History of the Johnstown Flood by Willis Fletcher Johnson audiobook.

Genre: history

Willis Fletcher Johnson's History of the Johnstown Flood is a gripping narrative of one of the deadliest disasters in nineteenth-century America: the catastrophic inundation that struck Johnstown, Pennsylvania, after days of relentless rain and the failure of an earthen dam above the Conemaugh Valley. Johnson reconstructs the setting and the stakes by introducing the river town and its surrounding communities, then widening the lens to the reservoir and the club that maintained it, along with the engineers, workers, and ordinary families whose lives would be abruptly entangled. Moving between eyewitness accounts, reported testimony, and careful description of geography and infrastructure, the book traces how warnings spread, how people tried to prepare, and how confusion and rumor complicated the response. Beyond the immediate calamity, Johnson follows the urgent struggle to search for the missing, aid the injured, organize relief, and confront hard questions about responsibility, human error, and the limits of industrial-era safety. Vivid, sobering, and investigative in tone, this is both a memorial to the victims and an early case study in how communities reckon with preventable tragedy.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 00

(00:01:21) Chapter 01

(00:17:44) Chapter 02

(00:27:09) Chapter 03

(00:37:01) Chapter 04

(00:51:33) Chapter 05

(01:07:02) Chapter 06

(01:22:54) Chapter 07

(01:32:24) Chapter 08

(01:45:08) Chapter 09

(02:00:18) Chapter 10

(02:11:16) Chapter 11

(02:18:59) Chapter 12

(02:26:41) Chapter 13

(02:36:01) Chapter 14

(02:45:03) Chapter 15

(02:52:38) Chapter 16

(03:04:33) Chapter 17

(03:12:10) Chapter 18

(03:22:18) Chapter 19

(03:33:02) Chapter 20

(03:42:10) Chapter 21

(03:54:48) Chapter 22

(04:10:22) Chapter 23

(04:27:38) Chapter 24

(04:40:45) Chapter 25

(04:54:13) Chapter 26

(05:03:17) Chapter 27

(05:30:11) Chapter 28

(05:39:13) Chapter 29

(05:50:23) Chapter 30

(05:56:05) Chapter 31

(06:07:35) Chapter 32

(06:16:17) Chapter 33

(06:24:04) Chapter 34

(06:29:04) Chapter 35

(06:35:39) Chapter 36

(06:46:37) Chapter 37

(06:56:38) Chapter 38

(07:11:12) Chapter 39

(07:20:28) Chapter 40

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Biographical Memoir of John Wesley Powell, 1834-1902 by William Morris Davis audiobook.

Genre: biography

Written by Harvard geographer William Morris Davis, Biographical Memoir of John Wesley Powell, 1834-1902 presents a brisk, first-hand portrait of one of the defining scientific frontiersmen of the United States. Powell emerges not only as the one-armed Civil War veteran who dared the Colorado River and the canyons of the West, but as a relentless organizer who pushed exploration into public service. Through tightly focused sections, Davis follows Powell from field hardship and improvisation to the work of building institutions: shaping federal survey work in the West, helping establish what became the U.S. Geological Survey, and guiding the Bureau of Ethnology at a time when the nations and cultures of Native America were too often misunderstood or ignored. The memoir highlights Powell's lifelong insistence that science should inform policy, especially in the arid West where water, land, and settlement could not be managed by wishful thinking. As Davis traces Powell's leadership, rivalries, and vision for responsible development, listeners are drawn into a larger question that still feels modern: how do you map a continent, share its resources, and do justice to the people who already live there?

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 01

(00:05:39) Chapter 02

(00:10:42) Chapter 03

(00:15:10) Chapter 04

(00:24:28) Chapter 05

(00:35:38) Chapter 06

(00:46:48) Chapter 07

(00:53:08) Chapter 08

(01:01:24) Chapter 09

(01:09:22) Chapter 10

(01:14:42) Chapter 11

(01:22:05) Chapter 12

(01:43:08) Chapter 13

(01:54:27) Chapter 14

(01:59:53) Chapter 15

(02:04:03) Chapter 16

(02:06:02) Chapter 17

(02:13:23) Chapter 18

(02:20:45) Chapter 19

(02:24:14) Chapter 20

(02:31:36) Chapter 21

(02:34:57) Chapter 22

(02:41:57) Chapter 23

(02:45:24) Chapter 24

(02:55:06) Chapter 25

(02:58:18) Chapter 26

(03:05:16) Chapter 27

(03:17:05) Chapter 28

(03:18:45) Chapter 29

(03:23:30) Chapter 30

(03:29:53) Chapter 31

(03:32:32) Chapter 32

(03:37:16) Chapter 33

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The Apartment Next Door by William Johnston audiobook.

