Biography & Memoir Audiobooks

Augustus: First Emperor of Rome Audiobook

""Superb....Augustus is a first-rate popular biography by a skilled and knowing hand." (Washington Post) Caesar Augustus created the Roman Empire and forever associated the name Caesar with power. Heir to Julius Caesar, he thrust himself into the middle of Roman politics at its most violent period, facing off against Brutus, and eventually Antony and Cleopatra. He was a military dictator who schemed and killed his way to power and then brought the Romans peace and prosperity after all the chaos, laying the foundations of the famous Pax Romana. In this definitive and critically acclaimed biography, eminent historian Adrian Goldsworthy illuminates the political and private lives of Rome's first emperor in more depth than ever before. Weaving together tales of military victories, political marriages, and senatorial power struggles, Goldsworthy portrays Augustus as he really was-at once noble and manipulative, giving and tyrannical, clever and cruel. Meticulously researched and approachably written, Augustus is the most detailed extant biography of Caesar Augustus, a man whose legacy continues on today. "

Adrian Goldsworthy (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Game Changer: How Harry Reid Remade the Rules and Showed Democrats How to Fight

"Political journalist Jon Ralston gives us the first full biography of Harry Reid, the five-time senator whose game-changing leadership carved the path to the Affordable Care Act, the Dodd-Frank Act, and other groundbreaking legislation that changed the course of history. Born in Searchlight, Nevada, Harry Reid rose from a hardscrabble childhood to become one of the more powerful Capitol Hill leaders in US history as the Democratic Senate Majority Leader, and the most consequential elected figure in Nevada. He was, in his own words, willing to do what no one else would do in his Machiavellian pursuit of what he thought was best for his country and his party. In The Game Changer, veteran Nevada journalist Jon Ralston gives us a compelling portrait of a politician who inspired loyalty and derision, admiration and disdain, a testament to his relentless drive. Reid's character was partly forged through his dynamic and sweeping career. From 1977 to 1981, he was made chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission, where he was charged with exterminating mob influence. In 1982, he won a seat in Congress and a US Senate seat in 1986. In the Senate, Reid changed the course of history several times, including persuading a Republican senator to switch parties and thus partisan control; by partnering with Speaker Nancy Pelosi to pass Obamacare; and by changing the Senate filibuster rules to save President Obama's lower court nominees, unknowingly opening the door for Republicans to later mimic his maneuver to cement three Supreme Court justices. Reid also became a formidable force at home, where he built a Nevada political machine that turned a red state blue and left a legacy on infrastructure and the environment—including squelching a planned nuclear waste dump—that is unmatched. The duality of Harry Reid is reflected in the polarizing emotions he elicited and still does. His legacy of accomplishments, though, cannot be denied, nor can his role in the enduring dysfunction of what was once called the world's greatest deliberative body."

Jon Ralston (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Black Dahlia: Murder, Monsters, and Madness in Midcentury America

"Illuminating and captivating, New York Times bestselling author of Tinseltown and Bogart offers the first definitive account of the Black Dahlia murder—the most famous unsolved true crime case in American history—which humanizes the victim and situates the notorious case within an anxious, postwar country grappling with new ideas, demographics, and technologies. The brutal murder of Elizabeth Short—better known as the Black Dahlia—in 1947 has been in the public consciousness for nearly eighty years, yet no serious study of the crime has ever been published. Short has been mischaracterized as a wayward sex worker or vagabond, and—like the seductive femme fatales of film noir—responsible for and perhaps deserving of her fate. William J. Mann, however, is interested in the truth. His extensive research reveals her as a young woman with curiosity and drive, who leveraged what little agency postwar society gave her to explore the world, defying draconian postwar gender expectations to settle down, marry, and have children. It's time to reexamine the woman who became known as the Black Dahlia. Using a 21st-century lens, Mann connects Short's story to the anxious era after World War II, when the nation was grappling with new ideas, new demographics, new technologies, and old fears dressed up as new ones. Only by situating the Black Dahlia case within this changing world can we understand the tragedy of this young woman, whose life and death offer surprising mirrors on today. Mann has strong opinions on who might've killed her, and even stronger ones on who did not. He spent five years sifting through the evidence and has found unknown connections by cross-referencing police reports, District Attorney investigations, FBI files, court documents, military records, and more, using the deep, intense research skills that have become his trademark. He also spoke with the families of the original detectives, of Short's friends, and even of suspects, and relied on advice from experienced physicians and homicide detectives. Mann deftly sifts through the sensationalized journalism, preconceived notions, myths, and misunderstandings surrounding the case to uncover the truth about Elizabeth Short like no book before. The Black Dahlia promises to be the definitive study about the most famous unsolved case in American history."

