Get Popular Authors Audiobooks in Fiction, Historical Best Sellers

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Title: Aspire to the Heavens

Author: Mary Higgins Clark

Narrator: Mary Higgins Clark

Format: Abridged

Length: 3 hrs and 8 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-04-09

Publisher: Phoenix Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Strongly influenced by the gentility and generosity of spirit of the older brother from whom he eventually inherits his beloved Mount Vernon, the young George Washington matures into a devoted and able public servant in both the military and political arenas. Though marked by tragedies and disappointments, his domestic life offers him well-earned solace and satisfaction, especially after his marriage to the young widow, Martha "Patsy" Custis.

The humanity and humor behind the "pious legend" emerge from this story of the man who managed to enjoy a rich and fulfilling life while always in pursuit of the motto of his mother's family: Aspire to the Heavens.

Members Reviews:

This book is a library book and no dust cover ...

This book is a library book and no dust cover. Knowing this I would not have ordered. Does not fit into my collection and was to be a Christmas gift for my wife.

George Washington As Family Man and Friend

If you are like me, you have often wondered how our most talented novelists would see important historical characters. Gore Vidal has whetted our appetite with his novels about the first hundred years of the United States. In Aspire to the Heavens, talented mystery writer Mary Higgins Clark makes George Washington come alive as a simple man with many personal challenges in his life. Although I was familiar with the material in this book, Ms. Clark did a wonderful job of both making it more interesting and accessible by making his life into a personally focused biographical novel. As a result, I got a lot of new perspectives on my own life that I will benefit from for many years to come.

The book's title alludes to a promise that George Washington's mother asked for and received from him. She wanted him to always do his utmost. In her family, that had meant "Aspire to the Heavens." He took on that promise with her encouragement. Out of his own character, though, he decided to be the most decent man he could possibly be. That latter promise to himself is the one that this book focuses on.

The form of this book is to describe George Washington through the lens of his personal life, rather than his public accomplishments. The style reads more as though it is a novel rather than a biography, and there is certainly some literary license in the ascriptions of motives and personal thoughts. Yet, these devices work well as long as you remember not to take them too seriously and literally.

Although Washington will always seem larger than life to all Americans, he was a man who had many setbacks in his own life. Before the Revolutionary War, he was certainly not considered to be the great man most now believe him to have been.

Life was hard as a youngster. His father died when he was fairly young, and his mother carried a whip to help assert her authority over him and his siblings. She did not keep a very attractive household, which young George resented. Although she loved her son, she put him down verbally at every opportunity. Her opposition to his desire for an ocean-going career was a fortunate one for the United States and democracies everywhere, but a bitter disappointment to him at the time.

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Title: The Traitor's Tale

Author: Margaret Frazer

Narrator: Anne Cater

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-17-09

Publisher: ISIS Audio Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Wandering player Simon Joliffe has also come to London, filling the role of courier for the exiled duke of York and bringing vital information - a list bearing the names of the English noblemen who purportedly betrayed their King by conspiring with the French. Now Frevisse starts to wonder whether or not the list is real or part of an even greater conspiracy against the crown.

Members Reviews:

A photograph of mid-15th Century England

is found in this latest entry in Margaret Frazer's series featuring Dame Frevisse and/or Joliffe. And this is one of the best in the series! As a reader I need to at least like the characters in a book, and Dame Frevisse and Joliffe have always appealed because of their intelligence, astuteness and sharp wits. You get to live a bit of history, just a small dose, not overwhelming, and the people who figure in this lordly mystery are fully drawn and entertaining, most of them historically accurate, a few just fictional. The author writes extremely well, and the action comes alive as what should have been a simple task -- finding a letter, previously unknown to exist, and turning it over to the Duke of York to whom it will matter a great deal -- becomes dangerous and complicated. Joliffe, in other books a traveling player working within a small group to make a living traveling and performing at manors and castles, has become something else entirely: a spy, a highly respected and loyal follower: a fighter. Can we expect another book that will peel away another layer of the mysterious Joliffe? One can hope so, as well as another chapter in Dame Frevisse's eventful life as a nun. I really liked this book. If you've kept up with this series, don't miss this latest entry!

Intrigue and politics - the usual mix

I gave this 5 stars, but almost gave it a 4. Not because of the book itself. As usual Margaret Frazer has done an excellent job of creating characters and telling a good tale. Dame Frivesse is one of my favorite literary figures, and when paired with Joliffe you can be sure the yarn is always a good one.

I think my disappoint comes from all the politics involved. For people who enjoy a good political medieval mystery, its a marvelous tale. But for me...gosh, I'd like just a good old fashioned murder in a small English village, and leave the politics out.

Having said that, I would still recommend The Traitor's Tale, along with all the other books in the series to anyone who wants a smashing good read on a cold winter's day.

