Download the New Releases Audiobooks in History, Military

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Title: The Last Lost World

Subtitle: Ice Ages, Human Origins, and the Invention of the Pleistocene

Author: Lydia V. Pyne, Stephen J. Pyne

Narrator: Walter Dixon

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-15-12

Publisher: Gildan Media, LLC

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 28 votes

Genres: History, World

Publisher's Summary:

An enlightening investigation of the Pleistocenes dual character as a geologic time - and as a cultural idea.

The Pleistocene is the epoch of geologic time closest to our own. Its a time of ice ages, global migrations, and mass extinctions - of woolly rhinos, mammoths, giant ground sloths, and not least early species of Homo. Its the world that created ours. But outside that environmental story there exists a parallel narrative that describes how our ideas about the Pleistocene have emerged. This story explains the place of the Pleistocene in shaping intellectual culture, and the role of a rapidly evolving culture in creating the idea of the Pleistocene and in establishing its dimensions. This second story addresses how the epoch, its Earth-shaping events, and its creatures, both those that survived and those that disappeared, helped kindle new sciences and a new origins story as the sciences split from the humanities as a way of looking at the past.

Ultimately, it is the story of how the dominant creature to emerge from the frost-and-fire world of the Pleistocene came to understand its place in the scheme of things. A remarkable synthesis of science and history, The Last Lost World describes the world that made our modern one.

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Title: The Afghan Wars: History in an Hour

Author: Rupert Colley

Narrator: Jonathan Keeble

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 26 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-02-12

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 75 votes

Genres: History, World

Publisher's Summary:

Britain has invaded Afghanistan twice before in the nineteenth century. Both times tenacious Afghan fighters defended their country to humiliating British defeats. The Soviet Union also discovered what a tough enemy the Afghans are after nearly a decade of conflict from 1979 to 1989. When not fighting foreign invaders, Afghanistan was torn apart by Civil War from 1990 to 1996, resulting in victory for the Taliban.

The Afghan Wars in an Hour is an excellent way to learn all about the complex wars that have been fought in Afghanistan for almost four decades. It explains who the Taliban and the Mujahedeen are, how their politics work, why Osama Bin Laden was so significant, and why it is so hard to achieve peace Afghanistan, all in just one hour.

Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour

Critic Reviews:

"If the past is a foreign country, History in an Hour is like a high-class tour operator, offering delightfully enjoyable short breaks in the rich and diverse continent of our shared past." (Dominic Sandbrook)

"The practice of History is ever-evolving, and the History In An Hour idea brings it back up to date for the digital age." (Andrew Roberts, Bookseller)

"This is genius." (MacWorld.com)

Members Reviews:

informative

very well read by the reader and very informative . the book covers alot of important topics .

Informative

Just as promised. A brief summary of the Afghan wars along with interesting commentary. I enjoyed it

Great value great insights

Great series of which this is not the least. Informative, well performed, to the point and well balanced....stuff you wish they told you at school.

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Title: The Gurkhas: Special Force

Author: Chris Bellamy

Narrator: Seán Barrett

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-01-12

Publisher: Isis Publishing Ltd

Genres: History, Military

Publisher's Summary:

The Gurkhas have fought on behalf of Britain and India for nearly 200 years. As brave as they are resourceful, they have earned a reputation as devastating fighters, with an unswerving loyalty to the Crown. But who are the Gurkhas?

Award-winning historian Chris Bellamy uncovers the Gurkhas` origins in the Hills of Nepal, the extraordinary circumstances in which the British decided to recruit them, and their rapid emergence as elite troops. Bellamy looks at the wars the Gurkhas have fought this century, from the two world wars through the Falklands to Iraq and Afghanistan, and examines their remarkable status now, when each year 11,000 hopefuls apply for just over 170 places in the British Army Gurkhas.

