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Title: Mount Vernon

Subtitle: The History of George Washington's Famous Plantation

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: Tom Lennon

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 35 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-31-15

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 9 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

"I can truly say I had rather be at Mount Vernon with a friend or two about me, than to be attended at the Seat of Government by the Officers of State and the Representatives of every Power in Europe." (George Washington, letter to David Stuart, June 15, 1790)

Every American is taught a pristine narrative of the life and legacy of George Washington and can easily recite the highlights of the "father of our country". The remarkable Virginian led an under-resourced ragtag army to ultimate victory in the American Revolution before becoming the nation's first president, setting it on its path toward superpower status. He may not have actually chopped down a cherry tree or tossed a silver dollar across the Potomac, but his contemporaries considered his character above reproach. When Washington voluntary resigned as commander of the armies, he stunned the world. Everyone in the colonies and the world realized that Washington, at the head of the last army standing in the colonies, could have made himself king of the new United States on the spot, and it would have been a move supported by his rank-and-file soldiers. Instead Washington became the first Westerner to demobilize his army voluntarily, ensuring civilian control of the new nation. King George III called Washington "the greatest character of the age" for making that decision. As president from 1788-1796, Washington set every precedent for the executive branch of the new government, from forming a cabinet to limiting himself to two terms. He even set precedents with his farewell address, which helped guide the policies of subsequent presidents.

Members Reviews:

Worth your time

In an hour and a half you are not going to get all that much detail, but you do get a lot. Unless you are a serious student of the era and in need to a much more thorough treatment of the subject, this is a nice way to learn a lot about Washington the non-general. Very interesting and worth the time and money.

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Título: Conquista de Chile: La llegada de los españoles [The Conquest of Chile: The Arrival of the Spanish]

Autor: Online Studio Productions

Narrador: uncredited

Formato: Unabridged

Duración: 41 mins

Idioma: Español

Fecha de publicación: 03-25-15

Editor: Online Studio Productions

Categorías: History, American

Resumen del editor:

Apasionante y llena de sucesos interesantes, la historia del conquista del país austral es un periodo histórico que comprende desde la llegada de Pedro de Valdivia a Chile en 1541, hasta la sorpresiva muerte de Martín García Óñez de Loyola durante la batalla de Curalaba en 1598.

Please note: This audiobook is in Spanish.

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Title: The Great Chicago Fire of 1871

Subtitle: The Story of the Blaze That Destroyed the Midwest's Largest City

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: John Skinner

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 29 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-20-15

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 2.5 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

It had taken about 40 years for Chicago to grow from a small settlement of about 300 people into a thriving metropolis with a population of 300,000, but in just two days in 1871, much of that progress was burned to the ground. In arguably the most famous fire in American history, a blaze in the southwestern section of Chicago began to burn out of control on the night of October 8, 1871. Thanks to The Chicago Tribune, the fire has been apocryphally credited to a cow kicking over a lantern in Mrs. Catherine O'Leary's barn, and though that was not true, the rumor dogged Mrs. O'Leary to the grave.

Of course, the cause of the fire didn't matter terribly much to the people who lost their lives or their property in the blaze. Thanks to dry conditions, wind, and wooden buildings, firefighters were never actually able to stop the fire, which burned itself out only after it spent nearly two whole days incinerating several square miles of Chicago. By the time rain mercifully helped to put the fire out, the Great Chicago Fire had already killed an estimated 300 people, destroyed an estimated 17,500 buildings, and left nearly 100,000 people (1/3 of the population) homeless.

Several other theories have developed as an explanation for the fire. Most of them center on people around Mrs. O'Leary's barn, but other have gone so far as to blame a meteor shower as the culprit that started fires across the Midwest that same night. As proof, they note that the country's worst forest fire in history took place around the same time in the logging town of Peshtigo in northeastern Wisconsin.

