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Title: The Power & the Glory

Author: William C. Hammond

Narrator: Robert Blumenfeld

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-28-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

The Power and the Glory is the third novel in William C. Hammonds rousing nautical fiction series. This volume is set in the late 1790s during the Quasi-War with France and offers listeners a look at the new American Navy during the Age of Fighting Sail. Following in the wake of his previous novels, A Matter of Honor and For Love of Country, it features the adventures of the seafaring Cutler family of Hingham, Massachusetts, and an ever-expanding cast of characters - some real, some fictional - that includes Lt. Richard Cutler, along with Capt. Thomas Truxtun, Capt. Silas Talbot, and other naval heroes personifying the best of American honor and courage as they confront French pirates off the coast of Nantucket and heavily armed French frigates in the Caribbean.

Hammond packs his book with electrifying sea battles and daring challenges to French colonial rule in Haiti and the West Indies. He also offers captivating glimpses into the everyday life of the era, from the bedroom of the Cutler clapboard home in Hingham, to the familys sugarcane plantation in Barbados, to Admiral Sir Hyde Parkers flagship in Jamaica. And at the center of all the excitement, passion, and intrigue are two of the finest frigates ever constructed: USS Constellation and her sister ship, USS Constitution. Lauded for his careful research, attention to detail, and thorough knowledge of the ways of the sea, Hammond brings history alive while telling a rollicking good tale.

Members Reviews:

Engaging history!

The Haitian Revolution and America's quasi-war with France provide the background and conflict for Richard Cutler et al in the third book of the Cutler Family Chronicles, a maritime saga that engaged me from the get-go with its heart, historical accuracy and seamless prose. Richard Cutler is a brave seafaring man and in this book he becomes a lieutenant in the fledgling American Navy. Yet he also has strong family ties and although his family is wealthy, they have their problems as well as their joys. Richard faces trials, challenges -- and temptations. Things could get complicated in his personal life, there are French frigates and privateers to out-shoot or out-wit and the future of the United States is at stake. Real historical people interact with well-drawn characters throughout this series. Hammond's pacing is brisk yet the places and events he describe are vivid and I am awed by the sound history behind it.

A rousing Caribbean cruise

On the third in our continuing series of voyages with the Cutlers, author Bill Hammond takes us back to the Caribbean, a critical scene of action in the first book of the series -- but with some significant differences. In this third book, the British are no longer America's adversaries but our allies, as the young republic fights a quasi-war against its former Revolutionary ally, France. This third volume picks up with one of the two strands left dangling in the previous book of the series. One, of course, was the French revolution, which leads our hero, Richard Cutler, to rescue his former lover, Anne-Marie, the widow of a noble, from Revolutionary zealots. Safely remarried and ensconced in Boston society by the start of this third volume, Anne-Marie is, nevertheless, still a source of tension in Richard's marriage to Katherine, a union that might otherwise be characterized as too perfect.

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Title: Cervantes Street

Author: Jaime Manrique

Narrator: Roger Wayne

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-28-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

The actual facts of Miguel de Cervantes' life seem to be snatched from an epic tale: An impoverished and talented young poet nearly kills a man in a duel and is forced into exile; later, he distinguishes himself in battle and is severely wounded, losing the use of his left hand; on his way back to Spain his ship is captured by pirates and he is sold into slavery in Algiers; after prolonged imprisonment and failed escape attempts, he makes his way back home, eventually settling in a remote village in La Mancha to create his masterpiece, the first modern novel in Western literature: Don Quixote.

Taking the bare bones of Cervantes' life, Jaime Manrique has accomplished a singular feat: an engaging and highly accessible interpretation of a brilliant, enigmatic man and his epoch. Manrique breathes vivid life into his characters, transporting listeners viscerally into his story as he makes full use of its inherent suspense and drama, its pathos and ironies, its colorful locales and momentous events.

