Asia Audiobooks | History

Americans in China: Encounters with the People's Republic

"In Americans in China, Terry Lautz provides a series of biographical portraits of Americans who have lived and worked in China from before the Communist era to the present. The pathbreaking experiences of these men and women provide unique insights and deeply human perspectives on issues that have shaped US engagement with the People's Republic: politics, diplomacy, education, business, art, law, journalism, and human rights. For each of these Americans, China was more than just another place: it was an idea, a cause, a revolution, a civilization. Some of them grew up in China while others were motivated by curiosity and adventure. Some believed Red China was an existential threat while others looked to the People's Republic as a socialist utopia. Still others—including a number of Chinese Americans—worked to improve US-China relations for personal or professional reasons. Looming over their narratives is the quandry of whether divergent Chinese and Western worldviews could find common ground. Would China move in the direction of Western-style liberal democracy? Or was the Communist Party destined to follow an authoritarian path? The figures in this book had distinctive answers to such questions. Their stories hold up a mirror to our two societies, helping to explain how we have arrived at the present moment."

Terry Lautz (Author), Paul Heitsch (Narrator)

Audiobook

War Heroes of Japan: The Great Battles of WW1 and WW2

"Two devastating wars changed the face of humanity forever. Discover the crucial role Japan played in these events and why some facts about their involvement are still hidden all these years later. Japan had a special military force and ideology that led it to become one of the strongest imperial powers of the world. Their efforts had taken them far and wide, but who were the people behind such victories, and what were their roles in the wars? In War Heroes of Japan: The Great Battles of WW1 and WW2, you will discover: - 20+ riveting biographies of Japanese war heroes that led the country down the warpaths -- meet the people behind the glorious victories, and terrible massacres - The truth about the attack on Pearl Harbor and what led a lot of experts to believe the Japanese were forced to start the raid - Controversial and sensitive war events no one talks about -- we’re breaking all the barriers to reveal the hidden historical truths - The historical battles of Japan from the era of modernization until the end of World War II -- discover an action-packed historical narrative of some of the most important (and ingenious) military battles - A guide on Japan’s geopolitics that explains its nationalism, expansion, and the relationship between the military and the government - What kind of political relationships Japan has with its neighbors, and how internal conflicts affect its position in the war - A breakdown of Japan’s military strategies to give you tremendous insight into the country’s military power And much more… The events of the two world wars are largely known, but there are still some “better left alone” topics. You deserve the truth about what happened over the span of 30 years when nations burned and millions of people were killed. Get ready to be mind blown by this first book in the series of Japanese War History."

Harper T. Roberts (Author), Steve King (Narrator)

Audiobook

Mahatma Gandhi: The Most Famous Political Activist of India

"Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was an Indian attorney, anti-colonial patriot, and political ethicist who used nonviolent resistance to lead the triumphant struggle for India's independence from British rule, motivating civil liberties and liberty movements around the globe. The epithet Mahtm (which means 'great-souled' or 'age-old' in Sanskrit) was at first appointed to him in South Africa in the year 1914 and is now used all across the world. Gandhi was born into a Hindu family in seaside Gujarat and studied law at the Inner Temple in London. In the year 1893, he came to South Africa to represent an Indian business owner in a case after 2 years in India, where he was not able to establish a rewarding law practice. He spent the next 21 years of his life in South Africa. Gandhi raised his family here and was the first to use nonviolent resistance in a civil liberties struggle. He went back to India in the year 1915, at the age of 45. He started setting in motion peasants, farmers, and city workers to fight oppression and high land taxes. Gandhi led statewide projects to reduce poverty, promote women's rights, build spiritual and ethnic amity, get rid of untouchability, and, above all, accomplish swaraj, or self-rule, after presuming management of the Indian National Congress in the year 1921. Gandhi has meant much for the peace, the independence, and the culture of India, as well as his acts of non-violent resistance that have influenced the world. Let’s take a look at what else he did."

