Military Audiobooks | History

It is 03:14 on 22nd June 1941. Along a 1,800-kilometre front line that stretches from the Baltic Sea in the north, to Romania in the South, German soldiers are ready for battle. A minute later, all hell breaks loose. The Luftwaffe begins attacking targets behind the Red Army’s front line, and the artillery opens fire. Germany’s dreaded Panzer tanks follow – the spearhead of Operation 'Barbarossa', Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union. With 3.7 million soldiers, it’s the largest invasion to date. The first few weeks seem to confirm the supremacy of Germany’s Blitzkrieg tactics as city after city falls. This issue follows the advancement of the Axis forces in the conflict that, during 1941, turns into an all-out world war. - World History invites you on a fascinating journey to bygone eras, allowing you to explore the greatest events in history. Take a trip back in time - to the frontlines of World War II, to the Viking raids, and the religious rituals of Ancient Egypt. World History is for everyone who would like to know more about the exciting and dramatic events of the past.

World History (Author), Sam Devereaux (Narrator)

Audiobook

In the Arena: A Memoir of Love, War, and Politics

In December 1967, Chuck Robb was catapulted onto the national scene when he married Lynda Bird Johnson, the daughter of President Lyndon B. Johnson, in a nationally broadcast White House wedding. Shortly thereafter, Robb, a US Marine, deployed to Vietnam, where he commanded India Company of the 3rd Battalion, 7th Regiment, and was awarded the Bronze Star. These two experiences-seemingly polar opposites-illustrate much about the eventual Virginia governor and US senator, who combined a commitment to family with an ingrained sense of civic duty on the national stage. In the Arena offers the first political memoir of the noted statesman's extraordinary life, tracing his path from early days as an anonymous Marine to his fairytale wedding, from night movements in Vietnam to engaging in the height of Democratic politics in the Virginia state capitol and US Senate, and from experiencing personal highs and lows to becoming a principled fighter and exemplar of today's moderate Democrat. Despite representing a conservative state, he stood up for a woman's right to choose, the Equal Rights Amendment, the constitutionality of flag burning, gay rights, and gun control. Looking back from our deeply partisan era, Robb's independent approach now seems remarkable, as well as instructive.

Chuck Robb (Author), Chuck Robb, Jim Seybert (Narrator)

Audiobook

Invading Hitler's Europe: From Salerno to the Capture of Göring - the Memoir of a Us Intelligence Of

On the day that Roswell K. Doughty graduated from Boston University, he also received a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army of the United States of America. It was not until 1942 that he was called to active duty-to face some of the toughest fighting of the Second World War. He subsequently saw action in North Africa, then at the disastrous Salerno landings in Italy-where the Allied divisions involved suffered 4,000 casualties-about which the author reveals that suspected intelligence breaches led to the Allies' plans becoming known to the Germans. Doughty was involved in the grueling battles against the formidable German defenses of the Gustav Line, particularly in the tragic failed attempt to cross the Gari river and the struggle to conquer Monte Cassino. After the Anzio landings and the liberation of Rome, Doughty and his infantry regiment took part in the invasion of Southern France in Operation Dragoon. Promoted to captain and later to major, Doughty led an Intelligence and Reconnaissance unit, the role of which was to learn what it could of enemy strengths, minefields, useable roads and so on, which involved going behind enemy lines to observe enemy movements firsthand.

Roswell K. Doughty (Author), Christopher Douyard (Narrator)

Audiobook

Clausewitz: A Very Short Introduction

Karl von Clausewitz (1780-1831) is considered by many to have been one of the greatest writers on war. His study On War was described by the American strategic thinker Bernard Brodie as 'not simply the greatest, but the only great book about war.' It is hard to disagree. Even though he wrote his only major work at a time when the range of firearms was fifty yards, much of what he had to say remains relevant today. Michael Howard explains Clausewitz's ideas in terms both of his experiences as a professional soldier in the Napoleonic Wars, and of the intellectual background of his time.

Michael Howard (Author), Corrie James (Narrator)

Audiobook

Dark Angel of Italia Benito Mussolini El Duce Fascist Dictator

“It’s better to live one day as a lion than 100 years as a sheep.” 'I am the most terrible animal that's ever existed.' 'Democracy is beautiful in theory; in practice, it is a fallacy. You in America will see that someday.' 'It's good to trust others but, not to do so is much better.' 'Every anarchist is a baffled dictator.' “I feel, when we have no friends upon whom to lean, or to look for moral guidance.' (Mussolini) Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini, born on July 29, 1883, who went by the nickname “Il Duce” (“the Leader”), was a deeply unbalanced tyrannical Italian dictator who created the dreaded Fascist Party in 1919. Eventually, he held all power in Italy as the country’s prime minister from 1922 to 1943. An ardent socialist as a youth, Mussolini followed in his father's political footsteps but was expelled by the party for his overt support of World War I. As an evil dictator during World War II (even murdering his own son by lethal injection) he greatly overextended his forces and was eventually killed by his own people in Mezzegra, Italy. Here, for the first time, are the words of the great dictator himself in his twisted manifesto on the political movement he started and is still so feared to this very day. Produced by Macc Kay Production executive Avalon Giuliano ICON Intern Eden Garret Giuliano ©2021 Eden Garret Giuliano (P) 2021 Eden Garret Giuliano Geoffrey Giuliano is the author of over thirty internationally bestselling biographies, including the London Sunday Times bestseller 'Blackbird: The Life and Times of Paul McCartney' and 'Dark Horse: The Private Life of George Harrison'. He can be heard on the Westwood One Radio Network and has written and produced over seven hundred original spoken word albums and video documentaries on various aspects of popular culture. In addition, Giuliano is an occasional lecturer at Northwestern University. He is also a well-known movie actor in such films as 'Mechanic Resurrection

