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The lives of five generations, including yours, are indelibly marked by the deeds of those who fought in the Second World War. Join award-winning historian Michael Bess in exploring their stories.
In 24 engaging lectures, WWII expert and Vanderbilt professor Michael Bess introduces you to the men and women who faced some of history’s toughest choices. You will meet the man who stopped Hitler’s atomic bomb, the pilots who won the Battle of Midway, the Soviet “Man of Steel,” the pacifist who built the bomb, and many more.
World War II was the quintessential “good war.” But it was not free of moral ambiguity, painful dilemmas, and unavoidable compromises. How could ordinary citizens have brought themselves to perpetrate atrocities? Was the United States justified in dropping the atomic bomb? Why didn’t the Allied Powers do more to help the Jews of Europe escape persecution before the war?
Professor Michae
$49.99
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kmmwriter –
A superb combination of listenability and commentary, this was one of my best purchases this year and maybe the finest lecture series of any I’ve heard on WW2. In short, clear talks, Dr. Bess offers a bird’s-eye view of the war that makes you feel you’re “living” it. One, for instance, offers a series of letters from GIs and various airmen to parents, sweethearts, and wives back home. I loved this talk because afterward I felt I knew these people and how they experienced the war — even how they prepared emotionally for their own deaths should they occur. The series isn’t just a bunch of dry facts but a full spectrum of feelings and incisive discourse. But the strongest aspect of the series is how the lecturer goes into the subtle moral ambiguities of the war, showing how each side had their moral low points. Of particular interest are lectures on the U.S.’s choice to drop nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I was dazzled by such lectures. I also thoroughly enjoyed the story of the Battle of Midway, told in gripping detail over three lectures, and too the tale of how the French succeeded at halting Rommel in North Africa for 16 days despite being vastly outnumbered. Discussions really went into the subtleties of the conflict and the pain suffered by real people fighting a war they believed just. I can’t recommend the series enough. Enjoy! ~KM McKay