Europe Audiobooks | Travel

Dowding's Despatch: The Leader of the Few's 1941 Battle of Britain Narrative Examined

In September 1946, the London Gazette published a dispatch from Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh C T Dowding that was titled simply: The Battle of Britain. Written and submitted to the Air Ministry in 1941, this document became the very framework for the accepted Battle of Britain narrative which has been established across the following eighty years. Set out by the leader of the 'Few' himself, its authoritative tone could surely be considered a definitive outline of the battle, how it was fought and the eventual outcome. It even retrospectively set the dates for the commencement and conclusion of the campaign. In this work, Andy Saunders takes a critical look at Dowding's dispatch and analyzes the facts and details contained in that important document. He also puts 'flesh on the bones' of the matters that the former commander-in-chief of RAF Fighter Command outlines, adding intriguing historical detail and perspective to the 1946 publication. Additionally, Andy looks at the behind-the-scenes machinations at the highest levels of government and Air Ministry before the dispatch finally saw the light of day. As a historical document, Dowding's London Gazette dispatch is worthy of the critical analysis and factual expansion which the author provides in what is a uniquely different look at the Battle of Britain.

Andy Saunders (Author), Jonathan Cowley (Narrator)

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Witch Hunt: A BBC Radio Scotland history

The history of Scotland's witch hunts revealed, with Susan Morrison About 450 years ago, from 16th to the early 18th centuries, witch hunts took place in Scotland. The country was convulsed by waves of savage panics and purges, leading to the judicial murder of thousands of their own citizens, mainly women. Women who were convicted and executed for crimes they not only didn't commit, but which were impossible for anyone to commit. Over six episodes, Witch Hunt investigates one of Scotland's biggest miscarriages of justice. Susan Morrison, along with Dr Louise Yeoman and a team of expert historians, explores how events aligned to allow this to happen. How did it get to the stage where many innocent people were executed for imaginary crimes? © 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Susan Morrison (Author), Louise Yeoman, Susan Morrison (Narrator)

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La belleza y el terror: Una historia alternativa del Renacimiento italiano

Un retrato poderoso, moderno, íntimo y profundamente humano de una era de destrucción extrema y creatividad excepcional, el renacimiento italiano, un periodo que moldeó la cultura occidental y que fue mucho más extraño, oscuro y fascinante de lo que nos han enseñado. Conocemos a la Mona Lisa por su sonrisa enigmática, pero casi nadie sabe que estuvo casada con un traficante de esclavos. Veneramos a Leonardo da Vinci por su arte, pero pocos hoy somos conscientes de la importancia de sus ingeniosos diseños de armamento. Rara vez oímos hablar, asimismo, de las mujeres escritoras, los mercaderes judíos, los ingenieros, las prostitutas y los granjeros que vivieron el día a día de este periodo. Muchos de los artistas y pensadores más célebres del Renacimiento (como Miguel Ángel, Rafael o Maquiavelo) no surgieron durante el famoso renacer del siglo XV, sino en el XVI, una época dominada por una serie de luchas de poder y guerras salvajes por toda Europa. Estas propiciaron el surgimiento de grandes fortunas y la creación de algunas de las mejores obras de arte jamás vistas, pero también devastaron al pueblo. Al mismo tiempo, el nacimiento del protestantismo, la colonización española de América y la expansión del Imperio otomano plantearon graves amenazas al poder italiano, y suscitaron debates sobre la ética política, la esclavitud, las creencias religiosas y la moral sexual que resuenan con muchos debates actuales. En este extraordinario libro, historia narrativa y de alta calidad y rebosante de vida, Catherine Fletcher nos descubre el lado oscuro del Renacimiento, cuyas conexiones con el presente son mucho más interesantes que las que ofrece la simple visión, dominada por bellas imágenes, que nos ha contado la historia convencional. La crítica ha dicho... «Brillante y apasionante. He aquí el verdadero Renacimiento en una historia de una originalidad y una frescura cautivadoras.» Simon Sebag Montefiore «Una historia de alianzas, traiciones, saqueos, asedios, hambrunas, asesinatos y torturas terriblemente ingeniosas. Fletcher crea atmósfera y drama sin renunciar a la claridad. Poderoso.» The Guardian «Aterrador y fascinante, desmantela los tópicos sobre el Renacimiento con la precisión de un arcabuz. Ambicioso y plural, arroja luz sobre figuras a menudo olvidadas por la historia convencional.» The Sunday Times «Impresionante y lúcido, el relato brilla con sus coloridos detalles. Una historia sólida pero vívida y convincente sobre cómo Italia fue derribada aún cuando su cultura volaba alto.» The Times «Basado en una investigación impecable y admirablemente bien escrito, aporta datos de gran interés en cada página.» The Sunday Telegraph «La sabiduría de Fletcher es envidiable. Sabe mejor que nadie lo traicioneros que fueron ese momento y ese lugar.» The Daily Telegraph «Magnífico. Fletcher muestra cómo excavar bajo los tesoros artísticos y comerciales del Renacimiento en Italia puede revelar fuertes conexiones entre cultura, negocios, religión y violencia.» Financial Times

