Military Audiobooks | History

A Thousand Places Left Behind: One Soldier's Account of Jungle Warfare in WWII Burma

Born and raised in Mississippi, Peter K. Lutken, Jr. (1920–2014) joined the army in 1941 and was assigned to the Coast Artillery. Originally sent to India to guard airfields, he was reassigned to the British V Force, then the American OSS (Office of Strategic Services and precursor to the CIA) after he volunteered for reconnaissance missions behind Japanese lines. Skills he had learned as a boy in the backwoods and swamps around the Pearl River stood him in good stead, and by the end of the war, he attained the rank of major, commanding an entire battalion of ethnic Kachins and other local people of northern Burma (now called Myanmar). Lutken's stories carry the reader along as he sails on a troop ship to India, then treks into the mountainous jungles of northern Burma to gather intelligence and engage in guerrilla warfare with the Japanese. In his straightforward way, he describes how he learned the language of the Kachins and much about their customs and legends, and how he fought alongside them for the course of the war. Adventures of rafting uncharted rivers, surprise attacks, sabotage, natural hazards and disease, feasts and ceremonies, the plight of refugees, and tragic events of war are all told from the perspective of a young soldier, who finds himself half a world away from home. Based on hundreds of pages of transcripts from tapes recorded late in his life, A Thousand Places Left Behind recounts the untold story not just of one soldier's experiences, but of the little-known history of American and British forces in Burma during World War II. Supported by original maps based on Lutken's personal travels as well as photographs from his scrapbook, the book traces Lutken's journey overseas, his expeditions into the jungle, and his return to Jackson, Mississippi in 1945. Beyond the war, Lutken's connection with the Kachins culminated in 'Project Old Soldier,' a crop exchange program which he and other veterans of OSS Detachment 101 initiated in the 1990s and which lasted until after his death in 2014. The book tells a remarkable story of bravery, friendship, history, and the unbreakable bonds forged in times of war.

Peter K. Lutken Jr. (Author), David Lutken (Narrator)

Audiobook

Paddy Mayne: Lt Col Blair 'Paddy' Mayne, 1 SAS Regiment

‘Paddy' Mayne was one of the most outstanding special forces leaders of the Second World War. Hamish Ross's authoritative study follows Mayne from solicitor and a rugby international to troop commander in the Commandos and then the SAS, whose leader he later became and whose annals he graced, winning the DSO and three bars, the Croix de Guerre and the Légion d'Honneur. Mayne's achievements attracted attention, and after his early death legends emerged, based largely on anecdote and assertion. Hamish Ross's closely researched biography challenges much of the received version, using contemporary sources, the official war diaries, the chronicle of 1 SAS, Mayne's papers and diaries, and a number of extended interviews with key contemporaries. It has the support of the Mayne family and the SAS Regimental Association. In Ross's analysis Mayne is a dynamic, yet principled and thoughtful man, committed to the unit's original concepts; not flawless, but whose leadership qualities and tactical brilliance in the field secured the reputation of the SAS.

Hamish Ross (Author), Alan Turkington (Narrator)

Audiobook

Dick Bong: The Life and Legacy of America’s Greatest Combat Ace during World War II

During World War II, greatly increased engine power allowed these aircraft to slice through the sky at speeds of 200 miles per hour (mph), 300 mph, or even in excess of 400 mph when flying flat-out. Service ceilings jumped to 30,000 feet, altitudes unthinkable to World War I’s aviators. pilots had to adapt to countless technological improvements, and a select few truly mastered the art of dogfighting during history’s deadliest war. In the United States, the top ace came from almost literally out of nowhere. Richard “Dick” Ira Bong was born on September 24, 1920 in Superior, Wisconsin on the westernmost tip of Lake Superior, the son of Swedish immigrants. America was a very popular destination for Swedes seeking a new life during the early 20th century, and many Swedes headed for Wisconsin, with the greatest number arriving between 1880 and 1900. Dick’s father Carl, arrived in America at the age of eight, and he eventually married Dora Bryce, of Scottish-English descent. When Dick was born, they were living on a farm in the very small town of Poplar, in Douglas County, Wisconsin. Even in the 21st century, it is still diminutive, with a population of around 600. Dick’s first memorable encounter with an aircraft was as a child playing in and around the farm, and in the summer of 1928, when Dick was seven, President Calvin Coolidge had a summer holiday residence at Cedar Island Lodge on the Brule River by Brule, another very small town a few miles east of Poplar, down the Route 2 highway that is now known as the “Major Richard I. Bong Memorial Highway.” Most days a small silver Navy biplane filled the role of a mail plane responsible for delivering and receiving presidential correspondence, and it would fly over the Bong farmstead. This touched off a lifelong fascination that would lead to Bong shooting down 40 enemy planes in the Pacific Theater during the war, making him the country’s top ace before he had even reached the age of 25.