William J Mann (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

First Person Plural: My Life as a Multiple

"A New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestseller, First Person Plural chronicles Cameron West’s desperate journey to understand his fragmented mind and ultimately achieve the triumph of a regular life. “What the hell is happening to me? I feel possessed. I’m talking gibberish in the mirror and somebody else’s voice is coming out of my mouth.” Cameron West was in his thirties, a successful businessman, happily married and the father of a young son when he spoke these words. The “voice” he heard belonged to Davy, the first of twenty-four distinct alter personalities to emerge over a period of several months as West began to recall memories of horrific abuse he’d repressed since childhood. Along with Davy, there was eight-year-old Clay, tense and stuttering; twelve-year-old Dusty, gentle and kind, but disappointed to find herself in a man’s body; Bart, lighthearted with a sense of humor; Lief, focused and driven, who got things done, but often overwhelmed West with his intensity; and nineteen other personalities, all with distinct characteristics, mannerisms, and memories, created by West to protect his psyche from the trauma of repeated sexual abuse at the hands of family members. In addition to a spellbinding story, West provides rare and unprecedented insight into the fascinating condition known as dissociative identity disorder, the working of the mind of a multiple, and his alters’ coexistence with one another and with the world “outside.” Heart-wrenching, humorous, and ultimately hopeful, First Person Plural is a story that will make you stand in awe of the power of the mind to protect itself and cheer for West as he struggles to gain control of his life."

Cameron West, Phd (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

If Only Love: A memoir of second chances

"An astonishing memoir of love's enduring power, resilience and transformation, If Only Love is a celebration of the timeless connection between two souls-a real-life love story for the ages. In 1973, a seventeen-year-old Canadian girl meets an American boy on her first day of school in Japan and falls in love, not realizing that he is also a goner for her. When they finally connect, they only have two months together before school's out and she has to head home. Bad timing and swirling emotion botch their attempt to stay together and they fall out of touch. Long after she loses him, she still thinks of him, and even sets out on a journey to find him, one that fails in the most traumatic of ways. Thirty years later-after her award-winning documentary career has taken her to the most dangerous of places pursuing the toughest of stories-Daniel Peterson's name pops up in an email in Shelley Saywell's inbox, delivering them both a second chance at love. Soon they are edging towards each other in a soul-baring exchange of emails that slowly confirms that their teenage love was real. For fifteen years, they are bonded in life and in love, only to have their marriage cut short when Daniel is diagnosed with terminal cancer. By braiding together the strands of time-threads of first love enhancing threads of grief, a magic reunion undone by final separation-Saywell reveals the power of memory and the healing magic of love. In his last moments, she asks Daniel, 'Can we do this again?' and he replies, 'We'll do it again, only better.' Hard to imagine any two people doing love better, or any writer creating a more touching, revelatory story and testament to the heart."