Critic Reviews:

"thoroughly researched and clearly written." (

Observer)

Members Reviews:

Worthy but doesn't come to life

A fascinating history is surely there to be written of the Ghukhas, but this account which crosses all the t's and dots all the i's fails to come to life. I longed for a Anthony Beevor or Max Hastings while listening to this and for first time failed to finish it. Sorry

praise for the gurkhas

i found this presentation clear,concise and easy follow the subject matter being interesting and informative

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Titre: Des Gaulois aux Carolingiens (Histoire de France 1)

Auteur: Bruno Dumézil

Narrateur: Bruno Dumézil

Format: Original Recording

Durée: 4 hrs and 46 mins

Langue: Français

Date de publication: 02-29-12

Éditeur: Frémeaux & Associés

Evaluation: 5 sur 5 sur 4 votes

Genres: History, World

Résumé de l'éditeur:

Pour la première fois, l'éditeur des savoirs, les Presses Universitaires de France, et la maison de disques culturels de référence Frémeaux & Associés, s'associent pour proposer des cours particuliers sur l'histoire de France, racontée, expliquée et analysée par les plus grands universitaires.

En près de cinq heures, cet audio retrace l'histoire de France depuis les Gaulois jusqu'à la fin de l'empire carolingien, incarnée par Bruno Dumézil, spécialiste d'histoire médiévale.

Claude Colombini-Frémeaux

L'intervenant

Normalien et agrégé d'histoire,

est maître de conférences à l'université Paris ouest Nanterre La Défense ainsi que membre junior de l'Institut Universitaire de France. Il a publié plusieurs ouvrages sur le haut Moyen-Age occidental dont

,

,

,

,

, et

.

(p) 2012 Groupe Frémeaux Colombini SAS

© 2012 Frémeaux & Associés / PUF

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Title: All Hell Let Loose

Author: Max Hastings

Narrator: Cameron Stewart

Format: Unabridged

Length: 32 hrs and 16 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-14-12

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 22 votes

Genres: History, World

Publisher's Summary:

The complete magisterial history of the greatest and most terrible event in history, from one of the finest historians of the Second World War. This shows the impact of war upon hundreds of millions of people around the world - soldiers, sailors and airmen; housewives, farm workers and children.

Reflecting Max Hastings's 35 years of research on World War II, All Hell Let Loose describes the course of events, but focuses chiefly upon human experience. There are vivid descriptions of the tragedies and triumphs of a host of ordinary people, in uniform and out of it, in an 'everyman's story'.

This is now the entire audiobook, not in two parts.

Members Reviews:

Standard world war 2 account plus personal corresp

There are many alternatives if you are looking for books about WW2. I recently read the not so creatively named "second world war" by Anthony Beevor, a thousand page book that gives the reader a comprehensive account of the entire war.

All hell breaks loose is in many ways similar to Beevors book, however, it did not seem to put as much emphasis on covering all aspects of the war. Instead this book frequently quoted personal correspondence from people who were involved in the war. Indeed I think that this is the primary reason why someone should choose rather than some other book.

You often read or hear about wars and the number of fatalities and how many starved etc etc, however, it is very hard to take the perspective of the individuals involved. The letters and diaries in this book takes you one step closer. Upon reading such material you can easily feel a bit ill (unless you are a complete psychopath), but at least for me the stronger feeling is one of gratitude that you have not been caught up in a war...

Reviewing my notes on this book I realized that it also contained quite a bit of information that was new to me, things that I had not considered important before. For example, the author convincingly argues that had Germany not attacked England with their airforce, England would not have been able to maintain the moral of their army and the political climate would probably have swayed towards peace with Hitler.

Another slightly comical story relates to Italy's inability to do, well, anything at all. As a part of a propaganda stunt meant to demonstrate the superiority of the Italians, a boxing fight was arranged between a famous boxer and an African man woo had never boxed before. Much to Mussolini dismay, the African man knocked the professional Italian boxer unconscious...

All in all, this book is kind of average if you are looking to get an overview of the war, however if you want to understand better what it was like for the soldiers and civilians who were actually involved in the war, this book is a sound choice. It is not that optimistic to suggest that there will be no conflict as destructive as WW2 again.

Narration is amazing!

Any additional comments?

The best narrator in the business. Sheer pleasure to listen, even if you are not interested in WWII. Cameron Stewart should cover all the books in the store, and earn tonnes of money for his narration.

A superb history of the second world war

This is a very long book, but I was gripped throughout by the fast-paced narrative that illuminated the horrors of war and the extraordinary heroism of the men and women who put up with unspeakable conditions in all the theatres of war.

