11 Days in December: Christmas at the Bulge, 1944

Posted by admin on December 6th, 2007 filed in History Audio Books, Audio Books, History General

In December 1944, the Allied forces thought their campaign for securing Europe was in its final stages. But Germany had one last great surprise attack still planned. Here is the unforgettable story of one of the grimmest points of World War II and its miraculous Christmas Eve turn toward victory.

"A compact, fast-moving account of those critical days.Weintraub’s use of the
letters and diaries of "lesser" soldiers enlivens his account and makes this a particularly poignant
saga of men in war."Booklist11 Days in December tells the unforgettable story of one of the grimmest points of World
War II and its Christmas Eve turn toward victory.

In December 1944, the Allied forces thought their campaign for securing Europe was in its final
stages. But Germany had one last great surprise attack still planned, leading to some of the
most intense fighting in World War II: the Battle of the Bulge. After ten days of horrific weather
conditions and warfare, General Patton famously asked God, "Sir, whose side are you on?" For
the next four days, as the skies cleared, the Allies could fly again, the Nazis were contained,
and the outcome of the war was ensured.

Renowned historian and author Stanley Weintraub weaves together the stories of ordinary soldiers
and their generals to recreate this dramatic, crucial narrative of a miraculous shift of luck in the
midst of the most significant war of the modern era.

11 Days in December: Christmas at the Bulge, 1944 by Stanley Weintraub

Tags:History Audio Books,Stanley Weintraub,audio books,history

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Undaunted Courage

Posted by admin on December 4th, 2007 filed in History Audio Books, Audio Books, History General

In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson selected his personal secretary, Captain Meriwether Lewis, to lead a voyage up the Missouri River, across the forbidding Rockies, and — by way of the Snake and mighty Columbia — down to the Pacific Ocean. Lewis and his partner, Captain William Clark, endured incredible hardships and witnessed astounding sights. With great perseverance, they worked their way into an unexplored West and when they returned two years later, they had long since been given up for dead.

Lewis is supported by a variety of colorful characters: Jefferson and his vision of the West; Clark, the artist and map-maker; and Lewis — the enigma, who let brilliantly but considered the mission a failure After suffering several periods of depression — and despite his status as a national hero — Lewis died mysteriously, apparently by his own hand.

Listen to Undaunted Courage, 22 hours unabridged audio book

Tags:American history,Thomas Jefferson,history

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History of Classical Music

Posted by admin on November 6th, 2007 filed in History Audio Books, Audio Books, History General

History,Music related history,Richard Fawkes

From Gregorian Chant to Henryk Gorecki, the first living classical composer to get into the pop album charts, here is the fascinating story of over a thousand years of Western classical music and the composers who have sought to express in music the deepest of human feelings and emotions. Polyphony, sonata form, serial music - many musical expressions are also explained - with the text illustrated by performances from some of the most highly praised recordings of recent years.

Music of the western classical tradition spans some fourteen centuries, from the emergence of Gregorian chant to the sounds of the present day. The range covered is extraordinary - the sacred and the secular, the massive spectaculars of the opera stage and the darkly intensive world of the string quartet.

But there was a gradual development, one that reflected the times in which the composers lived and worked. It is the purpose of this History to give an overview, to draw the multifaceted threads together and provide a background to our present musical experience.

Medieval and Renaissance Periods
Western classical music, like drama, began in church with the chanting of monks. Out of this plainchant grew choral polyphony -many sounds - as the vocal line was embellished and developed. As composers became interested in rhythm, contrast, harmony and music with words not taken directly from the mass, new vocal forms were introduced. This was the age of the motet, the madrigal, the chanson and carols. Slowly too, instruments began to be incorporated into musical performance and composers began to write for ensembles. From dance came the idea of musical contrast, and the seeds of all later music were sown.

Baroque and Classical Periods
The musical form above all others that came from the Baroque period was opera, a form reflecting the time’s love of theatrical excess. Even religious music was written to be staged, hence the development of the oratorio and the chorale, while the increasing virtuosity of instrumentalists led to the formation of orchestras and the development of the concerto grosso.

Taken up by composers of the classical period, the concerto grosso became the symphony the contrast of a soloist against an ensemble became the concerto, and, at the other end of the scale, the sonata and the string quartet came into being.

The Romantic Period
Romantic composers believed that music was an expression of their inner feelings and so they produced music that was wild, tempestuous and often tried to tell a story. Tone-poems, programme symphonies and large scale concertos became their hallmark. Increasing nationalism was reflected not just in the use of folk tunes in orchestral music but also in the subject matter of operas.

And if there was one instrument above all others that the Romantics claimed as their own it was the piano. Many composers, like Liszt and Chopin, were virtuoso performers who wrote their pieces to show off their own talents.

