-
Armies of Sand
- The Past, Present, and Future of Arab Military Effectiveness
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 24 hrs and 15 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $25.79
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Black Wave
- Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry that Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East
- By: Kim Ghattas
- Narrated by: Kim Ghattas, Nan McNamara
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With vivid story-telling, extensive historical research, and on-the-ground reporting, Ghattas dispels accepted truths about a region she calls home. She explores how Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran, once allies and twin pillars of US strategy in the region, became mortal enemies after 1979. She shows how they used and distorted religion in a competition that went well beyond geopolitics. Feeding intolerance, suppressing cultural expression, and encouraging sectarian violence from Egypt to Pakistan, the war for cultural supremacy led to many events.
-
-
Unveiling the darkness of the Middle East
- By Matty D on 02-18-20
By: Kim Ghattas
-
Rise and Kill First
- The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations
- By: Ronen Bergman
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 25 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Talmud says: “If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first.” This instinct to take every measure, even the most aggressive, to defend the Jewish people is hardwired into Israel’s DNA. From the very beginning of its statehood in 1948, protecting the nation from harm has been the responsibility of its intelligence community and armed services, and there is one weapon in their vast arsenal that they have relied upon to thwart the most serious threats: Targeted assassinations have been used countless times, on enemies large and small....
-
-
Eye Opening
- By Ari Safari on 02-09-18
By: Ronen Bergman
-
Eighteen Days in October
- The Yom Kippur War and How It Created the Modern Middle East
- By: Uri Kaufman
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
October 2023 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, a conflict that shaped the modern Middle East. The War was a trauma for Israel, a dangerous superpower showdown, and, following the oil embargo, a pivotal reordering of the global economic order. The Jewish State came shockingly close to defeat. After the war, Prime Minister Golda Meir resigned in disgrace, and a 9/11-style commission investigated the "debacle." But, argues Uri Kaufman, from the perspective of a half century, the War can be seen as a pivotal victory for Israel.
-
-
Excellent History
- By PH on 10-31-23
By: Uri Kaufman
-
Collapse
- The Fall of the Soviet Union
- By: Vladislav M. Zubok
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 23 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1945, the Soviet Union controlled half of Europe and was a founding member of the United Nations. By 1991, it had an army four million strong, 5,000 nuclear-tipped missiles, and was the second biggest producer of oil in the world. But soon afterward, the union sank into an economic crisis and was torn apart by nationalist separatism. Its collapse was one of the seismic shifts of the 20th century.
-
-
Hopefully Not Prescient
- By Joshua on 01-29-22
-
A Peace to End All Peace
- The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East
- By: David Fromkin
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 23 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Middle East has long been a region of rival religions, ideologies, nationalisms, and ambitions. All of these conflicts are rooted in the region's political inheritance: the arrangements, unities, and divisions imposed by the Allies after the First World War. Author David Fromkin reveals how and why the Allies drew lines on an empty map that remade the geography and politics of the Middle East. Focusing on the formative years of 1914 to 1922, when all seemed possible, he delivers in this sweeping and magisterial book the definitive account of this defining time.
-
-
Still A Great Book On The Topic
- By Nostromo on 02-03-19
By: David Fromkin
-
On Operations
- Operational Art and Military Disciplines
- By: B. A. Friedman
- Narrated by: Derek Dysart
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On Operations: Operational Art and Military Disciplines traces the history of the development of military staffs and ideas on the operational level of war and operational art from the Napoleonic Wars to today, viewed through the lens of Prussia/Germany, the Soviet Union, and the United States. B. A. Friedman concludes that the operational level of war should be rejected, but that operational art is an accurate description of the activities of the military staff, an organization developed to provide the brainpower necessary to manage the complexity of modern military operations.
By: B. A. Friedman
-
Black Wave
- Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry that Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East
- By: Kim Ghattas
- Narrated by: Kim Ghattas, Nan McNamara
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With vivid story-telling, extensive historical research, and on-the-ground reporting, Ghattas dispels accepted truths about a region she calls home. She explores how Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran, once allies and twin pillars of US strategy in the region, became mortal enemies after 1979. She shows how they used and distorted religion in a competition that went well beyond geopolitics. Feeding intolerance, suppressing cultural expression, and encouraging sectarian violence from Egypt to Pakistan, the war for cultural supremacy led to many events.
-
-
Unveiling the darkness of the Middle East
- By Matty D on 02-18-20
By: Kim Ghattas
-
Rise and Kill First
- The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations
- By: Ronen Bergman
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 25 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Talmud says: “If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first.” This instinct to take every measure, even the most aggressive, to defend the Jewish people is hardwired into Israel’s DNA. From the very beginning of its statehood in 1948, protecting the nation from harm has been the responsibility of its intelligence community and armed services, and there is one weapon in their vast arsenal that they have relied upon to thwart the most serious threats: Targeted assassinations have been used countless times, on enemies large and small....
