Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Every Mother Is a Daughter

Author: Perri Klass, Sheila Solomon Klass

Narrator: Carrington Macduffie, Anna Fields

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-18-06

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 13 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Together, Perri Klass and her mother, Sheila Solomon Klass, cover more than seven decades of daughterhood and motherhood. And although they grew up in dramatically different circumstances, they find that their lives have been shaped in strangely similar ways. In Every Mother Is a Daughter, Perri and Sheila tell their mother-daughter story, looking honestly at their own lives and at each other, with different perspectives, unique voices, and powerful insight, in the first co-written mother-daughter memoir.

Critic Reviews:

"This is a treasure for any generation." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Excellent!

This book was excellent. The voice acting was exceptional. The thoughts were funny, thought-provoking and insightful.

Funny, heartwarming & relatable

What did you like best about this story?

Really enjoyed this audiobook. The readers were great to listen to, and the writing was enjoyable.

What does Carrington Macduffie and Anna Fields bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you just read the book?

The readers were able to infuse their voices with a sense of humor and warmth that came through very well.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Six Wives

Subtitle: The Queens of Henry VIII

Author: David Starkey

Narrator: Patricia Hodge

Format: Abridged

Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-24-05

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

As Henry VIII's interest shifted from her powerful Hapsburg relations and drifted towards France, so began his obsession with the pretty Lutheran Anne Boleyn.

Jane Seymour's submissiveness was in contrast to Anne's vampish style, and Henry married her on the day of Anne's execution. Jane died soon after giving birth to the longed-for son.

There followed a farcical "beauty contest" which ended in the short marriage of the now grossly overweight Henry to "the mare of Flanders", Anne of Cleves.

The final part of Six Wives contrasts the two Catherines; Catherine Howard, the flirty child whose adulteries made a fool of the ageing King, and Catherine Parr, the shrewd, religiously radical bluestocking.

Members Reviews:

I now know a lot more!

I have always known Henry VIII had six wives, but my knowledge ended there. I could not remember their order, who was beheaded, or who suvived, let alone how long each marriage lasted. Thanks to this book all is now a lot clearer, and my desire to learn more 'history' has been wetted. Not that it is an easy book, it assumes some knowledge of historical terms and dates and names fly at you with amazing and sometimes bewildering regularity. I found regular visits to a well known on-line encyclopaedia, both necessary and helpful and was in need of family trees to keep track of everyone as well! My only minor concern is that quotes are taken from still existing letters from the period written obviously in 'old' english, the author also uses this 'old' english to reconstruct conversations and I could not therefore always tell what was factual and what was supposition. Overall an enjoyable and educational read..........now what did happen to Mary and Edward?

Good but too short

It is well-written and well narrated, but I'd have preferred an unabridged version - there didn't seem to be enough detail and the time period was sped through.

All six wives brought to life

Immensely enjoyed this book. The background political stories got a bit heavy for me at times, but I just let that wash over me and was carried along by the story. It's very interesting to find out why each queen was "ended". Some queens appeared to be players themselves, while others were only puppets in a game.

Facinating & entertaining

Enjoyable history of the lives of Henry VIII's long suffering wives. It was interesting to get the historical truth about the lives of these famous queens, who have featured so much in novels and films recently.

Facinating story, which is just as extraordinary as the Hollywood versions and which was riveting listening. Beautifully read.

Highly recommended.

Brilliant Histriography

An absolutely riveting text. I was ignorant of King Henry and his wives but now am able to think outside the box. This text gives emoyional, psychological, historical contexts to events.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: An Affair with Africa

Subtitle: Expeditions and Adventures Across a Continent

Author: Alzada Carlisle Kistner

Narrator: C.M. Hebert

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-22-04

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 29 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Thus began three decades of adventures in science. In An Affair with Africa, Alzada Kistner describes her family's African experience; the five expeditions they took beginning with the trip to the Belgian Congo in 1960 and ending in 1972-73 with a nine month excursion across southern Africa. From hunching over columns of ants for hours on end while seven months pregnant to eating dinner next to Idi Amin, Kistner provides a lively and humor-filled account of the human side of scientific discovery.

Critic Reviews:

"The wealth of this narrative is its many fascinating anecdotes in a land where danger is a constant companion." (Publishers Weekly)

"Kistner captivates readers with her anecdotes and descriptions of Africa. The book also provides an excellent account of the politics of the country at the time. Both history buffs and armchair travelers will enjoy this story." (Library Journal)

Members Reviews:

Poor am afraid.

I really wanted to like this book but it is incredibly self-congratulatory. No excitement, no real sense of adventure - just loads of "I risked my children's life over and over again and I was right to do so".

Interesting yet perplexing

As a lover of travel writing and a keen naturalist, I was drawn to this book on two levels and I would like to review it along similar lines.

