Listen Legally to Best Full Audiobooks in Fiction, Historical Popular Authors

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Title: O'Hara's Choice

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Leon Uris

Narrator: John Bedford Lloyd

Format: Abridged

Length: 6 hrs and 8 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-05-05

Publisher: HarperAudio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

But there's an obstacle in his path that this warrior hadn't planned on. Amanda Blanton Kerr, the daughter of a ruthless industrialist, is on a mission of her own; passionate, obstinate, and whip-smart, she's an heiress poised to blaze a trail for all women.

O'Hara's Choice is the story of the inevitable collision of these two handsome, fighting spirits, in which getting their souls' desires could jeopardize everything they, and their parents before them, scraped and struggled to achieve.

Members Reviews:

Three Stars

Not one of his better books.

love you leon

i had read all of leon uris' books when first published in the 60's and 70's and a, as a younger reader, i found them very interesting, exciting and educational. on reading them again as an ageing old guy, i am amazed that i still get the same thrill from his books. he is up there with michener

O'Hara's Choice

I received a hardback copy of this book as a young Lance Corporal. It motivated me then because it is an easy read. Now that I've read it again years later, it reminds me of all of the optimism that we share as marines. It is an uplifting book that i recommend to all marines.

... a little departure from his normal style but an excellent story. Well worth the

I had never seen this book in the days when Uris was popular it is a little departure from his normal style but an excellent story. Well worth the read

Ohara's choice

I love Leon Uris books. This was even better because it is about the early Marines. I have a vested interest in the Marines. It's a great story.

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Title: Believe in Me

Author: Josie Litton

Narrator: Josephine Bailey

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-28-04

Publisher: Books on Tape

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 135 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

In this sequel to Dream of Me, Josie Litton pursues the romantic and political affiliations between the Saxons and Norse at the end of the ninth century. When the Saxon lord Hawk agrees to take a Norse bride, he finds an unexpected affection for his enigmatic and fiery fiancee, Lady Krysta. But Lady Krysta arrives bearing many secrets, including her gift for seeing what others cannot. When Hawk's sinister half-sister collaborates with a bevy of other schemers to try to drive a wedge between the couple, only Krysta can sense the looming danger that threatens both Hawk and the peace affected by their union. Believe in Me is studded with a cast of colorful characters and framed by a richly-drawn historical context.

©2001 Josie Litton; (P)2003 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic Reviews:

"Historical romance readers will embrace this capable author and her enchanting new trilogy." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

A Magical Escape

A friend of mine introduced me to the works of Josie Litton. All 3 of the books in this series are excellent. I have listened to each of them at least 3 or 4 times. I wish she would write some more books like these. I would buy them in a heartbeat. Come on Josie, what's coming in the future? We love you. At least i do. These stories are wonderful. You can just see the whole thing in your mind's pictures. Great writing.

As Enchanting As The First Book In The Series!!!!

Great plot and character development with a little mystery running through it and just the right amount of spice... excellent read that takes you to another time and place.

Loved the Whole Series

Never had read/listened to Josie Litton book. But the discriptions interested me so I purchased the first one. After the first hour into it I quickly bought the next 2. I enjoyed the mystery, the romance, the sex, and the humor. Recommend this to all historical romance listeners.

Enjoyed the characters.

This one starts so differently. The only thing I did not enjoy was the russle of paper in the back round when the narrator paused. After the first couple of hours I got used to it. I really enjoyed it.

Great book.

I loved the book in print and enjoyed it just as much by ear.

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Title: To the Last Man

Subtitle: A Novel of the First World War

Author: Jeff Shaara

Narrator: Philip Bosco

Format: Abridged

Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-22-04

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 52 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

In the skies, meanwhile, technology has provided a devastating new tool, the airplane, and with it a different kind of hero emerges: the flying ace. Soaring high above the chaos on the ground, these solitary knights duel in the splendor and terror of the skies, their courage and steel tested with every flight.

As the conflict stretches into its third year, a neutral America is goaded into war, with its reluctant president, Woodrow Wilson, finally accepting the repeated challenges to his stance of nonalignment. Yet the Americans are woefully unprepared and ill equipped to enter a war that has become worldwide in scope. The responsibility is placed on the shoulders of General John "Blackjack" Pershing, and by mid-1917 the first wave of the American Expeditionary Force arrives in Europe. Encouraged by the bold spirit and strength of the untested Americans, the world waits to see if the tide of war can finally be turned.

From Blackjack Pershing to the Marine in the trenches, from the Red Baron to the American pilots of the Lafayette Escadrille, To the Last Man paints a vivid portrait and is written with the intensity and accuracy that characterizes all of Shaara's work. This spellbinding novel carries readers to the heart of one of the greatest conflicts in human history, and puts them face-to-face with characters who made a lasting impact on the world.