History is real people

I love the way mystery is wrapped in the culture and history of the times. Dame Frevisse gives you a clear eyed insight into the complex politics of the past and yet not so different from the present. Everyone is maneuvering for a position close to power. Some win and some lose.

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Title: The Secrets of the Lazarus Club

Author: Tony Pollard

Narrator: Jonathan Keeble

Format: Unabridged

Length: 14 hrs and 55 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-07-09

Publisher: Whole Story Audiobooks

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Knowing nothing of this secret society, Dr George Phillips, a young and ambitious surgeon, is intrigued to encounter Brunel over a well-used cadaver in the gory pit of his dissection theatre. It soon becomes apparent that the great engineer has mysterious plans for the good doctor.

And so Phillips becomes embroiled in the enigmatic machinations of the Lazarus Club, unaware that in the midst of their unorthodox club, a black conspiracy lurks. Not only is his own life in jeopardy, but as the first mutilated body is washed up on the banks of the Thames so the very foundations of Victorian society are set to be rocked to their core.

Members Reviews:

It was ok.

The story was long and a bit boring especially for the payoff. I listen to a lot of non fiction which can be dry sometimes but there just wasn't a lot to this story to keep me interested.

A briiliant steampunk tale of murder and intrigue

I loved this book from start to end. Featuring many well known persons of the 1800s the story is full of great ideas and a rivoting tale of murder, mystery and the powers of science.

Excellent and Intriguing

Would you listen to The Secrets of the Lazarus Club again? Why?

I would listen to the story again so that I can pick out the finer points. It twists and turns so you constantly want to know 'what next'.

What did you like best about this story?

Its depth and the close links to reality. The life and times of Brunel, Darwin and Florence Nightingale to name but a few. This period in history was truly innovative and some of the gory detail of early surgery should remind us what has happened to reach the care and surgery we have today.

What does Jonathan Keeble bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you had only read the book?

The voices and keeping track of all the charactures

Any additional comments?

This was a most enjoyable listen which I took on a rather long coach journey. I want to listen to it again.

About five hours too long

Started off brilliantly but just never ended. Gave up with an hour and a half still to go as it just wouldn't ever end.

Very good narrator tho

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Title: The Moon Looked Down

Author: Dorothy Garlock

Narrator: Susanna Burney

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-06-09

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 8 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

With paranoia and discrimination threatening to destroy the once peaceful town, the handsome teacher from the high school gallantly comes to Sophie's defense. Against great odds and despite their cultural differences, a romance begins to blossom - but can their newfound love survive amid the escalating turmoil?

Members Reviews:

I loved everything and got a great vision as if I ...

I am now a huge, huge fan. I loved everything and got a great vision as if I was there.

Five Stars

for my mom in law

Five Stars

I love D Garlock

Great Book

I have read a LOT of Dorothy Garlock books but this is one of my favorites!!!

This is a good book whether you like westerns, romance, or action packed books. I absolutely love it!

Needs to be rewrote

Very disappointed in her book she always has good reads but this one I could not get into.

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Title: The End

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Salvatore Scibona

Narrator: Jefferson Mays

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-05-09

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

A small, incongruous man receives an excruciating piece of news. His son has died in a POW camp in Korea. It is August 15, 1953, the day of a tumultuous street carnival in Elephant Park, an Italian immigrant enclave in Ohio. The man is Rocco LaGrassa, and his many years of dogged labor, paternal devotion, and steadfast Christian faith are about to come to a crashing end. He is the first of many exquisitely drawn characters we meet that day, each of whom will come to their own conclusion.

The End follows an elderly abortionist, an enigmatic drapery seamstress, a teenage boy, a jeweler into the heart of a crime that will twist all their lives.

Against a background of immigration, broken loyalties, and racial hostility, we at last return to August 15, 1953, and see everything Rocco saw - and vastly more - through the eyes of various characters in the crowds.

The End is the unforgettable debut of a singular new American novelist.

Critic Reviews:

"Exceptional debut...that is part novel, part epic prose poem...emblematic of both Scibona's calibrated precision and the story's potent humanity...a literary tour de force." (Publishers Weekly)

"Breathtaking...Think not only Faulkner, but also T.S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf, Gertrude Stein and James Joyce." (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

"Like no other contemporary writer...A concordance of the immigrant experience from the beautiful to the brutal and everything in between." (ZZ Packer, author of Drinking Coffee Elsewhere)

Members Reviews:

Strange book

A bit too self consciously cerebral for me at the expense of the story. Some interesting characters cleverly woven together but not quite engaging enough as a whole to keep it all together. Might be better in print than listening.

