Walter R. Borneman has 5 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 4 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4.5★ across 2 ratings. The most-rated is Polk.
Polk
Summary
The Best American Presidents of All Time is a somewhat nebulous list. The methodology for choosing the best changes from one poll to the next, and the criteria varies with each historian's personal biases. But over the years, there has been a general top 10-12 most historians agree on: Lincoln, FDR, Washington, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, JFK, Wilson, Jackson, Reagan, and James K. Polk. That's right - James K. Polk. This is a major political biography of a great American president who won a war, transformed the government, and doubled the size of the United States...in four years. When Polk was sworn in as the 11th president, what followed was one of the most consequential presidencies in history. Against his opponents, he unabashedly proclaimed U.S. policy to be one of continental expansion. By the time he left office, Oregon, California, New Mexico, and Texas had been admitted into the Union, and Congress' mandate to wage war was forever rendered a rubber stamp by a transformed and empowered executive branch. True to his word, Polk stepped down after one term. He remains relatively little known. In fact, no full-length modern biography of Polk has ever been written. Until now.
©2008 Walter Borneman (P)2008 Recorded Books, LLC
Rival Rails
Summary
The driving of the golden spike at Promontory Summit, which marked the completion of the country's first transcontinental railroad, was only the beginning of the race for railroad dominance. In the aftermath of this building feat, dozens of railroads, each with aggressive empire builders at their helms, raced one another for the ultimate prize of a southern transcontinental route that was generally free of snow, shorter in distance, and gentler in gradients. More than just a means of transportation, the railroads were a powerful mold, and the presence of a rail line had the power to make - or break - the fledgling towns and cities across the newborn American West. While much has been written about the building of the first transcontinental railroad, the bulk of the history of the railroads in the United States has been largely ignored. With a meticulous, loving eye, Walter Borneman picks up where most other histories leave off.
©2010 Walter R. Borneman (P)2010 Tantor
Brothers Down
Summary
A deeply personal and never-before-told account of one of America's darkest days, from the best-selling author of The Admirals and MacArthur at War. The surprise attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 remains one of the most traumatic events in American history. America's battleship fleet was crippled, thousands of lives were lost, and the United States was propelled into a world war. Few realize that aboard the iconic, ill-fated USS Arizona were an incredible 79 blood relatives. Tragically, in an era when family members serving together was an accepted, even encouraged practice, 63 of the Arizona's 1,177 dead turned out to be brothers. In Brothers Down, acclaimed historian Walter R. Borneman returns to that critical week of December, masterfully guiding us on an unforgettable journey of sacrifice and heroism, all told through the lives of these brothers and their fateful experience on the Arizona. Weaving in the heartbreaking stories of the parents, wives, and sweethearts who wrote to and worried about these men, Borneman draws from a treasure trove of unpublished source material to bring to vivid life the minor decisions that became a matter of life or death when the bombs began to fall. More than just an account of familial bonds and national heartbreak, what emerges promises to define a turning point in American military history. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2019 Walter R. Borneman (P)2019 Hachette Audio
MacArthur at War
Summary
The definitive account of General Douglas MacArthur's rise during World War II, from the author of the best seller The Admirals. World War II changed the course of history. Douglas MacArthur changed the course of World War II. Macarthur at War goes deeper into this transformative period of his life than previous biographies, drilling into the military strategy that Walter R. Borneman is so skilled at conveying and exploring how personality and ego translate into military successes and failures. Architect of stunning triumphs and inexplicable defeats, General MacArthur is the most intriguing military leader of the 20th century. There was never any middle ground with MacArthur. This in-depth study of the most critical period of his career shows how MacArthur's influence spread far beyond the war-torn Pacific.
©2016 Walter R. Borneman (P)2016 Hachette Audio
American Spring
Summary
A new look at the American Revolution's first weeks, from the author of the best seller The Admirals. When we look back on our nation's history, the American Revolution can feel almost like a foregone conclusion. In reality, the first weeks of the war were much more tenuous, and a fractured and ragtag group of colonial militias had to coalesce to have even the slimmest chance of toppling the mighty British Army. American Spring follows a fledgling nation from Paul Revere's little-known ride of December 1774 and the first shots fired on Lexington Green through the catastrophic Battle of Bunker Hill, culminating with a Virginian named George Washington taking command of colonial forces on July 3, 1775. Focusing on the colorful heroes John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, Benjamin Franklin, and Patrick Henry, and the ordinary Americans caught up in the revolution, Walter Borneman tells the story of how a decade of discontent erupted into an armed rebellion that forged our nation.
©2014 Walter R. Borneman (P)2014 Hachette Audio