Listen to Best Sellers Audiobooks in History, 21st Century

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Title: The Other Slavery

Subtitle: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America

Author: Andrés Reséndez

Narrator: Eric Martin

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-04-16

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 40 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

A landmark history - the sweeping story of the enslavement of tens of thousands of Indians across America, from the time of the conquistadors up to the early 20th century.

Since the time of Columbus, Indian slavery was illegal in much of the American continent. Yet, as Andrés Reséndez illuminates in his myth-shattering The Other Slavery, it was practiced for centuries as an open secret. There was no abolitionist movement to protect the tens of thousands of natives who were kidnapped and enslaved by the conquistadors, then forced to descend into the "mouth of hell" of 18th-century silver mines or, later, made to serve as domestics for Mormon settlers and rich Anglos.

Reséndez builds the incisive case that it was mass slavery, more than epidemics, that decimated Indian populations across North America. New evidence, including testimonies of courageous priests, rapacious merchants, Indian captives, and Anglo colonists, sheds light too on Indian enslavement of other Indians - as what started as a European business passed into the hands of indigenous operators and spread like wildfire across vast tracts of the American Southwest.

The Other Slavery reveals nothing less than a key missing piece of American history. For over two centuries we have fought over, abolished, and tried to come to grips with African-American slavery. It is time for the West to confront an entirely separate, equally devastating enslavement we have long failed truly to see.

Members Reviews:

overall a good book

good book and I just wish there was also the view of the tribes on this issue. as native American it was a difficult book to get thru.

A little more Spanish-centered than expected

All things considered, an eye-opening presentation of atrocities that are not as well known as they should be. It was very interesting to learn about this history, but, to be fair, a large percentage of the book deals with Spanish colonization, more than English. This is not a judgment one way or the other regarding blame (and, as a listener, it probably should have been expected), but I don't think it was presented that clearly in the summary.

In addition, there are points at which the author seems to be oddly resentful of the attention paid to African slavery (at one point comparing the relative decimation of native civilizations to African ones, as if it were a competition of despair). I suppose this is somewhat understandable, considering the lack of notoriety for the topic of this book, and I took it as such.

I didn't know

The book offered a substantial over view of a little known piece of North American history. In addition the author drew parallels to the current human trafficking situation.

It was a little hard for me to keep individual players and places straight when listening to so many new facts.

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Title: The Battle of Aleppo

Subtitle: The History of the Ongoing Siege at the Center of the Syrian Civil War

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: Ken Teutsch

Format: Unabridged

Length: 2 hrs and 33 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-17-16

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: History, 21st Century

Publisher's Summary:

"I'm not a puppet. I wasn't made by the west to go to the west or any other country. I'm Syrian. I'm made in Syria. I have to live in Syria and die in Syria." - Bashar al-Assad, 2012.

In December 2010, a 26-year-old Tunisian street vendor's self-immolation triggered protests that spread from his hometown in Sidi Bouzid to cities across the country. The next month, on January 14, the country's autocratic president, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, fled the country. This would be the start of what became known as the "Arab Spring", which ultimately saw anti-government protests responded to with violence, reform, or both in countries across the Middle East. In Syria, the protests that began as early as January 2011 and increased in intensity the following March devolved into a complex armed conflict that involves multiple armed groups and wages to this day. Like the other dictators, Bashar al-Assad faced popular demonstrations against his regime at the height of the Arab Spring, but he steadfastly refused to step down from power, and the protests against him and his government quickly turned violent, which eventually enveloped Syria in a civil war that has already killed over 400,000, created over four-million refugees, and shows no signs of ending anytime soon.

Members Reviews:

Excellent Overview

Although this book features the struggle for the city of Aleppo, it also recounts the Syrian civil war; beginning with Arab Spring that quickly turned violent, and encompassing a civil war that has already killed over 400,000, created over 4 million refugees, and shows no signs of ending anytime soon. The city of Aleppo is one of many battlegrounds in the war, but it has been directly in the war since 2012 when protests erupted against the regime of Bashar Al-Assad and the rebels of the Free Syrian Army became involved in the conflict. Aleppo is a very large and diverse city, comprised of several religious and ethnic groups that had lived peacefully side by side.

