The Charge of the Light Brigade
The History and Legacy of Europe's Most Famous Cavalry Charge
By: Charles River Editors
Narrated by: John Skinner
Categories: History, Europe
By: Orlando Figes
Narrated by: Malk Williams
The terrible conflict that dominated the mid-19th century, the Crimean War, killed at least 800,000 men and pitted Russia against a formidable coalition of Britain, France and the Ottoman Empire. It was a war for territory, provoked by fear that if the Ottoman Empire were to collapse then Russia could control a huge swathe of land from the Balkans to the Persian Gulf. But it was also a war of religion, driven by a fervent, populist and ever more ferocious belief by the Tsar and his ministers that it was Russia's task to rule all Orthodox Christians and control the Holy Land.
Outstanding History of the Crimean War
By Rick Sailor on 11-08-18
The Haitian Revolution
The History and Legacy of the Slave Uprising that Led to Haiti's Independence
Narrated by: Daniel Houle
The Haitian Revolution: The History and Legacy of the Slave Uprising that Led to Haiti's Independence chronicles how the only successful slave uprising came about, and why it ended French control of the island. You will learn about the revolution like never before.
The Battle of Leipzig: The History and Legacy of the Biggest Battle of the Napoleonic Wars
Narrated by: Phillip J. Mather
Two military setbacks, on a scale unprecedented in history, were required before the high tide of Napoleon's success began to ebb towards the final denouement of the Hundred Days and the famous Battle of Waterloo. The failed Russian invasion set the stage for the second defeat at Leipzig, which essentially sealed the fate of Napoleon's empire. The four-day Battle of Leipzig in October 1813, dubbed the "Battle of the Nations", essentially determined the course the Napoleonic Wars took from that moment forward.
Interesting book about this French hero.
By Susan Keefe on 05-17-15
On Desperate Ground
The Marines at the Reservoir, the Korean War's Greatest Battle
By: Hampton Sides
Narrated by: David Pittu
Hampton Sides' superb account of this epic clash in the Korean War relies on years of archival research, unpublished letters, declassified documents, and interviews with scores of marines and Koreans who survived the siege. While expertly detailing the follies of the American leaders, On Desperate Ground is an immediate, grunt's-eye view of history, enthralling in its narrative pace and powerful in its portrayal of what ordinary men are capable of in the most extreme circumstances.
The Chosen Battle: Its Heroes and Dastards
By William R. Todd-Mancillas (Name includes hyphen and camptalized M) on 10-05-18
Twilight of the Gods
War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945
By: Ian Toll
Narrated by: P.J. Ochlan
Twilight of the Gods is a riveting account of the harrowing last year of World War II in the Pacific, when the US Navy won the largest naval battle in history; MacArthur made good his pledge to return to the Philippines; waves of kamikazes attacked the Allied fleets; the Japanese fought to the last man on one island after another; B-29 bombers burned down Japanese cities; and Hiroshima and Nagasaki were vaporized. Toll's narratives of combat in the air, at sea, and on the beaches are gripping, but he also takes the listener into the halls of power in Washington and Tokyo.
Amazing Details
By Benjamin Casey on 09-14-20
A Continental History, 1750-1804
By: Alan Taylor
Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
The American Revolution is often portrayed as a high-minded, orderly event whose capstone, the Constitution, provided the ideal framework for a democratic, prosperous nation. Alan Taylor, two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, gives us a different creation story in this magisterial history of the nation's founding. Rising out of the continental rivalries of European empires and their native allies, Taylor's Revolution builds like a ground fire overspreading Britain's mainland colonies, fueled by local conditions, destructive, hard to quell.
Best book on the American Revolution that I have read
By Peter Stephens on 11-16-16
Tiny Blunders/Big Disasters
Thirty-Nine Tiny Mistakes That Changed the World Forever
By: Jared Knott
Narrated by: Stephen Bowlby
How often does a single tiny mistake cause an entire civilization to collapse? More often than you think! Listeners of Jared Knott's book Tiny Blunders/Big Disasters will be amazed at the little things that changed history in a big way.
Very, very interesting facts
By dexter on 11-02-21
The Civil War: A Narrative, Volume I, Fort Sumter to Perryville
By: Shelby Foote
Narrated by: Grover Gardner
The Civil War: A Narrative, Volume 1 begins one of the most remarkable works of history ever fashioned. All the great battles are here, of course, from Bull Run through Shiloh, the Seven Days Battles, and Antietam, but so are the smaller ones: Ball's Bluff, Fort Donelson, Pea Ridge, Island Ten, New Orleans, and Monitor versus Merrimac.
One of the great literary achievements of all time
By Judd Bagley on 01-09-09
The History of Four Days, Three Armies, and Three Battles
By: Bernard Cornwell
Narrated by: Bernard Cornwell, Dugald Bruce Lockhart
From the New York Times best-selling author comes the definitive history of one of the greatest battles ever fought - a riveting nonfiction chronicle published to commemorate the two-hundredth anniversary of Napoleon's last stand.
Not a close run thing!
By carl801 on 05-13-15
By: Stephen Sears
Narrated by: Ed Sala
Best-selling author and acclaimed Civil War expert Stephen W. Sears, hailed by The New York Times Book Review as "arguably the preeminent living historian of the war's eastern theater," crafts what will stand the test of time as the definitive history of the greatest battle ever fought on American soil. Drawing on years of research, Sears focuses on the big picture, capturing the entire essence of the momentous three day struggle while offering fresh insights that will surprise even the best versed Civil War buffs.
