Download the Popular Authors Audiobooks in History, American

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Title: The Scorpion's Sting

Subtitle: Antislavery and the Coming of the Civil War

Author: James Oakes

Narrator: James Oakes

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 6 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-09-14

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

An award-winning historian illuminates the strategy for ending slavery that precipitated the crisis of civil war.

Surrounded by a ring of fire, the scorpion stings itself to death. The image, widespread among antislavery leaders before the Civil War, captures their long-standing strategy for peaceful abolition: They would surround the slave states with a cordon of freedom. They planned to use federal power wherever they could to establish freedom: the western territories, the District of Columbia, the high seas. By constricting slavery they would induce a crisis: Slaves would escape in ever-greater numbers, the southern economy would falter, and finally the southern states would abolish the institution themselves. For their part the southern states fully understood this antislavery strategy. They cited it repeatedly as they adopted secession ordinances in response to Lincoln's election.

The scorpion's sting is the centerpiece of this fresh, incisive exploration of slavery and the Civil War: Was there a peaceful route to abolition? Was Lincoln late to emancipation? What role did race play in the politics of slavery? With stunning insight James Oakes moves us ever closer to a new understanding of the most momentous events in our history.

Members Reviews:

Detailed explanation of how both sides interpreted the slogans of ...

Detailed explanation of how both sides interpreted the slogans of the other side of the slavery argument; how every issue at bottom came up with the issue could humans be property.

Purchased as a gift

I am very familiar with the abolitionists and their writings and I have always been curious about their belief that slavery could be eliminated without going to war.

Good Start, Muddled Finish

I think the Booklist reviewer got it completely right. If you are a casual Civil War buff or are more concerned with the military aspects of the conflict rather than the political, cultural and philosophical ones, this book is probably not for you. On the other hand, if legal and philosophical fine points are your daily bread, you'll likely gobble it up with gusto. After briefly explaining that most anti-slavery Americans put their hopes into a policy of containment that would cause the institution to wither and die, the author spends most of his book detailing fine points concerning the treaties that ended the American Revolution and the War of 1812. These provisions had to do with American slaves emancipated by British forces and demands by the former owners for a return of their "property" or compensation for its loss. Debates over these issues, both between Americans and British people and among Americans themselves helped lay the groundwork for U.S. emancipation as it eventually occurred in practice.

I found the book interesting in the beginning, but by the end of the first third, repetition began to set in for me, and while the overall thrust of the book casts an interesting perspective on the intellectual run up to the Civil War, I confess I found the second half to be a long-winded exercise in going over the same points again and again. Following that good first half, the book just withered away for me.

A bit esoteric

Many people will find this book a bit esoteric and less interesting that other Civil War books.

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Title: Chancellorsville 1863

Subtitle: The Souls of the Brave

Author: Ernest B. Furgurson

Narrator: Joel Richards

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 hrs and 5 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-25-14

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 8 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

For 130 years historians and military strategists have been obsessed by the battle of Chancellorsville. It began with an audaciously planned stroke by Union general Joe Hooker as he sent his army across the Rappahannock River and around Robert E. Lee's lines. It ended with that same army fleeing back in near total disarray - and Hooker's reputation in ruins.

This splendid account of Chancellorsville - the first in more than 35 years - explains Lee's most brilliant victory even as it places the battle within the larger canvas of the Civil War. Drawing on a wealth of first-hand sources, it creates a novelistic chronicle of tactics and characters while it retraces every thrust and parry of the two armies and the fateful decisions of their commanders, from Hooker's glaring display of moral weakness to the inspired risk-taking of Lee and Stonewall Jackson, who was mortally wounded by friendly fire. At once impassioned and gracefully balanced, Chancellorsville 1863 is a grand achievement in Civil War history.

Members Reviews:

Incredible battle.

