The Last 100 Days

The Tumultuous and Controversial Story of the Final Days of World War II in Europe

By: John Toland

Narrated by: Ralph Cosham

A dramatic countdown of the final months of World War II in Europe, The Last 100 Days brings to life the waning power and theultimate submission of the Third Reich. To reconstruct the tumultuous hundreddays between Yalta and the fall of Berlin, John Toland traveled more than 100,000 miles in twenty-one countries and interviewed more than six hundred people - from Hitler's personal chauffeur to Generals von Manteuffel, Wenck, andHeinrici; from underground leaders to diplomats; from top Allied fieldcommanders to brave young GIs. Toland adeptly wove together these interviewsusing research from thousands of primary sources.

When it was first published, The Last 100 Days madehistory, revealing after-action reports, staff journals, and top-secretmessages and personal documents previously unavailable to historians. Sincethat time it has come to be regarded as one of the greatest historicalnarratives of the twentieth century.

©1966 John Toland (P)2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Excellent book!

If you could sum up The Last 100 Days in three words, what would they be?

A riveting account.

What did you like best about this story?

It was very informative.

What does Ralph Cosham bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I ws not bored by his reading of the book. It was excellently read.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The story of the failed rescue of Gen. Patton's son in law.

Any additional comments?

It is well worth the time spent.

Overall Good 4/5

I found most of the material was meetings between the higher ranking military leaders and politicians, most of which Ive heard before. This is a general retelling of the events and decisions and made by the leaders of the warring nations and their reactions and not a collection of personal experiences. If youre new to the subject i would recommend however if you are a seasoned reader of World War Two History you might want to pass this up for something more detailed. The narration changed tones drastically at times during the reading, even if it was for only one sentence. Not a hindrance but more of an annoyance

Excellent History, Poor Audio Editing

This would be an obvious 5 star book based on the excellent historical work of the author, combined with his great narrative skills. The narrator is excellent. However, there are hundreds and hundreds of poorly matched "voice over" re-recordings of a phrase here and there which really detract from the listening experience. Imagine a film with jumpy and sudden cuts from one scene to the next. That would be understandable in the early days of audio books, but this was done by Blackstone in 2014. Hard to believe the sound editing is so bad. Again, no issue with the terrific narrator though. It's not his fault.

END OF WWII/JAN 6TH . . .

COULD NOT HELP COMPARING THE TWO EVENTS — I LEARNED A TON AS LISTENED TO THE ACCOUNTS OF BOTH . . .

A remarkable and thorough accounting of the ending days of WWII in Europe.

As life long history buff of WWII, especially in the European theater, I see this book as a stunningly picture of how the last 100 days of WWII ended.
It is so unique and through, it kept me glued to it, watching to see how much I had left to read.
The mountains of new material , released long after the war, were like a miracle in one dramatic way. Because of the voluminous, new, information that had been released and unearthed from German files, on had the remarkable that they were almost living those hours.
We learn what plans the Allies had on, say November 15, 1944 through messages, phone calls and other records, unseen before the late 60s. And then, to my shock and delight, the German records of the same day give a crystal clear picture of what they were doing in what was later called, The Battle of they Bulge.
It is a glorious read.
Of course, maps would have been nice. I will listen to this book again when I have collected the maps that will further enhance the story.
If you want the most intimate, day by day plans from opposing sides, do not let yourself go another day without getting this most rewarding read.