Military Audiobooks | History

Tupac Amaru II: The Life and Legacy of the Peruvian Leader Who Rebelled against the Spanish Empire

The Incas had consolidated their empire only a century before Pizarro and his Spanish conquistadores took control of Inca lands in the 1530s. The Incan heartland was the Andes Mountains from Ecuador down through Peru into parts of northern Chile, including what is now Bolivia, some of Argentina, and in the north, bits of what is now Colombia. It covered about 770,000 square miles, far larger than Spain, and held an estimated 14 million people, more than in Spain, comprised of many different indigenous groups. Lima was the seat of the Viceroyalty of Peru, which included almost all of the Spanish colonial region in South America. Then, Peru meant today’s Peru, Ecuador, and parts of Chile, and in the mid-18th century, a new Viceroyalty of La Plata was set up, based in what is now Buenos Aires. Upper Peru was centered on La Paz and Chuquisaca (since renamed Sucre after the hero of independence), and Peru was centered on Lima and Cuzco. The addition of La Plata as a viceroyalty refocused the necessary slow of silver from Lima and Peru to Buenos Aires and the Atlantic. The Audiencia of Charcas (Bolivia) was placed under La Plata’s authority. In one sense, the Spanish conquest was simply a shift of empires for the indigenous peoples. The Incas were as imperialistic as Spain, and they put down rebellions with the same ferocity. However, Incan rule was generally mild and concerned with the welfare of the empire’s people. The indigenous people chafed under Spanish rule, and the lost Incan days were idolized in popular memory. This set the stage for one of the most famous and mythologized conflicts in the history of the Americas.

Charles River Editors (Author), Colin Fluxman (Narrator)

Audiobook

Zelensky: A Biography

Three years after the political novice Volodymyr Zelensky was elected to Ukraine's highest office, he found himself catapulted into the role of war-time leader. The former comedian has become the public face of his country's courageous and bloody struggle against a brutal invasion. Born to Jewish parents in central Ukraine, Zelensky campaigned for the presidency in the 2019 election on the promise to restore trust in politics. After his landslide victory, he told jubilant supporters 'I will never let you down.' Little did he know that he would be called upon to serve his people in the most demanding circumstances imaginable, fighting for the very survival of his country in the worst war on European soil since 1945. Zelensky's leadership in the face of Russia's aggression is an inspiration to everyone who stands opposed to the appalling violence being unleashed on Ukraine. This book tells his astonishing story.

Serhii Rudenko (Author), Mike Lenz (Narrator)

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Fierce Valor: The True Story of Ronald Speirs and His Band of Brothers

Fans of Stephen E. Ambrose’s Band of Brothers will be drawn to this complex portrait of the controversial Ronald Speirs, an iconic commander of celebrated Easy Company during D-Day and beyond, whose ferocious courage and drive across three wars were matched by a devotion to duty and a hidden heart shadowed by lost love. Fight Like You Mean to Win His comrades called him “Killer.” Of the elite paratroopers who served in the venerated “Band of Brothers” during the Second World War, none were more enigmatic than Ronald Speirs. Rumored to have gunned down enemy prisoners and even one of his own disobedient sergeants, Speirs became a foxhole legend among his troops. But who was the real Lieutenant Speirs? In Fierce Valor, historians Jared Frederick and Erik Dorr unveil the fuller story of Easy Company’s longest-serving commander. Tested by trials of extreme training, military rivalry, and lost love, Speirs’s international odyssey begins as an immigrant child in Prohibition-era Boston and continues through the bloody campaigns of France, Holland, and Germany. But 1945 did not mark an end to Speirs’s military adventures. Uncovered by sharp scholarship, his lesser-known exploits in Korea, the Cold War, and embattled Laos also come to light for the first time. Packed with groundbreaking research, Fierce Valor unveils a compelling portrait of an officer defined by boldness on the battlefield and the inherent costs of war. His story serves as a telling reminder that few soldiers escape the power of their own pasts.

Erik Dorr, Jared Frederick (Author), Chris Abell (Narrator)

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Paths of Dissent: Soldiers Speak Out Against America's Misguided Wars

American veterans who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan offer invaluable firsthand perspectives on what made America’s post-9/11 wars so costly and disastrous. Twenty years of America’s Global War on Terror produced little tangible success while exacting enormous harm. In Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States sustained tens of thousands of casualties, expended trillions of dollars, and inflicted massive suffering on the very populations that we sought to “liberate.” Now the inclination to forget it all and move on is palpable. But there is much to be learned from the immense debacle. And those who served and fought in these wars are best positioned to teach us. Paths of Dissent collects fifteen original essays from American veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan—hailing from a wide range of services, ranks, and walks of life—who have come out in opposition to these conflicts. Selected for their candor and eloquence by fellow veterans Andrew Bacevich and Daniel A. Sjursen, these soldiers vividly describe both their motivations for serving and the disillusionment that made them speak out against the system. Their testimony is crucial for understanding just how the world’s self-proclaimed greatest military power went so badly astray. A Macmillan Audio production from Metropolitan Books

