Africa Audiobooks | Travel

We Are Not Such Things: The Murder of a Young American, a South African Township, and the Search for

Justine van der Leun reopens the murder of a young American woman in South Africa, an iconic case that calls into question our understanding of truth and reconciliation, loyalty, justice, race, and class. The story of Amy Biehl is well known in South Africa. The twenty-six-year-old white American Fulbright scholar was brutally murdered on August 25, 1993, during the final, fiery days of apartheid by a mob of young black men in a township outside Cape Town. Her parents' forgiveness of two of her killers became a symbol of the truth and reconciliation process in South Africa. Justine van der Leun decided to introduce the story to an American audience. But as she delved into the case, the prevailing narrative started to unravel. Why didn't the eyewitness reports agree on who killed Amy Biehl? Were the men convicted of the murder actually responsible for her death? And then Van der Leun discovered another brutal crime committed on the same day, in the very same area. The true story of Amy Biehl's death, it turned out, was not only a story of forgiveness but also a reflection of the complicated history of a troubled country. We Are Not Such Things is the result of Van der Leun's four-year investigation into this strange, knotted tale of injustice, violence, and compassion. The bizarre twists and turns of this case and its aftermath-and the story that emerges of what happened on that fateful day in 1993 and in the decades that followed-come together in an unsparing account of life in South Africa today. Van der Leun immerses herself in the lives of her subjects and paints a stark, moving portrait of a township and its residents. We come to understand that the issues at the heart of her investigation are universal in scope and powerful in resonance. We Are Not Such Things reveals how reconciliation is impossible without an acknowledgment of the past, a lesson as relevant to America today as to a South Africa still struggling with the long shadow of its history. "A tour-de-force depiction...A complex, nuanced, and perhaps ultimately unknowable story that will captivate all readers."-Publishers Weekly

Justine Van der Leun (Author), Erin Bennett (Narrator)

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War of Shadows: Codebreakers, Spies, and the Secret Struggle to Drive the Nazis from the Middle East

Rommel's army is a day from Cairo, a week from Tel Aviv. The SS is ready for action. Espionage brought the Nazis this far. Espionage can stop them - if Washington wakes up to the danger. As World War II raged in North Africa, General Erwin Rommel was guided by an uncanny sense of his enemies' plans and weaknesses. In the summer of 1942, he led his Axis army swiftly and terrifyingly toward Alexandria, with the goal of overrunning the entire Middle East. Each step was informed by detailed updates on British positions. The Nazis, somehow, had a source for the Allies' greatest secrets. Yet the Axis powers were not the only ones with intelligence. Brilliant Allied cryptographers worked relentlessly at Bletchley Park, breaking down the extraordinarily complex Nazi code Enigma. From decoded German messages, they discovered that the enemy had a wealth of inside information. On the brink of disaster, a fevered and high-stakes search for the source began. War of Shadows is the cinematic story of the race for information in the North African theater of World War II, set against intrigues that spanned the Middle East. Years in the making, this book is a feat of historical research and storytelling, and a rethinking of the popular narrative of the war. It portrays the conflict not as an inevitable clash of heroes and villains but a spiraling series of failures, accidents, and desperate triumphs that decided the fate of the Middle East and quite possibly the outcome of the war.

Gershom Gorenberg (Author), Fred Berman (Narrator)

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Until We Have Won Our Liberty: South Africa after Apartheid

At a time when many democracies are under strain around the world, Until We Have Won Our Liberty shines new light on the signal achievements of one of the contemporary era's most closely watched transitions away from minority rule. South Africa's democratic development has been messy, fiercely contested, and sometimes violent. But as Evan Lieberman argues, it has also offered a voice to the voiceless, unprecedented levels of government accountability, and tangible improvements in quality of life. Lieberman opens with a first-hand account of the hard-fought 2019 national election, and how it played out in Mogale City. From this launching point, he examines the complexities of South Africa's multiracial society and the unprecedented democratic experiment that began with the election of Nelson Mandela in 1994. While acknowledging the enormous challenges many South Africans continue to face-including unemployment, inequality, and discrimination-Lieberman draws on the country's history and the experience of comparable countries to demonstrate that elected Black-led governments have, without resorting to political extremism, improved the lives of millions. Countering much of the conventional wisdom about contemporary South Africa, Until We Have Won Our Liberty offers hope for the enduring impact of democratic ideals.

