World Audiobooks | History

Winning the Earthquake: How Jeannette Rankin Defied All Odds to Become the First Woman in Congress

"The first major biography of Jeannette Rankin, a groundbreaking suffragist, activist, and the first American woman to hold federal office. “Few members of Congress have ever stood more alone while being true to a higher honor and loyalty.” ―President John F. Kennedy on Jeannette Rankin Born on a Montana ranch in 1880, Jeannette Rankin knew how to ride a horse, make a fire, and read the sky for weather. But most of all, she knew how to talk to people, how to convince them of her vision for America. It was this rare skill that led her, in 1916, to become the first woman ever elected to the House of Representatives. As her first act, Rankin introduced the legislation that would become the 19th Amendment. Throughout her two terms in 1916 and 1940, she continued to introduce and pass legislation benefiting unions, protecting workers, and increasing aid for children in poverty. In 1941, she stood tall as the sole anti-war voice in Congress during WWII, advocating for pacifism in the face of tragedy and stating that you can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake. A suffragist, feminist, peace activist, workers' rights advocate, progressive, and Republican, Rankin remained ever true to her beliefs―no matter the price she had to pay personally. Yet, despite the momentous steps she made for women in politics, overcoming the boys club of capitalists and career politicians who never wanted to see a woman in Congress, Jeannette Rankin’s story has been largely forgotten. In Winning the Earthquake, Lorissa Rinehart deftly uncovers the compelling history behind this singular American hero, bringing her story back to life."

Lorissa Rinehart (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

Where Did Everybody Go?: Why We're Lonely but Not Alone

"In the bestselling tradition of Mary Roach and A.J. Jacobs comes a fresh and powerful deep dive on loneliness, illuminating the complexity of this misunderstood social phenomenon and why people need people. According to a report by the US Surgeon General in 2023, one out of every two American adults are lonely. Author and podcaster Don Martin was one of them: in 2020, as the COVID pandemic raged and Don's once-vibrant social life was reduced to Zoom calls and Animal Crossing, he realized that lockdown did not create these feelings—they just amplified them until they could not be ignored. He wondered: how did we get here? What exactly is loneliness, anyway? How is it measured, and how is it useful to us as a species? Blending thorough research with humor and personal insight from his own experience, Don takes listeners on a loneliness deep dive, all the way from the conception of the term itself in the 1800s through the death of the American mall and rise of social media, which is too often blamed as the root cause of a centuries-old problem. Along the way, he talks to everyone from prominent researchers in the space to historians, city planners, and other writers and creatives working through this ever-evolving topic from unique angles. You'll learn about how loneliness affects different age groups and communities, the history and future of third places, the ways loneliness can deteriorate your physical health, and how everything from capitalism to the placement of garages in modern home construction ultimately impact our social bonds. Don leaves listeners with an action plan, sharing insights on how we can build a more connected future for ourselves and our neighbors. Fascinating, witty, and ultimately hopeful, Where Did Everybody Go? is perfect for fans of Mary Roach and Jennie Allen."

Don Martin (Author), Don Martin (Narrator)

Audiobook

Turncoat: Roundhead to Royalist, the Double Life of Cromwell's Spy

"George Downing came of age as a Puritan pioneer in colonial Massachusetts, before crossing the Atlantic to sign up for the English Civil War. He fast became Oliver Cromwell's chief of military intelligence and was later a diplomat and an MP. However, Downing spectacularly switched sides, shamelessly betraying his friends. He prospered under Charles II, yet he remains one of the most elusive figures of his age. In Turncoat he emerges as the extraordinary - if troubling - anti-hero of his own life story. Judged by contemporaries to be 'a fearful gentleman' and a 'perfidious rogue', Downing was a double-dealer who bribed and blackmailed his way to diplomatic success across Europe; and, when it was expedient, betrayed friends to horrifically violent deaths. He pioneered the practice of judicial kidnapping known today as 'extraordinary rendition', was a booster of the Atlantic slave trade and had a hand in starting two major wars."

