Military Audiobooks | History

Admiral of the Narrow Seas: The Life of Bertram Ramsay

Bertram Ramsay has acquired almost mythical status in the history of the Second World War, firstly as the principal organizer of the Dunkirk evacuation and then as naval commander of the Allied invasion of Normandy - in the eyes of many, 'the organizer of victory'. But because Ramsay was killed in January 1945 and never wrote his own memoirs, his life has until now been difficult to pin down. Andrew Gordon, prize-winning author of The Rules of the Game: Jutland and British Naval Command, writing with the help of Ramsay's descendants, now describes the career of this intense and territorial man in full, for the first time establishing his true role in the two great tests of his life and conveying his very particular personality. This is a superb biography of a naval officer, which also illuminated afresh British history in the first half of the twentieth century.

Andrew Gordon (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Last Para

John Humphreys, Stuart Tootal (Author), Peter Noble, TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

American Mercenary: The Riveting, High-Risk World of an Elite SEAL Team Operator Turned Hired Gun

What does an elite Navy SEAL Team operator trained to kill the United States' most dangerous enemies do when he realizes his skills aren't being properly utilized? He leaves the Navy. In AmericanMercenary, Daniel Corbett takes readers on a wild ride through the unadulterated, morally ambiguous, and riveting world of being a hired gun. From Abu Dhabi to Washington, D.C., Cairo to San Diego, Belgrade to places that must remain secret, this is a world where money rules, and where adventure, danger, and absurdity often follow. A star high school athlete, Corbett passed on a Division 1 football career and opted for the US Navy. He began his career at SEAL Team 5 and eventually checked into SEAL Team 6. The Navy spent millions teaching him and his fellow Team members how to sneak, subvert, recruit, disappear, survive, resist, and exert. And of course, how to shoot, a discipline at which Corbett excelled. What the Navy did not do was prepare these men for post-military lives beyond the usual suite of veterans' benefits and unimaginative job-training programs. So what does Corbett do? He goes private. There are still plenty of bad men in the world, and the only sin worse than wasting talent in dead-end pursuits is not using it at all. He starts small, but quickly moves up. The work is simultaneously familiar and foreign. The command structure is shady. The clients are dubious. The equipment is sub-par. But what the fuck: the pay is good. Then things change in 2017 when Corbett is arrested on a job in Belgrade, Serbia. When the authorities discover he's a Navy SEAL, they imagine the worst: he's in Belgrade to assassinate the Serbian president. They throw Corbett in jail, where he spends the next 18 months making international headlines and fighting for his freedom in a kangaroo court. Ultimately, American Mercenary highlights the struggle of many veterans: how to reconcile military service with civilian life. For Corbett, becoming a mercenary isn't just the best option, it feels like the only option. It's a lot better than drowning in a bottle or holding a pistol under your chin and pulling the trigger, but is it enough?

Daniel Corbett (Author), Daniel Corbett, TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

A Mission Without Borders: Why a Father and Son Risked it All for the People of Ukraine

Author, speaker, and former Force Recon Marine Chad Robichaux offers an honest, no-holds-barred account of what has really been happening in Ukraine and shares powerful stories that are soaked in resiliency and determination, faith and sacrifice in the face of overwhelming opposition. When Russian forces invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, former Force Recon Marine Chad Robichaux knew that innocent people were about to be exposed to untold brutality. He also knew that God was inviting him to get involved. With little idea of the trials that would follow, Chad's response was simple and clear: 'yes.' As he gathered a team of elite special operations veterans, he invited his twenty-five-year-old son, Hunter--also a Marine combat veteran--to partner with him in Ukraine. Over the course of seven trips, Chad saw a change in Hunter as his confidence grew and he exceled among the team. Chad's own faith also grew as he learned to relinquish control and trust God with his son and what he witnessed in the brutality of war. A Mission Without Borders is a powerful account of the lessons we can learn whenever we say yes to God. Chad's experience will help readers - understand what the conflict in Ukraine was like for everyday citizens beyond the political fog; - discover how a bond can grow between a father and son as they face hardship together; and - realize that God doesn't just call us to go to the aid of the people we know and love, sometimes he calls us to help strangers--because it's the right thing to do. A Mission Without Borders will take readers deep into the war in Ukraine. From Russia's use of ballistic and chemical weapons on civilians, to the inspirational story of the role that the Ukrainian church has played in the war, Chad's story of courage and hope needs to be heard. It is rich in human and spiritual truth and will connect deeply with readers of all walks.