Firstly, it is not a technical science book. The scientific writings are basic, easy to understand and enjoyable. (I spent a good hour or so afterward reading more about mermicaphiles!) Kistner obviously knows her stuff when it comes to ants and their kin, but what I found strange and somewhat annoying, was how every animal in the bush was 'out to get you'. This point of view was not one expressed by a mere tourist, but by one of the most respected biologists in the world. What I found particuarly annoying was when Kistner explained how she had to stand stock still when seeing a Green Mamba, 'the only snake snake in the world that will activly hunt down people' - for someone who obviously knows a great deal about the natural world, it was a ridiculous statement.

That said, the travels the Kistners embark upon are very interesting. They travel through parts of Africa on the brink of, or in the midst of civil unrest and war. Their Congolese experience is particuarly worrying and their close shaves are the main pull of the book for me, despite the fact that I thought I would enjoy it more for its descriptions of wildlife.

3/5 stars for me. It is an interesting read, but don't believe everything you read.

Ben Waddams

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Cork Boat

Author: John Pollack

Narrator: John Pollack

Format: Abridged

Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-14-04

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Cork Boat tells the story of Pollack's improbable quest. Overcoming one obstacle after another, he convinces skeptical bartenders to save their corks, corrals a brilliant but disorganized partner, and eventually cajoles more than one hundred volunteers who help build the boat until their fingers bleed. Ultimately, Pollack completes his vessel of 165,321 corks and sets sail on a fantastic voyage down the Douro River in Portugal, where the Cork Boat becomes a national sensation.

In recounting these adventures, Pollack skillfully meanders through fascinating arcana, from the cork wars to the history of rubber bands (some 15,000 of which help hold his boat together). He also offers an insider's look at the White House, where he was a Presidential speechwriter and enlisted navy stewards to save corks for the boat.

Written with unusual grace and disarming humor, Cork Boat is a buoyant tale of whimsy, adventure, and the power of imagination.

Critic Reviews:

"[John] Pollack offers an amusing tale, with entertaining anecdotes constantly bobbing to the surface." (Publishers Weekly)

"Pollack's absurd quest seems not merely charming but heroic." (The New Yorker)

Members Reviews:

Premise has promise..

..but the tale is maudlin, self-congratulatory, and in many places annoying. I was hoping for an uplifting triumph-over-adversity tale, but the only adversity were a few inconveniences brought on by the author's lack of common sense. (Really, would it have been so hard to check the prevailing wind direction on the Douro river, or to anticipate the possibility of sunburn in the Portugese summer, or realize that tides might play a role where the river meets the sea?)

I'm giving it two stars because portions of the book work as a travelog. But give this book a pass if you're looking for adventure.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Arthur Conan Doyle

Subtitle: A Life

Author: Hesketh Pearson

Narrator: Tim Pigott-Smith

Format: Abridged

Length: 2 hrs and 37 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-07-03

Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) will always be remembered for the character of Sherlock Holmes. But he was a prolific writer - of short stories, of science fiction and historical fiction. In his comprehensive biography, Hesketh Pearson considers how his life is reflected in his books - including his background as a doctor, and his enduring (and public) belief in spiritualism.

Editorial Reviews:

Tim Pigott-Smith's performance is the perfect fit for Pearson's revealing biography of the man who created the world's greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes. Pigott-Smith has a flexible, fluid voice and is comfortable in this rags-to-riches account of Doyle's life. He takes us through Doyle's youth, his training in medicine, his experiences as a war correspondent, his personal life, including his marriages, and his interest in spiritualism. This excellent production is punctuated by charming musical interludes, and Pigott-Smith's outstanding handling of nuance makes the audiobook enthralling.

Members Reviews:

A Good Read (or should I say listen)

If you're an avid Sherlock Holmes fan (which I am) then you have to listen to this book. As the narrator describes Doyle and his life you can see the connections in many of the Holmes stories and how much Doyle there is in Watson. Although the first half of the book is more captivating than the last, as a whole it was very interesting and kept my attention. Doyle did just about everything a man could do back in those days and it made you wish you could go back in time and try it yourself.

Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life

An excellently written and performed audio book that summarizes the great man's life perfectly and fairly.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Casper the Commuting Cat

Author: Susan Finden

Narrator: Sandra Duncan, Kristopher Milnes

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-29-11

Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Casper became a national celebrity when newspapers ran the story of the amazing cat that regularly took the No. 3 bus on journeys around his home town, Plymouth, in Devon, South-West England. While his devoted owner Sue Finden had wondered where her elusive pet was disappearing to each day, Casper was brightening the lives of countless commuters. Bus drivers, too, were getting well-acquainted with Casper, and notices went up in their depot alerting staff that a very special passenger might board their vehicle. In fact, he became a mascot for the bus company, and pictures of him and Susan adorned No. 3 buses.