-
-
Eye Opening
- By Ari Safari on 02-09-18
By: Ronen Bergman
-
Eighteen Days in October
- The Yom Kippur War and How It Created the Modern Middle East
- By: Uri Kaufman
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
October 2023 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, a conflict that shaped the modern Middle East. The War was a trauma for Israel, a dangerous superpower showdown, and, following the oil embargo, a pivotal reordering of the global economic order. The Jewish State came shockingly close to defeat. After the war, Prime Minister Golda Meir resigned in disgrace, and a 9/11-style commission investigated the "debacle." But, argues Uri Kaufman, from the perspective of a half century, the War can be seen as a pivotal victory for Israel.
-
-
Excellent History
- By PH on 10-31-23
By: Uri Kaufman
-
Collapse
- The Fall of the Soviet Union
- By: Vladislav M. Zubok
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 23 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1945, the Soviet Union controlled half of Europe and was a founding member of the United Nations. By 1991, it had an army four million strong, 5,000 nuclear-tipped missiles, and was the second biggest producer of oil in the world. But soon afterward, the union sank into an economic crisis and was torn apart by nationalist separatism. Its collapse was one of the seismic shifts of the 20th century.
-
-
Hopefully Not Prescient
- By Joshua on 01-29-22
-
A Peace to End All Peace
- The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East
- By: David Fromkin
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 23 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Middle East has long been a region of rival religions, ideologies, nationalisms, and ambitions. All of these conflicts are rooted in the region's political inheritance: the arrangements, unities, and divisions imposed by the Allies after the First World War. Author David Fromkin reveals how and why the Allies drew lines on an empty map that remade the geography and politics of the Middle East. Focusing on the formative years of 1914 to 1922, when all seemed possible, he delivers in this sweeping and magisterial book the definitive account of this defining time.
-
-
Still A Great Book On The Topic
- By Nostromo on 02-03-19
By: David Fromkin
-
On Operations
- Operational Art and Military Disciplines
- By: B. A. Friedman
- Narrated by: Derek Dysart
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On Operations: Operational Art and Military Disciplines traces the history of the development of military staffs and ideas on the operational level of war and operational art from the Napoleonic Wars to today, viewed through the lens of Prussia/Germany, the Soviet Union, and the United States. B. A. Friedman concludes that the operational level of war should be rejected, but that operational art is an accurate description of the activities of the military staff, an organization developed to provide the brainpower necessary to manage the complexity of modern military operations.
By: B. A. Friedman
-
A Secular Age
- By: Charles Taylor
- Narrated by: Dennis Holland
- Length: 42 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What does it mean to say that we live in a secular age? Almost everyone would agree that we - in the West, at least - largely do. And clearly the place of religion in our societies has changed profoundly in the last few centuries. In what will be a defining book for our time, Charles Taylor takes up the question of what these changes mean - of what, precisely, happens when a society in which it is virtually impossible not to believe in God becomes one in which faith, even for the staunchest believer, is only one human possibility among others.
-
-
Needs Guest Narrators for French and German
- By Norman on 06-13-15
By: Charles Taylor
-
2034
- A Novel of the Next World War
- By: Elliot Ackerman, Admiral James Stavridis
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller, P.J. Ochlan, Vikas Adam, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From two former military officers and award-winning authors comes a chillingly authentic geopolitical thriller that imagines a naval clash between the US and China in the South China Sea in 2034 - and the path from there to a nightmarish global conflagration.
-
-
Meh....
- By Ronald A McBroom-Teasley on 03-10-21
By: Elliot Ackerman, and others
-
Putin's Wars
- From Chechnya to Ukraine
- By: Mark Galeotti
- Narrated by: David Sibley
- Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Putin's Wars is a timely overview of the conflicts in which Russia has been involved since Vladimir Putin became prime minister and then president of Russia, from the First Chechen War to the two military incursions into Georgia, the annexation of Crimea and the eventual invasion of Ukraine itself. But it also looks more broadly at Putin's recreation of Russian military power and its expansion to include a range of new capabilities, from mercenaries to operatives in a relentless information war against Western powers.