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Title: The Last Concubine

Author: Lesley Downer

Narrator: Sarah Sherborne

Format: Unabridged

Length: 18 hrs and 8 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-24-09

Publisher: Oakhill Publishing Ltd

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 45 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

As civil war erupts, Sachi flees for her life. Rescued by a rebel warrior, she finds unknown feelings stirring within her. But before she dare dream of a life with him, Sachi must unravel the mystery of her own origins - a mystery that encompasses a wrong so terrible that it threatens to destroy her.

Members Reviews:

Interesting but kind of slow

Although the story is interesting and the narrator is doing a very good job, it gets kind of boring. The reason is that there is very little dialog between the characters. A lot of describing and thinking, but not very much interacting between the characters and that makes me lose interest after a while. Listened through the book though but felt "finally!" when it was done.

Facinating

I enjoyed the glimpse into a foreign time long gone. Predictable happy ending, but then again, what's wrong with a happy ending?

Choose another

This book might have been saved by a different narrator. I'm not usually bothered by narrators, but when speaking for female characters the narrator spoke as if she was 6 years old ruining the meaning of the context. I had to work EXTREEMLY hard to finish this book. Disappointing listen.

Behind the Komodo

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

Yes! This book is a wonderful work of historical fiction that opens the komodo and provides an evocative glimpse into the secret social structure of the Shogun era. The story is captivating, the characters compelling and you are quickly drawn into the adventure unfolding during a pivotal time in Japanese history. What a ride!

Dreadful

Please don't download this book without listening to the narration first because it really is terrible. I'm sure the story is perfectly good but the narration is so bad you can't past listening to it to hear the story.

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Title: The Diezmo

Author: Rick Bass

Narrator: Brian Reddy

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-18-09

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 4 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

When Sam Houston organizes an attack into Mexico, the gloryseeking Texans are overwhelmed. Captured, they face the terrible Diezmo - a game of chance that ensures every 10th man will be killed.

Members Reviews:

Five Stars

thank you

My great great grandfather was in this expedition

I've always been fascinated by the story of the Mier Expedition. My great-great grandfather, Willis Coplan, was one of the survivors. The book is wrong on page 146, however, where it states that Willis, after escaping and then being caught, spent 20 years in captivity in Matamoros, withing sight of the Texas border. On the contrary, he was sent to Perote Castle. In his memoirs, he wrote that he was "glad to get back with the boys, with whom he had experienced so many hardships." His memoirs also contradict Rick Bass's description of the black bean incident, where Rick's characters are stoic and despondent. Willis, however, wrote that the men who drew the black beans joked about it. One said, "This beats raffling all to pieces," while another said, "Boys, I never failed in my life to draw a prize." It was the men who drew the white beans who grieved, and some of them offered to trade their white beans for black ones, but they had no takers.

Nevertheless, this is a wonderful novel. I'm grateful to Rick Bass for bringing to life a story that, for me, had almost become a fable. Thanks, Rick

The Futilities and Savageries of War

A workmanlike retelling, in the form of a survivor's memoir, of the filibustering excesses of a group of Texas patriots who set out to defend the borders of their new republic but stumble, instead, into a confrontation with vastly superior Mexican forces on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande; this tale captures the naive eagerness and unabashed savagery of the glory-crazed Texas combatants through the eyes of a diffident and surprisingly passive narrator. Fifteen year old James Alexander and his boon companion James Shepherd respond to the call to glory and the defense of their newly born nation when a contingent of Texas irregulars arrives on a recruiting mission in their small rural community. Excited by the promises of glory they are swiftly swept up in an ill-conceived and badly executed campaign which rapidly descends into looting and pillage of Mexican communities along the border and then, after a riotous slaughter in the town of Laredo, devolves into an excursion on the Mexican side against the Mexican town of Mier.

But the leaders of the unit of irregulars fall to quarreling and indecisiveness as one of their number refuses to cross the river and takes his troops home while the others conceal their orders which proscribe atrocities against the indigenous Mexican communities as they lead their men on a mission of brutal slaughter and theft. The remaining troops with the two rogue leaders pursue a dream of military conquest, only to stumble into a Mexican force that is many times the size of their own. Undaunted and without regard to the reality of this mismatch, and after much bloody fighting, the Texans are borne down by the greater numbers arrayed against them. Their inevitable surrender begins what is to become a long nightmare of brutal captivity as the Mexicans force them to clean and rebuild the town they have destroyed and then march them south, ever deeper into Mexico, parading them before the local towns and villages where they are further brutalized.

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Title: The Iron Duke

Author: L. Ron Hubbard

Narrator: R. F. Daley

Format: Unabridged

Length: 2 hrs and 1 min

Language: English

Release date: 02-10-09

Publisher: Galaxy Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 14 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

He's a lady's man, a man's man - and a wanted man, on the run in 1930s Europe....

Meet Blacky Lee, ruggedly handsome with a quick wit and a roguish charm. Think Clark Gable - with larceny in his heart and a price on his head. A price put there by the German Gestapo. But Blacky's always got an angle, and this time it's as audacious as they come. He'll hide in plain sight, impersonating the crowned head of a Balkan kingdom. He'll become The Iron Duke.

