Showing results by narrator "Alan Munro" in History

In this book, you will learn how the author of the Federalist Papers and the first Secretary of the Treasury nearly ruined his career by fighting duels, seducing women, and getting involved in America's first sex scandal. The duel that killed Alexander Hamilton is the most famous duel in American history, but you'll have to come up with your own answer to its greatest mystery: who shot first, Hamilton or Burr?

A Dictionary of American Presidents Vol. 1: Presidents 1-24 George Washington to Grover Cleveland offers an introductory glimpse into the background, upbringing, education, and political agendas of every American president from the years following the Revolutionary War to the end of the 19th century and Reconstruction. The first in a two-volume collection, this book offers the reader the opportunity to trace the development of the United States and the office of the Presidency from its inception in 1789 to the brink of the 20th century. This lively, informative examination of the people and events that shaped the first one hundred years of the American presidency answers the question: what sort of person does it take to shepherd a new nation from its rocky, tumultuous beginnings, to an era of increasing international prestige and geographical expansion?

Mary Stuart became the Queen of Scots when she was only a week old. Two disastrous marriages, two sordid murders, and one abduction later, Mary Stuart went from being an adored and popular young queen to being the most hated woman in Scotland. Taken captive by her own lords and nobles, she was forced to abdicate the throne. In the end, the last queen of Scotland was forced to take refuge with the most dangerous woman in Britain: Elizabeth I.

When we think of Queen Victoria, whose reign eclipsed that of every British king and queen before her, we imagine the Widow of Windsor, reclusive in her palace, draped in permanent mourning for her beloved husband, Albert, the Prince Consort, who died in 1861. But this book takes the listener on a journey that starts before her marriage, before she came to be seen as the static icon of the age that bears her name.

Our goal is to provide you with an even, honest look at a brutal time period, not pulling any punches while also making sure that you are well informed about the reality of the Crusades and that ultimately you find that the modern attitude toward the Crusades grossly misunderstood just what went on in that era.

For 44 years, Elizabeth I guided England through religious upheavals and plots to overthrow the government. Courted by all the most powerful princes in Europe, she baffled her advisors by refusing to marry any of them. And when England stood under threat of invasion by the most powerful nation in Europe, Elizabeth's navy destroyed the Spanish Armada so decisively that it was seen as an act of God.

In this second exclusive volume of ancient leaders, we take an in-depth look at the lives, battles, and accomplishments of three more of the most renowned warrior leaders and the military strategies that made them legendary.

Three-foot-tall hairdos, "let them eat cake", and the guillotine: this is the sum total of what most people know about Marie Antoinette, the last Queen of France. The wife of King Louis XVI and the daughter of Maria Teresa, Holy Roman Empress, did indeed wear her hair three feet high, but she never said "let them eat cake". The foreign-born queen ignited a revolution, destroying a thousand year old monarchy - and the lives of everyone she loved.

Apart from Abraham Lincoln the most famous name of the Civil War is undoubtedly that of Ulysses S. Grant. He was the first Lieutenant General created by the American army since George Washington. After the war, he was the only president between Lincoln and Woodrow Wilson to be elected to two successive terms in office. His legacy as a military strategist is unparalleled to this day: American victory in the first and second World Wars was achieved by upholding the strategic doctrine of overwhelming force.

The tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales, triggered an unprecedented worldwide outpouring of grief from the public that adored her ever since she was first identified as the girlfriend of the Prince of Wales in 1981. Ever since August 31, 1997, people have struggled to account for the depth of the impact she seemed to have on people's hearts and minds.

Elizabeth II, at the age of 91, is the longest-reigning monarch ever to sit on the throne of England. Most people living today have no memory of a time when she was not Queen. But when she was born, no one knew she was destined to rule. Her father, the Duke of York, was only the second son of George V. His dashing playboy brother was Prince of Wales and heir to the throne. It wasn't until King Edward VIII abdicated his throne to marry Wallis Simpson in 1936 that the Princess Elizabeth, then ten years old, knew the course that her life was to take.

Katherine of Aragon: abandoned woman. Anne Boleyn: ambitious upstart. Jane Seymour: virtuous mother. Anne of Cleves: Flanders Mare. Katherine Howard: adulterous whore. Katherine Parr: the one that got away. These are our lingering historical afterimages of the six women who married Henry VIII over the course of his 36-year reign.

The Romanov family ruled as tsars and emperors of all Russia for just over 300 years - 19 men and women in total, some of them brilliant, some of them mad, most of them somewhere in between. The story of the Romanovs begins in Moscow in 1613, and ends in Ekaterinburg in 1918, at the beginning of a revolution, where Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, and their five children were slaughtered by a Soviet death squad.

Abraham Lincoln brought freedom to the slaves, and held the Union together during the Civil War. His profound and poetic speeches are famous around the world, evidence of the greatness of American's most beloved leader. But did you know that the 16th president of the United States was also a backwoods hillbilly from America's western frontier, with a Kentucky accent so thick you could cut it? Or that he liked wrestling matches, dirty jokes, and had a reputation for telling hilarious, R-rated stories?