Military Audiobooks | History

The Fighting 69th: One Remarkable National Guard Unit's Journey from Ground Zero to Baghdad

On the eve of September 11, 2001, New York City's famous National Guard regiment, the fighting 69th Infantry, was not fit for duty. Most of its soldiers were immigrant kids with no prior military experience, their uniforms were incomplete, and their equipment was derelict. The thought of deploying such a unit was laughable. Sean Flynn, himself a member of the 69th, memorably chronicles the transformation of this motley band of amateur soldiers into a battle-hardened troop at work in one of the most lethal quarters of Baghdad: the notorious Airport Road, a blood-soaked strand that grabbed headlines and became a bellwether for progress in post-invasion Iraq. At home on the concrete and asphalt like no other unit in the US Army, Gotham's Fighting 69th brought justice to this lawless precinct by ignoring army discipline and turning to the street-fighting tactics they grew up with. The Fighting 69th is the story of how regular citizens come to grips with challenges far starker than what they have been prepared for-a candid look at who our soldiers are, and what they do when faced with their toughest challenges.

Sean Michael Flynn (Author), Erik Steele (Narrator)

Audiobook

3 Para

Afghanistan, Summer 2006. This is war. Afghanistan in the summer of 2006. In blazing heat in remote outposts the 3 Para battlegroup is pitted against a stubborn enemy who keep on coming. Until now, the full story of what happened there has not been told. This is it. In April 2006, the elite 3 Para battlegroup was despatched to Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan. They were tasked with providing security to reconstruction efforts, a deployment it was hoped would pass off without a shot being fired. In fact, over the six months they were there, the 3 Para battle group saw near continuous combat - one gruelling battle after another - in what would become one of the most extraordinary campaigns ever fought by British troops. Around parched, dusty outposts reliant on a limited number of helicopters for food and ammunition resupply, troops were subjected to relentless Taliban attacks, as well as energy-sapping 50 degree heat and spartan conditions. At the end of the tour, the Taliban offensive aimed at driving the British and Afghan Government troops out of Helmand had been tactically defeated. But 3 Para paid a high price: fourteen soldiers and one interpreter were killed, and 46 wounded. '3 Para' will tell the stories of the men and women who took part in this extraordinary and largely unreported saga. Best-selling author Patrick Bishop has been given exclusive access to the soldiers whose tales of courage and endurance provide an unforgettable portrait of one of the world's finest and most fascinating fighting regiments, and a remarkable band of warriors. Their bravery was reflected in the array of gallantry medals that were bestowed on their return, including the Victoria Cross awarded to Corporal Bryan Budd and the George Cross won by Corporal Mark Wright, both of whom were killed winning their awards. 3 Para's saga of comradeship, courage and fortitude is set to become a classic.

Patrick Bishop (Author), Christian Rodska (Narrator)

Audiobook

Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal

Eddie Chapman was a charming criminal, a con man, and a philanderer. He was also one of the most remarkable double agents Britain has ever produced. Inside the traitor was a man of loyalty; inside the villain was a hero. The problem for Chapman, his spymasters, and his lovers was to know where one persona ended and the other began. In 1941, after training as a German spy in occupied France, Chapman was orders orders from the Abwehr to blow up an airplane factory in Britain. Instead, he contacted MI5, the British Secret Service. For the next four years, Chapman worked as a double agent, a lone British spy at the heart of the German Secret Service. Crisscrossing Europe under different names, all the while weaving plans, spreading disinformation, and, miraculously, keeping his stories straight under intense interrogation, he even managed to gain some profit and seduce beautiful women along the way. The Nazis feted Chapman as a hero and awarded him the Iron Cross. In Britain, he was pardoned for his crimes, becoming the only wartime agent to be thus rewarded. Sixty years after the end of the war, and ten years after Chapman’s death, MI5 has now declassified all of Chapman’s files, releasing more than 1,800 pages of top secret material and allowing the full story of Agent Zigzag to be told for the first time.

