-
Gentlemen Volunteers
- The Story of the American Ambulance Drivers in the First World War
- Narrated by: Sam LeMans
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Gentlemen Volunteers
Buy for $19.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Great War and the Birth of Modern Medicine
- A History
- By: Thomas Helling MD
- Narrated by: Mack Sanderson
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 71
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 60
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 60
The Great War of 1914-1918 burst on the European scene with a brutality to mankind not yet witnessed by the civilized world. Modern warfare was no longer the stuff of chivalry and honor; it was a mutilative, deadly, and humbling exercise to wipe out the very presence of humanity. Suddenly, thousands upon thousands of maimed, beaten, and bleeding men surged into aid stations and hospitals with injuries unimaginable in their scope and destruction. Doctors scrambled to find some way to salvage not only life but limb.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting but weirdly sexist?
- By J-Murphy on 07-19-22
-
The Guns of August
- By: Barbara W. Tuchman
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 19 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,546
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,428
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,406
In this Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, historian Barbara Tuchman brings to life the people and events that led up to World War I. This was the last gasp of the Gilded Age, of Kings and Kaisers and Czars, of pointed or plumed hats, colored uniforms, and all the pomp and romance that went along with war. How quickly it all changed...and how horrible it became.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful
- By Mike From Mesa on 10-28-08
-
A Frozen Hell
- The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940
- By: William R. Trotter
- Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
- Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 269
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 227
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 226
In 1939, tiny Finland waged war - the kind of war that spawns legends - against the mighty Soviet Union, and yet, their epic struggle has been largely ignored. Guerrillas on skis, heroic single-handed attacks on tanks, unfathomable endurance, and the charismatic leadership of one of this century's true military geniuses - these are the elements of both the Finnish victory and a gripping tale of war.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Causes and consequences of ruso-finish 1939 war
- By William R. Todd-Mancillas (Name includes hyphen and capitalized M). on 04-06-18
-
George Marshall
- Defender of the Republic
- By: David L. Roll
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 27 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 666
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 588
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 587
The extraordinary career of George Catlett Marshall - America’s most distinguished soldier - statesman since George Washington - whose selfless leadership and moral character influenced the course of two world wars and helped define the American century. Set against the backdrop of five major conflicts - two world wars, Palestine, Korea, and the Cold War - Marshall's education in military, diplomatic, and political power, replete with their nuances and ambiguities, runs parallel with America's emergence as a global superpower.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
There are better books about Marshall
- By JustinT on 09-24-19
By: David L. Roll
-
Fighting With the Filthy Thirteen
- The World War II Story of Jack Womer - Ranger and Paratrooper
- By: Jack Womer, Stephen Devito
- Narrated by: John Allen Nelson
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 78
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 76
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 76
In this long awaited work one of the squad’s integral members - and probably its best soldier - reveals his own inside account of fighting as a spearhead of the Screaming Eagles in Normandy, Market Garden, and the Battle of the Bulge.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting listen
- By Nick on 11-27-14
By: Jack Womer, and others
-
Beyond Band of Brothers
- The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters
- By: Dick Winters, Cole C. Kingseed
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 5,839
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,994
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 4,979
They were called Easy Company, but their mission was never easy. Immortalized as the Band of Brothers, they suffered huge casualties while liberating Europe in an unparalleled record of bravery under fire. Dick Winters led them through the Battle of the Bulge, the attack on Foy, where Easy Company reached its breaking point, and finally into Germany, by which time each member had been wounded. Outside Munich, they liberated an S.S. death camp and captured Berchtesgaden, Hitler's alpine retreat.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
I listen to this over and over
- By David Ewing on 08-10-07
By: Dick Winters, and others
-
The Great War and the Birth of Modern Medicine
- A History
- By: Thomas Helling MD
- Narrated by: Mack Sanderson
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 71
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 60
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 60
The Great War of 1914-1918 burst on the European scene with a brutality to mankind not yet witnessed by the civilized world. Modern warfare was no longer the stuff of chivalry and honor; it was a mutilative, deadly, and humbling exercise to wipe out the very presence of humanity. Suddenly, thousands upon thousands of maimed, beaten, and bleeding men surged into aid stations and hospitals with injuries unimaginable in their scope and destruction. Doctors scrambled to find some way to salvage not only life but limb.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting but weirdly sexist?