Members Reviews:

Very Interesting Account

I read the short story, âThe Great Chicago Fire of 1871â by Charles River Editors. It was very entertaining because the old story of Mrs. OâLearyâs cow kicking over a lantern was scrutinized and various other scenarios were presented.

This was a short history of the fire that devastated Chicago during a difficult period in history. I was very interested in the eyewitness accounts of the speed of the fire and the voracity of the flames. Also interesting to me was the section relating how businessmen thought their bonds, cash, stocks, etc. would be safe in their vaults, only to return and find that even though the metal survived, the contents did not. Imagine how many fortunes were lost. Also interesting was the fact that the brick and mortar buildings stood no more chance of surviving than the wooden homes of those less privileged. I cannot imagine the resourcefulness of those survivors in the weeks and months after the conflagration trying to come to terms with their homelessness and financial ruin. This was quite a story.

You can find this review on my blog at http://wp.me/p2pjIt-cj.

... be succinct and honest regarding the uncertainty surrounding the great Chicago fire

This book I found to be succinct and honest regarding the uncertainty surrounding the great Chicago fire. The book is informative rather than dramatic, and gives a concise history of what happened, as well as the extent of the damage caused bycthe fire. I was satisfied with this account.

That's it?

I was looking forward to a good historical account of the Great Chicago Fire and got a short story that took an hour to read, tops.

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Title: Common Sense

Author: Thomas Paine

Narrator: Phil Chenevert

Format: Unabridged

Length: 2 hrs and 38 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-11-15

Publisher: Spoken Realms

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 4 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Common Sense is a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775-76 that inspired people in the Thirteen Colonies to declare and fight for independence from Great Britain in the summer of 1776. In clear, simple language, it explained the advantages of and the need for immediate independence. It was published anonymously on January 10, 1776, at the beginning of the American Revolution and became an immediate sensation. It was sold and distributed widely and read aloud at taverns and meeting places. Washington had it read to all his troops, which at the time had surrounded the British army in Boston. In proportion to the population of the colonies at that time (2.5 million), it had the largest sale and circulation of any book published in American history.

Common Sense presented the American colonists with an argument for freedom from British rule at a time when the question of whether or not to seek independence was the central issue of the day. Paine wrote and reasoned in a style that common people understood. Forgoing the philosophical and Latin references used by Enlightenment era writers, he structured Common Sense as if it were a sermon, and relied on Biblical references to make his case to the people. He connected independence with common dissenting Protestant beliefs as a means to present a distinctly American political identity. Historian Gordon S. Wood described Common Sense as "the most incendiary and popular pamphlet of the entire revolutionary era".

Members Reviews:

Great Read

Wonderful insight into the mindset and thinking of the Founding Fathers. A bit dense, but well worth the effort.

Critical thinking in RIghts of man

Get some insight into the Founders thinking when they were formulating the Constitution of the USA. These philosophical minds purported timeless truths that influenced many who were instrumental in our Foundation documents. Jefferson and Hamilton and others read and studied these, and n the bio you can get a feel for what influenced Paine to write these folk. Anyone interested in Constitutional History and thought should read this.

Everything old is new again

It's suprising how much things have changed and how much remains the same. Although it was written under circumstances quite unlike todays, he makes, for the most part, a good argument for revolution. It was fun to try to get inside the mindset of that time.

OIlder writings are so compelling to me because the majority ...

OIlder writings are so compelling to me because the majority of people today act and speak in a similar manner.

Relevant for today as you can see may parallels

"... let none be heard among us, then those of A GOOD CITIZEN, ANOPEN AND RESOLUTE FRIEND, AND A VIRTUOUS SUPPORTER OF THE RIGHTS OF MANKIND..."

If you don't see the above quote in your copy evidently there are different copies of "Common Sense" with some variances. All have the standard four chapters; additions have other materials... Most of the versions I have come in books marked "Common Sense and other writings by Thomas Payne."