It all begins with two bright youths in Madrid whose rivalry over a beautiful woman will shape the course of their lives. Miguel de Cervantes is the passionate one, handsome, gifted, reckless, and ambitious, but from a family fallen on hard times and suspected of being "tainted" with Jewish blood. His classmate Luis de Lara, a wealthy but awkward aristocrat, as well as mediocre poet, from one of the most powerful families in Spain, is engaged to his beautiful cousin Mercedes. When 22-year-old Miguel nearly kills someone in a tavern brawl, he is forced to flee to Seville, joining a troupe of traveling actors to escape a decree ordering that his right hand be cut off. As Luis endeavors to save his friend, he has occasion to introduce Miguel to his beloved Mercedes. To Luis's horror, he soon discovers that the two have fallen in love. Luis becomes consumed with hatred for his former friend and swears eternal revenge.

From that moment on, the two go their separate ways, but their lives remain fatefully intertwined. The adventurous Miguel continues to visit Mercedes before going into exile; and although Mercedes eventually marries Luis, she never stops loving Miguel. The tormented Luis searches in vain to prove his superiority to his wife, and then to his son, and always with respect to his hated rival - as a poet and scholar; as a man of impeccable taste, character, and sensibilities. Completely unaware of Luis's masked hatred of him, Miguel continues throughout his life to seek assistance from his erstwhile friend, with disastrous results. Luis watches with festering envy Miguel's exploits as a soldier, as a servant of the crown, and above all as a writer; and he only finds pleasure in sporadic reports of his rival's darkest hours.

Told in alternating chapters by the opposing protagonists, Manrique's archetypal tale of rivalry and revenge is sure to garner comparisons to Peter Shaffer's Amadeus, Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo, and, with its extraordinary recreation of the life and times of Cervantes, to Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall.

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Title: For Love of Country

Author: William C. Hammond

Narrator: Robert Blumenfeld

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-26-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

For Love of Country is the second novel of the early American republic in the nautical series from William Hammond. Set in the early 1780s, in the years following the American Revolution, it features the adventures of the seafaring Cutler family of Hingham, Massachusetts, and the supporting cast from the first novel of the series, A Matter of Honor. Hammond offers an exciting look at life in the young republic, a time when America remained a weak nation with no navy to protect its prosperous merchant fleet from Barbary pirates and European nations intent on crippling its shipping.

The novel opens with the capture of the Cutler merchant brig Eagle by Barbary pirates. Young Caleb Cutler and his shipmates are taken as prisoners to Algiers. Richard, his brother, is then sent to North Africa to pay the ransom demanded by the Dey of Algiers to free them. When the dey rejects the offer, Richard must defend his ship and the ransom from attack by Algerian pirates. After repulsing the pirates in a fierce battle at sea , Richard travels to Paris to report to John Paul Jones, his former naval commander, who has been dispatched to serve as Americas emissary to the Barbary States. In Paris, amid the tumult of the French Revolution, Richard engages in a desperate attempt to save his former lover, the beautiful Anne-Marie Helvtian, and her two daughters from the guillotine.

The authors careful historical research and thorough knowledge of sailing and the ways of the sea bring authenticity to the novel without detracting from the entertaining storyline. Hammonds focus on the American perspective of the Age of Fighting Sail in the years following the American Revolution adds a fresh dimension to historical novels of the period.

Members Reviews:

Not as good a Patrick O'Brian but I love 19th century sea ...

I really got into this series and bought all the books the author wrote (5 so far). Not as good a Patrick O'Brian but I love 19th century sea stories.

An Interesting chunk of history

This second book of what promises to be a very entertaining series concern the fledgling American Navy dealing with the Barbary pirates and the costs in money and ships it took to establish peace. A thorough explanation of the source of "the shores of Tripoli". Very enjoyable.

High Seas Adventure

This is the second book in the adventures of Richard Cutler and the Cutler family. The Cutler family is based in England, the Caribean and America and have interests in shipping, sugar and rum. The books deal with Richard's adventures at sea and the family's fortunes and misfortune's during the troubles of the time.

The first book deals with events around the time of the Revolutionary War. This second book deals with events involving the Barbary pirates and the French Revolution. One of Richard's brothers is captured by Barbary pirates and this book deals with his attempts to free his brother. After meeting with the Dey of Algiers, Richard heads to Paris in order to meet with Jefferson and John Paul Jones and arrives just in time for the storming of the Bastille.

I thought this book was better written than the first, but at about half the size of the first, it left a lot unfinished.

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Título: La dama de la frontera [The Lady of the Border] (Spanish Edition)

Subtitular: Una hermosa lección de valentía y amor

Autor: Susana Cueva

Narrador: Oscar Estrada

Formato: Unabridged

Duración: 7 hrs and 6 mins

Idioma: Español

Fecha de publicación: 02-20-13

Editor: Casasola Editores

Calificaciones: 4 de 5 de 1 votos

Categorías: Fiction, Historical

Resumen del editor:

Esta es la descarnada historia de una extraordinaria mujer nacida en la República Mexicana y realizada en los Estados Unidos de América. María del Carmen Amaral, cuya existencia estuvo ligada a la frontera, siendo testigo de los cruentos dramas de los migrantes ilegales, más conocidos como ''espaldas mojadas''. María Susana Gómez Amaral, hija de tan singular personaje, ahora convertida en profesora de Historia Universal, 40 años después ha logrado reunir suficientes evidencias y testimonios de los hechos y hoy nos entrega una sabrosa novela que ha titulado La dama de la frontera, con raíces históricas del México Republicano.

La autora, en medio del drama existencial, descubre el doble papel de Carmen Amaral, madre trabajadora y protectora de los inmigrantes indocumentados en completo anonimato, especie de ''ángel protector''. Antes de morir, su consigna fue: ''Salvemos a un millón de niños nacidos en territorio estadounidense cuyos padres serán deportados por no tener documentos''. Como Luther King, Carmen Amaral, en su lecho de muerte, tuvo un épico sueño: ''Que Estados Unidos llegaría a ser un país sin fronteras, sin alambradas, sin policías, una nación que tendería la mano generosa a sus vecinos en paz y armonía''. Este problema es controversial porque involucra a 12 millones de personas cuyo destino está amenazado permanentemente con la deportación. Los editores "Después de leer el manuscrito de La dama de la frontera he quedado convencido que esta obra nos da una hermosa lección de valentía y amor." James Arévalo M. Presidente de la Asociación Mundial de Escritores Andinos.

Please note: This audiobook is in Spanish.

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Title: Death in the Forest

Author: Jeremy Potter

Narrator: Ellie Griffiths

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-14-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Death in the Forest is a crime novel with an historical background. It is set in England in the years following the Norman conquest.

To make his New Forest a hunting preserve, William the Conqueror destroyed churches and villages, and it was believed that in revenge the forest would prove fatal to his sons. This is the story of their deaths - and of what lay behind them.

The story's heroine is Edith, a princess of Scotland and descendant of the Saxon kings of England. She lives in a nunnery at Romsey, between the forest and Winchester, the ancient capital of Wessex. Yearning to rescue England from the Normans, she is far from reconciled to spending her life immured as a nun. But although sent to Romsey to be secluded from the world, Edith is not sheltered from intrigue and violent death - or even from the opportunity of becoming queen. On her very first day four lords come to view her beauty and one of them is murdered. Who is the murderer? And what will be the effect on the succession to England and Normandy? Edith is determined to find out.

The famous figures of the 11th century are portrayed here. Edith, known to history as the Rose of Romsey, meets all the Conqueror's quarrelsome sons, his diminutive but formidable queen and even the awesome Conqueror himself. She visits Edward the Confessor's widow and is herself visited by Archbishop Anselm, companion of popes and scourge of kings. The abbess, who is her aunt, and Father Edmund, her confessor, form part of the intrigue which Edith seeks to unravel.

About the author: Jeremy Potter served the Richard III Society as Chairman from 1971 to 1989. During his chairmanship, the Society launched several important initiatives, including the commissioning of a heroic statue of Richard III (on display in Castle Gardens, Leicester), the securing of royal patronage from H.R.H. Richard Duke of Gloucester, and the broadcast of a trial of Richard III, with Lord Elwyn-Jones, former Lord Chancellor, presiding. During his tenure, the Society also became active in sponsoring the publication of 15th-century source documents and works of current scholarship on the period. It also created the Richard III and Yorkist History Trust, which provides financial support for graduate study and publishing. Potter was elected President of the Society at its Annual General Meeting in London, October 4, 1997.