Charles River Editors (Author), Jim Walsh (Narrator)

Audiobook

[German] - 3.500 Tage Unfreiheit: Zweiter Weltkrieg – Tagebuch und Autobiografie des Soldaten Hans H

Erleben Sie die feinfühlige Autobiografie des Artilleriebeobachters Hans Heuer, der mehr als neun Jahre seines Lebens in Krieg und Kriegsgefangenschaft verbrachte! Hans Heuer hat während seiner Fronteinsätze im Zweiten Weltkrieg akribisch Tagebuch geführt. Viele Jahrzehnte nach Kriegsende hat er aus seinen Aufzeichnungen und Erinnerungen das vorliegende Buch über seine Zeit im Krieg und in der Gefangenschaft verfasst. Er verstarb, ehe es veröffentlicht werden konnte. Sein Sohn Rüdiger Heuer hat seinem Vater diesen letzten Wunsch nun erfüllt … Synopsis April 1939: Hans Heuer, 19 Jahre alt, beginnt einen neuen, hoffnungsvollen Lebensabschnitt: Zunächst Arbeitsdienst, dann ein Studium am Nürnberger Technikum – doch die unbeschwerte Zeit findet ein rasches Ende: Der Krieg beginnt und reißt den jungen Mann aus Nördlingen mit sich fort: Vom heißen Afrika an die bitterkalte Ostfront – doch nirgends fühlt sich der Bayer so fremd wie in Ostpreußen, als ihn sein Weg nach Königsberg führt. Auch seine Rolle als Soldat will ihm nicht so wirklich passen: Ob in Belgien, Italien, Libyen, Polen oder an der Ostfront – sein Interesse gilt Landschaft, Architektur und Menschen. Er beginnt mit Tagebuchaufzeichnungen, zwingt sich jeden Tag zu schreiben und wird so zum Chronisten des Alltags der Soldaten und später der Kriegsgefangenen. Er erzählt von der Freundschaft mit 'dem Feind' in Belgien, von den Krankenlagern, der Langeweile, der Grausamkeit des Krieges, dem Hunger und davon, wie sich die Menschen im Krieg verändern: Wie sie jegliche Zivilisation verlieren, wie aber gleichzeitig auch immer wieder Hoffnung, Aufopferung, Barmherzigkeit und Anstand zu finden sind. Dieses Hörbuch ist nicht nur ein wertvolles Zeugnis für eine Zeit, aus der kaum noch Augenzeugen leben, sondern enthält auch spannende Gedanken zu unserem heutigen Leben, mit denen der Autor im letzten Kapitel seinen Bericht abschließt.

Hans Heuer (Author), Mario Kunze (Narrator)

Audiobook

Brass & Unity: One Woman's Journey Through the Hell of Afghanistan and Back

This is the story of a woman who witnessed the worst in the War in Afghanistan, was confronted by demons of post-traumatic stress, and fought for her life to become stronger than ever. Fresh out of high school, Kelsi Sheren, a diminutive nineteen-year-old woman, sought to join the military to help liberate those oppressed by the Taliban in Afghanistan. While she was often the smallest person in basic training, she proved she had the biggest heart and often the most energy. She made it to Afghanistan and joined a British military unit for house-to-house insurgent patrol. What she saw there was unimaginable death and destruction-including the killing of a brother-in-arms. Devastated, Kelsi was sent home to get her head straight, but even therapy and medication couldn't clear her mind-or let her sleep. When two others who served with her later took their own lives, she feared that was the only way out. Clinging to life and the love of her husband and child, she knew she wasn't ready to give in. Finding respite in a jewelry business that utilized spent shell casings, and with the help of innovative grief therapy, Kelsi not only survived but continues to thrive-and works tirelessly to spread the word and help others.