Dennis Sewell (Author), Jonathan Keeble (Narrator)

Audiobook

Eleanor: A 200-mile Walk in Search of England's Lost Queen

"An extraordinary journey that uncovers historical secrets about England's forgotten Queen. From Alice Loxton, author of the acclaimed bestseller Eighteen.'I loved this beautiful, elegaic, honest and compelling book - a modern-day pilgrimage walking in the footsteps of one of the great forgotten queens' - Kate Mosse, bestselling author of The Map of Bones In 1290, England mourned the death of a queen, Eleanor of Castile, beloved wife of King Edward I. Her body was carried on a 200-mile journey from Lincoln to London, a solemn procession that would become immortalized in stone. To mark the places where her cortege rested, a heartbroken Edward commissioned twelve magnificent Eleanor Crosses. More than seven centuries later, bestselling historian Alice Loxton set herself an epic challenge: following in history's footsteps by walking the entire 200-mile funeral route on the corresponding dates. As Alice journeys in search of England's forgotten Queen, over ancient paths and modern motorways, history comes alive in surprising ways. Lively and entertaining, Eleanor uncovers the extraordinary life and formidable character of this lesser-known royal, revealing her inspiring legacy and the hidden history of Britain. 'Loxton has the novelist's skill of seeing the world through her characters' eyes, and the historian's accuracy of vision' - Philippa Gregory, bestselling author of Normal Women 'Loxton is the leading historian of her generation' - Dan Jones, bestselling author of The Templars"

Alice Loxton (Author), Alice Loxton (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Eagles of Bastogne: The Untold Story of the Heroic Defense of a City Under Siege

"' . . . those wanting a deep dive into the specific role played by the 101st Airborne Division will find this book perfect for that purpose.” —The Journal of America's Military Past There are few names in the annals of military history that evoke such emotion, and in some cases controversy, as the small Belgian town of Bastogne. The 101st Airborne are the best known defenders of Bastogne, but they only constituted one third of the eventual force that saved the city from total annihilation. This book digs deeper into the defense of Bastogne, revealing more details about those indomitable 'Screaming Eagles' and the other units that stood with them during that punishingly bitter cold winter of 1944/45. It also presents the perspective of the German soldiers trying desperately to re-take Bastogne that desperate winter. It is a story of sacrifice, dedication to duty, and honor in the face of terrible adversity, but more importantly it’s a human story, one that encapsulates the finest attributes of humankind in the absolute direst of circumstances."

Martin King (Author), Martin King, Peter Noble (Narrator)

Audiobook

A History of the World in 50 Pieces: The Classical Music That Shapes Us

"Brought to you by Penguin. Explore how music has changed our world through 50 pieces across classical, folk and world traditions with BBC presenter Tom Service, in this official Radio 3 compendium. Music transports us and defines us. As a form of expression, it has been passed down through oral tradition, musical notation and recordings in a chain of connection that spans the globe, across the millennia. A History of the World in 50 Pieces follows that chain, collating 50 pieces of classical music that reflect our changing politics, social structures and technological development, and how composers, musicians and listeners have shaped those currents of history. From Bach to Beethoven, Songlines to Saariaho, Hildegard of Bingen to the Happy Birthday song, Tom Service offers a fresh take on pieces that many of us think we know, and many more we might not. With each short, sharp analysis, he expands the typical canon and tests the boundaries of what we understand to be ‘classical music’ – or even music at all, such as the sounds of the earth’s rotation, and the songs of humpback whales. An official BBC Radio 3 publication, A History of the World in 50 Pieces is a book for anyone curious about the power of music and how it shapes us and connects us. © Tom Service 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025"

Tom Service (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Revolutionists: The Story of the Extremists Who Hijacked the 1970s