-
-
Botched Attempt on Russian Stress
- By Alexey B. on 12-20-22
By: Mark Galeotti
-
Imperial Germany and War, 1871-1918
- Modern War Studies
- By: Daniel J. Hughes, Richard L. DiNardo
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 21 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Written by two of the world's leading authorities on the subject, Imperial Germany and War, 1871-1918 examines the most essential components of the imperial German military system, with an emphasis on such foundational areas as theory, doctrine, institutional structures, training, and the officer corps. In the period between 1871 and 1918, rapid technological development demanded considerable adaptation and change in military doctrine and planning.
-
-
Very well researched
- By Jeff Wise on 04-27-20
By: Daniel J. Hughes, and others
-
Arabs
- A 3,000-Year History of Peoples, Tribes, and Empires
- By: Tim Mackintosh-Smith
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 25 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This kaleidoscopic book covers almost 3,000 years of Arab history and shines a light on the footloose Arab peoples and tribes who conquered lands and disseminated their language and culture over vast distances. Tracing this process to the origins of the Arabic language, rather than the advent of Islam, Tim Mackintosh-Smith begins his narrative more than a thousand years before Muhammad and focuses on how Arabic, both spoken and written, has functioned as a vital source of shared cultural identity over the millennia.
-
-
Good book bad narration
- By Anonymous User on 09-18-19
-
Conflict
- The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine
- By: David Petraeus, Andrew Roberts
- Narrated by: David Petraeus, Robert Fass
- Length: 18 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two leading authorities—an acclaimed historian and the outstanding battlefield commander and strategist of our time—collaborate on a landmark examination of war since 1945. Conflict is both a sweeping history of the evolution of warfare up to Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine, and a penetrating analysis of what we must learn from the past—and anticipate in the future—in order to navigate an increasingly perilous world.
-
-
Outstanding!
- By Jennifer Katz on 02-04-24
By: David Petraeus, and others
-
Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942
- By: Ian W. Toll
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 22 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the first Sunday in December 1941, an armada of Japanese warplanes appeared suddenly over Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and devastated the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Six months later, in a sea fight north of the tiny atoll of Midway, four Japanese aircraft carriers were sent into the abyss. Pacific Crucible tells the epic tale of these first searing months of the Pacific war, when the U.S. Navy shook off the worst defeat in American military history and seized the strategic initiative.
-
-
Astonishingly good.
- By Mike From Mesa on 09-01-12
By: Ian W. Toll
-
7 Seconds to Die
- A Military Analysis of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War and the Future of Warfighting
- By: John Antal, Alexander Kott - foreword
- Narrated by: Jim Seybert
- Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The second Nagorno-Karabakh war—fought between Armenia and Azerbaijan between September 24 and November 10, 2020—was the first war in history won primarily by unmanned systems. This forty-four-day war resulted in a decisive military victory for Azerbaijan. Armenia was outfought, outnumbered, and outspent and lost even though they controlled the high ground in a mountainous region. The fact that Azerbaijan won the war is not extraordinary. What is exceptional is that this was the first modern war primarily decided by unmanned weapons.
-
-
This is a well thought out and researched book
- By Tony D on 01-26-24
By: John Antal, and others
-
Six Days of War
- June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East
- By: Michael B. Oren
- Narrated by: Robert Whitfield
- Length: 17 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Israel and the West, it is called the Six Day War. In the Arab world, it is known as the June War or, simply, as "the Setback". Never has a conflict so short, unforeseen, and largely unwanted by both sides so transformed the world. The Yom Kippur War, the war in Lebanon, the Camp David accords, the controversy over Jerusalem and Jewish settlements in the West Bank, the intifada, and the rise of Palestinian terror are all part of the outcome of those six days.
-
-
Great overview of Middle East troubles
- By Patrick Marstall on 07-23-06
By: Michael B. Oren
-
Directorate S
- The C.I.A. and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan
- By: Steve Coll
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 28 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Resuming the narrative of his Pulitzer Prize-winning Ghost Wars, best-selling author Steve Coll tells for the first time the epic and enthralling story of America's intelligence, military, and diplomatic efforts to defeat Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan since 9/11.
-
-
Slow At Times But Always Horrifying And Engaging
- By Gillian on 02-20-18
By: Steve Coll
-
Call Sign Chaos
- Learning to Lead
- By: Jim Mattis, Bing West
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Call Sign Chaos is the account of Jim Mattis’ storied career, from wide-ranging leadership roles in three wars to ultimately commanding a quarter of a million troops across the Middle East. Along the way, Mattis recounts his foundational experiences as a leader, extracting the lessons he has learned about the nature of warfighting and peacemaking, the importance of allies, and the strategic dilemmas - and short-sighted thinking - now facing our nation.
