Download Popular Titles Audiobooks in History, American

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Title: After Lincoln

Subtitle: How the North Won the Civil War and Lost the Peace

Author: A. J. Langguth

Narrator: Tom Perkins

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-16-14

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 47 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

With Abraham Lincoln's assassination, his "team of rivals" was left adrift. President Andrew Johnson, a former slave owner from Tennessee, was challenged by Northern Congressmen, Radical Republicans led by Thaddeus Stephens and Charles Sumner, who wanted to punish the defeated South. When Johnson's policies placated the rebels at the expense of the freed black men, radicals in the House impeached him for trying to fire Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. Johnson was saved from removal by one vote in the Senate trial, presided over by Salmon Chase. Even William Seward, Lincoln's closest ally in his cabinet, seemed to waver.

By the 1868 election, united Republicans nominated Ulysses Grant, Lincoln's winning Union general. His attempts to reconcile Southerners with the Union and to quash the rising Ku Klux Klan were undercut by postwar greed and corruption during his two terms. Reconstruction died unofficially in 1887 when Republican Rutherford Hayes joined with the Democrats in a deal that removed the last federal troops from South Carolina and Louisiana. In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed a bill with protections first proposed in 1872 by Charles Sumner, the Radical senator from Massachusetts.

Critic Reviews:

"Langguth takes a warts-and-all approach in profiling the major figures of the Reconstruction." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Mediocre

There isn't much in terms of books about reconstruction on Audible and I was hoping that this might help fill that void, but this book is not that. The book mainly focuses on brief generic bios of people involved with government during and after the Civil War. If you've read a decent amount of Civil War history there is nothing to be learned here - but if you're a beginner that wants a simple overview of the war and the years after this, this will perhaps work but it will also be extremely incomplete. Also the book is written from a northern point of view. I think the author tries to be balanced, but the way he presents information isn't always done very well. Nothing outrageous or anything - just missing pieces of information here and there that could have been summed up in a sentence or two isn't there and changes the context of numerous pieces of information he provides - like General Lee applying for citizenship, the author leaves out why he did that.

The reader does a good job with the material provided.

Enlightening and inspiring

After Lincoln puts the current civil strife in context as the continuation of the aftereffects of the Civil War.

Wandering through history

The story wanders through politicians around the civil war. Seems a chunk takes place before and during the war. While it does give a decent history of civil rights from 1865-1876, it is not a reconstruction history.

Disjointed

Good new info on wide range of personalities, but jumpy through out. Made some seems more evil than actual

reality.

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Title: President Zachary Taylor's Last State of the Union Address

Author: Zachary Taylor

Narrator: John Greenman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 59 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-03-14

Publisher: Spoken Realms

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 July 9, 1850) was the 12th President of the USA, serving from March 1849 until his death in July 1850. Before his presidency, Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army. His status as a national hero as a result of his victories in the Mexican-American War won him election to the White House despite his vague political beliefs. His top priority as president was preserving the Union, but he died sixteen months into his term, before making any progress on the status of slavery, which had been inflaming tensions in Congress.

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Title: True Stories from the Files of the FBI

Author: W. Cleon Skousen

Narrator: Corey M. Snow

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 21 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-08-14

Publisher: Izzard Ink Publishing

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 36 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Be the FBI Agent in training under J. Edgar Hoover and run the gauntlet of Machine Gun Kelly, Baby Face Nelson and the Barker Karpis Gang. Step back into downtown Chicago of the 1930s and retrace the steps of some of America's most notorious mobsters.

True Stories from the Files of the FBI was written by W. Cleon Skousen under the direct supervision of Mr. Hoover himself. These first-hand accounts of actual "do or die" situations were used for decades to train thousands of FBI agents.

In this riveting retelling of "G-men" arresting or killing perpetrators of the country's most violent crimes, learn how the investigations led to clues for the Charles Lindbergh kidnapping case, the Kansas City Massacre, the raids by John Herbert Dillinger and his gang, "Killer" Kinnie Wagner's murder spree, and more.

