European

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany

• UNABRIDGED (57 hrs and 13 mins)
• By William L. Shirer
• Narrated By Grover Gardner

Since its publication in 1960, William L. Shirer’s monumental study of Hitler’s German empire has been widely acclaimed as the definitive record of the 20th century’s blackest hours. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich offers an unparalleled and thrillingly told examination of how Adolf Hitler nearly succeeded in conquering the world. With millions of copies in print around the globe, it has attained the status of a vital and enduring classic.

Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall

• UNABRIDGED (10 hrs and 38 mins)
• By Anna Funder
• Narrated By Denica Fairman

In 1989, the Berlin Wall fell; shortly afterwards the two Germanies reunited, and East Germany ceased to exist. Anna Funder tells extraordinary tales from the underbelly of the former East Germany. In a country where the headquarters of the secret police could become a museum literally overnight, and one in 50 East Germans were informing on their fellow citizens, there are thousands of captivating stories.

Victoria & Abdul (Movie Tie-in): The True Story of the Queen's Closest Confidant

• UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 9 mins)
• By Shrabani Basu
• Narrated By Elizabeth Jasicki

Tall and handsome, Abdul was just 24 years old when he arrived in England from Agra to wait at tables for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. Within a year Abdul had grown to become a powerful figure at court; the queen's teacher, or Munshi; her counsel on Urdu and Indian affairs; and a friend close to the queen's heart. "I am so very fond of him," Queen Victoria would write in 1888. "He is so good and gentle and understanding...a real comfort to me."

The Romanovs: 1613-1918

• UNABRIDGED (28 hrs and 45 mins)
• By Simon Sebag Montefiore
• Narrated By Simon Russell Beale

The Romanovs were the most successful dynasty of modern times, ruling a sixth of the world's surface. How did one family turn a war-ruined principality into the world's greatest empire? And how did they lose it all? This is the intimate story of 20 tsars and tsarinas, some touched by genius, some by madness, but all inspired by holy autocracy and imperial ambition.

Stalingrad

• UNABRIDGED (16 hrs and 39 mins)
• By Antony Beevor
• Narrated By Peter Noble

The battle for Stalingrad became the focus of Hitler and Stalin's determination to win the gruesome, vicious war on the eastern front. The citizens of Stalingrad endured unimaginable hardship; the battle, with fierce hand-to-hand fighting in each room of each building, was brutally destructive to both armies. But the eventual victory of the Red Army, and the failure of Hitler's Operation Barbarossa, was the first defeat of Hitler's territorial ambitions in Europe and the start of his decline.

A History of Russia: From Peter the Great to Gorbachev

• ORIGINAL (18 hrs and 48 mins)
• By The Great Courses
• Narrated By Professor Mark Steinberg

It's difficult to imagine a nation with a history more compelling for Americans than Russia. Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, this was the nation against which we measured our own nation's values and power and with whom war, if it ever came, could spell unimaginable catastrophe for our planet.Yet many Americans have never had the opportunity to study Russia in depth, and to see how the forces of history came together to shape a future so different from the dreams of most ordinary Russian people, eager to see their nation embrace Western values of progress, human rights, and justice.

Foundations of Western Civilization II: A History of the Modern Western World

• ORIGINAL (24 hrs and 38 mins)
• By The Great Courses
• Narrated By Professor Robert Bucholz

Beginning with the Renaissance, the culture of the West exploded. Over the next 600 years, rapid innovations in philosophy, technology, economics, military affairs, and politics allowed what had once been a cultural backwater left by the collapse of the Roman Empire to dominate the world. This comprehensive series of 48 lectures by an award-winning teacher and captivating lecturer will show you how - and why - this extraordinary transformation took place.

Napoleon the Great

• UNABRIDGED (37 hrs and 22 mins)
• By Andrew Roberts
• Narrated By Stephen Thorne
• Whispersync for Voice-ready

Napoleon Bonaparte lived one of the most extraordinary of all human lives. In the space of just 20 years, from October 1795, when as a young artillery captain he cleared the streets of Paris of insurrectionists, to his final defeat at the (horribly mismanaged) battle of Waterloo in June 1815, Napoleon transformed France and Europe. After seizing power in a coup d'état, he ended the corruption and incompetence into which the revolution had descended.

A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous Fourteenth Century

• UNABRIDGED (28 hrs and 38 mins)
• By Barbara W. Tuchman
• Narrated By Nadia May
• Whispersync for Voice-ready

The fourteenth century reflects two contradictory images: on the one hand, a glittering time of crusades and castles, cathedrals and chivalry, and the exquisitely decorated Books of Hours; and on the other, a time of ferocity and spiritual agony, a world of chaos and the plague.

Witch: A Tale of Terror

• UNABRIDGED (3 hrs and 6 mins)
• By Charles MacKay, Sam Harris - introduction
• Narrated By Sam Harris

For centuries in Europe, innocent men and women were murdered for the imaginary crime of witchcraft. This was a mass delusion and moral panic, driven by pious superstition and a deadly commitment to religious conformity. In Witch: A Tale of Terror, best-selling author Sam Harris introduces and reads from Charles Mackay's beloved book, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds.

The Early Middle Ages

• ORIGINAL (12 hrs and 32 mins)
• By The Great Courses
• Narrated By Professor Philip Daileader

The Early Middle Ages-the years from A.D. 650 to 1000-were crucial to Europe's future social and political development. These 24 lectures trace a journey from Scandinavia across northern and central Europe to the farthest reaches of the Byzantine and Islamic empires, providing an exciting new look an era often simply called the "Dark Ages."

A Short History of Ireland

• UNABRIDGED (22 hrs and 55 mins)
• By Jonathan Bardon
• Narrated By uncredited

In the wake of its 30th birthday celebrations in 2006, BBC Radio Ulster marked the beginning of a new broadcasting era by embarking on the station's most ambitious project to date: a recounting of the history of Ireland.

The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Volume 3: Defender of the Realm, 1940-1965

• UNABRIDGED (53 hrs and 27 mins)
• By William Manchester, Paul Reid
• Narrated By Paul Reid, Clive Chafer

Spanning the years 1940 to 1965, Defender of the Realm, the third volume of William Manchester’s The Last Lion, picks up shortly after Winston Churchill became prime minister - when his tiny island nation stood alone against the overwhelming might of Nazi Germany. The Churchill portrayed by Manchester and Reid is a man of indomitable courage, lightning-fast intellect, and an irresistible will to action.

People of the Book

• UNABRIDGED (14 hrs and 5 mins)
• By Geraldine Brooks
• Narrated By Edwina Wren

In 1996, Hanna Heath, a rare-book expert, is offered the job of a lifetime: analysis and conservation of the famed Sarajevo Haggadah, which has been rescued during the Bosnian war. Priceless and beautiful, the book is one of the earliest Jewish volumes ever to be illuminated with images. When Hanna discovers a series of artifacts in its ancient binding, she begins to unlock the book's mysteries. The reader is ushered into an exquisitely detailed past, tracing the book's journey from its salvation back to its creation.

The Middle Ages

• UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 25 mins)
• By Morris Bishop
• Narrated By Michael Page
• Whispersync for Voice-ready

In this indispensable volume, one of America's ranking scholars combines a life's work of research and teaching with the art of lively narration. Both authoritative and beautifully told, The Middle Ages is the full story of the thousand years between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance - a time that saw the rise of kings and emperors, the flowering of knighthood, the development of Europe, the increasing power of the Catholic Church, and the advent of the middle class.

The Development of European Civilization

• ORIGINAL (24 hrs and 31 mins)
• By The Great Courses
• Narrated By Professor Kenneth R. Bartlett

In almost every way that matters, historical Europe was the laboratory in which the world you now live in was conceived and tested. And you'll be living with the consequences for the rest of your life. These 48 lectures lead you through the doors of that laboratory and guide you through the development of Europe from the late Middle Ages through the eve of World War II.

The Hotel on Place Vendome: Life, Death, and Betrayal at the Hotel Ritz in Paris

• UNABRIDGED (8 hrs and 3 mins)
• By Tilar J. Mazzeo
• Narrated By Elizabeth Wiley

Set against the backdrop of the Nazi occupation of World War II, The Hôtel on Place Vendôme is the captivating history of Paris' world-famous Hôtel Ritz - a breathtaking tale of glamour, opulence, and celebrity and of dangerous liaisons, espionage, and resistance.

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy: A Righteous Gentile vs. the Third Reich

• UNABRIDGED (22 hrs and 31 mins)
• By Eric Metaxas
• Narrated By Malcolm Hillgartner

A definitive, deeply moving narrative, Bonhoeffer is a story of moral courage in the face of the monstrous evil that was Nazism. After discovering the fire of true faith in a Harlem church, Bonhoeffer returned to Germany and became one of the first to speak out against Hitler. As a double agent, he joined the plot to assassinate the Führer and was hanged in Flossenbürg concentration camp at age thirty-nine. Since his death, Bonhoeffer has grown to be one of the most fascinating, complex figures of the twentieth century.

How the Scots Invented the Modern World

• UNABRIDGED (18 hrs and 26 mins)
• By Arthur Herman
• Narrated By Robert Ian Mackenzie

Who formed the first literate society? Who invented our modern ideas of democracy and free market capitalism? The Scots. As historian and author Arthur Herman reveals, in the 18th and 19th centuries Scotland made crucial contributions to science, philosophy, literature, education, medicine, commerce, and politics - contributions that have formed and nurtured the modern West ever since. This book is not just about Scotland: it is an exciting account of the origins of the modern world.

Nancy Wake

• UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 19 mins)
• By Peter FitzSimons
• Narrated By Stephanie Daniel

In the early 1930s, Nancy Wake was a young woman enjoying a bohemian life in Paris. By the end of the Second World War, she was the Gestapo's most wanted person. As a naive, young journalist, Nancy Wake witnessed a horrific scene of Nazi violence in a Viennese street. From that moment, she declared that she would do everything in her power to rid Europe of the Nazis. What began as a courier job here and there became a highly successful escape network for Allied soldiers.

Queens of the Conquest

• UNABRIDGED (17 hrs and 29 mins)
• By Alison Weir
• Narrated By Julia Franklin

The lives of England's medieval queens were packed with tragedy, betrayal, love, warfare, adultery, and mystery - but their stories are obscured by centuries of myth and prejudice against these powerful women. These Norman queens were actually more autonomous and influential than most later queens, since they actually participated in battles and led troops of their own.

No Man’s Land: 1918, the Last Year of the Great War

• UNABRIDGED (24 hrs and 43 mins)
• By John Toland
• Narrated By Grover Gardner

From freezing infantrymen huddled in bloodied trenches on the front lines to intricate political maneuvering and tense strategy sessions in European capitals, noted historian John Toland tells of the unforgettable final year of the First World War. In this audiobook, participants on both sides, from enlisted men to generals and prime ministers to monarchs, vividly recount the battles, sensational events, and behind-the-scenes strategies that shaped the climactic, terrifying year.

The Battle of Britain: Five Months That Changed History; May-October 1940

• UNABRIDGED (26 hrs and 39 mins)
• By James Holland
• Narrated By Shaun Grindell

The Battle of Britain paints a stirring picture of an extraordinary summer when the fate of the world hung by a thread. Historian James Holland has now written the definitive account of those months based on extensive new research from around the world, including thousands of new interviews with people on both sides of the battle.

Ancient Sicily: The History and Legacy of the Mediterranean's Largest Island in Antiquity

• UNABRIDGED (2 hrs and 3 mins)
• By Charles River Editors
• Narrated By Mark Norman

It is hard to find an island on the map more central than Sicily. Located at the crossroads between Europe and Africa, and between the eastern and western Mediterranean, Sicily has rarely been governed as an independent, unified state. Nonetheless, the island has always occupied a front-row seat to some of the most important events in history.

Wounds: A Memoir of War and Love

• UNABRIDGED (10 hrs and 15 mins)
• By Fergal Keane
• Narrated By David McFetridge

A family story of blood and memory and the haunting power of the past. After nearly three decades reporting conflict from all over the world for the BBC, Fergal Keane has gone home to Ireland to tell a story that lies at the root of his fascination with war. It is a family story of war and love, and how the ghosts of the past return to shape the present. Wounds is a powerful memoir about Irish people who found themselves caught up in the revolution that followed the 1916 Rising, and in the pitiless violence of civil war in north Kerry after the British left in 1922.

Crown of Blood: The Deadly Inheritance of Lady Jane Grey

• UNABRIDGED (12 hrs and 22 mins)
• By Nicola Tallis
• Narrated By Charlotte Strevens

'Good people, I am come hither to die and by a law I am condemned to the same.' These were the words uttered by 17-year-old Lady Jane Grey as she stood on the scaffold on a cold February morning in 1554. Forced on to the throne by power players at court, Queen Jane reigned for just 13 days before being imprisoned in the tower, condemned for high treason and executed.

Policing the City: Crime & Legal Authority in London, 1780-1840

• UNABRIDGED (8 hrs and 15 mins)
• By Andrew T. Harris
• Narrated By Sam Devereaux

In Policing the City, Harris seeks to explain the transformation of criminal justice between the 1780s and 1830s in the City of London. As utilitarian legal reformers argued that criminal deterrence ought to be based on certain and rational punishment rather than random execution, they also had to control the discretionary authority of enforcement. This meant in theory and practice the centralization of policing in the 1830s, and the end of local policing, which was seen as corrupt, inefficient, and unsuitable for rational criminal justice.

Florence: The History and Legacy of the Birthplace of the Renaissance

• UNABRIDGED (1 hr and 54 mins)
• By Charles River Editors
• Narrated By Jim D. Johnston
• Whispersync for Voice-ready

Most historians credit the city-state of Florence as the starting place of the Italian Renaissance, a process carried out through the patronage and commission of artists during the late 12th century. If Florence is receiving its due credit, much of it belongs to the Medici family, a Florentine dynasty that ruled at the height of the Renaissance. Both Leonardo and Michelangelo were members of Lorenzo de Medici's court. The famous leader, who also considered himself an artist and poet, became known for securing commissions for the most famous artists of the age.

The Voynich Manuscript: The History of the Mysterious Renaissance Codex That Has Never Been Deciphered

• UNABRIDGED (1 hr and 25 mins)
• By Charles River Editors
• Narrated By Bill Hare

For as long as language and communication have existed, humans have invented ways to mask their messages from prying eyes. One could be forgiven for assuming there are no ciphers left unsolved. On the contrary, a diverse array of both ancient and modern cryptographic challenges, which have stumped even the most seasoned code crackers of today, exist, and may exist for generations to come. Among the most famous of these memorandums is a 600-year-old document that continues to mystify: the Voynich Manuscript.

History of Russia in 100 Minutes: A Crash Course for Beginners (Smart Histories)

• UNABRIDGED (1 hr and 36 mins)
• By Tanel Vahisalu
• Narrated By Sammi Bold

History of Russia in 100 Minutes is a crash course for beginners. Here you will find the complete history summarized and retold in simple language with accurate dates, the most relevant names, and essential concepts. After finishing the course, you will know: the basic characteristics of Russian history in different epochs; the 54 most important rulers and 106 historical persons in Russian history; 126 key dates and events in Russian history; and the basic terms and concepts of Russian history.

Marie Antoinette's Watch: Adultery, Larceny, & Perpetual Motion

• UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 46 mins)
• By John Biggs
• Narrated By Rick Barr
• Whispersync for Voice-ready

Across continents and into and out of the hands of royalty, revolutionaries, smugglers, thieves, and the world's greatest tech engineers, was Marie Antoinette's watch, the "160" worth an estimated $40 million in today's dollars. Perhaps the most sought after personal technology device of the last 200 years, the timepiece, designed by the legendary Abraham-Louis Breguet, is the launching point for a thrilling and fluidly woven set of narratives that are, in part, forbidden love story, historical document, and police procedural.

Something Beautiful Happened: A Story of Survival and Courage in the Face of Evil

• UNABRIDGED (10 hrs and 11 mins)
• By Yvette Manessis Corporon
• Narrated By Pam Turlow

Yvette Manessis Corporon grew up listening to her grandmother's stories about how the people of the small Greek island Erikousa hid a Jewish family - a tailor named Savvas and his daughters - from the Nazis during World War II. Nearly 2,000 Jews from that area died in the concentration camps, but even though everyone on Erikousa knew Savvas and his family were hiding on the island, no one ever gave them up, and the family survived the war. Years later, Yvette decided to track down the man's descendants - and eventually found them in Israel.

Charlemagne

• UNABRIDGED (30 hrs and 16 mins)
• By Johannes Fried, Peter Lewis
• Narrated By James Cameron Stewart
• Whispersync for Voice-ready

When the legendary Frankish king and emperor Charlemagne died in 814 he left behind a dominion and a legacy unlike anything seen in Western Europe since the fall of Rome. Johannes Fried paints a compelling portrait of a devout ruler, a violent time, and a unified kingdom that deepens our understanding of the man often called the father of Europe.

Everything You Need to Know About 'The Prince'

• UNABRIDGED (1 hr and 4 mins)
• By Charles River Editors
• Narrated By Dan Gallagher

Niccolò Machiavelli was born in Florence on May 3, 1469, as Florence was undergoing its transition into the Renaissance, guided by the Medicis. Machiavelli was a public servant during the Republic, losing his office when the Medicis returned to power. Despite that, Machiavelli dedicated The Prince to the ruling Medici of the time, leading some today to still speculate whether the book was a satire.

Rebel in the Ranks: Martin Luther, the Reformation, and the Conflicts That Continue to Shape Our World

• UNABRIDGED (9 hrs and 45 mins)
• By Brad S. Gregory
• Narrated By Sean Runnette
• Whispersync for Voice-ready

For five centuries Martin Luther has been lionized as an outspoken and fearless icon of change who ended the Middle Ages and heralded the beginning of the modern world. In Rebel in the Ranks, Brad Gregory, renowned professor of European history at Notre Dame, recasts this long-accepted portrait. Luther did not intend to start a revolution that would divide the Catholic Church and forever change Western civilization. Yet his actions would profoundly shape our world in ways he could never have imagined.

Gibraltar: The Greatest Siege in British History

• UNABRIDGED (14 hrs and 58 mins)
• By Roy Adkins, Lesley Adkins
• Narrated By John Telfer
• Whispersync for Voice-ready

For over three and a half years, from 1779 to 1783, the tiny territory of Gibraltar was besieged and blockaded, on land and at sea, by the overwhelming forces of Spain and France. It became the longest siege in British history, and the obsession with saving Gibraltar was blamed for the loss of the American colonies in the War of Independence. Located between the Mediterranean and Atlantic, on the very edge of Europe, Gibraltar was a place of varied nationalities, languages, religions and social classes.

The Vatican and the Holy See: The History and Legacy of the Roman Catholic Church's Governing Body

• UNABRIDGED (1 hr and 33 mins)
• By Charles River Editors
• Narrated By Colin Fluxman
• Whispersync for Voice-ready

Every year, millions visit a stunning circuit board city starring gorgeous collections of interconnected rectangular buildings and charming houses in shades of beige, sandy-brown, and other earthy tones. Zoom in a little closer, and one can see the Renaissance-style exterior of its buildings and the exquisite detail captured in the statues mounted on the tops of its palaces and cathedrals.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa: The History and Legacy of Italy's Most Unique Building

• UNABRIDGED (1 hr and 34 mins)
• By Charles River Editors
• Narrated By Jim D Johnston

It may be human nature to strive for perfection, but flaws and imperfections can bring character and create unique, unrivaled beauty in a league of its own. Old scars, burns, pockmarks, and other so-called blemishes of the like serve as reminders of disasters and adversities one has survived, no matter how grave or trivial.

World War 2 Women: Incredible Stories and Accounts of World War 2 Women Spies, Heroes and Informers

• UNABRIDGED (1 hr and 1 min)
• By Cyrus J. Zachary
• Narrated By Rick Baverstock

Book two of the incredible stories and accounts of World War 2 women spies, heroes and informers! Clichéd though it may be, a human being's true strength of character is reflected in the most difficult of times. The world had to sit up and take note of just how strong a woman could be when the two world wars hit. This book chronicles the stories of four such women - Noor Inayat Khan, Krystyna Starbek, Virginia Hall, and Pearl Witherington - all of whom put their lives on the line for their countries.

Victoria & Abdul (Movie Tie-in): The True Story of the Queen's Closest Confidant

• UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 9 mins)
• By Shrabani Basu
• Narrated By Elizabeth Jasicki

Tall and handsome, Abdul was just 24 years old when he arrived in England from Agra to wait at tables for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. Within a year Abdul had grown to become a powerful figure at court; the queen's teacher, or Munshi; her counsel on Urdu and Indian affairs; and a friend close to the queen's heart. "I am so very fond of him," Queen Victoria would write in 1888. "He is so good and gentle and understanding...a real comfort to me."