Arnhem Black Tuesday, Al Murray
Arnhem Black Tuesday, Al Murray
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Arnhem: Black Tuesday

Author: Al Murray

Narrator: Al Murray

Unabridged: 9 hr 34 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/12/2024

Synopsis

Brought to you by Penguin.

The Battle of Arnhem is one of the best-known stories in British military history: a daring but thwarted attempt to secure a vital bridgehead across the Rhine in order to end the war before Christmas. It is always written about, with the benefit of unerring 20/20 hindsight, as being doomed to fail, but the men who fought there, men of military legend, didn't know that that was to be their fate.

By focusing on the events of one day as they happened through the eyes of the British participants and without bringing any knowledge of what would happen tomorrow to bear, Al Murray offers a very different perspective to a familiar narrative. Some things went right and a great many more went wrong, but recounting them in this way allows the reader to understand for the first time how certain decisions were taken in the moment and how opportunities were squandered.

Tuesday 19 September 1944 was that terrible day which became known as Black Tuesday. From just after 12:00 hours while plans were being made to seize the initiative and optimism reigned, to the following midnight, when Arnhem was burning and the Allied fortunes looked very different, a mere twenty-four hours changed the course of the war.

Al Murray has always been obsessed with Arnhem, and in Arnhem: Black Tuesday, brings all of his knowledge, interpretation and enthusiasm to bear to tell the story of one of history’s great heroic failures differently for the first time.

© Al Murray 2024 (P) Penguin Audio 2024

About Al Murray

Al Murray is one of the most successful comics in the UK with his alter-ego The Pub Landlord and has had four previous bestselling books, The Pub Landlord's Book of British Common Sense, The Pub Landlord Says Think Yourself British, Great British Pub Quiz Book and Watching War Films with my Dad. One of the most popular live comedy acts in the country, Al has sold out arenas nationwide, including London's O2 Arena. He has earned numerous awards and accolades, such as the British Comedy Award for his ITV1 series Al Murray's Happy Hour, the Perrier Award and two Olivier Award nominations.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Richard on September 20, 2024

That rare history book that informs without admonishing the players for not doing what was obvious, for not being as clever as the author, etc.......more

Goodreads review by Graham on September 27, 2024

A pleasant breezy book but feels very thin and rather rushed out to catch the enthusiasm for the excellent) podcast. The premise, to pick a particular day and focus on it, only works if this provides more insight and in this case it doesnt. Murray ignores XXX Corps (irritatingly called “30 Corps” )......more

Goodreads review by Luke on January 18, 2025

A very good book detailing one day during the Battle of Arnhem. I really liked the structure of the book, being split into sections for midnight, morning, afternoon, and evening and then chapters within those for each location of the battle. I didn't like that there was a lot of what seemed like fil......more

Goodreads review by Stuart on October 27, 2024

What a cracking book this is. Found it incredibly hard to put down. I really enjoyed this book for a number of reasons. I personally liked the way the author talks about the roles of the non combatants. Such as the quartermaster and REME. This book finally acknowledges not only bayonet fighting stren......more

Goodreads review by Simon on October 29, 2024

Cool heads had been required ever since Sunday, but they had not always prevailed. The continuing publication of World War 2 books lends itself to variations in style. As a lot of the existing material has been presented before, fresh approaches include shifts in perspective or tone. We see this wit......more

Quotes

This book is a revelation, not in facts delivered, but in the mood evoked. This is Arnhem unplugged…By confining himself to men in and around Arnhem on that Tuesday, Murray achieves something special. The Times

This well-crafted, original title comes highly recommended and should sit towards the top of the pile of texts discussing the fateful engagement. Hopefully there will be more to come on the topic from Murray. Soldier Magazine

An original and insightful account... Murray breaks the story into its constituent parts and, demonstrating a deep understanding of events, argues that had the cards fallen differently, the plan might have worked Telegraph

By examining the Arnhem battle in such forensic detail and delving well beyond the normal parameters on this subject, Al Murray has convincingly exposed a number of aspects that no-one has ever considered before and with highly conclusive results. This is an utterly brilliant work of history: compelling, entertaining, in parts truly shocking, profound, revelatory, full of wisdom and delivering a mass of totally fresh material. The twenty-hour timeframe is inspired, and despite focussing on only one day of fighting, this book really is the last word on the Battle of Arnhem.

Superb. By focusing on a single day, Al Murray’s Arnhem reintroduces the element of jeopardy to this famous battle and reminds us that, for the participants, nothing was set in stone. He is a military historian of originality and insight to compare with the best.

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