History audiobooks

Tutankhamun and the Tomb that Changed the World

By: Bob Brier, PhD

Narrated by: Christopher Douyard

Length: 10 hours 15 minutes

Abridged: No

It is often thought that the story of Tutankhamun ended when the thousands of items discovered by Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon were transported to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and put on display. But there is far more to the story. Tutankhamun and the Tomb that Changed the World explores the 100 years of research on Tutankhamun that have... Read more

The Greatest Viking

By: Desmond Seward

Narrated by: Liam Gerrard

Length: 7 hours 14 minutes

Abridged: No

A ruthless Viking warrior who named his most prized battle weapon after the Norse goddess of death, Olav Haraldsson and his mercenaries wrought terror and destruction from the Baltic to Galicia in the early eleventh century. Thousands were put to the sword, enslaved, or ransomed. In England, Canterbury was sacked, its archbishop murdered, and... Read more

The Ancient Mayan Civilization

By: History Retold

Narrated by: Henry Andersen

Length: 2 hours 12 minutes

Abridged: No

Discover the enthralling story of the Maya, from their emergence in the Pre-Classic period to their decline in the Post-Classic period.
This book is an essential guide for anyone interested in learning about the Expansion, Growth, and Decline of the Maya civilization. • Uncover the fascinating history of the Maya, from their emergence in the... Read more

Zapotec Civilisation

By: History Retold

Narrated by: Henry Andersen

Length: 1 hour 53 minutes

Abridged: No

The Zapotecs were an ancient civilization that flourished in present-day Mexico from 500 BC to 1521 AD. In this book, you'll discover the story of the Zapotecs – a complex, sophisticated culture that left behind a rich legacy of art, architecture, and religious artifacts.You'll explore the Zapotec language, religion, and government, learn about... Read more

The Hartford Circus Fire

By: Michael Skidgell

Narrated by: P.J. Ochlan

Length: 4 hours 19 minutes

Abridged: No

Through firsthand accounts and interviews with survivors, author Michael Skidgell attempts to make sense of one of Hartford's worst tragedies.

Almost 7,000 fans eagerly packed into the Ringling Brothers big top on July 6, 1944. With a single careless act, an afternoon at the "Greatest Show on Earth" quickly became one of terror and tragedy as... Read more

The Native Americans’ Forgotten Victories: The History and Legacy of Early Battles Won by Indigenous Groups Before the Indian Wars

By: Charles River Editors

Narrated by: KC Wayman

Length: 1 hour 36 minutes

Abridged: No

Most Americans have heard of the Little Bighorn, the 1876 battle in which a band of Lakota Sioux and their allies wiped out most of the 7th U.S. Cavalry under the command of George Armstrong Custer. The movie images are of fierce warriors in long eagle feather headdresses flowing behind them as they gallop across the plains on nimble Indian... Read more

The Midnight Kingdom

By: Jared Yates Sexton

Narrated by: Jared Yates Sexton

Length: 10 hours 34 minutes

Abridged: No

From the author of American Rule and the host of The Muckrake Podcast, an ambitious account of how white supremacist lies, religious mythologies, and poisonous conspiracy theories built the modern world and threaten to plunge us into an authoritarian nightmare.
 
To fully understand these strange and dangerous times, Jared Yates Sexton takes a... Read more

On Becoming an American Writer

By: James Alan McPherson

Narrated by: Cary Hite

Length: 7 hours 19 minutes

Abridged: No

Discover the unique mind and humane vision of an under-recognized American author. Encompassing themes of race, education, fame, law, and America’s past and future, these essays are James Alan McPherson at his most prescient and invaluable.Born in segregated 1940s Georgia, McPherson graduated from Harvard Law School only to give up law and... Read more

Why Read

By: Will Self

Narrated by: Will Self

Length: 9 hours 50 minutes

Abridged: No

From the Booker–shortlisted author of Umbrella, a world-girdling collection of writings inspired by a life lived in and for literatureFrom one of the most unusual and distinctive writers working today, Will Self’s Why Read is a cornucopia of thoughtful and brilliantly witty essays on writing and literature.Self takes us with him: from the... Read more

A Little History of Art

By: Charlotte Mullins

Narrated by: Rachael Beresford

Length: 11 hours 35 minutes

Abridged: No

Charlotte Mullins brings art to life through the stories of those who created it and, importantly, reframes who is included in the narrative to create a more diverse and exciting landscape of art. She shows how art can help us see the world differently and understand our place in it, how it helps us express ourselves, fuels our creativity, and... Read more

George Whitefield

By: J. C. Ryle

Narrated by: Simon Bubb

Length: 1 hour 18 minutes

Abridged: No

A widely-known preacher in both England and America in the mid-eighteenth century, George Whitefield’s influence has since been buried by those influential men in his time who found his teachings too emotional and experiential.  J.C. Ryle seeks to undo that injustice in this work.  Laying out in simple and factual ways Whitefield’s life,... Read more

A Woman's Life Is a Human Life

By: Felicia Kornbluh

Narrated by: Kirsten Potter

Length: 12 hours 2 minutes

Abridged: No

Published to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of Roe v. Wade, this urgent audiobook from historian Felicia Kornbluh reveals two movement victories in New York that forever changed the politics of reproductive rights nationally.