Critic Reviews:

"[Shaara] again displays his gift for portraying the intensely human side of warriors....Shaara is at his best in describing scenes of battle....First-rate storytelling." (Booklist)

Members Reviews:

Shaara good as always

Mr. Shaara does is again! This was a great book. He does not cover all of the first world war, but does a good job of the Red Baron, Gen Pershing, and the common foot soldier,

You can almost place yourself in the trenches. It was also interesting to see the Politics the Pershing had to contend with.

A great book, I hope the unabridged version comes out soon on Audible.

Disappointing

I really enjpy the work, but the abridged version seemed, well, abridged. It lacked the flow and completness of his other books. Would wait for the full version or find another book.

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Title: Sarah

Subtitle: Book One of the Canaan Trilogy

Author: Marek Halter

Narrator: Kate Burton

Format: Abridged

Length: 4 hrs and 54 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-06-04

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 13 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Many years later, Abram's people return to Ur, and he discovers that the lost, rebellious girl from the marsh has been transformed into the most splendid and revered woman in Sumeria, the high priestess of the goddess Ishtar. But the memory of their night together has always haunted Sarah, and she gives up her exalted life to join Abram's tribe and follow the one true God, an invisible deity who speaks only to Abram. It is then that her journey truly begins; a journey that holds the key to her remarkable destiny as the mother of nations.

From the great ziggurat of Ishtar and the fertile valleys of Canaan to the bedchamber of the mighty Pharaoh himself, Sarah's story reveals an ancient world full of beauty, intrigue, and miracles.

Critic Reviews:

"The writing is lively and shimmering with detail....The tale rolls along smoothly." (Booklist)

"Halter isn't afraid to present headstrong Sarah as bitter in her old age, and his complex portrait of the biblical matriarch gives this solid if predictable novel a dash of freshness." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Good Read

Good read... but I wonder when the next will be out. Covers much of what must have been going through Sarah's head. The part about Issac has a few unexpected twists.

Good

Really enjoyed the authors viewpoint. I finished listening in about 3 days- looking forward to each listening session. Not necessarily biblically accurate but a clear vision of how life may have been at that time.

abraham a stranger?

I normally love fiction books based loosely on a biblical character but taken beyond our knowledge of them. But this is ridiculous - Sarah was Abraham's half-sister as they had the same father - to put Sarah as the daughter of a great lord and Abraham a complete stranger is absurd. It's hard to get past that basic fact and enjoy a story.

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Title: The Black Tulip

Author: Alexandre Dumas

Narrator: John Bolen

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-23-01

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 35 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

The tulip craze of 17th century Holland has a dark side! Cornelius van Baerle, a wealthy but naive tulip grower, finds himself entangled in the deadly politics of his time. Cornelius' one desire is to grow the perfect black tulip. But after his godfather is murdered, he finds himself in prison, facing a death sentence. His jailer's lovely daughter holds the key to his survival, and his chance to produce the precious black blossom. Yet he has one more enemy to contend with!

©2000 Tantor Media Incorporated

Members Reviews:

terrible narration

This my first review.

I simply couldn't continue trying to listen to this narration. John Bolen's voice has a constant change in volume and pitch, sometimes too loud and then towards the end of a sentence he will run out out of steam (breath?) and fades almost to the point of mumbling.

This narrator has completely ruined any enjoyment I might have had from this work by Dumas.

After about 25 minutes I gave up and have called it a lost cause.

Bolens heavy use of accents only make the narration worse. I generally have no difficulty with dialects or accents (tri-lingual myself), but combined with his style of narration, well I just gave up trying to listen. Personally any further Audible choice I make will not have this narrator.

A major disappointment

I loved the idea of the book, but the execution of this audible recording is terrible. The most annoying aspect was the narrator, whose rising and falling inflections bore no connection to the words he was speaking. I recommend listening to a sample before selecting this title for yourself. I failed to do so, and deeply regret my error.

Another problem was the awkward translation. It was overly wordy, convoluted and difficult. Dialog was stilted, and the poor reading of the text compounded my frustration.

The story itself is compelling, and is worthy of a better rendition.

Accents

There is nothing that ruins a good narrated book faster than bad foreign accents. The narrator was either lazily reading the descriptives or faking several accents. I couldn't give this book better marks for this reason.

