23 Best Naval Books
Naval is a popular category for many book lovers. Our team at Speechify has curated a list of the top Naval audiobooks everyone must read.
See the top 23 Naval audiobooks below.
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All the Gallant Men
- By: Donald Stratton
- Narrator: Mike Ortego
- Length: 5 hours 55 minutes
- Publisher: HarperAudio
- Publish date: November 22, 2016
- Language: English
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4.47(968 ratings)
4.47(968 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.004.99 USDThe New York Times bestselling memoir of survival and heroism at Pearl Harbor “An unforgettable story of unfathomable courage.” —Reader’s Digest In this, the first memoir by a USS Arizona sailor, Donald Stratton delivers anThe New York Times bestselling memoir of survival and heroism at Pearl Harbor
“An unforgettable story of unfathomable courage.” —Reader’s Digest
In this, the first memoir by a USS Arizona sailor, Donald Stratton delivers an inspiring and unforgettable eyewitness account of the Pearl Harbor attack and his remarkable return to the fight.
At 8:06 a.m. on December 7, 1941, Seaman First Class Donald Stratton was consumed by an inferno. A million pounds of explosives had detonated beneath his battle station aboard the USS Arizona, barely fifteen minutes into Japan’s surprise attack on American forces at Pearl Harbor. Near death and burned across two thirds of his body, Don, a nineteen-year-old Nebraskan who had been steeled by the Great Depression and Dust Bowl, summoned the will to haul himself hand over hand across a rope tethered to a neighboring vessel. Forty-five feet below, the harbor’s flaming, oil-slick water boiled with enemy bullets; all around him the world tore itself apart.
In this extraordinary never-before-told eyewitness account of the Pearl Harbor attack–the only memoir ever written by a survivor of the USS Arizona–ninety-four-year-old veteran Donald Stratton finally shares his unforgettable personal tale of bravery and survival on December 7, 1941, his harrowing recovery, and his inspiring determination to return to the fight.
Don and four other sailors made it safely across the same line that morning, a small miracle on a day that claimed the lives of 1,177 of their Arizona shipmates–approximately half the American fatalaties at Pearl Harbor. Sent to military hospitals for a year, Don refused doctors’ advice to amputate his limbs and battled to relearn how to walk. The U.S. Navy gave him a medical discharge, believing he would never again be fit for service, but Don had unfinished business. In June 1944, he sailed back into the teeth of the Pacific War on a destroyer, destined for combat in the crucial battles of Leyte Gulf, Luzon, and Okinawa, thus earning the distinction of having been present for the opening shots and the final major battle of America’s Second World War.
As the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack approaches, Don, a great-grandfather of five and one of five living survivors of the Arizona, offers an unprecedentedly intimate reflection on the tragedy that drew America into the greatest armed conflict in history. All the Gallant Men is a book for the ages, one of the most remarkable–and remarkably inspiring–memoirs of any kind to appear in recent years
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Battle of the Atlantic
- By: Ted Barris
- Narrator: Michael Anthony
- Length: 14 hours 22 minutes
- Publisher: Patrick Crean Editions
- Publish date: September 20, 2022
- Language: English
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4.43(25 ratings)
4.43(25 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0027.99 USDThe Battle of the Atlantic, Canada’s longest continuous military engagement of the Second World War, lasted 2,074 days, claiming the lives of more than 4,000 men and women in the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Canadian Air Force and theThe Battle of the Atlantic, Canada’s longest continuous military engagement of the Second World War, lasted 2,074 days, claiming the lives of more than 4,000 men and women in the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Canadian merchant navy
The years 2019 to 2025 mark the eightieth anniversary of the longest battle of the Second World War, the Battle of the Atlantic. It also proved to be the war’s most critical and dramatic battle of attrition. For five and a half years, German surface warships and submarines attempted to destroy Allied trans-Atlantic convoys, most of which were escorted by Royal Canadian destroyers and corvettes, as well as aircraft of the Royal Canadian Air Force. Throwing deadly U-boat “wolf packs” in the paths of the convoys, the German Kriegsmarine almost succeeded in cutting off this vital lifeline to a beleaguered Great Britain.
In 1939, the Royal Canadian Navy went to war with exactly thirteen warships and about 3,500 regular servicemen and reservists. During the desperate days and nights of the Battle of the Atlantic, the RCN grew to 400 fighting ships and over 100,000 men and women in uniform. By V-E Day in 1945, it had become the fourth largest navy in the world.
