The Americas category has 777 audiobooks on Listento.it, with an average listener rating of 4.5★ across 2,631 ratings. The most-rated is Endurance.

777 audiobooks
Cover art for Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Abraham Lincoln

Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Abraham Lincoln

Summary

The New World. Popular conceptions of colonists in a reduced role spread. Heated debates and pamphleteers ignited the spirits of the underrepresented as various European powers involved the colonies in attempts to dominate North America. A brand of civilized order was brought to the chaos found in the colonial wilderness. Without the trouble that 18th-century Europe faced, a new ordered world along European lines could glorify its past in bringing its best self back to life. The revolutionary generation would come to question this early colonial order. As Franklin, Washington, and Hamilton would learn, attempts to forge a unique identity would become inevitable. With it came high risks that they were reluctant to take. They would eventually help carry the New World from colonial status to confederation and ultimately a nation. Not without a fight in shedding their colonial responsibilities in favor of self-determination. Join us as we investigate what influenced these three trailblazers and what framed many debates, including the wars, the Great Awakening, the Enlightenment, and rebellions. Abe's America fit a different era. How did it resemble and differ from its revolutionary birth? Did it evolve in concert with the intentions of these three founding fathers? How did he build on their enduring literature?

©2017 Mark Steinberg (P)2017 Mark Steinberg

Narrator:
Category: History, Americas
Length: 5 hrs and 20 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for The Souls of Black Folk

The Souls of Black Folk

Summary

The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois is a landmark in sociology and a cornerstone of African American literature. The book comprises various essays on race, some of which had previously appeared in The Atlantic Monthly. As an uncompromising advocate of civil rights, Du Bois stated that through work, culture, and liberty, the dual heritage of African Americans could be melded into a force for positive social and cultural change. Du Bois promoted the idea of a synthesis of racial and national consciousness dedicated to “the ideal of human brotherhood” as set out in The Souls of Black Folk, which makes it one of the most influential works of African American literature in the 20th century.

Public Domain (P)2020 Museum Audiobooks

Category: History, Americas
Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Summary

SAVE TIME & UNDERSTAND MORE! This is not the actual audiobook, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, written by Doris Kearns Goodwin. If you are in search of the full and complete copy of Goodwin's highly informative and enlightening book, it can be located on the Amazon search page. Instead, we have already read Team of Rivals and have pulled out some of the best insights and key events of the book to give you a comprehensive, chapter-by-chapter analysis and summary. Our limited amount of space prevents us from providing you with all of the important events and interesting information packed into Doris Kearns Goodwin's incredible book. To receive the full scope of this fascinating historical story, you should order the complete book. Packaged together in an engaging format, this concise summary best serves as an unofficial study guide and companion to listen to alongside Team of Rivals. Renowned presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin travels back in time and reaches into the mind of one who many historians rate as America's greatest president. Follow the thoughts and ideas of this great man from the Republican nomination contest in 1860 all the way to his devastating assassination just five years later. You might be surprised to find out that Abraham Lincoln was actually considered the underdog in the presidential election right from the start. Few even expected him to win the Republican nomination. In this summary and analysis, you will also learn how Abraham Lincoln faced a variety of obstacles in his rise to the presidency. His upbringing and background drastically differed from those of his opponents in the presidential race. Discover how he overcame numerous obstacles to rise to the esteemed title of President of the United States. Lincoln served only one term in Congress more than ten years before receiving the Republican Party's nomination. Follow his political career and learn about the personal struggles he faced during this time. Throughout the turbulent 1850s, Lincoln devoted himself to the anti-slavery movement as the Republican Party was formed. Travel back in time and delve into the thoughts and ideas that formed one of the most recognized movements in Lincoln's Presidency.

