Audiobooks narrated by David De Vries

Marching Orders: The Untold Story of How the American Breaking of the Japanese Secret Codes led to t

Marching Orders tells the story of how the American military's breaking of the Japanese diplomatic Purple codes during World War II led to the defeat of Nazi Germany and hastened the end of the devastating conflict. With unprecedented access to over one million pages of US Army documents and thousands of pages of top-secret messages dispatched to Tokyo from the Japanese embassy in Berlin, author Bruce Lee offers a series of fascinating revelations about pivotal moments in the war. Challenging conventional wisdom, Marching Orders demonstrates how an American invasion of Japan would have resulted in massive casualties for both forces. Lee presents a thrilling day-by-day chronicle of the difficult choices faced by the American military brain trust and how, aware of Japan's adamant refusal to surrender, the United States made the fateful decision to drop nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Hailed as 'one of the most important books ever published on World War II' by Robert T. Crowley, Marching Orders unveils the untold stories behind some of the Second World War's most critical events, bringing them to vivid life. It's a story that, as historian Robin W. Winks said, 'no one with the slightest interest in World War II or in the origins of the Cold War can afford to ignore.'

Bruce Lee (Author), David De Vries (Narrator)

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The Nazis Next Door: How America Became a Safe Haven for Hitler’s Men

Read the history behind the series THE HUNTERS (starring Al Pacino) in this "captivating book rooted in first-rate research" (New York Times Book Review) that tells the true story of how America became home to thousands of Nazi war criminals. For the first time, once-secret government records and interviews tell the full story of the thousands of Nazis-from concentration camp guards to high-level officers in the Third Reich-who came to the United States after World War II and quietly settled into new lives. Many gained entry on their own as self-styled war "refugees." But some had help from the U.S. government. The CIA, the FBI, and the military all put Hitler's minions to work as spies, intelligence assets, and leading scientists and engineers, whitewashing their histories. Only years after their arrival did private sleuths and government prosecutors begin trying to identify the hidden Nazis. Now, relying on a trove of newly disclosed documents and scores of interviews, Eric Lichtblau reveals this shocking, shameful, and little-known chapter of postwar history. New York Times bestseller - Espionage category "Disturbing." - Salon "Engaging." - Chicago Tribune "A gripping chronicle." - Times of Israel "Riveting . . . An important, fascinating read." - Jewish Book Council

Eric Lichtblau (Author), David De Vries, Reader Tbd 1 (Narrator)

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Special Reconnaissance and Advanced Small Unit Patrolling: Tactics, Techniques and Procedures for Sp

This comprehensive guide by a Special Ops combat veteran is the ultimate reference for military tactics, techniques, and procedures. Intended for military SpecialOps personnel, this volume presents invaluable operational guidance with lessons learned from the legendary Military Assistance Command Vietnam-Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG). Drawing on Special Reconnaissance operations conducted during the Vietnam Era, author Edward Wolcoff provides practical information alongside operational accounts and analyses of specific missions. Wolcoff covers the gamut of specialized SR topics ranging from operational planning and preparation, through execution, logistics, and command and control-all in substantial tradecraft detail. Few of the tactics, techniques, and procedures or lessons-learned included in this book have been previously presented in a usable form for SpecOps personnel. This book is intended instruct the Special Operations units of today, and preserve this valuable tradecraft for future generations.

Edward Wolcoff (Author), David De Vries (Narrator)

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Purified: How Recycled Sewage Is Transforming Our Water

In Purified, veteran journalist Peter Annin shows that wastewater has become a surprising weapon in America's war against water scarcity. Annin probes deep into the water reuse movement in five water-strapped states-California, Texas, Virginia, Nevada, and Florida. He drinks beer made from purified sewage, visits communities where purified sewage came to the rescue, and examines how one of the nation's largest wastewater plants hopes to recycle one hundred percent of its wastewater by 2035. At each stop, listeners come face to face with the people who are struggling for, and against, recycled water. While the current filtration technology transforms sewage into something akin to distilled water-free of chemicals and safe to drink-water recycling's challenge isn't technology. It's terminology. Concerns about communities being used as 'guinea pigs,' sensationalist media coverage, and taglines like 'toilet to tap' have repeatedly crippled water recycling efforts. Potable water recycling has become the hottest frontier in the race for expanded water supply options. But can public opinion turn in time to avoid the worst consequences? Purified's fast-paced narrative cuts through the fearmongering and misinformation to make the case that recycled water is direly needed in the climate-change era. Water cannot be taken for granted anymore-and that includes sewage.

