History bestsellers

A People's History of the United States

By: Howard Zinn
Narrated by: Jeff Zinn
Length: 34 hours 9 minutes

“What this classic, alternative, and, yes, overtly leftist history of the United States most impressed upon me is that the history of American protest is just as vital and as old a tradition as the stars and stripes. The American people have always protested, gone on strike, marched - for suffrage, abolition, labor rights, civil rights,... Read more

SPQR

A History of Ancient Rome

By: Mary Beard
Narrated by: Phyllida Nash
Length: 18 hours 30 minutes

“I listened to SPQR as I prepared for my first trip to Rome, and I am so glad that I did. Beard expertly recounts the history of Rome's rise to world dominance. She updates our knowledge of this fantastic empire using new archeological finds and insight into the motivations underlying the source documents. A recent social media craze claims that... Read more

The Small and the Mighty

Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement

By: Sharon McMahon
Narrated by: Sharon McMahon
Length: 10 hours 13 minutes

“A thoroughly informative and enjoyable look at 12 Americans who made a difference. Sharon McMahon narrates the book herself, and it’s all the better for her own inflections and emotions. Cannot recommend enough! Read more

A Ben Of All Trades

The Most Inventive Boyhood of Benjamin Franklin

By: Michael J. Rosen & Matt Tavares
Narrated by: Qarie Marshall
Length: 44 minutes

Young Benjamin Franklin wants to be a sailor, but his father won’t hear of it. The other trades he tries—candle maker, joiner, boot closer, turner—bore him through and through. Curious and inventive, Ben prefers to read, swim, fly his kite, and fly his kite while swimming. But each time he fails to find a profession, he takes some important bit... Read more

The Barn

The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi

By: Wright Thompson
Narrated by: Wright Thompson
Length: 11 hours 38 minutes

“Unequivocally one of the most compelling non-fiction books I've ever read. Thompson's research not only reveals the depth of depravity and barbarity of Emmett Till's murderers, but illuminates the commitment to collective forgetting by the white townspeople. Told with great humanity, this book is critical to the historical record, and with the... Read more

Say Nothing

A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland

By: Patrick Radden Keefe
Narrated by: Matthew Blaney
Length: 14 hours 40 minutes

“This book is as good as everyone says. I knew I didn't know a ton about the troubles in Northern Ireland, but I didn't know HOW much I didn't know. This book turns a rather complex, sometimes dry (if you're not Irish or a war history person) subject into a story of intrigue, weaving the conflict's history with the stories of a few men and women... Read more

Caste (Oprah's Book Club)

The Origins of Our Discontents

By: Isabel Wilkerson
Narrated by: Robin Miles
Length: 15 hours 10 minutes

“This is an important and beautifully written book examining the links and common elements between the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany. Highly recommended. Read more

The Wager

A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder

By: David Grann
Narrated by: Dion Graham & David Grann
Length: 8 hours 28 minutes

“I loved this nautical true story of mutiny on the high seas. The men lived by such a strict code. What is to be done when the captain loses the confidence and respect of some of his crew? In a culture and atmosphere where your rank determines whether your account of events is to be read, let alone believed, it makes for a very interesting... Read more

A Promised Land

By: Barack Obama
Narrated by: Barack Obama
Length: 29 hours 9 minutes

“No one really needs my blurb to help sell this book, but I wanted to give it anyway, especially for the audiobook, narrated by Barack Obama himself. If you want to know his incredible knowledge and wisdom that guided him through major decisions, and also hear him drop a few F-bombs, you need to listen to this fantastically written book. Read more

Wild Faith

How the Christian Right Is Taking Over America

By: Talia Lavin
Narrated by: Talia Lavin
Length: 9 hours 45 minutes

The acclaimed author of Culture Warlords investigates the rise of the Christian Right over the last half-century that lays out the grim vision evangelicals are enforcing on our democracy.

