Download Popular Titles Audiobooks in History, 20th Century

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Title: Intrepid

Subtitle: The Epic Story of America's Most Legendary Warship

Author: Bill White, Robert Gandt

Narrator: Tom Weiner

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-03-08

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 81 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

Intrepid brings this history to life in a stirring tribute complete with personal recollections of those who served on the ship and vivid descriptions of the deadly conflicts she endured. It is a story of the people who sailed in her, fought to keep her alive, and perished in her defense, a story that powerfully captures the human element in the history of American heroism.

Members Reviews:

Ok read but needed more something...

The book was okbut at times seemed to be trying to make things the ship did more dramatic but mostly failed. It told the histoty of the ship but didn't captivate like the Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors or some other WWII books I have read.

great story of a great ship

The Intrepid was a great carrier with a glorious past and this book outlines it very well bringing it to life for the listener. My only complaint was at times I couldn't get past the feeling of listening to a cheerleader extolling the virtues of her team.

The story of the Intrepid is the story of many warships and their brave crews. Allow yourself to understand and accept that as you read about one storied ship.

Interesting But Plodding

As a history of warship that served for 30 years over numerous commissioning/decommissioning ceremonies, this book is the definitive authoritative work and one that would be a faithful companion to any visitor to the living museum. Where this book goes wrong is in trying to be that authoritative work at the expense of story telling. At times it seems as if the author crams in the names of anyone who served aboard the carrier at a pace that prevents the reader from caring about any of them. Even so, the reader comes away with a full understanding of this ship and its role in naval history and, if you listen to this book as I did while looking at it docked in New York's Pier 86, the ship comes to life as more than a collection of steel and spilled blood.

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Title: The American Presidency

Subtitle: The Modern Scholar

Author: Robert Dallek

Narrator: Robert Dallek

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-22-08

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 41 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

What was it that allowed some to rise to greatness while others failed? What elusive mix of character traits, circumstance, and determination combine to mold the shape of a presidential administration?

This course explores the tenures of the men who held our nation's highest office during the 20th-century. The lectures look at each president and examine his strengths and weaknesses, as well as the times in which he served. Through this analysis, listeners will develop a better understanding not only of this supreme office and how it has taken shape, but also how it has shaped America and, indeed, the modern world.

Members Reviews:

Great program

Where does The Modern Scholar rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

The Modern Scholar series is usually the top grade of all non-fiction audiobooks due to the fact that the narrators do not merely read, but rather discuss topics and points. There are exceptions to this, but this program in particular was a very engaging conversation.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Not applicable

What about Robert Dalleks performance did you like?

He delivered his lecture as a conversation and highlighted important aspects that made each presidency significant. Though he demonstrated the occasional bias (he loves FDR), he was able to produce the counter to many of his assertions, remaining as neutral as one can be in such a lecture.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not one in particular - it was exceptional througout

Any additional comments?

Great production of the significant efforts of the executive branch from Theodore Roosevelt through Ronald Reagan.

Pithy

Excellent and pithy review that captures the essence of each Presidency reviewed. Historical accuracy blended with a contextual sweep of the times.

The main events and people we should all know

I'm an admirer of Robert Dallek. He is a good storyteller, and good as a live speaker, which I do for a living too. Alas, I am too familiar with this story. I find myself mouthing all the names and events along with it. I have heard nothing surprising or really novel here. This is a solid journeyman telling of the mainstream narrative of the USA with a presidential emphasis in this century. And do not let me underestimate that; plenty of Americans seem to lack this knowledge, making them susceptible to all sorts of fabrications. This is affecting our country's functioning politically. This audiobook is the kind of thing every educated person should know. And in that, it is well done.

solid survey

A bit dated (2003), this book nevertheless is a solid brief synthesis on 20th century presidents and what it takes to be a great president - adroitness, political savvy and vision.

Plain and Dull

This book didn't provide enough detail on the lives of the presidents, prior to them becoming president. Having just listened to "Outliers", I was hoping to hear more about the opportunities and personal backgrounds that led to particlar kinds of presidents

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Title: Iwo Jima

Subtitle: World War II Veterans Remember the Greatest Battle of the Pacific

Author: Larry Smith

Narrator: Dick Hill

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs

Language: English

Release date: 07-30-08

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 84 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

Best-selling oral historian Larry Smith dug deep for exclusive stories from Iwo Jima veterans, including the last surviving flag raiser on Mount Suribachi, a Navajo "code talker", a retired general, two Medal of Honor recipients, B-29 flyers, and other die-hard Marines who secured the island.