Genre: mystery

During World War I, Jane Strong is restless with the safe routines of her New York life and hungry to do something that matters. One night, she glimpses a tense chase outside her building, hears a shot, and watches a familiar figure return - the tenant in the apartment next door. By morning, the papers insist the man who was pursued died by suicide, but Jane knows what she saw does not add up. When a government agent approaches her, Jane is drawn into a shadowy assignment: keep watch, keep quiet, and help the U.S. Secret Service untangle a threat that may be hiding in plain sight. As Jane begins to observe coded meetings, suspicious visitors, and the unsettling rhythms of her neighbors' lives, her curiosity becomes a dangerous liability - and her courage becomes her only advantage. With espionage tightening around her building and trust growing harder to place, Jane must decide how far she will go for country and conscience, even as unexpected romance complicates every judgment she makes.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 01

(00:18:48) Chapter 02

(00:42:32) Chapter 03

(01:04:11) Chapter 04

(01:26:19) Chapter 05

(01:48:46) Chapter 06

(02:10:18) Chapter 07

(02:31:08) Chapter 08

(02:49:35) Chapter 09

(03:09:17) Chapter 10

(03:26:49) Chapter 11

(03:49:15) Chapter 12

(04:05:49) Chapter 13

(04:23:16) Chapter 14

(04:40:42) Chapter 15

(04:57:32) Chapter 16

(05:13:05) Chapter 17

(05:28:38) Chapter 18

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The Troubled Man's Medicine by William Hugh audiobook.

Genre: religion

Written in the midst of England's Reformation and shaped by pastoral urgency, The Troubled Man's Medicine is William Hugh's practical guide for anyone facing sickness, loss, fear, or hard fortune. Framed as counsel originally composed for an ailing friend, the book sets out to give troubled readers a steadying remedy: not a physical cure, but a disciplined way to endure adversity with patience, gratitude, and faith. Across two parts, Hugh gathers Scripture, moral reasoning, and vivid examples to challenge the comforts of wealth, confront the realities of poverty and affliction, and press the reader toward prayer and trust when circumstances feel unbearable. The second part turns even more directly to the most daunting trial of all, teaching the listener how to approach death without panic, to examine the heart honestly, and to seek consolation that does not collapse when the body weakens. Clear, exhortative, and intimate in tone, Hugh's work aims to transform suffering into spiritual steadiness, offering a companionable voice for dark hours and a roadmap for courage when the end feels near.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 01

(00:34:14) Chapter 02

(00:51:02) Chapter 03

(01:24:37) Chapter 04

(01:27:14) Chapter 05

(02:31:32) Chapter 06

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Gravenhurst, or Thoughts on Good and Evil by William Henry Smith audiobook.

Genre: philosophy

Set in and around the English countryside village the author calls Gravenhurst, this reflective Victorian work follows an observant country gentleman as he records a chain of walks, visits, and drawing-room conversations that keep circling back to one stubborn question: if the world contains so much beauty, why does it also contain so much pain? As his friends debate what they have seen in their own lives, the book ranges widely across everyday experience and big ideas alike: bodily suffering and painful emotion, the sense that there is simply 'too much' evil, and the tangled problem of moral evil - the harms people choose to do. From there, the discussions turn to whether some evils can be remedied through education, social progress, and wiser institutions, and what might be beyond human power to fix. Along the way, Smith considers inequality of happiness, crime and punishment, and the strange way struggle seems bound up with human development. Written in a calm, accessible style, Gravenhurst blends moral psychology, social observation, and Christian-minded theodicy, inviting listeners to test their own convictions about responsibility, compassion, and the grounds for hope.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 01

(00:19:45) Chapter 02

(00:42:46) Chapter 03

(01:03:25) Chapter 04

(01:13:59) Chapter 05

(01:29:37) Chapter 06

(01:47:00) Chapter 07

(02:02:59) Chapter 08

(02:17:38) Chapter 09

(02:44:57) Chapter 10

(03:05:40) Chapter 11

(03:37:48) Chapter 12

(04:02:34) Chapter 13

(04:31:53) Chapter 14

(04:54:46) Chapter 15

(05:24:26) Chapter 16

(05:48:06) Chapter 17

(06:12:26) Chapter 18

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Mosquitoes by William Faulkner audiobook.

