Audiobooks by William Elliott Hazelgrove

The Last Charge of the Rough Rider: Theodore Roosevelt's Final Days

There have been many books on Theodore Roosevelt, but there are none that solely focus on the last years of his life. Racked by rheumatism, a ticking embolism, pathogens in his blood, a bad leg, and a bullet in his chest from an assassination attempt, in the last two years of his life, he went from the great disappointment of being denied his own regiment in World War I, leading a suicide mission of Rough Riders against the Germans, to the devastating news that his son Quentin had been shot down and killed over France. Suffering from grief and guilt, marginalized by world events, the great glow that had been his life was now but a dimming lantern. But TR's final years were productive ones as well: he churned out several 'instant' books that promoted United States entry into the Great War, and he was making plans for another run at the Presidency in 1920 at the time of his death. Indeed, his political influence was so great that his opposition to the policies of Woodrow Wilson helped the Republican Party take back the Congress in 1918. However, as William Hazelgrove points out in this book, it was Roosevelt's quest for the 'vigorous life' that, ironically, may have led to his early demise at the age of sixty. 'The Old Lion is dead,' TR's son Archie cabled his brother on January 6, 1919, and so, too, ended a historic era in American life and politics.

William Elliott Hazelgrove (Author), Danny Campbell (Narrator)

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Greed in the Gilded Age: The Brilliant Con of Cassie Chadwick

Greed in the Gilded Age is a Gatsby-esque tale of mystery, money, sex, and scandal. 'Millionaire' had just entered the American lexicon and Cassie Chadwick was front page news, becoming a media sensation before mass media, even eclipsing President Roosevelt's inauguration. Using these newspaper articles, Hazelgrove tells the story of one of the greatest cons in American history. Combining the sexuality and helplessness her gender implied, Chadwick conned at least 2 million dollars, equivalent to about 60 million today, simply by claiming to be the illegitimate daughter and heir of steel titan, Andrew Carnegie. Playing to their greed, she was able to convince highly educated financiers to loan hundreds of thousands of dollars, on nothing more than a rumor and her word. She was a product of her time and painting her as a criminal is only one way to look at it. Those times rewarded someone who was smart, inventive, bold, and aggressive. She was able to break through boundaries of class, education, and gend

William Elliott Hazelgrove (Author), Cindy Piller (Narrator)

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Al Capone and the 1933 World's Fair: The End of the Gangster Era in Chicago

Al Capone and the 1933 World's Fair is a historical look at Chicago during the darkest days of the Great Depression-the story of Chicago fighting the hold that organized crime had on the city to be able to put on the 1933 World's Fair. William Elliott Hazelgrove provides the exciting and sprawling history behind the 1933 World's Fair, the last of the golden age. He reveals the story of the six millionaire businessmen, dubbed The Secret Six, who beat Al Capone at his own game, ending the gangster era as prohibition was repealed. The story of an intriguing woman, Sally Rand, who embodied the World's Fair with her own rags to riches story and brought sex into the open. The story of Rufus and Charles Dawes, who gave the fair a theme and then found financing in the worst economic times the country had ever experienced. The story of the most corrupt mayor of Chicago, William Thompson, who owed his election to Al Capone; and the mayor who followed him, Anton Cermak, who was murdered months before the fair was opened by an assassin many said was hired by Al Capone. But most of all, it's a story about a city fighting for survival in the darkest of times; and a shining light of hope called A Century of Progress.

William Elliott Hazelgrove (Author), Chris Andrew Ciulla (Narrator)

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