Evan Lieberman (Author), Daniel Henning (Narrator)

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UMzimba Iqhawe Lenkosi uShaka

Sibahle Cebekhulu (Author), Sibahle Cebekhulu (Narrator)

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UMangethe kaMafu

Sibahle Cebekhulu (Author), Sibahle Cebekhulu (Narrator)

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Uganda: History of Its Early Days and the Ugandan Bush War

This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice. This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice. The individuals who ultimately transformed the landscape were likely Bantu speakers, whose gradual yet inexorable expansion became the dominant force across much of Africa south of the Sahara Desert. Their agricultural expertise and mastery of iron-forging technology allowed for the clearing of land and sustained the burgeoning population. As early as 400 BCE, they not only engaged in farming but also commenced the domestication of goats, poultry, and cattle. This agricultural prowess not only reshaped the physical terrain but also influenced the displacement of indigenous hunter-gatherer communities, pushing them into more remote mountainous regions for habitation. Simultaneously, Bantu-speaking metallurgists achieved significant advancements in iron smelting, producing medium-grade carbon steel in pre-heated forced-draft furnaces by the fourth century BCE. While these innovations primarily unfolded southwest of the present Ugandan borders, the mining and smelting of iron became prevalent in various regions of the country shortly thereafter.

Kelly Mass (Author), Digital Voice Michelle G (Narrator)

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Travels in the interior of Africa in 1795 by Mungo Park, the explorer

Mungo Park was an explorer of the real kind. In 1795, only aged 24, he left Gambia for the uncharted interior of Africa, in a journey that would be filled with tragedy, heroism, and adventure. Park was the first European to ever reach the river Niger and the legendary city of Timbuctoo, thus resolving, once and for all, a century-old geographic debate. He travelled with local guides and later entirely alone, through warring kingdoms, robberies, imprisonment, and extreme duress. By the time he returned to Gambia, he had long been given up for dead. The Travels in the interior of Africa are a collection of the meticulous notes he kept during his journey. This story of exploration and survival told in a simple tone offers unique insight into conditions in West Africa in a time already far away; it is informational, inspiring, and highly entertaining.

Mungo Park (Author), Paul Edwards (Narrator)

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Together We Stand

The birth of an alliance that changed the course of history.From the bestselling author of Fortress Malta this is the second book in the Mediterranean war trilogy. This audiobook looks afresh at the conflict in Northern Africa, focusing for the first time on the involvement of the US and the way this early collaboration to defeat Rommel shaped the whole Anglo-American axis for the rest of the war in Europe.By June 1942, Britain had reached her lowest ebb. Her military command was in tatters, her armies beaten, and in the Middle East it seemed all might be lost. Her new ally, America, had only fledgling armed forces and was severely under-trained, yet it was this alliance of the weary combatant and naïve newcomer, coming together for the first time in North Africa, that would eventually bring about the defeat of Nazi Germany.This crucial period - from defeat at Gazala through to the victories of Alamein and ultimately in Tunisia - was a time of learning for the Allies, yet by the end Britain and America had finally gained material and certain tactical advantages over Germany, particularly in the air warfare. As this book shows, the development of a tactical air force - principles that are still used to this day - were founded over the skies of North Africa.When the Axis forces were finally driven from North Africa in May 1943, over 250,000 Axis troops were taken prisoner, more than had surrendered to the Russians at Stalingrad. It was a major victory and a crucial steppingstone to the future invasion of Italy and France.In this new reappraisal, James Holland also interweaves the personal stories of the men - and women - who made up these polyglot Allied forces: British and American, Nepalese and Punjabi, South African and Australian, Maori and Zulu, from all ranks and all services. From the heat and dust of the Western Desert to the mud and mountains of Northern Tunisia, this book charts the extraordinary first days of an Alliance that has worked together ever since.

James Holland (Author), Tim Pigott-Smith (Narrator)

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To Catch a Dictator: The Pursuit and Trial of Hissène Habré

What does it take to make a dictator answer for his crimes? Hissene Habre, the former despot of Chad, terrorized, tortured, and killed on a horrific scale over eight years in power-while enjoying full American and Western support. After Habre's overthrow, his victims and their supporters were determined to see him held responsible for his atrocities. Their quest for justice would be long, tense, and unnerving, but they would not back down. To Catch a Dictator is an insider's account of the hunt for Habre and his momentous trial. The human rights lawyer Reed Brody recounts how he and an international team of investigators, legal experts, and victims worked across three continents to unearth evidence and witnesses, petition courts and skeptical governments, and rally public opinion. They faced many obstacles and constant threats. Habre fought back bitterly, drawing on secret bank accounts and extensive political connections to preserve his life of luxurious exile. Yet Brody and his allies ultimately triumphed: Habre became the first former head of state to be convicted of crimes against humanity in the courts of another country. This fast-paced, suspenseful book shows that there is nothing inevitable about the impunity that too often protects the powerful and that even the worst tyrants can be brought to justice.

