The Winds of War (Unabridged‪)‬

This work is a curious mixture. When I started it I thought "good grief I've just downloaded a 45 hour soap opera," and in part I had. The book follows the lives of Victor Henry, USN, his two sons also USN, his wife, daughter-in-law and several other central characters. The book succeeds as a soap if the measure of success is coming to care about these people. They are interesting and vital individuals and I found it easy to get caught up in their intertwining lives. But the book is also a history of the early years of World War II up until the US entry. Some of it is written as formal history with quotes from a factitious book written by a factitious German General translated by a retired Victor Henry. It serves as a clever vehicle to convey a German perspective on events. Victor himself is a bit of Naval Forrest Gump showing up at pivotal moments among the war's major players. He meets and interacts with Roosevelt, Hitler, Churchill and Stalin. Victor, the author's stand-in, is an astute observer and after a fashion the reader comes to know these world leaders. I found the book entirely engrossing and the audio version engagingly read. Normally, coming to the end of a work like this I would be sad that it was over, but no need. There is another 50+ hours of War and Remembrance to look forward to!

I down loaded the book, but I am missing the last few chapters, so how do I complete the download? L. Outstanding book otherwise.

The narrator is horrible!