Download the Top 100 Audiobooks in History, American

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Title: The Dawn of Innovation

Subtitle: The First American Industrial Revolution

Author: Charles R. Morris

Narrator: David Colacci

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-23-12

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 56 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

In the 30 years after the Civil War, the United States blew by Great Britain to become the greatest economic power in world history. That is a well-known period in history, when titans like Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and J. P. Morgan walked the earth.

But as Charles R. Morris shows us, the platform for that spectacular growth spurt was built in the first half of the century. By the 1820s, America was already the world's most productive manufacturer and the most intensely commercialized society in history. The War of 1812 jump-started the great New England cotton mills, the iron centers in Connecticut and Pennsylvania, and the forges around the Great Lakes. In the decade after the War, the Midwest was opened by entrepreneurs.

In this book, Morris paints a vivid panorama of a new nation buzzing with the work of creation. He also points out the parallels and differences in the 19th century American/British standoff and that between China and America today.

Critic Reviews:

"The author is at his best when he focuses on the people behind the technology. . . . Morris' research is thorough. . . . Ambitious." (Kirkus)

Members Reviews:

Couldn't put it down!

Any additional comments?

I was basically looking for something to fill in my gaps in knowledge of 19th Century history, and was expecting this to be informative but dry. Instead, I was surprised how much I loved this book! We get histories of the major players in the American industrial revolution, what they innovated and what effect their mass production had on society. I learned about company towns that sprang up in Massachusetts, New York and Ohio. The author quotes (often British) observers of this societal leap forward as varied as Frances Trollpe, Isabella Lucy Bird, and Dickens himself. The history begins with Marc Brunel's pulley block factory in Portsmouth, England which started the British industrial revolution, then continues on with his son, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, considered one of the greatest Britons of all time. Then we move to America where the idea of mass production gets applied to nearly every possible commercial product possible. The author always notes how each industry changes American lives, whether the change occurs in war, transportation, clothing or diet. This book perfectly synthesizes in-depth information while taking the widest view possible. The eventual supremacy of the U.S. over Britain is always alluded to, but it is finally dealt with by examining the condescending attitudes toward American ingenuity that prevailed in Britain throughout the 19th Century. However, although Americans were incredibly adaptable, they also had the advantage of starting out in the comfortable position of Number Two, enabling them to develop others' long-gestating ideas, if not outright stealing them. The author then jumps ahead to the 1950s and 60s when Japan managed the same trick with the U.S., and today when China has begun to steal intellectual property from its close partners Germany and the U.S. You won't find many history books with a point of view that so clearly draws parallels between two centuries ago and today. This book was as thrilling as the time it evoked.

How our industries started

This is an interesting book with lots of detailed information that was presented in an interesting way. The book covers the time frame from 1780 to 2012.

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Title: Why America Failed: The Roots of Imperial Decline

Author: Morris Berman

Narrator: Mark Bramhall

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-01-12

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 35 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Why America Failed shows how, from its birth as a nation of "hustlers" to its collapse as an empire, the tools of the country's expansion proved to be the instruments of its demise.

This is the third and most engaging volume of Morris Berman's trilogy on the decline of the American empire. In The Twilight of American Culture, Berman examined the internal factors of that decline, showing that they were identical to those of Rome in its late-empire phase. In Dark Ages America, he explored the external factors - e.g., the fact that both empires were ultimately attacked from the outside - and the relationship between the events of 9/11 and the history of U.S. foreign policy.

In his most ambitious work to date, Berman looks at the "why" of it all. This book:

Why America Failed is a controversial work, one that will shock, anger, and transform its listeners. The book is a stimulating and provocative explanation of how we managed to wind up in our current situation: economically weak, politically passe, socially divided, and culturally adrift. It is a tour de force, a powerful conclusion to Berman's study of American imperial decline.