The 20th Century
The 20th century is the most confusing of all musical periods. It is a century in which the old empires crumbled, the world map was redrawn by two world wars, and in which there are still nationalist conflicts. It is also a century in which man has walked on the moon. The immense political and scientific changes have been reflected in art and in music as composers have sought to find a new musical voice.

From the atonalism of Schoenberg to the rhythmic experiments of Stravinsky, from the aural impressionism of Debussy to the electronic world of Varese, composers have tried to examine what music is and how it relates to life. Some of these experiments have taken music away from popular taste, others have proved to be a dead end; but all have contributed in some measure to the mainstream so that classical music now is as rich, vibrant and diverse as it has ever been.

Listen to sample  of The History of Classical Music

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Churchill Remembered

Posted by admin on October 29th, 2007 filed in History Audio Books, Audio Books, History General

Churchill,biography,historical,British,Military,Politics,audio books

A fascinating and illuminating audio portrait of the life and career of one of Britain’s greatest leaders, recounted by those who knew him and in his own words from the BBC archive.

Churchill Remembered draws on a wealth of archive broadcasts by, among others, Robert Booth by, Violet Bonham Carter, Nancy Astor, Oswald Mosley and Churchill himself, and encompasses the whole of his extraordinary life.

‘We Churchills die at forty’ said Winston in 1908, ‘and I want to put something more on the slate before then.’ By the time he died in 1965, the slate was full .

From the outset of his career Churchill was ambitious and eager for action. He achieved fame and popularity through his dispatches from the Boer War, and in 1900 was elected MP for Oldham. Until the outbreak of war in 1939 Churchill was loved and loathed in equal measure. Critics and supporters alike recognised his vision, but often questioned his judgement. In the thirties, his out-of-touch views on subjects such as Indian nationalism meant that his warnings on German militarism were not taken seriously.

On the day Churchill took office as Prime Minister, Hitler invaded the low countries; by mid-June France had fallen, A lesser man would have been overwhelmed. Even his opponents do not doubt his greatness as a leader during the Second World War, But the 1945 election brought a shock defeat. Despite this setback, in I 951 at the age of 77 he returned to serve a second term as Prime Minister.

NB: Due to the age and the off-air source of some recordings, the sound quality may at times vary.

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Thomas Jefferson

Posted by admin on September 11th, 2007 filed in History Audio Books, Audio Books, History General

Thomas Jefferson,Declaration of Independence,American history,President of the United States

Thomas Jefferson is one of those almost mythic figures from early American history that stand tall as one of the great heroes of the revolution and the early definition of what this country was going to become. Sometimes it’s easy to look at a figure that stands so tall in history and think, perhaps some of that is myth. But when you look at the history of the times, he was every bit as great as our adoration of him suggests he was.

Thomas Jefferson’s service to the new American union lasted over fifty years. He not only contributed to the core philosophical underpinnings upon which our democracy I based, he served in a variety of offices and made some phenomenal contributions to the developing country including…

• 1775 - Served in the Continental Congress
• 1776 – Wrote the Declaration of Independence
• 1779-1781 - Governor of Virginia
• 1783 – Elected to Congress
• 1784-1789 – Commissioner and minister to France
• 1790-1793 – America’s first Secretary of State under George Washington
• 1797-1801 – Served as Vice President of the United States
• 1801-1809 – Third President of the United States
• 1803 – Approved of and helped launch the Lewis and Clark Expedition
• 1803 – Purchased the Louisiana Territory for the United States
• 1815 – Launched the Library of Congress
• 1825 – founded the University of Virginia

This phenomenal record of achievement is virtually unmatched in any public service record of comparable public servants. But Jefferson’s contribution were more than just offices served, he was one or two or three key philosophical thinkers of his time that laid the ideological foundations of America.

It is impossible to overemphasize the accomplishment he writing the Declaration of Independence. This document has taken on such a central position in American history that it is viewed with the reverence usually reserved for religious documents. It so eloquently communicates the beliefs and the values of the American system of government that Jefferson can be seen as a true minister and prophet of those ideals.

Thomas Jefferson also believed strongly in Manifest Destiny and the westward expansion of the country as far as the Pacific Ocean. He provided the inspiration, the funding and the political muscle to launch the famed Lewis and Clark Expedition that was responsible for discovering vast new lands and treasures in the heartland of America and providing inspiration to a country to “go west young man” and to achieve that dream of becoming a nation that stretched “for sea to shining sea”.

Jefferson’s War: America’s Frist War on Terror 1801-1805  History
Two centuries ago, without congressional or public debate, a president who is thought of today as peaceable, Thomas Jefferson, launched America’s first war on foreign soil, a war against terror

Jefferson had a thirst for knowledge that was virtually unquenchable. He passed that passion for learning on in the building of the University of Virginia. But his contribution to education that has made such a huge mark on American society was the building of the American library system by which citizens of any community can have access to large volumes of information at no cost. It was an amazing experiment in public education. But today few of us can imagine a world where we cannot at any time just “go check it out at the library”. Libraries have become that central to the American way of life.

It seems that Thomas Jefferson made an impact on every aspect of society from the educational systems of the growing country to government and even making his viewpoints on religious freedom an important part of how America approached this crucial topic. The entire concept of “separation of church and state” was one that Jefferson championed.

It should be noted that in his writings it was clear that the separation of church and state works because it is there to restrict government from illegally restricting the religious rights of citizens. Sometimes we misinterpret Jefferson’s concepts that this governmental restriction is there to limit religious freedom when in fact, it is there to encourage all the religious freedom that the citizens of America need to honor and worship with complete openness and to never fear that the government will hinder who, what, when, where or how they go about expressing their religious ideas.

It’s important to look back at the genius of this man, Thomas Jefferson and be grateful that he was the man of the hour for such an important time in the development of the great nation of the United States of America.

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Thomas Jefferson

Posted by admin on September 11th, 2007 filed in History Audio Books, Audio Books, History General

Thomas Jefferson,Declaration of Independence,American history,President of the United States

Thomas Jefferson is one of those almost mythic figures from early American history that stand tall as one of the great heroes of the revolution and the early definition of what this country was going to become. Sometimes it’s easy to look at a figure that stands so tall in history and think, perhaps some of that is myth. But when you look at the history of the times, he was every bit as great as our adoration of him suggests he was.

Thomas Jefferson’s service to the new American union lasted over fifty years. He not only contributed to the core philosophical underpinnings upon which our democracy I based, he served in a variety of offices and made some phenomenal contributions to the developing country including…

• 1775 - Served in the Continental Congress
• 1776 – Wrote the Declaration of Independence
• 1779-1781 - Governor of Virginia
• 1783 – Elected to Congress
• 1784-1789 – Commissioner and minister to France
• 1790-1793 – America’s first Secretary of State under George Washington
• 1797-1801 – Served as Vice President of the United States
• 1801-1809 – Third President of the United States
• 1803 – Approved of and helped launch the Lewis and Clark Expedition
• 1803 – Purchased the Louisiana Territory for the United States
• 1815 – Launched the Library of Congress
• 1825 – founded the University of Virginia

This phenomenal record of achievement is virtually unmatched in any public service record of comparable public servants. But Jefferson’s contribution were more than just offices served, he was one or two or three key philosophical thinkers of his time that laid the ideological foundations of America.

It is impossible to overemphasize the accomplishment he writing the Declaration of Independence. This document has taken on such a central position in American history that it is viewed with the reverence usually reserved for religious documents. It so eloquently communicates the beliefs and the values of the American system of government that Jefferson can be seen as a true minister and prophet of those ideals.

Thomas Jefferson also believed strongly in Manifest Destiny and the westward expansion of the country as far as the Pacific Ocean. He provided the inspiration, the funding and the political muscle to launch the famed Lewis and Clark Expedition that was responsible for discovering vast new lands and treasures in the heartland of America and providing inspiration to a country to “go west young man” and to achieve that dream of becoming a nation that stretched “for sea to shining sea”.

Jefferson’s War: America’s Frist War on Terror 1801-1805  History
Two centuries ago, without congressional or public debate, a president who is thought of today as peaceable, Thomas Jefferson, launched America’s first war on foreign soil, a war against terror

Jefferson had a thirst for knowledge that was virtually unquenchable. He passed that passion for learning on in the building of the University of Virginia. But his contribution to education that has made such a huge mark on American society was the building of the American library system by which citizens of any community can have access to large volumes of information at no cost. It was an amazing experiment in public education. But today few of us can imagine a world where we cannot at any time just “go check it out at the library”. Libraries have become that central to the American way of life.

It seems that Thomas Jefferson made an impact on every aspect of society from the educational systems of the growing country to government and even making his viewpoints on religious freedom an important part of how America approached this crucial topic. The entire concept of “separation of church and state” was one that Jefferson championed.

It should be noted that in his writings it was clear that the separation of church and state works because it is there to restrict government from illegally restricting the religious rights of citizens. Sometimes we misinterpret Jefferson’s concepts that this governmental restriction is there to limit religious freedom when in fact, it is there to encourage all the religious freedom that the citizens of America need to honor and worship with complete openness and to never fear that the government will hinder who, what, when, where or how they go about expressing their religious ideas.

It’s important to look back at the genius of this man, Thomas Jefferson and be grateful that he was the man of the hour for such an important time in the development of the great nation of the United States of America.

