Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

$0.00 for first 30 days

Thousands of incredible audiobooks and podcasts to take wherever you go.
Immerse yourself in a world of storytelling with the Plus Catalogue - unlimited listening to thousands of select audiobooks, podcasts and Audible Originals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
World War II: A Military and Social History cover art

World War II: A Military and Social History

By: Thomas Childers, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Thomas Childers
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £30.99

Buy Now for £30.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The American Civil War cover art
The Vietnam War cover art
War in the Modern World cover art
World War II: Up Close and Personal cover art
The Italians before Italy: Conflict and Competition in the Mediterranean cover art
The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World cover art
History's Great Military Blunders and the Lessons They Teach cover art
The Great Ideas of Philosophy, 2nd Edition cover art
The Iliad of Homer cover art
The Foundations of Western Civilization cover art
Ancient Civilizations of North America cover art
Black Holes, Tides, and Curved Spacetime cover art
The Mongol Empire cover art
The Greek World cover art
The Rise of Communism: From Marx to Lenin cover art
The Theory of Everything: The Quest to Explain All Reality cover art

Summary

Between 1937 and 1945, approximately 55 million people perished in the series of interrelated conflicts known as the Second World War. No continent was left untouched, no ocean unaffected. The war led to the eclipse of Europe and the emergence of the United States and the Soviet Union as global superpowers; ushered in the atomic age; produced, in the Holocaust, the most horrific crime ever committed in the history of Western civilization, and led to the end of Europe's colonial empires around the world. But though World War II defined an entire epoch in human history, pressing questions remain - about whether Hitler could have been stopped earlier, about Pearl Harbor, about saving more people from the Holocaust, about using the atomic bomb, and even about how close the Allies came to actually losing.

This engaging series of 30 lectures is rich in detail and near-cinematic portraits of leaders and events. It explores not only the origins of the war, including the impact of the Treaty of Versailles, but also how it unfolded on both battlefront and the American home front, with focused looks at key subjects like Nazism and the Holocaust and the philosophy of strategic bombing and its impact on the future nature of warfare.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©1998 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)1998 The Great Courses

Love Books? You'll Love Audible.

Transform your day

Transform your day

Replace endless scrolling with endless listening. Chores can be fun.

Listen everywhere

Listen everywhere

You can’t turn pages while you drive—but you can press play.

Carry your entire Library

Carry your entire Library

Your stories go where you go. Audiobooks don’t weigh a thing.

Listen and learn

Listen and learn

Discover stories that can change your mind, your well-being, and your life.

Reach your reading goals

Reach your reading goals

Download titles to listen offline, wherever you are in the world.

Find your niche

Find your niche

WIth thousands of titles to explore, there’s something for everyone.

Try for £0.00 £7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

What listeners say about World War II: A Military and Social History

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    192
  • 4 Stars
    28
  • 3 Stars
    9
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    165
  • 4 Stars
    30
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    172
  • 4 Stars
    24
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent broad-brush summary of WW2

This is a series of lectures on WW2 and as such, it takes a very broad-brush view of the war. But it’s interesting and also focuses on other factors than simply the combat. I’ve read fairly widely on WW2, but I still enjoyed the lectures and there were quite a few pints that were of interest/good learning points. Well worth a listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Exceptional listen

This has to be the greatest ww2 audio recording ever made. The presentation is superb, timely and provides enough thinking time as the story is being told. Every school should recommend this and every adult with any interest in history needs to listen to this. 10/10

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Sensational.

All of Professor Childer’s Courses are excellent & this one is amongst the best. It’s brilliantly crafted, thorough and in depth. 10/10

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

This was superb - delivery was sometimes hesitant but didn't detract from the compassion which was woven by the narrator throughout all the lectures. He never forgot the human dimension, the heroism but also the stark realities of conflict and its tragedy. There was an emphasis in the latter lectures on America but thiscdid mean I found out a lot more about the war in the Pacific. Overall a superb set of lectures. Thank you

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Comprehensive and interesting overview of a huge subject

Very good course which breaks down an incredibly complex subject into digestible sections. Interesting to listen to.

One point. ‘England’ and ‘English’ is used instead of ‘Britain’ and ‘British’. In particular when referring to the loss of English lives during WW2 this must grate with Scots, Welsh and Irish listeners since they were equally represented in the British forces. This is rather surprising from a historian!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding Lecture Series

Thomas Chalmers has a nice delivery style. Keeps you engaged throughout the course and I wanted it to go on and on.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very good

A very good set of lectures, a fantasitc place to start if you want to learn about the second world war.

The lectures lean on the American experience a little more than I would prefer, and leaves out the eastern theaters

All that said, brilliant read, cheers

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

England is not the United Kingdom.

A good whistle-stop tour of WW2 spoilt by some sloppy editing / writing. In particular, his repeated use of the world England to mean the United Kingdom (also, Holland instead of the Netherlands). For a historian to make that error is, in my view, unforgivable.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazingly told. easy to follow and understand.

Amazingly told. easy to follow and understand. Military is told about all sides. most of the social is from America, which is understandable.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • S
  • 25-06-23

Enjoyable

The lectures were interesting and informative while highlighting the reality of the ugliness of war.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!