This is the story of an incredible battle, and an incredibly complicated battle, told about as clearly as I suspect it can be told. The reader does a fine job, but for me the lesson here was that there are some books that are better read then heard. For instance, to listen to the story without the maps in front of you means that your understanding of what's actually happening is impressionistic. And there are times when one wants to simply stop and reread, yes, you can re-listen, but I don't think it's quite the same. So I'd say if you want to get the jist of what happened at Chancellorsville this is excellent. If you want more, read the book.

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Title: Adventures in Colonial America

Subtitle: Volume II The New Jersey Colony: A Small Colony with a Fighter's Heart (Volume 2)

Author: Mary A Baewer

Narrator: Deren Hansen

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 44 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-14-14

Publisher: Baewer Enterprises

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Adventures in Colonial America is a 13-part series focusing on the history of each of the original 13 American colonies from their founding, through expansion, the American Revolution and ultimately the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. Each volume is associated with the website adventuresincolonialamerica.com. The second installment of the website and book series coincided with Independence Day 2013, and to honor that important holiday, Chapter 1 focuses on the writing of, debate over, and ultimate signing of the Declaration of Independence. The remainder of Volume II focuses primarily on the New Jersey colony, from the founding of the colony by its two proprietors, Carteret and Berkeley, the lengthy "border war" that erupted between New Jersey and New York colonists, and the role of New Jersey during the American Revolution. The important role played by New Jersey's delegates to the Constitutional Convention - the introduction of the "New Jersey Plan" as a plan for the organization and function of the federal government - is also discussed. Special attention is given to the role played by Germans forces in the American Revolution, the demise of General Charles Lee, and the efforts of the Society of the Cincinnati to preserve our colonial history. Finally, Queen Anne's War, the second in a 6-part series on the French and Indian Wars fought in North American during the 17th and 18th Centuries, is discussed.

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Title: The Red and the White

Subtitle: A Family Saga of the American West

Author: Andrew R. Graybill

Narrator: Tom Stechschulte

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-14-14

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 11 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

One of the American Wests bloodiest - and least-known - massacres is searingly re-created in this generation-spanning history of native-white intermarriage.

National Book Award - winning histories such as The Hemingses of Monticello and Slaves in the Family have raised our awareness about Americas intimately mixed black and white past.

Award-winning western historian Andrew R. Graybill now sheds light on the overlooked interracial Native-white relationships critical in the development of the trans-Mississippi West in this multigenerational saga. Beginning in 1844 with the marriage of Montana fur trader Malcolm Clarke and his Piegan Blackfeet bride, Coth-co-co-na, Graybill traces the family from the mid-nineteenth century, when such mixed marriages proliferated, to the first half of the twentieth, when Clarke s children and grandchildren often encountered virulent prejudice. At the center of Graybills history is the virtually unexamined 1870 Marias Massacre, on a par with the more infamous slaughters at Sand Creek and Wounded Knee, an episode set in motion by the murder of Malcolm Clarke and in which Clarke s two sons rode with the Second U.S. Cavalry to kill their own blood relatives.

Members Reviews:

Interesting

Excellent biography on one of the few well known multiracial families of the west during early years of Manifest Destiny and the tail end of the Fur Trade to the events leading up to one of the least known but just as cowardly massacres of American Indians by American troops. As someone who lived in Bozeman,Montana for three years and visited the Blackfeet Indian reservation on more than one occasion, I am surprised that I never heard of the Marias Massacre. I heard of Malcolm Clarke, but only like a mere mention of him until I bought and read this excellent researched biography on him, his Pikuni Blackfeet wife and their descendants.

I bought this after hearing the author on NPR. ...

I bought this after hearing the author on NPR. Atopic I am interested in, having a native American Indian in my family, and being interested in the early fur trade. Also, the Helena Montana connection, etc. made the story interesting and I learned way more than I thought I would.

This history is very well written, and I highly suggest the book!

