Europe Audiobooks | Travel

1945: The Dawn Came Up Like Thunder

In 1945 Tom Pocock travelled widely and saw the final collapse of the German armies; the horror of concentration camps and destroyed cities; retribution reaching war criminals; and the unpredictable strangers from the east, the Red Army. In Berlin, he climbed through the ruins of Hitler's Chancellery. In Vienna, he roistered with the Russians only to be arrested by them on a trip to Budapest. By the end of the year, he had paid his first visit to the El Dorado of that now distant world, New York, the glittering, happy, prosperous, democratic center of hopes and affections of the Western World. Here indeed is the very form and pressure of the time: the awful stench of death and wholesale destruction; the casual murders and cruelties where over large tracts of territory law and order had collapsed; worst of all, the concentration camps still peopled by the ghosts of human beings, starved, tortured, terrified, and degraded. Tom Pocock's friends had served and died in the war from which he himself had been invalided, but when Hitler was defeated, he shared their feelings of exultation and relief. He was in London for VE Day and his account of it is not easily forgotten.

Tom Pocock (Author), Jonathan Cowley (Narrator)

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Anne Boleyn

Few queens of England are as famous as Anne Boleyn. Yet, who was this woman? What was her life like before Henry VIII became infatuated with her? And just how influential was she in reshaping English religious and political life during the early years of the Reformation? Marie Louise Bruce's engrossing account of Anne Boleyn charts the rise and fall of this remarkable young woman through the course of her short life, from her early days at Hever Castle, to the luxurious courts of France and England, to her terrifying last days in the Tower of London. By utilizing a wealth of primary sources, including the love letters between Henry and Anne along with innumerable documents written by courtiers and ambassadors, Bruce brings to life the splendor of the Tudor court and its most famous king and queen.

Marie Louise Bruce (Author), Gemma Dawson (Narrator)

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The Hundred Years War: A People's History

The Hundred Years War (1337-1453) dominated life in England and France for well over a century. It became the defining feature of existence for generations. This sweeping book is the first to tell the human story of the longest military conflict in history. Historian David Green focuses on the ways the war affected different groups, among them knights, clerics, women, peasants, soldiers, peacemakers, and kings. He also explores how the long war altered governance in England and France and reshaped peoples' perceptions of themselves and of their national character. Using the events of the war as a narrative thread, Green illuminates the realities of battle and the conditions of those compelled to live in occupied territory; the roles played by clergy and their shifting loyalties to king and pope; and the influence of the war on developing notions of government, literacy, and education. Peopled with vivid and well-known characters-Henry V, Joan of Arc, Philippe the Good of Burgundy, Edward the Black Prince, John the Blind of Bohemia, and many others-as well as a host of ordinary individuals who were drawn into the struggle, this absorbing book reveals for the first time not only the Hundred Years War's impact on warfare, institutions, and nations, but also its true human cost.

David Green (Author), Michael Page (Narrator)

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The Dublin Railway Murder: The sensational true story of a Victorian murder mystery

Brought to you by Penguin. A thrilling and perplexing investigation of a true Victorian crime at Dublin railway station. Dublin, November 1856: George Little, the chief cashier of the Broadstone railway terminus, is found dead, lying in a pool of blood beneath his desk. He has been savagely beaten, his head almost severed; there is no sign of a murder weapon, and the office door is locked, apparently from the inside. Thousands of pounds in gold and silver are left untouched at the scene of the crime. Augustus Guy, Ireland's most experienced detective, teams up with Dublin's leading lawyer to investigate the murder. But the mystery defies all explanation, and two celebrated sleuths sent by Scotland Yard soon return to London, baffled. Five suspects are arrested then released, with every step of the salacious case followed by the press, clamouring for answers. But then a local woman comes forward, claiming to know the murderer... © Thomas Morris 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

Thomas Morris (Author), Brendan Dempsey (Narrator)

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Growing Up: Sex in the Sixties

Brought to you by Penguin. Was the 1960s really that great time of liberation, joyful experimentation and celebration of youth? Growing Up takes an unflinching look at the dark underbelly of the sexual revolution. No era in recent history has been both more celebrated and vilified than the 1960s. For some it was a time when music, fashion and drugs enabled young people to express their individuality and freedom, their hopes and dreams of a different, perhaps better, world. For others, the decade marked the advent of the permissive society, with its undermining of authority, family values and common decency. At the heart of this continuing controversy is sex. For this wide-ranging and eye-opening survey of the sexual landscape of the 1960s Peter Doggett has assembled a dozen little-known stories that reveal how the sexual revolution transformed people's lives. Growing Up provides an honest, often disturbing portrait of a constant battle between two forces: the urge to free the body from guilt and restraint; and the desire to control, cannibalise and exploit that liberation for profit or pleasure. It is a battle that divides opinion to this day. © Peter Doggett 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