When Casper was sadly killed by a car in early 2010 messages of sympathy flooded in from places as far afield as Australia and Argentina. It quickly became clear that Casper and his remarkable story had touched the lives of many people around the world. Movingly told by the owner who loved him dearly, Casper the Commuting Cat is the touching story of a very special black-and-white cat who rode the bus and stole our hearts.

Members Reviews:

Interesting Cat, Lazy Writing, Misguided Cat Owner

Casper was an interesting cat who would get into line, board buses that stopped near his home, and travel around the town. He also was a regular at the local hospital/clinic, where he would just wander in and mingle with the patients and staff.

This was a pretty frustrating read (listen). This book could potentially have been as good as Dewy, but the main problem is that since Casper's owner didn't witness Casper's adventures herself, she had virtually no knowledge of them, and didn't bother to do the research to interview all the necessary people to really piece together (and tell us about) his adventures. So really the book has about, maybe 1 hour of material on Casper's adventures, and 4 hours of "filler". Not only that but the owner is pretty misguided imo. She was basically a cat hoarder (she had 8 cats at one point), let all of them run wild, moved from house to house (often living near major roads), then blamed the neighbors, local businesses, public traffic authorities, and automobile drivers, when her cats got into trouble. Casper was actually twice hit by cars, and she lost several other cats to traffic as well, yet it never occurred to her to change things.

Anyhow, not sure I can recommend this one. I almost hope that somebody else takes a crack at writing this story, because there is a good story there, but it takes somebody to do the legwork to bring the full story out. Not surprising, Casper's owner wasn't the right person to do this.

Difficult to listen to because of the narrator

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A different narrator.

Any additional comments?

I have not listened to the entire book and as yet I am unsure if I will be able to. The narration is marred for me by the sounds of saliva in the narrators mouth. Over and above the story I hear slurping, bubbling and swallowing which make it almost impossible for me to enjoy listening to this.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Horse Boy

Author: Rupert Isaacson

Narrator: Rupert Isaacson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-05-09

Publisher: Whole Story Audiobooks

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 8 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

From his home in Texas to the wilds of Mongolia, we follow the Isaacson family on an epic journey on horseback - a journey that would test their love, challenge their beliefs and change their lives.

Members Reviews:

Amazing story!

This story is so inspirational! It is fantastic also to hear it read by the father who wrote it, I watched the documentary film afterwards but it was nowhere near as good as the book. Too much was cut out - however it was interesting to compare the two. I would definitely recommend this amazing journey, and adventure and story of endurance. Loved it!

Love and Dedication

I was overwhelmed by sheer scale of the task that Rupert Issacson and his dear wife set them selfs, their selflesness was quite extraordinary the journey they undertook was a crusade that Ruperts faith would better his sons quality of life was unshakable.

I don't want to say any more as it would only spoil the book, I was almost in tears at various parts and would recommend this as a must read.

Fantastic

An honest and reflective insight to a journey of discovery for an autistic child and his parents in the mountains of Mongolia. I feel like I was there with them on the venture and look forward to hearing more. Great narration and performance.

Brilliant

loved this book when I read it in paper version and with Rupert narrating.Want to find the sequel on audio

An amazing listen

I didn't want this book to end...It is an incredible story of hope, heart break and happiness.

For those with an interest in autism, this book is so interesting and thought provoking.

For those with little or no knowledge of autism, you will be utterly amazed at the struggle and perseverance of one family's bid to help their son.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: American Hostage

Subtitle: A Memoir of a Journalist Kidnapped in Iraq and the Remarkable Battle to Win His Release

Author: Micah Garen, Marie-Helene Carleton

Narrator: Micah Garen, Marie-Helene Carleton

Format: Abridged

Length: 6 hrs and 8 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-29-06

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Here's a remarkable, true story of love and war, of journalist Micah Garenheld hostage in Iraq, and the determined young woman, Marie-Helene Carleton, who fought and won his release.

©2005 Zeugma and Company, Inc. All rights reserved; (P)2004 Simon and Schuster Inc. All rights reserved

Critic Reviews:

"Moving and suspenseful....With a romantic subplot humming through the tension, this story is made for the silver screen." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Under the sword of death

The authors had come to Iraq to help prevent the looting of archeological sites. Their motivation was to help preserve artifacts of an ancient culture. It is ironic then that Micah Garen and his Iraqi translator and guide, Amir Doshi, were kidnapped and put under a death sentence by Iraqi militants.

There are two memoirs here, told in alternating chapters, first from Garen, who recounts the terrifying experience of being kidnapped; and then from his fiancee, Marie-Helene Carleton, who had returned to the States before the kidnapping, on the rescue efforts from New York. The chapters alternate until the story is finished.

