Listen to Top 100 Audiobooks in History, American

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Title: Forgotten

Subtitle: The Untold Story of D-day's Black Heroes, at Home and at War

Author: Linda Hervieux

Narrator: Ron Butler

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-27-15

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 13 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

The injustices of 1940s Jim Crow America are brought to life in this extraordinary blend of military and social history, an account that pays tribute to the valor of an all-black battalion whose crucial contributions at D-day have gone unrecognized to this day.

In the early hours of June 6, 1944, the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, a unit of African American soldiers, landed on the beaches of France. Their orders were to man a curtain of armed balloons meant to deter enemy aircraft. One member of the 320th would be nominated for the Medal of Honor, an award he would never receive because the nation's highest decoration was not given to black soldiers in World War II.

Drawing on newly uncovered military records and dozens of original interviews with surviving members of the 320th and their families, Linda Hervieux tells the story of these heroic men charged with an extraordinary mission, whose contributions to one of the most celebrated events in modern history have been overlooked. Thousands of African Americans were sent abroad to fight for liberties denied them at home, including these members of the 320th: Wilson Monk, a jack-of-all-trades from Atlantic City; Henry Parham, the son of sharecroppers from rural Virginia; William Dabney, an eager 17-year-old from Roanoke, Virginia; and Samuel Mattison, a charming romantic from Columbus, Ohio. In Europe these soldiers discovered freedom they had not known in a homeland that treated them as second-class citizens - experiences they carried back to America, fueling the budding Civil Rights Movement. In telling the story of the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, Hervieux offers a vivid account of the tension between racial politics and national service in wartime America and a moving narrative of human bravery and perseverance in the face of injustice.

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Title: Speed Kings

Subtitle: The 1932 Winter Olympics and the Fastest Men in the World

Author: Andy Bull

Narrator: Eric Meyers

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-20-15

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

A story of risk, adventure, and daring as four Americans race to win the gold medal in the most dangerous competition in Olympic history.

In the 1930s, as the world hurtled toward war, speed was all the rage. Bobsledding, the fastest and most thrilling way to travel on land, had become a sensation. Exotic, exciting, and brutally dangerous, it was the must-see event of the 1932 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, the first Winter Games on American soil. Bobsledding required exceptional skill and extraordinary courage - qualities the American team had in abundance.

There was Jay O'Brien, the high-society playboy; Tippy Grey, a scandal-prone Hollywood has-been; Eddie Eagan, world champion heavyweight boxer and Rhodes scholar; and the charismatic Billy Fiske, the true heart of the team despite being barely out of his teens. In the thick of the Great Depression, the nation was gripped by the story of these four men, their battle against jealous locals, treacherous US officials, and the very same German athletes they would be fighting against in the war only a few short years later.

Billy, in fact, went on to talk his way into the Royal Air Force - despite their Brits-only policy - and was there to fight the Nazis during the Battle of Britain. King of speed to the end, he would become the first American fighter pilot killed in WWII.

The exploits of Billy and his teammates make up a story that spans the globe, from Golden Age Hollywood to seedy New York gambling dens to the most fashionable European resorts, the South Seas, and beyond. Evoking the glamour and recklessness of the Jazz Age, Speed Kings will thrill listeners to the last minute.

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Title: Razzle Dazzle

Subtitle: The Battle for Broadway

Author: Michael Riedel

Narrator: Peter Berkrot

Format: Unabridged

Length: 16 hrs and 39 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-06-15

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 103 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Razzle Dazzle is a provocative, no-holds-barred narrative account of the people, money, and power that reinvented an iconic quarter of New York City, turning its gritty back alleys and sex shops into the glitzy, dazzling Great White Way - and bringing a crippled New York from the brink of bankruptcy to its glittering glory.

In the 1970s, Times Square was the seedy symbol of New York's economic decline. Its once shining star, the renowned Shubert Organization, was losing theaters to make way for parking lots. Bernard Jacobs and Jerry Schoenfeld, two ambitious board members, saw the crumbling company was ripe for takeover and staged a coup amid corporate intrigue, personal betrayals, and criminal investigations. Once Jacobs and Schoenfeld solidified their power, they turned a collapsed theater-owning holding company into one of the most successful entertainment empires in the world, ultimately backing many of Broadway's biggest hits, including A Chorus Line, Cats, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, and Mamma Mia! They also sparked the revitalization of Broadway and the renewal of Times Square.

With wit and passion, Michael Riedel tells the stories of the Shubert Organization and the shows that rebuilt a city in grand style, revealing backstage drama that often rivaled what transpired onstage, exposing bitter rivalries, unlikely alliances, and, of course, scintillating gossip.

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Title: Iron Rails, Iron Men, and the Race to Link the Nation

Subtitle: The Story of the Transcontinental Railroad

Author: Martin W. Sandler

Narrator: Grover Gardner

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 12 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-08-15

Publisher: Candlewick on Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 19 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Experience the race of rails to link the country - and meet the men behind this incredible feat - in a riveting story about the building of the Transcontinental Railroad.

In the 1850s gold fever swept the West, but people had to walk, sail, or ride horses for months on end to seek their fortunes. The question of faster, safer transportation was posed by national leaders. But with 1,800 miles of seemingly impenetrable mountains, searing deserts, and endless plains between the Missouri River and San Francisco, could a transcontinental railroad be built? It seemed impossible.

Eventually two railroad companies, the Central Pacific, which laid the tracks eastward, and the Union Pacific, which moved west, began the job. In one great race between iron men with iron wills, tens of thousands of workers blasted the longest tunnels that had ever been constructed, built the highest bridges that had ever been created, and finally linked the nation by two bands of steel, changing America forever.

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Title: The Vikings in North America

Subtitle: The History and Legacy of the Norse Settlements in Greenland and Vinland

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: Norman Gilligan

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 57 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-10-15

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Over the centuries, the West has become fascinated by the Vikings, one of the most mysterious and interesting European civilizations. In addition to being perceived as a remarkably unique culture among its European counterparts, what's known and not known about the Vikings' accomplishments has added an intriguing aura to the historical narrative. Were they fierce and fearsome warriors? Were they the first Europeans to visit North America? It seems some of the legends are true, and some are just that, legend.

The ubiquitous picture of the Vikings as horn-helmeted, brutish, hairy giants that mercilessly marauded among the settlements of Northern Europe is based on a smattering of facts combined with an abundance of prejudicial historical writing by those who were on the receiving end of Viking depredations. At the same time, much of the popular picture of the Vikings is a result of the romantic imagination of novelists and artists. However, the Vikings' reputation for ferocious seaborne attacks along the coasts of Northern Europe is no exaggeration. It is true that the Norsemen, who traded extensively throughout Europe, often increased the profits obtained from their nautical ventures through plunder, acquiring precious metals and slaves. Of course, the Vikings were not the only ones participating in this kind of income generation; between the eighth and the 11th centuries, European tribes, clans, kingdoms, and monastic communities were quite adept at fighting with each other for the purpose of obtaining booty. The Vikings were simply more consistently successful than their contemporaries and thus became suitable symbols for the inequity of the times.

Of course, the military reputation came about because the Vikings were the great mariners and explorers of Medieval Europe. While many of their journeys were ones of conquest, they also had a deep love of exploration.

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Title: The Founding Documents

Subtitle: The History and Legacy of the Federalist Papers

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: Donnie Sipes

Format: Unabridged

Length: 2 hrs and 38 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-09-15

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

"It has been frequently remarked that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend for their political constitutions on accident and force. If there be any truth in the remark, the crisis at which we are arrived may with propriety be regarded as the era in which that decision is to be made." (Alexander Hamilton, Federalist number one)

In 1787, delegates from the recently independent 13 colonies met in Philadelphia to try to forge a new, stronger constitution. That summer, the representatives ironed out a document that had pluses and minuses for all involved, a point noted by Ben Franklin in explaining why he assented to it at the end of the process: "For, when you assemble a number of men to have the advantage of their joint wisdom, you inevitably assemble with those men all their prejudices, their passions, their errors of opinion, their local interests, and their selfish views. From such an assembly can a perfect production be expected? It therefore astonishes me, sir, to find this system approaching so near to perfection as it does; and I think it will astonish our enemies, who are waiting with confidence to hear that our councils are confounded like those of the builders of Babel; and that our states are on the point of separation, only to meet hereafter for the purpose of cutting one another's throats. Thus I consent, sir, to this constitution because I expect no better and because I am not sure that it is not the best."

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Title: The Sons of Liberty: The Lives and Legacies of John Adams, Samuel Adams, Paul Revere and John Hancock

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: Chris Brinkley

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 56 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-05-15

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 27 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

For over 200 years, Americans have been fascinated by the Revolutionary period and the patriots who led the growing resistance movement against British authority. In particular, the clandestine activities of Boston's Sons of Liberty in the decade before the war continue to be a source of both intrigue and mystery.

The American Revolution had no shortage of compelling characters with seemingly larger than life traits. Perhaps no Revolutionary leader has been as controversial as Samuel Adams, who has been widely portrayed over the last two centuries as America's most radical and fiery colonist.

Paul Revere was one of the most prominent citizens in Boston, heralded for his silversmith work, his participation in the Sons of Liberty, and his service in the Massachusetts militia. Given everything he did, it would have no doubt greatly surprised Revere if he had known he would become an American legend for his midnight ride on the night of April 18, 1775.

John Adams remained a celebrated figure in Boston for all the work he did in Massachusetts before and after the Revolution, but his national reputation has experienced quite a renaissance over the past decade.

Most Americans are familiar with John Hancock because of his famous signature on the Declaration of Independence. That overshadowed the various and important contributions Hancock made in Boston before the Revolution, the Continental Congress during the Revolution, and Massachusetts state politics after the Revolution.