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Title: The Vikings

Subtitle: A History

Author: Robert Ferguson

Narrator: Michael Page

Format: Unabridged

Length: 14 hrs and 49 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-06-12

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 117 votes

Genres: History, World

Publisher's Summary:

From Robert Ferguson comes a comprehensive and thrilling history, based on the latest scholarship, that offers the definitive portrait of the Vikings.

Critic Reviews:

"Integrating archaeological, genetic, linguistic, and literary information, Ferguson realizes a Viking history bound to satisfy." (Booklist)

Members Reviews:

Good Historical Overview

This book is a well written historical summary of the Viking age. I would recommend it as the first book you read in order to meet the vikings for the first time. The book covers many topics, but the overall theme is the struggle between Christianity and Heathendom in Scandinavian during the middle age.

A Good Overview of Viking History

Any additional comments?

As someone who loves history, I enjoyed and benefited from listening to this book. It covers all the major peoples, cultures, and events of the Viking age. Those who aren't into history may find some aspects of it (such as discussions of Viking politics) a little more dry than others. My only complaint was that the author's thematic or topical approach to the subject (focusing on groups or areas at a time) made it hard to see the history of vikings as a whole or tie the pieces together chronologically. This can be a problem in general when trying to tackle a broad historical topic however. Overall, this was an enjoyable and beneficial read and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested.

best vikings course.

the great courses is probably better on the greater world of the viking age, but I find this one to be better on the vikings themselves, as well as some of the details. also, this is much more engaging in prose, as well as far better narrated. the only thing i miss is a more detailed account of hardrada, the last viking king.

Interesting but hard to follow at times

What did you like best about The Vikings? What did you like least?

I liked the interesting comments he made about viking culture and warfare; I dislike how much everything jumped around and DID NOT follow a time sequence. One sentence we're in the 700s ad, the other the 10000s, then back to the 800s, etc.

If youve listened to books by Robert Ferguson before, how does this one compare?

Haven't.

Which scene was your favorite?

N/A

Was The Vikings worth the listening time?

Almost

Not a bad listen just a ton of information

The format is a ton of dates and kind of feels all over the place which makes it a bit harder to follow in audio format. I imagine the hard copy would be easier with margin notes and such. It is just a ton of information that is almost squeezed into a small space.

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Title: The Fracture Zone

Subtitle: A Return to the Balkans

Author: Simon Winchester

Narrator: Steven Crossley

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-29-11

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 59 votes

Genres: History, World

Publisher's Summary:

Award-winning journalist and author Simon Winchester takes readers on a personal tour of the Balkans. Combining history and interviews with the people who live there, Winchester offers a fascinating glimpse into the complex issues at work in this chaotic region. Unrest in the Balkans has gone on for centuries. A seasoned reporter, Winchester visited the region twenty years ago. When Kosovo reached crisis level in 1997, Winchester thought a return visit to the beleaguered area would help to make sense out of the awful violence. He decided to use Vienna and Istanbul, two great cities whose rivalries helped create the dynamics at work today, as the beginning and end points of his trip. Not specifically a book about war, it is more a portrait of a place and its people in turmoil. Simon Winchester offers an insightful look at a little understood conflict. Steven Crossleys masterful narration will make listeners feel as if they have entered the combat zone.

Members Reviews:

Loved this-Great combo:Story and History Explained

Would you listen to The Fracture Zone again? Why?

Probably not as I don't typically listen to books like this again, but it was very interesting and informative.

What did you like best about this story?

Was looking for an audio book that gave me a framework of the issues in the Balkans and this does so within the structure of an interesting and entertaining story so wasn't as dry as a history text.

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite was actually how he sprinkled in the historical background within the scenes, so you learned while you were entertained.

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

All of the unnecessary violence was upsetting but informative.

Any additional comments?

Was just really pleasantly surprised with this book. Figured I'd pick up on some history through an adventure travel type of story but really got both in a great way. Really happy with this book.

Winchesters only boring work

The narrator may lend most of the pomp and slowness of the audiobook, but I suspect it would be somewhat boring in any format. It's more a stuffy travel memoir and less the captivating tale of how society and geography intertwine that mr.winchester is known for.