Kelly Mass (Author), Chris Newman (Narrator)

Audiobook

Vedic Cosmos

"In his dancing position, Shiva is known as Nataraja, the King of dancers, and is one of the most beautiful forms of Lord Shiva. The upper right hand of Shiva, as Nataraja, holds the damaru drum. It shows nothing, but it represents universal development. Meanwhile, the lower right-hand holds a flame of destruction. There are many stories about Shiva's appearance. There is a third eye between Lord Shiva's eyebrows on his forehead as an example. It represents wisdom or inner vision. The other two eyes represent love and justice. Shiva views everything with the proportions of love, justice, and inner knowledge; thus, he is neither too harsh nor lenient. Shiva's three eyes also symbolize the sun, moon, and fire, how the universe is illuminated. Shiva's wife, Parvati, covered Shiva's eyes with her hands one day, and the entire world was enveloped in darkness. That is how Shiva got his third eye. Shiva ordered the third eye to manifest, producing light, heat, and fire."

Henry Romano (Author), Alastair Cameron (Narrator)

Audiobook

One Bright Moon

"Winner of the 2021 Michael Crouch Award, debut category of the National Biography Award: From famine to freedom, how a young boy fled Chairman Mao's China to a new life in Australia Andrew Kwong was only seven when he witnessed his first execution. The grim scene left him sleepless, anxious and doubtful about his commitment as a revolutionary in Mao's New China. Yet he knew if he devoted himself to the Party and its Chairman he would be saved. That's what his teacher told him. Months later, it was his own father on trial. This time the sentence was banishment to a re-education camp, not death. It left the family tainted, despised, and with few means of survival during the terrible years of persecution and famine known as the Great Leap Forward. Even after his father returned, things remained desperate. Escape seemed the only solution, and it would be twelve-year-old Andrew who undertook the perilous journey first. This is the poignant, resonant story of a young boy's awakening - to survival, education, fulfilment, and eventually to a new life of freedom. PRAISE 'An incredibly powerful book' Benjamin Law '[A] moving family saga, shot through with yearning and hard-won joy' Fiona Capp, Sydney Morning Herald 'This book will live on in your heart long after you've read the last page' Vicki Laveau-Harvie, author of The Erratics 'Heart-breaking, honest, personal, Andrew Kwong's moving journey from oppression to freedom is inspiring' Susanne Gervay, OAM, author 'A work of startling clarity ... reminiscent of Angela's Ashes' South China Morning Post Magazine 'Deeply moving ... The unique perspective of a child ... places One Bright Moon in the vicinity of Night, Elie Wiesel's pathbreaking memoir of his early life prior to and of his time in German concentration camps' Meenakshi Bharat, IIC Quarterly 'A few pages into this compelling memoir proves it was written by a master storyteller' Sharon Rundle, Australian Book Review 'A profoundly moving and spellbinding story that perfectly illuminates the terror of the times and the irrepressible yearning for something better' Carol Major, author and writing mentor 'One Bright Moon is extraordinary writing that encapsulates long-term hunger as a background feature of daily life in Mao's New China. In the foreground are images of adults and children populating the world of the pre-teenage boy with a photographic memory who would later write of them. The book is rich archival material for the study of China's social history' Mabel Lee, PhD FAHA, writer and translator 'Reading this memoir is a healing experience' Devika Brendon, author and editor"

Andrew Kwong (Author), Jason Chong (Narrator)

