Audiobooks by Tilar J. Mazzeo

Hermanas de la resistencia: Cómo una espía alemana, la esposa de un banquero y la hija de Mussoline

LOS DIARIOS DE UN FASCISTA Y ARISTÓCRATA ITALIANO Y LA ODISEA DE TRES MUJERES PARA SALVARLOS DE LA GESTAPO. E n 1944 se hicieron públicos los diarios secretos de Galeazzo Ciano, ministro de Relaciones Exteriores de Italia, en los que registraba los crímenes y planes nazis de los que se enteraba en sus reuniones con ellos. Pero poco se sabe que tres mujeres arriesgaron sus vidas para que estos llegaran a los Aliados, quienes luego los usarían como evidencia contra los nazis en los juicios de Núremberg. Cuando Galeazzo fue apresado, Edda Mussolini les dio a Hitler y a su padre un ultimátum: liberar a su esposo o correr el riesgo de que filtrara los diarios a la prensa. Hitler y Mussolini los buscaron en vano durante meses. Posteriormente, Hilde Beetz, espía alemana cuya misión era seducir a Galeazzo para encontrar sus escritos, fue a su vez seducida por aquél y unió fuerzas con Edda. Una terceramujer se sumó a este increíble entramado —Frances de Chollet, espía casi accidental y esposa de un banquero estadounidense— cuando Edda huyó a Suiza con la ayuda de Hilde, después de que Galeazzo fuera ejecutado. Frances fue el último eslabón para hacer llegar los diarios a los estadounidenses y cumplir así el deseo de Galeazzo. A partir de una minuciosa investigación, Tilar J. Mazzeo nos muestra este momento histórico poco conocido, para hacernos ver que sin la participación de Edda, Hilde y Frances, uno de los documentos más importantes de la Segunda Guerra Mundial y que fue fundamental en los juicios de Núremberg sería, quizá, desconocido.

Tilar J. Mazzeo (Author), Karla Hernández (Narrator)

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Los niños de Irena

Una mujer valiente y aguerrida que arriesgó su vida para salvar a niños inocentes del Holocausto. Una historia heroica de supervivencia, resistencia y redención. Tilar J. Mazzeo, autora bestseller de The New York Times, nos presenta una historia inspiradora sobre la extraordinaria y apasionante vida de Irena Sendler, una conmovedora versión femenina de Oskar Schindler. La historia de una mujer que tomó grandes riesgos para salvar a 2 500 niños de la muerte y la deportación en Polonia, durante la ocupación de los nazis en la Segunda Guerra Mundial. En 1942, a una joven trabajadora social, Irena Sendler, se le concedió acceso al gueto de Varsovia como especialista en salud pública. Una vez dentro, fue de puerta en puerta para rescatar a los niños de las familias judías atrapadas en el gueto. Empezó a sacarlos a escondidas del distrito amurallado, convenciendo a sus amigos y vecinos de que los ocultaran en sus casas. Impulsada a tomar medidas extremas y con la ayuda de una red de comerciantes locales, residentes del gueto y su amante, perteneciente a la resistencia judía, ella logró salvar a miles de niños de los nazis. Irena hizo peligrosos viajes a través de las alcantarillas de la ciudad, ocultó a los niños en ataúdes, los colocó bajo abrigos en los puestos de control y los condujo a través de pasadizos secretos en edificios abandonados. Y luego mantuvo listas secretas enterradas en botellas debajo de un viejo manzano en el jardín de la casa de una amiga. En las listas estaban los nombres y las verdaderas identidades de los niños judíos, escritos cuidadosamente con la esperanza de que sus familiares pudieran encontrarlos después de la guerra. Aunque no pudo prever que más del noventa por ciento de estas familias moriría. La vida de Irena Sendler, sin duda, es mucho más que una muestra de apego a la vida y cariño a los niños: es un gesto deslumbrante de amor a la humanidad. La crítica ha opinado: 'Los niños de Irena teje en una fascinante historia el relato de una ciudad devastada, la depravación nazi y el extraordinario valor físico y moral de aquellos que decidieron responder a la inhumanidad con compasión. Éste es un libro que se queda contigo mucho después de pasar la última página.' -Chaya Deitsch, autora de Here and There: Leaving Hasidism, Keeping My Family- 'Un relato fundamental, aunque aterrador, de la historia del Holocausto que hasta ahora era poco conocido: el de cómo miles de niños fueron rescatados del gueto de Varsovia por una mujer polaca con mucho valor y una extraordinaria calidad moral.' -Joseph Kanon, autor de Leaving Berlin- 'Mazzeo relata un rayo de esperanza en tiempos de desesperación en esta biografía conmovedora de una mujer que se negó a darse por vencida.' -Kirkus Reviews- 'Si bien ésta no es la primera biografía de Irena Sendler, su concisión y legibilidad presentarán a muchos lectores a una mujer realmente valiente y notable, quien inició y encabezó 'un gran esfuerzo colectivo de decencia.' -Publishers Weekly-