And the last chapter is accidentally truncated in this performance

wonderful

no struggling to finish and heard it twice

with new awareness. shared with friends east coast and west

Early Simon Winchester

This book contains all the elements of his later works. Descriptive, memorable characters and an understanding of the geological forces that shape a landscape. By necessity this was written in the first person, so it becomes a kind of painful travelogue as the author describes horrific acts of barbarism and hatred that was occurring in the Balkans at that time. And, as with all his books, he is able to find and relate great beauty, humor and humanity amidst the tragedy. One can even understand his bewilderment over the fact that all of this was occurring in Europe at the end of the twentieth century while not necessarily sharing in the sentiment. While there are many other Simon Winchester books that I would recommend over this, for those of us who are deep fans of his writing, this is a good one to go back to.

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Title: Born in Africa

Subtitle: The Quest for the Origins of Human Life

Author: Martin Meredith

Narrator: Joe Barrett

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 57 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-08-11

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 40 votes

Genres: History, World

Publisher's Summary:

Africa does not give up its secrets easily. Buried there lie answers about the origins of humankind. After a century of investigation, scientists have transformed our understanding about the beginnings of human life. But vital clues still remain hidden.

In Born in Africa, Martin Meredith follows the trail of discoveries about human origins made by scientists over the last hundred years, recounting their intense rivalry, personal feuds, and fierce controversies, as well as their feats of skill and endurance. The results have been momentous. Scientists have identified more than 20 species of extinct humans. They have firmly established Africa as the birthplace not only of humankind but also of modern humans. They have revealed how early technology, language ability, and artistic endeavour all originated in Africa; and they have shown how small groups of Africans spread out from Africa in an exodus 60,000 years ago to populate the rest of the world. We have all inherited an African past.

Critic Reviews:

"An appealing account of human evolution and the fiercely competitive anthropologists who are unearthing our ancestors remains and arguing over what they mean. The author does a superb job of describing the nuts-and-bolts of field research, the meaning of the often headline-producing findings and the ever-changing variety of species who split off from the common ancestors of chimpanzees and hominids." (Kirkus Reviews)

Members Reviews:

Up to date interesting

A great book filled with great information. This book is as much about the people who made the discoveries as the discoveries themselves. Personally I would have preferred less of the people story but regardless it was well worth the read and I got a huge amount of information from the book.

A Brief History of Paleoanthropology

Born in Africa provides an overview of our human ancestors along with those responsible for the discoveries. I thought it was a nice balance between evolutionary science and simply telling the story of the individuals and what they faced. Martin Meredith did not shy away from pointing out the competing groups, as well as some of the politics and even supposed back-stabbing that happened between prominent paleoanthropologists. If you are looking for something that gets in to the down and dirty of human ancestry, look elsewhere. However I think this is must read for any anthropology student or anyone looking for a foundation in the history of human ancestry.

Good history, weak science

A very nice history of work on human fossils. Shortcomings in over simplistic representation of modern debates

Also, nearly complete absence of discussion of impact of colonialism and racism.

Fingernails on a chalk board.

If you could sum up Born in Africa in three words, what would they be?

Ruined by Narrator.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

This narrator obviously knew nothing of the topic. Perhaps he would do well reading a novel of a non-scientific topic, set in America but his mispronunciation of scientific words as well as Swahili proper names was painful to listen to. It took away so much from my enjoyment of the book. I wold not listen to another book read by this man. His failure to correctly pronounce scientific vernacular caused me to question much about the book.

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Title: Yiddish Civilisation: The Rise and Fall of a Forgotten Nation

Author: Paul Kriwaczek

Narrator: Robert Blumenfeld

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 57 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-17-11

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 14 votes

Genres: History, World

Publisher's Summary:

