World Audiobooks | History

You'll Do: A History of Marrying for Reasons Other Than Love

An illuminating and thought-provoking examination of the uniquely American institution of marriage, from the Colonial era through the #MeToo age Perfect for fans of Rebecca Solnit and Rebecca Traister Americans hold marriage in such high esteem that we push people toward it, reward them for taking part in it, and fetishize its benefits to the point that we routinely ignore or excuse bad behavior and societal ills in the name of protecting and promoting it. In eras of slavery and segregation, Blacks sometimes gained white legal status through marriage. Laws have been designed to encourage people to marry so that certain societal benefits could be achieved: the population would increase, women would have financial security, children would be cared for, and immigrants would have familial connections. As late as the Great Depression, poor young women were encouraged to marry aged Civil War veterans for lifetime pensions. The widely overlooked problem with this tradition is that individuals and society have relied on marriage to address or dismiss a range of injustices and inequities, from gender- and race-based discrimination, sexual violence, and predation to unequal financial treatment. One of the most persuasive arguments against women's right to vote was that marrying and influencing their husband's choices was just as meaningful, if not better. Through revealing storytelling, Zug builds a compelling case that when marriage is touted as "the solution" to such problems, it absolves the government, and society, of the responsibility for directly addressing them.

Marcia A. Zug (Author), Leigh Serling (Narrator)

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American Epic: Reading the U.S. Constitution

In 1987, E. L. Doctorow celebrated the Constitution's bicentennial by reading it. 'It is five thousand words long but reads like fifty thousand,' he said. Distinguished legal scholar Garrett Epps disagrees. It's about 7,500 words. And Doctorow 'missed a good deal of high rhetoric, many literary tropes, and even a trace of, if not wit, at least irony,' he writes. In American Epic, Epps takes us through a complete reading of the Constitution to achieve an appreciation of its power and a holistic understanding of what it says. In this book he seeks not to provide a definitive interpretation, but to listen to the language and ponder its meaning. He draws on four modes of reading: scriptural, legal, lyric, and epic. The Constitution's first three words, for example, sound spiritual-but Epps finds them to be more aspirational than prayer-like. He turns the Second Amendment into a poem to illuminate its ambiguity. He notices oddities and omissions. The Constitution lays out rules for presidential appointment of officers, for example, but not removal. Should the Senate approve each firing? Can it withdraw its 'advice and consent' and force a resignation? And he challenges himself, as seen in his surprising discussion of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in light of Article 4, which orders states to give 'full faith and credit' to the acts of other states.

Garrett Epps (Author), Lee Goettl (Narrator)

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The Slave in Canada

A Dusty Tomes Audio BookIn Cooperation with Spoken Realms The Slave in Canada by The Honorable William Renwick Riddell LL.D, F. R. Hist. Soc; F. R. Soc. Can.; &c, &c. JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF ONTARIO from The Journal of Negro History, Vol. V, No. 3, July, 1920, Carter G. Woodson, Editor. Narrated by Joseph TablerNote—This book is ‘read as written'. It was published in 1920. It is in the public domain. Read on the Internet Archive at Archive.org. Lengthy footnotes not read. Carter Godwin Woodson (December 19, 1875–April 3, 1950) was an American historian, author, journalist, and the founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). He was one of the first scholars to study the history of the African diaspora, including African American history. A founder of The Journal of Negro History in 1916, Woodson has been called the “father of black history.' Dusty Tomes Audio Books are public domain books retrieved from the ravages of time; Available as never before, as audio books, for your edification, pleasure, and consideration. This Dusty Tomes audio book was Read Online at Internet Archive. ( https://archive.org/ ) It is replete with footnotes (not read into the audio).

William Renwick Riddell (Author), Joseph Tabler (Narrator)

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Mistress of Life and Death: The Dark Journey of Maria Mandl, Head Overseer of the Women's Camp at Au

A masterful exploration of one of the Nazi regime's darkest figures—and one of the few female perpetrators of the Holocaust. By the time of her execution at thirty-six, Maria Mandl had achieved the highest rank possible for a woman in the Third Reich. As Head Overseer of the women's camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau, she was personally responsible for the murders of thousands, and for the torture and suffering of countless more. Susan J. Eischeid explores how Mandl, regarded locally as “a nice girl from a good family,” came to embody the very worst of humanity. Her life mirrors the period in which she lived: turbulent, violent, and suffused with paradoxes. After the war, Maria was arrested for crimes against humanity; following a public trial attended by the international press, she was hanged in 1948. For two decades, Eischeid has excavated the details of Mandl's life story, drawing on archival testimonies, speaking to dozens of witnesses, and spending time with Mandl's community of friends and neighbours who shared their memories. The result is a chilling and complex exploration of how easily an ordinary citizen chose the path of evil in a climate of hate and fear. 'A chilling account of how an ordinary Austrian woman from a good family became one of the most brutal and sadistic concentration camp guards at Auschwitz and Ravensbrück. Brilliantly researched… should be compulsory reading.' - Anne Sebba, New York Times bestselling author of Les Parisiennes 'Music, mass murder, Mandl--Eischeid's reckoning with those factors offers page-turning insight about the Holocaust and humanity.' --John K. Roth, author of The Failures of Ethics and Sources of Holocaust Insight