Kelsi Sheren (Author), Kelsi Sheren (Narrator)

Audiobook

A Patriot's Promise: Protecting My Brothers, Fighting for My Life, and Keeping My Word

An inspiring memoir of promises kept, overcoming obstacles, and what it means to sacrifice for others, written by a Special Warfare Operator with the Air Force. When Israel “DT” Del Toro, Jr.'s Humvee rolled over a roadside IED in Afghanistan, he had one thought as he lost consciousness: I have to keep the promise I made to my dad. DT was orphaned at the age of fourteen, and on the night before his father died, he repeated the promise his dad required: “Take care of your brothers and sisters.” Throughout his childhood and into adulthood, DT indeed looked after his younger brother and sisters, even to his own detriment and sacrifice. When he enlisted in the Air Force, progressing in ranks as a skilled marksman calling airstrikes, his promise extended to his brothers and sisters in the Air Force, his fellow soldiers and brothers-in-arms. When DT was injured in action, he lay in a coma for three months with third-degree burns on 80% of his body. He nearly died three times, and doctors predicted – if he survived – he would forever breathe with a respirator and never walk again. DT pushed through every limit to his full recovery, and he became the first 100% disabled veteran to re-enlist in the Air Force. DT's promise to his dad extends now to his fellow wounded warriors throughout the world, as he advocates for awareness and affecting change in public policy for wounded, injured, and ill soldiers. He is a patriot who has kept his promise and changed the world with the spirit of his heart, soul, body, and mind. A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

Israel 'dt' Del Toro, Jr. (Author), Roger Wayne (Narrator)

Audiobook

Sisters in Captivity: Sister Betty Jeffrey OAM and the courageous story of Australian Army nurses in

The incredible account of Sister Betty Jeffrey OAM and the Australian war nurses who survived the bombing of evacuation ship SS Vyner Brooke in February 1942, and subsequently spent three years in Japanese prison camps in Sumatra. During those perilous years surviving in squalid conditions, Sister Jeffrey kept a secret diary of day-to-day events which, after the war, was turned into a hugely successful book and radio serial: White Coolies. She would often write of the powerful sisterhood that evolved as the prisoners of war took strength from each other, even forming a vocal orchestra. White Coolies was a major inspiration for the 1997 film Paradise Road. Sisters in Captivity builds on those diaries to not only re-live the years the nurses spent as POWs but also recounts the early life and influences that encouraged Betty Jeffrey into the field of nursing as a lifelong endeavour. A tireless advocate for returned nurses, she co-founded the Australian Nurses Memorial Centre with sole survivor of the Banka Island Massacre, fellow POW, and her longtime friend Vivian Bullwinkel. Featuring 32 pages of photos including personal mementos of Betty Jeffrey, courtesy of her family, and her drawings from the prison camps, this is a powerful account of women's resilience amidst the devastating brutality of war.

Colin Burgess (Author), Arianwen Parkes-Lockwood (Narrator)

Audiobook

Faith Under Fire: Stories of Hope and Courage from World War II

As World War II raged, millions of men and women confronted injury, destruction, separation from home and loved ones, chaos, and death. These challenges and traumas and many others forced an entire generation of everyday heroes to take stock of their lives. And in the process, many turned to God in ways they never had before. In Faith Under Fire, you'll experience scenes of astonishing bravery, moments of heart-breaking loss, and a pervasive sense of love for God, neighbor, and country that was strong enough to transcend denominational and national differences, inspiring selfless acts of courage and compassion under the worst of circumstances. From the Catholic chaplain who offered mercy among the carnage of Iwo Jima, to the Pentecostal boy who was saved from an incoming shell by the voice of God calling his name, to the young wife praying that her husband would survive life in a concentration camp, to the Tuskegee Airman who fought both totalitarianism and racism, these stories reveal the power of faith that sustained these heroes when there was nowhere else to turn. Award-winning author Steve Rabey presents more than twenty firsthand accounts of faith under pressure, many of them illustrated with war-time photos, letters, and journal entries. At a time when many who lived through these trying times are dying, their stories live on, passing on a legacy of faith and fortitude to future generations. Photos are included in the audiobook companion PDF download.

