Military Audiobooks | History

The Dangerous Shore: How a Motley Crew of Scientists, Mobsters, Double Agents, Retirees, Volunteer P

"Sara Vladic, New York Times bestselling author of Indianapolis, reveals the gripping, untold history of the United States under attack during World War II and the improbable patriots who stepped up to defend their country in her hour of need. History books have told us, in the decades following World War II, that Pearl Harbor was the only major attack on the United States’ home front. But this is not the whole truth. In The Dangerous Shore, leading researcher and bestselling author Sara Vladic unveils a much different story, one hidden away in dusty archives and behind press embargoes: Throughout the Second World War, German U-boats presented a very real threat to America’s eastern coastline, destroying ships, landing spies, and planning assaults on cities. With the country’s attention focused on the European and Pacific fronts, the U.S. would have been left undefended, if not for a ragtag bunch of characters who rose to the occasion. Comprised of misfits, rejects, and outlaws, this motley crew came from unexpected places. Among their ranks was the stalwart Gill Robb Wilson, leader of a barnstorming corp of volunteer civilian pilots; the brilliant Dayton engineer, Joe Desch; and the nearsighted yet ''clairvoyant'' Kenneth Knowles, commander of the Phantom Fleet, entrusted with ULTRA intelligence. Meanwhile, the cooperation of Grace Buchanan-Dineen, a self-styled countess and German spy turned double agent, helped the FBI net even more spies. Notorious but all-American mobsters Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, and Socks Lanza struck deals with Naval Intelligence and kept watch over critical ports. Together their efforts turned the tide of war at home and saved thousands of American lives. A thrilling and eye-opening read, The Dangerous Shore leads you through American history like never before. The story is an ode to the bravery, loyalty, and patriotism of our most unsung—and unlikely—heroes."

Sara Vladic (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

American Struggle: Democracy, Dissent, and the Pursuit of a More Perfect Union: An Anthology

"The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Soul of America offers an empowering lens to understand our national debates and divisions from 1619 to the present, with his signature commentary on the consequential speeches, letters, and essays that led us to this moment. In a polarized era, history can become a subject of political contention. Many have seen America as perfect; many others argue that the national experiment is fundamentally flawed. The truth, Meacham shows, likely lies in between these extremes. America has had shining hours, and also dark ones. In American Struggle, Jon Meacham looks to the nation's complicated past for lessons on the way forward. This rich and diverse collection covers a wide spectrum of history, from 1619 to the present, with primary-source documents that spotlight in their own words those who sought unity or division, and with Meacham's commentary throughout-from the founders to Lincoln; to leaders in the South; to leaders during the World Wars; to figures in the modern era such as Martin Luther King, Jr., JFK, LBJ, Shirley Chisolm, Walter Cronkite, Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama, and many more. As clashes over liberty and slavery, inclusion and exclusion play out, these voices, brilliantly framed by Meacham's singular commentary, remind us that contentious citizenship and fair-minded observations are essential to bringing about the more perfect union envisioned in the preamble to the Constitution, which Frederick Douglass called a 'glorious liberty document'. Conflict is nothing new in American life; rather, as Meacham and these texts show, these arguments are built into the nation's character. To know what has come before, to watch as long-running disputes rise and fall, is to be armed against despair."

Jon Meacham (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram: The Man Who Stared Down World War II in the Name of Love

"The dramatic and heartrending true story of one remarkable young man's account of love in the time of war, by a celebrated historian of untold Black stories On the eve of World War II, a handsome young scholar arrived in Paris. The queer, Black son of a housecleaner, who had nevertheless been decorated in the halls of Harvard and Columbia, Reed Peggram flirted with Leonard Bernstein, sat for portraits by famous artists, charmed minor royalty and became like a little brother to famed researcher and writer Jan Gay. Finally in Europe and on the same prestigious scholarship as literary luminaries Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes before him, he ignored the increasingly alarmed calls to return home to a repressive, segregated America and a constrained life as a second class citizen. And as tensions grew and gas masks were distributed in the City of Lights, Reed turned instead to the new life he'd made: with Arne, a tall and dashing Danish scholar with whom he had formed a deep bond. Award-winning historian Ethelene Whitmire unearthed a trove of Reed's letters when she met one of his descendants at a lecture, awed that she'd heard so little of this charismatic man and his fascinating true story of love and war. In The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram, she introduces us to an unforgettable character who fled from country to country as fighting advanced, was captured by Nazis and outwitted them in a daring escape, and risked it all in a personal fight for a life of love, freedom, beauty and dignity in a world set against him."