Susan J. Eischeid (Author), Bronwen Price (Narrator)

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[Spanish] - El Tercer Reich: Una nueva historia

Michael Burleigh nos ofrece una visión radicalmente nueva del Tercer Reich desde su gestación hasta su destrucción final. Antes de la aparición de esta obra, ganadora del prestigioso Premio de Ensayo Samuel Johnson 2001, no existía una historia completa sobre la Alemania nazi, a pesar de que ha sido uno de los fenómenos más estudiados del siglo XX. Este libro demuestra que el abandono de la democracia y la tolerancia que protagonizó el Tercer Reich estaba extendido por la Europa de la época. Narra cómo un movimiento pseudorreligioso, imbuido de un sentimentalismo demagógico, parecía ofrecer la salvación a una Alemania exhausta por la guerra y la creciente inflación. Muestra las consecuencias de la desaparición del gobierno de la ley en favor del terror. Pero, a diferencia de otros recientes estudios de este periodo, no condena a toda la nación alemana. Explica lacompleja moralidad utilizada para «legitimar» el Holocausto por parte de quienes lo llevaron a cabo y recrea con brillantez las complejidades de la vida bajo un régimen totalitario, que gobernó casi toda Europa durante cuatro años. Reseñas: «Estas pasmosa investigación le dejará sin aliento. Más profunda que cualquier otra, es el producto de un verdadero genio.» The Sunday Times «Esta brillante visión de una gran tiranía es una importantísima contribución para entender el siglo XX.» Booklist

Michael Burleigh (Author), Javier Portugués (portu) (Narrator)

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The Dakota War of 1862: The History and Legacy of the Sioux Uprising during the American Civil War

Despite being one of the most erstwhile foes the U.S. government faced during the Indian Wars, the Sioux and their most famous leaders were grudgingly admired and eventually immortalized by the very people they fought. Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse remain household names due to their leadership of the Sioux at the fateful Battle of the Little Bighorn, where the native warriors wiped out much of George Custer’s 7th Cavalry and inflicted the worst defeat of the Indian Wars upon the U.S. Army. Red Cloud remains a symbol of both defiance and conciliation, resisting the Americans during Red Cloud’s War but also transitioning into a more peaceful life for decades on reservation. However, one of the more overlooked conflicts the U.S. Army had with the Sioux took place during the American Civil War. It is known by various names, including the Dakota War, the US-Dakota War, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak, and Little Crow’s War (after the principal Dakota leader), but the current most commonly used name for the war is the “Dakota War.” Two of the four Dakota tribes in the state unleashed their anger and frustration on largely immigrant communities that were heavily German or Norwegian, and the massacres took a heavy toll. In the process, the conflict featured the largest Indian siege of an Army fort in American history, and the end of the conflict brought the largest mass execution in American history. Indeed, the total loss of life during the Dakota War was perhaps the second largest of all the Indian Wars in North America, second only to the bloody King Philip’s War in colonial New England in the late 17th century, during which more than 1,000 settlers were killed. Throughout the Dakota War, as many as 800 whites were killed, although no one knows the total, and many of the victims were buried in anonymous mass graves.

Charles River Editors (Author), Kc Wayman (Narrator)

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[German] - G/GESCHICHTE - Roms Goldenes Zeitalter: Die großen Kaiser von Trajan zu Mark Aurel

Mit Nerva, Trajan, Antoninus Pius und Mark Aurel zählt Hadrian zu den Herrschern, die im englischen Sprachraum als »Five Good Emperors« (Fünf gute Kaiser) bezeichnet werden. Der britische Historiker Edward Gibbon schwärmt 1776 in seinem epochalen Hauptwerk »Verfall und Untergang des Römischen Imperiums« über deren Amtszeit von 96 bis 180 n. Chr.: »Wenn ein Mensch dazu aufgerufen wäre, sich auf einen Abschnitt in der Weltgeschichte festzulegen, in dessen Verlauf die Lage des Menschengeschlechts die glücklichste und fortschrittlichste war, so würde er, ohne zu zögern, jenen benennen, welcher vom Tod des Domitian bis zum Amtsantritt des Commodus reichte.« Das Urteil ist aus heutiger Sicht natürlich unhaltbar. Schon die von Rom angegriffenen und versklavten Völker hätten der Jubelarie sicher nicht zugestimmt. Für die Menschen im Reich aber war es eine Phase erstaunlicher Stabilität, die bereits in der Zeit der Flavier begann und so manchem Bewohner ungeahnte Möglichkeiten eröffnete, wie Archäologieprofessor Salvatore Ortisi im Interview anschaulich erklärt.