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Politically Incorrect Guide to American History - Thomas E. Woods, Jr., Ph.D. History

Posted by admin on September 7th, 2007 filed in History Audio Books, Audio Books, History General

american history,history audio books,audiobooks,Thomas E. Woods

Politically Incorrect Guide to American History - Thomas E. Woods, Jr., Ph.D. History

"Knowing our past is essential if we are to preserve our freedoms. Professor Woods’s work
heroically rescues real history from the politically correct memory hole. Every American should read this
book."Ron Paul, M.D., U.S. House of Representatives

"An important work that refutes the misrepresentations of American history that have misinformed generations
about their country, its origins, purposes, successes, and failures. Riveting, highly readable."Paul Craig Roberts,
former assistant secretary of the U.S. Treasury

Everythingwell, almost everythingyou know about American history is wrong because most textbooks and
popular history books are written by left-wing academic historians who treat their biases as fact. But fear not;
Professor Thomas Woods refutes the popular myths in The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History.

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Band of Brothers - Stephen E. Ambrose History / American

Posted by admin on August 26th, 2007 filed in History Audio Books, Audio Books, History General

history audiobooks,military history,American history

Band of Brothers

Band of Brothers - Stephen E. Ambrose History / American

Easy Company, 506th Airborne Division, U.S. Army, was as good a rifle company as any in the world. From their rigorous training in Georgia in 1942 to D-Day and victory, Ambrose tells the story of this remarkable company, which kept getting the tough assignments. Easy Company was responsible for everything from parachuting into France early D-Day morning to the capture of Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest at Berchtesgaden.

Band of Brothers is the account of the men of this remarkable unit who fought, went hungry, froze, and died, a company that took 150 percent casualties and considered the Purple Heart a badge of office. Drawing on hours of interviews with survivors as well as the soldiers’ journals and letters, Stephen Ambrose tells the stories—often in the men’s own words—of these American heroes.

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Your Money or Your Life

Posted by admin on July 8th, 2007 filed in History Audio Books, History General

Neil Cavuto is one of the few on television who takes his stock in trade - Wall Street - and combines that with his reporting and commentary about life into the same program. It’s done with passion, honesty, and credibility.

‘Treat yourself to the commentary that sets Neil apart from all the rest in Your Money or Your Life ‘.  — Rush Limbaugh

As the host of Fox News Channel’s Your World with Neil Cavuto and Cavuto on Business , Neil Cavuto reports on today’s most influential newsmakers, from CEOs to politicians—getting behind the story by connecting with the men and women who made it. And he ends each show with his own personal commentaries —sometimes witty, often inspiring, and always incisive and thought-provoking. Now, Cavuto collects the best of these essays in one volume, on topics that range from business to family to civility in public life.

Among the essays:

• Where Were You on September 10, 2001 ?… on remembering what America was like before 9/11
• We Are What We Eat… on fast food, lawsuits, and personal responsibility
• Why I Don’t Trust My Uncle Sam… on how the surplus of the 1990s was bound to disappear
• Tony Soprano for Fed Chairman… on what Alan Greenspan could learn from the mob
• Tips for Empty Nesters… on how to cope when your kids leave you behind

Covering one of the most tumultuous decades in memory—from the wild and chaotic Clinton years through the sobering challenges of the ongoing War on Terror— Cavuto’s words offer a window into our America at its best and its worst.

Neil Cavuto is the host of the Fox News Channel programs Your World with Neil Cavuto and Cavuto on Business and is the vice president and managing editor of business news at the network. Also the author of the NewYork Times bestseller More Than Money , Cavuto has been ranked among the most influential business journalists in America by the Journalist and Financial Reporter, and recognized by the Wall Street Journal as the best interviewer in business news. He lives in Chester, New Jersey, with his wife, Mary, and their three children.

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100 People Who Are Screwing Up America

Posted by admin on June 20th, 2007 filed in History Audio Books, History General

Bernard Goldberg takes dead aim at the America Bashers (the cultural elites who look down their snobby noses at “ordinary” Americans and detest so much of what this country is about)…the Hollywood Blowhards (incredibly ditzy celebrities who think they’re smart just because they’re famous)…the TV Schlockmeisters (including the one whose show has been compared to a churning mass of maggots devouring rotten meat)…the Intellectual Thugs (big-wigs at some of our best colleges, whose views run the gamut from left-wing to far left-wing)…and many more.

Goldberg names names, profiling the villains in his rogues’ gallery, one by one, from 100 down to 1 — and yes, you-know-who is #37. But Goldberg doesn’t just round up the usual suspects we have come to know and detest. He also exposes some of the people who operate away from the limelight but still manage to pull a lot of strings and do all sorts of harm to our culture.

100 People Who Are Screwing Up America is about a country where as long as anything goes, sooner or later everything will go.