History audiobooks

The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic

By: Manisha Sinha

Narrated by: Deepa Samuel

Length: 21 hours 14 minutes

Abridged: No

A groundbreaking, expansive new account of Reconstruction that fundamentally alters our view of this formative period in American history.



In The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic, acclaimed historian Manisha Sinha expands our view beyond the accepted temporal and spatial bounds of Reconstruction, which is customarily said to have... Read more

The Story of the World, Vol. 1 Audiobook

By: Susan Wise Bauer

Narrated by: Jim Weiss

Length: 8 hours 4 minutes

Abridged: No

History will never be the same again! This spirited reading of the first in Susan Wise Bauer's Story of the World history series brings to life the stories and records of the peoples of ancient times. Now more than ever, other countries and customs affect our everyday lives-and our children need to learn about the people who live all around the... Read more

Amelia Earhart

By: Andrew Prentice

Narrated by: Elizabeth Cottle

Length: 2 hours 39 minutes

Abridged: No

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

Marie Antoinette

By: Antonia Fraser

Narrated by: Donada Peters

Length: 20 hours 29 minutes

Abridged: No

The national bestseller from the acclaimed author of The Wives of Henry VIII.  France’s beleaguered queen, Marie Antoinette, wrongly accused of uttering the infamous “Let them eat cake,” was the subject of ridicule and curiosity even before her death; she has since been the object of debate and speculation and the fascination so often accorded... Read more

Black Earth

By: Timothy Snyder

Narrated by: Mark Bramhall

Length: 16 hours 27 minutes

Abridged: No

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “[Timothy] Snyder identifies the conditions that allowed the Holocaust—conditions our society today shares. . . . He certainly couldn’t be more right about our world.”—The New Republic

A “gripping [and] disturbingly vivid” (The Wall Street Journal) portrait of the defining tragedy of our time, from the #1 New York... Read more

The Nineties

By: Chuck Klosterman

Narrated by: Chuck Klosterman & Dion Graham

Length: 12 hours 38 minutes

Abridged: No

An instant New York Times bestseller!

“Informative, endlessly entertaining.”—BuzzFeed

“Generation X’s definitive chronicler of culture.”—GQ

From the author of But What If We’re Wrong comes an insightful, funny reckoning with a pivotal decade

It was long ago, but not as long as it seems: The Berlin Wall fell and the Twin Towers collapsed. In between,... Read more

Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart

By: Russ Ramsey

Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith

Length: 6 hours 12 minutes

Abridged: No

Beyond a mere introduction to great art, Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart is about loving to learn what art has to teach us about the wonder and struggle of being alive.Did you know that: Vincent van Gogh's attempt to start an artist's colony with Paul Gauguin lasted only nine weeks, ending in his infamous "ear episode"? Pablo Picasso was a prime... Read more

We Are What We Eat

By: Alice Waters

Narrated by: Alice Waters

Length: 5 hours 57 minutes

Abridged: No

From chef and food activist Alice Waters, an impassioned plea for a radical reconsideration of the way each and every one of us cooks and eats

In We Are What We Eat, Alice Waters urges us to take up the mantle of slow food culture, the philosophy at the core of her life’s work. When Waters first opened Chez Panisse in 1971, she did so with the... Read more

Weimar Germany

By: Eric D. Weitz

Narrated by: Robert Slade

Length: 18 hours 42 minutes

Abridged: No

This audiobook narrated by Robert Slade paints a riveting portrait of the Weimar era A New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice A Financial Times Best Book of the Year Weimar Germany brings to life an era of unmatched creativity in the twentieth century—one whose influence and inspiration still resonate today. Eric Weitz has written the... Read more

Seven Social Movements That Changed America

By: Linda Gordon

Narrated by: Hillary Huber

Length: 17 hours 35 minutes

Abridged: No

A brilliantly conceived and provocative work from an award-winning historian that examines how seven twentieth-century social movements transformed America.



How do social movements arise, wield power, and decline? Renowned scholar Linda Gordon investigates these questions in a groundbreaking work, narrating the stories of many of America's most... Read more

Fearless Speech

By: Mary Anne Franks

Narrated by: Soneela Nankani & Mary Anne Franks

Length: 8 hours 28 minutes

Abridged: No

A powerful debunking of First Amendment orthodoxy that critiques "reckless speech," which endangers vulnerable groups, and elevates "fearless speech," which seeks to advance equality and democracy.

Freedom of speech has never been more important—or more controversial. From debates about what's permissible on social media, to the politics of... Read more

The Black Utopians

By: Aaron Robertson

Narrated by: Dion Graham

Length: 10 hours 11 minutes

Abridged: No

This program is read by by four-time Audie Award winner, Odyssey Award winner, and Los Angeles Times Book Prize Award–winning audiobook narrator, Dion Graham.