Geoffrey Giuliano (Author), Geoffrey Giuliano (Narrator)

Audiobook

Flames in the Sky

From near suicidal RAF attacks in 1940 through to the dawn of the jet age in 1945, Flames in the Sky captures the astonishing drama, intensity, heroism, and incomparable exhilaration of the World War Two air war like no other book. This epic global struggle between Spitfires, Hurricanes, Mustangs, Mosquitos, Messerschmitts, Zeros, Kamikazes and more is brought vividly to life by a writer who was himself in the thick of the action. Pierre Clostermann was one of the outstanding Allied Aces of the Second World War, shooting down scores of enemy aircraft, while friends and comrades lost their lives in the deadly skies above Europe. Flames in the Sky was born of his desire 'to do justice to their courage.' Flames in the Sky is packed with dramatic aerial action, including the Battle of France, the attack on Pearl Harbor, last stand on the Bataan Peninsula, Operation Vengeance: The Assassination of Admiral Yamamoto, and the Messerschmitt 262 and the dawn of the jet age.

Pierre Clostermann (Author), Julian Elfer (Narrator)

Audiobook

Sirens - How to Pee Standing Up-An Alarming Memoir of Combat and Coming Back Home (Unabridged)

Bronze Medal Winner from the Military Writers Society of America! There's a steep learning curve for every American soldier who deploys to the Middle East war zone. Much of that involves culture shock, and the excitement and confusion also applies to female soldiers. And when that female soldier is also a Military Police Officer, the curve gets bent way out of shape. Laura Colbert was heartland-bred and tough enough when the Army sent her to an MP unit in Baghdad, but she quickly discovered soldiering in Iraq involved a lot more than she expected. How to establish her military cop cred? How to deal with chauvinistic soldiers? How to deal with Iraqis-men who disrespected her and women who initially distrusted her? How much military law applied in a lawless land? And dealing with even the simplest things, like how to pee standing up. Laura managed it and survived, but the learning curve just bent in another direction when she came home from war suffering with stress and anxiety that eventually bloomed into Post-Traumatic Stress. '...Since she got back, Naylor has been on a new mission, one she believes also serves her country: She shows...what the war is really like for the soldiers who have to fight it.' -Dee J. Hall, Wisconsin State Journal 'Colbert...has told her story...in the hopes of relating the reality of her war to people half a world away who experienced it only through increasingly small TV news clips and articles in print publications.' -Nathan Phelps, USA TODAY Network

Laura Naylor Colbert (Author), Laura Naylor Colbert (Narrator)

Audiobook

Days of Steel Rain: The Epic Story of a WWII Vengeance Ship in the Year of the Kamikaze

An intimate true account of Americans at war, Days of Steel Rain is an epic drama about an unlikely group of men forced to work together in the face of an increasingly desperate enemy during the final year of World War II. Sprawling across the Pacific, this untold story follows the crew of the newly-built "vengeance ship" USS Astoria, named for her sunken predecessor lost earlier in the war. At its center lies U.S. Navy Captain George Dyer, who vowed to return to action after suffering a horrific wound. He accepted the ship's command in 1944, knowing it would be his last chance to avenge his injuries and salvage his career. Yet with the nation's resources and personnel stretched thin by the war, he found that just getting the ship into action would prove to be a battle. Tensions among the crew flared from the start. Astoria's sailors and Marines were a collection of replacements, retreads, and older men. Some were broken by previous traumatic combat, most had no desire to be in the war, yet all found themselves fighting an enemy more afraid of surrender than death. The reluctant ship was called to respond to challenges that its men never could have anticipated. From a typhoon where the ocean was enemy to daring rescue missions, a gallant turn at Iwo Jima, and the ultimate crucible against the Kamikaze at Okinawa, they endured the worst of the final year of the war at sea. Days of Steel Rain brings to life more than a decade of research and firsthand interviews, depicting with unprecedented insight the singular drama of a captain grappling with an untested crew and men who had endured enough amidst some of the most brutal fighting of World War II. Throughout, Brent Jones fills the narrative with secret diaries, memoirs, letters, interpersonal conflicts, and the innermost thoughts of the Astoria men. Days of Steel Rain weaves an intimate, unforgettable portrait of leadership, heroism, endurance, and redemption.

