V Is For Victory

By: Craig Nelson

Narrated by: Stephen Graybill

A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF 2023

“Belongs in the library alongside the histories and biographies of Martin Gilbert, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., and David McCullough.” —Doug Stanton, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Horse Soldiers

In this epic and definitive history of the American home front during World War II, New York Times bestselling historian Craig Nelson reveals how FDR won the support of a nation antagonistic to war in Europe and pushed both government and industry to build “the arsenal of democracy”—the secret weapon that won the war.

In 1938, the United States was so politically isolationist and pacifist that its defense forces were smaller than Portugal’s. That same year, Franklin Delano Roosevelt ordered the federal government to spark a dramatic expansion in domestic airplane production, and this minor effort—three years before the attack on Pearl Harbor—would in time become what Roosevelt called “the arsenal of democracy,” the full-throttle unleashing of American enterprise and ingenuity that was the secret weapon for victory in World War II. Signaled by Roosevelt’s public fight with Lindbergh—known as the Great Debate—victory at land, sea, and air across the globe began at home.

In this “richly detailed, highly readable account of presidential leadership in perilous times” (New York Journal of Books), Craig Nelson traces how under FDR, the United States rose from poverty and solitude to defeat the greatest evils of the 20th century. By transforming what Americans thought they could achieve, FDR’s efforts ended the Great Depression; conquered the fascists of Germany, Italy, and Japan; birthed America’s middle-class affluence and consumer society; led to jet engines, computers, radar, the military-industrial complex, Big Science, and nuclear weapons; triggered a global economic boom; and turned the U.S. military into a worldwide titan—with America the undisputed leader of world affairs. While the arsenal of democracy has come to mean this miracle of American industry, when Roosevelt said it, he meant the miracle of the American people.

Revealing an era when Detroit was Silicon Valley; Ford was Apple; and Sears, Roebuck was Amazon, while filled with reflections on our own time, V Is for Victory draws on five years of research to create a powerful and essential narrative largely overlooked in conventional histories of the war but which, in Nelson’s skilled, authoritative hands, becomes an illuminating and important work destined to become an American history classic.

An okay book read by a poor narrator.

I'm only reviewing the narration of this book. It is pretty mechanical, monotonous, un-inflected, and unnatural. The impression left is that the narrator has no idea what he's reading or what it's about, or that he hadn't read the book before he was placed in front of a microphone and some kind of screen that fed him one line at a time. From the pronunciation of important (and I thought well-known) names and places, it's clear the narrator spent no time finding out how they should be pronounced. As a listener, it really bugs me and sometimes makes we want to shut the thing off and never listen again. If I was the author of this book, I'd be furious because such lack of preparation make *me* seem like an idiot.

I'm really writing this on the hope the producers of these audio books get this sort of feedback. A poor narration is really *their* fault for not choosing a better-qualified and better prepared narrator, and for not enforcing requirements for background work--looking up words, finding out how names and places are pronounced, etc. It's entirely likely producers don't pay narrators enough for such preparation. Fine. I won't listen to their books.

Good story but hard listen

The substance of the book was good, and I eventually finished it. The narration was not good. It sounded like it was being read by a machine. I stopped several times because it was so frustrating. I'm sorry to give less than a positive review, but this one just didn't sound good to me. It may be fine for someone else. This would be a good book to actually read.

Well done!

Fluid writing, historical insights and smooth narrative. Enjoyable!Craig Nelson delivers an insightful point of view and sparks my interest in history.

WWII facts & politics personalities of leaders

Overly detailed about events & personal characteristics. Big theme was patriotism that it seemed assumed to no longer be common.

Great Story!

I really enjoyed this book. it was well written and narrated. I heard an interview with the author on The History of WW2 podcast that mentioned this book so I immediately looked it up and started listening. Would reccomend to anyone interested in the period.