Catherine Fletcher (Author), Elsa Veiga (Narrator)

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Los cátaros: La herejía perfecta

El periodista Stephen O'shea nos presenta un ilustrador cuadro de la Francia medieval, así como una evocación de otra época que lleva a pensar que la intolerancia religiosa es intemporal. Radicales en sus ideas y dotados de una profunda espiritualidad, los cátaros rechazaban el materialismo, trataban como iguales a las mujeres, aceptaban la diferencia de credo, defendían el amor libre y afirmaban que el infierno no existía. Pero sobre todo, estos rebeldes pusieron en entredicho la autoridad de la Iglesia y su concepción del bien y del mal, provocando con ello que se tambaleara el sistema de valores impuestos. Ante tal situación, Inocencio III, apoyado por los señores feudales, promovió unas campañas bélicas que, de 1209 a 1229, desempeñaron con éxito su misión: exterminar el catarismo. Reseña: «Una crónica apasionante de uno de los episodios más vergonzosos de la historia de la Iglesia en la Edad Media.» Booklist

Stephen O'shea (Author), Roger Vidal (Narrator)

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El final de la guerra: La última puñalada a la República

La fidedigna narración del Golpe de Casado y de los últimos meses de la guerra civil española por Paul Preston, el más prestigioso hispanista de la actualidad. «La paz negociada siempre; la rendición sin condiciones para que fusilen a medio millón de españoles, eso nunca.» Juan Negrín «La entrega se verificará en tales condiciones que no exista precedente en la historia y que será el asombro del mundo.» Segismundo Casado Esta es la historia de una tragedia evitable que costó muchos miles de vidas y arruinó decenas de miles más. Tiene numerosos protagonistas, pero se centra en tres individuos. El primero, el doctor Juan Negrín, presidente del gobierno de la segunda República y víctima de lo que se podría llamar una conjura de necios, trató de impedir la tragedia. Los otros dos fueron responsables de lo acontecido. Uno, Julián Besteiro, actuó con una asombrosa ingenuidad. El otro, Segismundo Casado, lo hizo con una sorprendente combinación de cinismo, arrogancia y egoísmo. El resultado fue una catástrofe humanitaria y el peor final posible para la tragedia que fue la guerra de España. Reseñas: «Con precisión y detallado estudio, el ensayista habla, entre otros muchos asuntos, de las conspiraciones que impidieron se llevase a cabo el plan de evacuación que Negrín tenía previsto.» Culturamas «Un ensayo que rememora los últimos días de la República y el golpe de Estado del coronel Casado desde un prisma 'más humano' y centrado en la relación entre los principales protagonistas.» Público «El hispanista analiza el proceder del presidente republicano frente a la 'culposa ingenuidad' de Besteiro y la 'soberbia mentirosa' de Casado.» El País

Paul Preston (Author), Javier Viñas (Narrator)

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Der Wehrwolf: Eine Bauernchronik

Im Dreißigjährigen Krieg ziehen Mordbanden plündernd und brandschatzend durch das Land. Die Bauern, die unter diesen Verhältnissen schwer zu leiden haben, gründen im Geheimen den Bund der Wehrwölfe, um ihre Höfe und ihre Familien zu beschützen und sich an ihren Peinigern zu rächen. Der Autor Hermann Löns (1866-1914) zeichnet ein eindringliches Bild eines der dunkelsten Kapitel der deutschen Geschichte. Mit seiner Erzählung von der Selbsthilfe der Bauern macht er aber auch Mut und zeigt, dass man sich erfolgreich gegen Willkür und Unterdrückung wehren kann.