- By J-Murphy on 07-19-22
-
The Guns of August
- By: Barbara W. Tuchman
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 19 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,546
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,428
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,406
In this Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, historian Barbara Tuchman brings to life the people and events that led up to World War I. This was the last gasp of the Gilded Age, of Kings and Kaisers and Czars, of pointed or plumed hats, colored uniforms, and all the pomp and romance that went along with war. How quickly it all changed...and how horrible it became.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful
- By Mike From Mesa on 10-28-08
-
A Frozen Hell
- The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940
- By: William R. Trotter
- Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
- Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 269
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 227
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 226
In 1939, tiny Finland waged war - the kind of war that spawns legends - against the mighty Soviet Union, and yet, their epic struggle has been largely ignored. Guerrillas on skis, heroic single-handed attacks on tanks, unfathomable endurance, and the charismatic leadership of one of this century's true military geniuses - these are the elements of both the Finnish victory and a gripping tale of war.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Causes and consequences of ruso-finish 1939 war
- By William R. Todd-Mancillas (Name includes hyphen and capitalized M). on 04-06-18
-
George Marshall
- Defender of the Republic
- By: David L. Roll
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 27 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 666
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 588
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 587
The extraordinary career of George Catlett Marshall - America’s most distinguished soldier - statesman since George Washington - whose selfless leadership and moral character influenced the course of two world wars and helped define the American century. Set against the backdrop of five major conflicts - two world wars, Palestine, Korea, and the Cold War - Marshall's education in military, diplomatic, and political power, replete with their nuances and ambiguities, runs parallel with America's emergence as a global superpower.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
There are better books about Marshall
- By JustinT on 09-24-19
By: David L. Roll
-
Fighting With the Filthy Thirteen
- The World War II Story of Jack Womer - Ranger and Paratrooper
- By: Jack Womer, Stephen Devito
- Narrated by: John Allen Nelson
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 78
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 76
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 76
In this long awaited work one of the squad’s integral members - and probably its best soldier - reveals his own inside account of fighting as a spearhead of the Screaming Eagles in Normandy, Market Garden, and the Battle of the Bulge.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting listen
- By Nick on 11-27-14
By: Jack Womer, and others
-
Beyond Band of Brothers
- The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters
- By: Dick Winters, Cole C. Kingseed
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 5,839
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,994
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 4,979
They were called Easy Company, but their mission was never easy. Immortalized as the Band of Brothers, they suffered huge casualties while liberating Europe in an unparalleled record of bravery under fire. Dick Winters led them through the Battle of the Bulge, the attack on Foy, where Easy Company reached its breaking point, and finally into Germany, by which time each member had been wounded. Outside Munich, they liberated an S.S. death camp and captured Berchtesgaden, Hitler's alpine retreat.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
I listen to this over and over
- By David Ewing on 08-10-07
By: Dick Winters, and others
-
A Woman of No Importance
- The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II
- By: Sonia Purnell
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 13 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,111
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,503
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 4,480
In 1942, the Gestapo sent out an urgent transmission: "She is the most dangerous of all Allied spies. We must find and destroy her." The target in their sights was Virginia Hall, a Baltimore socialite who talked her way into Special Operations Executive, the spy organization dubbed Winston Churchill's "Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare." She became the first Allied woman deployed behind enemy lines and - despite her prosthetic leg - helped to light the flame of the French Resistance, revolutionizing secret warfare as we know it.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Maybe it’s the narrator?