Critic Reviews:

"

True Stories from the Files of the FBI is an amazing book! A lot of history, a lot of detail, a lot to learn!" (Michael J. Thompson, AML)

"True Stories from the Files of the FBI captures the history of landmark criminal cases with riveting, quick-read storytelling - a must for every crime reader's most wanted book list." (Mark Singer, Founder of Chicago Crime Tours)

True Crime Audiobook of the Year 2015 (Izzard Ink Publishing)

Members Reviews:

Captivating and enlightening American history!

What did you love best about True Stories from the Files of the FBI?

The stories kept me so captivated that I didn't realize I was learning American history!

What was one of the most memorable moments of True Stories from the Files of the FBI?

Every story (and there were many) had a different "flavor," but the one that stands out in my mind was how the FBI took out the 8 Nazi saboteurs so quickly, that the ink on their forged travel documents was probably still wet. Baby Face Nielsen was also good!

What about Corey M. Snows performance did you like?

Magnificent job. His voice matches the era of "the greatest generation," during which these stories take place. Excellent delivery.

If you could give True Stories from the Files of the FBI a new subtitle, what would it be?

American Exceptionalism - Fights and victories which demonstrate the reliability of the American form of government and its people.

Any additional comments?

Easy to listen to this audio book - about stories and information that I thought I knew, but realized I'd only heard names and vague references. This book gives the juicy details of the lives and stories about people larger than life, in American history, that we should know.

Awesome True Crime Book!

Where does True Stories from the Files of the FBI rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

Ranks in my personal top seven (top 10 is too cliche).

Who was your favorite character and why?

There aren't any characters like you would find in a novel, but one of my favorite subjects was the Barker - Karpis gang. I hadn't known of them before but I was riveted by what I learned about them.

What does Corey M. Snow bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you just read the book?

He brings the story to life - you listen to the narration and become part of the story.

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Title: 935 Lies

Subtitle: The Future of Truth and the Decline of Americas Moral Integrity

Author: Charles Lewis

Narrator: Don Lee

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-08-14

Publisher: HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 44 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Facts are and must be the coin of the realm in a democracy. Unfortunately, for citizens in the United States and throughout the world, distinguishing between fact and fiction - always a formidable challenge - is now more difficult than ever, as a constant stream of questionable information pours into media outlets.

In 935 Lies, Charles Lewis reminds us of the history of public dishonesty in the United States, from President Lyndon B. Johnsons cover-up of the real motives behind the Vietnam War, to George W. Bush's public rationales for military action in Iraq and Afghanistan, and how courageous investigative journalists stood up to power to bring truth to light. He then explores the implications for today: What are the root causes and consequences of this kind of mass deception?

Lewis argues forcefully that while data points and factoids abound, it is much harder to get to the whole truth of complex issues in time for that truth to guide citizens, voters, and decision makers.

Contact me for any questions: [email protected]

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Title: American Psychosis

Subtitle: How the Federal Government Destroyed the Mental Illness Treatment System

Author: E. Fuller Torrey

Narrator: Stephen McLaughlin

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-16-14

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 64 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

In 1963, President John F. Kennedy delivered an historic speech on mental illness and retardation. He described sweeping new programs to replace "the shabby treatment of the many millions of the mentally disabled in custodial institutions" with treatment in community mental health centers. This movement, later referred to as "deinstitutionalization," continues to impact mental health care. Though he never publicly acknowledged it, the program was a tribute to Kennedy's sister Rosemary, who was born mildly retarded and developed a schizophrenia-like illness. Terrified she'd become pregnant, Joseph Kennedy arranged for his daughter to receive a lobotomy, which was a disaster and left her severely retarded.

Fifty years after Kennedy's speech, E. Fuller Torrey's audiobook provides an inside perspective on the birth of the federal mental health program. On staff at the National Institute of Mental Health when the program was being developed and implemented, Torrey draws on his own first-hand account of the creation and launch of the program, extensive research, one-on-one interviews with people involved, and recently unearthed audiotapes of interviews with major figures involved in the legislation. As such, this book provides historical material previously unavailable to the public.