Hermann Löns (Author), Bernd Späth (Narrator)

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Hotel Portofino

A heady historical drama about a British family who open an upper-class hotel on the magical Italian Riviera during the 'Roaring 20s'. Hotel Portofino has only been open a few weeks, but already the problems are mounting for its co-proprietor Bella Ainsworth. She's short of staff and ready money. Her high-class guests are demanding and hard to please. And she's being targeted by a scheming and corrupt local politician, who threatens to drag her into the red-hot political cauldron of Mussolini's Italy. The hotel demands all of Bella's resources, energy and focus, but she has her own family to worry about too, who are struggling in the traumatic aftermath of World War 1, and Bella soon finds that she's being pulled in far too many directions. Set in a breathtakingly beautiful Italian village, Hotel Portofino is a story of personal awakening at a time of global upheaval and of the liberating influence of Italy's enchanting culture, climate and cuisine on British 'innocents abroad', perfect for fans of Downton Abbey and The Crown.

J. P O'connell, J. P O’connell (Author), Esther Wane (Narrator)

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The True Story of the Great Escape: Stalag Luft III, March 1944

The real history behind the classic war movie and the men who plotted the daring escape from a Nazi POW camp. Between dusk and dawn on the night of March 24th-25th 1944, a small army of Allied soldiers crawled through tunnels in Germany in a covert operation the likes of which the Third Reich had never seen. The prison break from Stalag Luft III in eastern Germany was the largest of its kind in the Second World War. Seventy-nine Allied soldiers and airmen made it outside the wire-but only three made it outside Nazi Germany. Fifty were executed by the Gestapo. In this book Jonathan Vance tells the incredible story that was made famous by the 1963 film The Great Escape. It is a classic tale of prisoners and their wardens in a battle of wits and wills. The brilliantly conceived escape plan is overshadowed only by the colorful, daring (and sometimes very funny) crew who executed it-literally under the noses of German guards. From the men's first days in Stalag Luft III and the forming of bonds among them, to the tunnel building, amazing escape, and eventual capture, Vance's history is a vivid, compelling look at one of the greatest 'exfiltration' missions of all time.

Jonathan F. Vance (Author), Paul Woodson (Narrator)

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The Ancient Greeks’ Diet: The History of Eating and Drinking in Greece

The need to eat and drink is a biological necessity for everyone, but along with that, food and drink are often at the very center of social life. This was no different in ancient Greece, but, if anything, the social importance placed on food and wine in the Greek world was even more pronounced and had profound consequences for the rest of the world. As one modern historian aptly put it, “How classical Athens was fed is not a matter of marginal importance. Nothing less than the material base of a brilliant civilization is at issue.” Indeed, it was through the ability to create a food surplus that the ancient Greeks were able to establish their poleis and, from these, go on to develop the political and social structures that built the backbone of Western Civilization. Drinking for pleasure, as opposed to simply meeting the body´s requirement for hydration, was so crucial in Greece that a couple historians noted, “In a way, the study of the classics is the study of the consumption of alcohol.” While this assertion is an oversimplification, there is no doubt that alcohol played a crucial role in the evolution of Greek culture.

Charles River Editors (Author), Colin Fluxman (Narrator)

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The Battle of Anzio: The History of the Allies’ Controversial Amphibious Landing during the Italian