-
-
A pleasant surprise
- By Fountain of Chris on 09-06-19
By: Jim Mattis, and others
-
The Thirty Years War
- Europe's Tragedy
- By: Peter H. Wilson
- Narrated by: Matthew Waterson
- Length: 33 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Thirty Years War devastated seventeenth-century Europe, killing nearly a quarter of all Germans and laying waste to towns and countryside alike. Peter Wilson offers the first new history in a generation of a horrifying conflict that transformed the map of the modern world.
-
-
Best Single-Volume History of the 30 Years' War
- By Amazon Customer on 10-09-23
By: Peter H. Wilson
Publisher's summary
Since the Second World War, Arab armed forces have consistently punched below their weight. They have lost many wars that by all rights they should have won, and in their best performances only ever achieved quite modest accomplishments. Over time, soldiers, scholars, and military experts have offered various explanations for this pattern. Reliance on Soviet military methods, the poor civil-military relations of the Arab world, the underdevelopment of the Arab states, and patterns of behavior derived from the wider Arab culture, have all been suggested as the ultimate source of Arab military difficulties.
Armies of Sand, Kenneth M. Pollack's powerful and riveting history of Arab armies from the end of World War Two to the present, assesses these differing explanations and isolates the most important causes. Over the course of the book, he examines the combat performance of 15 Arab armies and air forces in virtually every Middle Eastern war, from the Jordanians and Syrians in 1948 to Hizballah in 2006 and the Iraqis and ISIS in 2014-2017. He then compares these experiences to the performance of the Argentine, Chadian, Chinese, Cuban, North Korean, and South Vietnamese armed forces in their own combat operations during the 20th century.
More from the same
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Truth, Lies, and O-Rings
- Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
- By: Allan J. McDonald, James R. Hansen - contributor
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 26 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a cold January morning in 1986, NASA launched the Space Shuttle Challenger, despite warnings against doing so by many individuals including Allan McDonald. The fiery destruction of Challenger on live television moments after launch remains an indelible image in the nation's collective memory. In Truth, Lies, and O-Rings, McDonald, a skilled engineer and executive, relives the tragedy from where he stood at Launch Control Center.
-
-
Couldn’t finish...
- By J.Brock on 07-19-19
By: Allan J. McDonald, and others
-
Delete the Adjective
- A Soldier’s Adventures in Ranger School
- By: Lisa Jaster
- Narrated by: Lisa Jaster
- Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When you delete your adjectives, who are you? Most people limit themselves to their labels. They embrace barriers based on the box that society puts them in. But your adjectives aren’t your destiny. In Delete the Adjective: A Soldier’s Adventures in Ranger School, Lisa Jaster proves your merit should always trump your labels. Lisa didn’t confine herself to the adjectives of “middle-aged” or “female.” Instead, she became one of the first three women to graduate from the United States Army Ranger program. For those six months in the program, her adjectives didn’t matter.
-
-
Absolutely Amazing
- By Shay on 04-04-24
By: Lisa Jaster
-
The Southwestern Theater
- 1943-45
- By: Kirill Moskalenko
- Narrated by: Virtual Voice
- Length: 23 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This second volume of Kirill Moskalenko's memoir of his Great Patriotic War begins with the Battle of Kursk. Don't be put off by the first chapter. Moskalenko's Fortieth Army played a relatively minor role in the battle, and I believe he added a bit of unnecessary detail. There is a fairly good and cursory exposition on Voronezh Front operations during the battle in a verbatim report from General Vatutin, commander of Voronezh Front and Moskalenko's immediate superior. Moskalenko's small role at Kursk was not a function of Soviet Supreme Command's opinion of his abilities. The Germans ...
-
Thunder Below!
- The USS Barb Revolutionizes Submarine Warfare in World War II
- By: Eugene B. Fluckey
- Narrated by: Corey Snow
- Length: 15 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Under the leadership of her fearless skipper, Captain Gene Fluckey, the Barb sank the greatest tonnage of any American sub in World War II. At the same time, the Barb did far more than merely sink ships-she changed forever the way submarines stalk and kill their prey.
This is a gripping adventure chock-full of "you-are-there" moments. Fluckey has drawn on logs, reports, letters, interviews, and a recently discovered illegal diary kept by one of his torpedomen.
-
-
Action, Excitement, & History. A great read!
- By Boone on 09-28-13
-
The Taking of K-129
- How the CIA Used Howard Hughes to Steal a Russian Sub in the Most Daring Covert Operation in History
- By: Josh Dean
- Narrated by: Neil Hellegers
- Length: 15 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the early hours of February 25, 1968, a Russian submarine armed with three nuclear ballistic missiles set sail from its base in Siberia on a routine combat patrol to Hawaii. Then it vanished. As the Soviet navy searched in vain for the lost vessel, a small, highly classified American operation using sophisticated deep-sea spy equipment found it - wrecked on the sea floor at a depth of 16,800 feet, far beyond the capabilities of any salvage that existed.