Along the way, Smith investigates the controversy surrounding the famous photograph by Joe Rosenthal and presents the groundbreaking story of Japanese General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, rumored to have committed suicide rather than submit to capture.

Iwo Jima is an unprecedented look at this pivotal battle and an inspiring study in courage, perseverance, and humanity.

Critic Reviews:

"Exemplary oral history." (Kirkus)

"A unique and compelling book." (Library Journal)

Members Reviews:

Courageous memories from those who were there

Iwo Jima is a rich compilation of memories from the men who took part in various aspects of the battle. It takes the listener along and at times lets you fight your way through the gritty volcanic sand that makes up the island.

My only annoyance (and it isn't really a complaint) is the narrator is the same reader who did "Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends" which I recently listened too. Hearing the same voice on two completely different books that are oral histories is distracting. This is not the fault of the book, just bad timing on my part. That said I do wish more than one reader would be used in books presenting oral histories of multiple individuals. A lone reader can only do so much to alter their voice.

Great stories, horrible performance

The stories of the Iwo Jima veterans are amazing. I've been to Iwo Jima myself (its only open 1 day a year for the rest of the world to see) and its amazing to see the places that these events took place and try and imagine how anyone made it out alive.

Unfortunately, the reader tries to read these stories as if he was the vet telling them. So he reads in the voices of several different 80 something year old men and it kinda kills it. Just read in a normal voice and I'll get it. Its still worth the listen, but it would be great if they'd redo it with a normal voice.

Iwo Jima (Unabridged)

Yet another good book ruined by the reader. In this case, the reader tries to tell the story with the voice of an eighty year old man and fails miserably. I do wish that if Audible provides a sample of the book before we purchase it,then that sample be an accurate representation of what he majority of the book sounds like, not just the introduction. The introduction alone never is enough to know how the reader treats the material. In my case, I know the book interests me, the reason for the sample is to judge if the reader is tolerable. I do feel that non fiction should just be read, no theatrics.

If you are patriotic...

Great stories from old men who grew up serving this country in their youth. I admit to being in love with history and the history of the USA.

Very Enjoyable

This has been one of my favorite WWII books because it brings the view of this historical battle to a personal level with the veteran's own words. I also enjoyed the narrator very much.

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Title: Citizen Soldiers

Subtitle: From the Normandy Beaches to the Surrender of Germany

Author: Stephen E. Ambrose

Narrator: Cotter Smith

Format: Abridged

Length: 6 hrs and 3 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-16-99

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 108 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

A masterful biography of the U.S. Army in the European Theater of Operations, Citizen Soldiers provides a compelling account of the extraordinary stories of ordinary men in their fight for democracy. The story opens on June 7, 1944, on the beaches of Normandy and ends at the end of the war on May 7, 1945.

Along the way, Ambrose draws on hundreds of interviews and oral histories to recreate the experience of the individuals who fought in the battle, from the high command - Eisenhower, Bradley, and Patton - on down to the enlisted men. Plus, the author reveals the learning process of a great army, from how to cross rivers, fight in snow, hedgerows, and cities, and coordinate air and ground campaigns, to the intricacies of fighting in winter and on the defensive. But most incredibly, Ambrose tells the story of how ordinary citizens became soldiers in the greatest army in the world.

Critic Reviews:

"What a wonderful book, an emotionally powerful argument for our wonderful, flawed system, and its home-grown heroics. Ambrose's pen is a machine gun: detached, hot, and devastating." (Ken Burns)

Members Reviews:

Top-notch

This is every bit as good as Band of Brothers. My only regret on this one is that it is abridged. This is one of my favorite books on war -- very well written and very well narrated, with fascinating stories to tell.

Wait For the Unabridged Version

This book suffers quite a bit because of the abridgement. You move from a battle scene in the forest to a street fight in the town with no transition or explanation. I was able to follow some of it, but my wife was constantly stopping the book to ask what was being discussed. My daughter has read the unabridged book, and she says it is very good.

Citizen Soldiers

The book was ok. Not like other ambrose books I have read. It seamed to be choppy and bounced around like Flags of our Fathers. Not bad but not his best.