The story of Canada’s naval awakening from the dark, bloody winters of 1939-1942, to be “ready, aye, ready” to challenge the U-boats and drive them to defeat, is a Canadian wartime saga for the ages. While Canadians think of the Great War battle of Vimy Ridge as the country’s coming of age, it was the Battle of the Atlantic that proved Canada’s gauntlet to victory and a nation-building milestone.
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
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MacArthur at War
- By: Walter R. Borneman
- Narrator: David Baker
- Length: 19 hours 28 minutes
- Publisher: Hachette Audio
- Publish date: May 10, 2016
- Language: English
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4.3(132 ratings)
4.3(132 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0026.98 USDThe definitive account of General Douglas MacArthur’s rise during World War II, from the author of the bestseller The Admirals. World War II changed the course of history. Douglas MacArthur changed the course of World War II. Macarthur at WarThe definitive account of General Douglas MacArthur’s rise during World War II, from the author of the bestseller The Admirals.... Read moreWorld War II changed the course of history. Douglas MacArthur changed the course of World War II. Macarthur at War will go 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 twentieth century. There was never any middle ground with MacArthur. This in-depth study of the most critical period of his career shows how his influence spread far beyond the war-torn Pacific.
A Finalist for the Gilder Lehrman Prize for Military History at the New York Historical Society
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Miracles on the Water
- By: Tom Nagorski
- Narrator: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 12 hours 33 minutes
- Publisher: Hachette Audio
- Publish date: August 25, 2015
- Language: English
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4.27(295 ratings)
4.27(295 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0024.98 USDAn unforgettable story of children in wartime, of heroism at sea, and–above all–of courage and the power of the human spirit. On September 17, 1940, at a little after ten at night, a German submarine torpedoed the passenger liner S.S.An unforgettable story of children in wartime, of heroism at sea, and–above all–of courage and the power of the human spirit.
On September 17, 1940, at a little after ten at night, a German submarine torpedoed the passenger liner S.S. City of Benares in the North Atlantic. There were 406 people on board, but the ship’s prized passengers were 90 children whose parents had elected to send their boys and girls away from Great Britain to escape the ravages of World War II. They were considered lucky, headed for quiet, peaceful, and relatively bountiful Canada.
The Benares sank in half an hour, in a gale that sent several of her lifeboats pitching into the frigid sea. They were more than five hundred miles from land, three hundred miles from the nearest rescue vessel.
Miracles on the Water tells the astonishing story of the survivors–not one of whom had any reasonable hope of rescue as the ship went down. The initial “miracle” involves one British destroyer’s race to the scene, against time and against the elements; the second is the story of Lifeboat 12, missed by the destroyer and left out on the water, 46 people jammed in a craft built and stocked for 30. Those people lasted eight days on little food and tiny rations of drinking water. The survivors have grappled ever since with questions about the ordeal: Should the Benares have been better protected? How and why did they persevere? What role did faith and providence play in the outcome?
Based on first-hand accounts from the child survivors and other passengers, including the author’s great-uncle, Miracles on the Water brings us the story of the attack on the Benares and the extraordinary events that followed.
Tom Nagorski is currently the Executive Vice President of the Asia Society following a three-decade career in journalism – having served most recently as Managing Editor for International Coverage at ABC News. Nagorski has won eight Emmy awards and the Dupont Award for excellence in international coverage, as well as a fellowship from the Henry Luce Foundation. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two children.
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A Rage for Glory
- By: James Tertius De Kay
- Narrator: James Tertius De Kay
- Length: 8 hours 59 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: April 22, 2011
- Language: English
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4.2(97 ratings)
4.2(97 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0019.99 USDAcclaimed author James Tertius de Kay recounts the life of Commodore Stephen Decatur in the first new biography of the great naval hero in almost 70 years. De Kay draws on material unavailable to previous biographers to explore Decatur’sAcclaimed author James Tertius de Kay recounts the life of Commodore Stephen Decatur in the first new biography of the great naval hero in almost 70 years. De Kay draws on material unavailable to previous biographers to explore Decatur’s extraordinary life. From his burning of the Philadelphia to his capture of the HMS Macedonian, Decatur demonstrated his legendary bravery at every turn.