- By Andrea on 09-18-19
By: Sonia Purnell
-
The Path Between the Seas
- The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914
- By: David McCullough
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 31 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,412
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,119
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,120
The Path Between the Seas tells the story of the men and women who fought against all odds to fulfill the 400-year-old dream of constructing an aquatic passageway between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It is a story of astonishing engineering feats, tremendous medical accomplishments, political power plays, heroic successes, and tragic failures. McCullough expertly weaves the many strands of this momentous event into a captivating tale.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
No Stone Unturned
- By Tim on 06-25-13
By: David McCullough
-
My Fellow Soldiers
- General John Pershing and the Americans Who Helped Win the Great War
- By: Andrew Carroll
- Narrated by: Andrew Carroll
- Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 118
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 98
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 101
Andrew Carroll's intimate portrait of General Pershing, who led all of the American troops in Europe during World War I, is a revelation. Given a military force that on the eve of its entry into the war was downright primitive compared to the European combatants, the general surmounted enormous obstacles to build an army and ultimately command millions of US soldiers. But Pershing himself - often perceived as a harsh, humorless, and wooden leader - concealed inner agony from those around him.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Don’t pass this up
- By PineappleSmoothy on 03-29-18
By: Andrew Carroll
-
The Monuments Men
- Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History
- By: Robert M. Edsel, Bret Witter
- Narrated by: Jeremy Davidson
- Length: 14 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,525
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 1,292
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,305
In a race against time, behind enemy lines, often unarmed, a special force of American and British museum directors, curators, art historians, and others, called the Monuments Men, risked their lives scouring Europe to prevent the destruction of thousands of years of culture.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting listen
- By Laurie on 12-22-09
By: Robert M. Edsel, and others
-
Panzer Commander
- The Memoirs of Colonel Hans von Luck
- By: Hans von Luck, Stephen E. Ambrose - introduction
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 15 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,369
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,200
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,198
A stunning look at World War II from the other side.... From the turret of a German tank, Colonel Hans von Luck commanded Rommel's 7th and then 21st Panzer Division. El Alamein, Kasserine Pass, Poland, Belgium, Normandy on D-Day, the disastrous Russian front - von Luck fought there with some of the best soldiers in the world. German soldiers. Awarded the German Cross in Gold and the Knight's Cross, von Luck writes as an officer and a gentleman.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Reads like Forrest Gump ( a fiction )
- By Randall on 11-08-16
By: Hans von Luck, and others
-
The Generals
- Patton, MacArthur, Marshall, and the Winning of World War II
- By: Winston Groom
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 16 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,521
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,378
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,376
Celebrated historian Winston Groom tells the intertwined and uniquely American tales of George Patton, Douglas MacArthur, and George Marshall - from the World War I battle that shaped them to their greatest achievement: leading the allies to victory in World War II.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Nothing new here
- By Mike From Mesa on 01-13-16
By: Winston Groom
-
The Hello Girls
- America’s First Women Soldiers
- By: Elizabeth Cobbs
- Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 80
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 70
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 72
This is the story of how America's first women soldiers helped win World War I, earned the vote, and fought the US Army. In 1918 the US Army Signal Corps sent 223 women to France. They were masters of the latest technology: the telephone switchboard. General John Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces, demanded female "wire experts" when he discovered that inexperienced doughboys were unable to keep him connected with troops under fire.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
loved it, narrator pleasing to the ear,miles flew
- By jeff lilly on 02-24-19
By: Elizabeth Cobbs
-
Forty-Seven Days
- How Pershing's Warriors Came of Age to Defeat the German Army in World War I
- By: Mitchell Yockelson
- Narrated by: Napoleon Ryan
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 82
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 75
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 76
The Battle of the Meuse-Argonne stands as the deadliest clash in American history: More than a million untested American soldiers went up against a better-trained and more experienced German army, costing more than 26,000 deaths and leaving nearly 100,000 wounded. Yet, in 47 days of intense combat, those Americans pushed back the enemy and forced the Germans to surrender, bringing the First World War to an end - a feat the British and the French had not achieved after more than three years of fighting.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Comprehensive history of The First Army in WWI
- By Bruce Miller on 03-08-18
-
Spain in Our Hearts
- Americans in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939
- By: Adam Hochschild
- Narrated by: Henry Strozier
- Length: 15 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 566
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 512
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 512
For three crucial years in the 1930s, the Spanish Civil War dominated headlines in America and around the world as volunteers flooded to Spain to help its democratic government fight off a fascist uprising led by Francisco Franco and aided by Hitler and Mussolini. Today we're accustomed to remembering the war through Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls and Robert Capa's photographs. But Adam Hochschild has discovered some less familiar yet far more compelling characters who reveal the full tragedy and importance of the war.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great book very well written and narrated
- By James750 on 05-12-16
By: Adam Hochschild
-
Hell and Good Company
- The Spanish Civil War and the World It Made
- By: Richard Rhodes
- Narrated by: Christian Coulson
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 95
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 83
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 86
The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) inspired and haunted an extraordinary number of exceptional artists and writers, including Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro, Martha Gellhorn, Ernest Hemingway, George Orwell, and John Dos Passos. The idealism of the cause--defending democracy from fascism at a time when Europe was darkening toward another world war--and the brutality of the conflict drew from them some of their best work.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Awkward approach to a civil war
- By sabas on 01-17-17
By: Richard Rhodes
-
Heroines of Mercy Street
- By: Pamela D. Toler PhD
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 76
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 66
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 69
Heroines of Mercy Street tells the true stories of the nurses at Mansion House, the Alexandria, Virginia, mansion turned wartime hospital and setting for the new PBS drama Mercy Street. Among the Union soldiers, doctors, wounded men from both sides, freed slaves, politicians, speculators, and spies who passed through the hospital in the crossroads of the Civil War were nurses who gave their time freely and willingly to save lives and aid the wounded.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
More of a history lesson.....