As you read "Common Sense" you'll realize there are several ways you can approach this information. One way is to look at it in the time period that it was written as one of his target readers. Another is to apply it to today's way of life. I actually had chosen as a combination.

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Title: The Theater of Operations

Subtitle: National Security Affect from the Cold War to the War on Terror

Author: Joseph Masco

Narrator: Scott Wallace

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-06-15

Publisher: University Press Audiobooks

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

How did the most powerful nation on earth come to embrace terror as the organizing principle of its security policy? In The Theater of Operations, Joseph Masco locates the origins of the present-day U.S. counterterrorism apparatus in the Cold War's "balance of terror". He shows how, after the attacks of 9/11, the U.S. global War on Terror mobilized a wide range of affective, conceptual, and institutional resources established during the Cold War to enable a new planetary theater of operations. Tracing how specific aspects of emotional management, existential danger, state secrecy, and threat awareness have evolved as core aspects of the American social contract, Masco draws on archival, media, and ethnographic resources to offer a new portrait of American national security culture. Undemocratic and unrelenting, this counterterror state prioritizes speculative practices over facts, and ignores everyday forms of violence across climate, capital, and health in an unprecedented effort to anticipate and eliminate terror threats - real, imagined, and emergent.

Members Reviews:

The War on Terror: Cold War II

Masco weaves together a narrative of American hegemony as defined by the relationship between the Cold War and the War on Terror, which, according to him, is a continuation of those same politics. The language he uses is not unreachable for the masses, and yet won't bore a literary or historical scholar to death either. This has been the center of my American literature scholarship for the last year now. Even if you aren't a grad student, this is an excellent read if you're looking for insight into American hegemonic politics.

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Title: Adventures in Colonial America: Volume 5

Subtitle: New Hampshire: From One Colony, Two Independent States

Author: Mary Baewer

Narrator: Deren Hansen

Format: Unabridged

Length: 2 hrs and 30 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-13-15

Publisher: Baewer Enterprises

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

The fifth installment in the Adventures in Colonial America series focuses on New Hampshire, another colony with a unique founding and history.

New Hampshire was founded through land grants issued to John Mason and Fernando Gorges in 1622. Unable to create a formal government for several years, the colony was split in two, each with its own governor. However, the divided usually fall and realizing their weakness, they sought protection from Massachusetts. Although New Hampshire was governed by Massachusetts, the Massachusetts legislature allowed New Hampshire some self-government.

Turbulent times were still ahead and in 1691, King William and Queen Mary issued charters that separated the two colonies permanently.

New Hampshire colonists were not satisfied fighting amongst themselves however; they also fought against other colonies, particularly New York and a territory known as the New Hampshire Grants, created by Benning Wentworth. The New Hampshire Grants, where Ethan Allen became famous, eventually became the 14th state - Vermont.

War was part of the colonial history of New Hampshire as it was in all the colonies, whether the fight was against local Native Indian tribes, against the New French, or against the British ultimately leading to independence. The Battles of Breed's Hill, Bunker Hill, Bennington, and Hubbardton will be examined, as will Father Le Loutre's War, the fifth in the French-Indian War series.

No survey would be complete without discussing the lives of the men from New Hampshire who were delegates to the Continental Congresses and the Constitutional Convention, who voted for independence and wrote what are probably the most important political documents in our nation's history.

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Title: The Library of Congress Timeline of the Civil War

Author: Margaret E. Wagner, Library of Congress, Gary W. Gallagher (introduction)

Narrator: Peter Coleman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-10-15

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

The Library of Congress Timeline of the Civil War is an authoritative and engaging narrative of the domestic conflict that determined the course of American history. A detailed chronological timeline of the war captures the harrowing intensity of nineteenth-century warfare in firsthand accounts from soldiers, nurses, and front-line journalists. Listeners will be enthralled by speech drafts in Lincoln's own hand, quotes from the likes of Frederick Douglass and Robert E. Lee, and portraits of key soldiers and politicians who are not covered in standard textbooks.

