Gentlemen Volunteers
The Story of the American Ambulance Drivers in the First World War
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Gentlemen Volunteers
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Narrated by:
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Sam LeMans
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By:
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Arlen J. Hansen
About this listen
The tale of the American volunteer ambulance drivers of the First World War is one of gallantry amid gore, manners amid madness. Until now this stirring example of wartime courage has been recounted only in fragments. Arlen J. Hansen's Gentlemen Volunteers brings to life the entire story of the men - and women - who formed the first ambulance corps, and who went on to redefine American culture.
Some were to become legends - Ernest Hemingway, E. E. Cummings, John Dos Passos, Malcolm Cowley, Walt Disney, Dashiell Hammett - but all were part of a generation seeking something greater and grander than what they could find at home.
What the volunteers found in France was carnage on an unprecedented scale. Shrapnel and barbed wire, the machine gun, flamethrower, and poison gas - all then-recent inventions - were producing casualties that overwhelmed medical facilities. Wounded soldiers spent hours, sometimes days, lying in squalor while waiting to be transported to hospitals on horse-drawn wagons. What was most critical was to get the wounded from the front lines to the field hospitals, and quickly. It was here that the ambulance drivers covered themselves in mud and glory.
Featuring firsthand accounts, letters and diaries, and a trove of previously unpublished and rare archival material, Gentlemen Volunteers is the definitive book on this fascinating chapter in American history.
©1996, 2011 The Estate of Arlen J. Hansen (P)2013 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Editorial reviews
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 81
This is the story of how America's first women soldiers helped win World War I, earned the vote, and fought the US Army. In 1918 the US Army Signal Corps sent 223 women to France. They were masters of the latest technology: the telephone switchboard. General John Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces, demanded female "wire experts" when he discovered that inexperienced doughboys were unable to keep him connected with troops under fire.
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5 out of 5 stars
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loved it, narrator pleasing to the ear,miles flew
- By jeff lilly on 02-24-19
By: Elizabeth Cobbs
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Forty-Seven Days
- How Pershing's Warriors Came of Age to Defeat the German Army in World War I
- By: Mitchell Yockelson
- Narrated by: Napoleon Ryan
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 84
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 75
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 76
The Battle of the Meuse-Argonne stands as the deadliest clash in American history: More than a million untested American soldiers went up against a better-trained and more experienced German army, costing more than 26,000 deaths and leaving nearly 100,000 wounded. Yet, in 47 days of intense combat, those Americans pushed back the enemy and forced the Germans to surrender, bringing the First World War to an end - a feat the British and the French had not achieved after more than three years of fighting.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Comprehensive history of The First Army in WWI
- By Bruce Miller on 03-08-18
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Spain in Our Hearts
- Americans in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939
- By: Adam Hochschild
- Narrated by: Henry Strozier
- Length: 15 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 582
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 523
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 523
For three crucial years in the 1930s, the Spanish Civil War dominated headlines in America and around the world as volunteers flooded to Spain to help its democratic government fight off a fascist uprising led by Francisco Franco and aided by Hitler and Mussolini. Today we're accustomed to remembering the war through Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls and Robert Capa's photographs. But Adam Hochschild has discovered some less familiar yet far more compelling characters who reveal the full tragedy and importance of the war.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great book very well written and narrated
- By James750 on 05-12-16
By: Adam Hochschild
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Hell and Good Company
- The Spanish Civil War and the World It Made
- By: Richard Rhodes
- Narrated by: Christian Coulson
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 96
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 84
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Story4 out of 5 stars 87
The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) inspired and haunted an extraordinary number of exceptional artists and writers, including Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro, Martha Gellhorn, Ernest Hemingway, George Orwell, and John Dos Passos. The idealism of the cause--defending democracy from fascism at a time when Europe was darkening toward another world war--and the brutality of the conflict drew from them some of their best work.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Awkward approach to a civil war
- By sabas on 01-17-17
By: Richard Rhodes
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Heroines of Mercy Street
- By: Pamela D. Toler PhD
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 76
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 66
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Story4 out of 5 stars 69
Heroines of Mercy Street tells the true stories of the nurses at Mansion House, the Alexandria, Virginia, mansion turned wartime hospital and setting for the new PBS drama Mercy Street. Among the Union soldiers, doctors, wounded men from both sides, freed slaves, politicians, speculators, and spies who passed through the hospital in the crossroads of the Civil War were nurses who gave their time freely and willingly to save lives and aid the wounded.