- By Wendy on 04-17-16
-
The Good Man of Nanking
- The Diaries of John Rabe
- By: Edwin Wickert
- Narrated by: Anna Fields
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 113
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 95
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 95
This unique and gripping document contains the recently discovered diaries of a German businessman, John Rabe, who saved so many lives in the infamous siege of Nanking in 1937 that he is now being honored as the Oskar Schindler of China. As the Japanese army closed in and all foreigners were ordered to evacuate, Rabe mobilized the remaining Westerners in Nanking and organized an "International Safety Zone" which guaranteed safety to all unarmed Chinese by virtue of Germany's pact.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
why is it narrated by a woman?
- By Anonymous User on 11-10-20
By: Edwin Wickert
Editorial reviews
The First World War was marked by long-lasting fighting and brutality in the trenches, but amidst the chaos, American volunteers stepped up to help. In Arlen J. Hansen's Gentlemen Volunteers: The Story of the American Ambulance Drivers in the First World War , narrator Sam LeMans chronicles the heroic efforts of American military hospital volunteers in Paris as well as the volunteer motor ambulance corps who braved the front. In a gritty, affecting performance, LeMans sympathetically voices the firsthand accounts of these brave men and women, whose ranks included luminaries of American culture such as Ernest Hemingway, e. e. Cummings, Walt Disney, and Dashiell Hammett. Including previously unheard archival material, this is a gripping listen that will fascinate any military history buff.
Publisher's summary
The tale of the American volunteer ambulance drivers of the First World War is one of gallantry amid gore, manners amid madness. Until now this stirring example of wartime courage has been recounted only in fragments. Arlen J. Hansen's Gentlemen Volunteers brings to life the entire story of the men - and women - who formed the first ambulance corps, and who went on to redefine American culture.
Some were to become legends - Ernest Hemingway, E. E. Cummings, John Dos Passos, Malcolm Cowley, Walt Disney, Dashiell Hammett - but all were part of a generation seeking something greater and grander than what they could find at home.
What the volunteers found in France was carnage on an unprecedented scale. Shrapnel and barbed wire, the machine gun, flamethrower, and poison gas - all then-recent inventions - were producing casualties that overwhelmed medical facilities. Wounded soldiers spent hours, sometimes days, lying in squalor while waiting to be transported to hospitals on horse-drawn wagons. What was most critical was to get the wounded from the front lines to the field hospitals, and quickly. It was here that the ambulance drivers covered themselves in mud and glory.
Featuring firsthand accounts, letters and diaries, and a trove of previously unpublished and rare archival material, Gentlemen Volunteers is the definitive book on this fascinating chapter in American history.
More from the same
Author
Related to this topic
-
My Fellow Soldiers
- General John Pershing and the Americans Who Helped Win the Great War
- By: Andrew Carroll
- Narrated by: Andrew Carroll
- Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 118
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 98
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 101
Andrew Carroll's intimate portrait of General Pershing, who led all of the American troops in Europe during World War I, is a revelation. Given a military force that on the eve of its entry into the war was downright primitive compared to the European combatants, the general surmounted enormous obstacles to build an army and ultimately command millions of US soldiers. But Pershing himself - often perceived as a harsh, humorless, and wooden leader - concealed inner agony from those around him.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Don’t pass this up
- By PineappleSmoothy on 03-29-18
By: Andrew Carroll
-
The Hello Girls
- America’s First Women Soldiers
- By: Elizabeth Cobbs
- Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 80
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 70
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 72
This is the story of how America's first women soldiers helped win World War I, earned the vote, and fought the US Army. In 1918 the US Army Signal Corps sent 223 women to France. They were masters of the latest technology: the telephone switchboard. General John Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces, demanded female "wire experts" when he discovered that inexperienced doughboys were unable to keep him connected with troops under fire.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
loved it, narrator pleasing to the ear,miles flew
- By jeff lilly on 02-24-19
By: Elizabeth Cobbs
-
Forty-Seven Days
- How Pershing's Warriors Came of Age to Defeat the German Army in World War I
- By: Mitchell Yockelson
- Narrated by: Napoleon Ryan
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 82
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 75
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 76
The Battle of the Meuse-Argonne stands as the deadliest clash in American history: More than a million untested American soldiers went up against a better-trained and more experienced German army, costing more than 26,000 deaths and leaving nearly 100,000 wounded. Yet, in 47 days of intense combat, those Americans pushed back the enemy and forced the Germans to surrender, bringing the First World War to an end - a feat the British and the French had not achieved after more than three years of fighting.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Comprehensive history of The First Army in WWI
- By Bruce Miller on 03-08-18
-
Spain in Our Hearts
- Americans in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939
- By: Adam Hochschild
- Narrated by: Henry Strozier
- Length: 15 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 566
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 512
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 512
For three crucial years in the 1930s, the Spanish Civil War dominated headlines in America and around the world as volunteers flooded to Spain to help its democratic government fight off a fascist uprising led by Francisco Franco and aided by Hitler and Mussolini. Today we're accustomed to remembering the war through Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls and Robert Capa's photographs. But Adam Hochschild has discovered some less familiar yet far more compelling characters who reveal the full tragedy and importance of the war.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great book very well written and narrated
- By James750 on 05-12-16
By: Adam Hochschild
-
Hell and Good Company
- The Spanish Civil War and the World It Made
- By: Richard Rhodes
- Narrated by: Christian Coulson
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 95
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 83
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 86
The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) inspired and haunted an extraordinary number of exceptional artists and writers, including Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro, Martha Gellhorn, Ernest Hemingway, George Orwell, and John Dos Passos. The idealism of the cause--defending democracy from fascism at a time when Europe was darkening toward another world war--and the brutality of the conflict drew from them some of their best work.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Awkward approach to a civil war
- By sabas on 01-17-17
By: Richard Rhodes
-
Heroines of Mercy Street
- By: Pamela D. Toler PhD
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 76
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 66
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 69
Heroines of Mercy Street tells the true stories of the nurses at Mansion House, the Alexandria, Virginia, mansion turned wartime hospital and setting for the new PBS drama Mercy Street. Among the Union soldiers, doctors, wounded men from both sides, freed slaves, politicians, speculators, and spies who passed through the hospital in the crossroads of the Civil War were nurses who gave their time freely and willingly to save lives and aid the wounded.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
More of a history lesson.....
- By Wendy on 04-17-16
-
My Fellow Soldiers
- General John Pershing and the Americans Who Helped Win the Great War
- By: Andrew Carroll
- Narrated by: Andrew Carroll
- Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 118
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 98
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 101
Andrew Carroll's intimate portrait of General Pershing, who led all of the American troops in Europe during World War I, is a revelation. Given a military force that on the eve of its entry into the war was downright primitive compared to the European combatants, the general surmounted enormous obstacles to build an army and ultimately command millions of US soldiers. But Pershing himself - often perceived as a harsh, humorless, and wooden leader - concealed inner agony from those around him.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Don’t pass this up
- By PineappleSmoothy on 03-29-18
By: Andrew Carroll
-
The Hello Girls
- America’s First Women Soldiers
- By: Elizabeth Cobbs
- Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 80
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 70
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 72
This is the story of how America's first women soldiers helped win World War I, earned the vote, and fought the US Army. In 1918 the US Army Signal Corps sent 223 women to France. They were masters of the latest technology: the telephone switchboard. General John Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces, demanded female "wire experts" when he discovered that inexperienced doughboys were unable to keep him connected with troops under fire.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
loved it, narrator pleasing to the ear,miles flew
- By jeff lilly on 02-24-19
By: Elizabeth Cobbs
-
Forty-Seven Days
- How Pershing's Warriors Came of Age to Defeat the German Army in World War I
- By: Mitchell Yockelson
- Narrated by: Napoleon Ryan
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 82
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 75
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 76
The Battle of the Meuse-Argonne stands as the deadliest clash in American history: More than a million untested American soldiers went up against a better-trained and more experienced German army, costing more than 26,000 deaths and leaving nearly 100,000 wounded. Yet, in 47 days of intense combat, those Americans pushed back the enemy and forced the Germans to surrender, bringing the First World War to an end - a feat the British and the French had not achieved after more than three years of fighting.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Comprehensive history of The First Army in WWI
