the Best Audio Stories in Biography & Memoir, History & Culture

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/782194 to listen full audiobooks. Title: [German] - «Mir geht's gut, wenn nicht heute, dann morgen.»: Erika Freeman: Der Roman eines Jahrhundertlebens Author: Dirk Stermann Narrator: Adele Neuhauser Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 6 hours 32 minutes Release date: May 10, 2024 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: 'Wunder geschehen, man weiss nur nicht, wann.' Fast ihr ganzes Leben hat Erika Freeman in New York verbracht, dann sitzt sie eines Abends in der Talkshow von Dirk Stermann, «Willkommen, Österreich», und verzaubert ihren Gastgeber und die Nation.  Im hohen Alter lebt sie wieder in ihrer Heimatstadt Wien, jeden Mittwoch kommt Dirk sie nun besuchen, um sich mit ihr bei Kipferln und Melange über Gott und die Welt zu plaudern, und aus diesem erzählten Jahrhundertleben einen so amüsanten wie bewegenden Roman zu machen. Geboren 1927, ist Erika mit 12 Jahren vor den Nazis nach New York geflohen. Sie wächst in einem Waisenhaus auf, hat Anteil an der Gründung Israels und wird nach dem Studium Psychoanalytikerin; ganz auf sich gestellt, ihre Mutter hat den Krieg nicht überlebt. Ihr Vater, vermeintlich im KZ gestorben, glaubt seinerseits, als Einziger der Familie überlebt zu haben, bis er mitten auf dem Broadway seinen Bruder trifft. Als Therapeutin ist Erika bald eine Berühmtheit, die Riege ihrer berühmten Patienten reicht von Washington bis Hollywood. Nun, mit 95, ist sie wieder Österreicherin geworden, residiert im berühmten Hotel Imperial, wo einst Hitler nächtigte, und wenn man sie fragt, wie es ihr geht, sagt sie: «Gut. Wenn nicht heute, dann morgen.»  Eine perfekt ausbalancierte Melange zwischen heiter und ernst, zwischen bitterböse und herzensgut. Christine Westermann, WDR 5 'Bücher'  Teils Hommage, teils Lebensgeschichte, teils Who's-who-Anekdotensammlung, teils Zeitzeuginnen-, teils Freundschaftsporträt und ganz sicher eine Bomben-Liebeserklärung an eine unvergleichliche 96-Jährige. Grandios! Julia Kospach, Falter

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/782495 to listen full audiobooks. Title: [German] - Ich möchte einfach noch Bäume ausreißen! Aber nur kleine.: Fast Hundertjährige erzählen Author: Doreen Mechsner Narrator: Yvonne Hornack, Holger Deamgen, Dana Golombek Von Senden Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 9 hours 32 minutes Release date: May 8, 2024 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: Fast Hundertjährige erzählen Die Zukunft ist so kurz. Wie sollen wir dem begegnen? (Ricarda R.) 'Wie tickten die Menschen früher? Wie lebten sie? Was ist aus ihnen geworden? Und wie konnten sie die sein, die sie einmal waren?' Mich interessieren weniger die großen Politiker und Heerführer, nein, ich will wissen, wie lebten die einzelnen kleinen Menschen, die den Großen ihr Leben und ihre Kriege erst möglich gemacht haben. Doreen Mechsner hat zwölf zufällig ausgewählte fast Hundertjährige nach ihren Leben, ihren Erfahrungen und ihren Erkenntnissen befragt. Ihre Gesprächsprotokolle widerspiegeln einhundert Jahre deutscher Alltagsgeschichte.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/769577 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Royal Romances: The True Stories of the Loves and Lives of Famous Royal Families Author: Liam Dale Narrator: Liam Dale Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 0 hours 40 minutes Release date: April 30, 2024 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: When you look back in history at royal romances, surprising as it may seem, few have happy ever after endings, and in many instances the idea of "Love and Marriage" being inextricably linked is not quite as common as you might at first think. In fairy stories handsome Kings and Princes regularly sweep fair maidens off their feet, transforming them into Princesses and Queens, and although a rarer occurrence, a Royal Princess can create a Prince out of the most unpromising of characters! From King Arthur through to Prince Charles and Diana, Royal Romances - The British Monarchy gives you an enlightening insight into British Royal history.