All across America, a storm is gathering: from book bans in school libraries to anti-trans laws in state legislatures; firebombings of abortion clinics and... Read more

An Unfinished Love Story

A Personal History of the 1960s

By: Doris Kearns Goodwin
Narrated by: Doris Kearns Goodwin
Length: 17 hours 37 minutes

“Pulitzer winner Kearns Goodwin’s magnificent work describes experiences that she and her husband Dick Goodwin shared and their personal influence on sweeping issues and events of the 1960’s. As Dick hits age 80, they go through boxes of items from those days and treat us to amazing memories, quotes, conversations and even the stories behind... Read more

Amelia Earhart

First Names: Book #2

By: Andrew Prentice
Narrated by: Elizabeth Cottle
Length: 2 hours 39 minutes

Before Amelia Earhart (1897–1939) became a world-famous pilot, she was a little tomboy from Kansas with a taste for adventure. When she visited an airfield and took a short plane ride, she knew she had to be a pilot. She signed up for flying lessons and cropped her hair short so that the other pilots would take her seriously. She became the... Read more

On Tyranny

Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century

By: Timothy Snyder
Narrated by: Timothy Snyder
Length: 1 hour 47 minutes

“This pocket guide to preserving our freedoms and resisting authoritarianism, penned by Yale historian of fascism Timothy Snyder, takes lessons from the fall of democracies across Europe in the 20th Century, each posing a warning to us now in the 21st Century. A brief but mind blowing, eye-opening read that left me feeling sobered and empowered... Read more

The Hundred Years' War on Palestine

A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017

By: Rashid Khalidi
Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi & Rashid Khalidi
Length: 10 hours 30 minutes

This program includes an introduction read by the author.

A landmark history of one hundred years of war waged against the Palestinians from the foremost US historian of the Middle East, told through pivotal events and family history.

In 1899, Yusuf Diya al-Khalidi, mayor of Jerusalem, alarmed by the Zionist call to create a Jewish national home... Read more

Sapiens

A Brief History of Humankind

By: Yuval Noah Harari
Narrated by: Derek Perkins
Length: 15 hours 17 minutes

“Harari's brilliant cross-discipline synthesis of humanity's last 100,000 year story arc is sweeping and brilliant. I would almost use a phrase usually reserved for beach read thrillers-it's a page-turner. Rarely does a book stir up conversation in academic circles while still being so accessible to a general audience. That a history book has... Read more

Off The Map

The Journals of Lewis and Clark

By: Meriwether Lewis
Narrated by: Pat Grimes
Length: 57 minutes

Lewis and Clark's famous 1804 expedition was told with great detail by the explorers themselves in an eight-volume account. Now young historians have the opportunity to learn the thrills, challenges, and adventures in a version accessible for them. Two years' worth of entries are condensed into a flowing account that maintains the historical... Read more

Talking to Strangers

What We Should Know about the People We Don't Know

By: Malcolm Gladwell
Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
Length: 8 hours 57 minutes

“In TALKING TO STRANGERS, Gladwell examines how communication is the key to basically everything. With historical as well as current case studies, this book makes you examine your prejudices and preconceived notions. This is not your typical audiobook. Gladwell uses original clips from news stories, segments from other audio books, and he even... Read more

Spare

By: Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex
Narrated by: Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex
Length: 15 hours 37 minutes

“I deeply relished every drop of the tea spilt in this memoir. I would recommend it on that alone. However, I was most impressed with Prince Harry’s clear passion for the things and the people he cares about. In his narration of the audiobook you can feel how much he loves his family, how proud he is of his time in the military, and how much he... Read more

Challenger

A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space

By: Adam Higginbotham
Narrated by: Jacques Roy
Length: 17 hours 9 minutes

“This account of the Challenger disaster is thorough and absolutely fascinating! I have always been obsessed with the space program so I went into it thinking I knew the story pretty well. But Adam does a great job adding extra details and perspectives not normally shared! The narrator is fantastic and you will definitely find yourself binging... Read more

Killers of the Flower Moon

The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

By: David Grann
Narrated by: Will Patton, Ann Marie Lee & Danny Campbell
Length: 9 hours 4 minutes

“The three sections of the book each cover a different part of this bizarre and unbelievable but true murder mystery: the investigation, the trial, and the aftermath. Each time I finished a section, I kind of assumed the interesting part was over. And each time I was WRONG. This book kept me guessing all the way to the end, and then some. Read more

The Dawn of Everything

A New History of Humanity

By: David Graeber & David Wengrow
Narrated by: Mark Williams
Length: 24 hours 19 minutes