©2013 Save Time Summaries (P)2013 Save Time Summaries

Narrator: Michael Sears
Category: History, Americas
Length: 53 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for What the Declaration of Independence Really Means

What the Declaration of Independence Really Means

Summary

Earl Nightingale presents this re-enactment of what the Declaration of Independence really means and the price men were willing to pay to establish freedom for us all. Informative, inspirational, and especially appropriate for the Fourth of July!  About Earl Nightingale: As a Depression-era child, Earl Nightingale was hungry for knowledge. From the time he was a young boy, he would frequent the Long Beach Public Library in California, searching for the answer to the question, "How can a person, starting from scratch, who has no particular advantage in the world, reach the goals that he feels are important to him, and by so doing, make a major contribution to others?" His desire to find an answer, coupled with his natural curiosity about the world and its workings spurred him to become one of the world's foremost experts on success and what makes people successful.  Earl Nightingale's early career began when, as a member of the Marine Corps, he volunteered to work at a local radio station as an announcer. The Marines also gave him a chance to travel, although he only got as far as Hawaii when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941. Earl managed to be one of the few survivors aboard the battleship Arizona. After five more years in the service, Earl and his wife moved first to Phoenix then Chicago to build what was to be a very fruitful career in network radio. As the host of his own daily commentary program on WGN, Earl Nightingale arranged a deal that also gave him a commission on his own advertising sales. By 1957, he was so successful, he decided to retire at the age of 35.  In the meantime, Earl had bought his own insurance company and had spent many hours motivating its sales force to greater accomplishments. When he decided to go on vacation for an extended period of time, his sales manager begged him to put his inspirational words on record. The result later became the recording entitled The Strangest Secret, the first spoken word message to win a Gold Record by selling over a million copies. In The Strangest Secret, Earl had found an answer to the question that had inspired him as a youth and, in turn, found a way to leave a lasting legacy for others   About this time, Earl met a successful businessman by the name of Lloyd Conant and together they began an "electronic publishing" company which eventually grew to become a multi-million-dollar giant in the self-improvement field. They also developed a syndicated, five-minute daily radio program, Our Changing World, which became the longest-running, most widely syndicated show in radio.

©1970 Nightingale-Conant (P)1970 Nightingale_Conant

Category: History, Americas
Length: 53 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for Surrounded by Enemies

Surrounded by Enemies

Summary

If President John Kennedy had survived the ambush at Dealey Plaza in Dallas a half-century ago, what other twists might history have taken? In his meticulously researched novel, Surrounded by Enemies: What If Kennedy Survived Dallas, author Bryce Zabel delivers a supercharged but plausible alternative narrative of the turbulent 1960s after our charismatic president escapes unscathed on November 22, 1963. Since the assassination, other writers have speculated about the important work for peace and equality that President Kennedy could have done had his life been spared. Instead, Zabel - a Writers Guild award-winning Hollywood writer/producer - boldly re-imagines a shocking post-1963 political scenario that is painfully disruptive to the nation, culminating in a Constitutional crisis and even calls for the president's impeachment. Without resorting to sci-fi gimmicks, Zabel instead investigates and explores what we now know about the underbelly of JFK's presidency to portray him returning to a very different Washington, D.C. where the stakes are high on so many fronts. After all, someone had just tried to execute him in broad daylight on a public street in front of a national television audience. The President and his brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, essentially become the first conspiracy theorists, determined to strike back at their formidable and determined enemies. This is not a time-travel story with a protagonist sent back to save JFK. It is not a rose-colored glasses look at an idealized "what if," Instead we get a hard look at the dark secrets of the Kennedy administration - and of those who have the motive and means to brutally remove him from office, including government insiders at the CIA, FBI, Secret Service and even suspects such as Vice President Lyndon Johnson. The provocative and compelling narrative covers the period from Kennedy's near-miss in Dallas through the subsequent political earthquake of 1964-1966. Zabel's novel is cleverly presented as a commemorative retrospective assembled by contemporaneous journalists on the staff of a fictitious newsmagazine, Top Story -- and incorporates into the narrative realistically designed faux-magazine covers depicting JFK with those luminaries he gets to meet only in Zabel's parallel universe.