The immense difficulties Sicily's rugged terrain caused to the Allied forces, and the successful delaying actions fought by small numbers of well-led German soldiers, inspired Hitler and his generals to garrison Italy as an obstacle to British and American advance. A relatively limited number of Wehrmacht troops used the endless series of mountain ridges and defensible hilltop towns to slow the offensive to a crawl, tying down large numbers of Western troops. Under Albert Kesselring's expert leadership, the Germans fell back northward methodically, fighting a major delaying action at Volturno in mid-October 1943. The Wehrmacht then established themselves on the Reinhard Line, a temporary defensive front meant to delay the Allies until the Germans finished preparing the stronger Gustav Line, stretching from Gaeta to Ortona and anchored on the formidable strongpoint near the early medieval monastery of Monte Cassino. The Allies did not intend the attack on Cassino as a simple slogging match, understanding quite clearly the cost of such an operation. Instead, they planned a landing at Anzio by an entire army corps, the U.S. 6th Corps, to outflank the Gustav Line and force the Germans' withdrawal to avoid encirclement. It was a sound plan, but it would turn into something of a fiasco under the leadership of Major General John P. Lucas. The Anzio landing occurred on schedule on January 22, 1944, and despite achieving total tactical surprise, Lucas squandered the opportunity to run amok in the Gustav Line's rear by remaining supinely in Anzio. Winston Churchill, with his typical verve, excoriated Lucas' failure with a colorful description: “Instead of hurling a wildcat onto the shore all we got was a stranded whale.” A later German report also expressed surprise at Lucas' inaction. What followed was months of bitter fighting as the Allies struggled to break out of their beachhead and make their long-awaited push to Rome.

Charles River Editors (Author), Daniel Houle (Narrator)

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The Battle of the Golden Spurs: The History of the Franco-Flemish War’s Most Famous Battle

In the time period between the fall of Rome and the spread of the Renaissance across the European continent, many of today’s European nations were formed, the Catholic Church rose to great prominence, some of history’s most famous wars occurred, and a social class system was instituted that lasted over 1,000 years. A lot of activity took place during a period frequently labeled derogatively as the “Dark Ages,” and while that period of time is mostly referred to as the “Middle Ages” instead of the Dark Ages today, it has still retained the stigma of being a sort of lost period of time in which Western civilization made no worthwhile progress after the advances of the ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome. Somewhat ironically, the one aspect of the Middle Ages that has been romanticized is medieval warfare. The Middle Ages have long sparked people’s imaginations thanks to imagery of armored knights battling on horseback and armies of men trying to breach the walls of formidable castles, but what is generally forgotten is that medieval warfare was constantly adapting to the times as leaders adopted new techniques and technology, and common infantry became increasingly important throughout the period. The changes became most evident at the beginning of the 14th century, when the French army fought rebellious forces from Flanders in the Battle of the Golden Spurs on July 11, 1302. Though the battle is mostly forgotten today, it was one of medieval Europe’s most important battles because the Flemish army, consisting almost entirely of infantry, defeated the French forces and their heavily armored cavalry. The battle marked the end of the feudal era and shifted the military focus to infantry armed with pikes or spears. Over 700 years later, the date of the battle is a national holiday in Belgium, and though it did not establish an independent state, the victory certainly set the Flemish people on the road to independence.

Charles River Editors (Author), Daniel Houle (Narrator)

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The Battle of Agincourt: The History and Legacy of the Hundred Years’ War’s Most Famous Battle

Although it ended over 550 years ago, the Hundred Years’ War still looms large in the historical consciousness of England and France, even if the name of the famous war is a misnomer. Actually a series of separate conflicts between the English and French monarchies, interspersed with periods of peace, its historical image is an odd one, in part because its origins were based on royal claims that dated back centuries and the English and French remained adversaries for nearly 400 years after it ended. That said, the war was transformative in many respects, and the impact it had on the geopolitical situation of Europe cannot be overstated. While some might think of the war as being a continuation of the feudal tradition of knights and peasants, the Hundred Years’ War revolutionized Western European warfare, and it truly helped to usher in the concept of nationalism on the continent. In England, it is remembered as a period of grandeur and success, even though the English lost the war and huge swathes of territory with it, while the French remember it as a strategic victory that ensured the continued independence of France and the denial of English hegemony. The legacy of the war has lived on ever since, helping determine how England became politically severed from the continent, how the knightly chivalric tradition slid into irrelevance, and how battlefield dominance can still leave a nation a loser in war. The mythology of the humble but determined English infantry was born out of the mud of Agincourt and the success of English peasant longbowmen against the ostentatiously upper-class French men-at-arms. Today, when the English think of the war, they are more likely to ignore the burning cottages and the payment of ransoms and instead remember the brave words put into Henry V's mouth centuries later by Shakespeare: “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.”

Charles River Editors (Author), Colin Fluxman (Narrator)

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Europe Audiobooks in Travel