Shelley Saywell (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

Love Goes Viral

"An aspiring pop star crafts a fake relationship with a small-town boy to rehab her image, until her ex and her real feelings get in the way in this sweeping romance perfect for fans of Lynn Painter. Love Thompson went viral. Now she has it all—fifty million followers, brand deals, a Hollywood address, and the fast track to the music career she's always dreamed of—until…she doesn't. After Love takes the blame for her influencer boyfriend's mistake, the fallout goes more viral than the video that rocketed her to fame. By the next morning, she's already lost sponsorships, ten million followers, and her debut single. Love needs to rehab her image, and that means dating someone a little more homegrown. Enter Austin Grey. Austin is about as homegrown as it gets. His only followers are the regulars at his family's struggling diner that he's doing his best to save. But everything changes when he gets a DM from a star he never expected to cross paths with again. When Love walks back into Austin's life, she thinks this is a purely online scheme with an expiration date. But as genuine feelings start to develop that keep them coming back to each other again and again, will either of them be willing to take a chance on something real?"

Alexander Berman, Camille Stochitch, Estelle Laure (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

Devouring Time: Jim Harrison, a Writer’s Life

"Devouring Time is the definitive biography of Jim Harrison—one of America’s most beloved writers—and a penetrating deep dive into the life of the talent behind Legends of the Fall, Dalva, and True North. Jim Harrison (1937–2016) was widely considered one of the finest voices of his generation. His twenty-one books of fiction and fourteen books of poetry influenced a generation of writers. Harrison helped to shape the course of contemporary American literature, revitalizing in particular the novella form, of which he was a recognized master. Harrison’s literary achievements were matched only by the literary persona that he cultivated during a fecund time in American letters and in the company of a remarkable cohort of friends, writers, actors, and artists, including Thomas McGuane, Peter Matthiessen, Jimmy Buffett, and Jack Nicholson. His articles for such magazines as Sports Illustrated, Playboy, Esquire, and Outside in the 1970s won him a loyal readership who reveled in his high spirits and prodigious appetites. For all his notoriety as a writer of prose, however, poetry remained his first and longest-abiding love. He cherished his geographic remoteness from what he called the “dream coasts” of New York City and Los Angeles, preferring to hunt, fish, and drink in the backwoods bars of Michigan, Arizona, and Montana. Based on more than one hundred original interviews and drawing upon Harrison’s collected papers, Devouring Time is the first and only literary biography of this beloved author, whose playful, irreverent, and spiritual work continues to find and delight new readers."

Todd Goddard (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

On Morrison

"Brought to you by Penguin. The essential companion to Toni Morrison's work, written by Namwali Serpell, ‘one of the most innovative and intelligent writers today’ (Financial Times) A giant in American letters, and one of our most beloved writers, Nobel laureate Toni Morrison has inspired generations. But her artistic genius is often overshadowed by her monumental public persona, perhaps because, as Serpell puts it, ‘she is our only truly canonical black, female writer—and her work is complex.’ In On Morrison, Serpell brings her unique experience as both an award-winning writer and a professor of literature at Harvard University, to illuminate Morrison’s masterful experiments with literary form. This is Morrison as you’ve never encountered her before, a journey through her oeuvre—her fiction, poetry, dramatic works, and criticism—with contextual guidance, archival discoveries, and original close readings. At once accessible and uncompromisingly rigorous, On Morrison is a primer not only on how to read one of the most significant Black American authors of all time, but also on how to read great works of literature. Stylish, edifying, and electrifying in its intelligence, this dialogue on the page between two artist-readers is literary criticism at its very best. 'Stunning reconsiderations of Morrison… incisive, tender, and also honest and unsparing’ HANIF ABDURRAQIB, author of A Little Devil in America © Namwali Serpell 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026"

Namwali Serpell (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

Homeschooled: A Memoir

"A heartbreaking and empowering debut memoir about a mother's all-consuming love, a son's perilous quest to discover the world beyond the front door and the unregulated homeschool system that impacts millions like him Stefan Merrill Block was nine when his mother pulled him from school, certain that his teachers were "stifling his creativity." With no background in education and no formal training, she began to instruct Stefan in the family's living room. Beyond his formal lessons in math, however, Stefan was largely left to his own devices and his mother's erratic whims. She forced him to bleach his hair and to crawl like a baby in a strange and regressive attempt to recapture his early years. Long before homeschooling would become a massive nationwide movement, at a time when it had just become legal in his home state of Texas, Stefan vanished into that unseen space and into his mother's increasingly eccentric theories and projects. But when, after five years away from the outside world, Stefan reentered the public school system in Plano as a freshman, he was in for a jarring awakening. At once a novelistic portrait of mother and son, and an illuminating window into an overlooked corner of the American education system, Homeschooled is a moving, funny and ultimately inspiring story of a son's battle for a life of his own choosing, and the wages of a mother's all-consuming love."