The author's prose is clear and unadorned, stunning pictures bring the reader into the center of the action and the story is told with balance, and context, providing the reader with an objective perspective and up to date relevancy.

Good Overview

Great overview for anyone interested in finding out what is going on in Aleppo. i feel much more informed about the situation. A shame that a city with so much history and relative peaceful coexistence between factions and devolved into such a mess.

good

good quick read

Good informational summary

If you are looking for a comprehensive quick read about the war in Syria and the parties involved this book gives you a quick overview of the facts without injecting political opinions and let's you make your own determinations. I would recommend for everyone to read.

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Title: The Second Battle of Fallujah

Subtitle: The History of the Biggest Battle of the Iraq War

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: Colin Fluxman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 30 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-06-16

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 4 votes

Genres: History, 21st Century

Publisher's Summary:

"I am scared to death that they [the war hawks in Washington] are going to convince the president that they can do this overthrow of Saddam on the cheap, and we'll find ourselves in the middle of a swamp because we didn't plan to do it the right way." - Lawrence Eagleburger, former Secretary of State

"Some of the heaviest urban combat US Marines have been involved in since the Battle of Hue City in Vietnam in 1968." - The US military's description of the battle

The city of Fallujah is located in Iraq's western Anbar Province, approximately 65 kilometers west of Baghdad, the country's capital. Its history, along with the history of Iraq (whose modern borders are part of what was once known as Mesopotamia), goes back thousands of years, and the country's modern history played a strong role in shaping the fighting in and around Fallujah in 2004.

Moreover, as the name of the battle implies, no description of the fighting for Fallujah is as straightforward as it may sound. In fact, there have been multiple battles for Fallujah over a span of many years, including Operation Vigilant Resolve in April 2004 (also referred to as the "First Battle of Fallujah"), Operation Al Fajr, and Operation Phantom Fury (the Second Battle of Fallujah, which commenced in November of the same year), the February 2014 capture of the city by the then-Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS, which later changed its name to Islamic State), and the 2016 Iraqi-led offensive to clear ISIS from the city. The most famous of these was certainly the Second Battle, but no history about the fighting can focus solely on the events from November to December 2004, which covered the beginning and conclusion of the operations.

Members Reviews:

Inaccurate

There were some inaccurate or wrong statements. writer needs to do his homework, Title very misleading.

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Title: Select Committee on Benghazi Final Report July 8, 2016

Subtitle: Terrorist Attacks on US Facilities in Benghazi

Author: Select Committee on Benghazi

Narrator: Leonard Bustos

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 3 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-05-16

Publisher: Cloud Productions

Genres: History, 21st Century

Publisher's Summary:

The original purpose of the Select Committee's investigation was to determine how four Americans died and what measures could be taken to prevent it from happening again.

More specifically: How the United States of America, the most powerful nation in the world:

1. Failed to provide adequate security for more than 30 Americans put in harm's way in one of the most dangerous places on earth

2. Failed to send or assist in any defense or rescue effort after they came under attack

3. Failed to provide an evacuation plan should they survive an ongoing attack from more than 100 terrorists with very bad intentions who were armed with automatic weapons, RPGs, and mortars.

In my humble opinion, I find it difficult to understand how detractors of the investigation or any fair-minded person for that matter could say this investigation was not warranted, or even that it was a total waste of time.

Unfortunately, partisan politics entered the picture. The Obama administration was facing re-election, and the Democratic Party wanted to prevent any bad news from hampering their chances to gain power in the House and Senate.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton knew that her department failed to adequately protect the diplomatic compound and the ambassador, even though countless requests for more security were denied. Of course she also did not want to ruin her potential bid to run for president in 2016 by showcasing her incompetence.

On the other hand, fair-minded observers cannot overlook the fact that the Republican led Congress wanted to seize this opportunity to damage the Democratic party to not only gain control of the White House, but maintain control over the House and Senate as well.

Of course, I would be remiss in not acknowledging that the Republicans were going to take advantage of this situation as much as possible. That doesn't negate the fact that it was also the right thing to do.

Members Reviews:

Hard to read

This was difficult to read for many reasons. First the fact that the majority of our government was more interested in whether or not they were going to offend a country that was doing nothing to help our people that were being attacked is just wrong. The president and Secretary of defense order security forces to be deployed and were ignored. Would have given this five stars if not for all the typos

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Title: The Syrian Civil War

Subtitle: The History of the 21st Century's Deadliest Conflict

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: Mark Norman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 58 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-30-16

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: History, 21st Century

Publisher's Summary:

In December 2010, a 26-year-old Tunisian street vendor's self-immolation triggered protests that spread from his hometown in Sidi Bouzid to cities across the country. The next month, on January 14, the country's autocratic president, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, fled the country. This would be the start of what became known as the "Arab Spring", which ultimately saw anti-government protests responded to with violence, reform, or both in countries across the Middle East. In Syria, the protests that began as early as January 2011 and increased in intensity the following March devolved into a complex armed conflict that involves multiple armed groups and continues to this day. Like the other dictators, Bashar al-Assad faced popular demonstrations against his regime at the height of the Arab Spring, but he steadfastly refused to step down from power, and the protests against him and his government quickly turned violent, which eventually enveloped Syria in a civil war that has already killed over 400,000, created over four million refugees, and shows no signs of ending anytime soon. Furthermore, on August 21, 2013, a chemical weapon attack outside of the capital city Damascus left around 1,500 civilians dead, and anti-Assad factions in Syria, as well as enemies of the Assad regime in other countries, have blamed the Syrian regime for the attack, while Assad claims his enemies are responsible.

Although seeing and hearing about events in other countries affected by the Arab Spring most certainly helped encourage Syrian demonstrators, there are a number of other factors that contributed to the war, from foreign jihadist groups to the weather (from 2006-2011, a severe drought helped trigger increased urbanization, with a significant movement of the country's population moving from rural into urban areas and a corresponding worsening of socio-economic conditions). There was also a decline in oil production from 548,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2000 to 380,000 bpd in 2009. At that time, the failure to discover new deposits meant an expected continued decline. Opposition to Assad's rule also already existed; there were people disappointed with continued limitations on freedoms and his failure to implement promised reform. This included the introduction of the "Damascus Spring" at the start of Assad's tenure, which involved state-sanctioned social and political debate but was ultimately suppressed. There was also significant opposition among Sunni Islamists who hadn't forgotten the deadly 1982 crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood in Hama by Hafez al-Assad.

Over five years later, Syria remains a flashpoint and an international crisis. The major questions that concern the future of Syria are whether Assad will literally and politically survive the civil war, and what Syria's future will be in the wake of the civil war.

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Title: A Kingdom of Their Own

Subtitle: The Family Karzai and the Afghan Disaster

Author: Joshua Partlow

Narrator: P. J. Ochlan

Format: Unabridged

Length: 18 hrs and 53 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-20-16

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 26 votes

Genres: History, 21st Century

Publisher's Summary:

The key to understanding the calamitous Afghan war is the complex, ultimately failed relationship between the powerful, duplicitous Karzai family and the United States, brilliantly portrayed here by the former Kabul bureau chief for The Washington Post.

The United States went to Afghanistan on a simple mission: avenge the September 11 attacks and drive the Taliban from power. This took less than two months. Over the course of the next decade, the ensuing fight for power and money - supplied to one of the poorest nations on earth, in ever-greater amounts - left the region even more dangerous than before the first troops arrived.

At the center of this story is the Karzai family. President Hamid Karzai and his brothers began the war as symbols of a new Afghanistan: moderate, educated, fluent in the cultures of East and West, and the antithesis of the brutish and backward Taliban regime. The siblings, from a prominent political family close to Afghanistan's former king, had been thrust into exile by the Soviet war. While Hamid Karzai lived in Pakistan and worked with the resistance, others moved to the United States, finding work as waiters and managers before opening their own restaurants. After September 11, the brothers returned home to help rebuild Afghanistan and reshape their homeland with ambitious plans. Today, with the country in shambles, they are in open conflict with one another and their Western allies.

Joshua Partlow's clear-eyed analysis reveals the mistakes, squandered hopes, and wasted chances behind the scenes of a would-be political dynasty. Nothing illustrates the arc of the war and America's relationship with Afghanistan - from optimism to despair, friendship to enmity - as neatly as the story of the Karzai family, told here in its entirety for the first time.

