Audiobooks by Steve Sheinkin

Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown

New York Times bestselling author Steve Sheinkin presents a follow up to his award-winning book Bomb: The Race to Build-and Steal-the World's Most Dangerous Weapon, taking listeners on a terrifying journey into the Cold War and our mutual assured destruction. As World War II comes to a close, the United States and the Soviet Union emerge as the two greatest world powers on extreme opposites of the political spectrum. After the United States showed its hand with the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, the Soviets refuse to be left behind. With communism sweeping the globe, the two nations begin a neck-and-neck competition to build even more destructive bombs and conquer the Space Race. In their battle for dominance, spy planes fly above, armed submarines swim deep below, and undercover agents meet in the dead of night. The Cold War game grows more precarious as weapons are pointed towards each other, with fingers literally on the trigger. The decades-long showdown culminates in the Cuban Missile Crisis, the world's close call with the third―and final―world war.

Steve Sheinkin (Author), Roy Samuelson (Narrator)

Audiobook

Two Miserable Presidents: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About the Civil War

New York Times bestselling author and Newbery Honor recipient Steve Sheinkin gives young listeners the causes and curses that divided America into Union and Confederate nations in Two Miserable Presidents: The Amazing, Terrible, and Totally True Story of the Civil War. A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year A Beacon of Freedom Award Winner Get the feeling something big is about to happen? Welcome to the Civil War―one of the scariest, saddest, and occasionally wackiest stories in American History. 1856: Northern and Southern settlers attack each other in Kansas. 1858: Congressmen start sneaking guns and knives into the Senate chamber. 1860: President James Buchanan is heard wailing, "I am the last president of the United States!" Unraveling a very complicated string of events--the small things, the personal ones, the big issues--Steve Sheinkin takes readers behind the scenes that led to The Civil War. It is a time and a war that threatened America's very existence, revealed in the surprising true stories of the soldiers and statesmen who battled it out. "Chatty and accessible, this book does double duty: it introduces Civil War history for readers who don't know much about it and supplies browsable commentary for those familiar with the big picture...Beginning with a look at the role cotton played in the history, his fast-paced narrative is broken into short, tersely titled vignettes...The horrors of slavery and battlefield slaughter are clear, as are achievements of Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, John Brown, and many more." ―Booklist

Steve Sheinkin (Author), Steve Sheinkin, Vikas Adam (Narrator)

Audiobook

Which Way to the Wild West?: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About America's Westward Ex

New York Times bestselling author and Newbery Honor recipient Steve Sheinkin welcomes young listeners to the thrilling, tragic, and downright wild historic adventure of America's westward expansion in Which Way to the Wild West? Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About America's Westward Expansion. 1805: Explorer William Clark reaches the Pacific Ocean and pens the badly spelled line "Ocian in view! O! the joy!" (Hey, he was an explorer, not a spelling bee champion!) 1836: Mexican general Santa Anna surrounds the Alamo, trapping 180 Texans inside and prompting Texan William Travis to declare, "I shall never surrender or retreat." 1861: Two railroad companies, one starting in the West and one in the East, start a race to lay the most track and create a transcontinental railroad. With a storyteller's voice and attention to the details that make history real and interesting, Steve Sheinkin delivers the wild facts about America's greatest adventure. From the Louisiana Purchase (remember: if you're negotiating a treaty for your country, play it cool.) to the gold rush (there were only three ways to get to California--all of them bad) to the life of the cowboy, the Indian wars, and the everyday happenings that defined living on the frontier. "An engaging...medley of anecdotes about the Wild West in nine lively chapters starting with the Louisiana Purchase and ending with the Lakota massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890. Casual vignettes of famous figures and ordinary people come to life." ―School Library Journal "Sheinkin builds his conversational narrative around stories of the men and women who peopled the west, with particular attention given to African Americans, Chinese workers, and everyday farmers and cowboys. There's plenty of humor here, but Sheinkin's strength is his ability to transition between events."―The Horn Book

Steve Sheinkin (Author), Steve Sheinkin, Vikas Adam (Narrator)

Audiobook

King George: What Was His Problem?: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About the American R

