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Decatur's Wake
- The Fateful Rivalry Behind the Lightning Defeat of Barbary Terror
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 4 hrs and 23 mins
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Decatur's Wake
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Publisher's summary
Since the founding of the United States, the Barbary pirates of North Africa threatened with impunity American lives, commerce, and honor on the high seas. But in 1815, Commodore Stephen Decatur led a charge to victory. The Second Barbary War, as it became known, helped define American foreign policy and consolidate its naval power.
In Decatur's Wake: The Fateful Rivalry Behind the Lightning Defeat of Barbary Terror, Daniel Wattenberg shows us how, while painting a portrait of the two senior officers turned mortal enemies who fought for a shot at personal redemption and a naval command of unprecedented scale and pivotal historical significance. Decatur's Wake is a rousing true narrative that crackles with the tension and torques with the surprise twists of a psychological thriller.
Daniel Wattenberg is the author of Decatur's Wake, a Kindle Single. He is a widely cited, award-winning cultural essayist, columnist, critic, investigative writer, and editor. His work has appeared in many magazines and newspapers, including the American Spectator, Atlantic.com, Civilization, the Daily Caller, Forbes FYI, George, National Review, Playboy, Reason, the Weekly Standard, the Arizona Republic, Baltimore Sun, New York Post and Washington Times. He served in the State Department in the bureaus of Inter-American Affairs and Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs and in the United States Information Agency at the US Mission to UNESCO and the US Embassy in Paris. He worked in the Merchant Marines in the engine room of a container ship. As the lead singer of punk-era New York bands, he appeared often at the historic CBGB and opened for the Ramones. He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife and daughter.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent writing and exciting story
- By mikey on 08-02-19
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The First Salute
- A View of the American Revolution
- By: Barbara W. Tuchman
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 12 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 421
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 335
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 333
This compellingly written history presents a fresh, new view of the events that led from the first foreign salute to American nationhood in 1776 to the last campaign of the Revolution five years later. It paints a magnificent portrait of General George Washington and recounts in riveting detail the events responsible for the birth of our nation.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A brilliant classic
- By Matthew on 03-27-09
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Commander
- The Life and Exploits of Britain's Greatest Frigate Captain
- By: Stephen Taylor
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 121
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 108
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 108
Edward Pellew, captain of the legendary Indefatigable, was quite simply the greatest British frigate captain in the age of sail. Left fatherless at age eight, with a penniless mother and five siblings, Pellew fought his way from the very bottom of the navy to fleet command. Victories and eye-catching feats won him a public following. Yet he had a gift for antagonizing his better-born peers, and he made powerful enemies. Redemption came with his last command, when he set off to do battle with the Barbary States and free thousands of European slaves.
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3 out of 5 stars
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OK
- By peter on 02-02-21
By: Stephen Taylor
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Six Frigates
- By: Ian W. Toll
- Narrated by: Stephen Lang
- Length: 7 hrs and 10 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,363
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,116
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,114
Before the ink was dry on the U.S. Constitution, the establishment of a permanent military had become the most divisive issue facing the new government. Would a standing army be the thin end of dictatorship? Would a navy protect American commerce against the Mediterranean pirates, or drain the treasury and provoke hostilities with the great powers? The founders, particularly Jefferson, Madison, and Adams, debated these questions fiercely and switched sides more than once.