“What do you do when a 700-page book about the entirety of human history has been sitting unopened on your desk for weeks, taunting you every time you pass it because you know you're going to love it but, man, it's intimidating? You download the audiobook. I've been listening to this radical, invigorating reexamination of the history of... Read more

The Demon of Unrest

A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War

By: Erik Larson
Narrated by: Will Patton & Erik Larson
Length: 17 hours 17 minutes

“Larson’s gift is taking lesser known historical events and providing nail-biting descriptions that entertain and inform. This one focuses on the five months between Lincoln’s election and inauguration and events leading up to the firing on Fort Sumter. He tells us how General Anderson and his men “hold the fort” for the federal government while... Read more

Nexus

A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI

By: Yuval Noah Harari
Narrated by: Vidish Athavale
Length: 17 hours 27 minutes

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Sapiens comes the groundbreaking story of how information networks have made, and unmade, our world.

“Striking original . . . A historian whose arguments operate on the scale of millennia has managed to capture the zeitgeist perfectly.”—The Economist

“This deeply important book comes at a critical... Read more

Everything Is Tuberculosis

The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection

By: John Green
Narrated by: John Green
Length: TBA

John Green, the #1 bestselling author of The Anthropocene Reviewed and a passionate advocate for global healthcare reform, tells a deeply human story illuminating the fight against the world’s deadliest disease.
 
Tuberculosis has been entwined with hu­manity for millennia. Once romanticized as a malady of poets, today tuberculosis is seen as a... Read more

Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here

The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis

By: Jonathan Blitzer
Narrated by: André Santana & Jonathan Blitzer
Length: 18 hours 13 minutes

A National Bestseller • A New York Times Top 10 Book of 2024 • One of Barack Obama's Summer Reading List Picks • Named a Notable Book by New York Times, Washington Post, and Chicago Tribune • Nominated for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence and the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction


“What an incredibly thorough documentation of the causes of... Read more

On Tyranny: Expanded Audio Edition

Updated with Twenty New Lessons from Russia's War on Ukraine

By: Timothy Snyder
Narrated by: Timothy Snyder
Length: 9 hours 45 minutes

The #1 New York Times bestseller, now in an expanded audiobook edition that includes detailed historical context for the democracy-threatening Ukrainian conflict and a call to action for modern times.

This edition includes the bestselling original essay collection On Tyranny, read by the author.

In this exclusive audiobook edition, which... Read more

Through the Wardrobe

How C. S. Lewis Created Narnia

By: Lina Maslo
Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds
Length: 33 minutes

As a child, Clive Staples Lewis imagined many things... heroic animals and knights in armor and a faraway land called Boxen. He even thought of a new name for himself—at four years old, he decided he was more of a Jack. As he grew up, though, Jack found that the real world was not as just as the one in his imagination. No magic could heal the... Read more

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You

A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning

By: Jason Reynolds & Ibram X. Kendi
Narrated by: Jason Reynolds
Length: 4 hours 11 minutes

“If I had to choose one book to help start young people talking about race, I would pick this one. In fact, you need to read this book. Everyone should. Not only is it extremely approachable, it is also incredibly informative and inclusive. Most of the audiobook is read by Jason Reynolds, and I could not have picked a better narrator. Though it... Read more

Major Battles in U.S. History

All About the Battle of Gettysburg, Little Bighorn, Normandy and more

By: Various
Narrated by: Qarie Marshall
Length: 49 minutes

This close-up look at key battles throughout the history of the United States offers engaging anecdotes about those battles and provides historical context for each of them. Each audiobook examines the decisive moments and lasting impact of major battles such as The Battle of Gettysburg and The Battle of Little Bighorn. With interesting facts... Read more

Pandora's Jar

Women in the Greek Myths

By: Natalie Haynes
Narrated by: Natalie Haynes
Length: 9 hours 24 minutes

“Funny, sharp explications of what these sometimes not-very-nice women were up to, and how they sometimes made idiots of . . . but read on!”—Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid's TaleThe national bestselling author of A Thousand Ships returns with a fascinating, eye-opening take on the remarkable women at the heart of classical stories Greek... Read more