Many now wonder why public mental illness services are so ineffective. At least one-third of the homeless are seriously mentally ill, jails and prisons are grossly overcrowded, largely because the seriously mentally ill constitute 20 percent of prisoners, and public facilities are overrun by untreated individuals. As Torrey argues, it is imperative to understand how we got here in order to move forward towards providing better care for the most vulnerable.

Members Reviews:

Devastating analysis on US mental health policy!

What made the experience of listening to American Psychosis the most enjoyable?

This audiobook starts pretty slow, but the historical preamble sets the stage for the more-concise facts that start pouring in during the 2nd half.

The topic of mental health, de-institutionalization, lack of accountability, and for-profit "solutions" are highly relevant. Just walk in the city and you'll encounter the consequences when you pass the homeless people muttering to themselves. And that's only the portion that are not incarcerated or in for-profit nursing homes (which should be used for the elderly).

What about Stephen McLaughlins performance did you like?

Honestly took me a while to get used to, but the story makes up for it.

If you could give American Psychosis a new subtitle, what would it be?

When making public policy, use science/research/evidence over ideology.

In this book, the shutting down of State mental hospitals was based on ideology around society and mental health that sounded good but parts of it were simply not backed by scientific evidence (which admittedly was sparse during that time since psychiatry was still in its infancy). The movement had no chance of evolving during the Nixon/Reagen era: they not only supported privatization, they were hostile to psychiatry!

The narration is quite poor.

I mean, maybe this is a good book, but it's not a good audiobook. The narration is halting and unprofessional. Narrators often over-act, which is irritating, but here there is no intonation at all.

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Title: George Washington's Farewell Address

Author: George Washington

Narrator: John Greenman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 50 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-01-14

Publisher: Spoken Realms

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

"George Washington's Farewell Address" is a letter written by George Washington to the people of the United States of America. It was Washington's valedictory after 20 years of service to the new nation. It is a classic statement of republicanism, warning Americans of the political dangers they can and must avoid if they are to remain true to their values.

Members Reviews:

Endearing, Thrilling, Unreliable

This is a Federalist partisan pamphlet. Although many of its positions have entered into standard patriotic rhetoric, I wouldn't recommend it for insight into the first four-score-and-seven years of our republic unless it were carefully balanced by readings in Anti-Federalism, States' Rights, and the ideals of voluntary local self-government ... the beliefs that came to be called Jeffersonian Democracy.

We need his wisdom now

I was amazed reading Washington 's words. It is as if he saw the very dangers of our present political atmosphere. Too bad I waited nearly 70 years to discover it. Perhaps my grandkids will be more familiar with it than the generations that have preceded them. I hope it's not too late for his wisdom to penetrate the masses, though I fear otherwise.

He was very happy to have received this book

Got this as a gift for my son-in-law who majored in history. He was very happy to have received this book.

Great read

I read another article recommending that all citizens of the United States read the prophetic words of George Washington. He got it right, and the federal government, especially now, is radically out of balance with the wishes of the people. His warning voice specifically stated that would be the result of progressive politicians mad with power and prestige being elected to high offices.

An inspiration and direction in this unsettled time in our countrys history and a warning a d guidepost for the dange

This is a warning and alarm of the dangers ahead from a misdirected and egotistic demagogue who inhabits our precious republic.

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Title: Sex and the Founding Fathers

Subtitle: Sexuality Studies

Author: Thomas A. Foster

Narrator: Todd Curless

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-17-14

Publisher: University Press Audiobooks

Ratings: 2.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Biographers, journalists, and satirists have long used the subject of sex to define the masculine character and political authority of America's Founding Fathers. Tracing these commentaries on the Revolutionary Era's major political figures in Sex and the Founding Fathers, Thomas Foster shows how continual attempts to reveal the true character of these men instead exposes much more about Americans and American culture than about the Founders themselves.

Sex and the Founding Fathers examines the remarkable and varied assessments of the intimate lives of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and Gouverneur Morris from their own time to ours. Interpretations can change radically; consider how Jefferson has been variously idealized as a chaste widower, condemned as a child molester, and recently celebrated as a multicultural hero.

