Daniel

Empires of the Sea: The Contest for the Center of the World

• UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 21 mins)
• By Roger Crowley
• Narrated By John Lee
• Whispersync for Voice-ready

Empires of the Sea tells the story of the 50-year world war between Islam and Christianity for the Mediterranean: one of the fiercest and most influential contests in European history. It traces events from the appearance on the world stage of Suleiman the Magnificent through "the years of devastation" when it seemed possible that Islam might master the whole sea, to the final brief flourishing of a united Christendom in 1571.

In Fed We Trust: Ben Bernanke's War on the Great Panic

• UNABRIDGED (10 hrs and 33 mins)
• By David Wessel
• Narrated By Dan Woren

"Whatever it takes.". That was Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's vow as the worst financial panic in more than 50 years gripped the world and he struggled to avoid the once unthinkable: a repeat of the Great Depression. Brilliant but temperamentally cautious, Bernanke researched and wrote about the causes of the Depression during his career as an academic. Then when thrust into a role as one of the most important people in the world, he was compelled to boldness by circumstances he never anticipated.

Empires of Trust: How Rome Built - and America Is Building - a New World

• UNABRIDGED (12 hrs and 25 mins)
• By Thomas F. Madden
• Narrated By Richard Poe
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In Empires of Trust, Professor Thomas F. Madden explores surprising parallels between the Roman and American republics. By making friends of enemies and demonstrating a commitment to fairness, the two republics - both "reluctant" yet unquestioned super-powers - built empires based on trust. Madden also includes vital lessons from the Roman Republic's 100-year struggle with "terrorism."

Guests of the Ayatollah: The First Battle in America's War with Militant Islam

• ABRIDGED (9 hrs and 55 mins)
• By Mark Bowden
• Narrated By Mark Bowden

The Iran hostage crisis was a watershed moment in American history. It was America's first showdown with Islamic fundamentalism, a confrontation at the forefront of American policy to this day. It was also a powerful dramatic story that captivated the American people, launched yellow-ribbon campaigns, made celebrities of the hostage's families, and crippled the reelection campaign of President Jimmy Carter.

Worlds at War: The 2,500-Year Struggle Between East and West

• UNABRIDGED (20 hrs and 35 mins)
• By Anthony Pagden
• Narrated By John Lee

In the tradition of Jared Diamond and Jacques Barzun, prize-winning historian Anthony Pagden presents a sweeping history of the long struggle between East and West, from the Greeks to the present day.

The relationship between East and West has always been one of turmoil. In this historical tour de force, a renowned historian leads us from the world of classical antiquity, through the Dark Ages, to the Crusades, Europe's resurgence, and the dominance of the Ottoman Empire, which almost shattered Europe entirely. Pagden travels from Napoleon in Egypt to Europe's carving up of the finally moribund Ottomans - creating the modern Middle East along the way - and on to the present struggles in Iraq.

The Great Gatsby

• UNABRIDGED (4 hrs and 43 mins)
• By F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Narrated By Alexander Scourby

The mysterious Jay Gatsby embodies the American notion that it is possible to redefine oneself and persuade the world to accept that definition. Gatsby's youthful neighbor, Nick Carraway, fascinated with the display of enormous wealth in which Gatsby revels, finds himself swept up in the lavish lifestyle of Long Island society during the Jazz Age.

Modern Times: The World from the Twenties to the Nineties

• UNABRIDGED (37 hrs and 53 mins)
• By Paul Johnson
• Narrated By Nadia May

Beginning with May 29, 1919, when photographs of the solar eclipse confirmed the truth of Einstein's theory of relativity, Johnson goes on to describe Freudianism, the establishment of the first Marxist state, the chaos of "Old Europe", the Arcadian 20s, and the new forces in China and Japan. Also discussed are Karl Marx, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Roosevelt, Gandhi, Castro, Kennedy, Nixon, the '29 crash, the Great Depression, Roosevelt's New Deal, and the massive conflict of World War II.

The Training Ground: Grant, Lee, Sherman, and Davis in the Mexican War 1846-1848

• UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 49 mins)
• By Martin Dugard
• Narrated By Robertson Dean
• Whispersync for Voice-ready

Nearly all of the Civil War's greatest soldiers - Grant, Lee, Sherman, Davis, and Jackson - were forged in the heat of the Mexican War. This is their story. At this fascinating juncture of American history, a group of young men came together to fight as friends - only, years later, to fight again as enemies.