Ethelene Whitmire (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

Medal Man

"Brought to you by Penguin. Part war story, part memoir, telling the story of Mark’s father’s RAF flying boat crew on special duties operations in the Indian Ocean. Through the lens of his relationship with his father and the stories he would share with young Mark when they looked through his logbook together, Mark will bring to life the lives of the men he served with – including the death of his father’s best friend in an attack with a Japanese fighter. It will set their story against the wider war fought by the RAF, SOE and the wider war fought by British and Commonwealth forces in the Burma theatre, while weaving in Mark’s own friendships with the survivors after the war and his efforts to record and pay tribute to their service and sacrifice as part of his growing interest in medals. © Mark Smith 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026"

Mark Smith (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Miracle: The Boys Who Escaped the Gas Chamber in Auschwitz

Michael Calvin, Naftali Schiff (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

Until the Last Gun Is Silent: A Story of Patriotism, the Vietnam War, and the Fight to Save America'

"The untold story of the Black patriots-from soldiers in combat to peace protesters-who ended the Vietnam War and defended the soul of American democracy, from a pre-eminent civil rights historian and the award-winning author of Half American As the civil rights movement blazed through America, more than 300,000 Black troops were drafted and sent to fight in the Vietnam War. These soldiers, often from disadvantaged backgrounds and subjected to the brutalities of racism back home, found themselves thrust onto the frontlines of a war many saw as unjust. On the homefront, Black antiwar activists faced another battle: Opposition to the Vietnam War, vilified by key allies in the media and government as anti-American, jeopardized the fight for civil rights. For Black Americans, the Vietnam War forced a generation to question what it truly meant to fight for justice. Award-winning civil rights historian Matthew F. Delmont weaves together the stories of two Black heroes of the Vietnam War era: Coretta Scott King, who bravely championed the antiwar cause-and eventually persuaded her husband to do the same-and Dwight "Skip" Johnson, a Medal of Honor recipient whose life ended tragically after returning from battle to his native Detroit. Together, these extraordinary accounts expose the contradictions of Black activism and military service during the Vietnam War. Through rich storytelling, Delmont offers a portrait of this period unlike any other, shedding light on a fractured civil rights movement, a generation of veterans failed by the country they served, and the valor of Black servicemen and peace advocates in the midst of it all. Vivid, revelatory, and meticulously researched, Until the Last Gun Is Silent: How a Civil Rights Icon and Vietnam War Hero Changed America is essential reading for anyone looking to understand the enduring legacy of Black military service, protest, and patriotism in the United States."

Matthew F. Delmont (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

Augustus: First Emperor of Rome

""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

I Have a Dream: Memphis and Martin Luther King

"Clive Myrie presents a powerful four-part series documenting the events leading up to, surrounding and following the assassination of Martin Luther King - told by the people who were there. In 1968, Dr King was in Memphis to support a strike by the local sanitation workers, campaigning under the slogan 'I Am A Man”. For the first time, those workers and their families tell their own stories, laying bare in often shocking detail the realities of the Civil Rights struggle in the Southern states of the US. In this compelling documentary series, we hear first-hand of the daily humiliations of the Jim Crow South, of the hope that Dr King brought and of the fallout from his death. Presenter Clive Myrie takes us on a journey to better understand the mistakes, the triumphs and what that era means for Memphis today. This immersive listen features testimony from a teacher arrested on a daily basis for attempting to break the colour bar in Memphis restaurants. We hear from a man who at six was the first black child in Memphis to attend a white school. A sanitation worker describes how he was beaten daily by police and too scared to go to hospital to have his wounds healed. Why did he strike? Because ‘they wouldn't treat me like a man’. This oral history features the music that was the soundtrack to the struggle, from Booker T., Chuck Berry, Quincy Jones, Dinah Washington, B.B. King, Aretha Franklin and Jimi Hendrix. Written and presented by Clive Myrie First Broadcast BBC Radio 2, 28th March - 18th April 2018 ©2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd"

Clive Myrie (Author), Clive Myrie (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Most Awful Responsibility: Truman and the Secret Struggle for Control of the Atomic Age

"President Truman’s choice to drop the atomic bomb is the most debated decision in the 20th Century. But what if Truman’s actual decision wasn’t what everyone thinks it was? Eight decades after the bombing of Hiroshima, the conventional narrative is that American leaders had a choice: Invade Japan, which would have cost millions of Allied and Japanese lives, or use the atom bomb in the hopes of convincing Japan to surrender. Truman, the story goes, carefully weighed the pros and cons before deciding that the atomic bomb would be used against Japanese cities, as the lesser of two evils. But nuclear historian Alex Wellerstein argues that is not what happened. Not only did Truman not take part in the decision to use the bomb, but the one major decision that he did make was a very different one — one that he himself did not fully understand until after the atomic bomb was used. And the weight of that decision, and that misunderstanding, became the major reason that atomic bombs have not been used again since World War II. Based on a close reading of the historical record, The Most Awful Responsibility argues that despite his reputation as an ardent defender of the use of the atomic bomb, Truman was in fact deeply antagonistic to nuclear weapons, associating them primarily with the “murder” and “slaughter” of innocent civilians, believing that they never should be used again, and hoping that they would, in his lifetime, possibly be outlawed. Wellerstein makes a startling case that Truman was possibly the most anti-nuclear American president of the twentieth century, but whose ambitions in this area were strongly constrained by the domestic and international politics of the postwar world. This book is a must-read for all who want to truly understand not only why the bomb was dropped on Japan, but also why it has not been used since."