Chad Robichaux (Author), Chad Robichaux, Hunter Robichaux, James R. Cheatham (Narrator)

Audiobook

Send Me: The Incredible True Story of a Mother at War

The extraordinary story of American special operator and trailblazer Shannon Kent, who was killed at the age of 35 by a suicide bomber while hunting high value targets on a classified mission in Syria in 2019. Of the 1.3 million active-duty service members in the U.S. military, only a tiny fraction are selected as “operators” in elite special mission units. Shannon Kent was one of the first women to serve at this level and was widely recognized as one of the best. Shannon served as a Cryptologic Warfare Technician, responsible for signals intelligence and electronic warfare, but her proficiency with language set her apart. She was assigned to the Joint Special Operations Command, where she worked clandestinely to hunt the most wanted terrorists in the world. Send Me is Shannon’s heroic life story, revealing the truth of both her work and her death. Shannon’s team wasn’t on a routine patrol the day she died, nor out for lunch as many news outlets reported. She was hunting ISIS cells. Joe, a retired Special Forces soldier, recalls how he and Shannon met in a war zone, their love forged during an elite special operations training course, their dedication spanning multiple combat deployments and the birth of their two boys. It is the legacy of an extraordinary woman who rose to the apex of the military, working with the most elite forces in the world, lifting the veil from the life of a Special Forces family to share their duty, sacrifice, and humanity.

Joe Kent, Marty Skovlund (Author), Joe Kent, Marty Skovlund, Tbd (Narrator)

Audiobook

I Have Your Back: How an American Soldier Became an International Hero

The story of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis, who became an international hero for his courage and selflessness. Ever since he was a young boy growing up on the streets of Staten Island, New York, Michael Ollis wanted to be a soldier. Inspired by his father, who fought in Vietnam, Mike’s deep desire to serve was cemented on the day his beloved city was attacked. From 9/11 onward, Mike’s one and only mission was to save lives. After two tense combat deployments, Staff Sergeant Michael Ollis earned the US Army’s coveted Ranger tab and set his sights on the perilous mountains of eastern Afghanistan. On August 28, 2013, Mike was suddenly caught in the middle of a massive and unprecedented Taliban assault on a coalition military base. Rather than retreat to his bunker, Mike decided to fight. He then encountered a Polish army officer who needed his help. Despite being surrounded by enemy fighters while running low on ammunition, Mike promised the foreign soldier that no matter what, he would have his back. For his final act of bravery, Staff Sergeant Michael Ollis would not only receive the Distinguished Service Cross from his own country, but the highest honor that Poland can bestow upon an allied soldier. As an American warrior, Staff Sergeant Michael Ollis had all of our backs. This vivid and visceral account of Mike’s selfless 24-year journey will motivate us to “live like Mike” by always putting family, friends and country first.

Tom Sileo (Author), Roger Wayne, TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

The War on Warriors

Anon9780063389427, Pete Hegseth (Author), Pete Hegseth, TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Way of Ronin: Defying the Odds on Battlefields, in Business and in Life