Genre: comedy

Set in the languid heat of New Orleans in the early 1920s, William Faulkner's Mosquitoes follows a mixed group of artists, writers, socialites, and dreamers who escape the city on a weekend yachting trip across Lake Pontchartrain. The voyage promises leisure and inspiration, but the close quarters quickly turn the boat into a floating stage for vanity, flirtation, rivalry, and relentless talk. At the center is a young writer watching the others with equal parts fascination and impatience, while the charismatic painter Gordon and the self-important intellectual Dawson Fairchild spar over art, ego, and what it means to create something true. As the party drifts from witty banter to cutting satire, the trip exposes how desire and ambition can distort friendship, romance, and artistic purpose. By turns sharp, comic, and melancholy, Mosquitoes is a portrait of a scene where everyone hungers to be admired, yet few can bear honest attention, and where the smallest irritations - like the insects of the title - can drive people toward revealing choices.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 00

(00:01:34) Chapter 01

(00:12:39) Chapter 02

(00:31:49) Chapter 03

(00:52:22) Chapter 04

(00:56:50) Chapter 05

(01:06:05) Chapter 06

(01:15:56) Chapter 07

(01:17:19) Chapter 08

(01:21:35) Chapter 09

(01:33:39) Chapter 10

(01:41:39) Chapter 11

(01:45:17) Chapter 12

(01:56:38) Chapter 13

(02:19:55) Chapter 14

(02:31:32) Chapter 15

(02:40:39) Chapter 16

(02:46:34) Chapter 17

(02:55:54) Chapter 18

(03:01:26) Chapter 19

(03:09:31) Chapter 20

(03:19:55) Chapter 21

(03:26:11) Chapter 22

(03:29:00) Chapter 23

(03:42:44) Chapter 24

(04:01:52) Chapter 25

(04:16:16) Chapter 26

(04:53:50) Chapter 27

(04:57:19) Chapter 28

(05:13:57) Chapter 29

(05:26:31) Chapter 30

(05:30:59) Chapter 31

(05:35:10) Chapter 32

(05:40:30) Chapter 33

(05:47:53) Chapter 34

(05:53:04) Chapter 35

(06:08:31) Chapter 36

(06:14:56) Chapter 37

(06:40:08) Chapter 38

(06:54:58) Chapter 39

(06:59:33) Chapter 40

(07:08:02) Chapter 41

(07:21:13) Chapter 42

(07:42:39) Chapter 43

(07:44:41) Chapter 44

(07:46:18) Chapter 45

(07:50:54) Chapter 46

(08:00:04) Chapter 47

(08:03:02) Chapter 48

(08:17:50) Chapter 49

(08:26:56) Chapter 50

(08:42:32) Chapter 51

(08:48:37) Chapter 52

(08:59:03) Chapter 53

(09:14:42) Chapter 54

(09:21:53) Chapter 55

(09:32:40) Chapter 56

(09:37:31) Chapter 57

(09:41:39) Chapter 58

(09:55:30) Chapter 59

(10:00:44) Chapter 60

(10:21:41) Chapter 61

(10:30:44) Chapter 62

(10:59:00) Chapter 63

(11:11:36) Chapter 64

(11:26:43) Chapter 65

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Sour Grapes by William Carlos Williams audiobook.

Genre: poetry

Sour Grapes is an early, punchy collection of poems by William Carlos Williams that helps define an American modernist voice: local, plainspoken, and startlingly alive to the physical world. Moving from quick, image-driven lyrics to more expansive reflections, Williams trains his attention on everyday scenes - a street corner, a room, a body at work, a sudden change of weather - and turns them into moments of sharp perception. The poems favor clean lines, fresh metaphors, and the belief that meaning is not imported from distant ideals but discovered in the immediate present, in the grit and beauty of common life. Across the collection, you can hear a restless intelligence testing what poetry can do with ordinary language, while also feeling the undercurrent of desire, irritation, tenderness, and longing that gives the book its title bite. Sour Grapes invites listeners into a world where small things matter, where seeing clearly is a moral act, and where the music of speech becomes a new kind of lyric truth.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 01

(00:29:40) Chapter 02

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Smoky The Cowhorse by Will James audiobook.

