Full Trial Audiobooks in Biography & Memoir, History & Culture

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/707283 to listen full audiobooks. Title: The Wide Wide Sea Author: Hampton Sides Narrator: Peter Noble Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 15 hours 41 minutes Release date: April 11, 2024 Ratings: Ratings of Book: 5 of Total 1 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: Brought to you by Penguin. From New York Times bestselling author Hampton Sides, an epic account of the most momentous voyage of the Age of Exploration, which culminated in Captain James Cook's death in Hawaii, and left a complex and controversial legacy still debated to this day. On July 12th, 1776, Captain James Cook, already lionized as the greatest explorer in British history, set off on his third voyage in his ship the HMS Resolution. Two-and-a-half years later, on a beach on the island of Hawaii, Cook was killed in a conflict with native Hawaiians. How did Cook, who was unique among captains for his respect for Indigenous peoples and cultures, come to that fatal moment? Hampton Sides' bravura account of Cook's last journey both wrestles with Cook's legacy and provides a thrilling narrative of the titanic efforts and continual danger that characterised exploration in the 1700s. Cook was renowned for his peerless seamanship, his humane leadership, and his dedication to science--the famed naturalist Joseph Banks accompanied him on his first voyage, and Cook has been called one of the most important figures of the Age of Enlightenment. He was also deeply interested in the native people he encountered. In fact, his stated mission was to return a Tahitian man, Mai, who had become the toast of London, to his home islands. On previous expeditions, Cook mapped huge swaths of the Pacific, including the east coast of Australia, and initiated first European contact with numerous peoples. He treated his crew well, and endeavoured to learn about the societies he encountered with curiosity and without judgement. Yet something was different on this last voyage. Cook became mercurial, resorting to the lash to enforce discipline, and led his two vessels into danger time and again. Uncharacteristically, he ordered violent retaliation for perceived theft on the part of native peoples. This may have had something to do with his secret orders, which were to chart and claim lands before Britain's imperial rivals could, and to discover the fabled Northwest Passage. Whatever Cook's intentions, his scientific efforts were the sharp edge of the colonial sword, and the ultimate effects of first contact were catastrophic for Indigenous people around the world. The tensions between Cook's overt and covert missions came to a head on the shores of Hawaii. His first landing there was harmonious, but when Cook returned after mapping the coast of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, his exploitative treatment of the Hawaiians led to the fatal encounter. ©2024 Hampton Sides (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/702367 to listen full audiobooks. Title: The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook Author: Hampton Sides Narrator: Peter Noble Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 15 hours 41 minutes Release date: April 9, 2024 Ratings: Ratings of Book: 4.78 of Total 9 Ratings of Narrator: 4.8 of Total 5 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR SO FAR FOR 2024 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW • A “thrilling and superbly crafted” (The Wall Street Journal) account of the most momentous voyage of the Age of Exploration, which culminated in Captain James Cook’s death in Hawaii, and left a complex and controversial legacy still debated to this day. “Hampton Sides, an acclaimed master of the nonfiction narrative, has taken on Cook’s story and retells it for the 21st century.”—Los Angeles Times On July 12th, 1776, Captain James Cook, already lionized as the greatest explorer in British history, set off on his third voyage in his ship the HMS Resolution. Two-and-a-half years later, on a beach on the island of Hawaii, Cook was killed in a conflict with native Hawaiians. How did Cook, who was unique among captains for his respect for Indigenous peoples and cultures, come to that fatal moment? Hampton Sides’ bravura account of Cook’s last journey both wrestles with Cook’s legacy and provides a thrilling narrative of the titanic efforts and continual danger that characterized exploration in the 1700s. Cook was renowned for his peerless seamanship, his humane leadership, and his dedication to science-–the famed naturalist Joseph Banks accompanied him on his first voyage, and Cook has been called one of the most important figures of the Age of Enlightenment. He was also deeply interested in the native people he encountered. In fact, his stated mission was to return a Tahitian man, Mai, who had become the toast of London, to his home islands. On previous expeditions, Cook mapped huge swaths of the Pacific, including the east coast of Australia, and initiated first European contact with numerous peoples. He treated his crew well, and endeavored to learn about the societies he encountered with curiosity and without judgment. Yet something was different on this last voyage. Cook became mercurial, resorting to the lash to enforce discipline, and led his two vessels into danger time and again. Uncharacteristically, he ordered violent retaliation for perceived theft on the part of native