Peter Annin (Author), David De Vries (Narrator)

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God, Guns, and Sedition: Far-Right Terrorism in America

Shocking acts of terrorism have erupted from violent American far-right extremists in recent years, including the 2015 mass murder at a historic Black church in Charleston and the January 6, 2021, attack on the United States Capitol. These incidents, however, are neither novel nor unprecedented. They are the latest flashpoints in a process that has been unfolding for decades, in which vast conspiracy theories and radical ideologies such as white supremacism, racism, antisemitism, xenophobia, and hostility to government converge into a deadly threat to democracy. God, Guns, and Sedition offers the definitive account of the rise of far-right terrorism in the United States-and how to counter it. Leading experts Bruce Hoffman and Jacob Ware trace the historical trajectory and assess the present-day dangers of this violent extremist movement, along with the harm it poses to United States national security. They combine authoritative, nuanced analysis with gripping storytelling and portraits of the leaders behind this violence and their followers. An unparalleled examination of one of today's great perils, God, Guns, and Sedition ends with an array of essential practical recommendations to halt the growth of violent far-right extremism and address this global terrorist threat.

Bruce Hoffman, Jacob Ware (Author), David De Vries (Narrator)

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OPLAN Fulda: World War III

May, 1989. The two nuclear superpowers are finally talking peace, but not everyone in the Soviet Union seeks such resolution. Senior Soviet ministers and generals conduct a coup to seize power and prevent the dissolution of the USSR and the Warsaw Pact. To cover up their plot and capitalize on the resulting chaos, they invade West Germany, setting off a chain of events and the Third World War. Across Europe, soldiers and spies are drawn into the conflict. From NATO headquarters to the front lines, the information is there to prevent nuclear annihilation if only they can find it in time. Based on the declassified Operations Order 33001, Leo Barron's decades of military intelligence experience allow this military thriller to dive deep into tactics and realistically explore how everything could have changed in 1989.

Leo Barron (Author), David De Vries (Narrator)

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Toxic Stress: How Stress Is Making Us Ill and What We Can Do About It

Our stress response system is magnificent-it operates beneath our awareness, like an orchestra of organs playing a hidden symphony. When we are healthy, the orchestra plays effortlessly, but what happens when our bodies face chronic stress, and the music slips out of tune? The alarming rise of stress-related conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, and depression, show the price we're paying for our high-pressure living, while global warming, pandemics, and technology have brought new kinds of stress into all our lives. But what can we do about it? Explore the fascinating mysteries of our hidden stress response system with Dr. Wulsin, who uses his decades of experience to show how toxic stress impacts our bodies; he gives us the expert advice and tools needed to prevent toxic stress from taking over. Chapter by chapter, learn to help your body and mind recover from toxic stress.

Lawson R. Wulsin (Author), David De Vries (Narrator)

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To the One I Love the Best

A witty and charming account of the wildly entertaining Elsie de Wolfe in 1950s Hollywood, recounted by her dear friend, the beloved creator of Madeline. Ludwig Bemelmans's charming intergenerational friendship with the late-in-life 'First Lady of Interior Decoration' provides an enormously enjoyable nostalgia trip to the sun-soaked glamour of Los Angeles, where de Wolfe surrounded herself with classic movie stars and a luminous parade of life's oddities. With hilarity and mischief that de Wolfe would no doubt approve, To the One I Love the Best lifts the curtain on 1950s Hollywood-a bygone world of extravagance and eccentricity, where the parties are held in circus tents and populated by movie stars. Bemelmans, who was working at MGM, had originally come to the California home of de Wolfe just for cocktails, but by the end of the night, he was firmly established as a member of the family: given a bedroom in their sumptuous house, invitations to the most outrageous parties in Hollywood, and the friendship of the larger-than-life woman known to her closest friends simply as 'Mother.' To the One I Love the Best is a touching tribute to a fabulously funny woman and an American icon.

Ludwig Bemelmans (Author), David De Vries (Narrator)

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Bomb Group: The Eighth Air Force's 381st and The Allied Air Offensive Over Europe

In February 1942, a reconnaissance party of US Army Air Force officers arrived in England. Firmly wedded to the doctrine of daylight precision bombing, they believed they could help turn the tide of the war in Europe. In the months that followed, they formed the Eighth Air Force-an organization that grew at an astonishing rate. To accommodate it, almost seventy airfields were hastily built across the eastern counties of England. At the heart of the Eighth Air Force was its bombardment groups, each equipped with scores of heavily armed, four-engine bombers. These Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and Consolidated B-24 Liberators were soon punching through the enemy's defenses to bomb targets vital to its war effort. They were crewed by thousands of young American airmen, most of whom were volunteers. This is the story of just one 'Bomb Group'-the 381st, which crossed the Atlantic in May 1943. Arriving at RAF Ridgewell on the Essex-Suffolk border, its airmen quickly found themselves thrown into the hazardous and attritional air battle raging in the skies over Europe. The 381st's path led from its formation in the Texan desert, to its 297th and final bombing mission deep into the heart of Hitler's Third Reich. This is the remarkable story of one group and the part it played in the strategic bombing campaign of 'The Mighty Eighth.'