Andrew Bacevich (Author), Andrew Bacevich, Andrew Wehrlen, Dan Berschinski, Elliott Woods, Erik Edstrom, Gian Gentile, Gil Barndollar, Jonathan W. Hutto, Sr., Joy Damiani, Paul Yingling (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Fifth Act: America’s End in Afghanistan

‘His understanding of war is so profound that one feels like secrets have been revealed – truths – information that one day may be necessary for our survival’ SEBASTIAN JUNGER, author of WAR and TRIBE How and why did American involvement in Afghanistan end in tragedy? Elliot Ackerman left the American military ten years ago, but his time in Afghanistan and Iraq with the Marines and, later, as a CIA paramilitary officer marked him indelibly. When the Taliban began to close in on Kabul in August of 2021 and the Afghan regime began its death spiral, he found himself pulled back into the conflict. Afghan nationals who had, for years, worked closely with the American military and intelligence communities now faced brutal reprisal and sought frantically to flee the country with their families. The official US government evacuation process was a bureaucratic failure that led to a humanitarian catastrophe. The Fifth Act is an astonishing human document that brings the weight of twenty years of war to bear on a single week at its bitter end. Using the dramatic rescue efforts in Kabul as his lattice, Ackerman weaves in a personal history of the war's long progress, beginning with the initial invasion in the months after 9/11. It is a play in five acts, the fifth act being the story’s tragic denouement, a prelude to Afghanistan's dark future. Any reader who wants to understand what went wrong with the war’s trajectory will find a trenchant accounting here. And yet The Fifth Act is not an exercise in finger-pointing: it brings readers into close contact with a remarkable group of characters, American and Afghan, who fought the war with courage and dedication, in good faith and at great personal cost. Understanding combatants’ experiences and sacrifices while reckoning with the complex bottom line of the post-9/11 wars is not an easy balance; it demands reservoirs of wisdom and the gifts of an extraordinary storyteller. It asks for an author willing to grapple with certain hard-earned truths. In Elliot Ackerman, this story has found that author. The Fifth Act is a first draft of history that feels like a timeless classic.

Elliot Ackerman (Author), Elliot Ackerman (Narrator)

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Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan: The Life and Legacy of America’s Most Influential Naval Strategist

Alfred Thayer Mahan is arguably the most influential military strategist in American history, and one of the world’s most important naval theorists. His work has been nearly as influential as the famous German military theorist Carl von Clausewitz (1780-1831), and the lesser-known but nearly as influential Swiss military writer Antoine-Henri Jomini (1779-1869). Alfred decided to go to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, which he was admitted to via the influence of Secretary of War Jefferson Davis. He graduated in 1859 and started a career lasting almost 40 years. He served aboard a wide variety of ships, from a powerful frigate under sail to a variety of steam sloops, corvettes, and gunboats, many of which were side wheelers and all of which had auxiliary sails. He started as a Midshipman and worked his way up the naval ranks to Captain and Commander. He also had several independent commands. He was stationed off the Atlantic Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico during the Union blockade of the Confederacy. He was on a sidewheeler tasked with keeping an eye on the French in Mexico, where Napoleon II had installed a Hapsburg archduke as emperor. He spent more than two years on station in the Far East, spent a couple of years with the South Atlantic Squadron based in Montevideo in Uruguay, and then a year off the west coast of South America, in a ship observing events during the War of the Pacific. After a lengthy naval career, Mahan had assignments at the Naval Academy and the Brooklyn Naval Yard. He was invited to lecture at the Naval War College, and it was there that he collected together his notes and wrote a book, The Influence of Naval Power upon History, which somehow became an international bestseller in 1890. His book resulted in an invitation to dine with the Queen in Britain. It was translated into German and the Kaiser ordered a copy be placed on every German warship and in every school.

Charles River Editors (Author), Roger Wood (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Kargil Girl: An autobiography

In 1994, twenty-year-old Gunjan Saxena boards a train to Mysore to appear for the selection process of the fourth Short Service Commission (for women) pilot course. Seventy-four weeks of back-breaking training later, she passes out of the Air Force Academy in Dundigal as Pilot Officer Gunjan Saxena.On 3 May 1999, local shepherds report a Pakistani intrusion in Kargil. By mid-May, thousands of Indian troops are engaged in fierce mountain warfare with the aim to flush out the intruders. The Indian Air Force launches Operation Safed Sagar, with all its pilots at its disposal. While female pilots are yet to be employed in a war zone, they are called in for medical evacuation, dropping of supplies and reconnaissance.This is the time for Saxena to prove her mettle. From airdropping vital supplies to Indian troops in the Dras and Batalik regions and casualty evacuation from the midst of the ongoing battle, to meticulously informing her seniors of enemy positions and even narrowly escaping a Pakistani rocket missile during one of her sorties, Saxena fearlessly discharges her duties, earning herself the moniker 'The Kargil Girl'. This is her inspiring story, in her words.