New York Times bestselling author and Newbery Honor recipient Steve Sheinkin gives young listeners an American history lesson they'll never forget in the fun and funny King George: What Was His Problem?: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About the American Revolution. A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year A New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing What do the most famous traitor in history, hundreds of naked soldiers, and a salmon lunch have in common? They're all part of the amazing story of the American Revolution. Entire books have been written about the causes of the American Revolution. This isn't one of them. What it is, instead, is utterly interesting, ancedotes (John Hancock fixates on salmon), from the inside out (at the Battle of Eutaw Springs, hundreds of soldiers plunged into battle 'naked as they were born') close-up narratives filled with little-known details, lots of quotes that capture the spirit and voices of the principals ('If need be, I will raise one thousand men, subsist them at my own expense, and march myself at their head for the relief of Boston' --George Washington), and action. It's the story of the birth of our nation, complete with soldiers, spies, salmon sandwiches, and real facts you can't help but want to tell to everyone you know. "For middle-graders who find Joy Hakim's 11-volume A History of US just too daunting, historian Sheinkin offers a more digestible version of our country's story...The author expertly combines individual stories with sweeping looks at the larger picture―tucking in extracts from letters, memorable anecdotes, pithy characterizations and famous lines with a liberal hand."―Kirkus Reviews

Steve Sheinkin (Author), Steve Sheinkin, Vikas Adam (Narrator)

Audiobook

Born to Fly: The First Women's Air Race Across America

Born to Fly is the gripping story of the fearless women pilots who aimed for the skies--and beyond. Just nine years after American women finally got the right to vote, a group of trailblazers soared to new heights in the 1929 Air Derby, the first women's air race across the U.S. Follow the incredible lives of legend Amelia Earhart, who has captivated generations; Marvel Crosson, who built a plane before she even learned how to fly; Louise Thaden, who shattered jaw-dropping altitude records; and Elinor Smith, who at age seventeen made headlines when she flew under the Brooklyn Bridge. These awe-inspiring stories culminate in a suspenseful, nail-biting rate across the country that brings to life the glory and grit of the dangerous and thrilling early days of flying, expertly told by the master of nonfiction history for young readers, National Book Award finalist Steve Sheinkin.

Steve Sheinkin (Author), Kim Mai Guest (Narrator)

Audiobook

Amelia Earhart and the Flying Chariot

Two kids must un-twist history after Amelia Earhart changes course in the fourth Time Twisters chapter book by award-winning author Steve Sheinkin. WARNING: DO NOT BELIEVE THE STORY YOU'RE ABOUT TO READ. Well, you can believe some of it. There is some real history. But also hijinks. Time travel. And famous figures setting off on adventures that definitely never happened--till now. Time is getting twisted, and it's up to two kids to straighten things out. Siblings Abby and Doc have been racing through time to fix history after Abraham Lincoln, Abigail Adams, and Neil Armstrong started popping up in the wrong places, at the wrong times. When Amelia Earhart accidentally lands her plane in Ancient Greece, Abby and Doc partner with Kyniska, the first woman to win the Olympics, to get Amelia back on track to finish her first solo flight across the Atlantic. Steve Sheinkin combines history, hilarity, and surprising twists in Amelia Earhart and the Flying Chariot. The fourth Time Twisters book is a surefire hit with history buffs and reluctant readers alike!

Steve Sheinkin (Author), Marc Thompson (Narrator)

Audiobook

Neil Armstrong and Nat Love, Space Cowboys

WARNING: DO NOT BELIEVE THE STORY YOU'RE ABOUT TO READ. Well, you can believe some of it. There is some real history. But also hijinks. Time travel. And famous figures setting off on adventures that definitely never happened--till now. Time is getting twisted, and it's up to two kids to straighten things out. The students of Ms. Maybee's class used to think history was boring, but that was before time started to get twisted! When a spaceship carrying Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin leaves 1969--and lands in 1869 Texas--cowboy Nat Love decides to trade in his horse for a trip to the moon. Can siblings Doc and Abby untwist history and get everyone back where they belong? Houston, we have a problem! Check out Neil Armstrong and Nat Love, Space Cowboys and all of the hilarious books in the Time Twisters series, available on audio from Listening Library. Using his in-depth knowledge of American history, award winning author Steve Sheinkin creates exciting adventures through time with historical figures going AWOL and true fun facts about each person. History will never be boring again! Don't miss the other books in the Time Twisters series, including Abraham Lincoln, Pro Wrestler and Abigail Adams, Pirate of the Caribbean!

