Showing results by author "Hourly History" in All Categories

Robert E. Lee was a hero to some and a villain to others. For one side, he embodied the rebellion of the slave-holding South which had seceded from the Union; for the other side, he was a champion of the little guy, willing to marshal the forces of liberty to stand up against the federal government. How in the world do we get such divergent views on one single man?

Long-time adversaries Germany and the Soviet Union put their hostilities to the test in World War II. Despite a temporary truce in the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Non-aggression Pact in 1939, the Germans and the Soviets knew that the time was coming when they would face one another on the battlefield. But Operation Barbarossa was the beginning of the downfall of the Third Reich, as the dogged Russian refusal to succumb and the menace of the Russian winter demonstrated that the Soviet Union would not surrender as other European nations had done.

The first American president born to immigrant parents, Jackson was the embodiment of the new blood which infused the American spirit in the early 19th century. Jacksonian democracy invigorated the national government and became a foundation of the modern political process. Controversial and complicated, Andrew Jackson's life is worthy of examination. To understand America, it’s vital to understand Andrew Jackson.

When Confucius spoke, people listened, and they still listen today. The wisdom of this Chinese philosopher, teacher, politician, and writer still rings as true today as it did over 2,000 years ago. Who was the legend who has become revered as a sage throughout the ages? To put it shortly, he was a simple man. Confucius was born into poverty, but at an early age he came to value education, integrity, and moral behavior. This audiobook tells the story of the life of the world-renowned philosopher and scholar, and it describes the tenets of his philosophy in a succinct manner.

The bloodiest battle of the Civil War was also its turning point. From this point onwards, the Confederate forces would never gain a hold in the North again. Heroes would be born from places such as Little Roundtop and among the soldiers of Picketts Charge. And later, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, martyrs were created in the aftermath of the conflict, giving reason to a war that no one quite believed in fully until this point.

She vigorously played the dumb-blonde stereotype in her movie roles, but there is nothing at all dumb about Marilyn Monroe. Born to a single mother who suffered from severe mental illness, the odds were stacked against the girl originally named Norma Jeane from the very beginning. She became a ward of the state and bounced around from foster home to foster home. The fact that she rose from such impoverished beginnings to become one of the top-billed acts in Hollywood speaks for itself.

The most notorious man in history, Adolf Hitler, is best known for having perpetrated crimes against humanity over the six-year course of World War II. His brutal extermination policies are responsible for the deaths of close to 30 million people he considered inferior, and added to that, the military casualties suffered by all parties, yields a grand total of approximately 60 million people dead by the end of the war. That number equates to 3% of the world's population at the time. But, who was this man? What made him into the monster he became? Can his childhood explain the formation of such a brutal dictator?

Discover the remarkable life of Crazy Horse... Famed Lakota warrior Crazy Horse was more than just a fearless fighter—he was a symbol of resistance and commitment to his people’s way of life. During his life, the Lakota faced relentless pressure from all sides. Rival tribes waged war over land and resources while waves of US settlers, backed by an ever-growing military presence, pushed further into their territory on the Great Plains. Despite these challenges, Crazy Horse stood unwavering, fighting not for personal glory but for the survival of his people and their homeland.

The American Revolution not only changed the continent of North America, but the ideas it represented would go on to change the world. The notion of a state where individual liberty was guaranteed to all citizens and where hereditary positions of power did not exist would directly lead to the French Revolution and to other movements around the world that sought to bring fundamental political and societal changes.

A little over 2000 years ago a man named Julius Caesar changed the world. Even if you have never heard of him, his lasting legacy has no doubt had an impact on your life. Even the very calendar that you use is based upon the system he created, with the month of July bearing his name. So who was this man that single-handedly changed the course of history? This audiobook follows the life and legacy of the man whose life stood between Republic and Empire.

With his delicate phraseology and deft massaging of truth and deception, Joseph Goebbels was the mouthpiece of a monstrous regime, dishing out propaganda for Nazi Germany throughout World War II. It was his mission to entirely subsume the consciousness of the German people with the warped ideals of the Nazi Party. Through this means, he convinced everyday Germans to look the other way while some of the worst atrocities in history were committed.

John Denver was a musician with a roving free spirit. He left on a jet plane and promised to be back again. Just like the seasons, he went through plenty of changes, but he always returned to the source of his inspiration. John Denver was inspired by nature and the love of life in general. He wrote songs about how sunshine made him happy, and how the natural disposition of Mother Earth made him high.

What would become the nation of Yugoslavia was created in the turbulent period following the end of World War I in 1918, but ended 74 years later in the chaos of another war. In its relatively brief history, Yugoslavia endured invasion during World War II and a range of styles of leadership that included an autocratic king, an even more autocratic socialist dictator, as well as brief periods of parliamentary democracy.

The Mitanni Empire came to prominence at a time when the Egyptians, the Hittites, and the Assyrians were all angling for supremacy. Mitanni made alliances and conquered other lands, excelled at the military art of charioteering, suffered invasions, endured assassinations, and saw a dynasty rise and fall. For more than 3,000 years, the Mitanni Empire remained largely forgotten. Recently, archaeological excavations and translations of ancient texts have shed some light on these remarkable people who were the equals of their more-famous peers in Egypt, Hatti, and Assyria.

Doc Holliday didn’t begin his career as a gunslinger. The fact that he was known as “Doc” speaks to his first profession. For as sure and true as his aim might have been, his initial career path did not involve shooting bullets—it involved pulling teeth. He was a dentist by trade who ended up becoming a gambler and gunslinger by necessity.

On September 11, 2001, the United States faced the most devastating terrorist attack in world history when members of al-Qaeda, an Islamist fundamentalist movement, hijacked four commercial airliners and crashed them into buildings in New York and Washington, DC. Nearly 3,000 people died in these attacks, and one month later, US President George W. Bush announced the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom, a military operation intended to remove the Taliban in Afghanistan and ensure that terrorists from al-Qaeda had no safe haven in that country.

For many, she was simply the last of King Henry VIII’s many wives, but Catherine Parr was much more than that. She had a unique and incredible history all of her own. Catherine was a dynamic figure who survived more than her fair share of hardship. Even before she married Henry, she found herself caught up in the drama of England’s Reformation, and at one point, she was even held hostage in her own home by religious radicals.

Nikola Tesla was a major figure in the world in which he lived. As the 19th century gave way to the 20th, it was Tesla who would contribute to some of the world's most amazing inventions. It was Tesla's theories, patents, and experiments that would pave the way for the digital, wireless world we are so familiar with today. Tesla didn't enjoy the high honors bestowed on so many of his contemporaries, yet he enjoyed the power of knowing that it was his inventions that were powering the world, literally.

In the face of ruthless totalitarian rule, it is only the rare few who stand up at risk of their own life to do what is right. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one of those exceptional individuals. Even on pain of death, he would not bend, he would not budge - this German pastor fought the Nazi regime with every fiber of his being.

As the tee-shirt slogans say, “If you can read this, thank the Phoenicians". The Phoenician achievements include creating the world’s first alphabet, which consisted of 22 consonant letters. If you’re sipping wine as you read, that’s another reason to thank the Phoenicians. From their travels, they learned which grapes were most suited for winemaking and spread those vines to the places along their trading routes. The Phoenicians were the masters of the Mediterranean Sea.