Tilar J. Mazzeo (Author), Karla Hernández (Narrator)

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Eliza Hamilton: The Extraordinary Life and Times of the Wife of Alexander Hamilton

From the New York Times bestselling author of Irena's Children comes a comprehensive and riveting biography of the extraordinary life and times of Eliza Hamilton, the wife of founding father Alexander Hamilton, and a powerful, unsung hero in America's early days. Fans fell in love with Eliza Hamilton—Alexander Hamilton's devoted wife—in Lin-Manuel Miranda's phenomenal musical Hamilton. But they don't know her full story. A strong pioneer woman, a loving sister, a caring mother, and in her later years, a generous philanthropist, Eliza had many sides—and this fascinating biography brings her multi-faceted personality to vivid life. Eliza Hamilton: The Extraordinary Life and Times of The Wife of Alexander Hamilton follows Eliza through her early years in New York, into the ups and downs of her married life with Alexander, beyond the aftermath of his tragic murder, and finally to her involvement in many projects that cemented her legacy as one of the unsung heroes of our nation's early days. Featuring Mazzeo's "impeccable research and crafting" (Library Journal), and perfect for fans of the richly detailed historical books by Ron Chernow and Erik Larson, Eliza Hamilton is the captivating account of the woman behind the famous man.

Tilar J. Mazzeo (Author), January Lavoy (Narrator)

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Irena's Children: The Extraordinary Story of the Woman Who Saved 2,500 Children from the Warsaw Ghet

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Widow Clicquot comes an extraordinary and gripping true account of Irena Sendler—the “female Oskar Schindler”—who took staggering risks to save 2,500 children from death and deportation in Nazi-occupied Poland during World War II. In 1942, one young social worker, Irena Sendler, was granted access to the Warsaw ghetto as a public health specialist. While she was there, she began to understand the fate that awaited the Jewish families who were unable to leave. Soon she reached out to the trapped families, going from door to door and asking them to trust her with their young children. She started smuggling children out of the walled district, convincing her friends and neighbors to hide them. Driven to extreme measures and with the help of a network of local tradesmen, ghetto residents, and her star-crossed lover in the Jewish resistance, Irena ultimately smuggled thousands of children past the Nazis. She made dangerous trips through the city’s sewers, hid children in coffins, snuck them under overcoats at checkpoints, and slipped them through secret passages in abandoned buildings. But Irena did something even more astonishing at immense personal risk: she kept a secret list buried in bottles under an old apple tree in a friend’s back garden. On it were the names and true identities of these Jewish children, recorded so their families could find them after the war. She could not know that more than ninety percent of their families would perish. In Irena’s Children, Tilar Mazzeo shares the incredible story of this courageous and brave woman who risked her life to save innocent children from the Holocaust—a truly heroic tale of survival, resilience, and redemption.

