High-Quality Free Audiobooks in Biography & Memoir, History & Culture

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/627199 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Cockroaches Author: Scholastique Mukasonga Narrator: Akrosia Samson Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 4 hours 21 minutes Release date: June 28, 2022 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: Imagine being born into a world where everything about you—the shape of your nose, the look of your hair, the place of your birth—designates you as an undesirable, an inferior, a menace, no better than a cockroach, something to be driven away and ultimately exterminated. Imagine being thousands of miles away while your family and friends are brutally and methodically slaughtered. Imagine being entrusted by your parents with the mission of leaving everything you know and finding some way to survive, in the name of your family and your people. Scholastique Mukasonga’s Cockroaches is the story of growing up a Tutsi in Hutu-dominated Rwanda—the story of a happy child, a loving family, all wiped out in the genocide of 1994. A vivid, bittersweet depiction of family life and bond in a time of immense hardship, it is also a story of incredible endurance and the duty to remember that loss and those lost while somehow carrying on. Sweet, funny, wrenching, and deeply moving, Cockroaches is a window into an unforgettable world of love, grief, and horror.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/627181 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Lavoisier in the Year One: The Birth of a New Science in an Age of Revolution Series: Part of The Great Discoveries Series Author: Madison Smartt Bell Narrator: Arthur Morey Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 5 hours 48 minutes Release date: June 28, 2022 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: Antoine Lavoisier reinvented chemistry, overthrowing the long-established principles of alchemy and inventing an entirely new terminology, one still in use by chemists. Madison Smartt Bell’s enthralling narrative reads like a race to the finish line, as the very circumstances that enabled Lavoisier to secure his reputation as the father of modern chemistry—a considerable fortune and social connections with the likes of Benjamin Franklin—also caused his glory to be cut short by the French Revolution.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/625759 to listen full audiobooks. Title: In the Path of Abraham: How Donald Trump Made Peace in the Middle East—and How to Stop Joe Biden from Unmaking It Author: Jason D. Greenblatt Narrator: Jim Seybert Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 9 hours 7 minutes Release date: June 21, 2022 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: An insider’s perspective on how the Abraham Accords were concluded and why they offer a way forward to a new era of peace and prosperity in the Middle East—if only they are not abandoned by the Biden Administration This book charts the remarkable journey of Jason D. Greenblatt, who spent nearly two decades in various senior positions at the Trump Organization—including as an Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer—and his subsequent appointment by President Trump as an Assistant to the President and Special Representative for International Negotiations. Jason was also assigned the position of White House Special Envoy to the Middle East, playing a key role in the Peace to Prosperity Plan, which aimed to resolve the discord between Israel and the Palestinians, and Israel and its Arab neighbors. Thanks to these efforts, including Jason’s role in establishing the groundwork for the Abraham Accords, many Middle Eastern countries now have improved relationships with Israel, such as the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain, Sudan, and the Kingdom of Morocco. In the Path of Abraham is a call to action—an urgent plea to the Biden Administration not to abandon the progress the Trump administration began, but to embrace and expand on it. The stakes could not be higher—and time is not on our side.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/621451 to listen full audiobooks. Title: A Woman of Adventure: The Life and Times of First Lady Lou Henry Hoover Author: Annette B. Dunlap Narrator: Rachel Fulginiti Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 10 hours 17 minutes Release date: June 1, 2022 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: When Lou Henry married Herbert Hoover in February 1899, she looked forward to a partnership of equality and a life of adventure. She could fire a rifle and sit a horse as well as any man. The Quaker community of Whittier, California, where she lived as a teen, reinforced the egalitarian spirit of her upbringing. But history had other ideas for Lou Henry Hoover. For the first fifteen years of married life, Lou globe-trotted with her husband as he pursued a lucrative career in mining engineering and consulting. World War I not only changed