Ben Macintyre (Author), John Lee (Narrator)

Audiobook

Cochrane: The Real Master and Commander

David Cordingly (Author), John Lee (Narrator)

Audiobook

Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends: Two WWII Paratroopers from the Original Band of Brothers Tell T

Tom Hanks introduces the rousing story of two inseparable friends and soldiers portrayed in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers. William "Wild Bill" Guarnere and Edward "Babe" Heffron were among the first paratroopers of the U.S. Army—members of an elite unit of the 101st Airborne Division called Easy Company. Arguably the bravest, most efficient, physically fit, and tight-knit group of soldiers the Army has ever produced, the unit was called upon for every high-risk operation of the war, including D-Day, Operation Market Garden in Holland, the Battle of the Bulge, and the capture of Hitler's Eagle's Nest in Berchtesgaden. Both fought side-by-side until Guarnere lost his leg in the Battle of the Bulge and was sent home. Heffron went on to liberate concentration camps and rake Hitler's Eagle's Nest hideout. United by their experience, the two reconnected at the war's end and have been the best of friends ever since. Their story is a tribute to the lasting bond forged between comrades in arms—and to all those who fought for freedom.

Edward "Babe" Heffron, Robyn Post, William "Wild Bill" Guarnere (Author), Dick Hill (Narrator)

Audiobook

More Time for Politics: Diaries 2001-2007

Brought to you by Penguin. When Tony Benn left Parliament after 51 years he quoted his wife Caroline's remark that now he would have 'more time for politics'. And so this has proved: in the first seven years of this century he has helped reinvigorate national debate through public meetings, mass campaigns and appearances in the media, passionately bringing moral and political issues to wide audiences. And throughout, as ever, he has been keeping his diaries. Commenting on the demise of the New Labour project from the re-election of Tony Blair in 2001 to the ultimate foreign policy disasters of Afghanistan and Iraq, he gives other prescient accounts of the government's by-passing of Cabinet, parliament and the party, of the 'war on terror', the debate about Islam, globalisation and the changes in British society. Although he is no longer in power or in parliament, Tony Benn remains a figure of enormous respect whose direct views, honestly expressed, have often awakened the national conscience. His latest Diaries, human and challenging in turn, are an enthralling read. © Tony Benn 2007 (P) Penguin Audio 2007

Tony Benn (Author), Tony Benn (Narrator)

Audiobook

A Time to Lead: For Duty, Honor and Country

In 2003, General Wesley Clark ran for the Democratic Party's nomination for President of the United States. Since then, he has become a major figure on the political scene, commenting on television and keynoting conferences. Focusing on his major life battles-from his difficult youth in Arkansas, through the horror of Vietnam, the post-war rebuilding of national security and the struggles surrounding the new world order after the Cold War-this groundbreaking audiobook draws lessons from General Clark's unique experiences and reveals his plan for America, at home and in the world. Also included are General Clark's unique stances on the following: o Foreign Policy: Reinvigorate the Atlantic Alliance and formulate a plan for a stable Middle East o The Economy: Advocate holistic economic strategies in to advance our national security objectives o The Environment: Balance the short-term commercial needs for with long-term respect for our natural resources o Education/Health Care: Provide more direct assistance in areas such as education, health care, and retirement security by proper allocation of responsibilities between public and private entities

Tom Carhart, Wesley Clark, Wesley K. Clark (Author), Wesley Clark, Wesley K. Clark (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Blair Years: Extracts from the Alastair Campbell Diaries

The Blair Years is the most compelling and revealing account of contemporary politics you will ever read. Taken from Alastair Campbell's daily diaries, it charts the rise of New Labour and the tumultuous years of Tony Blair's leadership, providing the first important record of a remarkable decade in our national life. Here are the defining events of our time, from Labour's new dawn to the war on terror, from the death of Diana to negotiations for peace in Northern Ireland, from Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq, through to the Hutton Inquiry of 2003, the year Campbell resigned his position at No 10. But above all here is Tony Blair up close and personal, taking the decisions that affected the lives of millions, under relentless and often hostile pressure. Often described as the second most powerful figure in Britain, Alastair Campbell is no stranger to controversy. Feared and admired in equal measure, hated by some, he was pivotal to the founding of New Labour and the sensational election victory of 1997. As Blair's press secretary, strategist and trusted confidant, Campbell spent more waking hours alongside the Prime Minister than anyone. His diaires - at times brutally frank, often funny, always compelling - take the reader right to the heart of government. The Blair Years is a story of politics in the raw, of progress and setback, of reputations made and destroyed, under the relentless scrutiny of a 24-hour media. Unflinchingly told, it covers the crises and scandals, the rows and resignations, the ups and downs of Britain's hothouse politics. But amid the big events are insights and observations that make this a remarkably human portrayal of some of the most powerful people in the world. There has never been so riveting a book about life at the very top, nor a more human book about politics, told by a man who saw it all.

