-
Saddam Hussein: A Life From Beginning to End
- Narrated by: Matthew J. Chandler-Smith
- Length: 1 hr and 11 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.
Saddam Hussein: A Life From Beginning to End
Buy for $6.95
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 Prisoner in His Palace
- Saddam Hussein and the Twelve Americans Who Guarded Him
- By: Will Bardenwerper
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 195
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 173
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 172
This is the bizarre tale of 12 young American soldiers who are deployed to Iraq in the summer of 2006. Rather than fight the enemy in combat, the men are unexpectedly assigned to guard the country's notorious leader - Saddam Hussein - in the months leading to his execution. Living alongside and caring for their "high-value detainee" in a former palace dubbed The Rock and regularly transporting him to his raucous trial, many of the men begin questioning some of their most basic assumptions.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Saddam As An Avuncular Old Man? Hmmm...
- By Gillian on 06-08-17
-
Debriefing the President
- The Interrogation of Saddam Hussein
- By: John Nixon
- Narrated by: John Nixon
- Length: 5 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 289
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 256
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 257
In December 2003, after one of the largest, most aggressive manhunts in history, US military forces captured Iraqi president Saddam Hussein near his hometown of Tikrit. Beset by body-double rumors and false alarms during a nine-month search, the Bush administration needed positive identification of the prisoner before it could make the announcement that would rocket around the world. At the time John Nixon was a senior CIA leadership analyst who had spent years studying the Iraqi dictator.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Not What You Think It Is
- By Doug on 01-10-17
By: John Nixon
-
Black Flags
- The Rise of ISIS
- By: Joby Warrick
- Narrated by: Sunil Malhotra
- Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,763
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,414
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,409
In a thrilling dramatic narrative, awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction, Joby Warrick traces how the strain of militant Islam behind ISIS first arose in a remote Jordanian prison and spread with the unwitting aid of two American presidents.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
So much learned
- By mike flavin on 02-11-16
By: Joby Warrick
-
MBS
- The Rise to Power of Mohammed bin Salman
- By: Ben Hubbard
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 542
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 462
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 463
MBS is the untold story of how a mysterious young prince emerged from Saudi Arabia’s sprawling royal family to overhaul the economy and society of the richest country in the Middle East - and gather as much power as possible into his own hands. Since his father, King Salman, ascended to the throne in 2015, Mohammed bin Salman has leveraged his influence to restructure the kingdom’s economy, loosen its strict Islamic social codes, and confront its enemies around the region, especially Iran.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Suffers from 'Objective Journalism' Syndrome
- By Anonymous User on 05-09-20
By: Ben Hubbard
-
Joseph Stalin: The Dictator of the USSR
- Best Biography
- By: The History Hour
- Narrated by: Alexander G.
- Length: 1 hr and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 11
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 10
Initially presiding over an oligarchic one-party regime that governed by plurality, Joseph Stalin became the de facto dictator of the Soviet Union. Stalin raised funds for Vladimir Lenin's Bolshevik faction via robberies, kidnappings, and protection rackets. To eradicate those regarded as "enemies of the working class", Stalin instituted the "Great Purge" in which more than a million were imprisoned and at least 700,000 were executed from 1934 to 1939.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
good
- By Justin E. Huynh on 10-28-19
By: The History Hour
-
Israel
- A Concise History of a Nation Reborn
- By: Daniel Gordis
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 16 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,282
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,132
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,123
Israel is a tiny state, and yet it has captured the world's attention, aroused its imagination, and, lately, been the object of its opprobrium. Why does such a small country speak to so many global concerns? More pressingly: Why does Israel make the decisions it does? And what lies in its future? We cannot answer these questions until we understand Israel's people and the questions and conflicts, the hopes and desires, that have animated their conversations and actions.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent, mildly but honestly biased, terrible narration
- By Schaq on 04-01-17
By: Daniel Gordis
-
The Prisoner in His Palace
- Saddam Hussein and the Twelve Americans Who Guarded Him
- By: Will Bardenwerper
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 195
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 173
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 172
This is the bizarre tale of 12 young American soldiers who are deployed to Iraq in the summer of 2006. Rather than fight the enemy in combat, the men are unexpectedly assigned to guard the country's notorious leader - Saddam Hussein - in the months leading to his execution. Living alongside and caring for their "high-value detainee" in a former palace dubbed The Rock and regularly transporting him to his raucous trial, many of the men begin questioning some of their most basic assumptions.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Saddam As An Avuncular Old Man? Hmmm...