Brent E. Jones (Author), Dan Woren (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Panzer Killers: The Untold Story of a Fighting General and His Spearhead Tank Division's Charge

A general-turned-historian reveals the remarkable battlefield heroics of Major General Maurice Rose, the World War II tank commander whose 3rd Armored Division struck fear into the hearts of Hitler's panzer crews. "The Panzer Killers is a great book, vividly written and shrewdly observed."-The Wall Street Journal Two months after D-Day, the Allies found themselves in a stalemate in Normandy, having suffered enormous casualties attempting to push through hedgerow country. Troops were spent, and American tankers, lacking the tactics and leadership to deal with the terrain, were losing their spirit. General George Patton and the other top U.S. commanders needed an officer who knew how to break the impasse and roll over the Germans-they needed one man with the grit and the vision to take the war all the way to the Rhine. Patton and his peers selected Maurice Rose. The son of a rabbi, Rose never discussed his Jewish heritage. But his ferocity on the battlefield reflected an inner flame. He led his 3rd Armored Division not from a command post but from the first vehicle in formation, charging headfirst into a fight. He devised innovative tactics, made the most of American weapons, and personally chose the cadre of young officers who drove his division forward. From Normandy to the West Wall, from the Battle of the Bulge to the final charge across Germany, Maurice Rose's deadly division of tanks blasted through enemy lines and pursued the enemy with a remarkable intensity. In The Panzer Killers, Daniel P. Bolger, a retired lieutenant general and Iraq War veteran, offers up a lively, dramatic tale of Rose's heroism. Along the way, Bolger infuses the narrative with fascinating insights that could only come from an author who has commanded tank forces in combat. The result is a unique and masterful story of battlefield leadership, destined to become a classic.

Daniel P. Bolger (Author), Stephen Mendel (Narrator)

Audiobook

SAS: Sea King Down

Brought to you by Penguin. Pre-order the riveting account of SAS action in the Falklands war 'BRILLIANT. A ROLLERCOASTER OF BLISTERING ACTION, SURVIVAL AND BEHIND-THE-LINES DARING' DAMIEN LEWIS After passing the world's toughest Special Forces selection and joining the elite ranks of D Squadron, 22 SAS in 1979, Mark 'Splash' Aston thought the hard part was over. Then on April 2 1982 Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. Days later D Squadron joined the cutting edge of Britain's campaign to retake the islands. Facing extreme weather and a determined enemy, Splash and the men of D Squadron fought in one extraordinary contact after another. The action never let up. When tragedy struck their Sea King helicopter and it crashed in the freezing South Atlantic, Splash was one of just nine survivors. Evacuated to a hospital ship, Splash defied orders and a suspected broken neck to re-join his unit until the fight was won. An unputdownable, edge-of-the-seat insight into still classified Special Forces operations during the Falklands War, SAS: Sea King Down will take its place alongside classics like Bravo Two Zero as military adventure writing of the highest order. 'Gripping, fast moving and completely authentic. A brilliant piece of work. Better than Bravo Two Zero' - Mike Rose, former Commanding Officer of the SAS © Mark Aston, Stuart Tootal 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

Mark Aston, Stuart Tootal (Author), Simon Darwen (Narrator)

Audiobook

Freedom

A profound rumination on the concept of freedom from the bestselling author of The Perfect Storm 'Sebastian Junger bears witness to a hard-won and an uncertain new world, framed in vital and brilliant prose: a true and honest accounting of everything that underlies the frantic performance of life' Philip Hoare, author of Albert and the Whale Throughout history, humans have been driven by the quest for two cherished ideals: community and freedom. The two don't coexist easily: we value individuality and self-reliance, yet are utterly dependent on community for our most basic needs. In this intricately crafted and thought-provoking book, Sebastian Junger examines this tension that lies at the heart of what it means to be human. For much of a year, Junger and three friends-a conflict photographer and two Afghan war vets-walked the railroad lines of the east coast. It was an experiment in personal autonomy, but also in interdependence. Dodging railroad cops, sleeping under bridges, cooking over fires and drinking from creeks and rivers, the four men forged a unique reliance on one another. In Freedom, Junger weaves his account of this journey together with primatology and boxing strategy, the role of women in resistance movements and apache renegrades, and the brutal reality of life on the Pennsylvania frontier. Written in exquisite, razor-sharp prose, the result is a powerful examination of the primary desire that defines us.

Sebastian Junger (Author), Sebastian Junger (Narrator)

Audiobook

Chesty Puller: A Marine Legend in World War II

For Dutton Caliber's American War Heroes series, the dramatic tale of Marine Corps legend Chesty Puller, focusing on his combat service during the Pacific War. Chesty Puller is an American legend. He began his career fighting guerrillas in Haiti and Nicaragua during the 1920s and 1930s before displaying astonishing battlefield bravery in the Pacific during World War II. From Henderson Field to Peleliu, his courage under fire and unbreakable devotion to his men inspired not just those under his own command but marines everywhere. As the war marched on, one bloody battle after another, Chesty became the most decorated marine in U.S. history. Now, acclaimed World War II historian John Wukovits tells the story of Chesty Puller's heroism in the Pacific War.

John Wukovits (Author), Josh Innerst (Narrator)

Audiobook

Military Audiobooks in History