Reagan

His Life and Legend

By: Max Boot
Narrated by: Graham Winton
Length: 32 hours 6 minutes

In this “monumental and impressive” biography, Max Boot, the distinguished political columnist, illuminates the untold story of Ronald Reagan, revealing the man behind the mythology. Drawing on interviews with over one hundred of the fortieth president’s aides, friends, and family members, as well as thousands of newly available documents, Boot... Read more

Mythos

By: Stephen Fry
Narrated by: Stephen Fry
Length: 15 hours 24 minutes

“I'm really enjoying listening to Stephen Fry's narration of his book Mythos. Told with a wink and a nod, he brings the classical mythologies alive with great zest. Weaving the many personalities and stories into a whole tapestry of delight. Wonderful fun for making that walk longer. Read more

The Splendid and the Vile

A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz

By: Erik Larson
Narrated by: John Lee & Erik Larson
Length: 17 hours 48 minutes

“Erik Larson has done it again! With years of impeccable research into diaries, archives, dossiers, biographies, and official British documents, he has presented an intimate and detailed account of Winston Churchill in his first years as prime minister as he dealt with the London Blitz and his own personal and family issues. This is Churchill as... Read more

Femina

A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It

By: Janina Ramirez
Narrated by: Janina Ramirez
Length: 11 hours 55 minutes

A groundbreaking reappraisal of medieval femininity, revealing why women have been written out of history and why it matters

The Middle Ages are seen as a bloodthirsty time of Vikings, saints and kings; a patriarchal society that oppressed and excluded women. But when we dig a little deeper into the truth, we can see that the “Dark” Ages were... Read more

You Are What You Watch

How Movies and TV Affect Everything

By: Walt Hickey
Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
Length: 9 hours 19 minutes

Pulitzer Prize-winning author and data expert Walt Hickey explains the power of entertainment to change our biology, our beliefs, how we see ourselves, and how nations gain power. Virtually anyone who has ever watched a profound movie, a powerful TV show, or read a moving novel understands that entertainment can and does affect us in surprising... Read more

Patriot

A Memoir

By: Alexei Navalny
Narrated by: Matthew Goode
Length: 16 hours 46 minutes

“A powerhouse of a memoir. Learn about Navalny's metamorphosis from ordinary Soviet citizen to activist who took on the corruption and treachery of Putin's regime, and as a result, was almost fatally poisoned. Navalny's is a tale of caution of what happens to a country when we allow autocrats and oligarchs to have complete rule which ultimately... Read more

Empires of the Steppes

By: Kenneth W. Harl
Narrated by: Corey M. Snow
Length: 17 hours 13 minutes

A narrative history of how Attila, Genghis Khan and the so-called barbarians of the steppes shaped world civilization.

The barbarian nomads of the Eurasian steppes have played a decisive role in world history, but their achievements have gone largely unnoticed. These nomadic tribes have produced some of the world’s greatest conquerors: Attila the... Read more

Jesus and John Wayne

How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation

By: Kristin Kobes du Mez
Narrated by: Suzie Althens
Length: 12 hours 3 minutes

“This 75-year-spanning study by a Christian historian traces American evangelicals’ takeover of the Republican Party and shows how their highest values - militarism and masculinity, patriarchy and patriotism - turned a modest Jesus Christ into a macho John Wayne, and made voting for Donald Trump not a necessary evil, but a natural conclusion. As... Read more

The Boys in the Boat

Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

By: Daniel James Brown
Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
Length: 14 hours 24 minutes

“Determined to beat the odds, nine working-class boys from the University of Washington's rowing team overcome a depressive beginning to defeat the world at Hitler's 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. Underdogs from day one, fighting poverty and privilege along the way, this crew shocks all with their unbelievable come-from-behind effort to become... Read more

The Library Book

By: Susan Orlean
Narrated by: Susan Orlean
Length: 12 hours 8 minutes

“On the day I turned 2, Chernobyl was struck by disaster. Three days later, hidden among the news and chaos, the Los Angeles Public Library was in flames. Two thousand degrees, more than a million books destroyed or damaged, and the source of the fire unknown. Susan Orlean centers her book on the fire and then moves outward to include librarians... Read more