©2013 Bryce Zabel (P)2013 Bryce Zabel1

Narrator: Edd Hall
Author: Bryce Zabel
Category: History, Americas
Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for Franklin and Lucy

Franklin and Lucy

Summary

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was arguably the greatest figure of the 20th century. While FDR's official circle was predominantly male, it was his relationships with women - particularly with Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd - that most vividly bring to light the human being beneath this towering statesman. It is no coincidence that Rutherfurd was with Roosevelt the day he died in Warm Springs, Georgia, along with two other close women companions.  In Franklin and Lucy, acclaimed author and historian Joseph E. Persico explores FDR's romance with Lucy Rutherfurd, which was far deeper and lasted much longer than was previously acknowledged. Persico's provocative conclusions about their relationship are informed by a revealing range of sources, including never-before-published letters and documents from Lucy Rutherfurd's estate that attest to the intensity and scope of the affair. FDR's connection with Lucy also creates an opportunity for Persico to take a more penetrating look at the other women in FDR's life. We come to see more clearly how FDR's infidelity as a husband contributed to Eleanor's eventual transformation from a repressed Victorian to perhaps the greatest American woman of her century; how the shaping hand of FDR's strong-willed mother helped to imbue him with the resolve to overcome personal and public adversity throughout his life; and how other women around FDR, including his "surrogate spouse" Missy LeHand, and his close confidante, the obscure Margaret "Daisy" Suckley, completed the world that he inhabited. Franklin and Lucy is an extraordinary look at the private life of a leader who continues to fascinate scholars and the general public alike. In focusing on Lucy Rutherfurd and the myriad women who mattered to Roosevelt, Persico paints a more intimate portrait than we have heretofore had of this enigmatic giant of American history.

©2008 Joseph E. Persico (P)2008 Books on Tape

Narrator: Ted Barker
Category: History, Americas
Length: 17 hrs and 11 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for Inside the White House

Inside the White House

Summary

"If the general public knew what was going on inside the White House, they would scream." So states one Secret Service agent, just a small link in the chain of security that has guarded the public image of the presidency and the men who define it - until now. With unprecedented access to Secret Service agents, domestic servants, Air Force One stewards, and military aides, journalist Ronald Kessler has gone behind the scenes to uncover the inside story of the White House. From the hidden lives of the last seven presidents and first families to the intricate inner workings of this all-powerful institution, Kessler peels away the White House facade to reveal the fascinating and often scandalous reality behind the stately illusion. Exposing presidential misconduct, blunders, and cover-ups, this fascinating examination ensures that Americans will never view their chief executives the same way again.

©1995 Ronald Kessler (P)1995 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Narrator: Jeff Riggenbach
Category: History, Americas
Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for American Legends: The Life of Geronimo

American Legends: The Life of Geronimo

Summary

A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history's most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors' American Legends series, listeners can get caught up to speed on the lives of America's most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. The name "Geronimo" evokes a number of different emotions. Those who believed in 19th century America's "Manifest Destiny" viewed Geronimo and all Native Americans as impediments to God's will for the nation. Descendants of people killed by "hostile" Natives certainly considered warriors like Geronimo to be murderers and thieves whose cultures and societies held no redeeming values. Even today, many Americans associate the name Geronimo with a war cry, and the name Geronimo itself only came about because of a battle he fought against the Mexicans. Over time, however, the historical perception of the relationship between America and Native tribes changed drastically. With that, Geronimo, or Goyahkla, was viewed in a far different light. Those who empathized with the fate of the Native Americans saw Geronimo as one of a number of Native American

©2013 Charles River Editors (P)2017 Charles River Editors

Narrator: Mark Norman
Category: History, Americas
Length: 1 hr and 24 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for The Canal Builders

