Military Audiobooks | History

A powerful, timely memoir of a young Air Force linguist coming-of-age in a war that is lost. When Ian Fritz joined the Air Force at eighteen, he did so out of necessity. He hadn't been accepted into college thanks to an indifferent high school career. He'd too often slept through his classes as he worked long hours at a Chinese restaurant to help pay the bills for his trailer-dwelling family in Lake City, Florida. But the Air Force recognizes his potential and sends him to the elite Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, to learn Dari and Pashto, the main languages of Afghanistan. By 2011, Fritz was an airborne cryptologic linguist and one of only a tiny number of people in the world trained to do this job on low-flying gunships. He monitors communications on the ground and determines in real time which Afghans are Taliban and which are innocent civilians. This eavesdropping is critical to supporting Special Forces units on the ground, but there is no training to counter the emotional complexity that develops as you listen to people's most intimate conversations. Over the course of two tours, Fritz listens to the Taliban for hundreds of hours, all over the country night and day, in moments of peace and in the middle of battle. What he hears teaches him about the people of Afghanistan—Taliban and otherwise—the war, and himself. Fritz's fluency is his greatest asset to the military, yet it becomes the greatest liability to his own commitment to the cause. Both proud of his service and in despair that he is instrumental in destroying the voices that he hears, What the Taliban Told Me is a brilliant, intimate coming-of-age memoir and a reckoning with our twenty years of war in Afghanistan.

Ian Fritz (Author), Ian Fritz (Narrator)

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The Hard Road Will Take You Home

This is not a straightforward memoir. Instead, it is a book that distills the processes and tactics Anthony 'Staz' Stazicker gathered throughout his career in the Special Forces - gunfights, door-kicking operations, and against-the-odds escape - and how these hard lessons informed his later successes with multi-million pound start-up clothing company ThruDark. It provides a mission plan for how the intelligence Staz gathered can bring next-level results to the reader's own businesses, workplace dramas and projects. At times, Staz's life story is woven into the narrative, although the main focus rests upon exploring the incredibly imaginative strategies, techniques, and procedures used by the UK Special Forces when overcoming a highly motivated enemy. It instils the psychological cues required to bring next-level success to any mission. And it lays bare the levels of discipline required to maintain that next level of success.

Anthony Stazicker (Author), Alan Barratt, Aldo Kane, Anthony Stazicker, Chris Billam-Smith, Dylan Hartley, Gary Bamford, Jason Fox, Mark Omrod, Nims Purja, Ollie Ollerton, Sam Sheriff, Scott Britton, Steve Clark, TBD (Narrator)

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The Flying Grunt: The Story of Lieutenant General Richard E. Carey, United States Marine Corps (Ret)

Richard Edward Carey came from a broken home. Enlisting in the Corps in 1946 he later earned a commission, fighting at Inchon and Chosin in Korea before becoming a pilot. During his thirty-eight-year military career he witnessed and participated in major historical events, though a high school wrestling injury would eliminate him from the Mercury-7 space program. As a second lieutenant, he tackled General Douglas MacArthur on the way to Seoul in 1950. Carey would provide critical intelligence decisions enabling the successful defense of the Chinese attack on Hagaru-ri at the Chosin Reservoir. In 189 days of combat, he escaped death seven times, and was awarded the Silver Star and Bronze Star Medals. In Vietnam, he flew 204 combat sorties, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and 16 Air Medals. In 1975, from Saigon, Carey led history's largest helicopter evacuation of refugees. In retirement, Carey served as a cabinet member for the governor of Ohio and ran the airport in his native home of Columbus. When the Careys moved to Texas, Carey continued supporting veterans, advocating for veterans' health care, aiding the drive to build accommodation for families of hospitalized veterans, and was a leader in the effort to build a veterans' cemetery in Dallas.

Alan E. Mesches (Author), Chris Monteiro (Narrator)

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The Lion of Round Top: The Life and Military Service of Brigadier General Strong Vincent in the Amer

The story of the true savior of Little Round Top at Gettysburg-a twenty-six-year-old Harvard-educated lawyer, who paid with his life to defend that hill. Citizen-soldier Strong Vincent was many things: Harvard graduate, lawyer, political speaker, descendant of pilgrims and religious refugees, husband, father, brother. But his greatest contribution to history is as the savior of the Federal left on the second day at Gettysburg, when he and his men held Little Round Top against overwhelming Confederate numbers. Forgotten by history in favor of his subordinate, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Vincent has faded into relative obscurity in the decades since his death. This book restores Vincent to his rightful place among the heroes of the battle of Gettysburg: presenting his life story using new, never-before-published sources and archival material to bring the story of one of the most forgotten officers of the American Civil War back to the attention of listeners and historians.