Genre: adventure

In the high country of the American West, a wild, steel-gray mustang is born with speed, intelligence, and a fierce love of open space. The cowboys who spot him call him Smoky, and before long he is caught, sold, and thrown into a human world he does not understand. Fate brings Smoky to a quiet, capable young cowboy named Clint, who takes the time to gentle him with patience rather than force. Under Clint's care, Smoky becomes more than a working horse - he becomes a trusted partner, learning the rhythms of ranch life, the dangers of cattle drives, and the unspoken language between rider and mount. But the West is wide, and it is not kind to anything that cannot protect itself. When Smoky is separated from the one person who truly understands him, he is pushed through hard hands and harsh trails, tested by fear, pain, and the stubborn will to survive. Will James' classic tale blends vivid cowboy detail with deep empathy for an animal's heart, asking what loyalty costs, how trust is earned, and whether a broken bond can ever be mended.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 00

(00:03:47) Chapter 01

(00:37:06) Chapter 02

(01:06:57) Chapter 03

(01:39:45) Chapter 04

(02:14:52) Chapter 05

(02:50:33) Chapter 06

(03:24:54) Chapter 07

(03:53:45) Chapter 08

(04:31:22) Chapter 09

(05:09:43) Chapter 10

(05:45:49) Chapter 11

(06:22:17) Chapter 12

(07:00:05) Chapter 13

(07:35:08) Chapter 14

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Galileo by Walter W. Bryant audiobook.

Genre: biography

Walter W. Bryant's Galileo follows the rise of the brilliant Italian thinker who helped transform stargazing into modern science. From Galileo Galilei's early curiosity and restless ambition, the narrative traces his move from classroom theory to hands-on investigation, where careful measurement and daring questions begin to challenge inherited certainty. As he refines instruments and turns his telescope to the night sky, Galileo's observations reveal wonders that do not fit comfortably inside the old cosmic order, and his confidence grows alongside his reputation. But discovery comes with a price: the more openly he argues for a universe governed by evidence rather than authority, the more he attracts scrutiny from powerful institutions and anxious rivals. Bryant keeps the focus on the human drama behind the science - a man of wit, pride, faith, and stubborn integrity - while clearly explaining the ideas that made his work so explosive. The central conflict tightens into a struggle between intellectual honesty and enforced conformity, asking what it costs to tell the truth when truth threatens the foundations of an age.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 01

(00:10:56) Chapter 02

(00:22:02) Chapter 03

(00:32:44) Chapter 04

(00:44:24) Chapter 05

(00:54:56) Chapter 06

(01:00:28) Chapter 07

(01:11:29) Chapter 08

(01:21:31) Chapter 09

(01:32:42) Chapter 10

(01:42:09) Chapter 11

(01:51:23) Chapter 12

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A Last Diary by W. N. P. Barbellion audiobook.

Genre: biography

A Last Diary gathers the final notebook entries of W. N. P. Barbellion, the pen name of British naturalist and writer Bruce Frederick Cummings, as he records the narrowing circle of his days with an unsparing eye. Writing in a voice that is by turns sardonic, tender, and fiercely intelligent, he chronicles life as a museum worker and would-be man of letters while a progressive illness steadily threatens his independence, stamina, and sense of identity. The pages move from sharp sketches of colleagues and London streets to intimate notes on love, marriage, money worries, and the daily negotiations of pain and fatigue. Against the distant rumble of wartime England, Barbellion turns his diary into both confessional and workshop: he tests sentences, argues with himself, mocks his own pretensions, and then, without warning, breaks into moments of startling beauty and gratitude. What emerges is not a heroic pose but a bracingly human portrait of a mind refusing to go quiet, determined to keep speaking clearly about fear, ambition, friendship, faith, and the urgent need to make something true before time runs out.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 00

(00:57:40) Chapter 01

(01:23:08) Chapter 02

(01:45:15) Chapter 03

(02:13:43) Chapter 04

(02:33:54) Chapter 05

(02:54:56) Chapter 06

(03:18:09) Chapter 07

(03:43:52) Chapter 08

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