Foster considers the public and private images of these generally romanticized leaders to show how each generation uses them to reshape and reinforce American civic and national identity.

Critic Reviews:

"In this concise, engaging book, Foster explores the intimate lives of six Founding Fathers, and, more importantly, the way their sex lives have been presented and analyzed over the years... Foster ably reveals that sex has always factored into national identity and that the Founders were flesh-and-blood men, unable to support idealistic American standards of morality." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

C+ read

Book is somewhat superficial. But worth the time if you have nothing else going on. Narration sounds a little robotic.

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Title: Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts: Charting the Future of Teaching the Past

Subtitle: Critical Perspectives On The Past

Author: Sam Wineburg

Narrator: Kevin Pierce

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-09-14

Publisher: University Press Audiobooks

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 16 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Since ancient times, the pundits have lamented young people's lack of historical knowledge and warned that ignorance of the past surely condemns humanity to repeating its mistakes. In the contemporary United States, this dire outlook drives a contentious debate about what key events, nations, and people are essential for history students. Sam Wineburg says that we are asking the wrong questions.

This audiobook demolishes the conventional notion that there is one true history and one best way to teach it. Although most of us think of history - and learn it - as a conglomeration of facts, dates, and key figures, for professional historians it is a way of knowing, a method for developing an understanding about the relationships of people and events in the past. A cognitive psychologist, Wineburg has been engaged in studying what is intrinsic to historical thinking, how it might be taught, and why most students still adhere to the 'one damned thing after another' concept of history.

Whether he is comparing how students and historians interpret documentary evidence or analyzing children's drawings, Wineburg's essays offer 'rough maps of how ordinary people think about the past and use it to understand the present.' Arguing that we all absorb lessons about history in many settings - in kitchen table conversations, at the movies, or on the world-wide web, for instance - these essays acknowledge the role of collective memory in filtering what we learn in school and shaping our historical thinking.

Critic Reviews:

"Historians, especially academic historians, who normally avoid the literature on history education for its banality, thin research base, or ideological cant will overlook this book at their peril. Sam Wineburg brings both a burning concern for the state of history instruction and a wide knowledge of history to his research agenda." (The Journal of American History)

"This is a wide-ranging and at times inspirational work." (History of Education)

Members Reviews:

The wonderful parts of this book make it worth it

It sands out -- but the wonderful parts make the dull parts more than worth wading though (thanks Audible for having higher speed playback!)

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Title: Crossfire

Subtitle: The Plot That Killed Kennedy

Author: Jim Marrs

Narrator: Jim Marrs, Michael J. Long

Format: Original Recording

Length: 1 hr and 15 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-01-14

Publisher: Reality Entertainment

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 27 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Jim Marrs, author of the international best-selling book JFK book of all time, Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy takes you deep into the conspiracy of John F. Kennedy's untimely death with factual information that rules out the lone assassination theory. Marrs' work was the basis for the hugely successful Oliver Stone film JFK.

Fifty years after the event that rocked the nation and shook the world, Marrs reveals the facts behind the most audacious cover-up of our time, how it was planned, who executed the conspiracy, who benefited from it, and ultimately why this extremely well-orchestrated assassination could be so cleverly concealed. This extensively researched audiobook includes evidence proving the Warren Commission's report was a cover-up and a smoke screen for the true conspiracy. Learn why Lee Harvey Oswald could not have been a lone gunman, and that multiple shots were fired that fateful day. The evidence does not lie and all the evidence is here. Jim Marrs takes you through the most important historical event of the 20th century - the assassination of a United States President.

Members Reviews:

needs the photos!

This audiobook is a discussion by the author mostly showing details in photos that, of course, do not appear in an audiobook.

