Start gifting
Libro.fm for Business
Start a membership, get two free audiobooks
Almost ready!
In order to save audiobooks to your Wish List you must be signed in to your account.
Log in Create account
Shop the sale
In celebration of Independent Bookstore Day, shop our limited-time sale on bestselling audiobooks from April 22nd-28th. Don’t miss out—purchases support your local bookstore!
Shop nowFive Days in London
This audiobook uses AI narration.
We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.
Learn moreIn the days between May 24 and 28, 1940, the British War Cabinet held a historic debate over whether to negotiate with Hitler or to continue the war. In this magisterial book, John Lukacs demonstrates the decisive importance of these five days.
Lukacs takes us hour by hour into the critical unfolding of events at 10 Downing Street, where Churchill, who had only been prime minister a fortnight, painfully considered his war responsibilities. We see how the military disasters taking place on the Continent, particularly the plight of the nearly 400,000 British soldiers bottled up in Dunkirk, affected Churchill's fragile political situation and how the citizenry, though only partly informed about the dangers that faced them, nevertheless began to support Churchill's determination to stand fast.
John Lukacs was professor of history at Chestnut Hill College, Philadelphia, until his retirement and has been visiting professor at many universities. He is the author of twenty-one books, among them The Hitler of History, The Duel, The End of the Twentieth Century and the End of the Modern Age (which was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize), and A Thread of Years. He is the recipient of numerous academic honors and awards.
Geoffrey Howard (a.k.a. Ralph Cosham) (1936–2014) was a British journalist who changed careers to become a narrator and screen and stage actor. He performed in more than one hundred professional theatrical roles. His audiobook narrations were named “Audio Best of the Year” by Publishers Weekly, and he won seven AudioFile Earphones Awards, and in 2013 he won the coveted Audie Award for Best Mystery Narration for his reading of Louise Penny’s The Beautiful Mystery.
Reviews
“This gem of a book, the distillation of an important historian’s life work, is a compelling antidote for those afflicted with historical amnesia.”
“A fascinating work of historical reconstruction…[Lukacs] gives us much to ponder in this intriguing—and perhaps still controversial—story.”
“Lucid and splendidly readable…commands a host of dramatic characters…has the power and sweep of Shakespeare’s chronicle plays.”
“Eminent historian Lukacs delivers the crown jewel to his long and distinguished career with this account…It is the work of a man who lives and breathes history, whose knowledge is limitless and tuned to a pitch that rings true.”
“Superb…can be compared to such classics as Trevor-Roper’s The Last Days of Hitler and Tuchman’s The Guns of August.”
“A marvelous example of the complex behind-the-scenes diplomatic wrangling involved in seeking a national advantage in the deadly game of strategic move and countermove. Recommended.”
“With a delightful British accent and a professional quality voice, Howard…communicates the tension during those fateful days.”
Expand reviews