Military Audiobooks | History

Time in the Barrel: A Marine’s Account of the Battle for Con Thien

Con Thien was a United States Marine Corps firebase that was the scene of fierce combat for months on end during 1967. Staving off attacks and ambushes while suffering from ineffectual leadership from Washington as well as media onslaughts, courageous American Marines protected this crucial piece of land at all costs. They would hold Con Thien, but many paid the ultimate price. By the end of the war, more than 1,400 Marines had died and more than 9,000 sustained injuries. For eight months, James P. Coan's five-tank platoon was assigned to Con Thien while attached to various Marine infantry battalions. The author kept a diary recording the thoughts, fears, and frustrations. Time in the Barrel offers an authentic firsthand account of the daily nightmare that was Con Thien. With authentic depictions of combat, it allows listeners to fully grasp the enormity of the fierce struggle for Con Thien. More than a retelling of military movements, Coan's engrossing narratives focus on the sheer sacrifice and misery of one Marine's experience in Vietnam. Through his eyes, we experience the abysmal conditions the Marines endured, from monsoon rainstorms to the constant threat of impending attack. Climatic moments in history are captured through the rare, personal perspective of one particularly astute and observant participant.

James P. Coan (Author), Chris Monteiro (Narrator)

Audiobook

Exit Wounds: A Vietnam Elegy

Exit Wounds: A Vietnam Elegy is an intimate, boots-on-the-ground memoir that chronicles one captain’s brutal experience in the Vietnam War. On October 19, 1965, American Special Forces in Vietnam came under attack at their camp at Plei Me. This marked the first major confrontation between the North Vietnamese and US armies during the war. Throughout six days of constant hostile fire, Captain Lanny Hunter sorted the seriously wounded from the dead and saved those comrades-in-arms he could. For his actions, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. In Exit Wounds, Hunter recalls his tour in the central highlands of Vietnam in 1965/66 at the bloody interface of medicine and combat. Paralleling this story is his return in 1997 to find and help his Montagnard interpreter, Y-Kre Mlo, after ten years in a communist reeducation camp. This pilgrimage takes Hunter back to old haunts and battlegrounds—and to a war now seen through a very different lens. Peopled with those who were dedicated, courageous, gentle, proud, profane, and a little mad, this book explores what happens when leaders place personal ambition over honor, and America’s “moral high ground” is soaked with the blood of its young men and women. So much more than a memoir, Exit Wounds is a poetic and profound story that reflects on the human condition, duty, honor, faithfulness, and how the scars remain long after the war is over.

Lanny Hunter (Author), Mark Bramhall (Narrator)

Audiobook

For the Boys: The True Account of a Combat Nurse in Patton's Third Army

A month after her 24th birthday, Lt. Mary Elizabeth Balster collapses among the rubble of a shelled supply room. On the night of November 30, 1944, holed up in the Heinrich Himmler Barracks in Morhange, France, Lt. Balster's evac receives a typical patient load, but this time one of the admissions is a 19-year-old tanker she'd nursed back to health five months before in Normandy. The charge nurse on Surgical gently informs the lieutenant that the private is critical. Rising determined to save him, Balster limps toward the shelled supply room determined to search for any blood plasma bottles still intact. Recaptured from her mother's reminiscences and letters home, N. C. R. Davis takes listeners through every heat-of-battle harrowing moment as Balster lived it, achieving a rare glimpse of one nurse's point of view during the latter part of the European conflict. The book mixes Lt. Balster's observations, memories, and dreams to tell the story of a richly rebellious woman trying to navigate her life while nursing wounded and dying frontline soldiers. Her strong-willed, beguiling personality fosters the grit necessary for her success as a combat nurse, but these same characteristics cause two men to fall in love with her. And the personal cost of war comes to a heartrending conclusion, as she must choose one man over the other.