- By Bruce Miller on 03-08-18
-
Spain in Our Hearts
- Americans in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939
- By: Adam Hochschild
- Narrated by: Henry Strozier
- Length: 15 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 566
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 512
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 512
For three crucial years in the 1930s, the Spanish Civil War dominated headlines in America and around the world as volunteers flooded to Spain to help its democratic government fight off a fascist uprising led by Francisco Franco and aided by Hitler and Mussolini. Today we're accustomed to remembering the war through Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls and Robert Capa's photographs. But Adam Hochschild has discovered some less familiar yet far more compelling characters who reveal the full tragedy and importance of the war.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great book very well written and narrated
- By James750 on 05-12-16
By: Adam Hochschild
-
Hell and Good Company
- The Spanish Civil War and the World It Made
- By: Richard Rhodes
- Narrated by: Christian Coulson
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 95
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 83
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 86
The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) inspired and haunted an extraordinary number of exceptional artists and writers, including Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro, Martha Gellhorn, Ernest Hemingway, George Orwell, and John Dos Passos. The idealism of the cause--defending democracy from fascism at a time when Europe was darkening toward another world war--and the brutality of the conflict drew from them some of their best work.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Awkward approach to a civil war
- By sabas on 01-17-17
By: Richard Rhodes
-
Heroines of Mercy Street
- By: Pamela D. Toler PhD
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 76
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 66
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 69
Heroines of Mercy Street tells the true stories of the nurses at Mansion House, the Alexandria, Virginia, mansion turned wartime hospital and setting for the new PBS drama Mercy Street. Among the Union soldiers, doctors, wounded men from both sides, freed slaves, politicians, speculators, and spies who passed through the hospital in the crossroads of the Civil War were nurses who gave their time freely and willingly to save lives and aid the wounded.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
More of a history lesson.....
- By Wendy on 04-17-16
-
The Good Man of Nanking
- The Diaries of John Rabe
- By: Edwin Wickert
- Narrated by: Anna Fields
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 113
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 95
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 95
This unique and gripping document contains the recently discovered diaries of a German businessman, John Rabe, who saved so many lives in the infamous siege of Nanking in 1937 that he is now being honored as the Oskar Schindler of China. As the Japanese army closed in and all foreigners were ordered to evacuate, Rabe mobilized the remaining Westerners in Nanking and organized an "International Safety Zone" which guaranteed safety to all unarmed Chinese by virtue of Germany's pact.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
why is it narrated by a woman?
- By Anonymous User on 11-10-20
By: Edwin Wickert
-
The Last of the Doughboys
- The Forgotten Generation and Their Forgotten World War
- By: Richard Rubin
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 20 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 328
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 303
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 306
They were the final survivors of the millions who made up the American Expeditionary Forces, nineteenth-century men and women living in the twenty-first century. Self-reliant, humble, and stoic, they kept their stories to themselves for a lifetime, then shared them at the last possible moment so that they, and the war they won - the trauma that created our modern world - might at last be remembered. You will never forget them.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Flawed But Worthwhile: History Buffs Should Get It
- By Jim on 01-12-14
By: Richard Rubin
-
The Generals
- Patton, MacArthur, Marshall, and the Winning of World War II
- By: Winston Groom
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 16 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,521
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,378
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,376
Celebrated historian Winston Groom tells the intertwined and uniquely American tales of George Patton, Douglas MacArthur, and George Marshall - from the World War I battle that shaped them to their greatest achievement: leading the allies to victory in World War II.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Nothing new here
- By Mike From Mesa on 01-13-16
By: Winston Groom
-
Donovan
- America’s Master Spy
- By: Richard Dunlop, William Stephenson - foreword
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 25 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 560
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 504
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 502
The fascinating biography of the man who laid the foundation for the CIA. One of the most celebrated and highly decorated heroes of World War I, a noted trial lawyer, presidential adviser and emissary, and chief of America’s Office of Strategic Services during World War II, William J. Donovan was a legendary figure. Donovan, originally published in 1982, penetrates the cloak of secrecy surrounding this remarkable man. The result is the definitive biography that Donovan himself had always expected Dunlop would write.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fascinating Biography
- By Jean on 10-15-14
By: Richard Dunlop, and others
-
The Women Who Wrote the War
- The Riveting Saga of World War II's Daredevil Women Correspondents
- By: Nancy Caldwell Sorel
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 14 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 33
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 33
Nancy Sorel’s portrait pays homage to these unsung heroes. They came from Boston, New York, Milwaukee, and St. Louis; from Yakima, Washington; Austin, Texas; and Sioux City, Iowa; from San Francisco and all points east. They left comfortable homes and safe surroundings for combat-zone duty. As women war correspondents, they brought to the battlefields of World War II a fresh optic, and reported back home what they witnessed with a new sensibility.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Nonfiction Account of WW2 Female News Reporters
- By DHackney on 08-30-13
-
Hero: The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia
- By: Michael Korda
- Narrated by: Robin Sachs
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 419
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 323
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 324
Michael Korda's Hero is the story of an epic life on a grand scale: a revealing, in-depth, and gripping biography of the extraordinary, mysterious, and dynamic Englishman whose daring exploits and romantic profile, including his blond, sun-burnished good looks and flowing white robes, made him an object of intense fascination, still famous the world over as "Lawrence of Arabia".