I agree with most of his ideas, but it needs a companion pdf and should have been professionally narrated.

thought it was the book

I was expecting this to be a reading of the book. Instead, it was a highlight of certain points. Kind of disappointing

I would have paid for the original:(

I am sitting here looking at Jim Marrs hard cover book crossfire and it is 595 pages of well researched info with a few photos the book I purchased with the same name was no more then an update in audio format talking about new photos ??????? And was less the 2 hours for almost the cost of one of jims other books this is a disgrace advertising it as the original book at best and at worst like his writings a conspiracy to suppress a new resurgence of interest if you have read this far i would say this is worth getting just for the few nuggets in it but dont pay full price if you can and look in to the books Me and Lee, Dr. Marys monkey, Rise of the fourth Reich, Family of secrets, The federal reserve conspiracy, confessions of an economic hitman, The Oz factors and The creature from Jekyll island these will be a good start.

$17.95 and finished in 45 min.

Would you try another book from Jim Marrs and/or Jim Marrs and Michael J. Long ?

I don't think I would try anything in the near future. Based on his writing style which seems to be an accumulation of Wikipedia many personal interviews and regurgitated information

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The worst part, there is no ending, he leaves the story as most have left the story throughout most of the 50+ years since the assasination. . I will admit there are quite a few never heard before insignificant details that allow us all to ponder again for a very short period of time over a provocative point.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Jim Marrs and Michael J. Long ?

The actual narration was fine.

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Title: Shocking the Conscience

Subtitle: A Reporter's Account of the Civil Rights Movement

Author: Carol Mcabe Booker, Simeon Booker

Narrator: Ronald Clarkson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 54 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-05-14

Publisher: University Press Audiobooks

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 4 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Within a few years of its first issue in 1951, Jet, a pocket-sized magazine, became the "bible" for news of the civil rights movement. It was said, only half-jokingly, "If it wasn't in Jet, it didn't happen." Writing for the magazine and its glossy, big sister Ebony, for 53 years, longer than any other journalist, Washington bureau chief Simeon Booker was on the front lines of virtually every major event of the revolution that transformed America.

Rather than tracking the freedom struggle from the usually cited ignition points, Shocking the Conscience begins with a massive voting rights rally in the Mississippi Delta town of Mound Bayou in 1955. It's the first rally since the Supreme Court's Brown decision struck fear in the hearts of segregationists across the former Confederacy. It was also Booker's first assignment in the Deep South, and before the next run of the weekly magazine, the killings would begin.

Booker vowed that lynchings would no longer be ignored beyond the black press. Jet was reaching into households across America, and he was determined to cover the next murder like none before. He had only a few weeks to wait. A small item on the AP wire reported that a Chicago boy vacationing in Mississippi was missing. Booker was on it, and stayed on it, through one of the most infamous murder trials in U.S. history. His coverage of Emmett Till's death lit a fire that would galvanize the movement, while a succession of U.S. presidents wished it would go away.

This is the story of the century that changed everything about journalism, politics, and more in America, as only Simeon Booker, the dean of the black press, could tell it.

Critic Reviews:

"Simeon Booker has immersed himself in a history that many researchers have missed; he keeps opening up doors that other historians seem to have walked past. If history is a tapestry of stories, then the bright new thread running through accepted civil rights history and giving it new dimension is Simeon Booker's fresh narrative." (Hank Klibanoff, coauthor, Pulitzer Prize-winner,

The Race Beat)

"During his fifty-three years as Washington, D.C., bureau chief for Jet magazine, [Booker] earned the distinction of being called 'the dean of Black journalists in the Nation's Capital.'" (

Jet)

Members Reviews:

Powerful story

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes, learned a lot of history and Booker offered a unique perspective

What was one of the most memorable moments of Shocking the Conscience?

Definitely the story of the freedom rides

What three words best describe Ronald Clarksons performance?

monotone, lacked tonation

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

possibly... would be hard to cover all of this history in 1 movie

Any additional comments?

Audio file needs editing... several places where sentences are repeated. Book needs a different narrator.

Good memoir, marred by awful reading

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Not as an audiobook, because the reader was terrible.

How could the performance have been better?

The reader, Ronald Clarkson, was awful. He has a lovely bass voice, but his delivery seriously detracted from my enjoyment and even understanding of the text.