"Brought to you by Penguin. In the 1970s, a network of radical extremists terrorised the West with plane hijackings and hostage-takings. Among them were the beautiful young Leila Khaled with her jewellery made from grenade rings, the hard-drinking philanderer Carlos the Jackal sporting shades and open-neck shirts, and the radical leftists of the Baader-Meinhof Gang. They sought to liberate the Palestinians and overthrow western imperialism, orchestrating spectacularly violent attacks that held governments to ransom and the world gripped to their television screens. Drawing on decades of research, declassified archive material and original interviews with witnesses and participants, Jason Burke provides a masterful account of their exploits over the course of this dark decade. From Dawson's Field and the Munich Olympics to the Iranian Embassy Siege in London and the Beirut bombings of the early 1980s, he takes us into the lives and minds of the perpetrators of these attacks, as well as the government agents who sought to thwart and assassinate them. In the process, he shows how the extreme fringe of a secular, leftist, revolutionary movement ultimately birthed something altogether different and far more lethal: the violent expression of a fanatically conservative religious zealotry. Gripping, globe-spanning and pulsing with drama, The Revolutionists is the definitive account of the decade when terrorism took to the skies and transformed the world. © Jason Burke 2024 (P) Penguin Audio 2024"

Jason Burke (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

Vikings – Final Secrets Revealed

"In the past 50 years, significant progress has been made in mapping and understanding Scandinavia during the Viking Age. Archaeologists and historians have carefully studied various sources, such as ancient postholes and thousand-year-old grape seeds, in their efforts to uncover the truth about the Viking world. This work is crucial because the Vikings did not document their history, and what we know is based on exaggerated accounts from monks and sagas. However, with the help of patience and modern technology, researchers are slowly piecing together the puzzle. While considerable progress has been made, there are still unanswered questions. World History invites you on a fascinating journey to bygone eras, allowing you to explore the greatest events in history. Take a trip back in time - to the frontlines of World War 2, to the Viking raids, and to the religious rituals of ancient Egypt. World History is for everyone who would like to know more about the exciting and dramatic events of the past."

World History (Author), David Riley (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Girl Bandits of the Warsaw Ghetto: The True Story of Five Courageous Young Women Who Sparked an

"A Holocaust historian, archivist, and history blogger adds a new dimension to the story of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising during World War II, shining a long overdue spotlight on five young, Polish Jewish women—champions who helped lead the resistance, sabotage the Nazis, and aid Jews in hiding across occupied Poland and Eastern Europe. The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising is one of the most storied events of the Holocaust, yet previous accounts of have almost entirely focused on its male participants. In The Girl Bandits of the Warsaw Ghetto, Holocaust historian Elizabeth Hyman introduces five young, courageous Polish Jewish women—known as “the girls” by the leadership of the resistance and “bandits” by their Nazi oppressors—who were central to the Jewish resistance as fighters, commanders, couriers, and smugglers. They include: Zivia Lubetkin, the most senior female member of the Jewish Fighting Organization Command Staff in Warsaw and a reluctant legend in her own time, who was immortalized by her code name, ''Celina'' Vladka Meed, who smuggled dynamite into and illegal literature out of the Warsaw Ghetto in preparation for the uprising Dr. Idina “Inka” Blady-Schweiger, a young medical student who became a reluctant angel of mercy Tema Schneiderman, a tall, beautiful and fearless young woman who volunteered for smuggling and rescue missions across Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe Tossia Altman, a heroic courier with a poetic soul, who helped bring arms into the Warsaw Ghetto, fought in the Uprising, and ferried communiques to the outside world Interspersed with the stories of other Jewish women who resisted, The Girl Bandits of the Warsaw Ghetto rescues these women from the shadows of time, bringing to light their resilience, bravery, and cunning in the face of unspeakable hardship—inspiring stories of courage, daring, and resistance that must never be forgotten. Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook."

Elizabeth R. Hyman (Author), Gilli Messer (Narrator)