The Sons of Liberty chronicles the amazing lives and careers of the four most famous members of the Sons of Liberty, examines their relationships before and during the Revolution, and analyzes their lasting legacies. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Samuel Adams, John Adams, Paul Revere and John Hancock like you never have before.

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Title: Who Built That

Subtitle: Awe-Inspiring Stories of American Tinkerpreneurs

Author: Michelle Malkin

Narrator: Michelle Malkin

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-19-15

Publisher: Mercury Ink

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 123 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Firebrand conservative columnist, commentator, Internet entrepreneur, and number-one New York Times best-selling author Michelle Malkin tells the fascinating, little-known stories of the inventors who have contributed to American exceptionalism and technological progress.

In July 2012 President Obama infamously proclaimed, "If you've got a business - you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen."

Malkin wholeheartedly disagrees. Who Built That is a rousing tribute to the hidden American capitalists who pioneered everyday inventions. They're the little big things we take for granted: bottle caps and glassware, door hinges and staples, tissue paper, flashlights, railroad signals, rotary printing presses, bridge cables, and more.

Malkin takes listeners on an eclectic journey of American capitalism, from the colonial period to the Industrial Age to the present, spotlighting awe-inspiring and little-known "tinkerpreneurs" who achieved their dreams of doing well by doing good. You'll learn how Paul Revere became America's first tech titan; how famous patent holders Abraham Lincoln and Mark Twain championed the nation's unique system of intellectual property rights; how glass-manufacturing mavericks Edward Libbey and Mike Owens defied naysayers to revolutionize food, beverage, and pharmaceutical packaging; how penniless Croatian immigrant Anthony Maglica started his $400 million Maglite flashlight business in a rented garage; and many more riveting stories that explain our country's fertile climate for scientific advancement and entrepreneurship.

To understand who we are as people, we need first to understand what motivates America's ordinary and extraordinary makers and risk takers. Driven by her own experience as a second-generation beneficiary of the American dream, Malkin skillfully and passionately rebuts collectivist orthodoxy to celebrate the engineers, mechanics, designers, artisans, and relentless tinkerers of all backgrounds who embody our nation's spirit of self-made entrepreneurialism.

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Title: Native American Tribes: The History and Culture of the Apache

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: David Zarbock

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 22 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-18-15

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 15 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Among all the Native American tribes, the Spanish, Mexicans, and Americans learned the hard way that the warriors of the Apache were among the fiercest in North America. Based in the Southwest, the Apache fought all three in Mexico and the American Southwest, engaging in seasonal raids for so many centuries that the Apache struck fear into the hearts of all their neighbors.

Given the group's reputation, it's fitting that they are inextricably associated with one of their most famous leaders, Geronimo. Descendants of people killed by "hostile" Apache certainly considered warriors like Geronimo to be murderers and thieves whose cultures and societies held no redeeming values, and even today, many Americans associate the name Geronimo with a war cry. The name Geronimo actually came about because of a battle he fought against the Mexicans.

Over time, however, the historical perception of the relationship between America and Native tribes changed drastically. With that, Geronimo was viewed in a far different light, as one of a number of Native American leaders who resisted the US and Mexican governments when settlers began to push onto their traditional homelands. Like the majority of Native American groups, the Apache were eventually vanquished and displaced by America's westward push, and Geronimo became an icon for eluding capture for so long.

Native American Tribes: The History and Culture of the Apache comprehensively covers the culture and history of the famous group, profiling their origins, their history, and their lasting legacy.

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Title: Native American Tribes: The History and Culture of the Utes

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: James Weippert

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 15 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-12-15

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

From the "Trail of Tears" to Wounded Knee and Little Bighorn, the narrative of American history is incomplete without the inclusion of the Native Americans that lived on the continent before European settlers arrived in the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the first contact between natives and settlers, tribes like the Sioux, Cherokees, and Navajos have both fascinated and perplexed outsiders with their history, language, and culture. In Charles River Editors' Native American Tribes series, listeners can get caught up to speed on the history and culture of North America's most famous native tribes in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known.

The Utes are a Native American people who live today in Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah, and they currently have the second-largest Indian reservation in the United States: the 1.2 million acre Uintah and Ouray Reservation located in northeastern Utah. The Southern Ute Reservation in southwestern Colorado takes in another 681,000 acres, while the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation, mostly in southwestern Colorado and northeastern New Mexico, has 553,000 acres.

However, these holdings are relatively small fragments of the original Ute land base; before the arrival of whites and the taking of the Utes' land, they stretched from the Great Basin of Utah through the Colorado Plateau and Rocky Mountains of Colorado, and northern New Mexico into the Great Plains. The Utes were a fierce warrior people who fought hard to defend their land against Spaniards and later the Americans, but they remain much less well-known among the American public than the Navajos, (holders of the biggest reservation today) and many other Native American nations.

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