The Powerful Blackfeet's Challenge with White Assimilation and Violence told Through the Clarke Family

Excellent Description of Early Relations between the Blackfeet and white Traders and the challenges their off spring had in integrating in white society and a description of the Marias Massacre that was revenge for the actions of not only a few but a completely different band. The author utilizes the Malcolm Clarke family as the framework for this story of the virtual destruction of the Blackfeet due to white migration, disease (small pox), encroaching treaties, the Dawes act that forces allotment and missionaries that well meaning or not take their children to schools that attempts to negate their heritage. The book is virtually two parts, first about the early pioneer Malcolm, expelled from West Point for his violent temper, goes up the Missouri to become an accomplished trader and marries into the Blackfeet and unlike many other mountain men or traders stays with his family and raises his children to late suffer a violent death resulting in the massacre.

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Title: America at War

Subtitle: Concise Histories of U.S. Military Conflicts from Lexington to Afghanistan

Author: Terence T. Finn

Narrator: Sean Pratt

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-07-14

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 30 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

War-organized violence against an enemy of the state-seems part and parcel of the American journey. Indeed, the United States was established by means of violence as ordinary citizens from New Hampshire to Georgia answered George Washington's call to arms. Since then, war has become a staple of American history. Counting the War for Independence, the United States has fought the armed forces of other nations at least twelve times, averaging a major conflict every twenty years. In so doing, the objectives have been simple: advance the cause of freedom, protect U.S. interests, and impose America's will upon a troubled world. More often than not, the results have been successful as America's military has accounted itself well. Yet the cost has been high, in both blood and treasure. Americans have fought and died around the globe - on land, at sea, and in the air. Without doubt, their actions have shaped the world in which we live.

In this comprehensive collection, Terence T. Finn provides a set of narratives - each concise and accessible - on the twelve major wars America has fought. He explains what happened, and why such places as Saratoga and Antietam, Manila Bay and Midway are important to an understanding of America's past. Listeners will easily be able to brush up on their history and acquaint themselves with those individuals and events that have helped define the United States of America.

Members Reviews:

Good book

I liked how it took me through all of the conflicts we've been involved in.

Fabulous history of US wars

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes--interesting and concise look at wars/conflict. I was not generally interested in wars, but this book was a perfect description of how the wars started, how they progressed, and how they ended. More importantly, the author summarized and gave his opinion on who won and who lost and what other outcomes were significant.

What was one of the most memorable moments of America at War?

I was struck by the author's determination that dropping the atomic bomb in Japan actually saved lives because the Japanese would not otherwise have given up and more would die in battle.

What does Sean Pratt bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you just read the book?

Excellent performer--perfect way to present this material.

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

I was struck by the author's determination that dropping the atomic bomb in Japan actually saved lives because the Japanese would not otherwise have given up and more would die in battle. Every story had a interesting perspective.

Great

Would you listen to America at War again? Why?

I think i would, maybe not in its entirety but it is a very well done book.

What other book might you compare America at War to and why?

I had just read 1776 by David McCullough and listened to 48 lectures on the civil war from the teaching company great courses series (offered on audible) prior to listening to this and from the thorough accounts in the former you can tell the author of America at War really did his homework to create a concise but still very rich accounts of each war.

Have you listened to any of Sean Pratts other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't, but i may check his stuff out. It was good.

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Title: Fire Base Illingworth

Subtitle: An Epic True Story of Remarkable Courage Against Staggering Odds

Author: Philip Keith

Narrator: Michael Prichard

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-06-14

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 60 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

In the early morning hours of April 1, 1970, more than four hundred North Vietnamese soldiers charged out into the open and tried to overrun FSB Illingworth. The battle went on, mostly in the dark, for hours. Exposed ammunition canisters were hit and blew up, causing a thunderous explosion inside the FSB that left dust so thick it jammed the hand-held weapons of the GIs. Much of the combat was hand-to-hand. In all, twenty-four Americans lost their lives and another fifty-four were wounded.