Narrator slaughters the story

This is my 9th book of Alexandre Dumas... I read the previous ones, and this is the first of the Dumas books that I listen to. The narrator is extremly painful to listen to. His tone of voice does not correspond to what he is reading, which makes it difficult to comprehend the story. When he is quoting the characters, immitating the Dutch accent - one may as well listen to a foreign language. Very dissapointing and an affront to a brilliant author such as Alexandre Dumas.

Dumas does it again!

Cornelius van Baerle, a man with a consuming passion for life, is the gentle, brilliant and focused hero in the story. He is only introduced, in the story, after a violent introduction, by the author, portraying a tumultuous political time; the fighting factions loyal to William of Orange, the one in power, versus King Louis IX. He does a blind favor for his God Father and unwittingly gets involved, years later, with the politics of the time and prison is the consequence. Cornelius' consuming passion for cultivating tulips, and his complete ignorance of political matters, causes him to become an unwitting victim of extreme jealously, that follows him for years, an innocent scapegoat of political tyranny and, by chance, and by providence, an accidental and fortunate lover, in the purest form of love.

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Title: The Mauritius Command

Subtitle: Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 4

Author: Patrick O'Brian

Narrator: Tim Pigott-Smith

Format: Abridged

Length: 5 hrs and 15 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-01-00

Publisher: Random House AudioBooks

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 42 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Captain Jack Aubrey is ashore on half pay without a command - until Stephen Maturin arrives with secret orders for Aubrey to take a frigate to the Cape of Good Hope under a commodore's pennant, there to mount an expedition against the French-held islands of Mauritius and La Réunion. But the difficulties of carrying out his orders are compounded by two of his own captains - Lord Clonfert, a pleasure-seeking dilettante, and Captain Corbett, whose severity pushes his crew to the verge of mutiny. This is the fourth in O'Brian's 20-volume Aubrey/Maturin series.

Don't miss the rest of the

series.

©1977 Patrick O'Brian; (P)1999 Random House, Inc.; Cover Illustration by Geoff Hunt

Critic Reviews:

"Jack's assignment: to capture the Indian Ocean islands of Réunion and Mauritius from the French. That campaign forms the narrative thread of this rollicking sea saga. But its substance is more beguiling still." (Newsweek)

Members Reviews:

A Theme Begins to Mature

Patrick O'Brian is often called The Greatest Author You Never Heard Of, and there are very good reasons for this, however lucky for you - you are after all reading this - you have the oportunity to learn about him and his masterpiece series of books that chronicle the lives of Jack Aubrey, an Officer in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Struggles, and Stephen Maturin, the bastard son of an Irish soldier and a Catalan Princess who became an Intelligence Agent to help save first Ireland then Catalonia from the veracious greed of Napoleon and his France. This is the 4th of a 20 book series - each of the books was written with their own subplots and vehicle, but are in fact chapters in one long book in the tradition of the Masters of Literature.

Jack Aubrey is a man's man, but is also filled with contradiction. He is often the victim of his own libido, and yet he is a true bear on the enemies deck, crossing swords or fighting his ship with a skill and style certainly all his own, but of course is in reality based upon a real-life officer of the Royal Navy who did indeed take a 32-Gun Frigate with a 12-gun sloop (unheard of). Stephen Maturin is deep in so many ways, and yet human in spite of his great mind and curious nature. It is hard to admire a characture who ends up addicted to various substances (opium, cocaine, bahng, the list is large), yet at the same time you cannot help but feel compassion for the emotional pain that drives him to seek their comfort.

If you enjoy that feeling that comes upon you when reality is suddenly suspended and you are sucked into the world of the story, you will very much treasure this book, and the ones that came before it and follow it. I cannot begin to praise it enough, or explain to you in 2000 characters why it is so good, so I won't try; I will simply say it is THAT Good.

You do not need to read the others to understand and appreciate each book, so dig in. Enjoy!

The Mauritius Command

Simply put: O'Brian is the best historical novelist ever, and Tim Piggot-Smith is the best reader of his work. I couldn't care less about the sea -- but O'Brian's description of it grips me. His characters pulse and live, and his descriptions of their lives and times make you an eager participant. Funny, vivid, and immensely moving.

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Title: Bending the Boyne

Subtitle: A Novel of Ancient Ireland

Author: J. S. Dunn

Narrator: Tim Gerard Reynolds

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 30 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-12-12

Publisher: Seriously Good Books LLC

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 43 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Circa 2200 BCE: Changes rocking the Continent reach Eire with the dawning Bronze Age. Well before any Celts, marauders invade the island seeking copper and gold. The young astronomer Boann and the enigmatic Cian need all their wits and courage to save their people and their great Boyne mounds, when long bronze knives challenge the peaceful native starwatchers. Banished to far coasts, Cian discovers how to outwit the invaders at their own game. Tensions on Eire between new and old cultures and between Boann, Elcmar, and her son Aengus, ultimately explode. What emerges from the rubble of battle are the legends of Ireland's beginnings in a totally new light.