Flt Lt Gunjan Saxena, Kiran Nirvan (Author), Swasti Shree Sharma (Narrator)

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1971: A People's History from Bangladesh, Pakistan and India

An under-strength Gorkha battalion undertakes the Indian Army's first heliborne operation deep behind enemy lines, defeating a Pakistani force twenty times its strength. Fighters of the Indian Air force target the Government House in Dhaka in a daring air raid, forcing the Pakistani government in Dhaka to capitulate and surrender. Four battle casualties become close friends at the Artificial Limb Centre in Pune in the war's aftermath.In this collection of true stories, decorated war veteran Major General Ian Cardozo recounts what really happened during the 1971 Indo-Pak war, piecing together every story in vivid detail through interviews with survivors and their families. The book also seeks to commemorate the lives of those who were killed and wounded in this war, which took place fifty years ago.From the tragic tale of the INS Khukri and its courageous captain, who went down with his ship, to how a battalion of the Gorkhas launched what we accept as the last khukri attack in modern military history, these stories reveal what went on in the minds of those who led their men into battle-on land, at sea and in the air.

Ian Cardozo (Author), Dev J Haldar (Narrator)

Audiobook

Vijyant At Kargil: The Biography of a War Hero

By the time you get this letter, I’ll be observing you all from the sky. I have no regrets, in fact even if I become a human again, I’ll join the army and fight for my nation.’This was the last letter Captain Vijyant Thapar wrote to his family. He was twenty-two when he was martyred in the Kargil War, having fought bravely in the crucial battles of Tololing and Knoll. A fourth-generation army officer, Vijyant dreamt of serving his country even as a young boy. In this first-ever biography, we learn about his journey to join the Indian Military Academy and the experiences that shaped him into a fine officer.Told by his father and Neha Dwivedi, a martyr’s daughter herself, the anecdotes from his family and close friends come alive, and we have a chance to know the exceptional young man that Vijyant was. His inspiring story provides a rare glimpse into the heart of a brave soldier. His legacy stays alive through these fond memories and his service to the country.

Neha Dwivedi, Vn Thapar (Author), Paul Thottam (Narrator)

Audiobook

I Am Veteran

This is the true account of one black female veteran's experience in the military during the Viet Nam War to this present day and how she won over fear, intimidation, rejection during and after her military service. It took her many decades to write the book, because she wanted the book to be a blessing to many people male and female who have served their country and not been recognized.

Sergeant Frankie Dawson (Author), Sergeant Frankie Dawson (Narrator)

Audiobook

Conformity Hill

I made fast friends with my peers, but I was not popular with the leadership. They were less than receptive to my opinion that requiring such strict conformity was not only unnecessary, but counter-productive. My outspoken nature quickly earned me close scrutiny from everyone in my chain of command, but I was good at my job. I received nothing but praise for my performance. There wasn't the slightest chink in my professional armor, so they did the only thing they could do. They waited for me to screw up. And screw up I did. I made a colossal error in judgment, completely non-commensurate with my rank, age, and experience. Then they came after me with no holds barred. I'd never been through such an upheaving experience and I hope never to do so again. I fought. I lost. I won. This is my story.

Joyce Collins (Author), Joyce Collins (Narrator)

Audiobook

[French] - Kandahar, une dernière fois: Mémoires d'un ancien fantassin à Kandahar

L’auteur raconte son histoire personnelle en tant que fantassin québécois ayant vécu trois missions de combat consécutives dans les zones les plus dangereuses de l’Afghanistan entre 2007 et 2011. Il se livre corps et âme avec intensité dans ce récit où l’attrait de l’aventure guerrière l’amène à développer une dépendance à l’adrénaline. Le tout débute avec les attentats du 11 septembre 2001 pour se terminer dix ans plus tard après avoir été plongé dans les abysses de l’horreur à travers son parcours. L’auteur partage également son engouement des voyages en racontant les multiples destinations visitées entre ses tours en mission. Sa franchise et sa passion en ces moments de repos viennent alléger l’intensité qu’on ressent lorsqu’il est au front, ce qui crée un équilibre que l’on apprécie dans ce récit. La guerre n’est pas toujours comme on se l’imagine…

Patrick Lemay (Author), Maxime Gagnon-Laramée (Narrator)

Audiobook

Military Audiobooks in History