Alex Wellerstein (Author), Tim Campbell (Narrator)

Audiobook

Patton and the Battle for Sicily: The General, The Navy, and Operation Husky

"The largest amphibious assault to date came at a crucial moment, and the planning and execution presented many conflicts for the Allies. Despite the success of Operation Torch in North Africa, the United States was still considered not fully tested or trusted by their British partners, and Stalin was clamoring for the Allies to open a second front to take the pressure off his Soviet Union. Patton's dreams of martial glory and his desire to best his chief Allied rival, General Bernard Montgomery, head of the British Eighth Army, to the ultimate prize—the port of Messina—often clouded his judgment. His primary motivation was to prove to 'Monty' and other British generals that the American soldier was as good, if not better, than his British counterpart. Using Patton's letters and diaries, Whitlock reveals the scathing opinions he held of Montgomery and almost everyone else in the Allied hierarchy. This book chronicles how Husky would prove pivotal for both sides. Whitlock makes the case that Husky caused the downfall of Benito Mussolini and the neutralization of fascist Italy, and opened the second front to help Stalin. The fight for Sicily proved the worth of American soldiers and seamen. Lessons learned from Husky would be integrated into the Operation Overlord plan launched against France's Normandy coast the following year."

Flint Whitlock (Author), James D. Sasser (Narrator)

Audiobook

Where the Birds Never Sing: The True Story of the 92nd Signal Battalion and the Liberation of Dachau

"The inspiring story of Joe Sacco and his part in the greatest battles of World War II, from Omaha Beach to the liberation of the concentration camp at Dachau, Germany. In his riveting debut, Where the Birds Never Sing, Jack Sacco recounts the realistic, harrowing, at times horrifying, and ultimately triumphant tale of an American GI in World War II. Told through the eyes of his father, Joe Sacco—a farm boy from Alabama who was flung into the chaos of Normandy and survived the terrors of the Bulge—this is no ordinary war story. As part of the 92nd Signal Battalion and Patton’s famed 3rd Army, Joe and his buddies found themselves at the forefront—often in front of the infantry or behind enemy lines—of the Allied push through France and Germany. After more than a year of fighting, but still only twenty years old, Joe was a hardened veteran, but nothing could have prepared him for the horrors behind the walls of Germany’s infamous Dachau concentration camp. Joe and his buddies were among the first 250 American troops into the camp, and it was there that they finally grasped the significance of the Allied mission. Surrounded and pursued by death and destruction, they not only found the courage and the will to fight, they discovered the meaning of friendship and came to understand the value and fragility of life. Told from the perspective of an ordinary soldier, Where the Birds Never Sing contains first-hand accounts and never-before published photos documenting one man’s transformation from farm boy to soldier to liberator."

Jack Sacco (Author), Jack Sacco (Narrator)

Audiobook

Family of Spies: A World War II Story of Nazi Espionage, Betrayal, and the Secret History Behind Pea

"A propulsive, never-before-told story of one family’s shocking involvement as Nazi and Japanese spies during WWII and the pivotal role they played in the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It began with a letter from a screenwriter, asking about a story. Your family. World War II. Nazi spies. Christine Kuehn was shocked and confused. When she asked her seventy-year-old father, Eberhard, what this could possibly be about, he stalled, deflected, demurred, and then wept. He knew this day would come. The Kuehns, a prominent Berlin family, saw the rise of the Nazis as a way out of the hard times that had befallen them. When the daughter of the family, Eberhard’s sister, Ruth, met Nazi leader Joseph Goebbels at a party, the two hit it off, and they had an affair. But Ruth had a secret—she was half Jewish—and Goebbels found out. Rather than having Ruth killed, Goebbels instead sent the entire Kuehn family to Hawaii, to work as spies half a world away. There, Ruth and her parents established an intricate spy operation from their home, just a few miles down the road from Pearl Harbor, shielding Eberhard from the truth. They passed secrets to the Japanese, leading to the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor. After Eberhard’s father was arrested and tried for his involvement in planning the assault, Eberhard learned the harsh truth about his family and faced a decision that would change the path of the Kuehn family forever. Jumping back and forth between Christine discovering her family’s secret and the untold past of the spies in Germany, Japan, and Hawaii, Family of Spies is fast-paced history at its finest and will rewrite the narrative of December 7, 1941."

Christine Kuehn (Author), Erin Bennett (Narrator)

Audiobook

Military Audiobooks in History