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3 out of 5 stars
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BE ADVISED THIS BOOK IS ABRIDGED
- By George Carpenter III on 09-11-08
By: Ian W. Toll
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Broadsides: The Age of Fighting Sail, 1775-1815
- By: Nathan Miller
- Narrated by: David Rapkin
- Length: 15 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 221
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 202
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Story4 out of 5 stars 199
In the late 18th century, it was widely thought that to be a sailor was little better than to be a slave. "No man will be a sailor," wrote Samuel Johnson, "who has contrivance enough to get himself into jail. A man in jail has more room, better food, and commonly better company." If that were true, historian Nathan Miller suggests, then the record of sailing in the age of tall ships would likely be distinguished by few heroes and fewer grand narratives.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Misleading description, solid historical summary
- By M J Mills on 08-10-14
By: Nathan Miller
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1812: The Navy's War
- By: George C. Daughan
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor
- Length: 18 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 702
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 607
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Story4 out of 5 stars 604
At the outbreak of the War of 1812, America's prospects looked dismal. It was clear that the primary battlefield would be the open ocean but America's war fleet, only 20 ships strong, faced a practiced British navy of more than a thousand men-of-war. Still, through a combination of nautical deftness and sheer bravado, the American navy managed to take the fight to the British and turn the tide of the war.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Arghhhh!!! Not meant for audio.
- By Jonathan Love on 07-07-12
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The War of 1812, Conflict and Deception
- The British Attempt to Seize New Orleans and Nullify the Louisiana Purchase
- By: Ronald J. Drez
- Narrated by: Todd Curless
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 33
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 33
Perhaps no conflict in American history is more important yet more overlooked and misunderstood than the War of 1812. At the climax of the war, inspired by the defeat of Napoleon in early 1814 and the perceived illegality of the Louisiana Purchase, the British devised a plan to launch a three-pronged attack against the Northern, Eastern, and Southern US borders.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A thorough defense of the 1812 war
- By Amazon Customer on 05-13-16
By: Ronald J. Drez
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Cochrane
- The Real Master and Commander
- By: David Cordingly
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 169
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 109
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 110
Nicknamed le loup des mers ("the sea wolf") by Napoleon, Thomas Cochrane was one of the most daring and successful naval heroes of all time. In this fascinating account of Cochrane's life, historian David Cordingly unearths startling new details about the real-life "Master and Commander", from his daring exploits against the French navy to his role in the liberation of Chile, Peru, and Brazil, and the shock exchange scandal that forced him out of England and almost ended his naval career.
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3 out of 5 stars
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There is a better book on Lord Cochrane
- By Mark G on 07-20-15
By: David Cordingly
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Rebels at Sea
- Privateering in the American Revolution
- By: Eric Jay Dolin
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 51
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 46
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 47
The heroic story of the founding of the US Navy during the Revolution has been told many times, yet largely missing from maritime histories of America's first war is the ragtag fleet of private vessels that truly revealed the new nation's character. In Rebels at Sea, Eric Jay Dolin corrects that significant omission, and contends that privateers, as they were called, were in fact critical to the American victory. Privateers were privately owned vessels that were granted permission by the new government to seize British merchantmen and men of war.
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3 out of 5 stars
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If you can get over the narrator...
- By Toby Everett on 09-20-22
By: Eric Jay Dolin
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Bunker Hill
- A City, a Siege, a Revolution
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Chris Sorensen
- Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,030
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,785
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,782
In the opening volume of his acclaimed American Revolution series, Nathaniel Philbrick turns his keen eye to pre-Revolutionary Boston and the spark that ignited the American Revolution. In the aftermath of the Boston Tea Party and the violence at Lexington and Concord, the conflict escalated and skirmishes gave way to outright war in the Battle of Bunker Hill. It was the bloodiest conflict of the revolutionary war, and the point of no return for the rebellious colonists.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Another Fantastic Story by Philbrick
- By Rick on 09-30-13
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Give Me a Fast Ship
- The Continental Navy and America's Revolution at Sea
- By: Tim McGrath
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 19 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 86
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 75
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 77
America in 1775 was on the verge of revolution - or, more likely, disastrous defeat. After the bloodshed at Lexington and Concord, England's King George sent hundreds of ships westward to bottle up American harbors and prey on American shipping. Colonists had no force to defend their coastline and waterways until John Adams of Massachusetts proposed a bold solution: The Continental Congress should raise a navy. Meticulously researched and masterfully told, Give Me a Fast Ship is the definitive history of the American Navy during the Revolutionary War.
