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The Gulf of Mexico
- A Maritime History
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
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The Gulf of Mexico
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Publisher's summary
The Gulf of Mexico presents a compelling, salt-streaked narrative of the Earth's 10th-largest body of water. In this beautifully written volume, John S. Sledge explores the people, ships, and cities that have made the Gulf's human history and culture so rich. Many famous figures who sailed the Gulf's viridian waters are highlighted, including Ponce de Leon, Robert Cavelier de La Salle, Francis Drake, Elizabeth Agassiz, Ernest Hemingway, and Charles Dwight Sigsbee. Sledge also introduces a fascinating array of people connected to maritime life in the Gulf, among them Maya priests, French pirates, African-American stevedores, and Greek sponge divers.
Gulf events of global historical importance are detailed, such as the only defeat of armed and armored steamships by wooden sailing vessels, the first accurate deep-sea survey and bathymetric map of any ocean basin, the development of shipping containers by a former truck driver frustrated with antiquated loading practices, and the worst environmental disaster in American annals.
Occasionally shifting focus ashore, Sledge explains how people representing a gumbo of ethnicities built some of the world's most exotic cities - Havana, New Orleans, and oft-besieged Veracruz, Mexico's oldest city, founded in 1519 by Hernán Cortes.
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- Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms,and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories
- By: Simon Winchester
- Narrated by: Simon Winchester
- Length: 14 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 748
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 562
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 560
Atlantic is a biography of a tremendous space that has been central to the ambitions of explorers, scientists, and warriors, and continues profoundly to affect our character, attitudes, and dreams. Spanning the ocean's story, from its geological origins to the age of exploration, from World War II battles to today's struggles with pollution and overfishing, Winchester's narrative is epic, intimate, and awe inspiring.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Starts Better Than it Finishes
- By Ray on 12-18-10
By: Simon Winchester
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Ocean Life in the Old Sailing Ship Days
- From Forecastle to Quarter-Deck
- By: John D. Whidden
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 25
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 23
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 23
Orphaned at five, nothing held Whidden back from embarking on sea life seven years later. Serving as an apprentice, he quickly proved his worth and earned himself a mate's position by his early 20s. Graduating to third, second, and first office, he ended his career in command of, and having part-ownership of, his own vessel. Ocean Life in the Old Sailing Ship Days records a series of real events from his childhood impressions of rough and ready seamen to his thrilling and brutal experiences of war.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Good salty story
- By Donald L. on 07-17-18
By: John D. Whidden
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The Sea and Civilization
- A Maritime History of the World
- By: Lincoln Paine
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 29 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 111
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 92
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 94
A monumental retelling of world history through the lens of maritime enterprise, revealing in breathtaking depth how people first came into contact with one another by ocean and river, lake and stream, and how goods, languages, religions, and entire cultures spread across and along the world's waterways, bringing together civilizations and defining what makes us most human.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Comprehensive
- By Than on 12-29-19
By: Lincoln Paine
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Conquering the Pacific
- An Unknown Mariner and the Final Great Voyage of the Age of Discovery
- By: Andrés Reséndez
- Narrated by: Phil Morris
- Length: 6 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 26
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 23
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 23
It began with a secret mission, no expenses spared. Spain, plotting to break Portugal’s monopoly trade with the fabled Orient, set sail from a hidden Mexican port to cross the Pacific - and then, critically, to attempt the never-before-accomplished return, the vuelta. Four ships set out from Navidad, each one carrying a dream team of navigators. The smallest ship, guided by seaman Lope Martín, a mulatto who had risen through the ranks to become one of the most qualified pilots of the era, soon pulled far ahead and became mysteriously lost from the fleet.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Must Read, Excellent
- By Amazon Customer on 10-07-22
By: Andrés Reséndez
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The Republic of Pirates
- Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down
- By: Colin Woodard
- Narrated by: Lewis Grenville
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7,849
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6,906
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6,866
In the early 18th century, the Pirate Republic was home to some of the great pirate captains, including Blackbeard, "Black Sam" Bellamy, and Charles Vane. Along with their fellow pirates - former sailors, indentured servants, and runaway slaves - this "Flying Gang" established a crude but distinctive democracy in the Bahamas, carving out their own zone of freedom in which servants were free, Blacks could be equal citizens, and leaders were chosen or deposed by a vote.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Audible is better
- By CaptainRavick on 01-19-16
By: Colin Woodard
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Leviathan
- The History of Whaling in America
- By: Eric Jay Dolin
- Narrated by: James Boles
- Length: 15 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 228
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 154
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 153
Here is the epic history of the "iron men in wooden boats" who built an industrial empire through the pursuit of whales. This absorbing history demonstrates that few things can capture the sheer danger and desperation of men on the deep sea as dramatically as whaling. This sweeping social and economic history provides rich and often fantastic accounts of the men themselves, who mutinied, murdered, rioted, deserted, drank, scrimshawed, and recorded their experiences in journals and memoirs.
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4 out of 5 stars
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NOT JUST BLUBBER
- By Jesse on 08-06-07
By: Eric Jay Dolin
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Nelson's Trafalgar
- The Battle That Changed the World
- By: Roy Adkins
- Narrated by: John Telfer
- Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 82
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 76
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 75
In the tradition of Antony Beevor's Stalingrad, Nelson's Trafalgar presents the definitive blow-by-blow account of the world's most famous naval battle, when the British Royal Navy, under Lord Horatio Nelson, dealt a decisive blow to the forces of Napoleon. The Battle of Trafalgar comes boldly to life in this definitive work that recreates those five momentous, earsplitting hours with unrivaled detail and intensity.
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5 out of 5 stars
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One of the very best
- By J.Brock on 05-27-22
By: Roy Adkins
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The Ghost Ships of Archangel
- The Arctic Voyage That Defied the Nazis
- By: William Geroux
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 62
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 51
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 51
On the fourth of July, 1942, four Allied ships traversing the Arctic separated from their decimated convoy to head further north into the ice field of the North Pole, seeking safety from Nazi bombers and U-boats in the perilous white maze of ice floes, growlers, and giant bergs. Despite the risks, they had a better chance of survival than the rest of Convoy PQ-17, a fleet of 35 cargo ships carrying $1 billion worth of war supplies to the Soviet port of Archangel - the limited help Roosevelt and Churchill extended to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin to maintain their fragile alliance.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing, Untold Story
- By J.Brock on 06-16-20
By: William Geroux
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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 32
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 29
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 27
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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5 out of 5 stars
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Great historical story.
- By Andrew McDonough on 09-21-23
By: Tom Clavin, and others
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Icebound
- Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World
- By: Andrea Pitzer
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 268
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 228
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 227
In the best-selling tradition of Hampton Sides’ In the Kingdom of Ice, a “gripping adventure tale” (The Boston Globe) recounting Dutch polar explorer William Barents’ three harrowing Arctic expeditions - the last of which resulted in a relentlessly challenging year-long fight for survival.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Great book - missing maps :(
- By Stephen on 01-20-21
By: Andrea Pitzer
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Captain James Cook
- By: Rob Mundle
- Narrated by: Paul English
- Length: 15 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 137
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 120
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 120
Captain James Cook is one of the greatest maritime explorers of all time. Over three remarkable voyages of discovery into the Pacific in the latter part of the 18th century, Cook unravelled the oldest mystery surrounding the existence of Terra Australis Incognita - the Great South Land. He became the first explorer to circumnavigate New Zealand and establish that it was two main islands; discover the Hawaiian Islands for the British Empire; and left an enduring legacy.
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3 out of 5 stars
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High school history text?
- By peter on 08-31-22
By: Rob Mundle
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Valcour
- The 1776 Campaign that Saved the Cause of Liberty
- By: Jack Kelly
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 70
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 62
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 62
During the summer of 1776, a British incursion from Canada loomed. In response, citizen soldiers of the newly independent nation mounted a heroic defense. Patriots constructed a small fleet of gunboats on Lake Champlain in northern New York and confronted the Royal Navy in a desperate three-day battle near Valcour Island. Their effort surprised the arrogant British and forced the enemy to call off their invasion.
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5 out of 5 stars
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well written, well read story
- By wylie smith on 04-09-22
By: Jack Kelly
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Under the Black Flag
- The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates
- By: David Cordingly
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 323
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 287
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Story4 out of 5 stars 289
For this rousing, revisionist history, the former head of exhibitions at England's National Maritime Museum has combed original documents and records to produce a most authoritative and definitive account of piracy's "Golden Age." As he explodes many accepted myths (i.e. "walking the plank" is pure fiction), Cordingly replaces them with a truth that is more complex and often bloodier.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Lacks Nuance
- By Joel Langenfeld on 07-02-15
By: David Cordingly
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Born to Be Hanged
- The Epic Story of the Gentlemen Pirates Who Raided the South Seas, Rescued a Princess, and Stole a Fortune
- By: Keith Thomson
- Narrated by: Feodor Chin
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 286
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 246
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 246
The year is 1680, in the heart of the Golden Age of Piracy, and more than 300 daring, hardened pirates—a potent mix of low-life scallywags and a rare breed of gentlemen buccaneers—gather on a remote Caribbean island. The plan: to wreak havoc on the Pacific coastline, raiding cities, mines, and merchant ships. The booty: the bright gleam of Spanish gold and the chance to become a legend. So begins one of the greatest piratical adventures of the era—a story not given its full due until now.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating tale of 17th Piracy in the Americas
- By Xmeromotu on 07-11-22
By: Keith Thomson
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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 1,316
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,073
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,071
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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Sons of the Waves
- The Common Seaman in the Heroic Age of Sail
- By: Stephen Taylor
- Narrated by: Matthew Waterson
- Length: 13 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 55
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 51
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 50
British maritime history in the age of sail is full of the deeds of officers like Nelson but has given little voice to plain, "illiterate" seamen. Now, Stephen Taylor draws on published and unpublished memoirs, letters, and naval records, including court-martials and petitions, to present these men in their own words. In this exhilarating account, ordinary seamen are far from the hapless sufferers of the press gangs.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Navy Guy Recommends this Title
- By Lexcast on 06-17-20
By: Stephen Taylor