Audiobook

A Week in September

"Through a precious cache of WWII letters, a story of war is revealed. But also, most movingly, a story of love, resilience and survival, from award-winning and bestselling writer, Peter Rees and Sue Langford.. 'Profoundly moving ... I don't mind saying I wept at the end, for all the young men lost to war, their widows and children ... a lovely book.' The Australian Doug Heywood was a teenager when he discovered, in a shoebox hidden in a wardrobe, hundreds of letters, all written by his father, Scott Heywood. As a POW on the infamous Burma Railway, Scott wrote almost daily to his young wife, Margery, on scraps of paper that had to be hidden from guards. These letters tell of an enduring love - and also, intriguingly, of how Scott dealt with the most brutally testing circumstances. Scott's story has echoes of another story happening 7000 kilometres away at the same time. Viktor Frankl, a psychiatrist, was rounded up with his family and sent to Auschwitz in September 1942. Frankl later wrote in his classic book Man's Search for Meaning that the last of the human freedoms was the ability 'to choose one's attitude in any set of circumstances'. Scott Heywood and Viktor Frankl, on opposite sides of the world, found their own ways to survive that were uncannily similar. This is the untold story of one man, one ordinary man, and his war. Woven through it is Margery's story, as she waited anxiously with their two young children in rural Victoria, trapped in an emotional rollercoaster, unaware that he was writing letters to her that could not be posted. This is a powerful and moving story of love, resilience and survival."

Peter Rees (Author), Peter Rees (Narrator)

Audiobook

[Marathi] - Maharashtrache Aadya Raajgharane Saatvahan

"इसपू २२० ते इसवी सन २३०, म्हणजे साडेचारशे वर्ष महाराष्ट्रावर सत्ता गाजवणारा सातवाहन हा महाराष्ट्र घडवणारा महान राजवंश! सातवाहनांचे महाराष्ट्रावरील ऋण अपार आहे. त्याचा घेतलेला हा रोचक वेध... महाराष्ट्राचे आद्य राजघराणे सातवाहन, संदीप कर्णिक यांच्या आवाजात."

Sanjay Sonawani (Author), Sandeep Karnik (Narrator)

Audiobook

[Malayalam] - British Indiayum Sayudhasamarangalum

"1857-ലെ ഒന്നാം സ്വാതന്ത്ര്യ സമരം മുതല്‍ 1946-ലെ നാവികകലാപം വരെയുള്ള സായുധ സമരങ്ങളാണ് ഈ കൃതിയില്‍ വിവരിക്കുന്നത്. ഗാന്ധിയന്‍ സമരമാതൃകയ്ക്ക് ചരിത്രത്തില്‍ ലഭിച്ച സ്ഥാനം ഈ ചരിത്രഗ്രന്ഥം രേഖപ്പെടുത്തുന്നു."

Dr. K Velayudhan Nair, P A Warrier (Author), Edakochi Salimkumar (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns of Japanese Culture

"'One of the best books ever about Japanese society . . . [A] thoughtful, nuanced study of the Japanese character.' —U.S. News & World Report Essential for anyone interested in Japanese culture, this unsurpassed masterwork opens an intriguing window on Japan. The World War II-era study by the cultural anthropologist Ruth Benedict paints an illuminating contrast between the people of Japan and those of the United States. The Chrysanthemum and the Sword is a revealing look at how and why our societies differ, making it the perfect introduction to Japanese history and customs."

Ruth Benedict (Author), Cindy Kay (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Subplot: What China is Reading and Why It Matters

"What does contemporary China's diverse and exciting fiction tell us about its culture, and the relationship between art and politics? The Subplot takes us on a lively journey through a literary landscape like you've never seen before: a vast migrant-worker poetry movement, homoerotic romances by "rotten girls," swaggering literary popstars, millionaire e-writers churning out the longest-ever novels, underground comics, the surreal works of Yu Hua, Yan Lianke, and Nobel laureate Mo Yan, and what is widely hailed as a golden age of Chinese science fiction. Chinese online fiction is now the largest publishing platform in the world. Fueled by her passionate engagement with Chinese literature and culture, Megan Walsh, a brilliant young critic, shows us why it's important to finally pay attention to Chinese fiction-an exuberant drama that illustrates the complex relationship between art and politics, one that is increasingly shaping the West as well. Turns out, writers write neither what their government nor foreign readers want or expect, and they work on a different wavelength to keep alive ideas and events that are either overlooked or off limits. The Subplot vividly captures the ways in which literature offers an alternative-perhaps truer-understanding of the contradictions that make up China itself."