Peter Doggett (Author), Roger Davis (Narrator)

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When France Fell: The Vichy Crisis and the Fate of the Anglo-American Alliance

According to US Secretary of War Henry Stimson, the 'most shocking single event' of World War II was not the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, but rather the fall of France in spring 1940. Michael Neiberg offers a dramatic history of the American response-a policy marked by panic and moral ineptitude, which placed the United States in league with fascism and nearly ruined the alliance with Britain. The successful Nazi invasion of France destabilized American planners' strategic assumptions. At home, the result was huge increases in defense spending, the advent of peacetime military conscription, and domestic spying to weed out potential fifth columnists. Abroad, the United States decided to work with Vichy France despite its pro-Nazi tendencies. The US-Vichy partnership, intended to buy time and temper the flames of war in Europe, severely strained Anglo-American relations. After the war, the choice to back Vichy tainted US-French relations for decades. Our collective memory of World War II as a period of American strength overlooks the desperation and faulty decision making that drove US policy from 1940 to 1943. Tracing the key diplomatic and strategic moves of these formative years, When France Fell gives us a more nuanced and complete understanding of the war and of the global position the United States would occupy afterward.

Michael S. Neiberg (Author), David De Vries (Narrator)

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Momentos estelares de la historia de España

Un título clave en la bibliografía de José Calvo Poyato, en el que se recogen los grandes momentos de la historia de España: 16 acontecimientos clave para comprender la historia del país en su conjunto. Momentos estelares de la historia de España recoge los grandes momentos de nuestra historia: desde la caída de Granada, la expulsión de los judíos, el viaje de Colón y la gramática de Nebrija, hasta la promulgación de la vigente constitución (1978), pasando por las numerosas guerras y conflictos que ha vivido España. A lo largo de los siglos España ha vivido encrucijadas. En ellas el reloj de la Historia pudo haber marcado un tiempo diferente, si en ese cruce se hubiera transitado por un camino distinto. En ocasiones, esas encrucijadas se vivieron de forma intensa y hasta dramática. En otras, por lo contrario, el fluir de los acontecimientos fue más pausada. Pero, en cualquier caso,fueron momentos estelares que nos han conducido hasta el presente. Hoy estamos en el lugar donde nos ha llevado el camino que recorrieron nuestros antepasados y que el curso de la Historia impuso. A lo largo de las páginas de Momentos estelares de la Historia de España, el lector encontrará de esas encrucijadas. Podrían añadirse algunas más, pero, sin duda, en las que abordamos se forjó una parte importante de nuestro pasado.

José Calvo Poyato (Author), David Huertas (Narrator)

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Canberra Boys: Fascinating Accounts from the Operators of an English Electric Classic

The English Electric Canberra first came into production in the late 1940s and has since played a hugely significant part in world events. In Canberra Boys, Andrew Brookes takes us through its rich history with the help of those who operated this magnificent machine. Contributors include Roly 'Bee' Beamont, the English Electric test pilot who first flew the aircraft in 1949. As part of the expansion of the RAF's Bomber Command in the 1950s, RAF Binbrook was the first station to house four Canberra squadrons, starting with 101 Squadron in May 1951. Since then and throughout the 20th century, the Canberra operated across the globe in Europe, South America, and South East Asia. It has served an array of air forces such as the USAF, Australian air force, and the Indian air force-the third largest operator of the Canberra after the RAF and USAF. This led to the Canberra playing a crucial role as a photo-reconnaissance aircraft in phenomenal operations like the Suez Campaign, the nuclear tests of Operation Grapple and the Indonesian Confrontation. Other tales in the book include participation in the Sassoon Trophy competition, long-distance flights in Exercise Round Trip, and Operation Quick Flight.

