-
Havana
- A Subtropical Delirium
- Narrated by: Fleet Cooper
- Length: 6 hrs
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Release date: 03-07-17
- Language: English
- Publisher: Audible Studios for Bloomsbury
- Whispersync for Voice-ready
Regular price: $15.48
People who bought this also bought...
-
Milk!
- A 10,000-Year Food Fracas
- By: Mark Kurlansky
- Narrated by: Brian Sutherland
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 50
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 46
Mark Kurlansky's first global food history since the best-selling Cod and Salt; the fascinating cultural, economic and culinary story of milk and all things dairy - with recipes throughout. According to the Greek creation myth, we are so much spilt milk; a splatter of the goddess Hera's breast milk became our galaxy, the Milky Way.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Horrible narration nearly kills Kurlansky
- By Scarlatti's Muse on 05-15-18
-
Paper
- Paging Through History
- By: Mark Kurlansky
- Narrated by: Andrew Garman
- Length: 13 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 184
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 159
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 154
Paper is one of the simplest and most essential pieces of human technology. For the past two millennia, the ability to produce it in ever more efficient ways has supported the proliferation of literacy, media, religion, education, commerce, and art; it has formed the foundation of civilizations, promoting revolutions and restoring stability.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Flawed Recording Ruins a Fascinating History
- By C. D. Zuff on 07-18-16
-
Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba
- The Biography of a Cause
- By: Tom Gjelten
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 18 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 28
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 26
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 25
In this widely hailed book, NPR correspondent Tom Gjelten fuses the story of the Bacardi family and their famous rum business with Cuba's tumultuous experience over the last 150 years to produce a deeply entertaining historical narrative. The company Facundo Bacardi, launched in Cuba in 1862, brought worldwide fame to the island, and in the decades that followed, his Bacardi descendants participated in every aspect of Cuban life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Brilliantly written , amazing performance .
- By RRV on 10-29-17
-
Havana Nocturne
- How the Mob Owned Cuba...and Then Lost It to the Revolution
- By: T. J. English
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 13 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 996
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 650
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 661
Havana Nocturne takes listeners back to Cuba in the years when it was a veritable devil's playground for mob leaders Meyer Lansky and Charles "Lucky" Luciano. Thanks to strong ties with the island's brutal dictator, President Batista, the mob soon owned the biggest luxury hotels and casinos and launched an unprecedented tourist boom. But their dreams collided with those of Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, and others.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
History with Spice!
- By Rob Mack on 04-13-09
-
The Big Oyster
- History on the Half Shell
- By: Mark Kurlansky
- Narrated by: John H. Mayer
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 193
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 126
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 126
Before New York City was the Big Apple, it could have been called the Big Oyster. Now award-winning author Mark Kurlansky tells the remarkable story of New York by following the trajectory of one of its most fascinating inhabitants, the oyster, whose influence on the great metropolis remains unparalleled.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Ok, but not as good as his "Salt", or "Cod".
- By Frank H. on 03-22-17
-
Cod
- A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World
- By: Mark Kurlansky
- Narrated by: Richard M. Davidson
- Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 432
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 207
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 214
Talk about a fish story! New York Times and Harper's columnist Mark Kurlansky offers "history filtered through the gills of the fish trade." David McCullough, the historian behind John Adams, says Kurlansky's "charming tale" of a "seemingly improbable idea" will change the way people think of the fish and the history.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A great fish story
- By Karen on 10-13-03
-
Milk!
- A 10,000-Year Food Fracas
- By: Mark Kurlansky
- Narrated by: Brian Sutherland
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 50
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 46
Mark Kurlansky's first global food history since the best-selling Cod and Salt; the fascinating cultural, economic and culinary story of milk and all things dairy - with recipes throughout. According to the Greek creation myth, we are so much spilt milk; a splatter of the goddess Hera's breast milk became our galaxy, the Milky Way.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Horrible narration nearly kills Kurlansky
- By Scarlatti's Muse on 05-15-18
-
Paper
- Paging Through History
- By: Mark Kurlansky
- Narrated by: Andrew Garman
- Length: 13 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 184
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 159
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 154
Paper is one of the simplest and most essential pieces of human technology. For the past two millennia, the ability to produce it in ever more efficient ways has supported the proliferation of literacy, media, religion, education, commerce, and art; it has formed the foundation of civilizations, promoting revolutions and restoring stability.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Flawed Recording Ruins a Fascinating History
- By C. D. Zuff on 07-18-16
-
Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba
- The Biography of a Cause
- By: Tom Gjelten
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 18 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 28
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 26
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 25
In this widely hailed book, NPR correspondent Tom Gjelten fuses the story of the Bacardi family and their famous rum business with Cuba's tumultuous experience over the last 150 years to produce a deeply entertaining historical narrative. The company Facundo Bacardi, launched in Cuba in 1862, brought worldwide fame to the island, and in the decades that followed, his Bacardi descendants participated in every aspect of Cuban life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Brilliantly written , amazing performance .
