Heaven’s Ditch
God, Gold, and Murder on the Erie Canal
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Heaven’s Ditch
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Narrated by:
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Andrew Reilly
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By:
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Jack Kelly
About this listen
"The Erie Canal rubbed Aladdin's lamp. America awoke, catching for the first time the wondrous vision of its own dimensions and power." - Francis Kimball, American architect
The technological marvel of its age, the Erie Canal grew out of a sudden fit of inspiration. Proponents didn't just dream; they built a 360-mile waterway entirely by hand and largely through wilderness. As excitement crackled down its length, the canal became the scene of the most striking outburst of imagination in American history. Zealots invented new religions and new modes of living. The Erie Canal made New York the financial capital of America and brought the modern world crashing into the frontier. Men and women saw God face-to-face, gained and lost fortunes, and reveled in a period of intense spiritual creativity.
Heaven's Ditch illuminates the spiritual and political upheavals along this "psychic highway", from its opening in 1825 through 1844. "Wage slave" Sam Patch became America's first celebrity daredevil. William Miller envisioned the apocalypse. Farm boy Joseph Smith gave birth to Mormonism, a new and distinctly American religion. Along the way, one encounters America's very first "crime of the century", a treasure hunt, searing acts of violence, a visionary cross-dresser, and a panoply of fanatics, mystics, and hoaxers. A pause-register narrative, Heaven's Ditch offers an excitingly fresh look at a heady, foundational moment in American history.
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 76
John Brown is a lightning rod of history. Yet he is poorly understood and most commonly described in stereotypes, as a madman, martyr, or enigma. Not until Patriotic Treason has a biography or history brought him so fully to life, in scintillating prose and moving detail, making his life and legacy - and the staggering sacrifices he made for his ideals - fascinatingly relevant to today's issues of social justice and to defining the line between activism and terrorism.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Jarring Reminder of Antebellum America
- By Anonymous User on 12-22-06
By: Evan Carton
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The Road to Dawn: Josiah Henson and the Story That Sparked the Civil War
- By: Jared A. Brock
- Narrated by: Ryan Vincent Anderson
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 85
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 74
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Story5 out of 5 stars 73
This sweeping biography about the man who was the inspiration for Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin is an epic tale of courage and bravery in the face of unimaginable trials. The Road to Dawn tells the improbable story of Josiah Henson - a dynamic, driven man with exceptional intelligence and unyielding principles, who overcame incredible odds to escape from slavery and improve the lives of hundreds of freedmen throughout his long life. He was immortalized by Harriet Beecher Stowe in her 1852 novel Uncle Tom's Cabin.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great book and very informative
- By Anonymous User on 07-04-18
By: Jared A. Brock
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Bound for Canaan
- The Epic Story of the Underground Railroad, America's First Civil Rights Movement
- By: Fergus Bordewich
- Narrated by: Peter J. Fernandez
- Length: 19 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 86
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 74
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 76
The Civil War brought to a climax the country's bitter division. But the beginnings of slavery's denouement can be traced to a courageous band of ordinary Americans, black and white, slave and free, who joined forces to create what would come to be known as the Underground Railroad, a movement that occupies as romantic a place in the nation's imagination as the Lewis and Clark expedition.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The Heroic Missing Piece
- By Anonymous User on 03-03-17
By: Fergus Bordewich
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A House Full of Females
- Plural Marriage and Women's Rights in Early Mormonism, 1835-1870
- By: Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
- Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
- Length: 19 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 182
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 159
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 161
A stunning and sure to be controversial book that pieces together, through more than two dozen 19th-century diaries, letters, albums, minute books, and quilts left by first-generation Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, the never before told story of the earliest days of the women of Mormon "plural marriage", whose right to vote in the state of Utah was given to them by a Mormon-dominated legislature as an outgrowth of polygamy in 1870, 50 years ahead of the vote nationally ratified by Congress.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Well-behaved women seldom write in diaries
- By Anonymous User on 01-13-17
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Chief Seattle and the Town That Took His Name
- By: David M. Buerge
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 146
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 130
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 128
This is the first thorough historical account of Chief Seattle and his times - the story of a half century of tremendous flux, turmoil, and violence, during which a native American war leader became an advocate for peace and strove to create a successful hybrid racial community.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Important
- By Anonymous User on 03-15-21
By: David M. Buerge
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Abraham Lincoln
- A Man of Faith and Courage: Stories of Our Most Admired President
- By: Joe Wheeler
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 51
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 35
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Story5 out of 5 stars 36
Author Joe Wheeler brings to this insightful audiobook the knowledge gleaned from over 10 years of study and more than 60 books on the life and times of Abraham Lincoln. Skillfully weaving his own narrative with direct quotes from Abraham Lincoln and poignant excerpts from other Lincoln biographers, Joe Wheeler brings a refreshingly friendly rendition Lincoln's life, faith and courage.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Retreads
- By Anonymous User on 04-22-09
By: Joe Wheeler
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Trail of Tears
- The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation
- By: John Ehle
- Narrated by: John McDonough
- Length: 19 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 237
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 209
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 205
A sixth-generation North Carolinian, highly-acclaimed author John Ehle grew up on former Cherokee hunting grounds. His experience as an accomplished novelist, combined with his extensive, meticulous research, culminates in this moving tragedy rich with historical detail.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Hard to imagine
- By Anonymous User on 12-04-17
By: John Ehle
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Frontier Grit
- The Unlikely True Stories of Daring Pioneer Women
- By: Marianne Monson
- Narrated by: Caroline Shaffer
- Length: 5 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 610
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 558
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 554
Discover the stories of 12 women who heard the call to settle the West and who came from all points of the globe to begin their journeys. As a slave Clara watched helplessly as her husband and children were sold, only to be reunited with her youngest daughter as a free woman six decades later. As a young girl, Charlotte hid her gender to escape a life of poverty and became the greatest stagecoach driver who ever lived. As a Native American, Gertrude fought to give her people a voice and to educate leaders about the ways and importance of America's native people.