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Bloody Okinawa
- By: Joseph Wheelan
- Narrator: George Newbern
- Length: 13 hours 44 minutes
- Publisher: Hachette Audio
- Publish date: March 03, 2020
- Language: English
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4.17(107 ratings)
4.17(107 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0026.98 USDA stirring narrative of World War II’s final major battle–the Pacific war’s largest, bloodiest, most savagely fought campaign–the last of its kind. On Easter Sunday, April 1, 1945, more than 184,000 US troops began landing onA stirring narrative of World War II’s final major battle–the Pacific war’s largest, bloodiest, most savagely fought campaign–the last of its kind.
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On Easter Sunday, April 1, 1945, more than 184,000 US troops began landing on the only Japanese home soil invaded during the Pacific war. Just 350 miles from mainland Japan, Okinawa was to serve as a forward base for Japan’s invasion in the fall of 1945.
Nearly 140,000 Japanese and auxiliary soldiers fought with suicidal tenacity from hollowed-out, fortified hills and ridges. Under constant fire and in the rain and mud, the Americans battered the defenders with artillery, aerial bombing, naval gunfire, and every infantry tool. Waves of Japanese kamikaze and conventional warplanes sank 36 warships, damaged 368 others, and killed nearly 5,000 US seamen.
When the slugfest ended after 82 days, more than 125,000 enemy soldiers lay dead–along with 7,500 US ground troops. Tragically, more than 100,000 Okinawa civilians perished while trapped between the armies. The brutal campaign persuaded US leaders to drop the atomic bomb instead of invading Japan.
Utilizing accounts by US combatants and Japanese sources, author Joseph Wheelan endows this riveting story of the war’s last great battle with a compelling human dimension. -
Where Divers Dare
- By: Randall Peffer
- Narrator: Randall Peffer
- Length: 9 hours 2 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: June 03, 2016
- Language: English
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4.15(131 ratings)
4.15(131 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0019.99 USDIn the tradition of Shadow Divers, the story of the courageous men who dived on the last sunken U-Boat off the Eastern Seaboard. On April 16, 1944, the tanker SS Pan Pennsylvania was torpedud and sunk by the U-550. In return the sub was sent to theIn the tradition of Shadow Divers, the story of the courageous men who dived on the last sunken U-Boat off the Eastern Seaboard. On April 16, 1944, the tanker SS Pan Pennsylvania was torpedud and sunk by the U-550. In return the sub was sent to the bottom by three destroyer escorts which were guarding the convoy. For more than sixty years the location of the u-boat’s wreck eluded divers. In 2012, a team found it. This was the last undiscovered U-boat in diveable waters off the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, more than three hundred feet below the surface, nearly one hundred feet deeper than the sub in Shadow Divers. This is the story of their twenty year quest to find the “Holy Grail” of deep sea diving and the tenacious efforts to dive on this treacherous wreck.
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Conquering The Pacific
- By: Andrés Reséndez
- Narrator: Phil Morris
- Length: 6 hours 6 minutes
- Publisher: HarperAudio
- Publish date: September 14, 2021
- Language: English
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4.12(189 ratings)
4.12(189 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0020.99 USDThe story of an uncovered voyage as colorful and momentous as any on record for the Age of Discovery—and of the Black mariner whose stunning accomplishment has been until now lost to history   It began with a secret mission, no expensesThe story of an uncovered voyage as colorful and momentous as any on record for the Age of Discovery—and of the Black mariner whose stunning accomplishment has been until now lost to history
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It began with a secret mission, no expenses spared. Spain, plotting to break Portugal‚Äôs monopoly trade with the fabled Orient, set sail from a hidden Mexican port to cross the Pacific‚Äîand 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 Mart√≠n, 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. It was the beginning of a voyage of epic scope, featuring mutiny, murderous encounters with Pacific islanders, astonishing physical hardships‚Äîand at last a triumphant return to the New World. But the pilot of the fleet‚Äôs flagship, the Augustine friar mariner Andr√©s de Urdaneta, later caught up with Mart√≠n to achieve the¬†vuelta¬†as well. It was he who now basked in glory, while Lope Mart√≠n was secretly sentenced to be hanged by the Spanish crown as repayment for his services. Acclaimed historian Andr√©s Res√©ndez, through brilliant scholarship and riveting storytelling‚Äîincluding an astonishing outcome for the resilient Lope Mart√≠n–sets the record straight.