A rare look at WWII Europe from the soldier's view

I'm not a WWII military authority, but this is one book I could not drop. The audible was great, getting the right French and German pronounciations; having to hear ALL the story, and not just the part I didn't skim. Its personal nature - specific stories of soldiers - makes one feel apart of the fears, horrors, and hardships they lived with and died with. Its a long audible - about 6 hours - but worth it!! If your into reading WWI and WWII history and related stories this book is a must!!

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Title: Isaac's Army

Subtitle: A Story of Courage and Survival in Nazi-Occupied Poland

Author: Matthew Brzezinski

Narrator: Arthur Morey

Format: Unabridged

Length: 16 hrs and 35 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-22-12

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 58 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

Starting as early as 1939, disparate Jewish underground movements coalesced around the shared goal of liberating Poland from Nazi occupation. For the next six years, separately and in concert, they waged a heroic war of resistance against Hitler's war machine that culminated in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. In Isaac's Army, Matthew Brzezinski delivers the first-ever comprehensive narrative account of that struggle, following a group of dedicated young Jews - some barely out of their teens - whose individual acts of defiance helped rewrite the ending of World War II.

Based on first-person accounts from diaries, interviews, and surviving relatives, Isaac's Army chronicles the extraordinary triumphs and devastating setbacks that befell the Jewish underground from its earliest acts of defiance in 1939 to the exodus to Palestine in 1946. This is the remarkable true story of the Jewish resistance from the perspective of those who led it: Isaac Zuckerman, the confident and charismatic twenty-four-year-old founder of the Jewish Fighting Organization; Simha Ratheiser, Isaac's fifteen-year-old bodyguard, whose boyish good looks and seeming immunity to danger made him an ideal courier; and Zivia Lubetkin, the warrior queen of the underground who, upon hearing the first intimations of the Holocaust, declared: "We are going to defend ourselves."

Joined by allies on the left and right, they survived Gestapo torture chambers, smuggled arms, ran covert printing presses, opened illegal schools, robbed banks, executed collaborators, and fought in the two largest rebellions of the war. Hunted by the Germans and bedeviled by the "Greasers" - roving bands of blackmailers who routinely turned in resistance fighters for profit - the movement was chronically short on firepower but long on ingenuity. Its members hatched plots in dank basements, never more than a door knock away from summary execution, and slogged through fetid sewers to escape the burning Ghetto to the forests surrounding the city. And after the initial uprising was ruthlessly put down by the SS, they gambled everything on a bold plan for a citywide revolt - of both Jews and Gentiles - that could end only in victory or total destruction. The money they raised helped thousands hide when the Ghetto was liquidated. The documents they forged offered lifelines to families desperate to escape the horror of the Holocaust. And when the war was over, they helped found the state of Israel.

A story of secret alliances, internal rivalries, and undying commitment to a cause, Isaac's Army is history at its most heart -wrenching. Driven by an unforgettable cast of characters, it's a true-life tale with the pulse of a great novel, and a celebration of the indomitable spirit of resistance.

Critic Reviews:

"This is an intense story that transcends the horror of the time and finds real inspiration in the bravery of those who fought back - some of whom lived to tell their stories." (Alan Furst, author of Mission to Paris)

Members Reviews:

Starts off slow.

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Title: The Apollo 1 Disaster

Subtitle: The Controversial History and Legacy of the Fire that Caused One of NASA's Greatest Tragedies

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: Bob Barton

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 40 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-29-15

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 15 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

"There's always a possibility that you can have a catastrophic failure, of course; this can happen on any flight; it can happen on the last one as well as the first one. So, you just plan as best you can to take care of all these eventualities, and you get a well-trained crew and you go fly." (Gus Grissom, December 1966)

The Apollo space program is the most famous and celebrated in American history, but the first successful landing of men on the moon, during Apollo 11, had complicated roots dating back over a decade; it also involved one of NASA's most infamous tragedies. Landing on the moon presented an ideal goal all on its own, but the government's urgency in designing the Apollo program was actually brought about by the Soviet Union, which spent much of the 1950s leaving the United States in its dust (and rocket fuel). In 1957, at a time when people were concerned about communism and nuclear war, many Americans were dismayed by news that the Soviet Union was successfully launching satellites into orbit.

