mentioned. This is very detailed and very sad...God Bless the poor Dutch that loved our troops like their own.