Tilar J. Mazzeo (Author), Amanda Carlin (Narrator)

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The Hotel on Place Vendome: Life, Death, and Betrayal at the Hotel Ritz in Paris

Set against the backdrop of the Nazi occupation of World War II, The Hôtel on Place Vendôme is the captivating history of Paris's world-famous Hôtel Ritz-a breathtaking tale of glamour, opulence, and celebrity; dangerous liaisons, espionage, and resistance. When France fell to the Germans in June 1940, the legendary Hôtel Ritz on the Place Vendôme-an icon of Paris frequented by film stars and celebrity writers, American heiresses and risque flappers, playboys, and princes-was the only luxury hotel of its kind allowed in the occupied city by order of Adolf Hitler. Tilar J. Mazzeo traces the history of this cultural landmark from its opening in fin de siecle Paris. At its center, The Hotel on Place Vendôme is an extraordinary chronicle of life at the Ritz during wartime, when the Hôtel was simultaneously headquarters to the highest-ranking German officers, such as Reichsmarshal Hermann Göring, and home to exclusive patrons, including Coco Chanel. Mazzeo takes us into the grand palace's suites, bars, dining rooms, and wine cellars, revealing a hotbed of illicit affairs and deadly intrigue, as well as stunning acts of defiance and treachery. Rich in detail, The Hotel on Place Vendôme is a remarkable look at this extraordinary crucible where the future of post-war France-and all of post-war Europe-was transformed.

Tilar J. Mazzeo (Author), Elizabeth Wiley (Narrator)

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The Secret of Chanel No. 5: The Intimate History of the World's Most Famous Perfume

Every minute, someone buys an Art Deco-inspired, amber-hued bottle of Chanel No. 5'to the tune of more than half a million bottles a year. Considering that nearly ninety years have passed since No. 5's creation, this statistic alone makes a compelling case for the perfume's stature as the world's most famous. However, its cultural impact might be even more staggering than its business success: Andy Warhol's silk-screened version of bottle helped to make its image iconic; Mitch Ryder's "Devil in a Blue Dress" famously wore it; and, when Marilyn Monroe was asked what she wore to bed, she replied, with more than a hint of flirtation: "Why, Chanel No. 5 of course." Adding to the perfume's prestige, some of the most glamorous actresses of our age, including Catherine Deneuve, Nicole Kidman, and Audrey Tautou, have been its official face. We all know the story of Coco Chanel, but how much do we actually know about her signature perfume'a fragrance that has enjoyed remarkable success for nearly a century? The Secret of Chanel No. 5 is the story of Tilar J. Mazzeo's far-ranging and often quixotic search to discover the answer'and of the fascinating detours into the history of perfume that come from asking the question: What is the secret behind No. 5's creation, iconic status, and extraordinary success? Does the secret rest, as some experts believe, in the celebrated jasmine fields that line the back roads of the south of France, or in the delicate, proprietary roses that Chanel grows in Grasse? Does Aubazine'the Cistercian convent and childhood home of Coco (then known as Gabrielle Bonheur) 'hold the answer in its scrubbed cleanliness and austere architecture? Is it simply brilliant marketing, Madison Avenue style? Could it just be a simple matter of organic chemistry, the neurology of smell, and the inherent connections between scent and sex? Or does it all come back to a memorable moment during the Second World War when this one French perfume came to symbolize for a generation of soldiers and their girls back home all the luxury and romance that had been lost for so many and for so long? Blending strong personal narrative with thoughtful research, The Secret of Chanel No. 5 takes the reader on a journey of discovery into the legend of this iconic perfume and, along the way, untangles something about our own relationship to luxury and sensual pleasure. Taking alternately historical, personal, scientific, and commercial approaches to solve the riddle of Chanel No. 5's unprecedented popularity, this is an intimate and engaging account of what it means to explore the multi-faceted nature of any cultural icon, and of the narrative power of luxury itself.

Tilar J. Mazzeo (Author), Liz De Nesnera (Narrator)

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The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It

Tilar J. Mazzeo (Author), Susan Ericksen (Narrator)

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