Stefan Merrill Block (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Soul Instinct

"From Beatrice Dixon, founder of The Honey Pot Company, comes an inspiring memoir about overcoming adversity—personally and professionally—by trusting her intuition and following what she calls her "soul instinct" to build the life of her dreams. Beatrice Dixon, cofounder and CEO of The Honey Pot Company, shares the powerful story of how trusting her dreams—and her inner voice—led her to build a groundbreaking wellness brand. The Honey Pot Company was born from a literal dream, in which Dixon's late grandmother shared a recipe for an herbal remedy. When Dixon woke up, went to her kitchen, and formulated what would become the brand's first product. But Dixon's story didn't start—or stop—there. From being born a premature baby without a nose or forehead to navigating a scrappy adolescence, and pitching a vaginal wellness brand to rooms full of male investors, her journey has been anything but conventional. Through it all, she relied on her "soul instinct" to guide her. Part memoir, part self-help, The Soul Instinct is a raw, motivating look at the power of inner wisdom from one of the most influential voices in wellness today—and one of the few Black women to raise significant venture and private equity capital. This book will inspire readers to tap into their own intuition and own their story."

Beatrice Dixon (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

Call Me Lanny

"Lanny McDonald, one of the most popular NHL players of all time, treats us to a heart-and-soul journey through a career filled with dramatic ups and downs, great characters and jaw-dropping behind-the-scenes stories. Lanny played with three remarkable teams: the Toronto Maple Leafs of the ’70s, the Colorado Rockies under coach Don Cherry, and the Calgary Flames, where he was locked in a ferocious “Battle of Alberta” against Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers. McDonald opens up with inspiring and often hilarious stories he’s never told before. Along the way, we learn surprising details about players, coaches and executives, including Darryl Sittler, Börje Salming, Dave Keon, Red Kelly, Eddie Shack, Tiger Williams, Harold Ballard, Al MacInnis, Joe Nieuwendyk and Joe Mullen. Written with “Canada’s Ice Queen,” Kirstie McLellan Day, Call Me Lanny is sure to be the hockey memoir of the year."

Kirstie Mclellan Day, Lanny Mcdonald (Author), Mike Ortego (Narrator)

Audiobook

Racer: The Autobiography

"Fernando Alonso is one of the best drivers to ever drive in Formula One; a double World Championship winner, he is admired and loved by millions. Here he tells his incredible journey to motorsport superstardom for the first time. Fernando Alonso: Two-time Formula 1 world champion. Three-time Formula 1 runner-up. World Endurance Champion. Winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona. Participant in the Dakar Rally, the most prestigious of its kind in the world. The youngest racer to achieve pole position and a Grand Prix win. A fighter whose life is a tale of constant overcoming, a succession of challenges that demanded a steady hand behind the wheel. But what is the man like behind this consummate driver, this absolute master of speed, champion of endurance trials and rallies? Who is the real Fernando Alonso? Written amid asphalt, dunes, obstacles, and ever-higher goals, Fernando’s first and only autobiography, Racer, is a journey through reflections on his life, his world, his dreams, and everything that really matters to him in ways he never has before. At its heart this is a story about a young boy from Spain who lit up the go-kart circuits precociously and worked hard all his life to become a champion like none other. A career that spans racing against Schumacher to Hamilton, a life on the track like no other, this is the ultimate F1 autobiography by the ultimate F1 racer."

Fernando Alonso (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook