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Brief Lives
- Narrated by: Bill Wallis
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
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Brief Lives
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Publisher's summary
In this eclectic selection of biographical sketches Bill Deedes remembers some of the key figures of the twentieth century. Political heavyweights such as Ramsay MacDonald, Stanley Baldwin and Anthony Eden are reassessed and reevalued, while record breakers such as Sir Edmund Hillary and Roger Bannister are shown to be far more than just their achievements.
Further afield, W. F. Deedes ruminates on the chaotic and shady world of Imelda Marcos, the dignity and determination of anti-apartheid campaigner Helen Suzman and the controversial leadership of Ian Smith in Rhodesia. But there are lighter portraits too. Noel Coward, with his useful advice on trains, Mary Whitehouse’s inadvertent demonstration of pornography and Malcolm Muggeridge’s half-hearted suicide attempt all feature in this delightful compendium.
Finally there is an engaging and funny look at Deedes’ great friend Denis Thatcher. In an elegiac essay, we see the man rather than the husband of a famous woman. Stories abound, particularly when on holiday in Spain. . .
Like his previous books, Dear Bill and At War With Waugh, Brief Lives is an affectionate, perceptive and anecdotal book, bursting with life, humour and wit.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wow - Living History - Right Before Our Eyes
- By Amazon Customer on 12-16-11
By: David Eisenhower, and others
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Troublesome Young Men
- The Rebels Who Brought Churchill to Power and Helped Save England
- By: Lynne Olson
- Narrated by: Dennis Kleinman
- Length: 14 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 121
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 107
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Story5 out of 5 stars 106
On May 7, 1940, the House of Commons began perhaps the most crucial debate in British parliamentary history. On its outcome hung the future of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's government and also of Britain - indeed, perhaps, the world. Troublesome Young Men is Lynne Olson's fascinating account of how a small group of rebellious Tory MPs defied the Chamberlain government's defeatist policies that aimed to appease Europe's tyrants and eventually forced the prime minister's resignation.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Spectacular Narrative History Book
- By Nostromo on 11-30-18
By: Lynne Olson
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Queen of the World
- Elizabeth II: Sovereign and Stateswoman
- By: Robert Hardman
- Narrated by: Robert Hardman
- Length: 23 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 219
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 190
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 191
On today's world stage, there is one leader who stands apart from the rest. Queen Elizabeth II has seen more of the planet and its people than any other head of state and has engaged with the world like no other monarch in modern history. The iconic monarch never ventured further than the Isle of Wight until the age of 20 but since then has now visited over 130 countries across the globe in the line of duty, acting as diplomat, hostess, and dignitary as the world stage has changed beyond recognition.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Misleading
- By Teddy hall on 04-01-19
By: Robert Hardman
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When Lions Roar
- The Churchills and the Kennedys
- By: Thomas Maier
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 21 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 73
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 69
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 66
When Lions Roar begins in the mid-1930s at Chartwell, Winston Churchill's country estate, with new revelations surrounding a secret business deal orchestrated by Joseph P. Kennedy, the father of future American president John F. Kennedy. From London to America, these two powerful families shared an ever-widening circle of friends, lovers, and political associates - soon shattered by World War II, spying, sexual infidelity, and the tragic deaths of JFK's sister Kathleen and his older brother Joe Jr.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A must read...
- By Upallnight on 01-23-17
By: Thomas Maier
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All the Great Prizes
- The Life of John Hay, from Lincoln to Roosevelt
- By: John Taliaferro
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 22 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 359
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 327
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Story4 out of 5 stars 323
If Henry James or Edith Wharton had written a novel describing the accomplished and glamorous life and times of John Hay, it would have been thought implausible - a novelist’s fancy. Nevertheless, John Taliaferro’s brilliant biography captures the extraordinary life of Hay, one of the most amazing figures in American history, and restores him to his rightful place. John Hay was both witness and author of many of the most significant chapters in American history - from the birth of the Republican Party, the Civil War, and the Spanish-American War, to the prelude to the First World War.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Almost a Five Star
- By Lulu on 12-22-14
By: John Taliaferro
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Churchill
- Walking with Destiny
- By: Andrew Roberts
- Narrated by: Stephen Thorne
- Length: 50 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 4,347
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,855
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Story5 out of 5 stars 3,838
When we seek an example of great leaders with unalloyed courage, the person who comes to mind is Winston Churchill: the iconic, visionary war leader immune from the consensus of the day, who stood firmly for his beliefs when everyone doubted him. But how did young Winston become Churchill? What gave him the strength to take on the superior force of Nazi Germany when bombs rained on London and so many others had caved? In this landmark biography of Winston Churchill based on extensive new material, the true genius of the man, statesman, and leader can finally be fully understood.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Superb Biography
- By Jean on 03-03-19
By: Andrew Roberts
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No Ordinary Time
- Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II
- By: Doris Kearns Goodwin
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 39 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,224
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,953
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Story5 out of 5 stars 1,945
No Ordinary Time describes how the isolationist and divided United States of 1940 was unified under the extraordinary leadership of Franklin Roosevelt to become the preeminent economic and military power in the world.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great at 1.5 speed
- By Brett on 01-04-13
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Indian Summer
- The Secret History of the End of an Empire
- By: Alex von Tunzelmann
- Narrated by: Nicola Barber
- Length: 15 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 200
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 168
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 169
At the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, the British Empire withdrew from India, igniting the exhilaration and turmoil of a newly free society. In this vivid, atmospheric popular history, Alex von Tunzelmann chronicles these times through the most prominent figures.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Such an interesting piece of History made easy
- By Diego on 01-23-12
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Hitler
- Ascent 1889-1939
- By: Volker Ullrich
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 34 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 684
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 596
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 592
For all the literature about Adolf Hitler, there have been just four seminal biographies; this is the fifth, a landmark work that sheds important new light on Hitler himself. Drawing on previously unseen papers and a wealth of recent scholarly research, Volker Ullrich reveals the man behind the public persona, from Hitler's childhood, to his failures as a young man in Vienna, to his experiences during the First World War, to his rise as a far-right party leader.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Worthwhile if you haven't read a Hitler biography
- By Joshua on 11-03-16
By: Volker Ullrich
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A Torch Kept Lit
- Great Lives of the Twentieth Century
- By: William F. Buckley
- Narrated by: Tony Pasqualini
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 178
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 162
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 164
In a half century on the national stage, William F. Buckley Jr. achieved unique stature as a polemicist and the undisputed godfather of modern American conservatism. He knew everybody, hosted everybody at his East 73rd Street maisonette, skewered everybody who needed skewering, and in general lived life on a scale, and in a swashbuckling manner, that captivated and inspired countless young conservatives across that half century.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent...inspiring imagery!
- By Lisa Hill on 10-14-16
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Clementine
- The Life of Mrs. Winston Churchill
- By: Sonia Purnell
- Narrated by: Susan Lyons
- Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,439
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,285
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,270
By Winston Churchill's own admission, victory in the Second World War would have been "impossible without her". Until now, however, the only existing biography of Churchill's wife, Clementine, was written by her daughter. Sonia Purnell finally gives Clementine her due with a deeply researched account that tells her life story, revealing how she was instrumental in softening FDR's initial dislike of her husband and paving the way for Britain's close relationship with America.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Exasperating At Times But Very Good--
- By Gillian on 04-09-18
By: Sonia Purnell
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The Irregulars
- Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington
- By: Jennet Conant
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 511
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 304
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Story4 out of 5 stars 305
Prior to the U.S. entering WWII, a small coterie of British spies in Washington, D.C., was formed. They called themselves the Baker Street Irregulars after the band of street urchins who were the eyes and ears of Sherlock Holmes in some Arthur Conan Doyle stories.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Spying in Washington
- By Sara on 10-03-14
By: Jennet Conant
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The Defining Moment
- FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope
- By: Jonathan Alter
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,097
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 767
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 765
In this dramatic and fascinating account, Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter shows how Franklin Delano Roosevelt used his first 100 days in office to lift the country from the despair and paralysis of the Great Depression and transform the American presidency.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Very infomative, and also refreshingly honest
- By Andy on 02-19-09
By: Jonathan Alter
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The Bully Pulpit
- Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism
- By: Doris Kearns Goodwin
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
- Length: 36 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,290
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,856
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,848
Goodwin describes the broken friendship between Teddy Roosevelt and his chosen successor, William Howard Taft. With the help of the "muckraking" press, Roosevelt had wielded the Bully Pulpit to challenge and triumph over abusive monopolies, political bosses, and corrupting money brokers. Roosevelt led a revolution that he bequeathed to Taft only to see it compromised as Taft surrendered to money men and big business. The rupture led Roosevelt to run against Taft for president, an ultimately futile race that gave power away to the Democrats.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Makes You Forget You Live in the 21st Century Good
- By Cynthia on 01-11-14
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The General
- Charles De Gaulle and the France He Saved
- By: Jonathan Fenby
- Narrated by: Robin Bloodworth
- Length: 28 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 87
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Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 76
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Story4 out of 5 stars 76
No leader of modern times was more uniquely patriotic than Charles de Gaulle. As founder and first president of the Fifth Republic, General de Gaulle saw himself as "carrying France on [his] shoulders." In his 20s, he fought for France in the trenches and at the epic battle of Verdun. In the 1930s, he waged a lonely battle to enable France to better resist Hitler's Germany. Thereafter, he twice rescued the nation from defeat and decline by extraordinary displays of leadership, political acumen, daring, and bluff, heading off civil war and leaving a heritage adopted by his successors of right and left.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Book Great Read. Narrator Horrible-slow dead voice
- By marigoyle on 10-23-13
By: Jonathan Fenby