Among those concerned was President Dwight D. Eisenhower, whose space program was clearly lagging a few years behind the Soviets' space program. From 1959-1963, the United States worked toward putting satellites and humans into orbit via the Mercury program, but Eisenhower's administration was already designing plans for the Apollo program by 1960, a year before the first Russian orbited the Earth and two years before John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth.

Members Reviews:

Detailed

If you are interested in Apollo program and moon landing. This is a important part. Many of the Apollo astronauts state that even as sad as this incident was it most likely Helped the program get to the moon and be as successful as Apollo was. This terrible incident really was able to expose issues with the Block 1 spacecraft and lead to many many changes for the very reliable Block 2. This is really a detailed technical book and having some prior exposure to the space program and the machines used would be VERY helpful. The only reason I gave low marks on Story is that it really does NOT apply to this book. But that in no way is really a negative. If there is any item I wish they included would be when it comes to the communication the narrator reads quoting. I think they should have included the actual audio allowing the listener to actually hear and understand the chain of events and the frustration at on going problems. Other than that this is a positive review

Apollo 1 For Those Old enough always left questions

This helps those of us old enough learn more about what happened to Apollo 1

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Title: The Battle of Kursk

Subtitle: The History and Legacy of the Biggest Tank Battle of World War II

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: David Zarbock

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 23 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-04-17

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 4 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

The vast expanses of southern Russia and the Ukraine provided the Eastern Front arena where the armies of Third Reich dictator Adolf Hitler and Soviet dictator Josef Stalin wrestled lethally for supremacy in 1943. Endless rolling plains - ideal "tank country" - vast forests, sprawling cities, and enormous tracts of agricultural land formed the environment over which millions of men and thousands of the era's most formidable military vehicles fought for their respective overlords and ideologies. The winner could expect to reap very high stakes indeed. If Hitler's Wehrmacht smashed the Red Army, he could no longer hope for a lightning conquest, but the Fuhrer could expect the Soviet strongman to sue for peace on terms advantageous to Germany. If, conversely, the Red Army triumphed, Stalin could continue rallying the Soviet Union and move closer to expelling the loathed "Nemets" invaders from Russian soil - and perhaps carve out a Soviet empire in Central Europe.

Members Reviews:

enjoyed this book. the narration . excellent.

great book would recommend it two others the narration of this book was excellent I felt like I was right there with the soldiers on the battlefield.

Brilliant

Brilliant Audiobook.Excellent narration..i'm so pleased I found this book because this is the period of the second world war I'm most interested in...thank you.

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Title: The Disappearance of the USS Scorpion

Subtitle: The History of the Mysterious Sinking of the American Nuclear Submarine

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: Ken Teutsch

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 18 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-26-16

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 11 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

It takes a special type of person to serve in a nation's navy, especially on long voyages that separate men and women from their loved ones, and no service is both loved and hated as that aboard submarines, for very few people ever serve on them on a whim. For one thing, the psychological impact of being trapped for long periods underwater in tight, cramped quarters is more than many people can stand. Also, submarine service is uncharacteristically hazardous; after all, if a surface vessel is sunk, the crew has a reasonable chance of escaping death in lifeboats or being rescued out of the water by another ship. Conversely, if a submarine is badly damaged while submerged, the crew's chances of survival are at best remote. On the other hand, for those who choose to make the careers as submariners, there is no more beloved service. That is, one hopes, how it was for the 99 men who were serving on the USS Scorpion on May 22, 1968, the fateful day the submarine is believed to have sank. It appears that the crew members died quickly, but however it happened, the grief experienced by their family members dragged on for decades, exacerbated both by the Navy's lack of information about the submarine's final moments and the government's unwillingness to share what little knowledge it had.

Members Reviews:

Deceptive

This is no more than newspaper article and narrator should be jailed along with author.

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Title: Europe Since 1989

Subtitle: A History

Author: Philipp Ther

Narrator: Matthew Lloyd Davies

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-27-17

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

The year 1989 brought the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. It was also the year that the economic theories of Reagan, Thatcher, and the Chicago School achieved global dominance. And it was these neoliberal ideas that largely determined the course of the political, economic, and social changes that transformed Europe over the next quarter century.

The year 1989 brought the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. It was also the year that the economic theories of Reagan, Thatcher, and the Chicago School achieved global dominance. And it was these neoliberal ideas that largely determined the course of the political, economic, and social changes that transformed Europe over the next quarter century.