Critic Reviews:

"Morris Berman is one of our most prescient and important social and cultural critics. He marries a laser-like intelligence with a deep moral core. His writing is as lucid and crisp as it is insightful. His newest book, Why America Failed, rips open the dark and dying carcass of empire. His analysis is sobering and often depressing. But the truth at this stage in the game is depressing, very depressing. Those who refuse to face this truth because it is unpleasant, because it does not inspire happy thoughts or offer false hope, are in flight from the real. The collective retreat into self-delusion has transformed huge swaths of the American populace into a peculiar species of adult-children who live in a Peter Pan world of make believe where reality is never permitted to be animpediment to desire. It is too bad Berman, who sees and writes about all this with a stunning clarity, lives in Mexico. It gets lonely up here." (Chris Hedges, author of Death of the Liberal Class and Empire of Illusion)

"Morris Berman's masterpiece is a brutally honest, wonderfully crafted,exceptionally well-documented treatise on how America was spawned, several hundred years ago, to devour its offspring - financially, socially, and technologically. Why America Failed shines a harsh, unavoidable light upon the cunning business mindset at the core of America's creation, expansion, and devolution. Berman describes with stunning clarity how and why the 'hustler' mentality, upon which our country was predicated, eviscerated alternative moral or social doctrines, and thus incorporated the seeds of our self-destruction from its very inception. This book is as uncomfortable to read as it is impossible to miss." (Nomi Prins, author of It Takes a Pillage and Other People's Money)

"Morris Berman noticed that it's not morning in America anymore. His message may wake up the millions who are oversleeping while the late-day storm clouds gather over this land." (James Howard Kunstler, author of The Long Emergency)

Members Reviews:

Some truth. And a lot of nonsense.

I can't disagree with many of Morris Berman's assertions.

Yes, moronic, vulgar, violent aspects of U.S.

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Title: The Steps to the Supreme Court: A Guided Tour of the American Legal System

Author: Peter Irons

Narrator: Nicholas Tecosky

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-31-12

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 21 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

A guide to the American legal system, told through the story of two actual court cases.

The Steps to the Supreme Court takes a lively, narrative approach to the subject by following two real cases - one civil, one criminal - as they work their way through the system, all the way up to the Supreme Court. Written by a member of the Supreme Court bar, this book brings the legal system to life in a practical, accessible, and compelling way.

Members Reviews:

For about book about the Legal System this is ok.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

This book is just Ok. I have not read many books about the Legal System that I like or love.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Not sure how you can make the legal system enjoyable.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Yes.

Do you think The Steps to the Supreme Court: A Guided Tour of the American Legal System needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

This is a subject that can always be revisited and expanded.

Any additional comments?

Good book for understanding the basics of the Legal System.

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Title: Frontiers

Subtitle: A Short History of the American West

Author: Robert V. Hine, John Mack Faragher

Narrator: Jeff Riggenbach

Format: Unabridged

Length: 14 hrs

Language: English

Release date: 07-13-12

Publisher: University Press Audiobooks

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 40 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Published in 2000 to critical acclaim, The American West: A New Interpretive History quickly became the standard in college history courses. Now Robert V. Hine and John Mack Faragher offer a concise edition of their classic, freshly updated. Lauded for their lively and elegant writing, the authors provide a grand survey of the colorful history of the American West, from the first contacts between Native Americans and Europeans to the beginning of the 21st century.

Frontiers introduces the diverse peoples and cultures of the American West and explores how men and women of different ethnic groups were affected when they met, mingled, and often clashed. Hine and Faragher present the complexities of the American West - as frontier and region, real and imagined, old and new. Showcasing the distinctive voices and experiences of frontier characters, they explore topics ranging from early exploration to modern environmentalism, drawing expansively from a wide range of sources. This book will be treasured by every listener with an interest in the unique saga of the American West.

Critic Reviews:

"Smart, lively, and lucid, this book takes a sweeping, expansive view of the American West, offering anyone a fine point of departure for exploring the many paths into the past." (Gregory Nobles, author of American Frontiers: Cultural Encounters and Continental Conquest)

"A concise history of the American frontier West written by two of its foremost historians, paying special attention to the impacts on and relations among diverse races and cultures, including women's roles and perspectives." (Library Journal)

Members Reviews:

Unbiased account of history.

This book is incredible and sad. It's our history, our triumphs, and our failures. It is however well worth the money and time. Couldn't recommend it enough.

the narrator is so bad I could not listen to it

I was dying to hear this great history lesson of our west.

Until I turned it on!

The narrator was so bad I turned it off after five minutes.I deleted it .

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Title: George Washingtons Military Genius

Author: Dave R. Palmer

Narrator: Robertson Dean

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-28-12

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 18 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

George Washingtons military strategy has been called bumbling at worst and brilliant at best. So which is it? Was George Washington a strategic genius or just lucky? So asks Dave R. Palmer inGeorge Washingtons Military Genius. An updated edition of Palmers earlier work,The Way of the Fox,George Washingtons Military Geniusbreaks down the American Revolution into four phases and analyzes Washingtons strategy during each.

The British did not have to lose; the patriots did not have to triumph, writes Palmer as he proves, beyond a doubt, that Washingtons continuously changing military tactics were deliberate, strategic responses to the various phases of the war and not the result of his lacking a plan of action.

Confronting the critics who say Washingtons battlefield success and ultimate victories were a function of luck,George Washingtons Military Genius proves once and for all that Washington deserves the title of Americas preeminent strategist.

Critic Reviews:

This is military history in the grand style. (Joseph J. Ellis, author ofHis Excellency: George Washington)

Members Reviews:

good analysis

Takes a long time to set the table for GW's military strategy, but is a good analysis of his overall prowess once he gets there

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Title: Shiloh, 1862

Author: Winston Groom

Narrator: Eric G. Dove

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-20-12

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 107 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

SHILOH, 1862 - The Battle of Shiloh, fought in the wilderness of southern Tennessee in April 1862, marked a violent crossroads in the Civil War. What began as a surprise attack by Confederate troops on a Union stronghold to gain control of the Mississippi River Valley became a bloody two-day conflict that would eerily foretell the brutal reality of the next three years. Pitting up-and-coming Union general Ulysses S. Grant against Confederate firebrand Albert Sidney Johnston, the engagement was a perfect storm of advanced weaponry, a West Pointeducated officer corps, and a decades-long buildup of hatred that bore devastating consequences. One hundred thousand soldiers clashed in the vicious melee, and losses for both sides totaled nearly 24,000, more than had been lost during the American Revolution and the War of 1812 combined. Bestselling author and Civil War historian Winston Groom skillfully re-creates the drama of the event in a gripping, eye-opening, and heartrending narrative that highlights the major personalities, politics, and mind-set of the day. But perhaps the most alarming outcome, Groom poignantly reveals, was the realization that for all its horror, the Battle of Shiloh had not vanquished the Rebel army in the West, and the thousands of maimed and slain were merely wretched symbols of things to come.

Members Reviews:

Absorbing story of the hell of Shiloh

I am a big Civil War buff, enjoying works by Shelby Foote, Bruce Catton and James McPherson. After listening to this engrossing story I now add Groom to the list of authors who can relate epic battles like Shiloh to any reader/listener. Groom tells the story of this battle, which horrified everyone North and South with it's enormous butchers bill, by following privates, citizens and generals. The story is as good as just about any thriller. The summer before Shiloh saw the battle of Bull Run, which caused about 5,000 casualties, Rebel and Yankee combined. But Shiloh had a bill in blood of 23,000 fallen, which was more than all American wars combined up to that time. Eric Dove does a great job narrating, adding life to all the actors in this nightmare battle. Listener's will not regret this purchase.

Shades of Shelby Foote

I must admit, my exposure to Civil War histories has been somewhat sparse. However, I noticed this title and decided to give it a try. I was not disappointed in the least. Groom's history provides some wonderful personal insights from civilians and soldiers present at this tragic battle and the depth of loss experienced by all sides. I was intrigued by the personal backstabbing by senior Union officers toward Grant and Sherman. It is no wonder that the first few years of the war were so difficult for the Union with the likes of McClelland and Halleck in positions of command. Likewise, Groom's portrayal of A.S. Johnson is equally fascinating. Shiloh and, for that matter, the outcome of the Civil War would probably been much different if Johnson had not died so early in the battle.

This is a first rate history and Eric Dove's narration is superb. I looked forward to listening to the 10+ hours of the book and will probably search out additional works by Winston Groom

Missed the Mark

The overall performance was good, however, my pet peeve regarding military books is pronouncing names properly and understanding the meaning of military terms. The REAL problem with this volume are the authors factual errors (e.g.

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Title: The Venona Secrets

Subtitle: Exposing Soviet Espionage and America's Traitors

Author: Herbert Romerstein, Eric Breindel

Narrator: Jim McCance

Format: Unabridged

Length: 16 hrs and 10 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-16-12

Publisher: Regnery Publishing

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 62 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

The Venona Files are several intercepted communiques between the Soviet Union and American Communists following WWII. Some historians and journalists are starting to regard the Cold-War-era American Communist Party as nothing more than a quaint club of polite if misguided ideologues.

In The Venona Secrets, Herbert Romerstein and Eric Breindel intend to create a new impression of treacherous Americans "who willfully gave their primary allegiance to a foreign power, the USSR.... For Communists, true patriotism meant helping to make the world a better place by advancing the interests of the Soviet Union in any way possible." By using the now-celebrated Venona documents - top-secret Soviet cables sent between Moscow and Washington, D.C., in the 1940s - Romerstein and Breindel tell a frightening story of how deeply spies penetrated the U.S. government.

Members Reviews:

The Stalin Burreau in America

We all heard about McCarthyism and Alger Hiss and the Communist Spy Rings, but I always thought that stuff was all hype. With the fall of Soviet Union and access to Soviet archives we NOW know that the Soviets penetrated almost every tier of American government. To be honest, this revelation is almost TOO big to wrap my head around. In many ways, it changes my entire understanding of postwar American history....

Venona is a code name given to the NSA's Soviet code-breaking project. Once cracked, Americans could start translating secret spy cables between the Soviet Union and their agents in America. We only had half the story. With the REST of Venona....available only since the mid 1990's...we now have the other half.

The narrator is awful, but the content of the book is amazing. I am now reading other books on the topic just to be sure I understand the subject matter. There were high-level government officials, particularly in Treasury and State Departments who took ORDERS from their handlers in Moscow....who in turn took their orders from the brutal Joseph Stalin. Really?

Yuck.

Americans as Soviet Spies? Surprising & Chilling

If you could sum up The Venona Secrets in three words, what would they be?

Complex, documented, chilling.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Venona Secrets?

The murder of Trotsky.

Which scene was your favorite?

The attempted murder of Trotsky--how can bullets be flying everywhere but Trotsky survives?

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The truth is much stranger than fiction.

Any additional comments?

Great narration.

should be required reading for every high school s

Most Americans are ignorant to the extent of the Communist influences in our soviety today. This confirms that HUAC was spot on.

Old news

The book is a decent history of Soviet intelligence but not very illuminating of Venona. The authors used Venona as a scaffold on which to drape a lot of material not specific to Venona. If you are new to the study of Soviet history then you will learn much, but if not, then most of the book will be just a re-stating of previously known material. I was disappointed in the book as well as the sluggish performance.

a should read

a little redundant at times, a lot of skipping back and forth. monotone but helps to speed up the pace of reading

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Title: Lions of the West

Subtitle: Heroes and Villains of the Westward Expansion

Author: Robert Morgan

Narrator: David Drummond

Format: Unabridged

Length: 18 hrs and 22 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-06-11

Publisher: HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 39 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Thomas Jefferson, a naturalist and visionary, dreamed that the United States would stretch across the continent from ocean to ocean. The account of how that dream became reality unfolds in the stories of Jefferson and nine other Americans whose adventurous spirits and lust for land pushed the westward boundaries: Andrew Jackson, John Johnny Appleseed Chapman, David Crockett, Sam Houston, James K. Polk, Winfield Scott, Kit Carson, Nicholas Trist, and John Quincy Adams. Their tenacity was matched only by that of their enemies: the Mexican army under Santa Anna at the Alamo, the Comanche and Apache Indians, and the forbidding geography itself.

Known also for his powerful fiction (Gap Creek, The Truest Pleasure, Brave Enemies), Morgan uses his skill at characterization to give life to the personalities of these ten Americans without whom the United States might well have ended at the Arkansas border. Their stories - and those of the nameless thousands who risked their lives to settle on the frontier, displacing thousands of Native Americans - form an extraordinary chapter in American history that led directly to the cataclysm of the Civil War.

Contact me for any questions: [email protected]

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Title: The Table Comes First

Subtitle: Family, France, and the Meaning of Food

Author: Adam Gopnik

Narrator: Adam Gopnik

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-03-11

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 50 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Multiple award-winning author Adam Gopnik has written for the New Yorker since 1986. In this work, Gopnik charts Americas transformation from being simply aware of what they eat to being obsessive about it. This fascinating culinary journey will transport listeners from 18th-century France and the origin of Americas popular modern tastes to the kitchens of the White House and beyond.

Members Reviews:

Beautifully written, uneven content

Adam Gopnik's writing comes close to poetry at times, and he's an excellent reader of his own work. I enjoyed this book when he was talking about the big issues related to food: what it means, how it relates to who we are as a family or society. But when he got into the details of particular restaurants and cuisine, it felt a little nerdy and boring. So overall, the book had sections of great eloquence and meaning, with occasional dull patches in between.

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Title: Nothing Daunted

Subtitle: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West

Author: Dorothy Wickenden

Narrator: Dorothy Wickenden, Margaret Nichols

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-15-11

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 113 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

In the summer of 1916, Dorothy Woodruff and Rosamond Underwood, close friends from childhood and graduates of Smith College, left home in Auburn, New York, for the wilds of northwestern Colorado. Bored by their soci-ety luncheons, charity work, and the effete young men who courted them, they learned that two teach-ing jobs were available in a remote mountaintop schoolhouse and appliedshocking their families and friends. No young lady in our town, Dorothy later commented, had ever been hired by anybody.

They took the new railroad over the Continental Divide and made their way by spring wagon to the tiny settlement of Elkhead, where they lived with a family of homesteaders. They rode several miles to school each day on horseback, sometimes in blinding blizzards. Their students walked or skied on barrel staves, in tattered clothes and shoes tied together with string. The man who had lured them out west was Ferry Carpenter, a witty, idealistic, and occasionally outrageous young lawyer and cattle rancher. He had promised them the adventure of a lifetime and the most modern schoolhouse in Routt County; he hadnt let on that the teachers would be considered dazzling prospective brides for the locals.

That year transformed the children, their families, and the undaunted teachers themselves. Dorothy and Rosamond learned how to handle unruly children who had never heard the Pledge of Allegiance and thought Ferry Carpenter was the president of the United States; they adeptly deflected the amorous advances of hopeful cowboys; and they saw one of their closest friends violently kidnapped by two coal miners. Carpenters marital scheme turned out to be more successful than even he had hoped and had a surprising twist some forty years later.

Critic Reviews:

"From the elite ethos of Smith College to the raw frontier of northwestern Colorado, two friends dared to defy the conventions of their time and station. Dorothy Wickenden tells their extraordinary story with grace and insight, transporting us back to an America suffused with a sense of adventure and of possibility. This is a wonderful book about two formidable women, the lives they led--and the legacy they left." (Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of American Lion)

"In Nothing Daunted, Dorothy Wickenden has beautifully captured a world in transition, a pivotal chapter not just in the life of her bold and spirited grandmother, but also in the life of the American west. Dorothy Woodruff and her friend Rosamond are like young women who walked out of a Henry James novel and headed west instead of east. Imagine Isabel Archer wrangling the ragged, half-wild children of homesteaders, whirling through dances with hopeful cowboys, and strapping on snowshoes in the middle of the night to urge a fallen horse onto an invisible trail in high snowdrifts, and youll have some idea of the intense charm and adventure of this remarkable book. (Maile Meloy, author of Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It)

"A superb, stirring book. Through the eyes of two spirited and resourceful women from the civilized East, Wickenden makes the story of the American West engaging and personal. A delight to read.