N.C.R. Davis (Author), Dara Rosenberg (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Quiet Warrior: A Biography of Admiral Raymond A. Spruance

Regarded as the standard biography of World War II naval hero Adm. Raymond A. Spruance. Spruance, victor of the battles of Midway and the Philippine Sea and commander of the Fifth Fleet in the invasions of the Gilberts, the Marshalls, the Marianas, and Okinawa, is one of the towering figures in American naval history. Yet his reserved, cerebral personality did not make 'good copy' for correspondents, and until the publication of The Quiet Warrior he remained an elusive figure. Thomas Buell has succeeded in evoking the nature of the man as well as recording the achievements of the admiral in this brilliant biography, which won the Alfred Thayer Mahan Award for Literary Achievement the year of its publication.

Thomas B. Buell (Author), Chris Monteiro (Narrator)

Audiobook

Bradley

At the age of fifty Bradley was a career officer who had never seen a day of action on the battlefield. Yet, by the end of the war, he had led American soldiers through some of the bloodiest fighting of World War Two-the final defeat of the Germans' Afrika Korps, the invasion of Sicily, and the historic Normandy invasion, before leading the advance across the Rhine. Despite being such an instrumental leader of World War Two he was a modest man, professing only to do the best he could for his calling and his country. How did this quiet and unassuming teacher from West Point rise to become the commander of the Twelfth United States Army Group, which ultimately comprised forty-three divisions and over one million troops, the largest American force ever united under one man's command? And how did he come to be known as 'the G.I.'s General'? Charles Whiting's enthralling overview of Bradley and his career uncovers what he was like as a person, providing insight into his actions and leadership during the course of World War Two, before discussing his post-war career as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff through the course of the Korean War.

Charles Whiting (Author), Dallas Britt (Narrator)

Audiobook

Famous Soldiers of WWII: Actors Who Fought

This audiobook has been recorded using Text to speech (TTS). The Second World War was the most destructive and widespread war to date. The darkest of evils called for the bravest of the brave to step forward and defend the free world. Millions of people lost their lives, millions suffered physical and mental affects. This wasn’t a time for just the brave few, it was a time of global challenge and almost everybody stepped up to the mark. And so, why should it be that those stars and celebrities of stage and screen should be exempt? The truth is that a great many not only took the challenge of war, but volunteered for it and shone as if they were giving the greatest of performances. This is the surprising story of those showbiz soldiers who cast aside their cares for fame and fortune and joined the millions of gallant men and women around the world in the battle against tyranny.

Raphael Terra (Author), Raphael Terra (Narrator)

Audiobook

[German] - WN 62 - Erinnerungen an Omaha Beach: Normandie, 6. Juni 1944: NEUAUFLAGE

Endlich wieder verfügbar! Sichern Sie sich jetzt die erschütternde Autobiografie des MG-Schützen Heinrich Severloh, die sich weltweit bereits mehr als 60.000 mal verkauft hat! D-Day, 6. Juni 1944. Mit 7.000 Schiffen und 13.000 Flugzeugen starten die Alliierten die größte Landeoperation der Menschheitsgeschichte. Strandabschnitt Omaha Beach: Der MG-Schütze Heinrich 'Hein' Severloh befindet sich im Widerstandsnest 62 – das WN 62 –, als 34.000 GIs vor ihm am Strand landen. Neun Stunden lang feuert Severloh unentwegt auf die Angreifer. Mehr als 2.000 von ihnen finden im wütenden Abwehrfeuer den Tod. Schonungslos und ergreifend schildert Hein Severloh die dramatischen Stunden! Severloh, der junge Landwirtssohn aus der Lüneburger Heide, überlebt die Feuerwalze auf ebenso schreckliche wie abenteuerliche Weise – doch soll sie sein ganzes Leben nachhaltig prägen. Mit diesem Buch und einer Vielzahl internationaler Presse- und Fernsehpublikationen wurde Hein Severloh für immer in der Kriegsgeschichte verewigt. Bis zur Veröffentlichung seiner Biografie hatten die Amerikaner nie den Namen des Mannes erfahren, der ganz erheblich dazu beigetragen hatte, dass ihre Landung am 'Omaha Beach' zu einem derart furchtbaren Debakel wurde. In Zusammenarbeit mit dem international bekannten D-Day-Experten Helmut Konrad von Keusgen entstand nicht nur ein äußerst spannender Tatsachenbericht mit präzisen Ortsangaben, sondern es wurde ein zusätzlicher Blickwinkel geschaffen, der die Geschehnisse jenes dramatischen Tages in einem deutlich klareren Licht erscheinen lässt. Erschütternd berichtet Severloh von der ungeschminkten Wahrheit, räumt kompromisslos mit falschen Wertvorstellungen und Ideologien auf und stellt bisher vorherrschende offizielle Darstellungen ernsthaft infrage. Das dürfen Sie von diesem Buch erwarten: - 80 Originalfotos und detaillierte Karten liefern einmalige Einblicke in das Invasionsgeschehen - Erleben Sie die ganze Geschichte Hein Severlohs inkl. Nachruf - Helmut Konrad von Keusgens Expertise und seine exakten Darstellungen lassen Sie in jedes Detail eintauchen Profitieren Sie von einmaligen Einblicken in Hein Severlohs Kriegsdienst und Leben. Sichern Sie sich dieses lange vergriffene Stück Zeitgeschichte, indem Sie auf 'Jetzt kaufen' klicken.

