Historical Audiobooks

The Ancient Roman World

From the city of Pompeii-frozen in time by volcanic ash and lava-to the Coliseum's famed gladiators-treated like rock stars-ancient Rome had it all: Gods and Goddesses, infamous emperors, crippling warfare, and beautiful art. Spartacus, the famous gladiator and slave, led a revolt against a tyrannical government. Conspirators violently murdered emperor Julius Caesar. Virgil wrote epic poetry, and Jesus of Nazareth was proclaimed the messiah. Learn the stories behind the famous names, all backed by a variety of primary sources. Architectural ruins, ancient texts, and everyday items-like the iron collars used on slaves-show us how ancient Romans really lived. The Ancient Roman World focuses not only on the wars and government problems of the time, but also on the lives of common Romans. This intriguing and well-researched text written by a historian and a children's author provides a thorough understanding of everything you need to know about ancient Rome's rise and fall and will transport modern listeners back to the days of the Ceasars.

Marni McGee, Ronald Mellor (Author), Norm Lee (Narrator)

Audiobook

Someone Named Eva

M. Wolf traveled to the Czech Republic, birthplace of her great-grandmother, for further insight into this remarkable story. Someone Named Eva is the devastating tale of a young girl whose identity is threatened by the all-consuming sweep of Nazi aggression. Before she loses everything, Milada is a normal, happy girl. But then come the Nazis, tearing her from her family's arms and leaving her with little but her grandmother's lingering words: "Remember who you are." "Honest . heartbreaking."-Booklist, starred review

Joan M. Wolf (Author), Rachel Botchan (Narrator)

Audiobook

Little Manfred

The heart-lifting, heartbreaking story by Michael Morpurgo, the nation's favourite storyteller.In the Imperial War Museum is a wooden Dachshund, carved by a German prisoner of war for the children of the British family with which he stayed after the fighting ended. This is the story of how it got there...When the Bismarck sinks, one of the only German survivors is taken on board a British ship as a prisoner of war. Sent to live with a host family, Walter must adapt to a new way of life, in the heart of an enemy country. Gradually, though, he finds a friend in ten-year-old Grace. So when the time finally comes to go back to Germany, it's an emotional parting, with Walter leaving Grace with only a carved wooden dog to remember him by. The question is, will Walter and Grace ever meet again? In 1966, with the World Cup coming to Britain, that opportunity may just have come along...

Michael Morpurgo (Author), Daniel Philpott (Narrator)

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Abenteuer! Maja Nielsen erzählt. Julius Caesar: Feldherr und Staatsmann im Alten Rom

Er gilt als einer der mächtigsten Männer aller Zeiten. Julius Caesar eroberte halb Europa und brachte die römische Republik zu Fall. Doch wer war der Patriziersohn? Was machte ihn beliebt? Und wie kam es zu seiner Ermordung? In einer Mischung aus Dokumentation und Hörspiel zeichnet Maja Nielsen ein vielschichtiges Bild des Herrschers und spürt den Geheimnissen der Macht im Alten Rom nach. Gemeinsam mit dem Experimentalarchäologen Marcus Junkelmann nimmt sie Klein und Groß mit auf eine abenteuerliche Expedition über die Alpen: In originalgetreuer Ausrüstung römischer Legionäre geht es von Verona bis nach Augsburg. Das gleichnamige Buch ist im Gerstenberg Verlag erschienen.

Maja Nielsen (Author), Various Artists (Narrator)

Audiobook

Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and the Endurance

In 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton and a crew of twenty-seven men sailed from England in an attempt to cross Antarctica from one side to the other. Their ship, Endurance, became icebound and sank, still one hundred miles from land. What follows is one of the most amazing stories of survival ever recorded. Over the next nineteen months, Shackleton led his men through brutal perils of every kind on ice, land, and sea with one goal—that they all survive. Whether it was a treacherous journey over ice, a storm-racked eight-hundred-mile open-boat journey, or a death-defying trek across a mountain range, Shackleton’s mission never wavered: “But if you’re a leader, a fellow that other fellows look to, you’ve got to keep going.” The story is enhanced with diary excerpts, explanations of the terrain, wildlife, and navigation techniques, and the Antarctic weather that so affected the outcome of the fateful voyage. And narrator Taylor Mali’s dynamic performance transports the listener into the heart of this riveting saga. “The harrowing survival story of English explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton and the ill-fated Endurance has intrigued people since the 1914 expedition…[Armstrong] brings the unbelievable journey to life with delicious details: how a handsome young stowaway was discovered too late to cast him off; how the ship itself would become frost-white, looking like ‘another species of sparkling white iceberg as it nosed its way through the pack;’ and how the ice-pack-dwelling Emperor penguins seemed to enjoy the banjo music of crew member Leonard Hussey. The true-to-life story is as thrilling as they come, and Armstrong’s lively, crystal-clear writing style is just as compelling….[An] inspiring nonfiction adventure story that young readers will devour from cover to cover.”--Amazon.com, editorial review