Steve Sheinkin (Author), Marc Thompson (Narrator)

Audiobook

Abraham Lincoln, Pro Wrestler

History and hijinks collide in a hilarious new series from acclaimed author Steve Sheinkin. Historical figures have overheard students saying "history is boring"-and now they've decided to quit history! When Abraham Lincoln overhears a classroom of kids saying "history is boring," he decides to teach them a lesson. Lincoln quits history--to pursue his dream of becoming a professional wrestler! Now step-siblings Abby and Doc have to convince Lincoln to go back to Springfield, Illinois, accept the presidency, and prove once and for all that history is not boring! Using his in-depth knowledge of famous historical figures, Sheinkin has created exciting adventures with historical figures going AWOL, hilarious trips through time, and totally true fun facts about each subject. For example, Lincoln did actually love wrestling and is honored in the Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Steve Sheinkin (Author), Marc Thompson (Narrator)

Audiobook

Abigail Adams, Pirate of the Caribbean

History and hijinks collide in a hilarious new series from acclaimed author Steve Sheinkin. Historical figures have overheard students saying "history is boring"-and now they've decided to quit history! When First Lady Abigail Adams decides there's more to life than doing chores in the White House, she escapes to become a Caribbean pirate. Can siblings Abby and Doc fix history before things get too mixed up? Or will they be the ones who need to be rescued? Using his in-depth knowledge of famous historical figures, Sheinkin has created exciting adventures with historical figures going AWOL, hilarious trips through time, and totally true fun facts about each subject. For example, female pirates did rule the high seas in the early 1700s!

Steve Sheinkin (Author), Marc Thompson (Narrator)

Audiobook

Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team

When superstar athlete Jim Thorpe and football legend Pop Warner met in 1904 at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania, they forged one of the winningest teams in American football history. Called "the team that invented football," they took on the best opponents of their day, defeating much more privileged schools such as Harvard and the Army in a series of breathtakingly close calls, genius plays, and bone-crushing hard work. But this is not just an underdog story. It's an unflinching look at the persecution of Native Americans and its intersection with the beginning of one of the most beloved?and exploitative?pastimes in America, expertly told by nonfiction powerhouse Steve Sheinkin.

Steve Sheinkin (Author), Mark Bramhall (Narrator)

Audiobook

Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War

From Steve Sheinkin, the award-winning author of The Port Chicago 50 and Bomb comes a tense, exciting exploration of what the Times deemed "the greatest story of the century": how Daniel Ellsberg transformed from obscure government analyst into "the most dangerous man in America," and risked everything to expose the government's deceit. On June 13, 1971, the front page of the New York Times announced the existence of a 7,000-page collection of documents containing a secret history of the Vietnam War. Known as The Pentagon Papers, these documents had been comissioned by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. Chronicling every action the government had taken in the Vietnam War, they revealed a pattern of deception spanning over twenty years and four presidencies, and forever changed the relationship between American citizens and the politicans claiming to represent their interests. A provocative audiobook that interrogates the meanings of patriotism, freedom, and integrity, Most Dangerous further establishes Steve Sheinkin as a leader in children's nonfiction.

Steve Sheinkin (Author), Ray Porter (Narrator)

Audiobook

Guys Read: True Stories

Visiting the dentist, in ancient Egypt Spending a night in the jungle, with giant tarantulas Wrestling with a grizzly bear, and living to tell the tale The fifth installment in the Guys Read Library of Great Reading features ten stories that are 100% amazing, 100% adventurous, 100% unbelievable, and 100% true. A star-studded group of award-winning nonfiction authors and journalists provides something for every reader, all aligned with the Common Core State Standards. Compiled and edited by real-life literature legend Jon Scieszka, Guys Read: True Stories is a mind-blowing collection of essays, biographies, travelogues, and more, all proving that the truth is most definitely out there.

Candace Fleming, Douglas Florian, Elizabeth Partridge, James Sturm, Jim Murphy, Jon Scieszka, Nathan Hale, Steve Sheinkin, Sy Montgomery, T. Edward Nickens, Thanhha Lai, Thanhhà Lai (Author), Adam Conner, Bruce Thomas, Ethan Sawyer, Freda Foh Shen, George Newbern, Greg Itzin, Hillary Huber, Jack Garrett, Jim Beaver, Macleod Andrews, Robin Weigert, Thaao Penghlis (Narrator)

Audiobook