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Lethal Tides
- By: Catherine Musemeche
- Narrator: Maggi-Meg Reed
- Length: 11 hours 14 minutes
- Publisher: HarperAudio
- Publish date: August 23, 2022
- Language: English
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4.11(109 ratings)
4.11(109 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0027.99 USD“Magnificently researched, brilliantly written, Lethal Tides is immensely entertaining and reads like an action novel. Catherine Musemeche has brought to life the incredible work of the scientists and researchers who made such a remarkable“Magnificently researched, brilliantly written, Lethal Tides is immensely entertaining and reads like an action novel. Catherine Musemeche has brought to life the incredible work of the scientists and researchers who made such a remarkable contribution to America’s war effort in the Pacific theater during WWII.” –Admiral William H. McRaven (U.S. Navy, Ret.), #1 New York Times bestselling author of Make Your Bed and The Hero Code
Lethal Tides tells the story of the virtually unknown Mary Sears, “the first oceanographer of the Navy,” whose groundbreaking oceanographic research led the U.S. to victory in the Pacific theater during World War II.
In Lethal Tides, Catherine Musemeche weaves together science, biography, and military history in the compelling story of an unsung woman who had a dramatic effect on the U.S. Navy’s success against Japan in WWII, creating an intelligence-gathering juggernaut based on the new science of oceanography.
When World War II began, the U.S. Navy was unprepared to enact its island-hopping strategy to reach Japan. Anticipating tides, planning for coral reefs, and preparing for enemy fire was new ground for them, and with lives at stake it was ground that had to be covered quickly. Mary Sears, a marine biologist, was the untapped talent they turned to, and she along with a team of quirky marine scientists were instrumental in turning the tide of the war in the United States’ favor.
The Sears team analyzed ocean currents, made wave and tide predictions, identified zones of bioluminescence, mapped deep-water levels where submarines could hide and gathered information about the topography and surf conditions surrounding the Pacific islands and Japan. Sears was frequently called upon to make middle-of-the-night calculations for last-minute top-secret landing destinations and boldly predicted optimal landing times and locations for amphibious invasions.
In supplying these crucial details, Sears and her team played a major role in averting catastrophes that plagued earlier amphibious landings, like the disastrous Tarawa, and cleared a path to Okinawa, the last major battle of World War II.
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
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A Sailor’s History of the U.S. Navy
- By: Thomas J. Cutler
- Narrator: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 11 hours 9 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2011
- Language: English
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4.09(151 ratings)
4.09(151 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0020.95 USDAdopted by the US Navy for issue to all new sailors, A Sailor’s History of the U.S. Navy brings to life the events that have shaped and inspired the navy of today while highlighting the roles of all sailors—from seaman to admiral. RatherAdopted by the US Navy for issue to all new sailors, A Sailor’s History of the U.S. Navy brings to life the events that have shaped and inspired the navy of today while highlighting the roles of all sailors—from seaman to admiral. Rather than focus entirely upon such naval icons as Stephen Decatur and Chester Nimitz, as most histories do, author Thomas J. Cutler, a retired lieutenant commander, brings to the forefront the contributions of enlisted people. You’ll hear about Quartermaster Peter Williams, who steered the ironclad Monitor into history, and Hospital Corpsman Tayinikia Campbell, who saved lives in USS Cole after she was struck by terrorists in Yemen.
Unlike most histories, A Sailor’s History is arranged thematically rather than chronologically. Chapters are built around the navy’s core values of honor, courage, and commitment, its traditions of “Don’t Tread on Me” and “Don’t Give Up the Ship,” and other significant aspects of the navy.
As Cutler states in his preface, the book is not a whitewash. He includes mistakes and defeats along with the achievements and victories as he draws a portrait of a navy growing stronger and smarter while turning tragedy into triumph. The result is a unique account that captures the navy’s heritage as much as its history and provides inspiration as well as information while emphasizing that most essential element of naval history: the Sailor.
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To the Uttermost Ends of the Earth
- By: Tom Clavin
- Narrator: Joe Knezevich
- Length: 8 hours 43 minutes
- Publisher: Harlequin Audio
- Publish date: April 12, 2022
- Language: English
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4.03(106 ratings)
4.03(106 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0024.99 USDThe enthralling story of the greatest Civil War battle at sea by the award-winning and bestselling historians Phil Keith and Tom Clavin. On June 19, 1864, just off the coast of France, one of the most dramatic naval battles in history took place. OnThe enthralling story of the greatest Civil War battle at sea by the award-winning and bestselling historians Phil Keith and Tom Clavin.
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.