Steve Rabey (Author), Tom Parks (Narrator)

Audiobook

General Grant and the Verdict of History: Memoir, Memory, and the Civil War

General Ulysses S. Grant is best remembered today as a war-winning general, and he certainly deserves credit for his efforts on behalf of the Union. But has he received too much credit? Have others who fought the war with him suffered unfairly? General Grant and the Verdict of History explores these issues. Professor Frank P. Varney examines Grant's relationship with three noted Civil War generals: the brash and uncompromising 'Fighting Joe' Hooker; George H. Thomas, the commander who earned the sobriquet 'Rock of Chickamauga'; and Gouverneur Kemble Warren, who served honorably in every major action of the Army of the Potomac before being relieved less than two weeks before Appomattox. Dr. Varney had studied the tempestuous relationship between Grant and Union General William S. Rosecrans. During the war, Rosecrans was considered to be on par with Grant himself; today, he is largely forgotten. Rosecrans's star dimmed, argues Varney, because Grant orchestrated the effort. Grant used official reports, interviews with the press, and his memoirs to influence how future generations would remember the war and his part in it. Aided greatly by his two terms as president, his memoirs, and the dramatic backdrop against which those memoirs were written, our historical memory has been influenced to a degree greater than many realize.

Dr. Frank P. Varney (Author), Al Kessel (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Human Face of D-Day: Walking the Battlefields of Normandy: Essays, Reflections, and Conversation

Soldier Keith Nightingale has conducted terrain walks in Normandy for over forty years with veterans, active-duty military, and local French civilians. Over the decades Nightingale conducted dozens of formal interviews and informal conversations with many of the principals of the day, including Generals Bradley, Collins, Gavin, Ridgway, and Hill. Added to this rare, new primary material from the top brass are numerous conversations with lower-ranking vets who did the heavy lifting, many of which took place as they actually walked the battlefield with Nightingale-Major Howard of Pegasus Bridge; LTC Otway of Merville Battery; Captain Piper of La Fiere Bridge; LTC Vandervoort, CO of the 2-505/82d; Cpt Raeen of the 5th Rangers; Lt Dick Winters of Brecourt Manor; PFC Marcucci of Omaha Beach; and SSG Lem Lomell of Pointe Du Hoc. This unique approach to D-Day combines the author's discussions with participants in D-Day, his personal reflections on Operation Overlord, and the insights that occur. Interspersed with veterans' remarks, Nightingale's essays are inspired by specific discussions or multiple interviews. Taken together, the succinct, human observations of these participants illuminate the hard facts to create a unique work of long-lasting interest that will attract specialists, military history buffs, armchair generals, and general listeners alike.

Col (ret) Keith M. Nightingale (Author), Adam Barr (Narrator)

Audiobook

Putin's Prisoner: My Time as a Prisoner of War in Ukraine

Brought to you by Penguin. Aiden Aslin joined the Ukrainian marines in 2018, compelled to defend his adopted homeland from the growing threat of Russian invasion. In February 2022, as Russia mounted a full-scale offensive, Aiden and his unit were stationed at the frontline at Mariupol. Pinned down at a Mariupol steelworks, after a month-long siege and running out of supplies, Aiden was part of the mass surrender of over a thousand Ukrainian troops, in April 2022. Then his real ordeal began. Singled out for his British passport, Aiden was interrogated, tortured, stabbed, turned into a propaganda zombie, tried by a kangaroo court and then sentenced to death. A victim of a catalogue of abuses of international law, Aiden struggled to cling on to any hope of survival. Certain that he was going to be executed, he was eventually freed in a prisoner exchange and permitted to return home. In Putin's Prisoner, Aiden will tell the full, harrowing story of his time fighting in Putin's war, of his six months in Russian captivity, and of his hardened resolve to defend the freedoms of the people of Ukraine. ©2023 Aiden Aslin & John Sweeney (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Aiden Aslin, John Sweeney (Author), Paul Slack, Steve John Shepherd (Narrator)

Audiobook

[Spanish] - 1978. El año que marchamos a la guerra

El mismo autor del exitoso Un veterano de tres guerras entrega este relato que cobra actualidad a 40 años de una guerra que no fue Mientras estudiaba Periodismo en la Universidad de Chile, Guillermo Parvex fue llamado por el Ejército para recibir instrucción militar específica y ser parte de las milicias chilenas que se dirigirían a la frontera con Argentina. Era 1978, Parvex tenía 24 años y la guerra con el país vecino era inminente. Este libro reconstruye la historia personal del autor durante los meses que estuvo en la frontera y el contexto histórico de esos difíciles años, un relato inédito en primera persona que nos habla de aquellos años convulsos en que se ocultaba la movilización de tropas hasta las regiones limítrofes que nos separan del país vecino. Reseña: 'Un libro que reconstruye por primera vez la instrucción militar que recibieron en secreto miles de jóvenes chilenos.'

Guillermo Parvex (Author), Adrián Wowczuk, Adrián Wowczuz (Narrator)

Audiobook

Military Audiobooks in History