The Canal Builders

Summary

The Panama Canal has long been celebrated as a triumph of American engineering and technology. In The Canal Builders, Julie Greene reveals that this emphasis obscures a far more remarkable element of the canal's construction - the tens of thousands of workingmen and - women who traveled from around the world to build it. Drawing on research from around the globe, Greene explores the human dimensions of the Panama Canal story, revealing how it transformed perceptions of American empire at the dawn of the 20th century. For a project that would secure America's position as a leading player on the world stage, the Panama Canal had controversial beginnings. When President Theodore Roosevelt seized rights to a stretch of Panama soon after the country gained its independence, many Americans saw it as an act of scandalous land-grabbing. Yet Roosevelt believed the canal could profoundly strengthen American military and commercial power while appearing to be a benevolent project for the benefit of the world. But first it had to be built. From 1904 to 1914, in one of the greatest labor mobilizations ever, working people traveled to Panama from all over the globe - from farms and industrial towns in the United States, sugarcane plantations in the West Indies, and rocky fields in Spain and Italy. When they arrived, they faced harsh and inequitable conditions: labor unions were forbidden, workers were paid differently based on their race and nationality (with the most dangerous jobs falling to West Indians), and anyone not contributing to the project could be deported. Yet Greene reveals how canal workers and their families managed to resist government demands for efficiency at all costs, forcing many officials to revise their policies.

©2008 Julie Greene (P)2009 Tantor

Narrator: Karen White
Author: Julie Greene
Category: History, Americas
Length: 17 hrs and 2 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for Away Off Shore

Away Off Shore

Summary

A book about a tiny island with a huge history, from New York Times best-selling author of the book Valiant Ambition (May 2016) "For everyone who loves Nantucket Island this is the indispensable book." (Russell Baker) In his first book of history, Away Off Shore, New York Times best-selling author Nathaniel Philbrick reveals the people and the stories behind what was once the whaling capital of the world. Beyond its charm, quaint local traditions, and whaling yarns, Philbrick explores the origins of Nantucket in this comprehensive history. From the English settlers who thought they were purchasing a "Native American ghost town" but actually found a fully realized society, through the rise and fall of the then thriving whaling industry, the story of Nantucket is a truly unique chapter of American history. With a preface read by the author

©2011 Nathaniel Philbrick (P)2017 Penguin Audio

Narrator: Scott Brick
Category: History, Americas
Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for The Edge of Innocence: The Trial of Casper Bennett

The Edge of Innocence: The Trial of Casper Bennett

Summary

Named 2018 Book of the Year by International Rubery Book Award The Edge of Innocence is a work of narrative nonfiction based on the 1964 murder trial of Casper Bennett, a man accused of drowning his wife in a bathtub of scalding water in Lorain, Ohio. Bennett's sensational trial pitted an aggressive, mercurial county prosecutor against the author's father, a civil trial attorney who had never before defended anyone for murder.  The book not only recreates the tension and excitement of this courtroom battle, but also highlights the uncertain edge that often divides guilt from innocence. The author was 10 years old when he answered the phone late at night when Bennett called his father from jail, seeking his legal representation.  Forty years later and long after his father's death, the author found the Bennett file in the bottom of his mother's closet. From the moment he began reading the papers, the long-forgotten drama cast a spell on him. As he uncovered more and more of the facts, the story he had known as a child disappeared, replaced by one far different.  The Edge of Innocence takes the listener through the criminal justice system and ultimately to the trial where the listener, like a juror, must sift through competing claims and conflicting evidence. Full of twists and turns and colorful characters, The Edge of Innocence is all the more entertaining because it tells a true story.

©2016 David P. Miraldi (P)2018 David P. Miraldi

Narrator: Steve Wannall
Category: History, Americas
Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for U.S. History For Dummies, 4th Edition

U.S. History For Dummies, 4th Edition

Summary

The United States is undergoing a period of intense political and social change. From the rise of the Tea Party to social media's effect on American life and politics, this new edition fills in the gaps of this Nation's story. Award-winning political journalist and history writer Steve Wiegand guides you through the events that shaped our nation, from pre-Columbian civilizations to the 21st century. The explorers, the wars, the leaders, and the eras are all fully explored and explained, demonstrating how the past influences the future.  Explore the deepening divide between the very wealthy and the poor and middle class. Get to know the deep and bitter divisions between political parties and even geographic regions of the country, including the 2016 election results. Understand the country's delicate - and precarious - position as the world's preeminent economic, military, and political power. U.S. History For Dummies, 4th Edition makes US history accessible for students and lifelong learners alike.

©2019 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (P)2019 Gildan Media

Narrator: Al Kessel
Category: History, Americas
Length: 19 hrs and 18 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for Chicago's Great Fire

Chicago's Great Fire

Summary

From an acclaimed historian, the full and authoritative story of one of the most iconic disasters in American history, told through the vivid memories of those who experienced it.? Between October 8-10, 1871, much of the city of Chicago was destroyed by one of the most legendary urban fires in history. Incorporated as a city in 1837, Chicago had grown at a breathtaking pace in barely three decades, from just over 4,000 in 1840 to greater than 330,000 at the time of the fire. Built hastily, the city was largely made of wood. Once it began in the barn of Catherine and Patrick O’Leary, the fire quickly grew out of control, twice jumping branches of the Chicago River on its relentless northeastward path through the city’s three divisions. Close to one of every three Chicago residents was left homeless and more were instantly unemployed, though the death toll was miraculously low.  Remarkably, no carefully researched popular history of the Great Chicago Fire has been written until now, despite it being one of the most cataclysmic disasters in US history. Building the story around memorable characters, both known to history and unknown, including the likes of General Philip Sheridan and Robert Todd Lincoln, eminent Chicago historian Carl Smith chronicles the city’s rapid growth and place in America’s post-Civil War expansion.  The dramatic story of the fire - revealing human nature in all its guises - became one of equally remarkable renewal, as Chicago quickly rose back up from the ashes thanks to local determination and the world’s generosity and faith in Chicago’s future. As we approach the fire’s 150th anniversary, Carl Smith’s compelling narrative at last gives this epic event its full and proper place in our national chronicle.  PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2020 Carl Smith (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

Narrator: David de Vries
Author: Carl Smith
Category: History, Americas
Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for George Washington

George Washington

Summary

Who was George Washington? You probably know him as the first president of the United States, the commander of the Continental army who led American farmers and innkeepers in a victorious eight-year war against the British. But where did he get his military experience? Why was picked to take command of the army? Why was he the only American president ever to be elected unanimously (twice!), and did he really chop down that cherry tree as a kid? In this book entitled George Washington: First Guardian of American Liberty by author Michael Crawley, you'll follow the course of George Washington's life, from his birth at Ferry Farm in Virginia in 1732, to his death at his Mount Vernon estate in 1799. You'll learn how his early fame as a hero of the French and Indian War, and his illustrious marriage to a wealthy widow, led to this farm boy becoming one of the most important men in Virginia, a delegate at the Continental Congress where the Founders of America gathered to decide the nation's fate. The first guardian of American liberty looks serene in his portraits, but he didn't always rise above the fray. Washington fought for what he believed in, and his political convictions shocked contemporaries like Thomas Jefferson. Do you know what kind of country George Washington wanted America to be?

©2016 Michael Crawley (P)2016 Michael Crawley

Narrator: Jodi Stapler
Category: History, Americas
Length: 3 hrs and 27 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for The Darkest Jungle

The Darkest Jungle

Summary

The Darkest Jungle tells the harrowing story of America's first ship canal exploration across a narrow piece of land in Central America called the Darien, a place that loomed large in the minds of the world's most courageous adventurers in the nineteenth century. With rival warships and explorers from England and France days behind, the 27-member U.S. Darien Exploring Expedition landed on the Atlantic shore at Caledonia Bay in eastern Panama to begin their mad dash up the coast-hugging mountains of the Darien wilderness. The whole world watched as this party attempted to be the first to traverse the 40-mile isthmus, the narrowest spot between the Atlantic and Pacific in all the Americas. Leading them was the charismatic commander Isaac Strain, an adventuring 33-year-old U.S. Navy lieutenant. The party could have turned back except, said Strain, they were to a man "revolted at the idea" of failing at a task they seemed destined to accomplish. Yet Strain's party would wander lost in the jungle for another sixty nightmarish days, following a tortuously contorted and uncharted tropical river. Their guns rusted in the damp heat, expected settlements never materialized, and the lush terrain provided little to no sustenance. As the unending march dragged on, the party was beset by flesh-embedding parasites and a range of infectious tropical diseases they had no antidote for (or understanding of). In the desperate final days, in the throes of starvation, the survivors flirted with cannibalism and the sickest men had to be left behind so, as the journal keeper painfully recorded, the rest might have a chance to live. Based on the vividly detailed log entries of Strain and his officers, other period sources, and Balf's own treks in the Darien Gap, this is a rich and utterly compelling historical narrative that will thrill readers who enjoyed In the Heart of the Sea, Isaac's Storm, and other sagas of adventure at the limits of human endurance.

©2003 Todd Balf (P)2003 Random House, Inc., Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Narrator: Ray Childs
Author: Todd Balf
Category: History, Americas
Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for We Were There

We Were There

Summary

A true collective account of President John F. Kennedy's assassination. There are few days in American history so immortalized in public memory as November 22, 1963, the date of President John F. Kennedy's assassination. Adding to the wealth of information about this tragic day is We Were There, a truly unique collection of firsthand accounts from the doctors and staff on scene at the hospital where JFK was immediately taken after he was shot. With the help of his former fellow staff members at Parkland Memorial Hospital, Dr. Allen Childs recreates the horrific day, from the president's arrival in Dallas to the public announcement of his death. Childs presents a multifaceted and sentimental reflection on the day and its aftermath. In addition to detailing the sequence of events that transpired around JFK's death, We Were There offers memories of the First Lady, insights on conspiracy theories revolving around the president's assassination, and recollections of the death of Lee Harvey Oswald, who succumbed two days later in the same hospital where his own victim was pronounced dead. A compelling, emotional read, We Were There pays tribute to a critical event in American modern history - and to a man whose death was mourned like no other.

©2013 Allen Childs (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Category: History, Americas
Length: 4 hrs and 53 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for Charismatic Leaders Who Remade America

Charismatic Leaders Who Remade America

Summary

What is that mysterious thing we call charisma? Where does this magnetic quality come from? Why are we so drawn to it? Are people born charismatic - or do they become that way over time? Can charisma be just as much a force for evil as it is for good? Answers to questions like these are just as important now, in the 21st century, as they were during the earliest years of the American republic. Much of the nation’s history is inextricably linked with charismatic leaders who’ve inspired mass movements, led democratic progress, fanned the flames of violence, and even taken advantage of the human desire for divine inspiration. Think of Puritan heretic Anne Hutchinson or celebrity statesman, founding father Benjamin Franklin. Think of leadership guru Dale Carnegie or daytime television queen Oprah Winfrey. Think of presidents from Abraham Lincoln to Donald Trump. Each of them, in their own way, remade America through their gripping charisma - an allure that gave them the ability to move crowds and societies. Delivered by Professor Molly Worthen of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, this Audible Original offers 10 captivating lessons on how these leaders inspired the public as they remade America. You’ll meet a wide range of characters, from politicians and philosophers to billionaires and cult leaders as you get at the heart of how they used their charisma to shape American history. You’ll also trace the evolution of the idea of charisma, from the ancient notion of God’s anointing power to the insights of both modern psychology and leadership studies. Crack the code for charisma, and you’ve cracked the code for the American spirit. 

©2020 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2020 Audible Originals, LLC.

Category: History, Americas
Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for Black Tuesday: The History and Legacy of the Wall Street Stock Market Crash of 1929

Black Tuesday: The History and Legacy of the Wall Street Stock Market Crash of 1929

Summary

The Roaring Twenties were an age of optimism. New technology was being invented, and novel products were making their way to the store shelves. Americans believed that a new era, driven by technology, was upon them, and this optimism extended to financial markets. During the 1920s, financiers believed that the economy would continue to boom, as it had been since the end of World War I. As a result, investors and financiers increasingly accepted lower and lower returns on money they lent. However, during the fall of 1929, the stock market was becoming increasingly unstable. Prices would rise and fall rapidly, and some investors were becoming more cautious. Then, on October 24, 1929, the stock market lost 11% of its value right at the opening of the stock market. Panic ensued, but several prominent investment bankers were able to restore confidence by buying stocks well above the market rate. Black Tuesday was a catastrophe the country wasn't ready for, and in fact, the market would not return to its 1929 peak until the 1950s. Black Tuesday is best remembered for investors and consumers making a run on banks that could not service everyone, and banks failed often during the Great Depression, due to bad loans and a lack of public confidence. The Federal Reserve was reluctant to backstop banks and protect them against bank runs, so banks were unable to borrow enough money to cover depositors' demands. When banks failed, depositors who couldn't get their money out of the bank were wiped out.

©2012 Charles River Editors (P)2015 Charles River Editors

Narrator: Doron Alon
Category: History, Americas
Length: 1 hr and 22 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for This Land

This Land

Summary

A hard-hitting look at the battle now raging over the fate of the public lands in the American West - and a plea for the protection of these last wild places The public lands of the western United States comprise some 450 million acres of grassland, steppe land, canyons, forests, and mountains. It's an American commons, and it is under assault as never before. Journalist Christopher Ketcham has been documenting the confluence of commercial exploitation and governmental misconduct in this region for over a decade. His revelatory book takes the listener on a journey across these last wild places, to see how capitalism is killing our great commons. Ketcham begins in Utah, revealing the environmental destruction caused by unregulated public lands livestock grazing, and exposing rampant malfeasance in the federal land management agencies, who have been compromised by the profit-driven livestock and energy interests they are supposed to regulate. He then turns to the broad effects of those corrupt politics on wildlife. He tracks the Department of Interior's failure to implement and enforce the Endangered Species Act - including its stark betrayal of protections for the grizzly bear and the sage grouse - and investigates the destructive behavior of US Wildlife Services in their shocking mass slaughter of animals that threaten the livestock industry. Along the way, Ketcham talks with ecologists, biologists, botanists, former government employees, whistleblowers, grassroots environmentalists, and other citizens who are fighting to protect the public domain for future generations.  This Land is a colorful muckraking journey - part Edward Abbey, part Upton Sinclair - exposing the rot in American politics that is rapidly leading to the sell-out of our national heritage. The book ends with Ketcham's vision of ecological restoration for the American West: freeing the trampled, denuded ecosystems from the effects of grazing, enforcing the laws already in place to defend biodiversity, allowing the native species of the West to recover under a fully implemented Endangered Species Act, and establishing vast stretches of public land where there will be no development at all, not even for recreation. Cover Photo courtesy of TWIG Media/Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance

©2019 Christopher Ketcham (P)2019 Penguin Audio

Category: History, Americas
Length: 15 hrs and 39 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for The Trail of Tears

The Trail of Tears

Summary

A forced march into a strange land marks a monumental and tragic moment in our nation’s history. The year is 1830. Native Americans of the American South and the Old Northwest live on the land they cultivated. Despite struggles and hardships, they’ve held on to what rightfully belongs to them. The land is a part of them. It is their lifeblood and their salvation. It is theirs’ until broken treaties and broken promises rip it from their clutches. What happens next happens at the hands of the American government forever changed the landscape. Cruelty, degradation, sickness, and death followed. Pushed out of their homes, they are forced to start over in an unfamiliar territory with no resources. Follow the heartbreaking story. Discover the truth about how and why this atrocity happened. Listen to the story of the aftermath of their expulsion from their land. Find out what happened on the impossible journey that cost them everything.  Listen to the true story of the Trail of Tears.

©2020 Sea Vision Publishing, LLC (P)2020 Sea Vision Publishing, LLC

Narrator: John Mo
Category: History, Americas
Length: 2 hrs
Available on Audible