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Title: Passion Blue

Author: Victoria Strauss

Narrator: Robin Eller

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-13-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

When 17-year-old Giulia, the orphaned, illegitimate daughter of a Milanese nobleman, learns shes to be packed off to a life behind convent walls, she begs an astrologer-sorcerer for a talisman that will secure what shes certain is her hearts desire: true love and a place where she belongs. But does she really know the compass of her heart? The convent of Santa Marta is full of surprises, including a workshop of nuns who are creating paintings of astonishing beauty using a luminous blue mixed from a secret formula: Passion Blue. As Giulias own artistic self is awakened shes torn: should she follow the young man who promises to help her escape? Or stay and satisfy her growing desire to paint?

This richly imagined novel of a girls daring journey towards self-discovery transports listeners into the fascinating world of Renaissance Italy where love and faith and art inspire passion - of many different hues.

Members Reviews:

Worst. Narrator. Ever.

Would you try another book from Victoria Strauss and/or Robin Eller?

Yes/No.

Would you recommend Passion Blue to your friends? Why or why not?

Not the audio version.

Would you be willing to try another one of Robin Ellers performances?

NO. NO NO NO.

Could you see Passion Blue being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Anyone who can, y'know, speak Italian.

Any additional comments?

I wish I could rate the story here, but I really can't. I got through less than fifteen minutes of it before I had to turn it off, because the narration is horrid. Not just bad, but painful -- for some reason, she believes that an Italian accent is no more than stilted english with an "uh" added at the end of each word. "You-uh are-uh so fat-uh." That kind of thing. I seriously cringed from the first dialogue and gave it a good go (since the beginning of the story isn't bad, as written), but there's no way I could finish nine hours of uh's.

I'm going to try to get the kindle version instead, and read it that way, since the premise is intriguing. I'll just be skipping the audio version -- and this narrator.

False accents -UGH!

I'm not sure how I'll feel once I get to the end, but the false accent added to all the dialogue is truly annoying. This accent would make sense if it took place in say England with Italian visitors, but it's Milan, for Pete's sake. Everyone is Italian, so the fake accents aren't needed. It makes it really hard to follow the story and at the moment I'm glad I didn't purchase the second in the series.

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Title: Manifest Destiny

Author: Brian Garfield

Narrator: Michael Prichard

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-08-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

A rollicking adventure starring a young Theodore Roosevelt.

In 1884, Teddy Roosevelts political career is dead in the water. A New York state assemblyman with eyes on national office, he finds his ambitions thwarted just months after his wife and infant daughter pass away. Frustrated by politics, he retires to the American West to ride, ranch, and hunt buffalo in the Dakota Badlands. Nobody tells him that the buffalo are gone.

He arrives in Dakota a greenhorn, awkward in the saddle and unused to Western clothes. But his aristocratic charm, natural intelligence, and love of nature impress the hardened frontiersmen, forming a bond that lasts the rest of their lives. When a wealthy French marquis threatens the pristine country he has fallen in love with, Roosevelt joins with the Dakotans to defend it. Before the presidency, before San Juan Hill, it was in Dakota that Theodore Roosevelt became a man.

Members Reviews:

Four Great Short Stories

I enjoyed all of the short stories in this book, although my favorite was The Jaren. I was hooked immediately by the characters and their emotions. In all of these stories, "man's inhumanity to man" transcends men to include other species from other planets as I believe it would if we settled elsewhere. Prejudice, racism, and man's belief in his own superiority are the issues encased in four completely different stories about life on other planets. Barry Longyear makes each character easy to empathize with and care about. I loved these stories. I was so glad to find the original "before the movie" version of Enemy Mine in this collection and I loved the story as much as I had loved the movie.

The stories are fantastic. The print quality is atrocious

The stories are fantastic.

The print quality is atrocious. The letters and words are, quite literally, photocopies of the paperback printed onto trade paperback pages.

And poor quality photocopies at that, being very fuzzy/not crisp.

Manifest Destiny

Very interesting and spell binding adventure story of T. Roosevelt during his Montana ranching days. Mostly historically accurate with a little authors creative art. I have read it twice and have loaned it to several friends. Very uplifting adventure story. Dana in Colorado

Five Stars

good product good service

Enjoyed it and would read more from this author

Interesting fact based fictional story and entertaining portrait of Teddy Roosevelt learning about ranching in the west as a young man. Enjoyed it and would read more from this author.

