No Simple Victory, Norman Davies
No Simple Victory, Norman Davies
12 Rating(s)
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No Simple Victory
World War II in Europe, 1939–1945

Author: Norman Davies

Narrator: Simon Vance

Unabridged: 20 hr 36 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 09/20/2007

Synopsis

If history really belongs to the victor, what happens when there's more than one side declaring victory? That's the conundrum Norman Davies unravels in his groundbreaking book No Simple Victory. Far from being a revisionist history, No Simple Victory instead offers a clear-eyed reappraisal, untangling and setting right the disparate claims made by America, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union in order to get at the startling truth.

In detailing the clash of political philosophies that drove the war's savage engine, Davies also examines how factors as diverse as technology, economics, and morale played dynamic roles in shaping battles, along with the unsung yet vital help of Poland, Greece, and the Ukraine (which suffered the highest number of casualties). And while the Allies resorted to bombing enemy civilians to sow terror, the most damning condemnation is saved for the Soviet Union, whose glossed-over war crimes against British soldiers and its own people prove that Communism and Nazism were two sides of the same brutal coin.

No Simple Victory is an unparalleled work that will fascinate not only history buffs but anyone who is interested in discovering the reality behind what Davies refers to as "the frozen perspective of the winners' history."

About Norman Davies

Norman Davies is a professor emeritus of the University of London and a fellow of Wolfson College in Oxford. He is the author of several books on Polish and European history, including God's Playground, The Isles, and White Eagle, Red Star.

Reviews

Goodreads review by M. D. on January 19, 2023

I think I have had my fill of WWII revisionist history. Okay, already, the Soviets suffered more and fought more than all the other Allies put together. Davies “No Simple Victory” is all over that, and I found I learned a lot of stuff. And yet a day or two after reading it, I started getting cranky......more

Goodreads review by Ed on August 18, 2009

For those who have read many books about the Eastern Front (Germany versus the Soviet Union), this book may have less surprises, but for those brought up on Saving Private Ryan, Hollywood WW2, most western histories of the war, and the Greatest Generation it may be a major eye opener. Davies clearly......more

Goodreads review by Olethros on January 25, 2015

-Los libros pueden ser incómodos de leer por varias razones.- Género. Ensayo. Lo que nos cuenta. Con un subtítulo que debería preparar ya al lector, “¿Quién ganó realmente la Segunda Guerra Mundial?”, repaso al conflicto en Europa (mayoritariamente) desde diferentes ópticas, ángulos y temáticas con la......more

Goodreads review by Justin on July 23, 2010

So, this was published in 2007, but smells of the '90s, when people apparently were shocked to learn that Stalin and his cronies were actually pretty evil. It'll teach you a lot about the war in Europe, especially if you know little about it, particularly the importance of the Eastern Front and the......more

Goodreads review by Peter on February 03, 2020

I find Norman Davies' history books both thought provoking and annoying. He makes you reconsider what you think you know but he also writes as a vehicle for his opinions which can, unfortunately detract from the enjoyment of the former. One occasionally gets the impression of an axe being sharpened......more

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