Hein Severloh (Author), Mario Kunze (Narrator)

Audiobook

Chinook Crew 'Chick': Highs and Lows of Forces Life from the Longest Serving Female RAF Chinook Forc

Liz McConaghy spent a total of seventeen years flying with the RAF’s Chinook Fleet. Aged just 21, she was the youngest aircrew member to deploy to Iraq and was also the only woman on the Chinook wing for four years. In her astounding career, Liz McConaghy completed two deployments to Iraq followed by ten deployments to Helmand province in Afghanistan in support of the enduring Operation Herrick campaign. Liz’s inspiringly honest story reveals the highs and lows that she witnessed at war, and the cost that came with that both, physically and mentally for those involved. During her deployments, she survived not only a near fatal wire strike onboard her CH47, but numerous enemy fire ‘contacts’ defending her crew by returning fire from both the M134 ‘Minigun’ and M60 weapons entrusted to her to operate. Her biggest honor of all her duties, however, was serving on the Medical Emergency Response Team, or MERT, flying ambulance as it was more commonly known. This involved recovering wounded soldiers from the battlefield, often under fire, and witnessing them both die and indeed come back to life at her feet in the cabin of her Chinook. Liz saw Camp Bastion grow from a barbed wire fence surrounding an area of tents in the sand to the huge Operating Base it became. She was also on the last 1310 Flight deployment there as the British forces withdrew 10 years later handing it back to the Afghan National Army. Very few Chinook crew members, if any, spanned the length of time deployed as Liz McConaghy did. This is a genuinely unique tale that only Liz could tell, which ends with her battling the memories that haunted her, long after she had left the battlefield. Her own war within took her to the point of suicide once she had left the service. Her survival from both the battles in foreign lands and in her own head led her to begin telling her story, in the hope she can help others win their wars.

Liz Mcconaghy (Author), Liz Mcconaghy (Narrator)

Audiobook

100 Mandela Moments

Here is Nelson Mandela the statesman, the prisoner, the father, sometimes the joker, and occasionally the disciplinarian. Mandela is shown in snapshot, in the memories of old friends like George Bizos, in the words of inspiring legends like Muhammed Ali, leading the Defiance Campaign against apartheid laws, or doing the famous Madiba shuffle to Ladysmith Black Mambazo with Queen Elizabeth II. 100 Mandela Moments is an accessible introduction to the man who so profoundly influenced the South Africa of today. The story of his life that emerges is as varied and complex, as touching and inspiring, as Madiba himself.