- By RRV on 10-29-17
-
Havana Nocturne
- How the Mob Owned Cuba...and Then Lost It to the Revolution
- By: T. J. English
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 13 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 996
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 650
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 661
Havana Nocturne takes listeners back to Cuba in the years when it was a veritable devil's playground for mob leaders Meyer Lansky and Charles "Lucky" Luciano. Thanks to strong ties with the island's brutal dictator, President Batista, the mob soon owned the biggest luxury hotels and casinos and launched an unprecedented tourist boom. But their dreams collided with those of Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, and others.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
History with Spice!
- By Rob Mack on 04-13-09
-
The Big Oyster
- History on the Half Shell
- By: Mark Kurlansky
- Narrated by: John H. Mayer
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 193
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 126
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 126
Before New York City was the Big Apple, it could have been called the Big Oyster. Now award-winning author Mark Kurlansky tells the remarkable story of New York by following the trajectory of one of its most fascinating inhabitants, the oyster, whose influence on the great metropolis remains unparalleled.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Ok, but not as good as his "Salt", or "Cod".
- By Frank H. on 03-22-17
-
Cod
- A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World
- By: Mark Kurlansky
- Narrated by: Richard M. Davidson
- Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 432
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 207
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 214
Talk about a fish story! New York Times and Harper's columnist Mark Kurlansky offers "history filtered through the gills of the fish trade." David McCullough, the historian behind John Adams, says Kurlansky's "charming tale" of a "seemingly improbable idea" will change the way people think of the fish and the history.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A great fish story
- By Karen on 10-13-03
-
The Basque History of the World
- By: Mark Kurlansky
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 239
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 130
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 127
Inhabiting the small corner where France meets Spain, the Basque speak their own language, Euskera. Evidence of their culture showed up as early as 218 BC, and now, with a population of 2.4 million, their influence on our world has been all-pervasive. In this "delectable portrait of an uncanny, indomitable nation," listeners will be enthralled as Kurlansky delves into the roots of an intriguing population, and shows us why they continue.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An eye opener that will break your heart
- By Perry on 12-18-04
-
Cuba Libre
- A 500-Year Quest for Independence
- By: Philip Brenner, Peter Eisner
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 15 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 9
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 9
This timely book provides a balanced, deeply knowledgeable introduction to Cuba since 1492. Tracing the island's history over 500 years, the authors provide an incisive overview for anyone interested in exploring beyond the enduring stereotypes.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Lost Opportunity (and time)
- By Alexander Piquer on 05-04-18
-
Cuba Beyond the Beach
- Stories of Life in Havana
- By: Karen Dubinsky
- Narrated by: Gina Clayton
- Length: 5 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 6
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 6
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 6
Havana is Cuba's soul: a mix of Third World, First World, and Other World. After over a decade of visits as a teacher, researcher, and friend, Karen Dubinsky looks past political slogans and tourist postcards to the streets, neighborhoods, and personalities of a complicated and contradictory city. Her affectionate, humorous vignettes illustrate how Havana's residents - old communist ladies, their skeptical offspring, musicians, underground vendors, entrepreneurial landlords, and poverty-stricken professors - go about their daily lives.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful, loving, but balanced depiction of modern-day Cubs
- By M. Clark on 11-15-17
-
Cuba - Culture Smart!
- By: Russell Madicks, Mandy Macdonald
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 3 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 23
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 22
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 22
Cuba - Culture Smart! provides essential information on attitudes, beliefs, and behavior in Cuba, ensuring that you arrive aware of basic manners, common courtesies, and sensitive issues. This concise guide tells you what to expect, how to behave, and how to establish a rapport with Cubans. This inside knowledge will enable you to feel confident in unfamiliar situations and develop trust, friendships, and successful business relationships on the largest island in the Caribbean.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Awesome travel primer - All the info you need
- By Aly G. Mawji on 02-14-18
-
Railroaded
- The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America
- By: Richard White
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 23 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 31
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 29
The transcontinental railroads of the late 19th century were the first corporate behemoths. Their attempts to generate profits from proliferating debt sparked devastating panics in the US economy. Their dependence on public largess drew them into the corridors of power, initiating new forms of corruption. Their operations rearranged space and time, and remade the landscape of the West. As wheel and rail, car and coal, they opened new worlds of work and ways of life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great Way to Tell the History
- By Brent Paxton on 06-25-18
-
Salt
- A World History
- By: Mark Kurlansky
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 13 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,895
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,279
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,287
So much of our human body is made up of salt that we'd be dead without it. The fine balance of nature, the trade of salt as a currency of many nations and empires, the theme of a popular Shakespearean play... Salt is best selling author Mark Kurlansky's story of the only rock we eat.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
More than SALT
- By Karen on 03-12-03
-
Our Man in Havana
- By: Graham Greene
- Narrated by: Jeremy Northam
- Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 427
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 383