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4 out of 5 stars
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More of a history lesson.....
- By Wendy on 04-17-16
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The Good Man of Nanking
- The Diaries of John Rabe
- By: Edwin Wickert
- Narrated by: Anna Fields
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 113
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 95
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 95
This unique and gripping document contains the recently discovered diaries of a German businessman, John Rabe, who saved so many lives in the infamous siege of Nanking in 1937 that he is now being honored as the Oskar Schindler of China. As the Japanese army closed in and all foreigners were ordered to evacuate, Rabe mobilized the remaining Westerners in Nanking and organized an "International Safety Zone" which guaranteed safety to all unarmed Chinese by virtue of Germany's pact.
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4 out of 5 stars
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why is it narrated by a woman?
- By Anonymous User on 11-10-20
By: Edwin Wickert
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The Last of the Doughboys
- The Forgotten Generation and Their Forgotten World War
- By: Richard Rubin
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 20 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 334
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 309
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 312
They were the final survivors of the millions who made up the American Expeditionary Forces, nineteenth-century men and women living in the twenty-first century. Self-reliant, humble, and stoic, they kept their stories to themselves for a lifetime, then shared them at the last possible moment so that they, and the war they won - the trauma that created our modern world - might at last be remembered. You will never forget them.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Flawed But Worthwhile: History Buffs Should Get It
- By Jim on 01-12-14
By: Richard Rubin
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The Generals
- Patton, MacArthur, Marshall, and the Winning of World War II
- By: Winston Groom
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 16 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,542
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,398
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,396
Celebrated historian Winston Groom tells the intertwined and uniquely American tales of George Patton, Douglas MacArthur, and George Marshall - from the World War I battle that shaped them to their greatest achievement: leading the allies to victory in World War II.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Nothing new here
- By Mike From Mesa on 01-13-16
By: Winston Groom
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Donovan
- America’s Master Spy
- By: Richard Dunlop, William Stephenson - foreword
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 25 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 573
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 515
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 513
The fascinating biography of the man who laid the foundation for the CIA. One of the most celebrated and highly decorated heroes of World War I, a noted trial lawyer, presidential adviser and emissary, and chief of America’s Office of Strategic Services during World War II, William J. Donovan was a legendary figure. Donovan, originally published in 1982, penetrates the cloak of secrecy surrounding this remarkable man. The result is the definitive biography that Donovan himself had always expected Dunlop would write.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating Biography
- By Jean on 10-15-14
By: Richard Dunlop, and others
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The Women Who Wrote the War
- The Riveting Saga of World War II's Daredevil Women Correspondents
- By: Nancy Caldwell Sorel
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 14 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 34
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
Nancy Sorel’s portrait pays homage to these unsung heroes. They came from Boston, New York, Milwaukee, and St. Louis; from Yakima, Washington; Austin, Texas; and Sioux City, Iowa; from San Francisco and all points east. They left comfortable homes and safe surroundings for combat-zone duty. As women war correspondents, they brought to the battlefields of World War II a fresh optic, and reported back home what they witnessed with a new sensibility.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Nonfiction Account of WW2 Female News Reporters
- By DHackney on 08-30-13
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Hero: The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia
- By: Michael Korda
- Narrated by: Robin Sachs
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 426
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 329
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 330
Michael Korda's Hero is the story of an epic life on a grand scale: a revealing, in-depth, and gripping biography of the extraordinary, mysterious, and dynamic Englishman whose daring exploits and romantic profile, including his blond, sun-burnished good looks and flowing white robes, made him an object of intense fascination, still famous the world over as "Lawrence of Arabia".