Kate Sidley (Author), Jane Dutton (Narrator)

Audiobook

Silent Cry: The True Story of Abuse and Betrayal of an NFL Wife

Raised near New Orleans as one of six children, Dorothy Newton was surrounded by abuse and poverty as she grew up. But she became the first in her family to graduate from college and moved out of poverty. She then began to live out her dreams in Dallas of a better home and life when she married celebrity superstar football player Nate Newton. She had gone from poverty to the pinnacle of success. She was married to a handsome, successful, famous professional athlete, who was a three time Super Bowl Champion and six time Pro-Bowler for the Dallas Cowboys. But all that glittered was not gold. Before long the relationship turned abusive. She found herself living in the world she thought she had escaped in her years growing up. The world did not see her suffering behind closed doors-she was betrayed, treated abusively, threatened continually. Dorothy was trapped with no one to talk to and nowhere to run. In this book Dorothy shares her experiences of pain, loss, survival, hope, recovery, and victory. A gripping story throughout, A Silent Cry is a testament to Dorothy's will to live and the peace that comes with hope in the God who sees and hears your tears-even when no one else does.

Dorothy J. Newton (Author), Deanna Anthony (Narrator)

Audiobook

Return to Vienna: The Special Operations Executive and the Rebirth of Austria

'Captain Charles Kennedy' parachuted into a moonlit Austrian forest and searched frantically for his lost radio set. His real name was Leo Hillman and he was a Jewish refugee from Vienna. He was going home. Men and women of Churchill’s secret Special Operations Executive worked to free Austria from Hitler's grip. Many were themselves Austrians who had fled Nazi persecution. Trained and equipped by SOE, they courageously returned to their homeland. Some died in the attempt. Their moving stories are part of the history of how Austria recovered her sovereignty. 'An enthralling tale from a lesser-known part of real Second World War history. ... At its heart, this is a human story brimming with emotion, triumph, heartache, and tragedy. 5-star Readers' Favorite review. 'An extraordinary and compelling account of the little-known operations of SOE and Austria in World War Two. Peter Dixon shines a light on the bravery of the agents, in a narrative told with colour and vivacity, yet great sensitivity and meticulous research', Dr Helen Fry, author of Spymaster. 'A valuable and well-researched account of a little-known aspect of SOE’s operations’, Paul McCue, Secret World War 2 Learning Network

Peter Dixon (Author), The Author (Narrator)

Audiobook

Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons: The Lives of Jennie Jerome Churchill and Sara Delano Roosevelt

A captivating biography of two famous women whose sons, Winston Churchill and Franklin D Roosevelt, would change the course of the 20th century-by award-winning historian Charlotte Gray. Born into upper class America in the same year, 1854, Sara Delano and Jennie Jerome refused to settle into predictable, sheltered lives as little-known wives to prominent men. Instead, both women concentrated their energies on enabling their sons to reach the epicentre of political power on two continents. In the mid-19th century, the British Empire was at its height, France's Second Empire flourished and the industrial vigour of the USA was catapulting the republic towards the Gilded Age. Sara and Jennie, raised with privilege but subject to the constraints of women's roles at the time, learned how to take control of their destinies, Sara in the prosperous Hudson Valley and Jennie in the glittering world of Imperial London. Yet their personalities and choices were dramatically different. A vivacious extrovert, Jennie married Lord Randolph Churchill, rising politician and scion of a noble British family. Her deft social and political manoeuvrings helped not only her mercurial husband but, once she was widowed, her ambitious son, Winston. By contrast, deeply conventional Sara Delano married a man as old as her father. But once widowed, she made Franklin, her only child, the focus of her existence. Thanks in large part to her financial support and to her guidance, Franklin acquired the skills he needed to become a successful politician. Set against one hundred years of history, Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons is a study in loyalty and resilience. Gray argues that Jennie and Sara are too often presented as lesser figures rather than two remarkable individuals who were key in shaping the characters of the sons who adored them, and preparing them for leadership on the world stage. A masterful biographer and acclaimed historian, Charlotte Gray breathes new life into Sara and Jennie. Impeccably researched and filled with intriguing social insights, Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons offers a fascinating and fulsome portrait of how leaders are not just born but made.

Charlotte Gray (Author), Allyson Ryan (Narrator)

Audiobook

Military Audiobooks in History