-
-
One of the great stories in history
- By Ben Newman on 11-21-17
By: Josh Dean
-
On the House
- A Washington Memoir
- By: John Boehner
- Narrated by: John Boehner
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Former Speaker of the House John Boehner shares colorful tales from the halls of power, the smoke-filled rooms around the halls of power, and his fabled tour bus....
-
-
Entertaining, and a great read on institutionalism
- By Joel on 04-15-21
By: John Boehner
-
Truth, Lies, and O-Rings
- Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
- By: Allan J. McDonald, James R. Hansen - contributor
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 26 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a cold January morning in 1986, NASA launched the Space Shuttle Challenger, despite warnings against doing so by many individuals including Allan McDonald. The fiery destruction of Challenger on live television moments after launch remains an indelible image in the nation's collective memory. In Truth, Lies, and O-Rings, McDonald, a skilled engineer and executive, relives the tragedy from where he stood at Launch Control Center.
-
-
Couldn’t finish...
- By J.Brock on 07-19-19
By: Allan J. McDonald, and others
-
Delete the Adjective
- A Soldier’s Adventures in Ranger School
- By: Lisa Jaster
- Narrated by: Lisa Jaster
- Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When you delete your adjectives, who are you? Most people limit themselves to their labels. They embrace barriers based on the box that society puts them in. But your adjectives aren’t your destiny. In Delete the Adjective: A Soldier’s Adventures in Ranger School, Lisa Jaster proves your merit should always trump your labels. Lisa didn’t confine herself to the adjectives of “middle-aged” or “female.” Instead, she became one of the first three women to graduate from the United States Army Ranger program. For those six months in the program, her adjectives didn’t matter.
-
-
Absolutely Amazing
- By Shay on 04-04-24
By: Lisa Jaster
-
The Southwestern Theater
- 1943-45
- By: Kirill Moskalenko
- Narrated by: Virtual Voice
- Length: 23 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This second volume of Kirill Moskalenko's memoir of his Great Patriotic War begins with the Battle of Kursk. Don't be put off by the first chapter. Moskalenko's Fortieth Army played a relatively minor role in the battle, and I believe he added a bit of unnecessary detail. There is a fairly good and cursory exposition on Voronezh Front operations during the battle in a verbatim report from General Vatutin, commander of Voronezh Front and Moskalenko's immediate superior. Moskalenko's small role at Kursk was not a function of Soviet Supreme Command's opinion of his abilities. The Germans ...
-
Thunder Below!
- The USS Barb Revolutionizes Submarine Warfare in World War II
- By: Eugene B. Fluckey
- Narrated by: Corey Snow
- Length: 15 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Under the leadership of her fearless skipper, Captain Gene Fluckey, the Barb sank the greatest tonnage of any American sub in World War II. At the same time, the Barb did far more than merely sink ships-she changed forever the way submarines stalk and kill their prey.
This is a gripping adventure chock-full of "you-are-there" moments. Fluckey has drawn on logs, reports, letters, interviews, and a recently discovered illegal diary kept by one of his torpedomen.
-
-
Action, Excitement, & History. A great read!
- By Boone on 09-28-13
-
The Taking of K-129
- How the CIA Used Howard Hughes to Steal a Russian Sub in the Most Daring Covert Operation in History
- By: Josh Dean
- Narrated by: Neil Hellegers
- Length: 15 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the early hours of February 25, 1968, a Russian submarine armed with three nuclear ballistic missiles set sail from its base in Siberia on a routine combat patrol to Hawaii. Then it vanished. As the Soviet navy searched in vain for the lost vessel, a small, highly classified American operation using sophisticated deep-sea spy equipment found it - wrecked on the sea floor at a depth of 16,800 feet, far beyond the capabilities of any salvage that existed.
-
-
One of the great stories in history
- By Ben Newman on 11-21-17
By: Josh Dean
-
On the House
- A Washington Memoir
- By: John Boehner
- Narrated by: John Boehner
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Former Speaker of the House John Boehner shares colorful tales from the halls of power, the smoke-filled rooms around the halls of power, and his fabled tour bus....
-
-
Entertaining, and a great read on institutionalism
- By Joel on 04-15-21
By: John Boehner
-
My American Journey
- An Autobiography
- By: Colin Powell
- Narrated by: Colin Powell
- Length: 3 hrs and 41 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Colin Powell is the embodiment of the American dream. He was born in Harlem to immigrant parents from Jamaica. He knew the rough life of the streets. He overcame a barely average start at school. Then he joined the Army. The rest is history - including Vietnam, the Pentagon, Panama, and Desert Storm - but a history that until now has been known only on the surface.