H.G. Myers (Author), Al Kessel (Narrator)

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American Eagles: The 101st Airborne's Assault on Fortress Europe 1944/45

Of the 6,600 paratroopers of the 101st 'Screaming Eagles' Airborne Division who parachuted into France in the early hours of 6 June 1944-D-Day-some 3,500 were listed as missing by midnight that same night. Yet it was only the beginning of their 'rendezvous with destiny.' American Eagles is the remarkable true story of the United States 101st Airborne Division. From their rigorous training in 'Old Jolly' (England) to their first operational jump in Normandy, Charles Whiting tells the story of this 'Band of Brothers', who fought, suffered, and died in the eleven-month campaign that followed. From Normandy and Holland through to the siege of Bastogne and their final triumphant capture of Hitler's Eagle's Nest in the Bavarian Alps, we gain a picture of a brave elite division which kept on getting the tough assignments. Drawing on eyewitness accounts, painstaking research, and his own youthful experiences when his regiment was under the command of 101st Airborne in Holland, Whiting delivers a powerful account of each of the 101st's major operations during the European campaign of 1944/45. He brings to life the full horrors of war while shining a spotlight on the courage and determination of the 'Screaming Eagles' and their role in the destruction of the Nazi regime in World War Two.

Charles Whiting (Author), Dallas Britt (Narrator)

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The Nature of Honour

Son of the renowned Sydney obstetrician, Dr William McBride, who raised the alarm on the anti-nausea drug thalidomide in the 1960s and was later struck off the medical register for falsifying research results in a bid to challenge the safety of another drug. David chose to study Law, firstly at Sydney University and then at Oxford. There he met some British army officers and decided that soldiering was his calling, going on to train at Sandhurst. He commanded a platoon in Northern Ireland while bomb and sniper attacks on British soldiers were still happening. In civilian life he worked in security protecting diplomats, journalists and businesspeople in Rwanda in the immediate aftermath of the 1994 genocide and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. After growing tired of the travel and the action, David returned to England, where he worked in reality TV. On moving back to Sydney, he briefly joined a major law firm and then joined the Australian Army as a lawyer, going on to serve two tours of duty in Afghanistan, on the frontline confirming or denying decisions made by soldiers under international laws. He was medically discharged with PTSD in 2017. In 2018, he was charged with offences relating to national security and is awaiting trial. David was reregistered to practise law in NSW in 2022 and spends a bit of time defending those facing charges. Crammed with colour, adventure, achievements and some diversions, too David McBride leads a big life.

David Mcbride (Author), David Mcbride (Narrator)

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Eddie Rickenbacker and Dick Bong: The Lives of America's Top Fighter Aces during the World Wars

At first, airplane improvements occurred in an ad hoc, almost accidental manner during World War I. However, when pilots’ mounting of armaments on airplanes proved a successful means of defeating other aircraft and even attacking men on the ground, a much more active and systematic development of warplanes began across the continent. Each advance prompted a countermeasure, as the two sides strove for primacy in a deadly, unforgiving environment which rewarded real advances in equipment and tactics with survival and punished poor ideas with death. Before long, relatively powerful, heavily armed aircraft buzzed through the skies over battle-stained Europe, tearing each other apart with furious gusts of machine gun fire and sending many of the vaunted dirigibles plunging, burning, to the ground. The new era of fighting aircraft arrived in dramatic fashion, raising successful pilots to celebrity or heroic status, and laying the groundwork for the tremendous potential of airpower to achieve its next logical expansion in World War II and beyond. Rickenbacker's World War I service won him the Medal of Honor, along with more awards for valor than any other person fighting in World War I. But participating in the wars was not nearly enough time in the air for the ambitious Rickenbacker. When he was not setting new records in the air, he was setting new speed records on the ground, most notably as a first-generation race car driver who not only drove cars but designed them. By the time World War II arrived, the fighter airplane was a much different beast than the purpose-built aircraft-hunting machines of 1917 and 1918. Though propellers still provided motive force, greatly increased engine power allowed these aircraft to slice through the sky at speeds of 200 miles per hour (mph), 300 mph, or even in excess of 400 mph when flying flat-out. Service ceilings jumped to 25,000 feet, 30,000 feet, or higher.

Charles River Editors (Author), Jim Walsh (Narrator)

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A Widower's Walk

On December 14, 1997, Marine Corps Captain Danny White thought he had it all. He had married his high school sweetheart and they had three children and another on the way, when an accident on an Arizona highway shattered his life and left him and two of his children stranded in a desert of the soul. Through his faith in God, Danny eventually found his life and a new love to lead him to his destiny.

