History audiobooks

A Great Improvisation

By: Stacy Schiff

Narrated by: Susan Denaker

Length: 21 hours 54 minutes

Abridged: No

“In December 1776, a small boat delivered an old man to France.” So begins a dazzling narrative account of Benjamin Franklin’s French mission, the most exacting—and momentous—eight years of his life. 

When Franklin embarked, the colonies were without money, munitions, gunpowder, or common cause; like all adolescents, they were to discover that... Read more

A Great Improvisation - Abridged

By: Stacy Schiff

Narrated by: Jason Culp

Length: 9 hours 50 minutes

Abridged: Yes

“In December 1776, a small boat delivered an old man to France.” So begins a dazzling narrative account of Benjamin Franklin’s French mission, the most exacting–and momentous–eight years of his life.

When Franklin embarked, the colonies were without money, munitions, gunpowder or common cause; like all adolescents, they were to discover that... Read more

Emperors and Idiots

By: Mike Vaccaro

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 13 hours 38 minutes

Abridged: No

The New York Yankees. The Boston Red Sox. For a hundred years, no two teams have locked horns as fiercely or as frequently – and no two seasons frame the colossal battle more perfectly than 2003 and 2004. Now, with incredible energy and access, leading sports columnist Mike Vaccaro chronicles the history of the greatest rivalry in sports, and... Read more

Emperors and Idiots - Abridged

By: Mike Vaccaro

Narrated by: Richmond Hoxie

Length: 5 hours

Abridged: Yes

The New York Yankees. The Boston Red Sox. For a hundred years, no two teams have locked horns as fiercely or as frequently – and no two seasons frame the colossal battle more perfectly than 2003 and 2004. Now, with incredible energy and access, leading sports columnist Mike Vaccaro chronicles the history of the greatest rivalry in sports, and... Read more

Conspiracy of Fools - Abridged

By: Kurt Eichenwald

Narrated by: Stephen Lang

Length: 9 hours 58 minutes

Abridged: Yes

From an award-winning New York Times reporter comes the full, mind-boggling true story of the lies, crimes, and ineptitude behind the Enron scandal that imperiled a presidency, destroyed a marketplace, and changed Washington and Wall Street forever.

It was the corporate collapse that appeared to come out of nowhere. In late 2001, the Enron... Read more

Ponzi's Scheme

By: Mitchell Zuckoff

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 9 hours 58 minutes

Abridged: No

You’ve heard of the scheme. Now comes the man behind it. In Mitchell Zuckoff's exhilarating book, the first nonfiction account of Charles Ponzi, we meet the charismatic rogue who launched the most famous and extraordinary scam in the annals of American finance.

It was a time when anything seemed possible–instant wealth, glittering fame, fabulous... Read more

Ponzi's Scheme - Abridged

By: Mitchell Zuckoff

Narrated by: David Birney

Length: 4 hours 57 minutes

Abridged: Yes

You’ve heard of the scheme. Now comes the man behind it. In Mitchell Zuckoff's exhilarating book, the first nonfiction account of Charles Ponzi, we meet the charismatic rogue who launched the most famous and extraordinary scam in the annals of American finance.

It was a time when anything seemed possible–instant wealth, glittering fame, fabulous... Read more

Kiss Me Like A Stranger

By: Gene Wilder

Narrated by: Gene Wilder

Length: 6 hours 36 minutes

Abridged: No

Told in his own words, a very personal story from the star of many beloved and classic comedies, including Young Frankenstein, The Producers, and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Gene Wilder is one of the great comic actors who defined the 1970s and 1980s in movies. From his work with Woody Allen, to the rich group of movies he made with Mel... Read more

Jefferson's Secrets

By: Andrew Burstein

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 14 hours 11 minutes

Abridged: No

In this moving and intimate look at the final days of our most enigmatic president, Andrew Burstein sheds new light on what Thomas Jefferson actually thought about sexuality, race, gender, and politics.



Thomas Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, leaving behind a series of mysteries that captured the imaginations of historical investigators-an... Read more

A Spy at the Heart of the Third Reich

By: Lucas Delattre

Narrated by: Michael Prichard

Length: 9 hours 38 minutes

Abridged: No

A work of remarkable scholarship that moves with the swift pace of a John le Carre thriller, A Spy at the Heart of the Third Reich is a chilling addition to the literature of espionage. In 1943, a young official named Fritz Kolbe from the German foreign ministry arranged to meet with Allen Dulles, then an OSS officer in Switzerland and later the... Read more

Lightning Out of Lebanon - Abridged

By: Tom Diaz & Barbara Newman

Narrated by: Tony Call

Length: 2 hours 16 minutes

Abridged: Yes

Before September 11, 2001, one terrorist group had killed more Americans than any other: Hezbollah, the “Party of God.” Today it remains potentially more dangerous than even al Qaeda. Yet little has been known about its inner workings, past successes, and future plans–until now.

Written by an accomplished journalist and a law-enforcement expert,... Read more

Electric Universe

By: David Bodanis

Narrated by: Del Roy

Length: 6 hours 38 minutes

Abridged: No

The bestselling author of E=mc2 weaves tales of romance, divine inspiration, and fraud through an account of the invisible force that permeates our universe—electricity—and introduces us to the virtuoso scientists who plumbed its secrets.