This award-winning book provides the first comprehensive history of post-1989 Europe. Philipp Ther offers a sweeping narrative filled with vivid details and memorable stories. He describes how liberalization, deregulation, and privatization had catastrophic effects on former Soviet Bloc countries. He refutes the idea that this economic "shock therapy" was the basis of later growth, arguing that human capital and the "transformation from below" determined economic success or failure. Most important, he shows how the capitalist West's effort to reshape Eastern Europe in its own likeness ended up reshaping Western Europe as well, in part by accelerating the pace and scope of neoliberal reforms in the West, particularly in reunified Germany. Finally, bringing the story up to the present, Ther compares events in Eastern and Southern Europe leading up to and following the 2008-9 global financial crisis.

Critic Reviews:

"[Europe Since 1989]...is well-documented. It can be recommended to general readers and students of postcommunist history in Europe." (Choice)

Members Reviews:

Highly recommended!

This book is exactly whatâs been missing from many a bookshelf of those of us invested, personally or professionally, in the subject of Europe after the fall of Communism in the so-called Other Europe. In a style that shows his erudition yet remains extremely readable, Ther offers fascinating insights on the effects of neoliberal policies imported en masse under the pretext of âthere is no alternativeâ into the post-communist countries from the West. While Poland, Hungry, or, say, the Czech Republic have seen a huge increase in their citizensâs standard of living, which is obvious to anyone visiting their capitals or major cities, Ther reminds us that many of them also suffered a great deal thanks to the âshock therapiesâ carried out by native and foreign-born acolytes of Thatcherism and Reaganism. While he doesnât make the point of separating explicitly the people and their countries into winners and losers of the post-1989 changes, which wouldâve been a mistake, Ther does highlight the fact that the negative effects of the policies linger on, which in turn helps to explain the rise of populism and anti-immigrant sentiment across Europe and the U.S. today.

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Título: Breve Historia de la Revolución Rusa

Autor: Íñigo Bolinaga

Narrador: David Espunya

Formato: Unabridged

Duración: 7 hrs and 57 mins

Idioma: Español

Fecha de publicación: 05-06-14

Editor: Audible Studios

Calificaciones: 4 de 5 de 10 votos

Categorías: History, 20th Century

Resumen del editor:

La violenta creación del primer gobierno socialista de la historia que marcará todo el S. XX europeoy desembocará en una de las autocracias más destructivas de la historia de la humanidad.

La Revolución Rusa es uno de los acontecimientos más importantes del S. XX en Europa porque supone la creación del primer gobierno socialista en el mundo y antecede a la creación de la URSS y al cruel gobierno de Stalin, dos hechos sin los cuales, no se puede dar cuenta de la historia mundial del S. XX. Breve Historia de la Revolución Rusa nos presenta este conflicto de un modo claro que no renuncia, sin embargo, a explicar detalladamente no sólo los procesos que llevaron a la creación de la URSS sino las distintas ambiciones de los agentes implicados en tales procesos. Desde una perspectiva imparcial veremos las injusticias y las traiciones cometidas tanto por el zar Nicolás II como por los ejecutores de la revolución: Lenin, Trotski, Bujarin, Kamenev, Zinoviev y, por supuesto, Stalin.

Comienza el análisis Íñigo Bolinaga analizando la situación del Imperio ruso bajo el régimen despótico del zar Nicolás II, ajeno a la miseria del campesinado ruso muy atrasado con respecto al resto de Europa, el análisis que hace no es sólo político sino que también analiza la heterogeneidad del vastísimo imperio. No nos puede extrañar que tras la revolución frustrada de 1905, los burgueses le alzaran en el 17 y derrocaran al zar sin problemas, sin embargo, la debilidad del gobierno provisional hizo que tuviera que recurrir a los bolcheviques que no querían desaprovechar la oportunidad de obtener el gobierno ruso. Tras ganar al Ejército Blanco que contaba con la ayuda de EEUU, Francia e Inglaterra, el Ejército Rojo bolchevique instaura un gobierno socialista y crea la URSS que engloba los dispares territorios que antes administrara el imperio.

Please note: This audiobook is in Spanish.

Opiniones de los miembros:

Buen audio libro

Desde el punto de vista de la historia, está muy bien redactado, pero desde el punto de vista técnico del audio libro, existen partes que se repiten en la primera hora del audio libro.

Más allá de eso, es un audio libro recomendable.