Critic Reviews:

"Nuanced.... American military and political arrogance butts up against deep-rooted cultural customs and family networks throughout this excellent account of a vastly difficult topic." (Publishers Weekly)

"Partlow provides an insightful, revealing dissection of the failures of the US government in Afghanistan.... Partlow's character portraits are masterful.... An excellent introduction to the Karzai family and to the disastrous consequences of the Americans' inadequate understanding of Afghan culture." (Kirkus Reviews)

"A strong assessment of Karzai's government and an important contribution to any well-rounded collection on contemporary Middle Eastern politics and society." (Library Journal)

Members Reviews:

Very good explanation into Afghanistan

The book explains well key players to the Afghani war and why the war was a failure. From the reasons it failed to why we stayed. Great listen even with the long length.

Shockingly accurate

As someone who spent a great deal of time working with Afghan reconstruction I found this book to be shockingly true and insightful to the nature of Afghanistan while also far more illuminating than I thought possible, given my previous experience. I would recommend this as a sort of modern day "Ugly American".

Well worth the listen

This book is very interesting.

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Title: The Constitution Today

Subtitle: Timeless Lessons for the Issues of Our Era

Author: Akhil Reed Amar

Narrator: Mike Chamberlain

Format: Unabridged

Length: 19 hrs and 41 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-13-16

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 28 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

When the stories that lead our daily news involve momentous constitutional questions, present-minded journalists and busy citizens cannot always see the stakes clearly. In The Constitution Today, Akhil Reed Amar, America's preeminent constitutional scholar, considers the biggest and most bitterly contested debates of the last two decades - from gun control to gay marriage, affirmative action to criminal procedure, presidential dynasties to Congressional dysfunction, Bill Clinton's impeachment to Obamacare. He shows how the Constitution's text, history, and structure are a crucial repository of collective wisdom, providing specific rules and grand themes relevant to every organ of the American body politic.

Leading listeners through the particular constitutional questions at stake in each episode while outlining his abiding views regarding the Constitution's letter, its spirit, and the direction constitutional law must go, Amar offers an essential guide for anyone seeking to understand America's Constitution and its relevance today.

Members Reviews:

Amar is a Brilliant Arguer

Anyone interested in a careful scholar's view of the Constitution's relevance to modern life should read this book. I admit agreeing with the author more than not, but his careful scholarship and Constitutional analysis, demands respect.

The book will not engage true constitutional scholars, or so I suspect (their loss). Professor Amar writes with the informed and interested citizen in mind. But a political polemic it is not. Amar explains his understanding of Constitutional reasoning and in a series of overviews to previously published articles (and those articles), shows how ordinary voters can be taught constitutional concepts. He also does not take the easy out -- saying that all controversies have two equal or nearly equal constitutional arguments. For example, Dred Scott was wrong. While people defend positions and their arguments should be addressed respectfully and defeated decisively.

As a reader, there will likely be moments when you want to say "I don't think so" to what you are reading. Some of the arguments and analysis here raised my eyebrows or furrowed my brow. But on the whole, just about all of us can profit from reading this book.

A little too much 'Akhil Reed Amar today'

The title is misleading. Yes, there is content relating to the title, but this, unlike the other books by Amar I have read and enjoyed, which dug well into history and scholarly context, is far more personalized and journalistic. It is apparently compiled from more journalistic writings. And there is far too much Amar here, emerging from the background in a way I have no desire to contemplate. Dude, I'm interested in the Constitution, that's what I'm here for, and not your ephemeral image and feelings and experiences and political opinions.

Your personal trivia is sub-zero interesting. You are another bland nerd, OK? I'll follow through and complete this, but I am in no hurry.

Waste of time.

What disappointed you about The Constitution Today?

I listened as long as I could without throwing my phone out the window. This guy has such a distorted view of the constitution that I actually feel kind of bad for him.