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Title: Seahawk Hunting

Subtitle: Seahawk Trilogy, Book 2

Author: Randall Peffer

Narrator: Jonathan Davis

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-03-12

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

In Seahawk Hunting, Rafael Semmes abandons his broken raider, the Sumter, which is penned in by the Federals near Gibraltar. In the meantime, he has the Brits build him a new ship in Liverpool. Called the 290, it is the fastest commercial raider designed for its time, and it is waiting for Semmes in the Azores.

After taking command of the ship he sets out seizing and burning whalers at the rate of one a day, sails back across the North Atlantic against the gulf stream where he picks off another dozen merchant ships headed to Europe. Then, after a thwarted attempt to sneak attack New York City, Semmes makes a beeline for Martinique in the Caribbean during the course of which he has to put down a mutiny on board and evade the USS San Jacinto which has come to destroy him. Finally, Semmes makes it to Galveston where he has an epic gun battle with the USS Hatteras.

Members Reviews:

Exellent!

I strongly recommend this to anyone who enjoys american history. Peffer does not disappoint in following up the first in his three part saga romantically portraying the exploits of Confederate raider Raphael Semmes. Lots of action, and a rare look into the shady underworld of Civil War espionage, politics, and piracy!

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Title: Two for Texas

Author: James Lee Burke

Narrator: Tom Stechschulte

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 28 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-08-12

Publisher: Whole Story Audiobooks Ltd

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Son Holland arrived in the Louisiana penal camp determined to escape - but he never imagined that in order to succeed he would need to kill a man. Terrified for his life, he flees the state across the river to Texas, taking with him a beautiful Indian squaw and a fellow prisoner. And as they make their way towards General Houston's infamous Texas Rangers, they find themselves in the midst of the final tragic battle for the Alamo.

Members Reviews:

Remember The Alamo

What did you like most about Two for Texas?

The historical content of the book and meeting the defenders of the Alamo

What was one of the most memorable moments of Two for Texas?

I particularly enjoyed the final chapters when we where hearing about Jim Bowie, Dave Crocket ,Travis and Houston .James Lee Burke is a master author when he delves into Americas past history.What an authour.

What about Tom Stechschultes performance did you like?

An outstanding narrator he really delivers with his tone and voice.Brilliant.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I would have enjoyed listening to it in one sitting but I enjoyed it traveling to and from work

Any additional comments?

Some nice one liners in the book. I liked when Huw was pulling a fast one with the camp cook for provisions and the cooks-reply.I have listened to most of James Lee Burkes book and enjoyed them all.

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Title: Beautiful Lies

Author: Clare Clark

Narrator: Wanda McCaddon

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 hrs and 2 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-18-12

Publisher: Dreamscape Media, LLC

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 9 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

London 1887. For Maribel Campbell Lowe, the beautiful bohemian wife of a maverick politician, it is the year to make something of herself. A self-proclaimed Chilean heiress educated in Paris, she is torn between poetry and the new art of photography. But it is soon plain that Maribel's choices are not so simple. As her husband's career hangs by a thread, her real past, and the family she abandoned, come back to haunt them both.

When the notorious newspaper editor Alfred Webster begins to take an uncommon interest in Maribel, she fears he will not only destroy Edward's career but both of their reputations.

Critic Reviews:

"...[A] grand adventure, and Clark's novel is so richly textured and detailed that the reader might rightly wish that she return to her former profession as a historian - for a rousing social history of the Victorian era, written to these standards, would be a welcome thing... Long, intricate and very well-realized: a page turner for the smart set." (Kirkus Reviews)

Members Reviews:

Wry humor; excellent story

This is a compelling, engaging story, an evolving depiction of a 19th century woman's hidden identity. Clare Clark is not yet well known in the U.S., but her writing and her character development are excellent. I have read every one of her books, and this one is no disappointment.

One piece of advice: I had to listen to the first chapter a few times to remember the names of many children in that section. I found it was not necessary. The kids are peripheral and the narrative quickly focuses on a small set of adult characters.

Plot is rather plodding

Any additional comments?

Wanted to like this book but could not finish. Nice historical detail but rather tedious story. I'll go back to my guilty pleasure of Anne Perry instead.