Military Audiobooks | History

What We Give: From Marine to Philanthropist: A Memoir

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” —Winston Churchill What makes a soldier? What makes a business mind? What makes a philanthropist? In this rich memoir, Canadian icon of mining finance and public service Terry Salman reflects on his remarkable life, offering inspiration and mentorship for others seeking to build their own legacies. Salman traces his journey from his modest beginnings in Montreal as the son of a Turkish immigrant father and Quebec-born mother, to the traumas of the Vietnam War, to his rise up the Canadian business world, and the growing dedication to service that earned him the Order of Canada. He recounts the moments that shaped him: the brotherhood of the U.S. Marines and the lifelong duty of loyalty and community they instilled in him; the traumas he endured as a young sergeant in Vietnam; his return to Canada and the mentors who helped guide his success; and his many roles in helping others. As he climbs the corporate ladder, his deep-seated faith and commitment to social responsibility grows. He takes on leadership roles, including chairman of the Vancouver Public Library Foundation and the St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation—where he helped fund a hospice for AIDS patients—and Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Singapore. Offering an inside view at the Canadian business, political, and philanthropic landscape, What We Give is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand how some are driven to succeed, and to give back.

Terry Salman (Author), TBD, Terry Salman (Narrator)

Audiobook

Be Bold: How a Marine Hero Broke the Glass Ceiling for Women at War

Major Megan McClung is the first female United States Naval Academy graduate to be killed in action since the school’s 1845 founding and the highest-ranking female U.S. Marine Corps officer to die during the Iraq war. Be Bold is Megan’s inspirational story of defying steep odds, making the ultimate sacrifice and paving the way for a new era of women at war.

Tom Sileo (Author), Jonathan Todd Ross, Susan Bennett (Narrator)

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Tamerlane: The Life and Legacy of the Legendary Mongol Conqueror

Though history is usually written by the victors, the lack of a particularly strong writing tradition from the Mongols ensured that history was largely written by those who they vanquished. Because of this, their portrayal in the West and the Middle East has been extraordinarily (and in many ways unfairly) negative for centuries, at least until recent revisions to the historical record. The Mongols have long been depicted as wild horse-archers galloping out of the dawn to rape, pillage, murder and enslave, but the Mongol army was a highly sophisticated, minutely organized and incredibly adaptive and innovative institution, as witnessed by the fact that it was successful in conquering enemies who employed completely different weaponry and different styles of fighting, from Chinese armored infantry to Middle Eastern camel cavalry and Western knights and men-at-arms. Likewise, the infrastructure and administrative corps which governed the empire, though largely borrowed from the Chinese, was inventive, practical, and extraordinarily modern and efficient. This was no fly-by-night enterprise but a sophisticated, complex, and extremely well-oiled machine. Aside from Genghis and his grandson Kublai Khan, the most famous Mongol conqueror was Tamerlane, who dominated Eurasia in the 14th century. He was known by the name Timur in Asia, while the Europeans used the name Tamerlane, which came from the Persian Timur-i-Leng, meaning “Timur the Lame.” This was intended to be an insult referring to crippling injuries he received to his right leg and arm as a young man, probably from arrows, but clearly his injuries did not prevent him from spending much of his lifetime in the saddle. Tamerlane came from a Turkicized Mongol tribe, the Barlas, which had several constituent sub-clans. A number of original Mongol tribes had migrated west, where the majority of the population was Turkish, and over time, the Mongols blended with the Turks.

Charles River Editors (Author), Kc Wayman (Narrator)

Audiobook

617 Squadron: The Dambusters at War

In May 1943, Guy Gibson led 617 Squadron on an audacious assault on the dams of the Ruhr valley using Barnes Wallis' ingenious 'bouncing bombs.' What happened to RAF 617 Squadron after the completion of Operation Chastise? The raid had been a success, but the bombing offensive against Nazi-occupied territories did not let up and 617 Squadron continued to be at the heart of these operations. Squadron Leader Tom Bennett, who flew as one of the lead navigators of 617's Mosquito marker force, recounts many of the precision attacks made by 617's Lancasters on vital targets in occupied Europe. A number of personalities who served with the Squadron leap from the pages, like Tom McLean, who managed to destroy three night-fighters while wounded from his position as rear gunner, as well as the unpredictable Australian Colin Keith 'Aspro' Astbury who after being retired from active duty snuck out of his dull job with the Air Ministry to continue flying with his crew. 617 Squadron: The Dambusters at War provides unique insight into the reminiscences of the men who flew in this crack Royal Air Force squadron during the last three years of World War Two.

