Asia Audiobooks | History

Shinto of Ancient Japan: Shinto Shrines, Gods, Temples, and Beliefs

"The Shinto religion is a mystery to many. There is no real founder, there are many gods and deities that are worshipped, and something about spiritualism and spirits in nature that most people can’t quite put their finger on. Today, many of those confusions will be cleared up, as you will explore the Shinto faith and all its most important rituals, gods and goddesses, symbolism, etc. A long list of divine beings and their purpose and tasks will be revealed, some background stories about the most famous once, and the history and legends of Japan’s gigantic mountain: Mount Fuji. Learn more now! Download the book!"

Kelly Mass (Author), Doug Greene (Narrator)

Audiobook

The British Raj: The History of the British in India and Pakistan

"From about 1858 to 1947, the British ruled over India. The raj carried out orders and came up with them. There was public mistrust and dissatisfaction about their regime, which led to protests, riots, and controversial events. India was a big part of the British Empire for a long time, until the country gained its independence. Other issues happened with the Bangladeshi and the Pakistani. Let’s explore how the rule of the British raj evolved, how their power became stronger and weaker, and what the impact of the world wars was, the nationalist groups in India, and significant figures like Mahatma Gandhi."

Kelly Mass (Author), Doug Greene (Narrator)

Audiobook

[Oriya] - Milile Netajee

"ଡ. ବିବୁଧରଞ୍ଜନଙ୍କ ଗବେଷଣାଲବ୍ଧ ପୁସ୍ତକ 'ମିଳିଲେ ନେତାଜୀ' ସ୍ୱାଧୀନତା ସଂଗ୍ରାମର ଅନ୍ୟତମ ଜନନାୟକ ସୁଭାଷ ଚନ୍ଦ୍ର ବୋଷଙ୍କ ଅନ୍ତର୍ଦ୍ଧାନ ରହସ୍ୟକୁ ନେଇ ଏକ ତଥ୍ୟଭିତ୍ତିକ ଦସ୍ତାବିଜ! ନେତାଜୀଙ୍କ ନିଖୋଜ ହେବା ପଛରେ କଣ ଥିଲା କାରଣ, ତାହାର ବିଶ୍ୱସନୀୟ ଅବତାରଣା ରହିଛି ଏ ପୁସ୍ତକରେ!"

ଡ. ବିବୁଧରଞ୍ଜନ (Author), ମୋହନ୍‍ ମଜୀଠୀଆ (Narrator)

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[Malayalam] - Triumph and Tragedy in Travancore: Annals of Sir C P's Sixteen Years

"This book covers the accomplishments and failures/tragedies of the sixteen years, from 1931 to 1947, of Travancore, which is now a part of the state of Kerala. History often fails to remember many truths. Prof. A. Sreedhara Menon, through this book, recounts an era of such obscurity. This book comprehensively reviews Kerala during the time of Sir CP and his administration. It discusses CP's relationship with Travancore, the Regent reign and the family rebellions, the end of Regent reign and the coronation of Sri Chithirathirunal, the social reforms, the temple entry proclamation, Sir CP's reformation, the Mullaperiyar river dispute, the economic policies, industrialization, transport, agriculture, tourism, banking policies, legislative reforms, the Nivarthana agitation, the Punnapra Vayalar uprising, the Independence of Travancore and many other important topics"

A Sreedhara Menon (Author), Anu Alphy Xavier (Narrator)

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The Shortest History of China: From the Ancient Dynasties to a Modern Superpower-A Retelling for Our

"From kung-fu to tofu, tea to trade routes, sages to silk, China has influenced cuisine, commerce, military strategy, aesthetics and philosophy across the world for thousands of years. Chinese history is nothing if not messy. Heroes are also villains; prosperity mingles with violence; cultural vibrancy coexists with censorship and repression. Modern China is seen variously as an economic powerhouse, an icon of urbanization, a propaganda state and an aggressive superpower seeking world domination. Jaivin distills this vast history into a sparkling narrative, from mythical origins to the COVID-19 pandemic. It's a story in which China's women, from the earliest warriors to 20th-century suffragettes, receive long overdue attention. As historical specters of corruption and disunity continue to haunt the People's Republic, Jaivin discusses what may lie ahead—not just for China but for the world."

Linda Jaivin (Author), Nancy Wu (Narrator)

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The End of Ambition: The United States and the Third World in the Vietnam Era

"At the start of the 1960s, John F. Kennedy and other American liberals expressed boundless optimism about the ability of the United States to promote democracy and development in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. With US power, resources, and expertise, almost anything seemed possible in the countries of the Cold War's 'Third World'—developing, postcolonial nations unaligned with the United States or Soviet Union. Yet by the end of the decade, this vision lay in ruins. What happened? In The End of Ambition, Mark Atwood Lawrence offers a groundbreaking new history of America's most consequential decade. He reveals how the Vietnam War, combined with dizzying social and political changes in the United States, led to a collapse of American liberal ambition in the Third World—and how this transformation was connected to shrinking aspirations back home in America. By the middle and late 1960s, democracy had given way to dictatorship in many Third World countries, while poverty and inequality remained pervasive. As America's costly war in Vietnam dragged on and as the Kennedy years gave way to the administrations of Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard M. Nixon, America became increasingly risk averse and embraced a new policy of promoting mere stability in the Third World."