-
-
Audio book is abridged!
- By Lydia on 02-11-21
By: Colin Powell
-
The Outpost
- An Untold Story of American Valor
- By: Jake Tapper
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 22 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At 6:00 a.m. on the morning of October 3, 2009, Combat Outpost Keating was viciously attacked by Taliban insurgents. The 53 U.S. troops, having been stationed at the bottom of three steep mountains, were severely outmanned by nearly 400 Taliban fighters. Though the Americans ultimately prevailed, their casualties made it one of the war's deadliest battles for U.S. forces. And after more than three years in that dangerous and vulnerable valley a mere 14 miles from the Pakistan border, the U.S. abandoned and bombed the camp.
-
-
Good, could have been great.
- By Ryan on 01-22-13
By: Jake Tapper
-
Supreme Command
- Soldiers, Statesmen, and Leadership in Wartime
- By: Eliot A. Cohen
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The relationship between military leaders and political leaders has always been a complicated one, especially in times of war. When the chips are down, who should run the show, the politicians or the generals? In Supreme Command, Eliot Cohen examines four great democratic war statesmen - Abraham Lincoln, Georges Clemenceau, Winston Churchill, and David Ben-Gurion - to reveal the surprising answer - the politicians. The generals may think they know how to win, but the statesmen are the ones who see the big picture.
-
-
Dated material
- By Charlotte R. Shover on 11-21-20
By: Eliot A. Cohen
-
On Operations
- Operational Art and Military Disciplines
- By: B. A. Friedman
- Narrated by: Derek Dysart
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On Operations: Operational Art and Military Disciplines traces the history of the development of military staffs and ideas on the operational level of war and operational art from the Napoleonic Wars to today, viewed through the lens of Prussia/Germany, the Soviet Union, and the United States. B. A. Friedman concludes that the operational level of war should be rejected, but that operational art is an accurate description of the activities of the military staff, an organization developed to provide the brainpower necessary to manage the complexity of modern military operations.
By: B. A. Friedman
-
The Dream Machine
- The Untold History of the Notorious V-22 Osprey
- By: Richard Whittle
- Narrated by: Kevin Foley
- Length: 18 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the Marines decided to buy a helicopter-airplane hybrid "tiltrotor" called the V-22 Osprey, they saw it as their dream machine. The tiltrotor was the aviation equivalent of finding the Northwest Passage: an aircraft able to take off, land, and hover with the agility of a helicopter yet fly as fast and as far as an airplane. Many predicted it would reshape civilian aviation. The Marines saw it as key to their very survival. Opponents called it one of the worst boondoggles in Pentagon history.
-
-
Innovation runs into government
- By Cx30 on 09-25-10
By: Richard Whittle
-
All the Shah's Men
- An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror
- By: Stephen Kinzer
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard, Jonathan Yen
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a cloak-and-dagger story of spies, saboteurs, and secret agents, Kinzer reveals the involvement of Eisenhower, Churchill, Kermit Roosevelt, and the CIA in Operation Ajax, which restored Mohammad Reza Shah to power. Reza imposed a tyranny that ultimately sparked the Islamic Revolution of 1979 which, in turn, inspired fundamentalists throughout the Muslim world, including the Taliban and terrorists who thrived under its protection.
-
-
Hard to please
- By Rick on 09-25-04
By: Stephen Kinzer
-
The Field Guide to Understanding 'Human Error'
- By: Sidney Dekker
- Narrated by: Sidney Dekker
- Length: 3 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Building on its successful predecessors, the third edition of The Field Guide to Understanding 'Human Error' will show a new way of dealing with a perceived "human error" problem in your organization. It will help you trace how your organization juggles inherent trade-offs between safety and other pressures and expectations, suggesting that you are not the custodian of an already safe system. It will encourage you to start looking more closely at the performance that others may still call "human error", allowing you to discover how your people create safety through practice, at all levels of your organization, mostly successfully, under the pressure of resource constraints and multiple conflicting goals.
-
-
Amazing
- By Adrienne Ashcraft on 07-13-21
By: Sidney Dekker
-
Hitler's Great Gamble
- A New Look at German Strategy, Operation Barbarossa, and the Axis Defeat in World War II
- By: James Ellman
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On June 22, 1941, Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa, one of the turning points of World War II. Within six months, the invasion bogged down on the outskirts of Moscow, and the Eastern Front proved to be the decisive theater in the defeat of the Third Reich. Ever since, most historians have agreed that this was Hitler's gravest mistake. In Hitler's Great Gamble, James Ellman argues that while Barbarossa was a gamble and perverted by genocidal Nazi ideology, it was not doomed from the start.