Nearly one hundred enemy bodies were recovered. It was one of the most vicious small-unit firefights in the history of U.S. forces in Vietnam. As in his acclaimed book Blackhorse Riders, a finalist for the prestigious Colby Award, Phil Keith uncovers a harrowing true story of bravery and sacrifice by the men who fought valiantly to hold FSB Illingworth-a tale never-before-told and one that will not be soon forgotten.

Critic Reviews:

"A harrowing tale that centers on an exhausted, ragtag group of U.S. Army troops as they fought for their lives against a 400-man North Vietnamese Army regiment in a vicious engagement in 1970. The heart of the book is a virtually minute-by-minute description of the fighting." (

Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

The Most of Courageous Soldier's

The North Vietnamese attacked and the American infantry fought valiantly but still lost too many men. However, when it was communicated to HQ, the men were not given permission to leave. They were to maintain their readiness to fight and be ready for another confrontation with the NV.

The NV had named the FSB, Fire Base Illingworth, after one of the first American soldier's to die there. It was common to name an FSB after someone who had died and fought courageously. This courage was definitely evident when Illingworth had attempted to place the missile inside the tube so that the other operator would be able to fire the missile. While attempting to ensure its accuracy the missile exploded and Illingworth was killed.

There was yet another battle conducted at Illingworth but it was still deemed by those in command not to allow them to move to another site. The NV knew where the men had their fox holes, where a stockpile of unwanted ammunition had been delivered via hilo. Ammunition was sorely needed but not the kind that was now stockpiled in that one spot. In fact, the NV knew where everything was located at the base. The cafeteria was hit and still the men had to stay. What would it take to allow this beleaguered group of men to move to another site?

The commander who gave the orders to remain at Illingworth was reported to his superior when the soldier's who had not been killed returned to their relief post after the harrowing battles that were allowed to take place at Illingworth.

The true story of Fire Base Illingworth was filled with action, suspense and edge of my seat listening. The book filled me with disbelief, anger, frustration and the inability to understand why those men had been made to stay and fight a losing battle. The soldier's were being picked off by the sharp shooters. While the men hurried to their fox holes they were shot. Why? Because the NV had the site mapped out and knew where each and every fox hole was located. They begged and I do mean begged to leave the site. However, the men would not disobey their commander's orders.

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Title: A Rare Recording of Helen Keller, Anne Sullivan, and Polly Thompson

Author: Helen Keller, Anne Sullivan, Polly Thompson

Narrator: Helen Keller, Anne Sullivan, Polly Thompson

Format: Original Recording

Length: 5 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-04-13

Publisher: Listen & Live Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Helen Keller was born on June 27, 1880, in Tuscumbia, Alabama. Though born with the ability to see and hear, at 19 months-old she contracted an acute illness that left her both deaf and blind. Eventually, 20-year-old Anne Sullivan, herself visually impaired, became Keller's speech instructor. It was the beginning of a 49-year-long relationship during which Sullivan evolved into Keller's governess and eventually her companion. In 1914, Sullivan's health began to fail, so a young woman from Scotland, Polly Thompson was hired to keep house. Though she had no experience with deaf or blind people, Thompson progressed to working as a secretary, and eventually a constant companion to Keller. Keller went on to become a world-famous speaker and author. She was a suffragist, a pacifist, a radical socialist, and a birth control advocate. In 1915 she and George Kessler founded the Helen Keller International organization, devoted to research in vision, health and nutrition. In 1920 she helped to found the American Civil Liberties Union.

Members Reviews:

Too short!

I'd love to have heard more. Are there more recordings anywhere? Tads yada yada yada

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Title: Washington's Crossing

Subtitle: America's First D-Day

Author: Robert Child

Narrator: Fred Kennedy

Format: Unabridged

Length: 44 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-11-13

Publisher: Continental Film Alliance, LLC

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

A story of bravery, seduction and saving a revolution - George Washington's finest hour.

Our first President is often remembered as a humble, grey wigged, elder statesman. But by the end of 1776 the American Revolution almost came to an end. General Washington made a bold move that saved the American cause. The Continental Army Crossed the Delaware River on Christmas Day to attack the Hessians in Trenton. This was America's First D-day.