Authors Phil Keith and Tom Clavin introduce some of the crucial but historically overlooked players, including John Winslow, captain of the USS Kearsarge, as well as Raphael Semmes, captain of the CSS Alabama. Readers will sail aboard the Kearsarge as Winslow embarks for Europe with a set of simple orders from the secretary of the navy: “Travel to the uttermost ends of the earth, if necessary, to find and destroy the Alabama.”
Winslow pursued Semmes in a spectacular fourteen-month chase over international waters, culminating in what would become the climactic sea battle of the Civil War.
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
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No Greater Glory
- By: Dan Kurzman
- Narrator: William Dufris
- Length: 6 hours 46 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2008
- Language: English
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4.03(108 ratings)
4.03(108 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0019.95 USDDuring the night of February 3, 1943, a torpedo shattered the side of the SS Dorchester off the coast of Greenland. The 904 men aboard, who would certainly have drowned, were saved, thanks to the tremendous bravery of the four chaplains aboard: theDuring the night of February 3, 1943, a torpedo shattered the side of the SS Dorchester off the coast of Greenland. The 904 men aboard, who would certainly have drowned, were saved, thanks to the tremendous bravery of the four chaplains aboard: the Reverend George L. Fox (Methodist), the Reverend Clark V. Poling (Dutch Reformed), Father John P. Washington (Roman Catholic), and Rabbi Alexander Goode (Jewish) who distributed life jackets to the troops, including, in the end, their own. No Greater Glory is a riveting story of four men of God who came from different backgrounds but found common ground in courageously serving God and country.
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The Black Joke
- By: A.E. Rooks
- Narrator: Leon Nixon
- Length: 9 hours 55 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2022
- Language: English
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4.02(120 ratings)
4.02(120 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0019.99 USDA groundbreaking history of the Black Joke, the most famous member of the British Royal Navy’s anti-slavery squadron, and the long fight to end the transatlantic slave trade.The most feared ship in Britain’s West Africa Squadron, HisA groundbreaking history of the Black Joke, the most famous member of the British Royal Navy’s anti-slavery squadron, and the long fight to end the transatlantic slave trade.
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The most feared ship in Britain’s West Africa Squadron, His Majesty’s brig Black Joke was one of a handful of ships tasked with patrolling the western coast of Africa in an effort to end hundreds of years of global slave trading. Sailing after the spectacular fall of Napoleon in France, yet before the rise of Queen Victoria’s England, Black Joke was first a slaving vessel itself, and one with a lightning-fast reputation; only a lucky capture in 1827 allowed it to be repurposed by the Royal Navy to catch its former compatriots. Over the next five years, the ship’s diverse crew and dedicated commanders would capture more ships and liberate more enslaved people than any other in the Squadron.
Now, author A.E. Rooks chronicles the adventures on this ship and its crew in a brilliant, lively narrative of the history of Britain’s suppression efforts. As Britain slowly attempted to snuff out the transatlantic slave trade by way of treaty and negotiation, enforcing these policies fell to the Black Joke and those that sailed with it as they battled slavers, weather disasters, and interpersonal drama among captains and crew that reverberated across oceans. In this history of the daring feats of a single ship, the abolition of the international slave trade is revealed as an inexplicably extended exercise involving tense negotiations between many national powers, both colonizers and formerly colonized, that would stretch on for decades longer than it should have.
Harrowing and heartbreaking, The Black Joke is a crucial and deeply compelling work of history, both as a reckoning with slavery and abolition and as a lesson about the power of political will–or the lack thereof. -
Wolf of the Deep
- By: Stephen Fox
- Narrator: Barrett Whitener
- Length: 10 hours 27 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2006
- Language: English
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4.01(131 ratings)
4.01(131 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0020.95 USDIn July 1862, Confederate Captain Raphael Semmes took command of a secret new warship. At the helm of the Alabama, he became the most hated and feared man along the Union coast, as well as a Confederate legend. Now, with unparalleled authority,In July 1862, Confederate Captain Raphael Semmes took command of a secret new warship. At the helm of the Alabama, he became the most hated and feared man along the Union coast, as well as a Confederate legend. Now, with unparalleled authority, depth, and a vivid sense of the excitement and danger of the time, Stephen Fox describes Captain Semmes’ remarkable wartime exploits.
Burning one Union ship after another, he eluded capture time and again, ravaging Union commerce. But when the tide turned in favor of the Union, foreign ports were less willing to take in the Alabama—forcing Semmes to wander the oceans on a deteriorating ship, his ability to outwit the Union captains diminishing rapidly. Finally, in 1864, a Union ship sunk the Alabama—though not her captain—in a world-renowned battle.
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Red November
- By: W. Craig Reed
- Narrator: Tom Weiner
- Length: 12 hours 38 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2010
- Language: English
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4.01(610 ratings)
4.01(610 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0022.95 USDFew know how close the world has come to annihilation better than the warriors who served America during the tense, forty-five-year struggle known as the Cold War. Yet for decades, their work has remained shrouded in secrecy. Now, in this rivetingFew know how close the world has come to annihilation better than the warriors who served America during the tense, forty-five-year struggle known as the Cold War. Yet for decades, their work has remained shrouded in secrecy. Now, in this riveting history, W. Craig Reed, a former navy diver and fast-attack submariner, provides an eye-opening, pulse-pounding narrative of the underwater struggles and espionage operations between the US and the USSR that brought us to the brink of nuclear war more than once.
Red November is filled with hair-raising, behind-the-scenes stories that take you deep beneath the surface and into the action during the entire Cold War period from 1946 through 1992. Reed served aboard submarines involved in espionage operations, and his father was a top military intelligence specialist intimately involved in the Cuban Missile Crisis. Reed is one of the first authors to obtain so many in-depth interviews with dozens of navy divers, espionage operatives, submariners, and government officials on both sides (including several Soviet submarine captains) about the most daring and decorated missions of the conflict, including top-secret Ivy Bells, Boresight, Bulls Eye, and Holystone operations.
Transcending traditional submarine, espionage, and Cold War accounts, Red November is an up-close examination of one of the most dangerous times in world history and an intimate look at the men and women who participated in our country’s longest and most expensive underwater war.
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Undersea Warriors
- By: Iain Ballantyne
- Narrator: Tim Bentinck
- Length: 20 hours 11 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2019
- Language: English
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4(22 ratings)
4(22 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0024.95 USDThe incredible inside story of the Cold War beneath the waves, pitting British and NATO’s attack submarines against the Soviets. Undersea Warrior: a submarine designed to pursue and attack enemy submarines and surface ships usingThe incredible inside story of the Cold War beneath the waves, pitting British and NATO’s attack submarines against the Soviets.
Undersea Warrior: a submarine designed to pursue and attack enemy submarines and surface ships using torpedoes.
This will follow the careers of four daring British submarine captains who risked their lives to keep the rest of us safe, their exploits consigned to the shadows until now. Their experiences encompass the span of the Cold War, from voyages in WW2-era submarines under Arctic ice to nuclear-powered espionage missions in Soviet-dominated seas.
There are dangerous encounters with Russian spy ships in British waters and finally, as the communist facade begins to crack, they hold the line against the Kremlin’s oceanic might, playing a leading role in bringing down the Berlin Wall. It is the first time they have spoken out about their covert lives in the submarine service.
This is the dramatic untold story of Britain’s most-secret service.
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Enterprise
- By: Barrett Tillman
- Narrator: Tom Weiner
- Length: 10 hours 34 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2012
- Language: English
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3.98(343 ratings)
3.98(343 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0019.95 USDOffering a naval history of the entire Pacific Theater in World War II through the lens of its most famous ship, this is the epic and heroic story of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise and of the men who fought and died on her from Pearl Harbor toOffering a naval history of the entire Pacific Theater in World War II through the lens of its most famous ship, this is the epic and heroic story of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise and of the men who fought and died on her from Pearl Harbor to the end of the conflict.
Award-winning author Barrett Tillman has been called “the man who owns naval aviation history,” and Enterprise is the work he was born to write: the first complete story of “The Big E,” incorporating oral histories and the author’s own interviews with the last surviving veterans who served on her through the major battles of the Pacific war.
America’s most decorated warship of World War II, Enterprise was constantly engaged against the Japanese Empire, earning the title “the fightingest ship” in the navy. Her career was eventful, vital, and short. Commissioned in 1938, her bombers sank a submarine just ten days after the Pearl Harbor attack, claiming the first Japanese vessel lost in the war. It was the auspicious beginning of an odyssey that Tillman captures brilliantly, from escorting sister carrier Hornet as it launched the Doolittle Raiders against Tokyo in 1942 to playing leading roles in the pivotal battles of Midway and Guadalcanal to undergoing the shattering nightmare of kamikaze strikes in May of 1945. This is the definitive history of the ship whose aviators claimed 911 enemy aircraft and 71 ships, a saga of seemingly ceaseless heroism.
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Honor and Betrayal
- By: Patrick Robinson
- Narrator: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 13 hours 31 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2013
- Language: English
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3.91(273 ratings)
3.91(273 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0019.95 USDFrom the coauthor of the #1 New York Times bestseller Lone Survivor comes the riveting behind-the-scenes story of the three Navy SEALs who captured the “Butcher of Fallujah” and, having been charged with prisoner abuse, their long roadFrom the coauthor of the #1 New York Times bestseller Lone Survivor comes the riveting behind-the-scenes story of the three Navy SEALs who captured the “Butcher of Fallujah” and, having been charged with prisoner abuse, their long road to justice.
On a daring nighttime raid in September 2009, a team of Navy SEALs grabbed the notorious terrorist Ahmed Hashim Abed, the villainous “Butcher of Fallujah,” the mastermind behind the 2004 murder and mutilation of four American contractors. In this no-holds-barred account, bestselling author Patrick Robinson reveals for the first time the entire story, from the night the SEALs stormed the al-Qaeda desert stronghold to the accusations and legal twists and turns that followed to the cut-and-thrust drama in the courtroom where the fate of three American heroes hung in the balance.
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Storm Over Leyte
- By: John Prados
- Narrator: John Prados
- Length: 16 hours 30 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: July 05, 2016
- Language: English
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3.89(103 ratings)
3.89(103 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0029.99 USDThe story of the Battle of Leyte Gulf in World War II-the greatest naval battle in history. As Allied ships prepared for the invasion of the Philippine island of Leyte, every available warship, submarine and airplane was placed on alert whileThe story of the Battle of Leyte Gulf in World War II-the greatest naval battle in history. As Allied ships prepared for the invasion of the Philippine island of Leyte, every available warship, submarine and airplane was placed on alert while Japanese admiral Kurita Takeo stalked Admiral William F. Halsey’s unwitting American armada. It was the beginning of the epic Battle of Leyte Gulf-the greatest naval battle in history. In Storm Over Leyte, acclaimed historian John Prados gives readers an unprecedented look at both sides of this titanic naval clash, demonstrating that, despite the Americans’ overwhelming superiority in firepower and supplies, the Japanese achieved their goal, inflicting grave damage on U.S. forces. And for the first time, readers will have access to the naval intelligence reports that influenced key strategic decisions on both sides. Drawing upon a wealth of untapped sources-U.S. and Japanese military records, diaries, declassified intelligence reports and postwar interrogation transcripts-Prados offers up a masterful narrative of naval conflict on an epic scale.
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The Pirate Coast
- By: Richard Zacks
- Narrator: Raymond Todd
- Length: 13 hours 18 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2005
- Language: English
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3.85(1839 ratings)
3.85(1839 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0022.95 USDA real-life thriller—the true story of the unheralded American who brought the Barbary Pirates to their knees After Tripoli declared war on the United States in 1801, Barbary pirates captured three hundred US sailors and marines. PresidentA real-life thriller—the true story of the unheralded American who brought the Barbary Pirates to their knees
After Tripoli declared war on the United States in 1801, Barbary pirates captured three hundred US sailors and marines. President Jefferson sent out navy squadrons, but he also authorized a secret mission to overthrow the government of Tripoli. He chose an unlikely diplomat, William Eaton, to lead the mission. But before Eaton departed, Jefferson grew wary of the affair and withdrew his support.
Astoundingly, Eaton persevered, gathering a ragtag army and leading them on a brutal march across five hundred miles of desert. After surviving sandstorms, treachery, and near death, Eaton achieved a remarkable victory on “the shores of Tripoli,” gaining freedom for the American hostages and new respect for the young United States. But as Eaton dared to reveal that the president had deserted him, Jefferson set out to crush him. Richard Zacks brings this important story of America’s first overseas covert operation to life.
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A Game of Birds and Wolves
- By: Simon Parkin
- Narrator: Elliot Fitzpatrick
- Length: 10 hours 5 minutes
- Publisher: Hachette Audio
- Publish date: January 28, 2020
- Language: English
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3.85(1004 ratings)
3.85(1004 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0025.98 USDAs heard on the New Yorker Radio Hour: The triumphant and “engaging history” (The New Yorker) of the young women who devised a winning strategy that defeated Nazi U-boats and delivered a decisive victory in the Battle of the Atlantic. By... Read moreAs heard on the New Yorker Radio Hour: The triumphant and “engaging history” (The New Yorker) of the young women who devised a winning strategy that defeated Nazi U-boats and delivered a decisive victory in the Battle of the Atlantic.