- By Gillian on 06-08-17
-
Debriefing the President
- The Interrogation of Saddam Hussein
- By: John Nixon
- Narrated by: John Nixon
- Length: 5 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 289
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 256
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 257
In December 2003, after one of the largest, most aggressive manhunts in history, US military forces captured Iraqi president Saddam Hussein near his hometown of Tikrit. Beset by body-double rumors and false alarms during a nine-month search, the Bush administration needed positive identification of the prisoner before it could make the announcement that would rocket around the world. At the time John Nixon was a senior CIA leadership analyst who had spent years studying the Iraqi dictator.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Not What You Think It Is
- By Doug on 01-10-17
By: John Nixon
-
Black Flags
- The Rise of ISIS
- By: Joby Warrick
- Narrated by: Sunil Malhotra
- Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,763
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,414
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,409
In a thrilling dramatic narrative, awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction, Joby Warrick traces how the strain of militant Islam behind ISIS first arose in a remote Jordanian prison and spread with the unwitting aid of two American presidents.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
So much learned
- By mike flavin on 02-11-16
By: Joby Warrick
-
MBS
- The Rise to Power of Mohammed bin Salman
- By: Ben Hubbard
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 542
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 462
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 463
MBS is the untold story of how a mysterious young prince emerged from Saudi Arabia’s sprawling royal family to overhaul the economy and society of the richest country in the Middle East - and gather as much power as possible into his own hands. Since his father, King Salman, ascended to the throne in 2015, Mohammed bin Salman has leveraged his influence to restructure the kingdom’s economy, loosen its strict Islamic social codes, and confront its enemies around the region, especially Iran.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Suffers from 'Objective Journalism' Syndrome
- By Anonymous User on 05-09-20
By: Ben Hubbard
-
Joseph Stalin: The Dictator of the USSR
- Best Biography
- By: The History Hour
- Narrated by: Alexander G.
- Length: 1 hr and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 11
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 10
Initially presiding over an oligarchic one-party regime that governed by plurality, Joseph Stalin became the de facto dictator of the Soviet Union. Stalin raised funds for Vladimir Lenin's Bolshevik faction via robberies, kidnappings, and protection rackets. To eradicate those regarded as "enemies of the working class", Stalin instituted the "Great Purge" in which more than a million were imprisoned and at least 700,000 were executed from 1934 to 1939.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
good
- By Justin E. Huynh on 10-28-19
By: The History Hour
-
Israel
- A Concise History of a Nation Reborn
- By: Daniel Gordis
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 16 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,282
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,132
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,123
Israel is a tiny state, and yet it has captured the world's attention, aroused its imagination, and, lately, been the object of its opprobrium. Why does such a small country speak to so many global concerns? More pressingly: Why does Israel make the decisions it does? And what lies in its future? We cannot answer these questions until we understand Israel's people and the questions and conflicts, the hopes and desires, that have animated their conversations and actions.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent, mildly but honestly biased, terrible narration
- By Schaq on 04-01-17
By: Daniel Gordis
-
Cold War: A Captivating Guide to the Korean War and Vietnam War
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Duke Holm
- Length: 4 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 5
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 5
The narrative of the Korean War in the West, and particularly in the United States, tells the tale of a conflict between two global superpowers and competing ideologies in a far-flung corner of the globe. The reality is that the wheels of motion that drove the country to war in 1950 began turning long before American boots set foot on Korean soil. The heart of the conflict was a civil war between a population arbitrarily divided by colonization and the global geopolitics at the end of the Second World War.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Audiobook not too captivating
- By A. L. Hinson on 01-27-20
-
A Brief History of Ukraine
- A Singular People Within the Crucible of Empires
- By: Dominic Haynes
- Narrated by: Jordan Vogt
- Length: 3 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 55
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 52
Ukraine is a geographically diverse country with the unfortunate fate of being sandwiched between empires. Though this is frequently explored no further than the global conflicts of the 20th century, in reality, Ukraine’s struggle for self-determination has far deeper roots than most people realize. See the splendor of the Kyivan Rus, gallop with the Golden Horde across the Ukrainian steppe, encounter the legendary Cossacks, and witness the terror of the tsars. From the Romans to the Mongols to the Russians, Ukraine has seen it all and remained uniquely Ukrainian through it all.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent quick listen
- By Thomas J Anderson on 12-14-23
By: Dominic Haynes
-
Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin: Two Predator Leaders. The Biography Collection
- The Greatest People, Book 1
- By: The History Hour
- Narrated by: Jerry Beebe, Alexander G.
- Length: 3 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 36
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 35
Discover the lives and poltical history of German politician and demagogue Adolf Hitler - leader of the Nazi Party, chancellor of Germany, and führer of Nazi Germany - and Joseph Stalin, dictator of the Soviet Union.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best informative.
- By Phyllis S Lopez on 10-25-19
By: The History Hour
-
Stalin, Volume I
- Paradoxes of Power, 1878-1928
- By: Stephen Kotkin
- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 38 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 832
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 705
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 704
Volume One of Stalin begins and ends in January 1928 as Stalin boards a train bound for Siberia, about to embark upon the greatest gamble of his political life. He is now the ruler of the largest country in the world, but a poor and backward one, far behind the great capitalist countries in industrial and military power, encircled on all sides. In Siberia, Stalin conceives of the largest program of social reengineering ever attempted.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent Book But First Time Listener Beware
- By Nostromo on 03-23-15
By: Stephen Kotkin
-
The Afghan Wars: History in an Hour
- By: Rupert Colley
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 1 hr and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 117
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 99
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 97
Britain has invaded Afghanistan twice before in the nineteenth century. Both times tenacious Afghan fighters defended their country to humiliating British defeats. The Soviet Union also discovered what a tough enemy the Afghans are after nearly a decade of conflict from 1979 to 1989. When not fighting foreign invaders, Afghanistan was torn apart by Civil War from 1990 to 1996, resulting in victory for the Taliban.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
informative
- By mosadiq on 11-20-15
By: Rupert Colley
-
The Fate of Africa
- A History of the Continent Since Independence
- By: Martin Meredith
- Narrated by: Fleet Cooper
- Length: 29 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 383
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 334
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 330
Martin Meredith has revised this classic history to incorporate important recent developments, including the Darfur crisis in Sudan, Robert Mugabe’s continued destructive rule in Zimbabwe, controversies over Western aid and exploitation of Africa’s resources, the growing importance and influence of China, and the democratic movement roiling the North African countries of Tunisia, Egypt, and Jordan.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Africa: Land of Hope and Horror
- By Jeff on 03-08-14
By: Martin Meredith
-
Syria Burning
- ISIS and the Death of the Arab Spring
- By: Charles Glass
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 2 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 46
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 43
Glass has reported extensively from the Middle East and travelled frequently in Syria over several decades. Here he melds together reportage, analysis, and history to provide an accessible overview of the origins and permutations defining the conflict, situating it clearly in the overall crisis of the region. His voice, elegant and concise, humane and richly informed, is a vital antidote to the sloganizing that shapes so much commentary and policy concerning the civil war.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
The authors bias is insufferable.
- By Dan on 01-02-16
By: Charles Glass
-
The Arabs
- A History
- By: Eugene Rogan
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 27 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 641
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 565
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 561
In this definitive history of the modern Arab world, award-winning historian Eugene Rogan draws extensively on Arab sources and texts to place the Arab experience in its crucial historical context for the first time. Tracing five centuries of Arab history, Rogan reveals that there was an age when the Arabs set the rules for the rest of the world. Today, however, the Arab world's sense of subjection to external powers carries vast consequences for both the region and Westerners who attempt to control it.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Superb Book About the Arab World
- By Nostromo on 05-29-16
By: Eugene Rogan
-
Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War
- By: Robin Yassin-Kassab, Leila Al-Shami
- Narrated by: Fergus Nicoll
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
Burning Country explores the complicated reality of life in present-day Syria with unprecedented detail and sophistication, drawing on new first-hand testimonies from opposition fighters, exiles lost in an archipelago of refugee camps, and courageous human rights activists. Yassin-Kassab and Al-Shami expertly interweave these stories with an incisive analysis of the militarization of the uprising, the rise of the Islamists and sectarian warfare, and the role of Syria’s government in exacerbating the brutalization of the conflict.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Definitive Account of the Syrian Revolution
- By Theo Horesh on 06-07-18
By: Robin Yassin-Kassab, and others
-
Anatomy of Terror
- From the Death of bin Laden to the Rise of the Islamic State
- By: Ali Soufan
- Narrated by: Aaron Abano
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 221
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 193
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 194
In Anatomy of Terror, former FBI special agent and New York Times best-selling author Ali Soufan dissects bin Laden's brand of jihadi terrorism and its major offshoots, revealing how these organizations were formed, how they operate, their strengths, and - crucially - their weaknesses.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
What every human on the planet needs to know!
- By drkraver on 05-24-17
By: Ali Soufan
-
Reset
- Iran, Turkey, and America's Future
- By: Stephen Kinzer
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 166
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 95
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 96
What can the United States do to help realize its dream of a peaceful, democratic Middle East? Stephen Kinzer offers a surprising answer in this paradigm-shifting book. Two countries in the region, he argues, are America's logical partners in the 21st century: Turkey and Iran.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
challenges stereotypes
- By R.S. on 06-14-10
By: Stephen Kinzer
-
The Cold War: History in an Hour
- By: Rupert Colley
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 1 hr and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 170
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 150
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 148
History for busy people. The Cold War: History in an Hour gives a brilliant overview of the unusual and non-violent war between East and West that lasted nearly fifty years.From the end of World War Two to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 the world lived within the shadow of the Cold War. Russia and America eyed each other with suspicion and hostility.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Consice overview
- By Linda on 04-18-15
By: Rupert Colley
Publisher's summary
From his humble beginnings as a farmhand working on tribal Iraqi land to becoming the president of Iraq for more than two decades, Saddam Hussein’s life story is nothing short of extraordinary. Transforming Iraq first into a prosperous nation then into a war-ravaged shell of its former self, Hussein is one of the key figures of the late 20th and early 21st century.
From this audiobook, you will learn about:
- From poor peasant to revolutionist
- An assassin, a Ba’athist, and a married man
- Improving Iraq’s economy, health care, and education
- The Iran-Iraq War
- The Gulf War
- US invasion and Hussein’s execution
- And much more
America nicknamed Saddam “The Butcher of Baghdad” for the atrocities he committed during his reign. The exact number of Iraqi who were killed is unknown, but estimates suggest up to 100,000 Kurds and 100,000 Iraqi civilians and rebels were killed by the Hussein regime. Hussein lost his own life at the hands of his people, executed for his crimes in 2006.
More from the same
Author
Related to this topic
-
Joseph Stalin: The Dictator of the USSR
- Best Biography
- By: The History Hour
- Narrated by: Alexander G.
- Length: 1 hr and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 11
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 10
Initially presiding over an oligarchic one-party regime that governed by plurality, Joseph Stalin became the de facto dictator of the Soviet Union. Stalin raised funds for Vladimir Lenin's Bolshevik faction via robberies, kidnappings, and protection rackets. To eradicate those regarded as "enemies of the working class", Stalin instituted the "Great Purge" in which more than a million were imprisoned and at least 700,000 were executed from 1934 to 1939.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
good
- By Justin E. Huynh on 10-28-19
By: The History Hour
-
The Afghan Wars: History in an Hour
- By: Rupert Colley
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 1 hr and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 117
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 99
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 97
Britain has invaded Afghanistan twice before in the nineteenth century. Both times tenacious Afghan fighters defended their country to humiliating British defeats. The Soviet Union also discovered what a tough enemy the Afghans are after nearly a decade of conflict from 1979 to 1989. When not fighting foreign invaders, Afghanistan was torn apart by Civil War from 1990 to 1996, resulting in victory for the Taliban.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
informative
- By mosadiq on 11-20-15
By: Rupert Colley
-
The Fate of Africa
- A History of the Continent Since Independence
- By: Martin Meredith
- Narrated by: Fleet Cooper
- Length: 29 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 383
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 334
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 330
Martin Meredith has revised this classic history to incorporate important recent developments, including the Darfur crisis in Sudan, Robert Mugabe’s continued destructive rule in Zimbabwe, controversies over Western aid and exploitation of Africa’s resources, the growing importance and influence of China, and the democratic movement roiling the North African countries of Tunisia, Egypt, and Jordan.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Africa: Land of Hope and Horror
- By Jeff on 03-08-14
By: Martin Meredith
-
Syria Burning
- ISIS and the Death of the Arab Spring
- By: Charles Glass
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 2 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 46
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 43
Glass has reported extensively from the Middle East and travelled frequently in Syria over several decades. Here he melds together reportage, analysis, and history to provide an accessible overview of the origins and permutations defining the conflict, situating it clearly in the overall crisis of the region. His voice, elegant and concise, humane and richly informed, is a vital antidote to the sloganizing that shapes so much commentary and policy concerning the civil war.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
The authors bias is insufferable.
- By Dan on 01-02-16
By: Charles Glass
-
The Arabs
- A History
- By: Eugene Rogan
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 27 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 641
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 565
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 561
In this definitive history of the modern Arab world, award-winning historian Eugene Rogan draws extensively on Arab sources and texts to place the Arab experience in its crucial historical context for the first time. Tracing five centuries of Arab history, Rogan reveals that there was an age when the Arabs set the rules for the rest of the world. Today, however, the Arab world's sense of subjection to external powers carries vast consequences for both the region and Westerners who attempt to control it.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Superb Book About the Arab World
- By Nostromo on 05-29-16
By: Eugene Rogan
-
Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War
- By: Robin Yassin-Kassab, Leila Al-Shami
- Narrated by: Fergus Nicoll
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
Burning Country explores the complicated reality of life in present-day Syria with unprecedented detail and sophistication, drawing on new first-hand testimonies from opposition fighters, exiles lost in an archipelago of refugee camps, and courageous human rights activists. Yassin-Kassab and Al-Shami expertly interweave these stories with an incisive analysis of the militarization of the uprising, the rise of the Islamists and sectarian warfare, and the role of Syria’s government in exacerbating the brutalization of the conflict.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Definitive Account of the Syrian Revolution
- By Theo Horesh on 06-07-18
By: Robin Yassin-Kassab, and others
-
Joseph Stalin: The Dictator of the USSR
- Best Biography
- By: The History Hour
- Narrated by: Alexander G.
- Length: 1 hr and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 11
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 10
Initially presiding over an oligarchic one-party regime that governed by plurality, Joseph Stalin became the de facto dictator of the Soviet Union. Stalin raised funds for Vladimir Lenin's Bolshevik faction via robberies, kidnappings, and protection rackets. To eradicate those regarded as "enemies of the working class", Stalin instituted the "Great Purge" in which more than a million were imprisoned and at least 700,000 were executed from 1934 to 1939.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
good
- By Justin E. Huynh on 10-28-19
By: The History Hour
-
The Afghan Wars: History in an Hour
- By: Rupert Colley
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 1 hr and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 117
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 99
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 97
Britain has invaded Afghanistan twice before in the nineteenth century. Both times tenacious Afghan fighters defended their country to humiliating British defeats. The Soviet Union also discovered what a tough enemy the Afghans are after nearly a decade of conflict from 1979 to 1989. When not fighting foreign invaders, Afghanistan was torn apart by Civil War from 1990 to 1996, resulting in victory for the Taliban.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
informative
- By mosadiq on 11-20-15
By: Rupert Colley
-
The Fate of Africa
- A History of the Continent Since Independence
- By: Martin Meredith
- Narrated by: Fleet Cooper
- Length: 29 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 383
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 334
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 330
Martin Meredith has revised this classic history to incorporate important recent developments, including the Darfur crisis in Sudan, Robert Mugabe’s continued destructive rule in Zimbabwe, controversies over Western aid and exploitation of Africa’s resources, the growing importance and influence of China, and the democratic movement roiling the North African countries of Tunisia, Egypt, and Jordan.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Africa: Land of Hope and Horror
- By Jeff on 03-08-14
By: Martin Meredith
-
Syria Burning
- ISIS and the Death of the Arab Spring
- By: Charles Glass
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 2 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 46
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 43
Glass has reported extensively from the Middle East and travelled frequently in Syria over several decades. Here he melds together reportage, analysis, and history to provide an accessible overview of the origins and permutations defining the conflict, situating it clearly in the overall crisis of the region. His voice, elegant and concise, humane and richly informed, is a vital antidote to the sloganizing that shapes so much commentary and policy concerning the civil war.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
The authors bias is insufferable.
- By Dan on 01-02-16
By: Charles Glass
-
The Arabs
- A History
- By: Eugene Rogan
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 27 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 641
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 565
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 561
In this definitive history of the modern Arab world, award-winning historian Eugene Rogan draws extensively on Arab sources and texts to place the Arab experience in its crucial historical context for the first time. Tracing five centuries of Arab history, Rogan reveals that there was an age when the Arabs set the rules for the rest of the world. Today, however, the Arab world's sense of subjection to external powers carries vast consequences for both the region and Westerners who attempt to control it.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Superb Book About the Arab World
- By Nostromo on 05-29-16
By: Eugene Rogan
-
Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War
- By: Robin Yassin-Kassab, Leila Al-Shami
- Narrated by: Fergus Nicoll
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
Burning Country explores the complicated reality of life in present-day Syria with unprecedented detail and sophistication, drawing on new first-hand testimonies from opposition fighters, exiles lost in an archipelago of refugee camps, and courageous human rights activists. Yassin-Kassab and Al-Shami expertly interweave these stories with an incisive analysis of the militarization of the uprising, the rise of the Islamists and sectarian warfare, and the role of Syria’s government in exacerbating the brutalization of the conflict.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Definitive Account of the Syrian Revolution
- By Theo Horesh on 06-07-18
By: Robin Yassin-Kassab, and others
-
Anatomy of Terror
- From the Death of bin Laden to the Rise of the Islamic State
- By: Ali Soufan
- Narrated by: Aaron Abano
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 221
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 193
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 194
In Anatomy of Terror, former FBI special agent and New York Times best-selling author Ali Soufan dissects bin Laden's brand of jihadi terrorism and its major offshoots, revealing how these organizations were formed, how they operate, their strengths, and - crucially - their weaknesses.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
What every human on the planet needs to know!
- By drkraver on 05-24-17
By: Ali Soufan
-
Reset
- Iran, Turkey, and America's Future
- By: Stephen Kinzer
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 166
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 95
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 96
What can the United States do to help realize its dream of a peaceful, democratic Middle East? Stephen Kinzer offers a surprising answer in this paradigm-shifting book. Two countries in the region, he argues, are America's logical partners in the 21st century: Turkey and Iran.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
challenges stereotypes
- By R.S. on 06-14-10
By: Stephen Kinzer
-
The Cold War: History in an Hour
- By: Rupert Colley
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 1 hr and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 170
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 150
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 148
History for busy people. The Cold War: History in an Hour gives a brilliant overview of the unusual and non-violent war between East and West that lasted nearly fifty years.From the end of World War Two to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 the world lived within the shadow of the Cold War. Russia and America eyed each other with suspicion and hostility.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Consice overview
- By Linda on 04-18-15
By: Rupert Colley
-
Enemies and Neighbors
- Arabs and Jews in Palestine and Israel, 1917-2017
- By: Ian Black
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 20 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 81
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 64
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 63
In Enemies and Neighbors, Ian Black, who has spent over three decades covering events in the Middle East and is currently a fellow at the London School of Economics, offers a major new history of the Arab-Zionist conflict from 1917 to today. Laying the historical groundwork in the final decades of the Ottoman Era, when the first Zionist settlers arrived in the Holy Land, Black draws on a wide range of sources - from declassified documents to oral histories to his own vivid on-the-ground reporting - to recreate the major milestones in the most polarizing conflict of the modern age from both sides.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Decent historical compilation, poor framing
- By Dan Harris on 07-08-20
By: Ian Black
-
Vietnam
- A New History
- By: Christopher Goscha
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 23 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 105
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 92
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 91
In Vietnam, Christopher Goscha tells the full history of Vietnam, from antiquity to the present day. Generations of emperors, rebels, priests, and colonizers left complicated legacies in this remarkable country. Periods of Chinese, French, and Japanese rule reshaped and modernized Vietnam, but so too did the colonial enterprises of the Vietnamese themselves as they extended their influence southward from the Red River Delta.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Not bad, but not great.
- By Kp on 08-06-18
-
Descent into Chaos
- The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia
- By: Ahmed Rashid
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 19 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 136
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 69
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 73
Rashid examines Central Asia, and the corridors of power in Washington and Europe, to see how the promised nation building in the region has progressed. His conclusions are devastating.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Useful!
- By John Robert BEHRMAN on 02-24-09
By: Ahmed Rashid
-
Reclaiming Israel’s History
- Roots, Rights, and the Struggle for Peace
- By: David Brog
- Narrated by: Paul Heitsch
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 270
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 249
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 249
There was a time when Israel could do no wrong in America's eyes. That time is long past, and justly so - no nation is absolutely perfect, particularly not one that is engaged in a conflict as long as the Arab-Israeli conflict. But the myth of the perfect Israel has been supplanted by a far more deleterious myth: the myth of the evil Israel. This new myth has so pervaded contemporary culture that the history of Israel - as well documented as it is - has been recast and retold to fit a false narrative of Israel as violent occupier.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent summary of Israeli point if view
- By Mendy on 08-12-18
By: David Brog
-
The Cage
- The Fight for Sri Lanka and the Last Days of the Tamil Tigers
- By: Gordon Weiss
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 47
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 41
In the closing days of the 30-year Sri Lankan civil war, tens of thousands of civilians were killed, according to UN estimates, as government forces hemmed in the last remaining Tamil Tiger rebels on a tiny sand spit, dubbed "The Cage". Gordon Weiss, a journalist and UN spokesperson in Sri Lanka during the final years of the war, pulls back the curtain of government misinformation to tell the full story for the first time. Tracing the role of foreign influence as it converged with a history of radical Buddhism and ethnic conflict, The Cage is a harrowing portrait of an island paradise torn apart by war.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Tragic and sobering
- By Tarindu on 10-28-15
By: Gordon Weiss
-
Vietnam War: A Captivating Guide to the Second Indochina War
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Duke Holm
- Length: 2 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 28
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 28
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 28
The Vietnam War represented a watershed not only in American and Vietnamese history but also internationally. It wasn’t just a battle between two nations, but between two ideologies, two military strategies, and a fight for the hearts and minds of two vastly different national populations.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
quick and accurate
- By BDG-ALPHA on 07-31-20
-
Stalin, Volume I
- Paradoxes of Power, 1878-1928
- By: Stephen Kotkin
- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 38 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 832
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 705
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 704
Volume One of Stalin begins and ends in January 1928 as Stalin boards a train bound for Siberia, about to embark upon the greatest gamble of his political life. He is now the ruler of the largest country in the world, but a poor and backward one, far behind the great capitalist countries in industrial and military power, encircled on all sides. In Siberia, Stalin conceives of the largest program of social reengineering ever attempted.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent Book But First Time Listener Beware
- By Nostromo on 03-23-15
By: Stephen Kotkin
-
They Can Live in the Desert but Nowhere Else
- A History of the Armenian Genocide
- By: Ronald Grigor Suny
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 15 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 136
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 119
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 119
Starting in early 1915, the Ottoman Turks began deporting and killing hundreds of thousands of Armenians in the first major genocide of the 20th century. By the end of the First World War, the number of Armenians in what would become Turkey had been reduced by 90 percent - more than 1,000,000 people. A century later, the Armenian genocide remains controversial but relatively unknown, overshadowed by later slaughters and the chasm separating Turkish and Armenian versions of events.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great book, unbiased view finally
- By Raffy Afarian on 10-30-15
-
Israel
- A Concise History of a Nation Reborn
- By: Daniel Gordis
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 16 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,282
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,132
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,123
Israel is a tiny state, and yet it has captured the world's attention, aroused its imagination, and, lately, been the object of its opprobrium. Why does such a small country speak to so many global concerns? More pressingly: Why does Israel make the decisions it does? And what lies in its future? We cannot answer these questions until we understand Israel's people and the questions and conflicts, the hopes and desires, that have animated their conversations and actions.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent, mildly but honestly biased, terrible narration
- By Schaq on 04-01-17
By: Daniel Gordis
What listeners say about Saddam Hussein: A Life From Beginning to End
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nur Arnaut
- 06-18-20
"The Life Story of Saddam"
Loved it. Most interesting moment was when finding out, what really motivated Saddam to invade Kuwait in August 1990.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Michael Todd McGuire
- 03-23-20
Great book!
I learned everything I wanted to from such a quick book. I was very surprised, it was really ggod!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful