Biography & Memoir Audiobooks

Driving Lessons: A Road Trip through American Travel Literature

"In Driving Lessons, Christopher B. Strain sets out on a quintessential American road trip, exploring not just the roads and byways of the country but the road trip's place in American culture. Strain dives into the well of American travel writing, illuminating fascinating aspects of the road trip, such as how race, class, and gender shape the experiences of road trippers. In the summer of 1998, amid a professional crisis of confidence, Strain settled on a plan to reconnect with both himself and the country he studies. He purchased a 1972 Volkswagen Westfalia van and set off on his own cross-country odyssey. In the weeks that followed, he ruminated on his own ongoing journey alongside great journeys from the past and how they reveal the heart of the traveler as well as the landscape of the nation. Visiting archives and landmarks across the United States, Strain's journey became a parallel to the stories he studied—an opportunity to see and experience the cities, national parks, and monuments that define United States history. Driving Lessons is a compelling blend of literary analysis and memoir, offering listeners an insightful and heartfelt reflection on the enduring power of the American road trip."

Christopher B. Strain (Author), Steve Quinn (Narrator)

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Queen Victoria's Favourite Granddaughter: Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, the Most Conseque

"In the fall of 1947, an eighty-four-year-old woman receives an extraordinary invitation. Within is the end of a long journey seeking vindication for a husband who gave his life to the service of the Royal Navy and received, in return, ingratitude. Thus begins the story of Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine. Victoria, the eldest daughter of Princess Alice and Prince Ludwig of Hesse, was born in April 1863. Queen Victoria helped her granddaughter shoulder the responsibilities of caring for the motherless family, writing letters of advice and guidance, a correspondence lasting some thirty years. In April 1884, Victoria married the dashing Prince Louis of Battenberg, an officer in the Royal Navy, who eventually became Britain's First Sea Lord. Their daughter, Alice, was the future mother of Prince Philip and their youngest child, another Louis, was Viceroy of India. On the eve of World War I, Prince Louis of Battenberg was forced to resign because of his German surname, which he later changed to Mountbatten. Through cataclysms, both familial and historical, traveling from prerevolutionary Russia to the British Mandate of Palestine, Victoria's life was as exciting as it was triumphant."

Ilana D Miller (Author), Jennifer M. Dixon (Narrator)

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Six Dimes and a Nickel: Life Lessons to Empower Change

"From a life-sentence to a global inspiration, Six Dimes and a Nickel introduces the principles and stories that allowed Damon West to rewrite his narrative and become one of the greatest underdog triumphs of all time. Damon West was a promising college athlete and Division 1 starting quarterback when a career-ending injury incited his struggle with drug abuse. Once he was introduced to methamphetamines, he became instantly hooked. The lives of many innocent people would forever be changed by the choices he made in order to feed his insatiable meth habit. By 2009, a Dallas jury had sentenced him to sixty-five years—a life sentence—for engaging in organized crime. Or, in prison slang, he got six dimes and a nickel. It was a RICO case, of which he was the ringleader. Inside the suffocating walls of a Texas maximum-security prison, fighting for his life and sanity, he found grit, courage, and determination to make a change. After a fateful discussion during his incarceration with a seasoned convict, Damon had a spiritual awakening. He learned that, like a coffee bean changing with the application of heat and pressure, he was capable of changing the environment around him. Armed with a program of recovery and a renewed sense of faith, Damon transformed so thoroughly that the parole board released him in 2015, placing him on parole until 2073. Since then, he’s become a highly sought-after speaker, bestselling author, husband, and stepfather, college professor, philanthropist, and an extremely successful entrepreneur. If you want to not only make a change in your life, but discover how to maintain that change and become the best version of yourself, then you’ve come to the right place. The principles and stories in this book are the blueprint for how Damon rewrote his story and, if applied, how you can rewrite yours."

Damon West (Author), Damon West (Narrator)

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A Tale of Two Fronts: A German Soldier's Journey through World War I

"Hans Schiller was a seventeen-year-old student in Bromberg, Prussia, when World War I broke out in August 1914. He enlisted in the German army and was assigned to an artillery unit on the Eastern Front. From 1915 to 1917, Schiller saw action in what is now Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. After the Bolshevik Revolution in October 1917 and Russia's withdrawal from the war, Schiller was transferred to the Western Front. He arrived in time for Germany's last great offensive in the west, where the attempt to break the Allied lines included what is believed to be the single greatest artillery bombardment in human history up to that point. After the German retreat and Armistice, Schiller reentered military service in the Freikorps, German mercenary groups fighting in former German territory in Eastern Europe, where the conflict dragged on even after the Treaty of Versailles. Schiller left military service in May 1920. Hans Schiller's Kriegserinnerungen (literally, 'memories of war') was written in 1928 and based on diaries, since lost, that Schiller kept during the war. A Tale of Two Fronts, an edition of the memoir with historical context and explanatory notes, provides a vivid first-person account of German army life during World War I. It is a valuable resource for anyone interested in the experiences of common soldiers in World War I."

Hans Schiller (Author), Paul Boehmer (Narrator)

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Jimmy: The Secret Life of James Dean

"Although he died at a heartbreakingly young age and appeared in only a handful of movies, James Dean revolutionized American manhood. As a celebrity and icon, he melded vulnerability with determination, sensitivity with strength, in a way that offered a bracing and—for some—threatening new vision of masculinity. His massive influence and the fascination he has always inspired are inseparable from his identity as a queer man whose complex sexuality shattered the norms of midcentury American society. (When asked whether he was a homosexual, he reportedly said, 'I'm certainly not going through life with one hand tied behind my back.') Today, even though it is widely accepted that Dean was gay or bisexual, the story of his life and personal character continue to be colored by the prejudices of an earlier era and the work of often unscrupulous biographers and journalists. Drawing on exhaustive new research (including more than four hundred previously secret pages of Dean's personal and business records), Jimmy: The Secret Life of James Dean is a revelatory reassessment of the man and his legacy. Free from sensationalism—but unafraid to confront the difficult facts of Dean's life—it deploys modern insights into sexual diversity to transform our understanding of James Dean's story, and the stories of boys and men like him."