-
-
Full of good information and a pretty well established thesis
- By S. H. Moore on 11-28-20
By: James Ellman
-
The Great Game
- The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia
- By: Peter Hopkirk
- Narrated by: Alex Wyndham
- Length: 17 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Great Game between Victorian Britain and Tsarist Russia was fought across desolate terrain from the Caucasus to China, over the lonely passes of the Parmirs and Karakorams, in the blazing Kerman and Helmund deserts, and through the caravan towns of the old Silk Road - both powers scrambling to control access to the riches of India and the East. When play first began, the frontiers of Russia and British India lay 2000 miles apart; by the end, this distance had shrunk to 20 miles at some points.
-
-
Desperately Needs a PDF Map of Region at the Time
- By Ann on 12-22-17
By: Peter Hopkirk
-
Operation Snow
- How a Soviet Mole in FDR’s White House Triggered Pearl Harbor
- By: John Koster
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On December 7, 1941, the nation of Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and prompted the United States’ entry into the bloodiest war in human history. Americans have long debated the cause of the bombing; many have argued that the attack was a brilliant Japanese military coup or a failure of US intelligence agencies or even a conspiracy of the Roosevelt administration. But despite the attention historians have paid to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the truth about that fateful day has remained a mystery - until now.
-
-
PUT IT IN THE FILE BLAMING FDR FOR PEARL HARBOR
- By Ron on 11-21-20
By: John Koster
-
For the Common Defense, 3rd Edition
- A Military History of the United States from 1607 to 2012
- By: Allan R. Millett, Peter Maslowski, William B. Feis
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 33 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Called "the preeminent survey of American military history" by Russell F. Weigley, America's foremost military historian, For the Common Defense is an essential contribution to the field of military history. This third edition provides the most complete and current history of United States defense policy and military institutions and the conduct of America's wars. Without diminishing the value of its earlier editions, authors Allan R. Millett, Peter Maslowski, and William B. Feis provide a fresh perspective on the continuing issues that characterize national security policy.
-
-
thanks audible
- By JM on 09-15-18
By: Allan R. Millett, and others
-
Fidel Castro
- A Spoken Autobiography
- By: Fidel Castro, Ignacio Ramonet
- Narrated by: Todd McLaren, Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 26 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For decades, people have tried to persuade the leader of the Cuban Revolution to tell his own life story. Ignacio Ramonet, the celebrated editor in chief of Le Monde diplomatique, has finally succeeded. For the first time, in a series of extensive and probing interviews, Fidel Castro describes his life from the 1950s to the present day.
-
-
In His Own Words
- By Roy on 06-09-09
By: Fidel Castro, and others
Love Books? You'll Love Audible.
Transform your day
Replace endless scrolling with endless listening. Chores can be fun.
Listen everywhere
Download titles to listen offline, wherever you are in the world.
Carry your entire Library
Your stories go where you go. Audiobooks don’t weigh a thing.
Listen and learn
Discover stories that can change your mind, your well-being, and your life.
Reach your reading goals
You can’t turn pages while you drive—but you can press play.
Find your niche
WIth thousands of titles to explore, there’s something for everyone.
What listeners say about Armies of Sand
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Chris
- 09-26-19
Best resource for Middle East military’s not making 21st-century changes.
This book does a great job of compiling and synthesizing the information that many western militaries believe hinder the Middle East from becoming a 21st-century military power. Highly recommended for anyone working in the Middle East.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- J$
- 02-12-23
A long windup to a short conclusion
A lot more about non-Arab militaries than was expected. Feel free to skip ahead to the last third of the book which focuses on culture.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Michael
- 08-28-19
A Very Worthwhile Listen
This is an excellent and most scholarly work by Mr. Pollack and wonderfully narrated by David de Vries.
At first, I wondered if I hadn't chosen this book in error as I initially thought (in the first few minutes) perhaps it wasn’t for me. Boy was I wrong! It very soon grew on me and I was shortly deeply immersed in this fascinating work.
Having previously read material on the six day war I had idly wondered how the Israel Defence Force could be so good as to have achieved such a victory in the face of overwhelming military odds (and conversely, why did the forces arrayed against them appear to fall apart when they seemingly had every possible advantage).
Well Kenneth M. Pollack not only explains what happened, but why, in a range of post WW II conflict areas, the combat performance of Arab armed forces is almost universally deficient.