the map of the world, it changed the map of the Hoovers’ marriage. Herbert Hoover’s Commission for the Relief of Belgium launched him into a political career that led to the White House. Lou, who detested the limelight, led a dual life: she supported her husband’s political career, managed their multiple households, and saw to the needs of their family. Behind the scenes, she pursued her own interests. History has long since forgotten the breadth of her achievements, but Lou Henry Hoover’s powerful legacy endures in the ongoing success of the Girl Scouts, the music and physical therapy degree programs at Stanford University, athletic opportunities for women, and the countless unknown men and women who received an education thanks to Lou’s anonymous financial support. Conveying Lou’s humor, personality, and intelligence, A Woman of Adventure takes a fresh look at the first lady who preceded Eleanor Roosevelt and her also-extraordinary accomplishments.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/621458 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Crazy Horse, Third Edition: The Strange Man of the Oglalas Author: Mari Sandoz Narrator: Bernadette Dunne Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 16 hours 58 minutes Release date: May 31, 2022 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: Crazy Horse was the legendary military leader of the Oglala Sioux whose personal power and social nonconformity contributed to his reputation as being “strange.” Crazy Horse fought in many battles, including the famous Battle of the Little Bighorn, and held out tirelessly against the US government’s efforts to confine the Native Americans to reservations. Eventually, in the spring of 1877, he surrendered to military forces and ended up meeting a violent death. Now, nearly a century and a half later, Crazy Horse continues to hold a special place in the hearts and minds of people. Author Mari Sandoz offers a powerful evocation of the indigenous people of this long-ago world, of the life of Crazy Horse, and of the man’s enduring spirit.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/619416 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Divine Lola: A True Story of Scandal and Celebrity Author: Cristina Morató Narrator: Cynthia Farrell Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 15 hours 24 minutes Release date: September 1, 2021 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: An enthralling biography about one of the most intriguing women of the Victorian age: the first self-invented international social celebrity. Lola Montez was one of the most celebrated and notorious women of the nineteenth century. A raven-haired Andalusian who performed her scandalous “Spider Dance” in the greatest performance halls across Europe, she dazzled and beguiled all who met her with her astonishing beauty, sexuality, and shocking disregard for propriety. But Lola was an impostor, a self-invention. Born Eliza Gilbert, the beautiful Irish wild child escaped a stifling marriage and reimagined herself as Lola the Sevillian flamenco dancer and noblewoman, choosing a life of adventure, fame, sex, and scandal rather than submitting to the strictures of her era. Lola cast her spell on the European aristocracy and the most famous intellectuals and artists of the time, including Alexandre Dumas, Franz Liszt, and George Sand, and became the obsession of King Ludwig I of Bavaria. She then set out for the New World, arriving in San Francisco at the height of the gold rush, where she lived like a pioneer and performed for rowdy miners before making her way to New York. There, her inevitable downfall was every bit as dramatic as her rise. Yet there was one final reinvention to come for the most defiant woman of the Victorian age—a woman known as a “savage beauty” who was idolized, romanticized, vilified, truly known by no one, and a century ahead of her time.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/633749 to listen full audiobooks. Title: [German] - Der glücklichste Mensch der Welt - Ein hundertjähriger Holocaust-Überlebender erzählt, warum Liebe und Hoffnung stärker sind als der Hass (Ungekürzt) Author: Eddie Jaku Narrator: Reinhard Kuhnert Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 4 hours 3 minutes Release date: April 1, 2021 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: Hundert Jahre Glücklichsein: Der über hundertjährige Holocaust-Überlebende Eddie Jaku erzählt, wie er in dunkelsten Stunden zu Freude, Dankbarkeit und Hoffnung fand - ein Jahrhundertleben und eine aufrüttelnd-anrührende Geschichte voller Weisheit. Über all die Jahre hinweg habe ich eines gelernt: Das Leben ist schön, wenn du es schön werden lässt. Ich möchte Dir meine Geschichte erzählen. - Eddie Jaku Eddie Jaku wird 1920 in Leipzig geboren und wächst als Sohn einer jüdischen Mittelschichtsfamilie auf. Nach der nationalsozialistischen Machtübernahme ist er gezwungen, seine Heimat zu verlassen, um in Tuttlingen unter falschem Namen die Schule abzuschließen. Als er am 9. November 1938 