Mike Peters, Paul Bingley (Author), David De Vries (Narrator)

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Instruments of Darkness: The History of Electronic Warfare, 1939-1945

The rapid evolution of radio and radar systems for military use during WWII, and devices to counter them, led to a technological battle that neither the Axis nor the Allied powers could afford to lose. The result was a continual series of thrusts, parries, and counter-thrusts, as first one side then the other sought to wrest the initiative in the struggle to control the ether. This was a battle fought with strange-sounding weapons: 'Freya', 'Mandrel', 'Boozer', and 'Window'; and was characterized by the bravery, self-sacrifice, and skill of those who took part in it. However, for many years the use of electronic-warfare systems during the conflict remained a closely guarded military secret. When that veil of secrecy was finally lifted, the technicalities of the subject meant that it remained beyond the reach of lay researchers. Alfred Price, an aircrew officer with the RAF where he flew with V-Force and specialized in electronic warfare and air fighting tactics, was in the unique position to lift the lid on this largely unexplored aspect of the Second World War. When it was first published in 1967, Instruments of Darkness came to be regarded as a standard reference work on this intriguing subject. This completely revised edition concludes with the Japanese surrender in August 1945 and brings the analysis fully up to date in the light of what we now know.

Alfred Price (Author), David De Vries (Narrator)

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The Dissident: Alexey Navalny: Profile of a Political Prisoner

A news-driven biography of Vladimir Putin's nemesis Alexey Navalny- lawyer, blogger, anti-corruption crusader, protest organizer, political opposition leader, mayoral and presidential candidate, campaign strategist, provocateur, poisoning victim, dissident, and now, prisoner of conscience and anti-war crusader. THE DISSIDENT is the story of how one fearless man, offended by the dishonesty and criminality of the Russian political system, mounted a relentless opposition movement and became President Vladimir Putin's most formidable rival-so despised that the Russian leader makes a point of never uttering Navalny's name. There's an old saying that Russia without corruption isn't Russia. Alexey Navalny refuses to accept this proposition. His stubborn insistence that Russians can defy the stereotype and create an entirely different country made him such a threat to Putin that the Kremlin wanted him exiled-or dead-and now seems intent on keeping him locked in a prison colony for decades. International correspondent David M. Herszenhorn, weaves together the threads of Navalny's remarkable life and work: - The assassination attempt with a military- grade nerve agent by an FSB hit squad in Siberia, his recovery, and the vigilante-style investigation with news outlet Bellingcat to identify and confront his own would-be killers; - Navalny's personal biography as part of the generation that straddled the end of the Soviet Union and birth of the Russian Federation, including childhood summers with his Ukrainian grandparents near Chernobyl, and his fellowship at Yale University, which spurred conspiracy theories about his ties to the U.S.; - His anti-corruption investigations that exposed billions in graft at Russia's biggest state-owned companies and vast bribe-taking by top Russian officials, including his blockbuster revelations about Putin's Black Sea Palace; - His political activism, including huge street protests, his bid for Moscow mayor in 2013, renegade run for president in 2017, his controversial views on nationalism, gun rights and Crimea, his transformation into a prisoner of conscience bravely denouncing Putin's war of aggression in Ukraine, and more. Riveting and complex, THE DISSIDENT introduces readers to modern Russia's greatest agitator, a man willing to sacrifice his freedom-and even his own life-to build the decent, democratic country he wants to live in and hopes to pass on to his children.

David Herszenhorn (Author), David De Vries (Narrator)

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Hotel Splendide

Acerbic, colorful, and spirited stories from a bygone era: behind the scenes in a grand New York hotel, from the author of the Madeline books Picture David Sedaris writing Kitchen Confidential about the Ritz in New York in the 1920s, which had the style and charm of The Grand Budapest Hotel . . . In this charming and uproariously funny hotel memoir, Ludwig Bemelmans uncovers the fabulous world of the Hotel Splendide-the thinly disguised stand-in for the Ritz-a luxury New York hotel where he worked as a waiter in the 1920s. With equal parts affection and barbed wit, he uncovers the everyday chaos that reigns behind the smooth facades of the gilded dining room and banquet halls. In hilarious detail, Bemelmans sketches the hierarchy of hotel life and its strange and fascinating inhabitants: from the ruthlessly authoritarian maître d'hôtel Monsieur Victor to the kindly waiter Mespoulets to Frizl the homesick busboy. Bemelmans' tales of a bygone era of extravagance are as charming as they are riotously entertaining.

Ludwig Bemelmans (Author), David De Vries (Narrator)

Audiobook

Audiobooks Narrated by David De Vries