One of Literary Hub's most anticipated books of 2024

"Narrator Dion Graham's smooth baritone carries gravitas and emotion."—AudioFile Magazine (Earphones Award Winner)

A lyrical meditation on... Read more

George Washington's Secret Six

By: Brian Kilmeade & Don Yaeger

Narrated by: Brian Kilmeade

Length: 5 hours 54 minutes

Abridged: No

From the cohost of Fox & Friends, the true story of the anonymous spies who helped win the Revolutionary War
 
Among the pantheon of heroes of the American Revolution, six names are missing. First and foremost, Robert Townsend, an unassuming and respected businessman from Long Island, who spearheaded the spy ring that covertly brought down the... Read more

Caesar

By: Adrian Goldsworthy

Narrated by: Derek Perkins

Length: 24 hours 46 minutes

Abridged: No

Tracing the extraordinary trajectory of Julius Caesar's life, Adrian Goldsworthy covers not only the great Roman emperor’s accomplishments as charismatic orator, conquering general, and powerful dictator but also lesser-known chapters. Ultimately, Goldsworthy realizes the full complexity of Caesar's character and shows why his political and... Read more

Bogie & Bacall

By: William J. Mann

Narrated by: Todd McLaren

Length: 27 hours 33 minutes

Abridged: No

From the noted Hollywood biographer and author of The Contender comes this celebration of the great American love story—the romance between Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart—capturing its complexity, contradictions, and challenges as never before.In Bogie & Bacall, William Mann offers a deep and comprehensive look at Lauren Bacall, Humphrey... Read more

Lords of Finance

By: Liaquat Ahamed

Narrated by: Stephen Hoye

Length: 18 hours 33 minutes

Abridged: No

It is commonly believed that the Great Depression that began in 1929 resulted from a confluence of events beyond any one person's or government's control. In fact, as Liaquat Ahamed reveals, it was the decisions made by a small number of central bankers that were the primary cause of the economic meltdown, the effects of which set the stage for... Read more

Madame Restell

By: Jennifer Wright

Narrated by: Mara Wilson

Length: 14 hours 1 minute

Abridged: No

Discover the true story of a self-taught surgeon and trailblazing figure in medical history—Madame Restsell, a revolutionary surgeon who fought for women's rights and healthcare in Gilded Age New York.Madame Restell is a sharp, witty Gilded Age medical history which introduces us to an iconic, yet tragically overlooked, feminist heroine: a... Read more

What We Talk About When We Talk About Books

By: Leah Price

Narrated by: Elisabeth Rodgers

Length: 5 hours 35 minutes

Abridged: No

Reports of the death of reading are greatly exaggerated Do you worry that you've lost patience for anything longer than a tweet? If so, you're not alone. Digital-age pundits warn that as our appetite for books dwindles, so too do the virtues in which printed, bound objects once trained us: the willpower to focus on a sustained argument, the... Read more

Mobituaries

By: Mo Rocca

Narrated by: Mo Rocca

Length: 11 hours 45 minutes

Abridged: No

From beloved CBS Sunday Morning correspondent and humorist Mo Rocca, a rigorously researched, “funny and smart” (Jon Stewart) book that celebrates the dead people who have long fascinated him.

Mo Rocca has always loved obituaries—reading about the remarkable lives of global leaders, Hollywood heavyweights, and innovators who changed the world.... Read more

The Pioneers

By: David McCullough

Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd

Length: 10 hours 23 minutes

Abridged: No

The #1 New York Times bestseller by Pulitzer Prize–winning historian David McCullough rediscovers an important chapter in the American story that’s “as resonant today as ever” (The Wall Street Journal)—the settling of the Northwest Territory by courageous pioneers who overcame incredible hardships to build a community based on ideals that would... Read more

Hiding Mengele

By: Betina Anton

Narrated by: Taylor Harvey

Length: 9 hours 12 minutes

Abridged: No

Read the international sensation already translated into 9 languages! A Brazilian journalist’s investigation unearths the story of a network of people responsible for hiding The Angel of Death, the infamous Nazi doctor who fled to South America and escaped justice for over thirty years. Josef Mengele, known worldwide for unimaginably cruel human... Read more

She Came to Slay

By: Erica Armstrong Dunbar

Narrated by: Robin Miles & Erica Armstrong Dunbar

Length: 3 hours 52 minutes

Abridged: No

In the bestselling tradition of The Notorious RBG comes a lively, informative, and illustrated tribute to one of the most exceptional women in American history—Harriet Tubman—a heroine whose fearlessness and activism still resonate today.

Harriet Tubman is best known as one of the most famous conductors on the Underground Railroad. As a leading... Read more

Lisbon

By: Neill Lochery

Narrated by: Robin Sachs

Length: 8 hours 30 minutes

Abridged: No

Throughout the Second World War, Lisbon was at the very center of the world’s attention and was the only European city in which both the Allies and the Axis powers openly operated. Portugal was frantically trying to hold on to its self-proclaimed wartime neutrality but in reality was increasingly caught in the middle of the economic, and naval,... Read more

Flamboyants

By: George M. Johnson

Narrated by: George M. Johnson

Length: 2 hours 23 minutes

Abridged: No

This program is read by the author and features music from Josephine Baker, Gladys Bentley, Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Ethel Waters to enhance the listening experience.

From the New York Times–bestselling author of All Boys Aren’t Blue comes an empowering set of essays about Black and Queer icons from the Harlem Renaissance.

In Flamboyants,... Read more