Alastair Campbell (Author), Alastair Campbell (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family

A brutal, forty-eight-hour firefight in Sadr City in April 2004 marked the beginning of the Iraqi insurgency. While men were wounded or killed, their families awaited "the call"---the notification that a husband or brother had died in action. ABC White House correspondent Martha Raddatz presents perhaps the most riveting account of hand-to-hand combat to emerge from the war in Iraq, as well as the horror, terror, bravery, and fortitude of the wives and children whose lives are now forever changed.

Martha Raddatz (Author), Joyce Bean (Narrator)

Audiobook

Last Flag Down: The Epic Journey of the Last Confederate Warship

a loyal warrior. a dying cause. an epic race for salvation. As the Confederacy felt itself slipping beneath the Union juggernaut in late 1864, the South launched a desperate counteroffensive to force a standoff. Its secret weapon? A state-of-the-art raiding ship whose mission was to sink the U.S. merchant fleet. The raider’s name was Shenandoah, and her executive officer was Conway Whittle, a twenty-four-year-old warrior. Whittle would share command with a dark and brooding veteran of the seas, Capt. James Waddell, and together with their crew, they would spend nearly a year destroying dozens of Union ships, all while continually dodging the enemy. Then, in August of 1865, a British ship revealed the shocking truth to the men of Shenandoah: The war had been over for months, and they were now being hunted as pirates. What ensued was an incredible 15,000-mile journey to the one place the crew hoped to find sanctuary, only to discover that their fate would depend on how they answered a single question. Wondrously evocative, LAST FLAG DOWN is a riveting story of courage, nobility, and rare comradeship forged in the quest to achieve the impossible.

John Baldwin, Ron Powers (Author), Michael Kramer (Narrator)

Audiobook

On Wings of Eagles

When two of his American employees were held hostage in a heavily guarded prison fortress in Iran, one man took matters into his own hands: American businessman H. Ross Perot. His team consisted of a group of volunteers from the executive ranks of his corporation, hand-picked and trained by a retired Green Beret officer. To free the imprisoned Americans, they would face incalculable odds on a mission that only true heroes would have dared... "Superb...Ken Follett's fans may be reluctant to see him return to fiction." - The New York Times Book Review "A marvelous, rare, terrific read...as exciting as a novel." - USA Today

Ken Follett (Author), Various, Various Narrators, Various Narrators (Narrator)

Audiobook

Black Virgin Mountain: A Return to Vietnam

The National Book Award-winning author of Paco’s Story returns with a haunting memoir of his year as a combat soldier in Vietnam, and the ghosts he encounters on his return 30 years later.In 1966 just as the American military buildup in Vietnam was going into overdrive a working-class 22-year-old from Chicago was drafted into the army. Larry Heinemann served one year of combat duty with the 25th Infantry Division most of it in the vicinity of Cu Chi. It was the most horrific and consequential year of his life and it served as the raw material for his two classic war novels Close Quarters and Paco's Story. The memoir chronicles a 1992 railway journey Heinemann took from Hanoi to HoChi Minh City as the guest of the Vietnam Writers' Association. Along the way he encounters Vietnamese war veterans and views sites that trigger powerful memories. His journey ends with a crawl through the tunnels of Cu Chi and a climb up the sacred mountain that is this book's namesake. A work of mourning and an act of reconciliation Black Virgin Mountain considers the psychic costs of awar that is still taking its toll.

Larry Heinemann (Author), Larry Heinemann (Narrator)

Audiobook

Military Audiobooks in History