Audiobook

Only God Can Judge Me: The Many Lives of Tupac Shakur

"“Jeff Pearlman breaks down Tupac’s life like a veteran sportswriter examining a dynasty. This detailed look at his life is the work of a writer who understands the ego of greatness.”—Chuck D “Pearlman delivers rich, engrossing, and fascinating new details about Shakur’s life and legacy—not just once or twice—but throughout each lively page...This is the type of needed journalism, reporting, and biography that finally and deservedly provides the definitive historic account on Shakur.”—Jonathan Abrams, author of The Come Up: An Oral History of the Rise of Hip-Hop Scrutinized in life, mythologized in death, Tupac Shakur remains a subject of immense cultural significance and speculation nearly thirty years after his murder. Despite a multitude of books, documentaries, and even a feature film, much about Tupac’s story remains shrouded and misunderstood. Like many icons who died tragically young, Tupac the man has long been obscured—his edges sanded down, his complexity numbed—by the competing agendas that surround his legacy. In Only God Can Judge Me, accomplished biographer and New York Times bestselling author Jeff Pearlman tackles his most nuanced subject, telling the definitive story of Tupac Shakur in unprecedented depth. In this authoritative look at Tupac’s life, Pearlman skillfully recreates West Coast hip hop in all its glory, going inside Death Row Records and on the sets of movies like Juice and Poetic Justice to offer the most clear-eyed rendering to date of the man who still casts a shadow over modern hip hop. But more than just a biography of a complicated figure, Only God Can Judge Me also captures the time and place in which Tupac rose, a singular moment in music history when West Coast hip hop became a phenomenon and transformed popular music. Featuring nearly seven hundred original interviews and never-before-published details from every corner of Tupac’s life, the result offers a truly singular portrait of one of modern pop culture’s most towering figures. Guided by the voices of those who knew and lived life alongside him, Only God Can Judge Me captures the layers of a man who, even thirty years after his death, remains as elusive as ever. Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook."

Jeff Pearlman (Author), James Shippy (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Nuclear Age: An Epic Race for Arms, Power and Survival

"Brought to you by Penguin. On 16 July 1945, the Nuclear Age began with the explosion of the first atomic bomb and the words of J. Robert Oppenheimer: 'Now I am become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds.' While the threat of mutually assured destruction kept a lid on a simmering and tense geopolitical landscape, events like the Chernobyl disaster and near-misses like the Cuban Missile Crisis showed that total destruction was only ever one malfunction, mistake, or miscommunication away. Now, as governments re-arm their nuclear arsenals, treaties designed to limit the acquisition and use of nuclear weapons fall away, and nuclear weapons come increasingly within reach of non-state actors, we are on the brink of a renaissance of the nuclear industry. In The Nuclear Age, acclaimed historian Serhii Plokhy paints an intricate picture of a world governed by fear. From the first artificial splitting of the atom in 1917 and the race to create the first atomic bomb in World War II, through the fraught arms race of the Cold War, to the imperialism, neo-colonial motivation and wars being waged today, the threat posed by nuclear weapons is as pertinent as ever. As he examines the motivations of key players, Plokhy confronts the crucial question of our age: what can we learn from the first nuclear arms race that can help us to stop the new one? © Serhii Plokhy 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025"

Serhii Plokhy (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Explorers Club Presents: Letters from the Edge: Stories of Curiosity, Bravery, and Discovery

"An exhilarating collection of letters and stories from the world-renowned Explorers Club, featuring firsthand accounts of crossing boundaries and making history over the past century For centuries, explorers from all over the globe have traveled the far reaches of what the world has to offer, helping us expand the map, learn about other cultures, and move the needle of human knowledge. But an explorer's work isn't finished when they reach a new destination or make a discovery; they need to somehow tell the tale. Letters from the Edge compiles letters, email exchanges, field journals, and more from explorers who have joined the esteemed and longstanding organization The Explorers Club. As they undertook their journeys, sometimes with their lives at risk, they penned their dispatches from afar, sharing their thoughts on enduring lava-spewing volcanos in Australia; suffering starvation and isolation in the harsh tundra of the Arctic; rescuing trapped kids in hazardous caves in Thailand; plunging into the depths of the North Atlantic Ocean to excavate the history of the Titanic; communicating with the other side of the galaxy; and so much more-all to quench the insatiable curiosity of humanity. And still, humanity strives to discover more. Using source materials and interviews with the explorers, Letters from the Edge offers a path to understanding the edge of our knowledge, culture, humanity, and ultimately, to understanding ourselves."

Jeff Wilser, The Explorers Club (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

World Audiobooks in History