The timeline's exciting new source material and lucid organization will give Civil War enthusiasts a fresh look at this defining period in our nation's history.

Critic Reviews:

"In addition to the timeline - a wonderful tool if you want to look up a particular date (or thereabouts) 150 years ago--Wagner has written an authoritative account of the war. And her book features more than 350 photos, maps, manuscripts, lithographs and original drawings, many rare and never before published." (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

"The meaning of the war has been debated for the past 150 years, and it is destined to be debated for the next 150 years as well. But because of the splendid detail marshaled in this remarkable timeline, there can be no dispute over what happened, when, and where, and what it looked like. This is an historic accomplishment of scholarship and imagination." (Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Alphonse Fletcher University professor, Harvard University)

"A rich feast of words and pictures that only the Library of Congress - with its vast resources and incomparable expertise--could produce. There have been Civil War almanacs and chronologies before - but none so sumptuous and irresistible - none, like this one, a genuine page turner." (Harold Holzer, editor of The New York Times The Complete Civil War 1861-1865 and chairman of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation)

Members Reviews:

Excellent pictures..expected more about the text content

The pictures are really fantastic, and also the bibliography... but the I was expecting more text content as just as seen in "The Library of Congress Civil War Desk reference" - a complete source of information about Civil War. The history in this book stops just after Johnson innauguration , what happened after? Not one single line about the period known as Reconstruction ..

Why not merge the content of the "Civil War Desk reference" with the beautiful illustrations and photos of this book?? That would make a complete and illustrative.

As a Civil War books colelctor a better book in my oppinion having nice illustrations mingled with a clear and complete text information is the more didactic Smithsonian Institute The Civil War by DK.

Awesome book

Civil war is an awesome timeframe. One of my favorites.

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Title: Tennesseans at War, 1812 - 1815

Subtitle: Andrew Jackson, the Creek War, and the Battle of New Orleans

Author: Dr. Tom Kanon, PhD

Narrator: Gary Roelofs

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-30-15

Publisher: University Press Audiobooks

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Tennesseans at War, 1812 - 1815 by Tom Kanon tells the often-forgotten story of the central role citizens and soldiers from Tennessee played in the Creek War in Alabama and War of 1812.

Although frequently discussed as separate military conflicts, the War of 1812 against Great Britain and the Creek War against Native Americans in the territory that would become Alabama were part of the same forceful projection of growing American power. Success in both wars won for America security against attack from abroad and vast tracks of new land in "the Old Southwest."

In Tennesseans at War, 1812 - 1815, Tom Kanon explains the role Tennesseans played in these changes, and how they remade the South. Not only does he narrate the military campaigns at the heart of the young nation's expansion, but he also deftly recalls the economic and social pressures and opportunities that encouraged large numbers of Tennesseans to leave home and fight. He expertly weaves these themes into a cohesive narrative that culminates in the vivid military victories of the War of 1812, the Creek War, and the legendary Battle of New Orleans: the victory that catapulted Tennessee's citizen-soldier Andrew Jackson to the presidency.

Members Reviews:

Love audio history and broader POV

Very glad to have an audio of this history. Well done, covers more than just the white person POV.

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Title: Marching Home: Union Veterans and Their Unending Civil War

Author: Brian Matthew Jordan

Narrator: John McDonough

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-26-15

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 16 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

A groundbreaking investigation examining the fate of Union veterans who won the war but couldn't bear the peace.

For well over a century, traditional Civil War histories have concluded in 1865, with a bitterly won peace and Union soldiers returning triumphantly home. In a landmark work that challenges sterilized portraits accepted for generations, Civil War historian Brian Matthew Jordan creates an entirely new narrative. These veterans - tending rotting wounds, battling alcoholism, campaigning for paltry pensions - tragically realized that they stood as unwelcome reminders to a new America eager to heal, forget, and embrace the freewheeling bounty of the Gilded Age.