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4 out of 5 stars
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Excellent book and narration
- By Ron L. Caldwell on 12-11-10
By: Michael Korda
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A More Unbending Battle
- The Harlem Hellfighter's Struggle for Freedom in WWI and Equality at Home
- By: Peter Nelson
- Narrated by: Jarvis Hooten
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 77
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 68
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 69
The night broke open in a storm of explosions and fire. The sound of shells whizzing overhead, screeching through the night like wounded pheasants, was terrifying. When the shells exploded prematurely overhead, a rain of shrapnel fell on the men below better than when the shells exploded in the trenches...
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great
- By Bryce Odell on 06-05-17
By: Peter Nelson
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Desert Redleg: Artillery Warfare in the First Gulf War
- American Warriors Series
- By: L. Scott Lingamfelter
- Narrated by: Bill Nevitt
- Length: 13 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 3
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3
When Saddam Hussein's Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, triggering the First Gulf War, a coalition of 35 countries led by the United States responded with Operation Desert Storm, which culminated in a 100-hour coordinated air strike and ground assault that repelled Iraqi forces from Kuwait. Though largely forgotten in descriptions of the war, an eight-day barrage of artillery fire made this seemingly rapid offensive possible. At the forefront of this offensive were the brave field artillerymen known as "redlegs".
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent account of the Gulf War.
- By Tim on 02-22-24
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Patton
- By: Alan Axelrod
- Narrated by: Brian Emerson
- Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 864
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 680
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 676
George S. Patton was a general who achieved greatness in his field by contradicting his own nature. A cavalryman steeped in romantic military tradition, he nevertheless pulled a reluctant American military into the most advanced realms of highly mobile armored warfare. An autocratic snob, Patton created unparalleled rapport and loyalty with the lowliest private in his command.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Odd Reading, Great Book
- By Chris Reich on 01-23-09
By: Alan Axelrod
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The Road to Kalamata
- By: Mike Hoare
- Narrated by: Mike Hoare
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 39
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 31
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 31
Col. Mike Hoare describes how his 4 Commando supported Moise Tshombe's breakaway state of Katanga against both the UN forces, and the Baluba tribesmen who used poison arrows, pit traps, marijuana, spells, jungle drums...and even reorted to ritual torture and cannibalism.
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5 out of 5 stars
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another great book by hoare
- By Chris on 08-29-24
By: Mike Hoare
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Patton, Montgomery, Rommel
- Masters of War
- By: Terry Brighton
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 15 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 364
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 231
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 234
In the Second World War, the United States, Great Britain, and Germany each produced one land-force commander who stood out from the rest: George Patton, Bernard Montgomery, and Erwin Rommel. All were arrogant, publicity seeking, and personally flawed, yet each possessed a genius for command and an unrivaled enthusiasm for combat.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent ... Patton, Montgomery, Rommel
- By John VandenBrook on 01-10-10
By: Terry Brighton
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Prevail
- The Inspiring Story of Ethiopia's Victory over Mussolini's Invasion, 1935-1941
- By: Jeff Pearce, Richard Pankhurst - foreword
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 24 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 70
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 64
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 64
It was the war that changed everything, and yet it's been mostly forgotten: in 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia. It dominated newspaper headlines and newsreels. It inspired mass marches in Harlem, a play on Broadway, and independence movements in Africa. As the British Navy sailed into the Mediterranean for a white-knuckle showdown with Italian ships, riots broke out in major cities all over the United States.
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1 out of 5 stars
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This is not a history, it's a package of anecdotes
- By M2 on 02-03-15
By: Jeff Pearce, and others