Mark Atwood Lawrence (Author), Jim Seybert (Narrator)

Audiobook

Modern China: A Very Short Introduction, 2nd Edition

"China today is never out of the news: from international finance to human rights controversies, global coverage of its rising international presence, and the Chinese 'economic miracle.' It seems to be a country of contradictions: a peasant society with some of the world's most futuristic cities, heir to an ancient civilization that is still trying to find a modern identity. This Very Short Introduction offers the listener an entry to understanding the world's most populous nation, giving an integrated picture of modern Chinese society, culture, economy, politics, and art. In this new edition, Rana Mitter addresses China's current global position, accounting for the country's growth in global significance over the past decade."

Rana Mitter (Author), Mike Cooper (Narrator)

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Afghanistan Graveyard of Empires: Why the Most Powerful Armies of Their Time Found Only Defeat or Sh

"During the spring and summer of 2021, global news reports were filled with the impending US/NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan. At best, it would be viewed as a stalemate, with an orderly transition to a stable, US-backed Afghan government. At worse, it would be looked upon as two decades of futile war, ending with a shameful retreat that left the county at the mercy of a ruthless Taliban regime. What went wrong? This close look at the history of foreign invasions of the country, from Alexander the Great to the US/NATO occupation, gives insight into the geographical and cultural reasons this land, in the valley of the Hindu Kush mountain range, has long earned the sobriquet: Graveyard of Empires."

John A. Tyler (Author), Elliot Fitzpatrick (Narrator)

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[German] - Die Tibet-Verschwörung

"Ein Pakt gegen den Dalai Lama? Als der chinesische Staatschef dem tibetischen Oberhaupt überraschend ein Friedensangebot unterbreitet und ihn zu Gesprächen über die Unabhängigkeit Tibets einlädt, werden zwei Amerikaner plötzlich von Visionen heimgesucht, dass es sich um eine Falle handeln könnte. In Tibet angekommen, finden die beiden heraus, dass sie die drohende Katastrophe verhindern können: Der Schlüssel dazu ist ein tibetisches Heiligenbild: Das schwarze Thangka, mit dessen Hilfe sie den Dämonen Kamdhar Gyor bezwingen wollen ...-"

Raymond A Scofield (Author), Manfred Callsen (Narrator)

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[German] - Der Jadepalast

"Eine faszinierende Saga um Hoffnung und den Glauben an die eigenen Ziele: Als die junge Ma Li von einem Mädchenhändler im Jahr 1919 nach Shanghai gebracht wird, hat sie einen großen Wunsch: Sie will in einem Jadepalast wohnen, wie ihn ihre Mutter oft beschrieben hat. Die Wirklichkeit sieht jedoch anders aus, denn Ma Li gerät an einen gefährlichen Gangsterboss, verliebt sich in einen Revolutionär und heiratet einen reichen Fabrikbesitzer. Doch nie verliert sie ihren Traum aus den Augen – ob es den Jadepalast jedoch wirklich gibt? -"

Raymond A Scofield (Author), Ursula Berlinghof (Narrator)

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The Battle of Saipan: The History and Legacy of the Pacific D-Day

"Just over one week after the landings in Normandy, American troops took part in a massive amphibious invasion of Saipan, but intense public interest in operations in Europe meant that this invasion received less media coverage at the time, and it has been the subject of far less interest from historians and writers since. Part of the reason seems to be the different perception of the war in the Pacific. During the war in Europe, Allied troops were, for the most part, welcomed as liberators by the inhabitants of the countries they occupied. Combat was generally conducted according to the accepted rules of war, with troops who surrendered becoming prisoners of war. In the Pacific Theater, combat was very different. The clash between American and Japanese troops was not just a battle between two modern nations; it was a conflict between two very different cultures and ideologies. Many Japanese soldiers fought according to the tenets of Bushido, the ancient warrior code first employed by the Samurai. This held that death was infinitely preferable to surrender, and that suicide was regarded as a legitimate and even praiseworthy act. The Japanese soldiers who did surrender were regarded with contempt, and enemy soldiers who fell into Japanese hands were treated with extreme cruelty. To American soldiers, the Japanese troops they encountered seemed to fight with fanatical zeal. As a result, the fighting on Saipan was bloody and intense. Although the battle lasted less than one month, almost 50,000 soldiers died or became casualties on the island, and many Japanese soldiers chose death, either through suicide or assaults on the enemy that had no real prospect of success. Civilians also suffered horrendous casualties on Saipan - more than 20,000 died, with many committing suicide rather than becoming prisoners of the Americans. "

Charles River Editors (Author), Daniel Houle (Narrator)

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In the Camps: China's High-Tech Penal Colony

"How China used a network of surveillance to intern over a million people and produce a system of control previously unknown in human history Novel forms of state violence and colonization have been unfolding for years in China's vast northwestern region, where more than a million and a half Uyghurs and others have vanished into internment camps and associated factories. Based on hours of interviews with camp survivors and workers, thousands of government documents, and over a decade of research, Darren Byler, one of the leading experts on Uyghur society and Chinese surveillance systems, uncovers how a vast network of technology provided by private companies―facial surveillance, voice recognition, smartphone data―enabled the state and corporations to blacklist millions of Uyghurs because of their religious and cultural practice starting in 2017. Charged with "pre-crimes" that sometimes consist only of installing social media apps, detainees were put in camps to "study"―forced to praise the Chinese government, renounce Islam, disavow families, and labor in factories. Byler travels back to Xinjiang to reveal how the convenience of smartphones have doomed the Uyghurs to catastrophe, and makes the case that the technology is being used all over the world, sold by tech companies from Beijing to Seattle producing new forms of unfreedom for vulnerable people around the world."

Darren Byler (Author), Fajer Al-Kaisi (Narrator)

Audiobook

Asia Audiobooks in History