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4 out of 5 stars
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I learned so much
- By William on 05-08-17
By: Tim McGrath
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Turncoat
- Benedict Arnold and the Crisis of American Liberty
- By: Stephen Brumwell
- Narrated by: Andrew Sellon
- Length: 17 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 38
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 37
General Benedict Arnold's failed attempt to betray the fortress of West Point to the British in 1780 stands as one of the most infamous episodes in American history. In the light of a shining record of bravery and unquestioned commitment to the Revolution, Arnold's defection came as an appalling shock. Contemporaries believed he had been corrupted by greed; historians have theorized that he had come to resent the lack of recognition for his merits and sacrifices. In this provocative book, Stephen Brumwell challenges such interpretations and draws on unexplored archives to reveal other crucial factors that illuminate Arnold's abandonment of the revolutionary cause he once championed.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Uniquely Informative
- By Brenda McAteer on 07-31-18
By: Stephen Brumwell
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The Pirate Coast
- Thomas Jefferson, The First Marines, and the Secret Mission of 1805
- By: Richard Zacks
- Narrated by: Raymond Todd
- Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 642
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 329
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Story4 out of 5 stars 332
After Tripoli declared war on the United States in 1801, Barbary pirates captured 300 U.S. sailors and marines. President Jefferson sent navy squadrons to the Mediterranean, but he also authorized a secret mission to overthrow the government of Tripoli. He chose an unlikely diplomat, William Eaton, to lead the mission, but before Eaton departed, Jefferson grew wary of the affair and withdrew his support.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Excellent Account
- By John on 07-11-05
By: Richard Zacks
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John Paul Jones
- Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy
- By: Evan Thomas
- Narrated by: Dan Cashman
- Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 196
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 123
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 123
John Paul Jones is more than a great sea story. Jones is a character for the ages. John Adams called him the "most ambitious and intriguing officer in the American Navy." The renewed interest in the Founding Fathers reminds us of the great men who made this country, but John Paul Jones teaches us that it took fighters as well as thinkers, men driven by dreams of personal glory as well as high-minded principle to break free of the past and start a new world. Jones' spirit was classically American.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Swashbuckler or Saviour
- By Bruce on 03-16-04
By: Evan Thomas
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The War for All the Oceans
- From Nelson at the Nile to Napoleon at Waterloo
- By: Roy Adkins, Lesley Adkins
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 21 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 141
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 79
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Story4 out of 5 stars 81
Roy Adkins, with his wife, Lesley, returns to the Napoleonic War in The War for All the Oceans, a gripping account of the naval struggle that lasted from 1798 to 1815, a period marked at the beginning by Napoleon's seizing power and at the end by the War of 1812. In this vivid and visceral account, Adkins draws on eyewitness records to portray not only the battles but also the details of a sailor's life: shipwrecks, press-gangs, prostitutes, spies, and prisoners of war.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Good material, horrid narration
- By SC Visel on 01-03-08
By: Roy Adkins, and others
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To the Uttermost Ends of the Earth
- The Epic Hunt for the South's Most Feared Ship—and the Greatest Sea Battle of the Civil War
- By: Tom Clavin, Phil Keith
- Narrated by: Joe Knezevich
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 41
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 35
On June 19, 1864, just off the coast of France, one of the most dramatic naval battles in history took place. On a clear day with windswept skies, the dreaded Confederate raider Alabama faced the Union warship Kearsarge in an all-or-nothing fight to the finish, the outcome of which would effectively end the threat of the Confederacy on the high seas.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating how these men traveled the world on a ship in the mid 19th century.
- By Jacob Llamas on 03-10-24
By: Tom Clavin, and others
What listeners say about Decatur's Wake
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 09-24-19
captivating narrative based on a true story
this was an extremely engaging story that would make an excellent TV series.it was a psychological and relationship drama as well as a historical narrative.
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