peoples. This may have had something to do with his secret orders, which were to chart and claim lands before Britain’s imperial rivals could, and to discover the fabled Northwest Passage. Whatever Cook’s intentions, his scientific efforts were the sharp edge of the colonial sword, and the ultimate effects of first contact were catastrophic for Indigenous people around the world. The tensions between Cook’s overt and covert missions came to a head on the shores of Hawaii. His first landing there was harmonious, but when Cook returned after mapping the coast of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, his exploitative treatment of the Hawaiians led to the fatal encounter. At once a ferociously-paced story of adventure on the high seas and a searching examination of the complexities and consequences of the Age of Exploration, THE WIDE WIDE SEA is a major work from one of our finest narrative nonfiction writers.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/702351 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Grown Woman Talk: Your Guide to Getting and Staying Healthy Author: Sharon Malone Narrator: Sharon Malone Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 12 hours 12 minutes Release date: April 9, 2024 Ratings: Ratings of Book: 5 of Total 1 Ratings of Narrator: 5 of Total 1 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A must-read for anyone who cares about their quality of life . . . Dr. Sharon Malone is the first person I turn to for a whole host of issues, especially my health.”—MICHELLE OBAMA A practical guide to aging and health for women who have felt ignored or marginalized by the medical profession, from a leading OB/GYN and expert on menopausal and post-reproductive health There’s not enough talk around women’s health, and what little there is rarely helps. Women are routinely warned, lectured, or threatened about their health. Or they are ignored, dismissed, or shamed. But they are rarely empowered. And empowerment, more than anything, is what women—and women of color, in particular—need. Grown Woman Talk is for every woman who has felt marginalized or overwhelmed by a healthcare system that has become more impersonal, complex, and difficult to navigate than ever. It’s also for any woman who is simply standing at the intersection of aging and health, anxious and wanting solutions. Part medical handbook, part memoir, and part sister-girl cheerleader, this book is filled with useful resources and real-life stories of victory and defeat. It not only highlights the current data around women’s health issues, but it also places that data in a helpful context. In a tone that is lively and intimate but unflinchingly direct, Dr. Sharon Malone details how to live better, age better, and get better medical treatment, especially when it’s most needed. This is not a medical activism book designed to fight the power. This is a book designed to show women that they already have the power—they need only to increase their capacity and willingness to use it. Most important, Grown Woman Talk seeks to eradicate the silence that surrounds women’s health by facilitating discussion between women of all ages and encouraging more accurate and productive medical insights. It is Dr. Sharon’s belief that giving women more agency can, literally, give them life.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/690223 to listen full audiobooks. Title: The Wisdom of Nurses: Stories of Grit From the Front Lines Author: Amie Archibald-Varley, Sara Fung Narrator: Chanté Mccormick, Catherine Ho Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 9 hours 30 minutes Release date: April 2, 2024 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: From the hosts of the hit podcast The Gritty Nurse, stories of the challenges, heartbreak and humour of life on the front line One of the enduring lessons of the pandemic has been the pivotal role that nursing plays in health care—vital work that isn’t widely understood or, sadly, appreciated. Sara Fung and Amie Archibald-Varley started the wildly popular The Gritty Nurse podcast to give voice to nurses all over the world, including more than 400,000 nurses in Canada. The authors have quickly become sought-after speakers and advocates for nurses and are called on regularly by the media to talk about a wide range of issues around the profession. In their first book, they take you to the front line of nursing to show the compassion, selflessness and dedication of professionals who not only give it all for their patients, but get up and do it over and over again.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/697447 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Hildasay to Home: How I Found a Family by Walking the UK's Coastline Author: Christian Lewis Narrator: Christian Lewis Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 6 hours 20 minutes Release date: March 28, 2024 Ratings: Ratings of Book: 3.5 of Total 2 Ratings of Narrator: 5 of Total 1 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: Read by the author, Christian Lewis. Walking saved his life. Now it will help find him a family. In the follow-up to his Sunday Times bestselling Finding Hildasay, Christian Lewis takes his next steps. Since his time on Hildasay, Chris’ adventure has only gotten wilder. No one was more surprised than Chris when, in November 2020, he had an unlikely (seemingly destined) encounter with fellow adventurer Kate. The two turned out to be kindred spirits and – even more astonishingly – Kate made the bold decision to join Chris on the walk of a lifetime. Day in, day out, as they trekked the coastline down from Scotland together, their relationship grew, and soon the couple were thrown in at the deep end when their first child – baby Magnus – arrived. But, away from Scotland, Chris’ struggles with mental health returned. The solitude of Hildasay seemed far away, and he unravelled once again. Through injuries and setbacks, with Jet the dog ageing and baby Magnus growing by the day, the adventurous family of four had to find their feet and come together to complete this epic challenge. They’ve navigated the east coast of Scotland, through Yorkshire and East Anglia, and struggled on to the Jurassic Coast where Chris slowly came back into himself. In Hildasay to Home Chris finally crosses the finish line back in Swansea with almost half a million pounds raised. He reflects beautifully on all that he’s learned and the family he’s found for himself along the way.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/684209 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Queen Victoria and her Prime Ministers: A Personal History Author: Anne Somerset Narrator: Claire Vousden Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 27 hours 12 minutes Release date: March 28, 2024 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: It is generally accepted that Queen Victoria reigned but did not rule. This couldn’t be more wrong. In Queen Victoria and Her Prime Ministers, Anne Somerset masterfully traces Victoria’s political evolution, from headstrong teenager to seasoned octogenarian. This book demonstrates her passionate involvement in state affairs, and casts fresh light on her relationships with her ten prime ministers. Victoria herself acknowledged that when it came to ‘likes and dislikes’ of her prime ministers, ‘she had them very strongly’. She showed girlish adoration for her first Prime Minister, the worldly-wise Lord Melbourne, whose delightful conversation and kindly guidance enchanted her. Later in her reign, Benjamin Disraeli – who flattered her shamelessly, tirelessly praising her sagacity and judgement and filling her life with ‘poetry, romance and chivalry’ – became her favourite. While she developed a powerful bond with several of her Prime Ministers, in other cases the relationship fell little short of mutual detestation. Victoria’s keenest antipathy was reserved for Disraeli’s great rival, the Liberal William Gladstone. When he became prime minister for a fourth time at the age of 82, Victoria declared it ‘a bad joke’ that this ‘dangerous old fanatic’ should be ‘thrust down her throat’. Queen Victoria and Her Prime Ministers charts the bitter clashes and affectionate interactions Victoria had with her ten premiers in often hilarious detail. Drawing extensively on unpublished sources such as material from the Royal Archives and never-before-seen prime ministerial papers, it casts a fresh and highly illuminating perspective not just on Victoria, but on the exceptionally able politicians who served her in government.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/693108 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Nowhere, Exactly: On Identity and Belonging Author: M.G. Vassanji Narrator: Raoul Bhaneja Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 7 hours 53 minutes Release date: March 26, 2024 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: From one of Canada's most celebrated writers, two-time Giller Prize winner M.G. Vassanji, comes a thoughtful meditation on what it means to belong in the world. Home is never a single place, entirely and unequivocally. It is contingent. The abstract 'nowhere,' then, is the true home. M.G. Vassanji has been exploring the immigrant experience for over three decades, drawing deeply on his own transnational upbringing and intimate understanding of the unique challenges and perspectives born from leaving one's home to resettle in a new land. The question of identity, of how to configure and see oneself within this new land, is one such challenge faced. But Vassanji suggests that a more fundamental and slippery endeavour than establishing one's identity is how, if ever, we can establish a sense of belonging. Can we ever truly belong in this new home? Did we ever truly belong in the home we left? Where exactly do we belong? For many, the answer is nowhere exactly.  Combining brilliant prose, thoughtful, candid observation, and a lifetime of exploring how we as individuals are shaped by the places and communities in which we live and the history that haunts them, Nowhere, Exactly examines with exquisite sensitivity the space between identity and belonging, the immigrant experience of both loss and gain, and the weight of memory and nostalgia, guilt and hope felt by so many of those who leave their homes in search of new ones.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/697203 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Ghost Town Living: Mining for Purpose and Chasing Dreams at the Edge of Death Valley Author: Brent Underwood Narrator: Brent Underwood Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 7 hours 44 minutes Release date: March 19, 2024 Ratings: Ratings of Book: 5 of Total 2 Ratings of Narrator: 4 of Total 1 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A long-abandoned silver mine for sale sounded like an adventure too great to pass up, but it turned into much more—a calling, a community of millions, and hard-earned lessons about chasing impractical dreams. “Inspiring and meditative—the story of man vs nature and man vs himself.”—Ryan Holiday, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Obstacle is the Way The siren song of Cerro Gordo, a desolate ghost town perched high above Death Valley, has seduced thousands since the 1800s, but few fell harder for it than Brent Underwood, who moved there in March of 2020, only to be immediately snowed in and trapped for weeks. It had once been the largest silver mine in California. Over $500 million worth of ore was pulled from the miles of tunnels below the town. Butch Cassidy, Mark Twain, and other infamous characters of the American West were rumored to have stayed there. Newspapers reported a murder a week. But that was over 150 years ago. Underwood bet his life savings—and his life—on this majestic, hardscrabble town that had broken its fair share of ambitious men and women. What followed were fires, floods, earthquakes, and perhaps strangest, fame. Ghost Town Living tells the story of a man against the elements, a forgotten historic place against the modern world, and a dream against all odds—one that has captured millions of followers around the world. He came looking for a challenge different from the traditional 9-5 job but discovered something much more fulfilling—an undertaking that would call on all of himself and push him beyond what he knew he was capable of. In fact, to bring this abandoned town back to life, Brent had to learn a wealth of new self-sufficiency and problem-solving skills from many generous mentors. Ghost Town Living is a thrilling read, but it’s also a call to action—to question our too-practical lives and instead seek adventure, build something original, redefine work, and embrace the unknown. It shows what it means to dedicate your life to something, to take a mighty swing at a crazy idea and, like the cardsharps who once haunted Cerro Gordo, go all in.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/693902 to listen full audiobooks. Title: The Sky Was Falling: A Young Surgeon's Story of Bravery, Survival, and Hope Author: Cornelia Griggs Narrator: Cornelia Griggs Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 5 hours 47 minutes Release date: March 12, 2024 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: A NATIONAL BESTSELLER In this “essential work that provides lasting insights and lessons for the individual and society” (Jerome Groopman, MD, New York Times bestselling author), a young pediatric surgeon and mother reveals her dramatic, cathartic diary, written as she worked on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic at one of New York City’s busiest hospitals. For many of us, the experience of the peak pandemic was eerily incongruous. We were sequestered in our quiet homes but reminded of the devastation by the never-ending ping of news alerts. Dr. Cornelia Griggs’s experience was altogether different. A pediatric surgery fellow in New York City, she was entering the final victory lap at the end of nine grueling years of training. She was set for a big graduation celebration and looking forward to spending some real time with her husband and kids. Then came COVID-19. Initially, Griggs encouraged her friends and family not to panic. However, as mysterious cases began showing up in the hospital, and then hospital supplies started disappearing from shelves, she couldn’t hold back the feeling that this was going to be worse than she had thought. She wrote a startling op-ed in The New York Times called “The Sky Is Falling” that went, for lack of a better word, viral. The piece was read by over a million people, and Griggs appeared on CNN. Having once aspired to be a journalist, Griggs found that the only way to make sense of what she was witnessing around her and maintain her sanity was to keep a diary. The Sky Was Falling is her day-to-day account of what most of us were grateful to only see in the news—the sharply increasing case numbers, the dwindling supply of respirators, the lack of clarity on how to treat this new disease. Harrowing, deeply personal, and page-turning in the way of the best medical memoirs, it tells the story of healthcare professionals who went beyond what they thought they were capable of to heal their patients, and themselves.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/700628 to listen full audiobooks. Title: A Very Private School: A Memoir Author: Charles Spencer Narrator: Charles Spencer Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 7 hours 57 minutes Release date: March 12, 2024 Ratings: Ratings of Book: 4.33 of Total 6 Ratings of Narrator: 5 of Total 1 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER “A tour de force.” —The Washington Post In this poignant memoir, Charles Spencer recounts the trauma of being sent away from home at age eight to attend boarding school. A Very Private School offers a clear-eyed, first-hand account of a culture of cruelty at the school Charles Spencer attended in his youth and provides important insights into an antiquated boarding system. Drawing on the memories of many of his schoolboy contemporaries, as well as his own letters and diaries from the time, he reflects on the hopelessness and abandonment he felt at aged eight, viscerally describing the intense pain of homesickness and the appalling inescapability of it all. Exploring the long-lasting impact of his experiences, Spencer presents a candid reckoning with his past and a reclamation of his childhood.