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2 out of 5 stars
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only ok
- By Anonymous User on 06-14-21
By: Marianne Monson
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The Immortal Irishman
- The Irish Revolutionary Who Became an American Hero
- By: Timothy Egan
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 14 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,415
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,079
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,060
The Irish-American story, with all its twists and triumphs, is told through the improbable life of one man. A dashing young orator during the Great Famine of the 1840s, in which a million of his Irish countrymen died, Thomas Francis Meagher led a failed uprising against British rule, for which he was banished to a Tasmanian prison colony. He escaped and six months later was heralded in the streets of New York - the revolutionary hero, back from the dead, at the dawn of the great Irish immigration to America.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Yes, but....
- By Anonymous User on 04-01-16
By: Timothy Egan
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The Age of Gold
- The California Gold Rush and the New American Dream
- By: H.W. Brands
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 17 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 410
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 303
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 308
When gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill on the American River, it completely transformed the territory of California. Hundreds of thousands of people sped to California by any means possible, and small cities sprung up to service their needs as they sought the precious metal. By 1850, California had become a state; it had also become a symbol of where the nation was going.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Very Enjoyable
- By Anonymous User on 01-15-04
By: H.W. Brands
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They Were Christians
- The Inspiring Faith of Men and Women Who Changed the World
- By: Cristobal Krusen
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 78
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 68
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 69
What do Abraham Lincoln, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Louis Pasteur, Frederick Douglass, Florence Nightingale, and John D. Rockefeller, Sr., all have in common? They all changed the world - and they were all Christians. Now the little-known stories of faith behind 12 influential people of history are available in one inspiring volume. They Were Christians reveals the faith-filled motivations behind some of the most outstanding political, scientific, and humanitarian contributions of history.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great book
- By Anonymous User on 12-10-18
By: Cristobal Krusen
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The Wordy Shipmates
- By: Sarah Vowell
- Narrated by: Sarah Vowell
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,910
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,175
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,169
Sarah Vowell's special brand of armchair history makes the bizarre and esoteric fascinatingly relevant and fun. She takes us from the modern-day reenactment of an Indian massacre to the Mohegan Sun casino, from old-timey Puritan poetry, where "righteousness" is rhymed with "wilderness," to a Mayflower-themed waterslide. Throughout, The Wordy Shipmates is rich in historical fact, humorous insight, and social commentary by one of America's most celebrated voices.
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5 out of 5 stars
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I love Sarah Vowell
- By Anonymous User on 10-25-09
By: Sarah Vowell
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Bury the Chains
- Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire's Slaves
- By: Adam Hochschild
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 13 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 112
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 93
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Story5 out of 5 stars 92
In early 1787, 12 men - a printer, a lawyer, a clergyman, and others united by their hatred of slavery - came together in a London printing shop and began a remarkable grass-roots movement, battling for the rights of people on another continent. Masterfully stoking public opinion, the movement's leaders pioneered a variety of techniques that have been adopted by citizens' movements ever since, from consumer boycotts to wall posters and lapel buttons to celebrity endorsements.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great Eye-Opener
- By Anonymous User on 01-06-19
By: Adam Hochschild
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The Pioneers
- The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West
- By: David McCullough
- Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 5,046
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,358
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Story4 out of 5 stars 4,330
The number one New York Times best seller by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough rediscovers an important chapter in the American story that's "as resonant today as ever" (The Wall Street Journal) - the settling of the Northwest Territory by courageous pioneers who overcame incredible hardships to build a community based on ideals that would define our country.
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5 out of 5 stars
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i would prefer david reading it
- By Anonymous User on 05-07-19
By: David McCullough
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Lincoln's Battle with God
- A President's Struggle with Faith and What It Meant for America
- By: Stephen Mansfield
- Narrated by: Stephen Mansfield
- Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 26
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 21
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Story5 out of 5 stars 21
Abraham Lincoln is the most beloved of all US presidents. He freed the slaves, gave the world some of its most beautiful phrases, and redefined the meaning of America. He did all of this with wisdom, compassion, and wit. Yet, throughout his life, Lincoln fought with God. In his early years in Illinois, he rejected even the existence of God and became the village atheist. In time, this changed but still he wrestled with the truth of the Bible, preachers, doctrines, the will of God, the providence of God, and then, finally, God’s purposes in the Civil War.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Outstanding
- By Anonymous User on 07-23-21
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Blood Moon
- By: John Sedgwick
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 17 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 134
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 120
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 119
Blood Moon is the story of the century-long blood feud between two rival Cherokee chiefs from the early years of the United States through the infamous Trail of Tears and into the Civil War. While little remembered today, their mutual hatred shaped the tragic history of the tribe far more than anyone, even the reviled President Andrew Jackson, ever did.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The Real Story
- By Anonymous User on 04-17-18
By: John Sedgwick
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Young Benjamin Franklin
- The Birth of Ingenuity
- By: Nick Bunker
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 17 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 33
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 28
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 28
From his early career as a printer and journalist to his scientific work and his role as a founder of a new republic, Benjamin Franklin has always seemed the inevitable embodiment of American ingenuity. But in his youth, he had to make his way through a harsh colonial world, where he fought many battles with his rivals, but also with his wayward emotions. Taking Franklin to the age of 41, when he made his first electrical discoveries, Bunker goes behind the legend to reveal the sources of his passion for knowledge.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Good Book but LOTS of Names
- By Anonymous User on 10-31-19
By: Nick Bunker