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/774408 to listen full audiobooks. Title: [German] - Wo geht das Licht hin, wenn der Tag vergangen ist (Ungekürzte Lesung) Author: Nadine Olonetzky Narrator: Franziska Von Fischer Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 14 hours 1 minute Release date: April 30, 2024 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: Eine unerzählte Geschichte über Deutschland, die uns alle angeht Die Familie ihrer Mutter hinterlässt Erinnerungen, Erbstücke und Geschichten. Von der jüdischen Familie des Vaters bleibt lediglich ein kleines Foto. Nur ein einziges Mal erzählt ihr der Vater von dem, was während der Shoah mit ihm und seiner Familie geschehen ist. Da ist sie fünfzehn, und ihr Vater mittlerweile Grafiker und Amateurfotograf, der alles festhalten muss, bevor es verschwindet. Jahrzehnte später stößt sie auf Berge von Akten und erfährt, was ihre Eltern so lange vor ihr geheim gehalten hatten. Wo geht das Licht hin, wenn der Tag vergangen ist erzählt unsentimental und poetisch davon, wie man Verlust nicht wiedergutmachen, aber behutsam sichtbar machen kann.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/777585 to listen full audiobooks. Title: From Dixie To Canada: Romances and Realities of The Underground Railroad: New Forward By Cole Bolchoz Author: H. U. Johnson Narrator: Cole Bolchoz Format: Abridged Audiobook Length: 1 hour 52 minutes Release date: April 24, 2024 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: The years intervening since the abolition of American slavery leave a majority of our people ignorant of its workings, and of matters connected with it, except as they are gleaned from the pages of history, or from the lips of those now grown old. It is not the purpose of this little volume to discuss the history of the "peculiar institution" in detail, but simply to give so much of it as will make appreciable the cause for another one equally "peculiar," known for the last twenty years of its existence as the Underground Railroad,—a name for a mode of operation, and not of a corporation or material object. During the years of its operation, secrecy was a cardinal, an imperative principle of its management, as the following pages will make apparent. On the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion, thus putting an end to its operations, every other subject was swallowed up in the excitement of the great struggle, and subsequently in that of Reconstruction. Thus the Road dropped measurably out of sight, leaving but meager reports and archives to tell the story of its working. The promptings of a desire to leave to posterity some realistic record of this, one of the most wonderful and thrilling features of our national history, vino parallel to which is afforded in the annals of time, must be the excuse for these pages. During the eighties, the writer, who had lived amid its excitements for years, and was more or less familiar with the writings of Coffin, Pettit, the Clarkes and others, undertook a systematic research into the matter, the result of which was the accumulation of a large fund of incident and information pertaining to the Road, much of which was published in the Home Magazine between the years 1883 and 1889, inclusive. Those articles, in part, carefully revised, are now placed before the reader in this more permanent form, with the hope that they may receive the generous approval of an appreciative public. The Author

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/783685 to listen full audiobooks. Title: The One Armed Whiskey Man of Jackass Canyon: The Unbelievably True Life and Times of Bay Area Pioneer Thomas D Carneal III Author: Thomas C Reinstein Narrator: Thomas C Reinstein Format: Abridged Audiobook Length: 2 hours 40 minutes Release date: April 24, 2024 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: The One Armed Whiskey Man of Jackass Canyon daylights a newly excavated vein in the Golden State of mind. It follows the unbelievably true life and times of accidental California pioneer Thomas D Carneal III. His prominent Northern Kentucky clan carved an ironic notch into the whiskey rebellion of 1790's and beyond. Out of the blue, tragedy struck, and the family legacy ricocheted off to the wilds of 1850's Northern California, landing on a historic rancho, shortly after California statehood. It's a fun, whiskey fueled romp that details a broad swath of Nor Cal history from the Gilded Age to the Progressive Era. This unbelievably true story concludes with the zeitgeist of creative lawlessness rampant in 1920's Bay Area, where prohibition just never caught on. A companion PDF is available on select platforms that provides historical photos relating to each chapter.