By 1941, Winston Churchill had come to believe that the outcome of World War II rested on the battle for the Atlantic. A grand strategy game was devised by Captain Gilbert Roberts and a group of ten Wrens (members of the Women’s Royal Naval Service) assigned to his team in an attempt to reveal the tactics behind the vicious success of the German U-boats. Played on a linoleum floor divided into painted squares, it required model ships to be moved across a make-believe ocean in a manner reminiscent of the childhood game, Battleship. Through play, the designers developed “Operation Raspberry,” a counter-maneuver that helped turn the tide of World War II.
Combining vibrant novelistic storytelling with extensive research, interviews, and previously unpublished accounts, Simon Parkin describes for the first time the role that women played in developing the Allied strategy that, in the words of one admiral, “contributed in no small measure to the final defeat of Germany.” Rich with unforgettable cinematic detail and larger-than-life characters, A Game of Birds and Wolves is a heart-wrenching tale of ingenuity, dedication, perseverance, and love, bringing to life the imagination and sacrifice required to defeat the Nazis at sea. -
The H. L. Hunley
- By: Tom Chaffin
- Narrator: Barrett Whitener
- Length: 7 hours 37 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2008
- Language: English
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3.82(109 ratings)
3.82(109 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0016.95 USDOn the evening of February 17, 1864, the Confederacy’s H. L. Hunley sank the Union’s formidable sloop-of-war, the USS Housatonic—to her own demise. For generations, searchers prowled Charleston’s harbor for the sunken boat,On the evening of February 17, 1864, the Confederacy’s H. L. Hunley sank the Union’s formidable sloop-of-war, the USS Housatonic—to her own demise. For generations, searchers prowled Charleston’s harbor for the sunken boat, while legends surrounding the Hunley and its fate continued to grow. Even after the submarine was located in 1995 and recovered five years later, those legends have continued to grow.
Now, in a tour de force of document sleuthing and insights gleaned from the excavation of this remarkable vessel, distinguished Civil War–era historian Tom Chaffin presents the most thorough telling possible of the H. L. Hunley’s story. Of panoramic breadth, this Civil War saga begins long before the submarine was even assembled and follows the tale into the boat’s final hours and through its recovery in 2000.
The H. L. Hunley is an alternate selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club, History Book Club, and Military Book Club.
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The Life of Horatio Lord Nelson
- By: Robert Southey
- Narrator: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 9 hours 48 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2008
- Language: English
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3.7(179 ratings)
3.7(179 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0019.95 USDHaving entered the British Navy at the age of twelve, Horatio Lord Nelson achieved the rank of captain at the age of twenty. As captain, he was quickly recognized as a magnetic and controversial figure. He triumphed at Cape St. Vincent and the NileHaving entered the British Navy at the age of twelve, Horatio Lord Nelson achieved the rank of captain at the age of twenty. As captain, he was quickly recognized as a magnetic and controversial figure. He triumphed at Cape St. Vincent and the Nile but failed at Tenefife and Boulogne. With the glories of Copenhagen and Trafalgar yet ahead of him, his ardent passion for Emma Hamilton, the wife of a British Ambassador, cast a heavy shadow over his career.
Audacious in battle (he once ignored a superior’s order to cease action at Copenhagen by putting his telescope to his blind eye and saying he could not see the signal) and winner of some of Britain’s greatest victories, Nelson possessed an extraordinary amount of dash and courage, thus rendering him one of history’s great romantic figures.
This extensive biography of one of England’s most famous navy heroes–a great commander able to inspire and bring out the best in his men–is a great reference work for anyone interested in British naval history.
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Cliff Weitzman
Cliff Weitzman is a dyslexia advocate and the CEO and founder of Speechify, the #1 text-to-speech app in the world, totaling over 100,000 5-star reviews and ranking first place in the App Store for the News & Magazines category. In 2017, Weitzman was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list for his work making the internet more accessible to people with learning disabilities. Cliff Weitzman has been featured in EdSurge, Inc., PC Mag, Entrepreneur, Mashable, among other leading outlets.
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