The Devil in the White City

Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

By: Erik Larson
Narrated by: Scott Brick
Length: 14 hours 58 minutes

“The Devil in the White City is one of the most fascinating books I've ever read. Set amidst the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, Erik Larson's historical narrative interweaves the stories of two men who would come to define it, for better and for worse. One is Daniel Burnham, chief architect of the Fair, who threw his entire being into creating a... Read more

Harry Houdini

First Names: Book #1

By: Kjartan Poskitt
Narrated by: Pete Cross
Length: 2 hours 35 minutes

Before Harry Houdini (1874–1926) became the greatest magician in the world, he was just little Ehrich Weisz, a Hungarian-born immigrant who moved to America with his family and performed stage tricks for a little extra cash. He started off with card tricks and then eventually began performing the escape acts that would make him famous. Known for... Read more

Let This Radicalize You

Organizing and the Revolution of Reciprocal Care

By: Kelly Hayes & Mariame Kaba
Narrated by: Diana Blue
Length: 10 hours 41 minutes

What fuels and sustains activism and organizing when it feels like our worlds are collapsing? Let This Radicalize You is a practical and imaginative resource for activists and organizers building power in an era of destabilization and catastrophe.



Longtime organizers and movement educators Mariame Kaba and Kelly Hayes examine some of the... Read more

The Happiest Man on Earth

The Beautiful Life of an Auschwitz Survivor

By: Eddie Jaku
Narrated by: Raphael Corkhill
Length: 3 hours 47 minutes

“The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku is a deeply moving memoir that reflects on the author's experiences as a Holocaust survivor and his journey to find happiness despite the immense suffering he endured. The book emphasizes themes of resilience, gratitude, and the importance of love and kindness. Read more

Oscar Wars

A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears

By: Michael Schulman
Narrated by: Charlie Thurston
Length: 21 hours

The author of the New York Times bestseller Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep returns with a lively history of the Academy Awards, focusing on the brutal battles, the starry rivalries, and the colorful behind-the-scenes drama.America does not have royalty. It has the Academy Awards. For nine decades, perfectly coiffed starlets, debonair leading... Read more

A Brief History of Intelligence

Evolution, AI, and the Five Breakthroughs That Made Our Brains

By: Max Bennett
Narrated by: George Newbern
Length: 12 hours 17 minutes

Equal parts Sapiens, Behave, and Superintelligence, but wholly original in scope, A Brief History of Intelligence offers a paradigm shift for how we understand neuroscience and AI. Artificial intelligence entrepreneur Max Bennett chronicles the five “breakthroughs” in the evolution of human intelligence and reveals what brains of the past can... Read more

How the Word Is Passed

A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America

By: Clint Smith
Narrated by: Clint Smith
Length: 10 hours 6 minutes

“From plantation to Angola Prison. From Blandford Cemetery in Petersburg, VA to the African Burial Ground in New York City. From Île de Gorée to Whitney Plantation. From the Emancipation Proclamation to Juneteenth. Clint Smith takes us on an unforgettable journey through the history of slavery in the United States, revealing many truths we’ve... Read more

The 1619 Project

A New Origin Story

By: Caitlin Roper, Ilena Silverman & Jake Silverstein
Narrated by: Nikole Hannah-Jones & Full Cast
Length: 18 hours 56 minutes

“This new landmark work of U.S. history, criticism, and art is forged of 18 essays that consider the relevance of slavery to contemporary America through the prism of such subjects as capitalism, music, and healthcare and poems and fiction that focus on key moments in the oppression, resistance, and liberation of Black people in America. Riveting... Read more

A Fever in the Heartland

The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them

By: Timothy Egan
Narrated by: Timothy Egan
Length: 10 hours 29 minutes

“Some pride themselves on knowing historical facts and hidden histories, and yet, Egan, with his horror story about the KKK, will stop you in your tracks. Wasn't this just a 19th century Southern phenomenon? Who knew American Terror happened literally in our own backyard. Read more

How to Hide an Empire

A History of the Greater United States

By: Daniel Immerwahr
Narrated by: Luis Moreno
Length: 17 hours 25 minutes

“A hilarious sparkler of historical quirks burns down to a dangerous fuse of tampering, territory, and transnational economics in this history of the USA not as the nation you just pictured, but as the complete global network of Americans, many without the rights the Lower 48 believe in, most segregated into cells of power that occasionally... Read more