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 381
In a legendary novel that appears to predict the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, Graham Greene introduces James Wormold, a vacuum cleaner salesman whose life in transformed when he is asked to join the British Secret Service. He agrees, and finds himself with no information to offer, so begins to invent sources and agencies which do not exist, but which appear very real to his superiors.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Delete the Music and It Would Be Fine
- By Jean on 08-05-11
-
1968
- The Year That Rocked the World
- By: Mark Kurlansky
- Narrated by: Christopher Cazenove
- Length: 16 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 171
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 88
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 90
In this monumental new book, award-winning author Mark Kurlansky has written his most ambitious work to date: a singular and ultimately definitive look at a pivotal moment in history.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Great book, terrible reader
- By phineas on 08-12-04
-
Cuban Revelations
- Behind the Scenes in Havana
- By: Marc Frank
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 13 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 21
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 17
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 16
In Cuban Revelations, Marc Frank offers a first-hand account of daily life in Cuba at the turn of the 21st century, the start of a new and dramatic epoch for islanders and the Cuban diaspora. A US-born journalist who has called Havana home for almost a quarter century, Frank observed in person the best days of the revolution, the fall of the Soviet Bloc, the great depression of the 1990s, the stepping aside of Fidel Castro, and the reforms now being devised by his brother.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fascinating facts
- By sbm on 03-31-16
-
Barons of the Sea
- By: Steven Ujifusa
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 27
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 25
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 25
When the United States was young, importing luxury goods from China was a secretive, glamorous, often brutal business - one where teas and silks and porcelain were purchased with profits from the opium trade. But the journey by sea to New York from Canton could take six agonizing months, and so the most pressing technological challenge of the day became ensuring one’s goods arrived first to market. Barons of the Sea tells the story of a handful of cutthroat competitors who raced to build the fastest, finest, most profitable clipper ships to carry their precious cargo to American shores.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Lost at sea
- By Steve on 07-24-18
-
The Food Explorer
- The True Adventures of the Globe-Trotting Botanist Who Transformed What America Eats
- By: Daniel Stone
- Narrated by: Daniel Stone
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 158
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 146
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 145
In the 19th century, American meals were about subsistence, not enjoyment. But as a new century approached, appetites broadened, and David Fairchild, a young botanist with an insatiable lust to explore and experience the world, set out in search of foods that would enrich the American farmer and enchant the American eater. Kale from Croatia, mangoes from India, and hops from Bavaria. Peaches from China, avocados from Chile, and pomegranates from Malta. But Fairchild's finds weren't just limited to food.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Captivating
- By Gennady Gelman on 04-15-18
-
Birdseye
- The Adventures of a Curious Man
- By: Mark Kurlansky
- Narrated by: Jon Van Ness
- Length: 5 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 49
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 49
Break out the TV dinners! From the author who gave us Cod, Salt, and other informative bestsellers, the first biography of Clarence Birdseye, the eccentric genius inventor whose fast-freezing process revolutionized the food industry and American agriculture.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
I just couldn't get past the narrator
- By K. Lawrence on 01-02-13
Publisher's Summary
Award-winning author Mark Kurlansky presents an insider's view of Havana: the elegant, tattered city he has come to know over more than 30 years. Part cultural history, part travelogue, with recipes throughout, Havana celebrates the city's singular music, literature, baseball and food; its five centuries of outstanding neglected architecture; and its extraordinary blend of cultures.
Like all great cities, Havana has a rich history that informs the vibrant place it is today - from the native Taino to Columbus' landing, from Cuba's status as a US protectorate to Batista's dictatorship and Castro's revolution, from Soviet presence to the welcoming of capitalist tourism. Havana is a place of extremes: a beautifully restored colonial city whose cobblestone streets pass through areas that have not been painted or repaired since long before the revolution.
Kurlansky shows Havana through the eyes of Cuban writers, such as Alejo Carpentier and José Martí, and foreigners, including Graham Greene and Hemingway. He introduces us to Cuban baseball and its highly opinionated fans; the city's music scene, alive with the rhythm of Son; its culinary legacy. Through Mark Kurlansky's multilayered and electrifying portrait, the long-elusive city of Havana comes stirringly to life.
More from the same
What members say
Average Customer Ratings
Overall
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars20
-
4 Stars16
-
3 Stars7
-
2 Stars1
-
1 Stars0
Performance
-
4.5 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars22
-
4 Stars8
-
3 Stars6
-
2 Stars0
-
1 Stars2
Story
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars13
-
4 Stars19
-
3 Stars7
-
2 Stars1
-
1 Stars0
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dag Zaggles
- 02-16-18
Amazing tale of an amazing island!
Mark Kurlansky's sometimes oddly specific topics make for perfect audio books and this is no exception. Fantastic tale of revolution and romance!
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- See Reverse
- 03-31-18
Havana was Nice, But Salt is Better
I've been an avid listener of Mark Kurlansky's work, so I was doubly excited to hear that this book was released and it was a decent departure from the Salt/Basque storyline that I've so enjoyed from the earlier books.
While Havana is interesting in its coverage of the relatively tumultuous history of the city, it doesn't have the same feel as Kurlansky's other work. I'm not disappointed, this book definitely gave me a better feel for the deep rooted place Havana holds in American Culture (Sloppy Joe's!)
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Christopher
- 09-03-17
interesting introduction to Havana
I really enjoyed both the content and flow of this book.
It covers a long history but the author captured the important aspects.