The story is neither a tragedy nor a comedy, although it could have been either. The authors concentrate on the personal details of their experiences, the helplessness, the fear, the anxiety near the edge of sanity. I was struck with how personal the war became to Marie-Helene Carleton once her beloved Micah had been kidnapped. Too bad it isn't that personal to all of us. Is that what it takes to understand what it means to invade another country? All too often the war is merely a show on television until someone we love is in danger, and then the sheer inhumanity and madness of war become real.

I was also struck by the virtual helplessness of the US government. Obviously the US cannot negotiate with kidnappers. To do so would only invite more kidnappings. Furthermore, from the point of view of Carleton, who was co-ordinating the rescue efforts from New York, even involving the US government, and especially the military, was not an option, at least not openly, since such involvement might further endanger Garen. Prior to the kidnapping the two authors preferred to be recognized in Iraq as French rather than American, since the French had fewer enemies in Iraq.

The book is a little too long. The detail from New York, while fascinating in some respects is utterly ordinary in others, and could easily have been contained. On the other hand, the detail of Garen's day-to-day life as a captive could have been given even more light, except of course he was not able to take notes or to record his experiences. He had to recall after the fact all the details. Since Garen was constantly under the threat of death (a brutal video beheading seemed entirely possible), it is surprising that he was able to recall as much as he did.

Also both Garen and Carleton are very young. Their sense of what happened to them is without the sort of distillment that will emerge later, or that would come from people more seasoned. In this regard, I was struck by the restrained heroics and quiet wisdom of Amir Doshi who helped to keep Garen sane, and who actually endured a more brutal ordeal, physically speaking.

Hören Sie sich dieses volle Hörbuch kostenlos bei https://hotaudiobook.com

Titel: Ich kann nicht vergeben

Untertitel: Meine Flucht aus Auschwitz

Autor:: Rudolf Vrba

Erzähler: Peter Bieringer

Format: Unabridged

Spieldauer: 12 hrs and 11 mins

Sprache: Deutsch

Veröffentlichungsdatum: 08-16-17

Herausgeber: BUCHFUNK

Kategorien: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Zusammenfassung des Herausgebers:

Das einmalige Erinnerungsdokument erzählt, wie ein erst siebzehnjähriger Slowake in Auschwitz überlebte. Wie er sich vor der Willkür der SS und ihren Kapos schützte, wie er Strafen und Krankheiten überstand, sich bei den Widerstandskämpfern im Lager Respekt verschaffte und sogar einen seltenen Augenblick der Liebe erlebte. Mehr noch: wie er es als einer der wenigen schaffte, zusammen mit seinem Freund Alfréd Wetzler dieser hermetisch abgeriegelten Hölle zu entfliehen.

Doch dieser junge Mann war nicht allein auf seine Freiheit bedacht, sondern versuchte alles, um die letzte große Massenmordaktion der Nationalsozialisten, die Deportation der ungarischen Juden, zu verhindern.

Tatsächlich rettete der im April 1944 erstattete Vrba-Wetzler-Bericht hunderttausend Menschenleben.

©2012 Schöffling & Co. (P)2017 BUCHFUNK Verlag

Kritik Bewertungen:

Die Geschichte des Horrors, mit schwejkschem Witz gebrochen, eine Lektüre,die ans Herz fasst, mit einem präzisen Blick auf Menschen in der Hölle.

-- DIE ZEIT

Ein absolut notwendiges Buch. Eines, das überrascht, ergreift, ermutigt. Das atemlos macht beim Lesen.

-- Deutschlandradio Kultur

Das Einzigartige an Rudolf Vrbas Erlebnisbericht "Ich kann nicht vergeben" ist der radikale Blick, der unvoreingenommen jedes Detail registriert und den eigenen Empfindungen vertraut.

-- Der Tagesspiegel

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Córka Stalina: Chciala byc kochana

Author: Elwira Watala

Narrator: Elzbieta Kijowska

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-10-16

Publisher: Heraclon / storybox.pl

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Najnowsza biografia Swietlany Allilujewej - jedynej córki Stalina. Dostep do zamknietych wczesniej radzieckich archiwów umozliwil autorce stworzenie pelnego obrazu tej kontrowersyjnej postaci. Wychowana w luksusach "czerwona ksiezniczka", a z drugiej strony nieszczesliwa dziewczyna, która nie zaznala milosci rodziców, przez cale zycie bezskutecznie poszukiwala swojego miejsca na ziemi.

Autorka przedstawia fakty, które naznaczyly jej zycie: samobójstwo matki, samotne dziecinstwo na Kremlu, skomplikowane relacje rodzinne, czystki w najblizszym kregu dyktatora, nieudane malzenstwa, niespodziewana ucieczka na Zachód i równie niespodziewany powrót do ojczyzny, trudne lata ponownej emigracji.

©2013 Wydawnictwa Videograf (P)2016 Storybox