Mining previously untapped archives, Jordan uncovers anguished letters and diaries, essays by amputees, and gruesome medical reports, all deeply revealing of the American psyche. In the model of 21st century histories like Drew Gilpin Faust's This Republic of Suffering or Maya Jasanoff's Liberty's Exiles that illuminate the plight of the common man, Marching Home makes almost unbearably personal the rage and regret of Union veterans. Their untold stories are critically relevant today.

Members Reviews:

I've been waiting for this book!

Since I became interested in the Civil War 30+ years ago, I've always been more interested in the Boys in Blue after they came home. I don't know how many memoirs I've read where I would anticipate the final chapter so I could learn how the war ended for these boys and what they looked forward to the rest of their lives. And until now, there hadn't been any book that went into detail on the hardships they suffered once home. That story has arrived!

This was an excellent book cover to cover. I was very pleased with the content and excited to hear what actually happened to these gallant men, the formation of the GAR, their individual hardships, governmental challenges, and then how they finally faded into the sunset. Fascinating!

When the war ended, it wasn't easy for allot of them. Those that had lost limbs, sight, crippled in any way, along with the mental challenges each faced and how they were spurned by their own government when they sought post war medical assistance is shameful at best. It sounded all too familiar (Vietnam, Gulf War). And as late as the 1940's, the GAR still held encampments, fighting for their rights as Civil War Veterans, while seeking an audience interested in hearing their story.

The only problem I had with the Audible version was the narrator. If only Grover Gardner could have been heard, as this guy (John McDonough) is far too dramatic with each word that at times, it's almost painful to keep listening...almost.

Get this one in your library quick! It will not disappoint and at a reasonable pace, you can finish in a weekend.

The Union Forever!

Change the dates and this is a wake up call!

First the performance. The narrator has a passion and that comes through in his naration. However, in my humble opinion... it is difficult to listen to his performance. The strained, forced sounds of his voice portray in my mind the final years of an emphezimic person that will eventually succumb to the lung diseases they possess.

As for the story... as a child born in the mid 1950's, I was born at precisely the right time. I needed to register for the draft, but was never called.

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Title: American Carnage: Wounded Knee, 1890

Author: Jerome A. Greene

Narrator: James Romick

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 hrs and 37 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-19-14

Publisher: University Press Audiobooks

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

As the year 1890 wound to a close, a band of more than three hundred Lakota Sioux Indians led by Chief Big Foot made their way toward South Dakota's Pine Ridge Reservation to join other Lakotas seeking peace. Fearing that Big Foot's band was headed instead to join "hostile" Lakotas, U.S. troops surrounded the group on Wounded Knee Creek. Tensions mounted, and on the morning of December 29, as the Lakotas prepared to give up their arms, disaster struck. Accounts vary on what triggered the violence as Indians and soldiers unleashed thunderous gunfire at each other, but the consequences were horrific: some 200 innocent Lakota men, women, and children were slaughtered. American Carnage-the first comprehensive account of Wounded Knee to appear in more than 50 years-explores the complex events preceding the tragedy, the killings, and their troubled legacy.

In this gripping tale, Jerome A. Greene-renowned specialist on the Indian wars-explores why the bloody engagement happened and demonstrates how it became a brutal massacre. Epic in scope and poignant in its recounting of human suffering, American Carnage presents the reality-and denial-of our nation's last frontier massacre. It will leave an indelible mark on our understanding of American history.

Members Reviews:

Brutal story, well told

Fits very well in the library of the history of the conflict between native peoples and Americans. The book lays bare the sad history leading up to the events of December 29th, 1890, the purported aims of the American government, and the true motivation of the U.S. 7th Cavalry, intent on avenging a 14 year old grudge from the Greasy Grass. This is the history that America needs to learn, if it's going to be honest about itself.