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/773266 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Antarctic Basalt: An Antarctic Quest in the Days of Dog-sledge Travel Author: Lewis Juckes Narrator: Sebastian Abineri Format: Abridged Audiobook Length: 13 hours 45 minutes Release date: April 18, 2024 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: 'By 1st February the unloading had been completed, and when the ice anchors had been recovered the ship drew slowly away from the ice edge. The dull weather could not suppress the thrill that pulsed through me – this was the real start of my adventure. Up till then I could at any time have turned back. It might have been embarrassing, inconvenient, or expensive, but it had been possible. Now there would be no more direct contact with the outside world until the ship returned for another brief week or so in a year's time. There was no air link, established or even planned. Was any other workplace in the world as isolated? Even in the Antarctic, did any other base have so fleeting a relief? Together with my companions I was irrevocably committed.' Lewis Juckes describes the many new experiences that lay ahead over the next two years, first while living in huts buried deep within the snow and then in the field with dog teams for transport and tents for accommodation. Thrills and rare sights were there, as well as scares and dangers – and tragedy within the close-knit group. This was Antarctica in the mid-1960s.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/776031 to listen full audiobooks. Title: Love Letter from Pig: My Brother's Story of Freedom Summer Author: Julie P Kabat Narrator: Julie P Kabat Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 7 hours 53 minutes Release date: April 18, 2024 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: An inspiring, deeply personal story about a tumultuous period in civil rights history... In the summer of 1964, the FBI found the smoldering remains of the station wagon that James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman had been driving before their disappearance. Shortly after this awful discovery, Julie Kabat's beloved brother Luke arrived as a volunteer for the Mississippi Summer Project. Teaching biology to Freedom School students in Meridian, Luke became one of more than seven hundred student volunteers who joined experienced Black civil rights workers and clergy to challenge white supremacy in the nation's most segregated state. During his time in Mississippi, Luke helped plan the community memorial service for Chaney, attended the Democratic National Convention in support of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, and even spent time in jail for "contributing to the delinquency of minors." This arrest followed his decision to take students out for ice cream. Through his activism, Luke grappled with many issues that continue to haunt and divide us today: racialized oppression, threats of violence, and segregation whether explicit in law or implicit through custom. Sadly, Luke died just two years after Freedom Summer, leaving behind copious letters, diaries, and essays, as well as a lasting impact on his younger sister, nicknamed "Pig." Drawing on a wealth of primary resources, especially her brother's letters and diaries, Kabat delves deep into her family history to understand Luke's motivations for joining the movement and documents his experiences as an activist. In addition to Luke's personal narrative, Kabat includes conversations with surviving Freedom School volunteers and students who declare the life-long legacy of Freedom Summer. A sister's tribute to her brother, Love Letter from Pig: My Brother's Story of Freedom Summer addresses ongoing issues of civil rights and racial inequality facing the nation today.