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Six Minutes in May

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Six Minutes in May

By: Nicholas Shakespeare
Narrated by: Peter Noble
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About this listen

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Six Minutes in May by Nicholas Shakespeare, read by Peter Noble.

London, May 1940. Britain is under threat of invasion and Neville Chamberlain’s government is about to fall. It is hard for us to imagine the Second World War without Winston Churchill taking the helm, but in Six Minutes in May Nicholas Shakespeare shows how easily events could have gone in a different direction.

It took just six minutes for MPs to cast the votes that brought down Chamberlain. Shakespeare moves from Britain’s disastrous battle in Norway, for which many blamed Churchill, on to the dramatic developments in Westminster that led to Churchill becoming Prime Minister. Uncovering fascinating new research and delving into the key players’ backgrounds, Shakespeare gives us a new perspective on this critical moment in our history.


*** Selected as a 2017 Book of the Year in the Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Observer and The Economist ***

‘A gripping story of Churchill’s unlikely rise to power’ Observer

‘Totally captivating. It will stand as the best account of those extraordinary few days for very many years’ Andrew Roberts

©2018 Nicholas Shakespeare (P)2018 Random House Audiobooks 20th Century Europe Great Britain Military Modern Politicians Politics & Activism England Winston Churchill War Royalty Imperialism United Kingdom Interwar Period

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All stars
Most relevant  
this is a hugely enjoyable book/listen, made all the more fascinating by the author's personal family insights. I'd have maybe edited an hour from the initial Norway invasion story - but overall a brilliant piece of work

an excellent piece of historical reportage...

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Using a mass of documents written at the time,, Shakespeare unfolds the events as they happened in great detail. In doing so he restores dignity to Chamberlain without detracting from Churchill. Fascinating and illuminating.

Does much to straighten the record

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The author has carefully researched every critical comment about Winston Churchill to the point where it becomes obsessive and boring. The narration is flat and as often with Audible’s narrators this one fails to pronounce even English words and names correctly. Irritating in the extreme

The unbridled loathing of Churchill

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This is a superbly balanced view of the events that led to the resignation of Chamberlain and his replacement by Churchill. It is well-sourced and a very helpful appraisal of the skills, weaknesses and personalities of those involved in the appointment of Churchill as PM.
Unlike popular “knowledge” of Churchill as a messianic figure who can do no wrong and of Chamberlain as a weak fool, this account provides a far more accurate telling of who these men actually were. No mere caricatures or hero/villain from a poor movie script, these were real men with fascinating characters who played an enormous role in our history.
The author fleshes out this story with wonderful accounts from the lives of Lord Halifax, Leo Amery, and many other political and military figures.
Finally Peter Noble narrates. That should be sufficient to indicate a highly enjoyable audiobook. He is a super narrator, not drawn into attempting accents or impressions, but uses his wonderful voice to bring the story to life.

Excellent account of a critical period of British history

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This audiobook begins with a seven-minute reading of a long list of the main characters and their positions - a terrible beginning that is of no use, given that we've no chance of remembering such a long list.

Awful beginning

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