Danny White (Author), Danny White (Narrator)

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Lawrence of Arabia: An in-depth glance at the life of a 20th Century legend

Brought to you by Penguin. The authoritative, illuminating biography of T. E. Lawrence - the man who inspired the iconic film Lawrence of Arabia - from 'The World's Greatest Living Explorer' Ranulph Fiennes. Thomas Edward Lawrence first set foot on the hot sands of Arabia in 1909. By 1918 there was a £20,000 price on his head. His journey to this point has long been legend. From his first postings as archaeologist, liaison and map officer, to fighting alongside guerrilla forces during the Arab Revolt, journeying more than 300 miles through blistering heat to capture Aqaba, to his involvement in peace conferences that decided the future of the Middle East, Lawrence gave over his life fully to this land and its people. An unhappy outsider in childhood, in Arabia, Lawrence found a home. But as he grew in notoriety and proved his worth to his Arab comrades, his Turkish enemies set their sights on his capture . . . A legend in his own lifetime, Lawrence's epic story has always been ripe for the retelling - but Ranulph Fiennes is no ordinary biographer. Leading Arab troops into battle on the Arabian peninsula in a war fought fifty years later, Fiennes too discovered the wonders of these far-flung lands and the people who live there, and is one of very few who can claim a true insight into the kind of life that Lawrence lived - bold and adventurous to the end. With detailed access to records and an in-depth knowledge of the exploration routes and mindset of those who venture into the unknown, in Lawrence of Arabia, Fiennes brings us at last to a true and full account of this mysterious adventurer who captivated the world. ©2023 Ranulph Fiennes (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Ranulph Fiennes (Author), Jonathan Keeble (Narrator)

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Footsloggers: An Infantry Battalion at War, 1939-45

The only way to truly understand what it was like to fight in the Second World War is to listen to the experiences of those men who were there. And often, there was nowhere more dangerous than on the ground. In Footsloggers, Peter Hart reconstructs one infantry battalion's war in staggering detail. Based on his interviews with members of the 16th Durham Light Infantry, Hart bears witness not only to their comradeship, suffering, dreadful losses, and individual tragedies, but also their courage and self-sacrifice as they fought their way across North Africa, Italy, and Greece. This is a human look at the inhuman nature of war from the author of At Close Range and Burning Steel. Contains mature themes.

Peter Hart (Author), Nigel Patterson (Narrator)

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On Great Fields: The Life and Unlikely Heroism of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

From the New York Times bestselling author of A. Lincoln and American Ulysses comes the dramatic and definitive biography of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, the history-altering professor turned Civil War hero. "A vital and vivid portrait of an unlikely military hero who played a key role in the preservation of the Union and therefore in the making of modern America."-Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of And There Was Light Before 1862, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain had rarely left his home state of Maine, where he was a trained minister and mild-mannered professor at Bowdoin College. His colleagues were shocked when he volunteered for the Union army, but he was undeterred and later became known as one of the North's greatest heroes: On the second day at Gettysburg, after running out of ammunition at Little Round Top, he ordered his men to wield their bayonets in a desperate charge down a rocky slope that routed the Confederate attackers. Despite being wounded at Petersburg-and told by two surgeons he would die-Chamberlain survived the war, going on to be elected governor of Maine four times and serve as president of Bowdoin College. How did a stuttering young boy come to be fluent in nine languages and even teach speech and rhetoric? How did a trained minister find his way to the battlefield? Award-winning historian Ronald C. White delves into these contradictions in this cradle-to-grave biography of General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, from his upbringing in rural Maine to his tenacious, empathetic military leadership and his influential postwar public service, exploring a question that still plagues so many veterans: How do you make a civilian life of meaning after having experienced the extreme highs and lows of war? Chamberlain is familiar to millions from Michael Shaara's now-classic novel of the Civil War, The Killer Angels, and Ken Burns's timeless miniseries The Civil War, but in this book, White captures the complex and inspiring man behind the hero. This gripping, impeccably researched portrait illuminates one of the most admired but least known figures in our nation's bloodiest conflict.

Ronald C. White (Author), Ronald C. White (Narrator)

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Saddam's Secrets: How an Iraqi General Defied and Survived Saddam Hussein

Georges Sada was one of Saddam's top generals and foremost military advisors. A truth-teller in a government that made the truth dangerous. A devout Christian in a Muslim country. And a man who would stand up for what was right?even at the risk of his own life. In this eye-opening exposé, General Sada shares his bizarre yet amazing journey as an insider to one of history's most sinister regimes. He also, for the first time, reveals the disturbing truth about Saddam's plots to destroy Israel, hide weapons of mass destruction and overtake the Arab world. As an eye witness to history, Sada paints a painfully truthful picture of Hussein and his country that is at once personal and alarming, truthful and compelling, candid and sobering. It is a story guaranteed to send shock waves around the world.

Georges Hormuz Sada (Author), Fajer Al-Kaisi (Narrator)

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Military Audiobooks in History