A gripping memoir detailing Tu Lam's life, from his childhood as a Vietnamese refugee, his military career as a decorated Green Beret, his time as an underground MMA fighter, to becoming the basis for Call of Duty's Ronin character. Tu Lam is known not just for his remarkable accomplishments in the military, as a decorated Green Beret in more than two dozen international war zones, but for his exceptional work outside of it. His fellow soldiers know him for his successful company that he runs with his wife providing aid to military and law enforcement, as well as his tireless charity work for veterans with physical and mental disabilities. Others know him from his popular History Channel television series Forged in Fire: Knife or Death, or for his appearance in and contribution to the world's bestselling video game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. His accomplishments are all the more impressive considering that Tu Lam was born in a Saigon basement during a North Vietnamese air raid. He barely survived a month drifting at sea in an overcrowded fishing boat. He nearly drowned in an Indonesian refugee camp. He suffered an American childhood of racism, abuse and hatred. Despite all that, he still returned to conflicted zones around the world to "free the oppressed"-starting with himself. That decision led him to more than two decades of grueling instruction in every facet of the special forces, then deployment to war and conflict zones-all while channeling his inner anger in secret underground no-holds-barred fighting matches. When he finally retired from the military after more than two decades, his demons caught up with him, leading to years of addiction. But even that didn't defeat him. Tu Lam's life is, at times, all too real, and at many others times, almost unbelievable. For fans of Jocko Willink and David Goggins, The Way of Ronin is an ultimately triumphant tale of what one man can accomplish against seemingly insurmountable odds.

Tu Lam (Author), Pun Bandhu, TBD, Tu Lam (Narrator)

Audiobook

Fifty-Three Days on Starvation Island: The World War II Battle That Saved Marine Corps Aviation

The pivotal true story of the first fifty-three days of the standoff between Imperial Japanese and a handful of Marine aviators defending the Americans dug in at Guadalcanal, from the New York Times bestselling author of Indestructible and Race of Aces. On August 20, 1942, twelve Marine dive-bombers and nineteen Marine fighters landed at Guadalcanal. Their mission: defeat the Japanese navy and prevent it from sending more men and supplies to "Starvation Island," as Guadalcanal was nicknamed. The Japanese were turning the remote, jungle-covered mountain in the south Solomon Islands into an air base from which they could attack the supply lines between the U.S. and Australia. The night after the Marines landed and captured the partially completed airfield, the Imperial Navy launched a surprise night attack on the Allied fleet offshore, resulting in the worst defeat the U.S. Navy suffered in the 20th century, which prompted the abandonment of the Marines on Guadalcanal. The Marines dug in, and waited for help, as those thirty-one pilots and twelve gunners flew against the Japanese, shooting down eighty-three planes in less than two months, while the dive bombers, carried out over thirty attacks on the Japanese fleet. Fifty-Three Days on Starvation Island follows Major John L. Smith, a magnetic leader who became America's top fighter ace for the time; Captain Marion Carl, the Marine Corps' first ace, and one of the few survivors of his squadron at the Battle of Midway. He would be shot down and forced to make his way back to base through twenty-five miles of Japanese-held jungle. And Major Richard Mangrum, the lawyer-turned-dive-bomber commander whose inexperienced men wrought havoc on the Japanese Navy. New York Times bestselling author John R. Bruning depicts the desperate effort to stop the Japanese long enough for America to muster reinforcements and turn the tide at Guadalcanal. Not just the story of an incredible stand on a distant jungle island, Fifty-Three Days on Starvation Island also explores the consequences of victory to the men who secured it at a time when America had been at war for less than a year and its public had yet to fully understand what that meant. The home front they returned to after their jungle ordeal was a surreal montage of football games, nightclubs, fine dining with America's elites, and inside looks at dysfunctional defense industries more interested in fleecing the government than properly equipping the military. Bruning tells the story of how one battle reshaped the Marine Corps and propelled its veterans into the highest positions of power just in time to lead the service into a new war in Southeast Asia.

John R Bruning (Author), Brian Troxell, TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