Can he pull it off? Win the love of a country... and of a beautiful woman? All Blacky has to do is risk everything - and, for once in his life, find a way to do the right thing.

Hubbard and Gable were fast friends and fellow adventurers. While Hubbard was writing for Columbia Pictures in 1937, the studio often called upon him to doctor scripts for Gable - giving him a unique knowledge of the man and inspiration for characters like Blacky Lee.

Critic Reviews:

"A master of adventure." (Anne McCaffrey)

Members Reviews:

The best!!!!

I love this story. I must have listened to the story 7 times. Once I listened to it, I restarted from the start all over again as soon as done. I did not wait even a minute before I pressed start again. It was so good! I'd rate it a 10 if I could. It's just a real fun, action packed story - but funny too - the acting is great!

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Title: The Book of Unholy Mischief

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Elle Newmark

Narrator: Raul Esparza

Format: Abridged

Length: 5 hrs and 44 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-30-08

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 10 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

The Book of Unholy Mischief is more than terrific historical drama; its a love story, an investigation into ancient religious secrets that haunt us today, and its a story of intrigue replete with pulse-pounding chase scenes, murderous assassins, torture chambers and conniving, desperate characters. It's beautifully written, authentically detailed, and fiendishly well plotted. Listeners will want their friends to read or listen to it so they can talk about it over dinner in their favorite Italian restaurant.

Members Reviews:

A surprisingly good book

This audio book will be a keeper to listen to again. I could visualize Venice and wish I had visited there when I was in Italy.

Jumbled

I have joyed this book. But part way through the tracks were mixed and it skipped a section then later went back to the middle part. So it was disconcerting to listen through.

Surprisingly different

Unique story that will transport you to a different time and place. Insightful. Provocative. Adventurous

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Title: The Man from the Brazos

Subtitle: Brazos Series #2

Author: Ermal Walden Williamson

Narrator: Rusty Nelson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-27-08

Publisher: Books in Motion

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 4 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Together, Matt and his gunslinger mentor, Rod Best, were able to bring law and order to the Kansas territory. However, all of Matt's skill and daring wouldn't help him with the biggest challenge of his life: learning to live without the woman he loved.

Members Reviews:

Five Stars

I really liked the book. It had adventure, romance and humor. Would recommend it as a good read

The Man from the Brazos

In the year 1858, Matt is assumed dead in a bank robbery attempt in Montana where his brother and another man thought to be him were killed (see the movie The Cowboys). Matt heads south with no other purpose, beside getting to Texas, when he makes an acquaintance: Toothless, a mangy old farm hand who follows Matt because he is a quick draw. Arriving in Mud Creek, Kansas, Matt is shot in the shoulder and has his money stolen. He soon recovers his health and finds work at a nearby farm. After getting his money back, well, at least part of it, he takes a job for the US government as a spy for the US Marshals. His job is to infiltrate Montgomery's camp and join the fight to keep Kansas a free state (no slavery). Montgomery's nemesis is a man called Hamilton. Both are using the slave trade for their own means: money and power. Matt finds himself hired on as a gun for Montgomery and soon figures out that he doesn't really want to be a spy anymore, as he has started to really like Montgomery and his men. The only question is, how can he get out of it with his skin intact?

This is a western story taking place in and outside of Mud Creek (soon to be known as "Abilene"), Kansas in the year 1878. It is a sequel based on the William Dale Jennings' book and screenplay The Cowboys and is also a prequel to the book Across the Brazos. This is the second published book for Ermal Walden Williamson, a John Wayne impersonator.

Having been very pleased with Mr. Williamson's first novel, I found myself eager to start reading this book. Before I started, I figured this book would pick up right where Across the Brazos left off. Boy, was I wrong. Imaging my surprise when I found myself reading about how Matt was making his way down to Texas, twenty years before the previous book, but directly after the movie ended. At first I was a little disappointed, but I quickly changed my opinion. I found I really liked reading about the younger version of Matt Jorgenson and how he became known as a quick draw. It is obvious that Mr. Williamson is more comfortable with the pen in this story as it flows along quite well and the story always keeps the reader interested in what is going to happen next. The characterization is wonderful and the evolution of Matt into a quick draw is a pleasure to absorb. A lot of westerns don't really delve into much historical relevance, but The Man from the Brazos is rich with historical importance. I don't know much about Kansas and how they dealt with the slave trade. And I don't know if the characters used in this story (like Montgomery and Hamilton) are based on actual persons. But from all the references that are listed in the front of the book, I presume that the author has inserted his main character in the middle of something that actually occurred in American History. I became very interested in how Kansas avoided becoming a slave state and the battle to preserve her freedom.