Larger than myth, this tale echoes with medieval texts, and cult heroes modern and ancient. By the final temporal twist, factual prehistory is bending into images of leprechauns who guard Eire's gold for eternity. As ever, the victors will spin the myths.

This story appeals to fans of solid historical fiction, myth and fantasy, archaeo-astronomy, and Bronze Age Europe.

Bending the Boyne draws on 21st century archaeology to show the lasting impact when early metal mining and trade take hold along north Atlantic coasts. Carved megaliths and stunning gold artifacts, from the Pyrenees up to the Boyne, come to life in this researched historical fiction.

Awarded first place, Next Generation Indie Awards 2011 (USA). Nominated for Foreword Book of the Year Award (historical fiction); to be announced June 2012.

Critic Reviews:

"Bang-on with the latest archaeological debates." (Peter Clark, MIFA, Director, The Canterbury Archaeological Trust, Canterbury, Kent, UK)

Members Reviews:

Bending the Boyne

I enjoyed the story very much. I have been fascinated by Newgrange and the Hill of Tara, and I really wanted to know all the wild, esoteric secrets they held. I was very content to hear about the simple, peaceful people who used the mounds and carved the rocks. I think I enjoyed the epilogue as much as the story, and spent some time on the internet looking up artifacts and people.

Great Historical Fiction

Any additional comments?

Great historical fiction that gives us a look at a world so distant from what we have today. A glimpse of what we have lost when we are not in tune with the natural and spiritual world.

Lots of info but a dry story/reading

Would you listen to Bending the Boyne again? Why?

No. I barely hung in there to listen to it one time. I found the reading and the story dry and fairly lifeless. Maybe that is because the last couple audiobooks I listened to were particularly well read with good character voices and voice inflection where I'd expect it, and Reynold's reading had neither. I found his voice especially hard to relate to when he read female dialog.

The story itself is chocked full of detailed history and mythology, but the presentation was more akin to reading a history book than a novel.

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Title: Our American West

Subtitle: Volume I

Author: Gary McCarthy

Narrator: Rusty Nelson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 46 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-05-13

Publisher: Books in Motion

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

In Our American West, Volume 1, discover humor, tragedy, and courage in every one of these delightful stories. Gary McCarthy has been writing about the American West for 30 years and these are some of his favorite topics written - not for the expert or scholar - but for all the armchair admirers of thing historically written.

Some of these exciting subjects are fairly well known such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, but even here you will discover things about these daring outlaws that you probably didnt know. Stories of coyotes, burros, jackrabbits and mustangs - the "untamed ones" that are oh-so-very important threads in the rich and textured tapestry of our western heritage. Black Bart, the gentle stagecoach robber. Lola Montez, the famous "Spider Dancer." Charles Russell, famous for his art, but one of his dearest friends, Will Rogers thought of him as an equally gifted storyteller. "Bet a Million" Gates whose bold Texas wager transformed the entire face and future of the American West.

In this fascinating listen, you will learn about explorers, adventurers, the famous and almost famous, and about legends like Joaquin Murieta.

Members Reviews:

I highly recommended this series.

I'm both reading and listening to the audio books, Our American West by Gary McCarthy Volume 1 and 2 and learning so much about the development of the US in the early days of European settlement. I'm finding it fascinating learning about the people behind the legends and the wildlife, so different to any in my country. I wish they made geography and history lessons this interesting when I attended school.

I highly recommended this series.

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Title: Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim: Summary

Author: Book Junkie

Narrator: Doug Greene

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 11 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-08-17

Publisher: S&S Publishing

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Yellow Crocus is the story of love, a love that is found in the most unexpected place. A black woman is forced to abandon her young son and become the wet nurse for the young mistress of the house just born. She despises the thought of leaving her son to care for this young baby, but she has no choice in the 1800s.

The love that develops between these two can be described as nothing short of the love that develops between mother and child. Their relationship isn't perfect, but it develops day by day and over time, each developing love and appreciation for the other.

This summary will explore and delve deep into the many things this book has to offer.

Specifically we will look at the following:

Disclaimer: This text serves as a companion and guide to the best-seller Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim. It will help to broaden the listener's understanding of the book, and highlight insights that might otherwise be overlooked. As this is a companion volume, you'll want to have a copy of the actual book on hand before listening to this.

Members Reviews:

Fantastic summary of an amazing story!

