Narration is subtle but overall good. Great story

the story is well known. the narration is spoken too fast and is tone less. The narrator has no apparent sense of drama or storytelling

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Great story.

Having seen the film about market garden and read this book, I am in awe of what the allies achieved, particularly the British 1st airborne division, with the excellent leaders in John frost and Roy urquhart. There respective divisions fought with extreme bravery in near impossible conditions, lightly equipped and out classed in armament. Ultimately it is seen as unsuccessful and indeed it was as its aim was to shorten the war. However in my opinion had the German panzer divisions not been in the Arnhem area, a pure fluke, I feel market garden would have been a success, there would still have been casualties, how many I wouldn’t dare hazard a guess.
I also will not Offer any opinion on how market garden came into being, or how it was planned, I as not alive then and as such have no experience of the feelings of the day, so I will not criticise anybody involved as many seem to want to do, retrospective points of view are mostly a waste of time and for some a vanity project.
Market garden was not conceived with malice of purpose or with disregard for the men who would do the fighting, and this book in the most part deals with chronicling the operation without criticising the belligerents.
As for other reviews of the narrator, I found him ok, although his attempts at accents for certain individuals was maybe a little hammish.
Well worth my time listening.

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Very Comprehensive Account

Would you listen to A Bridge Too Far again? Why?

Yes - there's too much information for one reading.

Who was your favorite character and why?

This is not a novel and the 'characters' were real people. I don't think anyone comes out of the event in a good light apart from the troops themselves. The failings of the 82nd are brought to light in the book and glossed over in the film.

Any additional comments?

The narrative was a bit dead-pan but the textual information is staggering and very well crafted. A 'must listen' to all war historians, especially if planning a visit to Arnhem - listen to it on the way there...

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Great story - but why the accents?!

A great book, one I have read myself and enjoyed very much.
This audiobook was okay and on the whole well-read with specific credit for the pronunciation of some Dutch words and names which I appreciate is not an easy undertaking.
One thing which does grate IMHO is the use of accents, especially Scottish for General Urquhart. Yes he was a Scot, however, he sounded more English than Scottish and to use the same accent for Brian Urquhart as well was daft and potentially confusing. The Polish accent for General Sosabowski was also pretty poor. That said I did enjoy the overall audiobook.

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Very detailed

Enjoyed the book.
You can’t help but relate the military figures to those casted in the movie.
Interesting to hear what actually happened to certain people compared to the movie.
I’ve visited Arnhem a number of times and enjoy battlefield studies whilst stood on the battlefield.
Our bitter experiences in Arnhem have shaped current British doctrine when operating in Urban centres…

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Great story, shame about the narration

They just got the narrator wrong for this one. It comes across like the shopping forecast, and perhaps to some, that is preferable to an orator that uses dynamics and subtle drama to deliver a book about history.
For me, although I thoroughly enjoyed the book, there were times I felt I was listening to a dalek invasion as opposed to an account of the allied invasion.

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Excellent Book

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

It's a fascinating, well told account of the battle. I thoroughly enjoyed listening.

What did you like best about this story?

I have always been interested in this subject since seeing the 'A Bridge too Far' feature film as a child. It's a well balanced telling, taking both sides point of view into account.

What about Clive Chafer’s performance did you like?

I liked his voice and narrating style.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me think about the loss of life on both sides.

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Fantastic and harrowing story that make me feel grateful

The amazing history of ultimately a doomed mission. The bravery of these men is truly humbling.

Unfortunately the narration is appalling, although by the end you have got used to it. The flat monotone delivery is like machine narration. I would choose to read it next time.

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4 people found this helpful

Great Audio

Absolutely brill love listening to this about what all the boys went through and the people who didn't make it back my greatest respect to all who were there

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2 people found this helpful

Set the Narration Speed to 1.25. Excellent Story!

Gah I thought the book was a waste of a credit. The narration was so bad!
One of the reviews suggested setting it to 1.25, this made it very easy to listen to and then I've binged what is an excellent and highly recommended story!

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