Jennifer Armstrong (Author), Taylor Mali (Narrator)

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Dear America: Cannons at Dawn

We join Abigail Stewart half a year after The Winter of Red Snow ended, in January of 1779. Her father has enlisted in the Continental Army, and when a devastating fire destroys Abby's home, she, her mother, and siblings must make their way to Philadelphia, then on to the Continental Army camp to be near Abby's father. The winters are brutally cold, food is scarce, and the anguish of war is ever present. But not all is desperate. Abby meets many new friends, including a young soldier named Willie Campbell. As romance blooms, Abby wonders if the war will ever end.

Kristiana Gregory (Author), Illyana Kadushin, Ilyana Kadushin (Narrator)

Audiobook

Disasters: Natural and Man-Made Catastrophes Through the Centuries

Natural and man-made disasters have the power to destroy thousands of lives very quickly. Both as they unfold and in the aftermath, these forces of nature astonish the rest of the world with their incredible devastation and magnitude. In this collection of ten well-known catastrophes such as the great Chicago fire, the sinking of the Titanic, and hurricane Katrina, Brenda Guiberson explores the causes and effects, as well as the local and global reverberations of these calamitous events. Highlighted with photographs and drawings, each compelling account tells the story of destruction and devastation, and most especially, the power of mankind to persevere in the face of adversity.

Brenda Z. Guiberson (Author), Nelson Runger (Narrator)

Audiobook

Okay for Now

"The Dump" is what Doug Swieteck calls his new home in upstate New York. He lands there in the summer of 1968, when the Apollo space missions are under way, Joe Pepitone is slugging for the New York Yankees, and the Vietnam War is raging. At home he lives with a father who has lost his way and a brother accused of robbery. And Doug's oldest brother is returning from Vietnam. Who knows what wounds his missions have given him? But Doug has his own mission, too, and it begins when he first sees the plates of John James Audubon's Birds of America at the local library. His mission will lead him to Lil Spicer, who shows him how to drink a really cold Coke, to Mrs. Windermere, who drags him to a theater opening, and to the customers of his Saturday grocery deliveries, who together will open a world as strange to him as the lunar landscape. Swieteck, who first appeared in Gary D. Schmidt's Newbery Honor book The Wednesday Wars, will discover the transforming power of art over disaster in a story about creativity and loss, love and recovery, and survival.

Gary D. Schmidt (Author), Lincoln Hoppe (Narrator)

Audiobook

Small Acts of Amazing Courage

It is 1918, six months after the end of World War I, and Rosalind awaits the return of her father from the war. While it is common practice for British children in India to be packed off to boarding school at the age of 6, Rosalind is unusual because she lives and is schooled in India because her mother insists. The heart of this penetrating story is Rosalind's coming of age set against the hardship of life for the Indian people, Rosalind's daily life in India, the rise of Ghandi and Rosalind's coming to make her own decisions and become her own person.

Gloria Whelan (Author), Mandy Williams (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Five Ancestors Book 7: Dragon

Long, the dragon-style warrior, saw his temple burned, his brothers killed, and his novice siblings fleeing to the four winds. But that was many months ago. Now the five young warriors have reunited with Ying, the redeemed renegade who put all of these events in motion, and ShaoShu, the mousy street thief, to prevent the wily mantis Tonglong from taking over China. Time is short and distances are great, and the future of China lies in the hands of five young monks.

Jeff Stone (Author), Kiki Barrera (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Luck of the Buttons

Tugs Esther Button was born to a luckless family. Buttons don't presume to be singers or dancers. They aren't athletes or artists, good listeners or model citizens. Until tomboy Tugs befriends the popular Aggie Millhouse, wins a brand-new Brownie camera in the Independence Day raffle, and stumbles into a mystery only she can solve, she looks at her hapless family and sees her own reflection looking back. But it's a summer of change, and it just may be that in the end, being a Button is precisely what one clumsy, funny, spirited, and observant young heroine decides to make of it. Award-winning author Anne Ylvisaker has trained her own observant eye on a small Iowa town in 1929 to craft a riotously endearing portrait of a family like no other.

Anne Ylvisaker (Author), Laura Hamilton (Narrator)

Audiobook

Roberto & Me

Best-selling author Dan Gutman delights young readers with the what-if appeal and gentle humor of his Baseball Card Adventures, featuring a time-travelling boy who loves baseball. When Stosh travels into the past to meet Roberto Clemente, a legendary ballplayer and a beloved humanitarian, he's got only one goal-to warn Roberto not to get on the doomed plane that will end his life in a terrible crash. "This series entry is both amusing and informative."-Booklist

Dan Gutman (Author), Johnny Heller (Narrator)

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