Deterring Armageddon cover art

Deterring Armageddon

A Biography of NATO

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Deterring Armageddon

By: Peter Apps
Narrated by: Peter Apps
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About this listen

 'HUGELY IMPRESSIVE' - THE INDEPENDENT
'AN ASTONISHINGLY FINE HISTORY' - COUNTRY LIFE
'FASCINATING' - DAILY MAIL

The history of the world's most successful military alliance, from the wrecked Europe of 1945 to Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

As they signed NATO into being after World War II, its founders fervently believed that only if the West's democracies banded permanently together could they avoid a catastrophic global atomic conflict. Over the 75 years since, the alliance has indeed avoided war with Russia, also becoming a major political, strategic and diplomatic player well beyond its borders. It has survived disagreements between leaders from Eisenhower, Churchill and de Gaulle to Trump, Stoltenberg and Merkel, faced down Kremlin foes from Stalin to Putin and endured unending questions and debate over what new nations might be allowed to join.

Deterring Armageddon takes the reader from backroom deals that led to NATO's creation, through the Cold War, the Balkans and Afghanistan to the current confrontation with the Kremlin following the invasion of Ukraine. It examines the tightrope walked by alliance leaders between a powerful United States sometimes flirting with isolationism and European nations with their ever-evolving wishes for autonomy and influence. Having spent much of its life preparing for conflicts that might never come, NATO has sometimes found itself in wars that few had predicted - and with its members now again planning for a potential major European conflict.

It is a tale of tension, danger, rivalry, conflict, big personalities and high-stakes military and diplomatic posturing - as well as espionage, politics and protest. From the Korean War to the pandemic, the Berlin and Cuba crises to the chaotic evacuation from Kabul, Deterring Armageddon tells how the alliance has shaped and been shaped by history - and looks ahead to what might be the most dangerous era it has ever faced.

'Utterly eye-opening - compelling, haunting and continually illuminating. As Peter Apps so brilliantly demonstrates in this gripping book, the story of the NATO alliance is in many ways a parallel global history of the last 75 years. As well as all the outbreaks of seething tension between the US and its European allies - and the counter-moves of rival powers - this is also an account of just how often in those postwar years that we all stood on the edge of the most terrible abyss. With mesmerising fluency, and dazzling research, Apps follows the criss-crossing threads of the Cold War and beyond. Those threads converge in our shadowed present, and the conflict in Ukraine. In order to fathom today's dark world, Apps has explored a labyrinth of once-classified history, and he brings dazzling clarity.' - Sinclair McKay ©2024 Peter Apps (P)2024 Headline Publishing Group Ltd Military Politics & Government War Cold War Stalin Imperialism Dwight Eisenhower United States Winston Churchill Cuba

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All stars
Most relevant  
Follows complete NATO history from the end of the 2nd World War up to the events of 2024.

Impressively relevant and up-to-date

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Deeply researched and very timely history of the alliance, highly recommended to anyone wanting to understand Europe in 2024

Fascinating and timely

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Good narrator. Informative clear story, and i enjoyed it.
But not enough NATO details, i.e. expansions, battle plans. Anglocenteric, too much general cold war history.

Enjoyable

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I enjoyed this a lot. There was lots of information I didn't know before.

Very Good Audiobook

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Very informative and captivating, a fabulous listen. I'm pleased to have this book in my library and will definitely having a second listen.

Clearly written and read

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I wish that this was longer! The first couple of chapters I was slightly irritated by the quality of the audio recording sometimes it can sound tinny, but it grew on me very quickly. The book itself is a great overview of the history of NATO - interesting, engaging, and succinct. I just wish it was longer!

Brief but Brilliant

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A very good history comprehensive but with a good sense of pace. Very well read. I would definitely recommend as an introduction to NATO.

A very good history

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This is a well researched and detailed history of NATO which I greatly enjoyed listening to. The story concludes around the time of the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023, so is very much up to date.
The narrator has a clear and authoritative voice and on the whole I greatly enjoyed the narration. My only complaint is the awful generic North American accent that the narrator puts on whenever he is quoting anyone from the United States or Canada, and an equally bad attempt at mimicking Winston Churchill.
Other than this one minor criticism I would say that overall it is an excellent listen and I look forward to reading or listening to an updated edition in the future.

An excellent well researched and detailed history of NATO.

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Highly recommend this fantastic history and overview of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

It doesn’t get bogged down in over-detailed chronology and does a cracking job of imparting genesis of the treaty and its remit(s) and organic organisational nature.

As you would expect current global issues are arrived at and by listening or reading this book I would say you will be much more informed on where current events in Ukraine ( and beyond) may be heading.

We all know mainstream media is not sufficient and snapshots at best so do yourself a favour and get ripped into this one.

Pitch Perfect History & Overview of NATO

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