Reed Brody (Author), Reed Brody (Narrator)

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Tip and Run: The Untold Tragedy of the First World War in Africa

Controversial and groundbreaking account of the infamous East African campaign during the First World War 'Superb' Sunday Times 'Masterful' Daily Mail 'Gripping' Daily Telegraph The Great War's East Africa campaign was, and remains, of huge importance. A 'small war', consisting of a few 'local affairs', was all that was expected in August 1914 as Britain moved to eliminate the threat to the high seas of German naval bases in Africa. But two weeks after the Armistice was signed in Europe British and German troops were still fighting in Africa after four years of what one campaign historian described as 'a war of extermination and attrition without parallel in modern times'. The expense of the campaign to the British Empire was immense, the Allied and German 'butchers bills' even greater. But the most tragic consequence of the two sides' deadly game of 'tip and run' was the devastation of an area five times the size of Germany, and civilian suffering on a scale unimaginable in Europe. Includes the real stories behind the classic Bogart/ film THE AFRICAN QUEEN, William Boyd's Booker shortlisted novel AN ICE-CREAM WAR, Wilbur Smith's thriller SHOUT AT THE DEVIL and two of the Young Indiana Jones films

Edward Paice (Author), Edward Paice, Jonathan Keeble (Narrator)

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There Was A Country: A Personal History of Biafra

From the legendary author of Things Fall Apart comes a long-awaited memoir about coming of age with a fragile new nation, then watching it torn asunder in a tragic civil war. The defining experience of Chinua Achebe's life was the Nigerian civil war, also known as the Biafran War, of 1967-1970. The conflict was infamous for its savage impact on the Biafran people, Chinua Achebe's people, many of whom were starved to death after the Nigerian government blockaded their borders. By then, Chinua Achebe was already a world-renowned novelist, with a young family to protect. He took the Biafran side in the conflict and served his government as a roving cultural ambassador, from which vantage he absorbed the war's full horror. Immediately after, Achebe took refuge in an academic post in the United States, and for more than 40 years he has maintained a considered silence on the events of those terrible years, addressing them only obliquely through his poetry. Now, decades in the making, comes a towering reckoning with one of modern Africa's most fateful events, from a writer whose words and courage have left an enduring stamp on world literature. Achebe masterfully relates his experience, both as he lived it and how he has come to understand it. He begins his story with Nigeria's birth pangs and the story of his own upbringing as a man and as a writer so that we might come to understand the country's promise, which turned to horror when the hot winds of hatred began to stir. To read There Was a Country is to be powerfully reminded that artists have a particular obligation, especially during a time of war. All writers, Achebe argues, should be committed writers - they should speak for their history, their beliefs, and their people. Marrying history and memoir, poetry and prose, There Was a Country is a distillation of vivid firsthand observation and 40 years of research and reflection. Wise, humane, and authoritative, it will stand as definitive and reinforce Achebe's place as one of the most vital literary and moral voices of our age. "1966", "Benin Road", "Penalty of Godhead", "Generation Gap", "Biafra, 1969", "A Mother in a Refugee Camp", "The First Shot", "Air Raid", "Mango Seedling", "We Laughed at Him", "Vultures", and "After a War" from Collected Poems by Chinua Achebe. Copyright 1971, 1973, 2004 by Chinua Achebe. Used by permission of Anchor Books, a division of Random House, Inc. and The Wylie Agency, LLC.

Chinua Achebe (Author), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Narrator)

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The Zulu War: A Captivating Guide to the Origins, Battles, and Legacy of the 19th-Century Anglo-Zulu

If you want to discover the captivating history of the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War, then keep reading… How well do you think you would fare if you were armed with short spears and cowhide shields against an army with rifles, machine guns, and artillery? In January 1879, a powerful and modern British army advanced confidently into Zululand, determined to kill or capture Zulu King Cetwayo and crush the Zulu warrior army. Days later, the British soldiers were in headlong retreat, having suffered one of the most devastating defeats in British military history. That same day, only a gallant defense of a small outpost at Rorke’s Drift, matching one hundred British soldiers against four thousand Zulus, redeemed British imperial esteem. You may know these two battles, but the campaign as a whole only lasted eight months and was full of desperate defenses, heroic attacks, tragedies, and surprise reversals of fortune. In this audiobook, you will gain a good understanding of the causes, course, and consequences of the war, including the following: - The background and approach to the war - Why though the British government in London did not want a war with the Zulus - The background of the Zulu Empire, including its history, rulers, culture, military structure, weapons, and tactics - The British army of the time, including its structure, weapons, and tactics - The strengths and weaknesses of both sides - The mistakes and miscalculations made by the British commanders as they confronted the Zulus - The challenges facing the Zulus against a modern European army - The course of events during the eight-month campaign - The detail of the two famous battles of Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift - The defeat of the British first invasion and the need for a second one Scroll up and click the “add to cart” button to learn more about the Zulu War!

Captivating History (Author), Jay Herbert (Narrator)

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Africa Audiobooks in Travel