Andrew Brookes (Author), Stewart Crank (Narrator)

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Los europeos: Tres vidas y el nacimiento de la cultura europea

Una obra deslumbrante que rastrea los orígenes de la cultura europea de todo el continente, por el aclamado historiador Orlando Figes, un «maestro de la narrativa histórica» (Financial Times). «Un libro deslumbrante que se mueve entre la estampa individual y la fotografía de grupo.» Karina Sainz Borgo, Vozpópuli El siglo XIX europeo, un momento de logros artísticos sin precedentes, fue la primera era de la globalización cultural, una época en que las comunicaciones masivas y los viajes en tren de alta velocidad reunieron a Europa, superando las barreras del nacionalismo y facilitando el surgimiento de un verdadero canon europeo de obras artísticas, musicales y literarias. Llegado 1900, se leían los mismos libros, se reproducían las mismas obras artísticas, se representaban las mismas óperas y se interpretaba la misma música en los hogares y seescuchaba en las salas de conciertos a lo largo de todo el continente. Partiendo de una gran cantidad de documentos, cartas y otros materiales de archivo, el aclamado historiador Orlando Figes examina cómo fue posible esta unificación. En el centro del libro hay un triángulo amoroso conmovedor: Ivan Turgenev, el primer gran escritor ruso en convertirse en una celebridad europea, Pauline Viardot, de origen español, una de las cantantes de ópera más famosas del mundo, además de compositora y profesora de canto, y Louis Viardot, director de teatro, activista republicano y gran experto en arte(autor de las primeras guías de grandes museos del mundo, el Prado entre otros)y esposo de Pauline, por cuya carrera musical sacrificó parte de la suya. Juntos, Turgenev y los Viardot estuvieron en el centro del intercambio cultural europeo: conocían o se cruzaban con Delacroix, Berlioz, Chopin, Brahms, Liszt, Schumann, Hugo, Flaubert, Dickens y Dostoyevski, entre muchas otrasfiguras destacadas. Como observa Figes, casi todos los grandes avances de la civilización se han producido durante los períodos de mayor cosmopolitismo, cuando las personas, las ideas y las creaciones artísticas circulan libremente entre las naciones. Vívido y perspicaz, Los europeos muestra cómo ese fermento cosmopolita fraguó tradiciones artísticas que llegaron a dominar la cultura mundial.

Orlando Figes (Author), David Carrillo (Narrator)

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The Mythical People of Ireland: Tuatha De Danann, Druids, and Elves

The ancient history of Ireland involves many mysterious beings who may have been aliens or had come from another dimension called “The Otherworld”. This book examines the history of mythical people in Ireland such as the Tuatha Da Danann, the Gods of these peoples and their descendants. The fairies include the Leprechauns- there being several different types, and the Druids who may also be descended from these ancient peoples. What is the history of fairies and druids? Did they really exist? There are stories about all of these beings who may have all been inter-related. Information on “The Otherworld” is also included. It is supposed to be a realm where these beings all originated and can return to. Some humans have visited and returned also. I’ve also collected some stories about possible modern encounters with these beings. They may still exist in our modern world.

Martin K. Ettington (Author), Martin K. Ettington (Narrator)

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Scotland: A History from Earliest Times

Five hundred million years of Scottish history from the author of Arthur and the Lost Kingdoms: 'Deserves a prominent place in the history canon' (Scots Magazine). Covering the Ice Age to the recent Scottish Referendum, the acclaimed historian and author explores the history of the Scottish nation. Focusing on key moments such as the Battle of Bannockburn and the Jacobite risings, Moffat also features other episodes in history that are perhaps less well documented. From prehistoric timber halls to inventions and literature, Moffat's epic explores the drama of battle, change, loss, and innovation interspersed with the lives of ordinary Scottish folk, the men and women who defined a nation.

Alistair Moffat (Author), Ruth Urquhart (Narrator)

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Collapse: The Fall of the Soviet Union

A major study of the collapse of the Soviet Union-showing how Gorbachev's misguided reforms led to its demise In 1945 the Soviet Union controlled half of Europe and was a founding member of the United Nations. By 1991, it had an army four-million strong, five-thousand nuclear-tipped missiles, and was the second biggest producer of oil in the world. But soon afterward the union sank into an economic crisis and was torn apart by nationalist separatism. Its collapse was one of the seismic shifts of the twentieth century. Thirty years on, Vladislav Zubok offers a major reinterpretation of the final years of the USSR, refuting the notion that the breakup of the Soviet order was inevitable. Instead, Zubok reveals how Gorbachev's misguided reforms, intended to modernize and democratize the Soviet Union, deprived the government of resources and empowered separatism. Collapse sheds new light on Russian democratic populism, the Baltic struggle for independence, the crisis of Soviet finances-and the fragility of authoritarian state power.

Vladislav M. Zubok (Author), David De Vries (Narrator)

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Europe Audiobooks in Travel