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/775276 to listen full audiobooks. Title: [Italian] - Cleopatra Author: Alberto Angela Narrator: Giuliano Bonetto, Alberto Angela Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 15 hours 50 minutes Release date: April 15, 2024 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: Il mondo di oggi non sarebbe lo stesso senza Cleopatra, una donna di potere, intelligente e abile che appartiene all'immaginario collettivo universale, ma la cui figura storica è ancora per molti aspetti avvolta nel mistero e non priva di risvolti enigmatici.Alberto Angela ha deciso di ricostruire le vicende della regina che in un certo senso ha conquistato Roma, rintracciando fonti storiche e accompagnandoci per mano, con il suo stile inimitabile, tra le caotiche strade della capitale del mondo antico, l'esotico porto di Alessandria d'Egitto e i sanguinosi campi di battaglia, alla scoperta di persone, storie, usi e costumi.Solo un autore come lui è in grado di farci rivivere in prima persona il ventennio che ha segnato un cambio epocale nella storia romana, dall'uccisione di Giulio Cesare, che decreta la fine della Repubblica, alla morte di Antonio e Cleopatra (la cui tomba non è ancora stata ritrovata) fino alla nascita dell'Impero con Augusto al potere. Un viaggio nel tempo in bilico tra Occidente e Oriente, per riscoprire con uno sguardo nuovo un periodo storico affascinante e convulso, ricco di intrighi e guerre che hanno segnato il nostro presente e contribuito a rendere il mondo il luogo che oggi tutti noi conosciamo.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/775275 to listen full audiobooks. Title: [Italian] - L'ultimo giorno di Roma: Viaggio nella città di Nerone poco prima del grande incendio Series: #1 of La trilogia di Nerone Author: Alberto Angela Narrator: Giuliano Bonetto, Alberto Angela Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 10 hours 4 minutes Release date: April 15, 2024 Genres: History & Culture Publisher's Summary: L'ULTIMO GIORNO DI ROMA: il primo libro della 'Trilogia di Nerone' dedicata al più controverso imperatore di Roma e all'incendio del 64 d.C. Roma, sabato 18 luglio 64 d.C. È una calda notte estiva, la città sta per svegliarsi con le sue strade brulicanti di attività e di persone, ed è del tutto ignara di quello che accadrà tra poche ore… 'Roma è ancora addormentata, e ad accompagnare i nostri pensieri ci sono solo i canti di alcuni usignoli che nidificano sui tetti, il rivolo d'acqua di una fontana, l'abbaiare di un cane chissà dove e le esclamazioni lontane e indecifrabili degli ultimi carrettieri che durante la notte hanno rifornito le botteghe. È la quiete prima di una nuova giornata caotica e frastornante.' Saranno Vindex e Saturninus, due vigiles di turno quel giorno, a guidarci per le strade alla scoperta della vita quotidiana di uno dei più grandi centri abitati dell'epoca. Durante la loro ronda, il possente veterano e la giovanissima recluta svolgeranno un lavoro fondamentale per l'ordine e la sicurezza della popolazione: controllare ed eliminare le innumerevoli fonti di pericolo in una città dove il fuoco si usa per tutto e la tragedia è sempre in agguato… Seguendoli nel loro lavoro quotidiano, scopriamo una Roma in gran parte fatta di legno, entriamo nelle botteghe colme di merci infiammabili che si affacciano sulle strade, sentiamo i rumori e gli odori che provengono da ogni parte e assistiamo a scene all'ordine del giorno in una Roma multiculturale che somiglia a quella di oggi molto più di quanto si pensi. Basandosi su dati archeologici e fonti antiche, e grazie al contributo di storici ed esperti di meteorologia e del fuoco, Alberto Angela ricostruisce per la prima volta un importantissimo episodio che ha cambiato per sempre la geografia di Roma e la nostra Storia: il Grande incendio del 64 d.C. Con questo suo libro, il primo della Trilogia di Nerone, ci guida nella vita delle persone realmente esistite al tempo di Nerone (dai più noti Plinio il Vecchio e Tito a quelli sconosciuti come lo scenografo di corte Alcimus e la pescivendola Aurelia Nais) e ci regala un racconto storico dallo stile cinematografico, incredibilmente coinvolgente, unico nel suo genere. 'Un bestseller annunciato, ma è all'altezza delle aspettative? Assolutamente sì. L'autore, come è suo metodo, ci porta dentro la Storia'. Il Venerdì di Repubblica 'Un racconto dallo stile cinematografico incredibilmente coinvolgente che ci svela una città multiculturale che somiglia a quella di oggi molto più di quanto si pensi'. Il tempo 'Un viaggio a tutto tondo nell'epoca di Nerone'. Il giornale 'Un nuovo e avvincente progetto editoriale'. La gazzetta del mezzogiorno