Fighting the Night: Iwo Jima, World War II, and a Flyer's Life

From the acclaimed and best-selling author of Hemingway's Boat, the profoundly moving story of his father's wartime service as a night fighter pilot, and the prices he and his fellow soldiers paid for their acts of selfless, patriotic sacrifice In the fall of 1944, Joe Paul Hendrickson, the author's father, kissed his twenty-one-year-old wife and two baby children goodbye. The twenty-five-year-old first lieutenant, pilot of a famed P-61 Black Widow, was leaving for the war. He and his night fighter squadron were sent to Iwo Jima, where, for the last five and a half months of World War II, he flew approximately seventy-five missions, largely in pitch-black conditions. His wife would wait out the war at the home of her small-town Ohio parents, one of the countless numbers of American family members shouldering the burden of being left behind. Joe Paul, the son of a Depression-poor Kentucky sharecropper, was fresh out of high school in 1937 when he enlisted in mechanic school in the peacetime Army Air Corps. Eventually, he was able to qualify for flight school. After marriage, and with the war on, the young officer and his bride crisscrossed the country, airfield to airfield, base to base: Santa Ana, Yuma, Kissimmee, Bakersfield, Orlando, La Junta, Fresno. He volunteered for night fighters and the newly arrived and almost mythic Black Widow. A world away, the carnage continued. As Paul Hendrickson tracks his parents' journey, together and separate, both stateside and overseas, he creates a vivid portrait of a hard-to-know father whose time in the war, he comes to understand, was something truly heroic, but never without its hidden and unhidden psychic costs. Bringing to life an iconic moment of American history, and the tragedy of all wars, Fighting the Night is an intense and powerful story of violence and love, forgiveness and loss. And it is a tribute to those who got plunged into service, in the best years of their lives, and the sacrifices they and their loved ones made, then and thereafter.

Paul Hendrickson (Author), Fred Sanders, Paul Hendrickson, TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

Operation Biting

Operation Biting was one of the most thrilling British commando raids of World War II, and probably the most successful. In February 1942 RAF intelligence was baffled by a newly-identified radar network on the coast of Nazi-occupied Europe, codenamed Würzburg. The brilliant scientist Dr RV Jones proposed an assault to capture key components. The nearest accessible enemy set stood upon a steep cliff at Bruneval in Normandy. Winston Churchill enthused, as did Lord Louis Mountbatten, chief of Combined Operations. A company of the newly-formed Airborne Forces was committed to the operation, which took place on the night of 27/28 February. Amid heavy snow 120 men landed, some of whom were misdropped almost two miles from their objective. They nonetheless launched the assault, dismantled the German radar, and after three nail-biting hours in France and a fierce battle with Wehrmacht defenders, escaped in the nick of time by landing-craft across stormy seas to Portsmouth. Max Hastings recounts this cliffhanging tale in a wealth of previously unchronicled detail. He portrays its remarkable personalities: the ‘boffin’ RV Jones; the peacock Mountbatten; the troubled husband of Daphne Du Maurier, Gen. ’Boy’ Browning, who commanded the Airborne Division; ‘Colonel Remy’, the French secret agent whose men reconnoitered Bruneval at mortal risk; Major John Frost, who led the paras into action; Charlie Cox, the little RAF technician who stripped the Würzburg and became an unexpected hero; Wing-Commander Charles Pickard, a legendary bomber pilot who led the drop squadron. Seldom have so many fascinating personalities been brought together to fulfil a mission that became a front-page triumph in a season of British defeats. Recounted in Hastings’ familiar best-selling blend of top-down and bottom-up action detail, Operation Biting tells a story that has become almost forgotten yet deserves to rank among the epic tales of courage and daring that took place in the greatest conflict in history.

Max Hastings (Author), John Hopkins, TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Wives: A Memoir

A powerful, intimate memoir of marriage and friendship that traces one woman's experience joining a tightknit community of fellow army wives after leaving her New York City job to follow her enlisted husband. When her new husband joins an elite Army unit, Simone Gorrindo is uprooted from New York City and dropped into Columbus, Georgia—a town so foreign she might as well have landed on the moon. With her husband frequently deployed, Simone is left to find her place in this new world, alone—until she meets the wives. Gorrindo gives us an intimate look into the inner lives of a remarkable group of women and a tender, unflinching portrait of a marriage. A love story, an unforgettable coming-of-age tale, and a bracing tour of the intractable divisions that plague our country today, The Wives offers a rare and powerful gift: a hopeful stitch in the fabric of a torn America.

Simone Gorrindo (Author), Simone Gorrindo, TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

Military Audiobooks in History