A Woman’s Life Is a Human Life is the story of the movements that transformed the politics of reproductive rights:... Read more

The Constitution of Our Country

By: Frank A. Rexford & Clara L. Carson

Narrated by: Hillary Huber & Stephen Bowlby

Length: 3 hours 16 minutes

Abridged: No

More relevant than ever to our everyday lives, the US Constitution, the foundation of our democratic republic, comes alive in this simple and easy-to-understand short audiobook. Originally published for high schools in the City of New York in 1924, The Constitution of Our Country combines the original document, narrated by Hillary Huber, and... Read more

Like a Drop of Ink in a Downpour

By: Yelena Lembersky & Galina Lembersky

Narrated by: Natasha Soudek

Length: 8 hours 22 minutes

Abridged: No

Like a Drop of Ink in a Downpour is a heartfelt mother-and-daughter memoir about three generations of women and their fight to leave Soviet Russia. A mother is a dissident, a refusenik, and a prisoner in Leningrad (Saint Petersburg) in the 1970s and '80s. Her daughter, eleven years old, is left without a family. A grandmother is in the USA,... Read more

Coastal Warfare against the Vietcong

By: James Steffes

Narrated by: Michael Schwalbe

Length: 9 hours 51 minutes

Abridged: No

This book documents and tells the history of the establishment and growth of the Coastal Surveillance Force, Task Force 71. This grew to Task Forces 115, 116 and 117. My research for this history came from veterans serving in this period and the documentation of the Commander Naval Forces Vietnam Monthly Summaries. These documents did not exist... Read more

Empires of the Silk Road

By: Christopher I. Beckwith

Narrated by: Jim Lee

Length: 13 hours 46 minutes

Abridged: No

A classic book now available on audio
With narration by Jim Lee, who tells the epic story of the rise and fall of the Silk Road empires

The first complete history of Central Eurasia from ancient times to the present day, Empires of the Silk Road represents a fundamental rethinking of the origins, history, and significance of this major world... Read more

The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz

By: Jeremy Dronfield

Narrated by: Fred Berman

Length: 6 hours 53 minutes

Abridged: No

This powerful, moving middle grade adaptation of the adult international bestselling narrative nonfiction book The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz shines a light on the true story of two brothers who experienced the atrocities of the Holocaust in very different ways.Fritz Kleinmann was fourteen when the Nazis took over Vienna. Kurt,... Read more

Hidden History of Florida

By: James C. Clark

Narrated by: Kent Klineman

Length: 3 hours 51 minutes

Abridged: No

A Florida historian uncovers strange but true tales of The Sunshine State from the sixteenth century arrival of Spanish ships to the antics of modern politics.



From Key West to the Redneck Riviera, Florida has a history as colorful as its landscape and as diverse as its residents. But beneath the famous legends of Florida's storied past are... Read more

Through the Valley

By: William Reeder Jr.

Narrated by: Corey M. Snow

Length: 8 hours 11 minutes

Abridged: No

Through the Valley is the captivating memoir of the last US Army soldier taken prisoner during the Vietnam War.



In 1971 William Reeder was a senior captain on his second tour in Vietnam. He had flown armed, fixed-wing OV-1 Mohawks on secret missions deep into enemy territory in Laos, Cambodia, and North Vietnam, on his first tour. He returned as... Read more

Socrates in Love

By: Christopher Phillips

Narrated by: Sean Rohani

Length: 9 hours 45 minutes

Abridged: No

A breakout book completing a trilogy of Socratic exploration by the inimitable Johnny Appleseed of philosophy.

Christopher Phillips goes to the heart of philosophy and Socratic discourse to discover what we're all looking for: the kind of love that makes life worthwhile. Love here is not defined only or even primarily as eros, but in all its... Read more

FDR's Gambit

By: Laura Kalman

Narrated by: Rebecca Gallagher

Length: 15 hours 35 minutes

Abridged: No

In the past few years, liberals concerned about the prospect of long-term conservative dominance of the federal courts have revived an idea that crashed and burned in the 1930s: court packing. Today's court packing advocates have run into a wall of opposition, with most citing the 1930s episode as one FDR's greatest failures. In early 1937,... Read more

Saving Aziz

By: Chad Robichaux

Narrated by: Chad Robichaux & Glenn Beck

Length: 6 hours 32 minutes

Abridged: No

Now a Wall Street Journal BestsellerIt was the right thing to do. And someone had to do it.Aziz was more than an interpreter for Force Recon Marine Chad Robichaux during Chad's eight deployments to Afghanistan. He was a teammate, brother, and friend. More than once, Aziz saved Chad's life. And then he needed Chad to save his.When President Joe... Read more

Longships on Restless Seas

By: History Nerds

Narrated by: Theodore Zephyr

Length: 3 hours 6 minutes

Abridged: No

For centuries, a fire swept through Europe. It raged on and on, putting nations and kingdoms at its mercy, and that fire came from the North. Due to a series of socio-political triggers, the Vikings emerged from their northern homes in Scandinavia and swept all across the realms of Europe - south, east, west, and north. Mastering the navigation... Read more

Mansa Musa and the Empire of Mali

By: Days of History

Narrated by: James Smith

Length: 3 hours 7 minutes

Abridged: No

Take a journey back in time and explore the legendary story of the greatest African king of all time - Mansa Musa and the Empire of Mali.This comprehensive book offers a comprehensive look at the culture, politics, and religion of one of the most powerful African empires. With vivid descriptions and engaging stories, this book will take you deep... Read more