Jason Colavito (Author), Daniel Henning (Narrator)

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A Life For A Life: Poor Choices and Unresolved Trauma Is Killing America

"A gripping true story exploring violence, mental health, and trauma, A Life for a Life follows Kevin Shird and Damion Neal, who meet as inmates in Federal Correctional Institute Allenwood. Kevin is serving time for drug trafficking, and he suffers from severe nightmares and sleep deprivation due to past traumas and copes through rigorous exercise instead of medication. He tries to guide Damion, a temperamental young man, hoping to keep him out of trouble in a dangerous environment and reunite him with his young daughter. In 2004, Kevin is transferred to another prison while Damion is released from Allenwood and returns to Baltimore. Two years later, Kevin also returns to Baltimore, where he uses writing as therapy to heal from the trauma of the past. Surprisingly, a mental health worker suggests he may have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Kevin hopes Damion has successfully reintegrated into society and returned to his family. However, one afternoon, he searches for Damion online and finds a newspaper article that reads, 'Delaware State Police have arrested Damion Neal, the man responsible for the deaths of two Dover residents over the weekend.' Court documents allege that Damion was suffering from a serious mental health ailment at the time of the murders. Kevin goes on a journey to understand why his former cellmate committed a heinous crime."

Kevin Shird (Author), David Sadzin (Narrator)

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The Road Less Worn: How To Be Yourself In A World That Wants You To Be Someone Else

"Staring at the 450 pieces of clothing littering her bedroom, Erin Flynn couldn’t help but wonder, “How did I end up here?” In her debut memoir The Road Less Worn, Flynn sorts through snapshots of her life—from her roots as an athlete in a small Midwest town to her career as an entrepreneur and author—discovering that much of what she held onto, both in her wardrobe and life, was never truly her own. As the founder of Cladwell, the leading daily outfit and smart closet app, Flynn knows wardrobes mirror how culture quietly shapes us. But when she created her own capsule wardrobe, she didn’t just declutter her closet—she began decluttering the stories she carried about success, identity, and who she was supposed to be. The Road Less Worn invites readers to do the same, letting go of what no longer fits to uncover what is truly theirs."

Erin Flynn (Author), Gina Rogers (Narrator)

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[German] - Der Koffer war zu klein - Der Fall Patrick Herbert Mahon

"Der Versuch, Mordopfer mithilfe großer Koffer und der Eisenbahn verschwinden zu lassen, scheiterte regelmäßig – nicht zuletzt wegen der unhandlichen Größe menschlicher Körper im Vergleich zum verfügbaren Stauraum. Die damit verbundenen technischen Schwierigkeiten – wie das Zerteilen und Spurenbeseitigen – überforderten die Täter häufig. Ein bekanntes Beispiel ist der Fall von Patrick Mahon, der 1924 seine Geliebte Emily Kaye ermordete, zerstückelte und Teile der Leiche in einem Koffer transportierte oder zu verbrennen versuchte."

Christian Lunzer, Peter Hiess (Author), Claus Vester (Narrator)

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[German] - Die tote Tante - Der Fall Wilhelm Meyer

"Im April 1906 wurde am Bahnhof von Frankfurt am Main ein Koffer entdeckt, aus dem starker Verwesungsgeruch drang. Die darin befindliche Leiche einer 76-jährigen Rentnerin war erwürgt worden. Der Hauptverdächtige Wilhelm Meyer behauptete, sie habe Selbstmord begangen, und er habe die Leiche nur versteckt, um nicht unter Mordverdacht zu geraten. Der Fall zeigt, wie der Versuch, eine Leiche im Koffer per Bahn zu entsorgen, nicht unentdeckt blieb und scheiterte."

Christian Lunzer, Henner Kotte (Author), Claus Vester (Narrator)

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[German] - Das Phantom im Nachtexpress - Der Fall Sid Ahmed Rezala

"Zur Jahrtausendwende 1999/2000 erschütterte eine Serie brutaler Morde an allein reisenden Frauen in französischen Zügen die Öffentlichkeit. Dem Täter gelang es, trotz intensiver polizeilicher Fahndung, lange unentdeckt zu bleiben. Drei Frauen werden ihm sicher als Opfer zugeordnet, ein vierter Mord bleibt unklar."

Christian Lunzer, Peter Hiess (Author), Claus Vester (Narrator)

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[German] - Verräterische Wäsche - Der Fall Franz und Marie Laudenbach

"In den frühen 1930er-Jahren versuchte das Wiener Ehepaar Franz und Marie Laudenbach, seine finanziellen Schwierigkeiten durch Heiratsbetrug mit tödlichem Ausgang zu lösen. Zur Beseitigung der Leichen nutzte Laudenbach sowohl die Eisenbahn als auch die Gepäckaufbewahrung, indem er einen Koffer mit Teilen des Opfers in einen Zug nach Amsterdam stellte und ein weiteres Paket am Nordbahnhof deponierte…"

Christian Lunzer, Peter Hiess (Author), Claus Vester (Narrator)

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[German] - Der Tod des Eisenbahndirektors - Der Fall Shimoyama Sadanori

Christian Lunzer, Peter Hiess (Author), Claus Vester (Narrator)

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