G Geschichte (Author), Karsten Wolf (Narrator)

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Shake It Up, Baby!: The Rise of Beatlemania and the Mayhem of 1963

The Beatles broke up more than half a century ago, yet millions around the globe are still drawn to the legacy of four lads from Liverpool. In Shake It Up, Baby! we go back to the start - to 1963, when they went from playing to a handful of people in the remote Scottish Highlands to four number one singles, two number one albums, three UK tours and being besieged by thousands of fans at gigs all over Britain. Ken McNab tells the story through gripping, exclusive eye-witness accounts from those who were there: the Beatlemaniacs, the journalists, broadcasters and TV producers who were scrambling to make sense of it all, and the other bands who could only watch in awe as The Beatles went from bottom of the bill to headline act to biggest band on the planet.

Ken Mcnab (Author), Luke R Francis (Narrator)

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The Rise of American Civilization, Vol. 1: The Agricultural Era

A Dusty Tomes Audio BookIn Cooperation with Spoken Realms The Rise of American Civilization by Charles A. Beard and Mary R. Beard. In two volumes. Volume One: The Agricultural Era. The MacMillan Company 1927. Narrated by Joseph TablerNote: This book is ‘read as written'. It was published in 1927. It is in the public domain. Narrator’s note: Published as a very large book … perhaps to show how special it is, and it is that!! I was tempted to split it into two books per volume, but decided to present it as originally published. Charles A. Beard, a proponent of the “New History', which emphasized the importance of cultural economic developments as opposed to just warfare and diplomacy. “… synthesizing the political, economic and cultural elements in our history from the colonial days to the present … with such mastery of material, such discrimination in judgment, such vigor and charm of style as characterize Professor and Mrs. Beard’s volumes is a contribution to American historiography which can only be fitly described as epochal. … it would be invidious to emphasize a few inevitable infelicities and a few slips in proof-reading in a work of such magnificence of conception and skill in execution. The Beards have tackled a most difficult task and achieved it with brilliant success. They have set a new standard in the writing of American history and have put every student of the institutions, the civilization, and the culture of our Republic deeply in their debt.”—David S. Muzzey (Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 42, No. 3 (Sep. 1927), pp. 431–436. Published by: Oxford University Press) Contents:I. England’s Colonial SecretII. Laying The Structural Base of the Thirteen ColoniesIII. The Growth of Economic and Political PowerIV. Provincial AmericaV. The Clash of Metropolis and ColonyVI. Independence and Civil ConflictVI. Populism and ReactionVII. The Rise of National PartiesIX. Agricultural Imperialism and the Balance of PowerX. The Young RepublicXI. New Agricultural StatesXII. Jacksonian Democracy—A Triumphant Farmer Labor PartyXII. Westward to the PacificXIV. The Sweep of Economic ForcesXV. The Politics of the Economic DriftXVI. Democracy: Romantic and Realistic Dusty Tomes Audio Books are public domain books retrieved from history. If today’s technology had been available when first printed, they would be audio books already. I am grateful for the opportunity to record them now. Read online at archive.org Narrator’s Note: I read only as written. These old books were once solid sellers for bookmen of their time. I believe they can shed light on their times and ours. I love obscure and remote literature, they are a distinct pleasure for me to read to you. These turn out to be distant and unknown only so long as they remain unread or unheard. Aloha.

Charles A. Beard, Mary R. Beard (Author), Joseph Tabler (Narrator)

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Glimpses of a Public Ivy

Glimpses of a Public Ivy is a collection of vignettes of life at William & Mary, America's second oldest college, from 1950 through 2000. Written by an award winning professor, the stories include extraordinary achievement, humerous incidents, unique characters and memories of day-to day life at the historic university. Holmes uses his own experience as a professor, along with interviews with faculty, alumni and staff, to paint a detailed, fond and rich picture which will inspire and amuse anyone with ties to William & Mary or any collegiate setting.

David L Holmes (Author), Lee Riley (Narrator)

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A Rare Recording of U.S. General Billy Mitchell

William "Billy" Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879 - February 19, 1936) was a United States Army officer, regarded as the father of the United States Air Force. After serving in France during World War I, Mitchell was appointed deputy director of the Air Service, calling for increased investment in air power which he believed would be vital in future wars. His advocacy antagonized leaders of the US Army and Navy. However, Mitchell demonstrated through a series of Air Force bombing exercises conducted against Naval ships in 1921 and 1923 that his ideas on the superiority of airpower were indeed correct.

General William 'billy' Lendrum Mitchell (Author), General William 'billy' Lendrum Mitchell (Narrator)

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A Rare Recording of Winston Churchill's We Shall Fight On The Beaches Speech

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (November 30, 1874 - January 24, 1965) was born in Oxfordshire, England, of mixed English and American parentage. He would become a statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945, during the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955. Apart from two years between 1922 and 1924, he was a Member of Parliament from 1900 to 1964 as both a member of the Liberal Party and, later, as member and leader of the Conservative Party. Widely considered one of the 20th century's most significant figures, Churchill is seen as a victorious wartime leader who played an important role in defending Europe's liberal democracy against the spread of fascism. "We Shall Fight On The Beaches" was a speech delivered by the Churchill as Prime Minister to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom on June 4th 1940.

Sir Winston Churchill (Author), Sir Winston Churchill (Narrator)

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World Audiobooks in History