In particular, how cultural imperatives, political interference in military appointments and decision making and a range of other factors operated to ensure that Arab armed forces were always being hamstrung.
Well worth the credit.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Haman
- 05-26-21
Insightful yet dull
The insight I gained about Arab culture and its knock on effects on organizational performance was indispensable. The battlefield descriptions however left plenty to be desired and only served to water down the social significance of the good content in this book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Richard Karpusiewicz
- 03-27-22
Fantastic analysis
While it is lengthy, Pollack’s analysis is thorough and insightful. I would have loved to hear more about future warfare supported by scholarly sources, and how it could impact or insulate the Arabs from the deleterious cultural traits that have led them to fare poorly in battle. But overall this is a superb accounting of why, and how culture is a determinant of military effectiveness.
For any who have ever marveled at Israel’s stunning victories in multiple Arab wars or wondered about why the Mongols were so incredibly effective but their empire seemed to crumble to dust immediately compared to Ancient Rome, this book is for you. For modern military analyses and scholarly work, this is an informed accounting about the role and relation of societal culture, economics, and culturally regular behavior on military effectiveness.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Y. Harrington
- 12-03-23
Spectacular book…
Fantastic work on this book… and it answered, in a very clear and understandable way some lifelong questions I’ve had…
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Glaudrung
- 01-09-20
Recommended
I'd recommend this for anyone who'd like to know about military science and/or why the middle east is the way it is. The account goes into very convoluted subjects that are usually only understood by a few wizards and manages to be clear and concise. One will even learn about many recent wars.
I do not give the author a perfect score because while I learned many things in his brief accounts of many conflicts, I was already expert on others and saw some major oversimplifications involved (for instance, he subscribes to the myth there was a "winner" of the 2008 Israel-Hezbollah War).
Also, some of the things he said about Arab-Israeli Wars were unnecessarily opinionated. He also had no concept of naming conventions whether neutral or partial and proceeded to use pejoratives unnecessarily. Namely, he doesn't know what the definition terrorism is, bit that is also par for the course. He also refers to the West Bank as Judea&Samaria, and refers to the Palmach as a terror group.
I do not give the reader a perfect score because he sometimes mispronounces local names in bizarre ways. For instance, he pronounces Amir as what sounds like Armsh.
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
-
Performance
-
Story
- Book Raven
- 01-27-21
Best Analysis
This is the best overall analysis of Arab military performance I have ever read. Kenneth Pollack breaks down Arab military effectiveness since 1945 in a truly academic fashion by contrasting different Arab armies with armies from both the developing world and first world. Kenneth Pollack examines how Arab culture has influenced their military effectiveness as well. He provides a balanced and in depth analysis of Arab military performance since 1945.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Robert
- 06-01-20
You Probably Already Know The Answer
Scholarly work in which the author provides the support for an answer you probably already knew. First half of the book the author debunks the other issues in order to explore the real issue for Arab military mediocrity.
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
-
Performance
-
Story
- Seo-Woo Choi
- 03-15-22
Flawed Analysis
I have endured many hours of banal recounts of various 3rd world wars, but you don't have to suffer that to find out author's thesis.
SPOILERS ALERT:
His conclusion is that the dominant Arabic culture is there to blame.
I happen to know a f**king huge counterexample to this thesis very well. KOREA.
His depiction of predominant Arab culture of the mid-to-late 20th century is completely IDENTICAL to that of (both North & South) Korea of the same era. Conformity of social expectations, thinking in groups rather than in individuals, centralization, deference to authority, etc... EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM are what characterized, if not DEFINED the Neo-CONFUCIAN morals & social philosophy that prevailed in Korean peninsula from at least 17th century if not earlier. Yes, the peninsula was subjugated to Japan for 35 years and 1/3 of the population has been Protestant Christian since the 1960s, but as Koreans themselves lament, this had little rectifying effect on Korean mentality. Many Koreans argue that pre-modern, pre-industrialized Korean Confucian culture that was already flawed in so many ways was even more perverted through colonialization and modernization, and the form of Protestant Christianity practiced in (South) Korea is a distorted one.
And the author used pre-industrialized North Korean army of the Korean War to CONTRAST it from the armies of the Arab states! I can only laugh at this. And while the Korean army has not fought any major war since the 1960s, one could not say that Korean armies - either North or South - have problems with tactical usage and maintenance modern armament. One has developed state-of-the-art tanks and artillery, and the other tested nuclear weapons and shoots ICBMs.
Why did junior officers and pilots of several Arab countries significantly underperform in multiple wars over several decades? I don't know, but I am sure that you will not find an answer in this book. I am returning this thing. I have wasted so much my free time on this.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!