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Title: Presidents in Crisis

Subtitle: Tough Decisions inside the White House from Truman to Obama

Author: Michael K. Bohn

Narrator: Kevin Stillwell

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-07-16

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 15 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Every American president, when faced with a crisis, longs to take bold and decisive action. When American lives or vital interests are at stake, the public - and especially the news media and political opponents - expect aggressive leadership. But, contrary to the dramatizations of Hollywood, rarely does a president have that option.

In Presidents in Crisis, a former director of the Situation Room takes the listener inside the White House during 17 grave international emergencies handled by the presidents from Truman to Obama: from North Korea's invasion of South Korea to the revolutions of the Arab Spring, and from the 13 days of the Cuban Missile Crisis to the taking of American diplomats hostage in Iran and George W. Bush's response to the attacks of September 11, 2001. In narratives that convey the drama of unfolding events and the stakes of confrontation when a misstep can mean catastrophe, he walks us step-by-step through each crisis. Laying out the key players and personalities and the moral and political calculations that the leaders have had to make, he provides a fascinating insider's look at modern presidential decision making and the fundamental role in it of human frailty.

Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for those interested in history - books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times best seller or a national best seller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Members Reviews:

Thought Provoking Analysis

The author was the director of the White House Situation Room under President Reagan. In this book he describes seventeen challenges faced by presidents. Bohn states circumstances beyond their control more often than not constrained their actions, resulting in temporary fixes rather than long term successes. Bohn shows how the modern presidents are caught up in rivalries between civilian and military or in what is called groupthink which prevents a thorough analysis of each crisis.

Bohn provides a description of the crisis followed by a brief assessment of the consequences of the presidential action. I noticed an interesting theme began to reveal itself throughout the book: the importance of muddling through and the avoidance of a long term solution to the problem. Bohn discusses some events that I was most interested in such as the Cuban Missile Crisis with President Kennedy, the 1973 Yom Kipper War with Nixon and Kissinger, and the U2 spy plane with Eisenhower. Bohn provided more detail with the 1978-1981 Iranian Hostage Crisis with President Jimmy Carter. There were more events but I will not list them.

The book is well written and meticulously researched. It is a good study on how to or not to handle a crisis. Bohn does provide background history to the events which helps put them into context. I noted the author had more problems staying the neutral reporter with the more current events than he did with the events with more historical perception to draw on.

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Title: Frontier Grit

Subtitle: The Unlikely True Stories of Daring Pioneer Women

Author: Marianne Monson

Narrator: Caroline Shaffer

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 48 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-06-16

Publisher: Shadow Mountain

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 13 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Discover the stories of 12 women who heard the call to settle the West and who came from all points of the globe to begin their journeys.

As a slave Clara watched helplessly as her husband and children were sold, only to be reunited with her youngest daughter as a free woman six decades later.

As a young girl, Charlotte hid her gender to escape a life of poverty and became the greatest stagecoach driver who ever lived.

As a Native American, Gertrude fought to give her people a voice and to educate leaders about the ways and importance of America's native people.

These are gripping miniature dramas of good-hearted women, selfless providers, courageous immigrants and migrants, and women with skills too innumerable to list. Many were crusaders for social justice and women's rights. All endured hardships, overcame obstacles, broke barriers, and changed the world. The author ties the stories of these pioneer women to the experiences of women today with the hope that they will be inspired to live boldly and bravely and to fill their own lives with vision, faith, and fortitude. To live with grit.

Members Reviews:

Great stories

I enjoyed this book so much, and felt each chapter brought to life important women. I found this book very inspiring.

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Title: The Constitution of the United States

Author: Delegates of the Constitutional Convention

Narrator: Jason McCoy

Format: Unabridged

Length: 46 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-25-16

Publisher: BN Publishing

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 22 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

The National Center for Constitutional Studies has issued a special edition copy of The Constitution of the United States that has been proofed word for word against the original Constitution housed in the Archives in Washington, D.C.

This audiobook contains The Constitution of the United States (including The Bill of Rights and Amendments 11-27) and The Declaration of Independence.

On the front cover there is a picture of George Washington holding a quill in his hand, inviting each of us to pledge our commitment to The Constitution of the United States by maintaining and promoting its standard of liberty for ourselves and our posterity.

Members Reviews:

Founding doc. Pure & simple.

Founding doc. Pure & simple. 1 story star because there's no story. Boom. Bang. Bam.