Tracing Yiddish civilization from its roots in the Diaspora to the present, Paul Kriwaczek combines intimate family anecdote, travelogue, historical research, and interviews with scholars to give us a rich portrait of a nearly extinguished culture as it survived across the centuries. He begins his chronicle in Jerusalem, with the destruction of the Jewish temple at the hands of the Romans in the year 70. We see the burgeoning exile population disperse, moving outward and northward throughout the following centuries, making their mark in more far flung cities under Roman rule. As these communities settle and coalesce, a self-governing Yiddish world takes root, spreading from the Rhineland and Bavaria to Western Russia and the Ukraine. By its late-medieval heyday, this economically successful, intellectually adventurous, and largely self-ruling Yiddish society is a presence from the Baltic to the Black Sea. Kriwaczek reflects upon the development of Yiddish language, occupations, social life, art, music, and literature, and introduces us to notable diplomats, artists, and thinkers. He chronicles the slow decline of Yiddish culture in Europe and Russia, beginning in the 17th century with the Chmielnicki Massacres in the Ukraine and culminating in the Holocaust, and looks further to fresh offshoots in the New World, ultimately celebrating what remains of Yiddish culture in our own time.

Critic Reviews:

"Both highly readable and coherent." (

Tucson Citizen)

"Fascinating....Evocative and precise....An enjoyable narrative that captures the intricacies of a very complicated history." (

Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Not the usual "muddy" telling of the "Yiddish" contribution to Jewish Civilization.

Krawaczek's focus on the rise of the "Yiddish Civilization" provides an at times jarring, but always interesting point of view, against which to measure the usual foundation of histories that find Yiddish important, but not at the centre of the rise of a "civilization." As a Yiddish speaker who is very close to his Eastern European roots --though born in North America-- the study made me give the book to my son and say -- "ok, here's something you can read that doesn't slide in the same mud as the usual Jewish studies. Enjoy."

Considerable detail does not become tedious. This is an overview of the history of ...

This book is most informative with a different perspective of the past. Considerable detail does not become tedious. This is an overview of the history of the Jewish people that does not pull punches, but is riveting and challenging.

Things that folk history didn't tell you....

This is mostly about what happened in the periods between the expulsions and the pogroms, and, while digressive, is quite fascinating

Great, clear

Great, clear, readable, with a lot of interesting insights into the development of a unique culture, which grew very differently in Europe than in its desert homeland.

Five Stars

love it !!!

Thanks

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Title: India

Subtitle: A Portrait

Author: Patrick French

Narrator: Walter Dixon

Format: Unabridged

Length: 17 hrs and 12 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-06-11

Publisher: Gildan Media, LLC

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 73 votes

Genres: History, World

Publisher's Summary:

A monumental biography of the subcontinent from the award-winning author of The World Is What It Is: The Authorized Biography of V. S. Naipaul.

Second only to China in the magnitude of its economic miracle and second to none in its potential to shape the new century, India is fast undergoing one of the most momentous transformations the world has ever seen. In this dazzlingly panoramic book, Patrick French chronicles that epic change, telling human stories to explain a larger national narrative.

Melding on-the-ground reports with a deep knowledge of history, French exposes the cultural foundations of Indias political, economic and social complexities. He reveals how a nation identified with some of the most wretched poverty on earth has simultaneously developed an envied culture of entrepreneurship (here are stories like that of C. K. Ranganathan, who trudged the streets of Cuddalore in the 1980s selling sample packets of shampoo and now employs more than one thousand people). And even more remarkably, French shows how, despite the ancient and persistent traditions of caste, as well as a mind-boggling number of ethnicities and languages, India has nevertheless managed to cohere, evolving into the worlds largest democracy, largely fulfilling Jawaharlal Nehrus dream of a secular liberal order.

Frenchs inquiry goes to the heart of all the puzzlements that modern India presents: Is this country actually rich or poor? Why has its Muslim population, the second largest on earth, resisted radicalization to such a considerable extent? Why do so many children of Indians who have succeeded in the West want to return home, despite never having lived in India? Will India become a natural ally of the West, a geostrategic counterweight to the illiberal rising powers China and Russia? To find the answers, French seeks out an astonishing range of characters: from Maoist revolutionaries to Mafia dons, from chained quarry laborers to self-made billionaires. And he delves into the personal lives of the political elite, including the Italian-born Sonia Gandhi, one of the most powerful women in the world.

With a familiarity and insight few Westerners could approach, Patrick French provides a vital corrective to the many outdated notions about a uniquely dynamic and consequential nation. His India is a thrilling revelation.

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