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent book and narration
- By Ron L. Caldwell on 12-11-10
By: Michael Korda
-
A More Unbending Battle
- The Harlem Hellfighter's Struggle for Freedom in WWI and Equality at Home
- By: Peter Nelson
- Narrated by: Jarvis Hooten
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 77
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 68
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 69
The night broke open in a storm of explosions and fire. The sound of shells whizzing overhead, screeching through the night like wounded pheasants, was terrifying. When the shells exploded prematurely overhead, a rain of shrapnel fell on the men below better than when the shells exploded in the trenches...
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great
- By Bryce Odell on 06-05-17
By: Peter Nelson
-
Desert Redleg: Artillery Warfare in the First Gulf War
- American Warriors Series
- By: L. Scott Lingamfelter
- Narrated by: Bill Nevitt
- Length: 13 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1
When Saddam Hussein's Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, triggering the First Gulf War, a coalition of 35 countries led by the United States responded with Operation Desert Storm, which culminated in a 100-hour coordinated air strike and ground assault that repelled Iraqi forces from Kuwait. Though largely forgotten in descriptions of the war, an eight-day barrage of artillery fire made this seemingly rapid offensive possible. At the forefront of this offensive were the brave field artillerymen known as "redlegs".
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent account of the Gulf War.
- By Tim on 02-22-24
-
Patton
- By: Alan Axelrod
- Narrated by: Brian Emerson
- Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 853
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 671
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 667
George S. Patton was a general who achieved greatness in his field by contradicting his own nature. A cavalryman steeped in romantic military tradition, he nevertheless pulled a reluctant American military into the most advanced realms of highly mobile armored warfare. An autocratic snob, Patton created unparalleled rapport and loyalty with the lowliest private in his command.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Odd Reading, Great Book
- By Chris Reich on 01-23-09
By: Alan Axelrod
-
The Road to Kalamata
- By: Mike Hoare
- Narrated by: Mike Hoare
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 29
Col. Mike Hoare describes how his 4 Commando supported Moise Tshombe's breakaway state of Katanga against both the UN forces, and the Baluba tribesmen who used poison arrows, pit traps, marijuana, spells, jungle drums...and even reorted to ritual torture and cannibalism.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Useful as a Historical Document
- By Douglas Sundseth on 01-19-24
By: Mike Hoare
-
Patton, Montgomery, Rommel
- Masters of War
- By: Terry Brighton
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 15 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 354
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 222
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 225
In the Second World War, the United States, Great Britain, and Germany each produced one land-force commander who stood out from the rest: George Patton, Bernard Montgomery, and Erwin Rommel. All were arrogant, publicity seeking, and personally flawed, yet each possessed a genius for command and an unrivaled enthusiasm for combat.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent ... Patton, Montgomery, Rommel
- By John VandenBrook on 01-10-10
By: Terry Brighton
-
Prevail
- The Inspiring Story of Ethiopia's Victory over Mussolini's Invasion, 1935-1941
- By: Jeff Pearce, Richard Pankhurst - foreword
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 24 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 69
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 63
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 63
It was the war that changed everything, and yet it's been mostly forgotten: in 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia. It dominated newspaper headlines and newsreels. It inspired mass marches in Harlem, a play on Broadway, and independence movements in Africa. As the British Navy sailed into the Mediterranean for a white-knuckle showdown with Italian ships, riots broke out in major cities all over the United States.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
This is not a history, it's a package of anecdotes
- By M2 on 02-03-15
By: Jeff Pearce, and others