Tom Bennett (Author), Dennis Kleinman (Narrator)

Audiobook

Demetrius: Sacker of Cities

A portrait of one of the ancient world’s first political celebrities, who veered from failure to success and back again The life of Demetrius (337–283 BCE) serves as a through-line to the forty years following the death of Alexander (323–282 BCE), a time of unparalleled turbulence and instability in the ancient world. With no monarch able to take Alexander’s place, his empire fragmented into five pieces. Capitalizing on good looks, youth, and sexual prowess, Demetrius sought to weld those pieces together and recover the dream of a single world-state, with a new Alexander—himself—at its head. He succeeded temporarily, but in crucial, colossal engagements—a massive invasion of Egypt, a siege of Rhodes that went on a full year, and the Battle of Ipsus—he came up just short. He ended his career in a rash invasion of Asia, and he became the target of a desperate manhunt only to be captured and destroyed by his own son-in-law.

James Romm (Author), John Telfer (Narrator)

Audiobook

Dem Wahnsinn entkommen: Soldatenschicksale im Zweiten Weltkrieg

Vier ehemalige Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkriegs erzählen in diesem Buch ihre eigene Geschichte, die einem immer wieder einmal den Atem raubt. Heinz Polke war als Fahrer eines Oberleutnants beim Aufstand im Warschauer Ghetto, Erich Menzel wurde als Radarspezialist auf dem berühmten letzten U-Boot Hitlers, der U 234, eingesetzt, Josef Hamberger spazierte regelrecht allein als 'Schweijk' in der unendlichen Weite Russlands und die Schwester eines jungen Soldaten berichtet, dass ihr Bruder direkt nach Kriegsende von der Waffen-SS hingerichtet worden ist. Dazu konnte Michael Strasser unglaubliche Fotos für seinen Beitrag gewinnen, die aus einem russischen Gefangenenlager herausgeschmuggelt worden sind.

Klaus G. Förg (Author), Klaus G. Förg (Narrator)

Audiobook

Corporal Cannon: A Female Marine in Afghanistan

Not even old enough to drink, Corporal Savannah Cannon is a young enlisted United States Marine deployed to support Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in 2010. As a tactical data networking specialist, she is sent away from everyone she knows and attached to a Regimental Combat Team where women are not allowed to repair communications. Her experiences over the next few months shed light on the unique and difficult positions women are placed in when supporting combat roles, while offering a raw look at the painful choices women must sometimes make. Cannon finds herself in a combat zone, ostracized from family, friends, and even her fellow Marines as the men are told to avoid her. The connections she makes are born from trauma and desperation and the choices she makes will echo throughout many lives. Corporal Cannon is not the story of a heroine; it is the hard-hitting account of just one of the flawed individuals who make up the United States' fighting forces. Mistakes in the battlefield can have dire consequences, personally and professionally. Reflecting on her time in service, the author weaves a story of past and present, and the healing that can come with admitting our mistakes and moving past them.

Savannah Cannon (Author), Savannah Cannon (Narrator)

Audiobook

First Among Men: George Washington and the Myth of American Masculinity

George Washington-hero of the French and Indian War, commander in chief of the Continental Army, and first president of the United States-died on December 14, 1799. But what do we really know about Washington as an upper-class man? Washington is frequently portrayed by his biographers as America at its unflinching best: tall, shrewd, determined, resilient, stalwart, and tremendously effective in action. But this aggressive and muscular version of Washington is largely a creation of the nineteenth century. Eighteenth-century ideals of upper-class masculinity would have preferred a man with refined aesthetic tastes, graceful and elegant movements, and the ability and willingness to clearly articulate his emotions. In First Among Men, Valsania considers Washington's complexity and apparent contradictions in three main areas: his physical life (often bloody, cold, injured, muddy, or otherwise unpleasant), his emotional world (sentimental, loving, and affectionate), and his social persona (carefully constructed and maintained). Aided by new research, documents, and objects that have only recently come to light, First Among Men tells the fascinating story of a living and breathing person who loved, suffered, moved, gestured, dressed, ate, drank, and had sex in ways that may be surprising to many Americans.