heimlich seine Eltern in der Heimat besucht, wird er nach Buchenwald deportiert. Sein Vater schafft es, ihn freizubekommen und gemeinsam mit der gesamten Familie nach Belgien auszuwandern. Mit Ausbruch des Zweiten Weltkriegs beginnt ein Leben in Angst, in Verstecken und auf der Flucht. Doch schließlich wird die Familie verraten und nach Auschwitz deportiert, Eddies Eltern werden ermordet. Er selbst überlebt den Horror der KZ-Haft als begabter Ingenieur. In den letzten Kriegstagen entkommt er einem Todesmarsch und wird von US-Truppen gerettet. Nach dem Krieg brechen Verzweiflung und Trauer über ihn herein. Doch zur Geburt seines Sohnes macht er sich selbst ein Versprechen: Er will jeden Tag lächeln, er will das Wunder des Lebens und seines Überlebens dadurch ehren, dass er glücklich ist, dass er sich aktiv für die Hoffnung entscheidet. Dieser Überzeugung bleibt er treu und wandert gemeinsam mit seiner Frau 1950 nach Australien aus, wo er bis heute im Kreise seiner Kinder, Enkel, Urenkel und Ururenkel lebt. Wie einem alten Freund erzählt er nun seine persönliche Geschichte, von seinem Weg zum Glück und wie er die Überzeugungen gewonnen hat, die ihn in seinem langen Leben anleiten: Ein Schritt nach dem anderen. Wenn du heute überstehst, wird ein Morgen kommen. Freundlichkeit kannst du überall finden, auch bei Fremden. Wenn du deine Überzeugungen verlierst, verlierst du dich selbst. Ein guter Freund kann dir die ganze Welt bedeuten. Wo Leben ist, ist Hoffnung.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/635766 to listen full audiobooks. Title: [Spanish] - Francisco José de Caldas Author: Santiago Díaz Narrator: Omar Barrera Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 7 hours 21 minutes Release date: March 2, 2021 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: Esta interesante biografía pretende presentar la vida y obra de Francisco José de Caldas, uno de los personajes más importantes de la Nueva Granada, y que pasó a la historia por sus aportaciones a la causa común de la emancipación, así como por sus variados intereses. Una biografía muy interesante. Fue uno de los personajes más notorios en la gesta libertadora.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/635776 to listen full audiobooks. Title: [Spanish] - Leonardo da Vinci. Claro y oscuro Series: #33 of Personajes de la Historia Author: Leonardo Venegas Narrator: Arturo Mercado Jr. Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 3 hours 39 minutes Release date: December 24, 2020 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: (Vinci, Toscana, 1452-Amboise, Turena, 1519). Artista, pensador e investigador italiano que, por su insaciable curiosidad y su genio polifacético, representa el modelo más acabado del hombre del Renacimiento. Era hijo ilegítimo de un abogado florentino, quien no lo alejó de su madre, una modesta campesina. Leonardo se formó como artista en Florencia, en el taller de Andrea Verrochio; pero gran parte de su carrera se desarrolló en otras ciudades italianas como Milán (bajo el mecenazgo del duque Ludovico Sforza) o Roma (donde trabajó para Julio de Médicis). Aunque practicó las tres artes plásticas, no se ha conservado ninguna escultura suya. Tras su muerte, se ha convertido en el paradigma de hombre del Renacimiento, dedicado a múltiples investigaciones científicas y artísticas. Sus obras han determinado la evolución del arte en los siglos posteriores. Su vida personal es en gran parte un misterio; apenas han llegado indicaciones acerca de sus costumbres, gustos o defectos. Ha ocupado en forma alterna los pedestales del sabio, el artista, el científico, el profeta, el humanista o el inventor. Sin embargo, de las muchas actividades emprendidas por su genio irrefrenable, a ninguna le consagró más tiempo y disciplina que a aquella que hoy se conoce como el oficio de escribir.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/635759 to listen full audiobooks. Title: [Spanish] - Catalina II. La gran leyenda de Rusia Series: #18 of Personajes de la Historia Author: Anastassia Espinel Narrator: Ana Ragasol Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 3 hours 21 minutes Release date: November 28, 2020 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: Aunque de origen alemán, tuvo una excelente formación a 'la francesa'. Asumió el cargo de emperatriz como sucesora de su marido Pedro III, que murió en un complot en 1762 (año que Catalina tomó el poder). Por su estrategia de política interior y exterior intentó una europeización del país, y otorgó a la nobleza un puesto relevante que hasta ese momento no habían tenido. Interiormente fracasó su intento de crear un código con las ideas de Montesquieu y vivió una contienda en 1773 con los campesinos, por la nefasta situación social que la población vivía. Esto provocó una nueva reestructuración del Gobierno regente. Exteriormente se centró en la expansión territorial, aunque dependía de Polonia y Turquía. Mantuvo una gran amistad y comunicación con los grandes ilustrados franceses, como Diderot, Montesquieu o Voltaire.