In a clear concise narrative this audiobook transports you back to the early days of this nation when America's future hung in the balance.

Members Reviews:

book is a scam, not the book you think your buying

I could have written this book, its nothing then a essay and not the full book you think your buying.

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Title: George B. McClellan and Civil War History

Subtitle: In the Shadow of Grant and Sherman

Author: Thomas J. Rowland

Narrator: Kirk Winkler

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-19-13

Publisher: University Press Audiobooks

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 10 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Perhaps no other Union commander's reputation has been the subject of as much controversy as George B. McClellan's.

Thomas J. Rowland presents a framework in which early Civil War command can be viewed without direct comparison to that of the final two years. Such comparisons, in his opinion, are both unfair and contextually inaccurate. Only by understanding how very different was the context and nature of the war facing McClellan, as opposed to Grant and Sherman, can one discard the traditional "good general-bad general" approach to command performance. In such a light, McClellan's career, both his shortcomings and accomplishments, can be viewed with clearer perspective.

Critic Reviews:

"Good reading that can be enjoyed by both the general public and Civil War specialists." (Trenton Times)

Members Reviews:

A different perspective

George McClellan almost universally gets a bad rap for his performance in the Civil War. The author argues that this is perhaps not entirely justified. He doesn't claim that he was a great general, just that if the same criteria are applied to the more celebrated generals a more balanced perspective can be gained. The book is perhaps overly redundant, but the point seems to be valid.

Want objective bio? Keep looking.

Any additional comments?

Because of the controversy surrounding Gen. McClellan, I've been looking for an objective biography of him. Most accounts of him in other books are so vitriolic, it leaves you wondering how someone that appears to be traitorous could command for so long. So I wanted to experience a non-biased biography of his life. Unfortunately, this wasn't it. There are few details about the man himself that might give someone an image of him; perhaps the details are lost to time. The biggest problem is that the author spends so much time defending Gen. McClellan by making vitriolic condemnations of McClellan's contemporaries that you are almost hearing, "I know I am, but what are you?" throughout the book.

I appreciate Mr. Rowland's efforts; he obviously knows history, but this effort does little to improve someone's ability to discover whether McClellan was unfairly maligned or really was as bad as he is portrayed elsewhere.

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Title: The Ancient Southwest: Chaco Canyon, Bandelier, and Mesa Verde

Author: David E. Stuart

Narrator: Todd Curless

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 51 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-19-13

Publisher: University Press Audiobooks

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 12 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Over twenty-five years ago, David Stuart began writing award-winning newspaper articles on regional archaeology that appealed to general readers. These columns shared interesting, and usually little-known, facts and stories about the ancient people and places of the Southwest.

By 1985, Stuart had penned enough columns to fill a book, Glimpses of the Ancient Southwest, which has been unavailable for years. Now he has rewritten most of his original articles to include recently discovered information about Chaco Canyon, Bandelier, and Mesa Verde.

Stuart's unusual perspective focuses on both the past and the present: 'Want to know why gasoline now costs $4.00 a gallon, and is headed higher, yet we have no instant solution? Chacoan, Roman, even Egyptian archaeology all provide elemental answers.' The Ancient Southwest shares those with us.

Critic Reviews:

"

The Ancient Southwest is a layman's primer, filled with delightful anecdotes about the fantastic ruins of the Southwest and the archaeologists who study them." (

American Archaeology)

"Stuart's writing is heavily researched and provides very much insight for readers to enjoy on the topic.

The Ancient Southwest is informed and information reading for non-specialist general readers curious about ancient peoples, their cultures, lifestyles, and artifacts." (

Midwest Book Review)

"Fascinating." (

Tucson Citizen)

Members Reviews:

Fascinating but read terribly

Sadly ruined by old time computer sounding reader - such a shame - however - a must listen if you're a southwest lover,