Maurizio Valsania (Author), Christopher Douyard (Narrator)

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Red Devils: The Trailblazers of the Parachute Regiment in World War Two: An Authorized History

Brought to you by Penguin. A GRIPPING AUTHORISED HISTORY OF THE DARING 'RED DEVILS', THE TRAILBLAZERS OF THE PARACHUTE REGIMENT The Parachute Regiment is Britain's elite airborne infantry. On the 80th anniversary of their first crucial campaign, in Operation Torch in North Africa, historian and broadcaster Mark Urban combines perspectives from German and British sources to tell the gripping stories of the men who had the resilience, fitness and self-reliance to be 'Red Devils' -- the name they were given by their German enemies. The Paras comprised everyone from circus performers to solicitors, policemen to gravediggers, Christian Jews and communists. From recently-widowed Colonel Geoffrey Pine-Coffin, who had to leave his little boy to head to the front, to Mike Lewis, whose photographs became iconic images of war; from those who survived to those who longed for 'a bloodbath' and died in action; Urban brings life to these men and their experiences, exploring what drove them and covering their daring actions at D-Day, Arnhem and across the Second World War. Based on deep archival research and new material from the men's families, and giving overdue recognition to the North African campaign, this compelling account paints a true and moving picture of the heart of war. © Mark Urban 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

Mark Urban (Author), Mark Urban (Narrator)

Audiobook

Courage Under Fire: The 101st Airborne's Hidden Battle at Tam Ky

Courage Under Fire is the first book published about Operation Lamar Plain. After fifty years, the story of the renowned 101st Airborne's major offensive near Tam Ky, South Vietnam, remains largely unknown. Fighting at Tam Ky by the 1st Brigade began 15 May 1969 while the 101st's 3rd Brigade battled on Hamburger Hill. The political consequences of Hamburger Hill's high casualties caused Lamar Plain and its high casualties to remain classified and undisclosed. Decades later, the fighting at Tam Ky is mostly forgotten except by those who fought there. Sherwood's superb research of now declassified records uncovers how such a large battle could remain hidden and undisclosed. But that is not the heart of his story. His focus is on the courage and commitment of the young infantry soldiers who fought. This book uses actual battle records and eyewitness accounts to follow 'Never Quit' Delta Company and its sister companies through continuous combat at Tam Ky. Delta Company's soldiers lived up to their motto despite increasing casualties, a tough enemy, harsh battlefield conditions, and loss of leaders. For all who fought at Tam Ky, their bravery and devotion to duty in an increasingly unpopular war is worthy to be remembered. With veterans of Tam Ky now growing older and fewer in number, it is past time to tell their story.

Ed Sherwood LTC US Army (Ret.), Ed Sherwood Ltc Us Army (ret.), LTC Ed Sherwood, Us Army (ret), Ltc Ed Sherwood, Us Army (ret) (Author), Jim Seybert (Narrator)

Audiobook

Standing Tall: Leadership Lessons in the Life of a Soldier

Robert Foley had only been in Vietnam for six months when he was promoted to captain and given command of a rifle company. In November 1966, Foley led his men on a mission to rescue another company that had been pinned down by Viet Cong forces. His leadership that day inspired his men and led to a successful operation-and the Medal of Honor. His actions in Vietnam were only a small portion of a long and varied career of service in the US Army, but Foley did not always seem marked for success. Coming from a blue-collar suburb of Boston, his years in West Point were marked by poor grades, injuries, and sickness. With a determination to lead by example and inspire trust among others, Foley served across the globe and rose through the ranks. He even returned to West Point as Commandant of Cadets, later retiring as a 3-star general and commander of Fifth Army.

Lt. General Robert F Foley US Army (Ret), Lt. General Robert F Foley Us Army (ret), Lt. General Robert F Foley, Us Army (ret) (Author), Danny Campbell (Narrator)

Audiobook

Never Will I Die: The inspiring Special Forces soldier who cheated death and learned to live again

Brought to you by Penguin. There's no pain, no theatrical agony. No screaming, no shouting. The kill shot is catastrophic, yet surgically precise. I slumped silently on to my knees and toppled forward, head first, into the dirt. The lads had seen enough death to assume mine was instantaneous. The lights were out. That's him gone. Toby Gutteridge was only 24 when he was shot through the neck while operating behind enemy lines in Afghanistan. He survived despite not breathing for at least 20 minutes. Back in the UK, doctors recommended that his life support machine be switched off, but with the defiant spirit that would define his recovery, Toby pulled through. Now quadriplegic, capable of movement only with his head, Toby has rebuilt his life. His is an extraordinary story of survival against overwhelming odds, and of the power of the human spirit to overcome extreme adversity. Brutally honest and authentic, he builds a compelling picture of the type of person produced by the Special Forces system, and tells of how one split second changed the course of his life forever. Powerful and inspiring, Never Will I Die is a universal story about our search for purpose, and explores what extreme experience teaches us about what truly matters. © Toby Gutteridge 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

Michael Calvin, Toby Gutteridge (Author), Matt Chambers, Toby Gutteridge (Narrator)

Audiobook

Military Audiobooks in History