Let me start by telling you how much I love historical pieces that take place long ago in a different time and place. This book pulled me out of my world and dropped me right into a plantation of the south in the lives of amazing characters that blend together. It really helps you get a grip on what life was like back then. This story is one of love and the ties that bind us between us and our children and those we love most around us. It is about the struggle mankind has and the pockets of meaning we manage to carve. Wonderful resource for me!

This historical book takes great place in our history and the summary of it ...

This historical book takes great place in our history and the summary of it is great. You can tell that someone clearly knows the subject and what does this book tell about and it clears some issues. That's great and I am glad that I had the chance to read the summary so I can fully understand the meaning of it.

Another book of his own class by Book Junkie, tough but to the point.

I certainly appreciate the way the author summarized Laila Ibrahimâs âYellow Crocusâ in a simple way, short in length but straight. In my opinion, it indeed assists you to get a grasp on what life was like back then.

It is a love tie story that muddles us with our children and those we love most. Additionally, it is about the scuffle manhood has and the solutions of that as well. If you love these kinds of tough topics then you must try it.

Great summarized version of the book

If you want an easy to understand and quick breakdown of Yellow Crocus, get this book. Takes out all the unnecessary details and leaves you with only the meat of the story.

it gave me a very good feel for the book

The summary tells of the characters in the story and lists their roles, motivatiÂon and the symbols they represent in cÂomprehensive character analyses. Well-written and full of detail, the sumÂmary is ideal for someone who needs to uÂnderstand Ibrahimâs story without readinÂg the entire original novel. This summary made me more interested in reading the story than I was with just the short description of the book, it gave me a very good feel for the book.

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Title: Unspeakable Things

Author: Kathleen Spivack

Narrator: Suzanne Toren

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-26-16

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 2 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

The setting: New York, the early 1940s, with the specter of a red-hot Europe at war.

At the center of Kathleen Spivack's Unspeakable Things: Anna (known as the Rat), an exotic Hungarian countess with the face of an angel, beautiful eyes and a seraphic smile, with a passionate intelligence, an exquisite ugliness, and the power to enchant.... Her second cousin Herbert, a former minor Austrian civil servant who believes in Esperanto and the international rights of man, a wheeler-dealer in New York, powerful in the social sphere, yet under the thumb of his wife, Adeline.... Michael, their missing homosexual son.... Felix, a German pediatrician who dabbles in genetic engineering.... The Tolstoi String Quartet, four men and their instruments, who for 20 years lived as one, playing the great concert halls of Europe, for whom music is their life; escaping to New York from Bremerhaven, smuggled out on a German submarine, their money sewn into the red silk linings of their instrument cases....

And watching them all, Herbert's eight-year-old granddaughter, Maria, witnessing the family's strange comings and goings, being regaled at night when most are asleep with the intoxicating, thrilling stories of their secret pasts...of lives lived in St. Petersburg...of husbands being sent to the front and large, dangerous debts owed to the tsar of imperial Russia, and of a strange pact made in desperation between the Rat and the mystic faith healer Grigori Rasputin, their meeting night after night in Rasputin's apartments, and the spell-binding, unspeakable things done there in the name of penance and pleasure....

Members Reviews:

Strange, Dark and Erotic

This novel is not my usual cup of tea, but if you are a reader who enjoys the macabre and the erotic together, there is plenty to sink your teeth into here: a hunchback called The Rat, who was forced to be the sexual plaything of Rasputin; Dr. Felix, who abuses little girls and masturbates in women's clothing in front of a photo of Hitler; the severed fingers of a string quartet dancing in a jar filled with life-giving broth.

But there is also the story of a Jewish family here, immigrants who escaped Vienna before shipment the death camps became inevitable. All of them struggle with guilt over survival, over loved ones lost, over their mixed feelings about one another.

And then there is New York City, beautifully evoked and almost another character in the story. Perhaps my favorite passage in the book describes the energy in the city: "New York, New York. City of Dreams. New York, like a brace of trumpets, welcomed them. Received all of them, the immigrants. They poured into the huge maw just as the steam poured out the smokestacks of the large ships that had brought them there. New York, City of Welcome. The trumpets screamed in unison, held to the large smiling mouths of sweating musicians. The sailors sweated in the engine rooms of the large ungainly steamships. New York, City of Refuge. New York, City of Hope.The strident avenues streaked across the city, silver: fiery arrows like long bright sounds, almost too much for the ear to bear. And still the band played. Louder. More volume, New York, and the gleaming saxophones entered in chorus. New York. And now the trumpets rose to a wail, a cry of pain, and the saxophones sang of darker things. Sadness. Nostalgia. New York, City of Dreams Left Behind.