For centuries, electricity was seen as little more than a curious property of certain substances that... Read more

Electric Universe - Abridged

By: David Bodanis

Narrated by: Adam Levy

Length: 4 hours 29 minutes

Abridged: Yes

The bestselling author of E=mc2 weaves tales of romance, divine inspiration, and fraud through an account of the invisible force that permeates our universe—electricity—and introduces us to the virtuoso scientists who plumbed its secrets.

For centuries, electricity was seen as little more than a curious property of certain substances that... Read more

102 Minutes - Abridged

By: Jim Dwyer & Kevin Flynn

Narrated by: Ron McClarty

Length: 5 hours 57 minutes

Abridged: Yes

The dramatic and moving account of the struggle for life inside the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, when every minute counted.At 8:46 AM on September 11, 2001, 14,000 people were inside the twin towers -- reading e-mails, making trades, eating croissants at Windows on the World. Over the next 102 minutes, each would become... Read more

Les plus belles Histoires de Haim - Vol 7

By: Yossef Brami & Haim Nisenbaum

Narrated by: Yossef Brami

Length: 1 hour 19 minutes

Abridged: No

Vivez comme si vous y étiez de merveilleuses histoires juives jouées pour vous par des comédiens professionnels.1 - Le défi de Rashi2 - Des miettes de sagesse3 - Le cadeau Read more

Plato's Apology

By: Plato

Narrated by: Albert A. Anderson

Length: 1 hour

Abridged: No

Socrates is on trial for his life. He is charged with impiety and corrupting young people. He presents his own defense, explaining why he has devoted his life to challenging the most powerful and important people in the Greek world. The reason is that rich and famous politicians, priests, poets, and a host of others pretend to know what is good,... Read more

Plato's Phaedo

By: Plato

Narrated by: Albert A. Anderson

Length: 2 hours 38 minutes

Abridged: No

Socrates is in prison, sentenced to die when the sun sets. In this final conversation, he asks what will become of him once he drinks the poison prescribed for his execution. Socrates and his friends examine several arguments designed to prove that the soul is immortal. This quest leads him to the broader topic of the nature of mind and its... Read more

Plato's Crito

By: Plato

Narrated by: Albert A. Anderson

Length: 29 minutes

Abridged: No

After Socrates is sentenced to death by the Athenian court, his friend Crito comes to the prison to help him escape and go to another country. Socrates responds by saying that he would accept Crito’s offer only if he can be convinced that it is right and just to do so. This dialogue is not only about Socrates’ particular choice but also about... Read more

Plato's Euthyphro

By: Plato

Narrated by: Albert A. Anderson

Length: 33 minutes

Abridged: No

In Euthyphro, Socrates is on his way to the court where he must defend himself against serious charges brought by religious and political authorities. On the way, he meets Euthyphro, an expert on religious matters, who has come to prosecute his own father. Socrates questions Euthyphro’s claim that religion serves as the basis for ethics. Read more

Race to the Pole

By: Ranulph Fiennes

Narrated by: David Povall

Length: 16 hours 20 minutes

Abridged: No

During the Golden Era of Exploration, Captain Robert Scott and his competitor Roald Amundsen conquered the unconquerable: Antarctica. Their perilous race to the South Pole claimed Scott's life and became the stuff of legend as well as endless scrutiny. In this compelling biography of Captain Scott and his fatal journey, renowned modern-day... Read more

A History Of Britain

By: Simon Schama

Narrated by: Timothy West

Length: 10 hours 52 minutes

Abridged: No

Timothy West reads the second volume of Simon Schama’s compelling chronicle of the British Isles. The British wars began on the morning of 23 July 1637, heralding two hundred years of battles waged within and away from our isles. Most would be driven by religious or political conviction, as Republicans and Royalists, Catholics and Protestants,... Read more

A History Of Britain

By: Simon Schama

Narrated by: Timothy West

Length: 10 hours 55 minutes

Abridged: No

Award-winning historian Simon Schama concludes his monumental three-volume history of Britain. Here he illuminates the period from 1776 to 2000 through a variety of historical themes, including Victorian advances in technology and industry, women’s increasing role in society, and the burgeoning British Empire which promised civilisation and... Read more

Franklin Delano Roosevelt - Abridged

By: Roy Jenkins

Narrated by: Richard Rohan

Length: 2 hours 56 minutes

Abridged: Yes

A masterly, posthumous work by the New York Times bestselling author of Churchill and Gladstone

A protean figure and a man of massive achievement, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the only man to be elected to the presidency more than twice. In a ranking of chief executives, no more than three of his predecessors could truly be placed in contention... Read more

Collapse - Abridged

By: Jared Diamond

Narrated by: Christopher Murney

Length: 9 hours 31 minutes

Abridged: Yes

In Jared Diamond’s follow-up to the Pulitzer Prize–winning Guns, Germs and Steel, the author explores how climate change, the population explosion, and political discord create the conditions for the collapse of civilization.

Environmental damage, climate change, globalization, rapid population growth, and unwise political choices were all... Read more