The Storyteller's Craft and the Scholar's Care
By John on 02-18-17
The Face of Battle
By: John Keegan
Narrated by: Simon Vance
In this major and wholly original contribution to military history, John Keegan reverses the usual convention of writing about war in terms of generals and nations in conflict, which tends to leave the common soldier as cipher. Instead, he focuses on what a set battle is like for the man in the thick of it.
Amazing! But probably better in print.
By D. Martin on 04-20-13
The Early Morning of War: Bull Run, 1861 (Campaigns and Commanders Series)
By: Edward G. Longacre
Narrated by: Aaron Killian
When Union and Confederate forces squared off along Bull Run on July 21, 1861, the Federals expected this first major military campaign would bring an early end to the Civil War. But when Confederate troops launched a strong counterattack, both sides realized the war would be longer and costlier than anticipated. First Bull Run, or First Manassas, set the stage for four years of bloody conflict that forever changed the political, social, and economic fabric of the nation. It also introduced the commanders, tactics, and weaponry that would define the American way of war through the turn of the twentieth century.
any student of history will like this
By Bobcat286 on 08-28-18
Devil of a Whipping
The Battle of Cowpens
By: Lawrence Babits
Narrated by: Knighton Bliss
The battle of Cowpens was a crucial turning point in the Revolutionary War in the South and stands as perhaps the finest American tactical demonstration of the entire war. On January 17, 1781, Daniel Morgan's force of Continental troops and militia routed British regulars and Loyalists under the command of Banastre Tarleton. The victory at Cowpens helped put the British army on the road to the Yorktown surrender and, ultimately, cleared the way for American independence.
Don't forget the reference downloads!
By Jeff on 01-22-10
The Seven Days
The Emergence of Robert E. Lee and the Dawn of a Legend
By: Clifford Dowdey
Narrated by: Nicholas Tecosky
The Seven Days Campaign was a series of battles fought near Richmond at the end of June 1862. General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia had routed General George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac. Depriving McClellan of a military decision meant the war would continue for two more years. The Seven Days depicts a critical turning point in the Civil War that would ingrain Robert E. Lee in history as one of the finest generals of all time.
Good book, narration distracting.
By Terri on 02-07-13
The Longest Afternoon
The 400 Men Who Decided the Battle of Waterloo
By: Brendan Simms
Narrated by: Michael Page
In 1815 deposed emperor Napoleon returned to France and threatened the already devastated and exhausted continent with yet another war. Near the small Belgian municipality of Waterloo, two large, hastily mobilized armies faced each other to decide the future of Europe--Napoleon's forces on one side, and the Duke of Wellington's on the other.
The Germans Won Waterloo
By Michael on 07-08-15
The British Soldier from the Restoration to Waterloo
By: Saul David
Narrated by: Sean Barrett
The unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Saul David's comprehensive history, All the King's Men: The British Soldier from the Restoration to Waterloo, read by the actor Sean Barrett. "The British soldier," wrote a Prussian officer who served with Wellington, "is vigorous, well fed, by nature highly brave and intrepid, trained to the most vigorous discipline, and admirably well-armed...
By Mark Henman on 09-03-12
Texian Iliad: A Military History of the Texas Revolution
Texas Classics
By: Stephen L. Hardin
Narrated by: A.T. Chandler
Hardly were the last shots fired at the Alamo before the Texas Revolution entered the realm of myth and controversy. French visitor Frederic Gaillardet called it a "Texian Iliad" in 1839, while American Theodore Sedgwick pronounced the war and its resulting legends "almost burlesque."
Author writes history from a biased view
By Greg Wilkinson on 04-24-19
Washington's Immortals
The Untold Story of an Elite Regiment Who Changed the Course of the Revolution
By: Patrick K. O'Donnell
Narrated by: William Hughes
In August 1776, a little over a month after the Continental Congress had formally declared independence from Britain, the revolution was on the verge of a sudden and disastrous end. General George Washington found his troops outmanned and outmaneuvered at the Battle of Brooklyn, and it looked like there was no escape. But thanks to a series of desperate rear-guard attacks by a single heroic regiment, famously known as the Immortal 400, Washington was able to evacuate his men, and the nascent Continental Army lived to fight another day.
By Robert Everman on 04-26-16
The Charge of the Light Brigade is the most famous British cavalry charge in history, possibly also eclipsing the renown of any other mounted attack conducted by the armed forces of other nations in the general imagination. This cavalry action is certainly remembered far more vividly than the 1854 Battle of Balaclava during which it occurred, and even the wider Crimean War that led to the battle.
Of course, the prominence of the Charge in popular and historical memory is due primarily to Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem describing the events of that distant late October afternoon. The bearded Poet Laureate crafted a powerful, gripping poetic narrative that fixed the encounter firmly in both the popular imagination and in the English literary oeuvre. Millions of people who know nothing else of the Crimean War between Great Britain and the Russian Empire are familiar with Tennyson's memorable verses.
At the same time, however, his words also created a narrative about the combat which has obscured much contrary evidence, replacing fact with legend and completely obscuring the true significance of the Charge of the Light Brigade. Indeed, its perception by historians and depiction in history books has been massively influenced by the sheer artistic power of Tennyson's poem. Sober historians have unwitting cherry-picked the existing original documents to support Tennyson's "version" of the events while disregarding much contrary evidence that provides a very different perspective of the Light Brigade's attack.
©2012 Charles River Editors (P)2015 Charles River Editors
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What listeners say about The Charge of the Light Brigade
Jessica Tampa FL
I enjoyed this modern retelling of the story
I enjoyed this modern retelling of the story. The linkages to modern historical facts was useful.