Megan Walsh (Author), Nancy Wu (Narrator)

Audiobook

Chinese Characters: A BBC History of China in 20 Lives

"Twenty audio portraits telling Award-winning author and historian Here is China's only female What can Ding Ling's lustful Also included is an episode Production credits Presented by Rana Mitter Edited by Hugh Levinson Produced by Ben Crighton Researcher: Elizabeth Smith Rosser Contents: 1. Wu Zetian: The Female Emperor 2. Chiang Kai-Shek and 3. Kumarajiva: Translator Monk 4. Matteo Ricci: Jesuit and Geometrist 5. Ding Ling: Sophie, Sensation and Sex 6. Sima Qian: Grand Historian 7. Kublai Khan: Cosmopolitan Conqueror 8. Confucius: Becoming the Sage 9. Li Qingzhao: Patriotic Poet 10. River Elegy: River and Ocean 11. Zheng He: The Admiral Goes to Africa 12. Robert Hart: Chinese Customs 13. Lu Xun: Compassionate Cynic 14. Wang Jingwei: Revolutionary Renegade 15. Hong Xiuquan v Zeng Guofan: The Duellists 16. Cixi: Ambivalent Empress 17. Factory Girls: Modern Girls, Modern Dreams 18. Mao Zedong: The Man Who Made Modern China 19. Bruce Lee: Screen Warrior 20. Deng Xiaoping: Black Cat, 21. In Our Time: China's Warring States Period © 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (p) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd" the story of China through key personalities - plus a bonus edition of In Our Time Professor Rana Mitter introduces us to some of the remarkable individuals who have shaped the arc of Chinese history. Selecting men and women from ancient times to the modern era - some rich and powerful, others poor and unknown - he explores their sensational life stories, from Mongol emperors to 19th-century factory girls. emperor, Wu Zetian, whose path to the top was littered with elite corpses; Mao Zedong, the man who revolutionised China, but at the cost of millions of lives; and Deng Xiaoping, who enabled China's economic miracle, but crushed protests with ferocity in 1989. Alongside them are numerous other extraordinary characters, including celebrated philosopher Confucius, Muslim sailor Zheng He, Jesuit mathematician Matteo Ricci, global film star Bruce Lee - and a pioneering TV documentary series, River Elegy, that started a national debate about regeneration and democracy. literary creation, Sophie, teach us about 1920s China? What role would kidnapped monk Kumarajiva play in the future of Chinese chanting? And how did Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Meiling become Asia's first power couple? Rana Mitter reveals the answers in this engrossing series, which ranges across time and geography to zoom in on the people and ideas that have made China what it is today. Insightful, stimulating and superbly researched, it shows the astonishing diversity and complexity of Chinese society, painting a multi-dimensional picture of the world's most populous nation. of In Our Time, in which Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss China's Warring States period of 400 BC-200 AD, examining how this turbulent epoch sparked a Golden Age of intellectual and cultural productivity and laid the foundations for the first Chinese Empire. Soong Meiling: Asian Power Couple Yellow Cat

Rana Mitter (Author), Rana Mitter (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Life and Death of Sambhaji (Part 2)

"Under the shadow of an illustrious father, Sambhaji finds himself thrust into the Maratha-Mughal conflict from a tender age. His mistakes cost him dearly and when his father suddenly dies and he becomes the chhatrapati, it is as if he has inherited a crown of thorns. In the nine years that follow, he faces a constant battle-internally, as palace intrigues simmer to kill him, and externally, as Aurangzeb descends on the Deccan with full military force. Even Chhatrapati Shivaji had never faced a full-blown Mughal aggression. Will he be able to protect the Maratha nation and Swaraj that was his father's dream? Will he prove to be a worthy son to his father-in life as well as in death? History has been unfair to Sambhaji, but it can't deny that he inspired a generation of Maratha warriors, who eventually ensured the end of Aurangzeb's jihad."

Medha Bhaskaran (Author), Vasundhra Bose (Narrator)

Audiobook

Asia Audiobooks in History