No Ordinary Joes
The Extraordinary True Story of Four Submariners in War and Love and Life
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $18.91
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Robert Fass
-
By:
-
Larry Colton
About this listen
Their names were Bob Palmer, Gordy Cox, Tim McCoy, and Chuck Vervalin, and in 1941, when they joined the Navy, they were not trying to prove their patriotism - they were just looking for a job that would provide "three hots and a cot". But on April 22, 1943, the war took a terrible turn for them. While on patrol deep in enemy waters, their submarine, the USS Grenadier, was torpedoed and sent crashing to the ocean floor. Listed as lost in action and given up for dead, all four had in fact miraculously escaped the ship, only to be captured by the Japanese. The four men spent the next two and a half years as POWs, enduring barbaric torture and starvation, unable to communicate with their wives and families. When they were freed, they were forced to find a new kind of resilience as they struggled to resume their lives in a world that seemed to have forgotten them.
In Bob’s case, it would be more than 30 years before he was reunited with the love of his life - the wife who had left him for a well-bred naval officer after he came back from the war.
By turns panoramic and intimate, No Ordinary Joes shows us, through the lives of four "ordinary" men who endured extraordinary circumstances, the tragedy of war and its aftermath, and the restorative power of love.
©2010 Larry Colton (P)2010 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel
- Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I
- By: Douglas Brunt
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
September 29, 1913: the steamship Dresden is halfway between Belgium and England. On board is one of the most famous men in the world, Rudolf Diesel, whose new internal combustion engine is on the verge of revolutionizing global industry forever. But Diesel never arrives at his destination. He vanishes during the night and headlines around the world wonder if it was an accident, suicide, or murder.
-
-
Just a girl and an audio book.
- By Lori Rhodes on 09-26-23
By: Douglas Brunt
-
Jacob DeShazer: Forgive Your Enemies
- By: Janet Benge, Geoff Benge
- Narrated by: Tim Gregory
- Length: 5 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the famous Doolittle Raiders who first attacked Japan after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Jacob DeShazer knew his one-way mission was dangerous. Indeed, it led to his capture as a prisoner of war. Beaten, malnourished, and alone in his cell, Jacob was given a Bible—and far away from home, this American soldier became a Christian. After the war, Jacob returned to Japan and served his former enemy for thirty years as a missionary. His testimony of forgiveness and reconciliation—of love over hate—inspires a powerful gospel message for our lives today.
-
-
Another Awesome Biography of a Christian Hero!
- By Claire Blum on 03-17-16
By: Janet Benge, and others
-
Ball Four
- The Final Pitch
- By: Jim Bouton
- Narrated by: Jim Bouton
- Length: 18 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Ball Four was published in 1970, it created a firestorm. Bouton was called a Judas, a Benedict Arnold and a “social leper” for having violated the “sanctity of the clubhouse.” Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn tried to force Bouton to sign a statement saying the book wasn’t true. Ballplayers, most of whom hadn’t read it, denounced the book. It was even banned by a few libraries. Almost everyone else, however, loved Ball Four.
-
-
Three Ten Year Updates Give Bouton a 5th Star
- By Byron on 08-09-12
By: Jim Bouton
-
Never Quit
- From Alaskan Wilderness Rescues to Afghanistan Firefights as an Elite Special Ops PJ
- By: Jimmy Settle, Don Rearden
- Narrated by: Chris Abell
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"That Others May Live" is a mantra that defines the fearless men of Alaska's 212th Pararescue Unit, the PJs, one of the most elite military forces on the planet. Whether they are rescuing citizens injured and freezing in the Alaskan wilderness or saving wounded Rangers and SEALs in blazing firefights at war, the PJs are the least known and most highly trained of America's warriors. Never Quit is the true story of how Jimmy Settle, an Alaskan shoe-store clerk, became a Special Forces Operator and war hero.
-
-
Unbelievable Heroism by AF Parajumpers
- By Larry on 11-26-17
By: Jimmy Settle, and others
-
438 Days
- An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea
- By: Jonathan Franklin
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
438 Days is the miraculous account of the man who survived alone and adrift at sea longer than anyone in recorded history - as told to journalist Jonathan Franklin in dozens of exclusive interviews.
-
-
Excellent use of my credit!
- By SGL on 12-13-15
-
Unbroken
- A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
- By: Laura Hillenbrand
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why we think it’s a great listen: Seabiscuit was a runaway success, and Hillenbrand’s done it again with another true-life account about beating unbelievable odds. On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared....
-
-
Indescribable
- By Janice on 12-01-10
-
The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel
- Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I
- By: Douglas Brunt
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
September 29, 1913: the steamship Dresden is halfway between Belgium and England. On board is one of the most famous men in the world, Rudolf Diesel, whose new internal combustion engine is on the verge of revolutionizing global industry forever. But Diesel never arrives at his destination. He vanishes during the night and headlines around the world wonder if it was an accident, suicide, or murder.
-
-
Just a girl and an audio book.
- By Lori Rhodes on 09-26-23
By: Douglas Brunt
-
Jacob DeShazer: Forgive Your Enemies
- By: Janet Benge, Geoff Benge
- Narrated by: Tim Gregory
- Length: 5 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the famous Doolittle Raiders who first attacked Japan after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Jacob DeShazer knew his one-way mission was dangerous. Indeed, it led to his capture as a prisoner of war. Beaten, malnourished, and alone in his cell, Jacob was given a Bible—and far away from home, this American soldier became a Christian. After the war, Jacob returned to Japan and served his former enemy for thirty years as a missionary. His testimony of forgiveness and reconciliation—of love over hate—inspires a powerful gospel message for our lives today.
-
-
Another Awesome Biography of a Christian Hero!
- By Claire Blum on 03-17-16
By: Janet Benge, and others
-
Ball Four
- The Final Pitch
- By: Jim Bouton
- Narrated by: Jim Bouton
- Length: 18 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Ball Four was published in 1970, it created a firestorm. Bouton was called a Judas, a Benedict Arnold and a “social leper” for having violated the “sanctity of the clubhouse.” Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn tried to force Bouton to sign a statement saying the book wasn’t true. Ballplayers, most of whom hadn’t read it, denounced the book. It was even banned by a few libraries. Almost everyone else, however, loved Ball Four.
-
-
Three Ten Year Updates Give Bouton a 5th Star
- By Byron on 08-09-12
By: Jim Bouton
-
Never Quit
- From Alaskan Wilderness Rescues to Afghanistan Firefights as an Elite Special Ops PJ
- By: Jimmy Settle, Don Rearden
- Narrated by: Chris Abell
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"That Others May Live" is a mantra that defines the fearless men of Alaska's 212th Pararescue Unit, the PJs, one of the most elite military forces on the planet. Whether they are rescuing citizens injured and freezing in the Alaskan wilderness or saving wounded Rangers and SEALs in blazing firefights at war, the PJs are the least known and most highly trained of America's warriors. Never Quit is the true story of how Jimmy Settle, an Alaskan shoe-store clerk, became a Special Forces Operator and war hero.
-
-
Unbelievable Heroism by AF Parajumpers
- By Larry on 11-26-17
By: Jimmy Settle, and others
-
438 Days
- An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea
- By: Jonathan Franklin
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
438 Days is the miraculous account of the man who survived alone and adrift at sea longer than anyone in recorded history - as told to journalist Jonathan Franklin in dozens of exclusive interviews.
-
-
Excellent use of my credit!
- By SGL on 12-13-15
-
Unbroken
- A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
- By: Laura Hillenbrand
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why we think it’s a great listen: Seabiscuit was a runaway success, and Hillenbrand’s done it again with another true-life account about beating unbelievable odds. On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared....
-
-
Indescribable
- By Janice on 12-01-10
-
The Forgotten Highlander
- My Incredible Story of Survival During the War in the Far East
- By: Alistair Urquhart
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 3 hrs and 14 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alistair Urquhart was a soldier in the Gordon Highlanders captured by the Japanese in Singapore. He not only survived working on the notorious Bridge on the River Kwai , but he was subsequently taken on one of the Japanese ‘hellships’ which was torpedoed. Nearly everyone else on board died and Urquhart spent 5 days alone on a raft in the South China Sea before being rescued by a whaling ship. He was taken to Japan and then forced to work in a mine near Nagasaki.
-
-
Never complain!
- By Austin Jarrett on 08-14-17
-
Red Blood, Black Sand
- Fighting Alongside John Basilone from Boot Camp to Iwo Jima
- By: Chuck Tatum
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Chuck Tatum began Marine boot camp, he was just a smart-aleck teenager eager to serve his country. Little did he know that he would be training under a living legend of the Corps - Medal of Honor recipient John Basilone, who had almost single-handedly fought off a Japanese force of three thousand on Guadalcanal.
-
-
not as good as helmet or old breed
- By C. Kenny on 01-21-17
By: Chuck Tatum
-
Things I'll Never Forget
- Memories of a Marine in Viet Nam
- By: James M. Dixon
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Things I’ll Never Forget is the story of a young high school graduate in 1965 who faces being drafted into the Army or volunteering for the Marine Corps. These are his memories of funny times, disgusting times and deadly times. The author kept a journal for an entire year; therefore many of the dates, times and places are accurate. The rest is based on memories that are forever tattooed on his brain. This is not a pro-war book, nor is it anti-war. It is the true story of what the Marine Corps was like in the late 1960’s.
-
-
Accurate Description
- By USMC VIETVET on 07-02-19
By: James M. Dixon
-
Fierce Valor
- The True Story of Ronald Speirs and His Band of Brothers
- By: Jared Frederick, Erik Dorr
- Narrated by: Chris Abell
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fans of Stephen E. Ambrose’s Band of Brothers will be drawn to this complex portrait of the controversial Ronald Speirs, an iconic commander of celebrated Easy Company during D-Day and beyond, whose ferocious courage and drive across three wars were matched by a devotion to duty and a hidden heart shadowed by lost love.
-
-
Felt like a historical yet cursory summary
- By JWalkup on 06-30-22
By: Jared Frederick, and others
-
Unbroken (The Young Adult Adaptation)
- An Olympian's Journey From Airman to Castaway to Captive
- By: Laura Hillenbrand
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this captivating young adult edition of her award-winning number one New York Times best seller, Laura Hillenbrand tells the story of a former Olympian's courage, cunning, and fortitude following his plane crash in enemy territory. This adaptation of Unbroken introduces a new generation to one of history's most thrilling survival epics. On a May afternoon in 1943, an American military plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared.
-
-
Great Audio Book for Parents & Kids In The Car
- By Auroramyst on 04-10-15
-
The Heart of Hell
- The Untold Story of Courage and Sacrifice in the Shadow of Iwo Jima
- By: Mitch Weiss
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 13 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Battle of Iwo Jima, a major event in the Pacific Theater of World War II - and one of the bloodiest in United States history - began on February 19, 1945. But what happened two days earlier has largely been a footnote - until now.... On February 17, Landing Craft Infantry 449 was among a dozen gunboats helping to prepare the area for their invasion two days later. US military leaders thought that they had weakened Japanese forces in the area.
-
-
Important History, but Not a Compelling Story
- By Craig on 07-30-16
By: Mitch Weiss
-
The Winds of War
- By: Herman Wouk
- Narrated by: Kevin Pariseau
- Length: 45 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Herman Wouk's sweeping epic of World War II stands as the crowning achievement of one of America's most celebrated storytellers. Like no other books about the war, Wouk's spellbinding narrative captures the tide of global events - and all the drama, romance, heroism, and tragedy of World War II - as it immerses us in the lives of a single American family drawn into the very center of the war's maelstrom.
-
-
A Masterpiece
- By Robert on 05-24-13
By: Herman Wouk
-
You Don't Lose 'Til You Quit Trying
- Lessons on Adversity and Victory from a Vietnam Veteran and Medal of Honor Recipient
- By: Sammy Lee Davis, Caroline Lambert
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On November 18, 1967, Private First Class Davis' artillery unit was hit by a massive enemy offensive. At 21 years old, he resolved to face the onslaught and prepared to die. Soon he would have a perforated kidney, crushed ribs, a broken vertebra, his flesh ripped by beehive darts, a bullet in his thigh, and burns all over his body. Ignoring his injuries, he manned a two-ton Howitzer by himself, crossed a canal under heavy fire to rescue three wounded American soldiers, and kept fighting until the enemy retreated.
-
-
Creed to Live By
- By GroovyMonkey8 on 01-15-21
By: Sammy Lee Davis, and others
-
D-Days in the Pacific with the U.S. Coast Guard
- The Story of Lucky Thirteen
- By: Ken Wiley
- Narrated by: Keith Sellon-Wright
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The images of soldiers and marines coming ashore on hostile shores are embedded in our collective memory of World War II. But what of the sailors who manned the landing craft, going back and forth under fire with nowhere to take cover, their craft the special targets of enemy gunners? In this book, Ken Wiley, a Coast Guardsman on an Attack Transport in the Pacific, relates the intricate, often nerve-wracking story of how the United States projected its power across 6,000 miles in the teeth of fanatical Japanese resistance.
-
-
Exceptional story depicting the US Coast Guard
- By Jay J. Powell on 03-21-19
By: Ken Wiley
-
Target Tokyo
- Jimmy Doolittle and the Raid That Avenged Pearl Harbor
- By: James M. Scott
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 20 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The dramatic account of one of America's most celebrated - and controversial - military campaigns: the Doolittle Raid. In December 1941, as American forces tallied the dead at Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt gathered with his senior military counselors to plan an ambitious counterstrike against the heart of the Japanese Empire: Tokyo.
-
-
Vengence is Mine, Thus Sayeth Doolittle
- By Jonathan Love on 06-13-16
By: James M. Scott
-
Easy Company Soldier
- The Legendary Battles of a Sergeant from WW II's 'Band of Brothers'
- By: Don Malarkey, Bob Welch
- Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sgt. Don Malarkey takes us not only into the battles fought from Normandy to Germany, but into the heart and mind of a soldier who beat the odds to become an elite paratrooper and lost his best friend during the nightmarish engagement at Bastogne. Drafted in 1942, Malarkey arrived at Toccoa Camp in Georgia and was one of six soldiers who earned their Eagle wings and went to England in 1943 to provide ground cover for the largest amphibious military attack in history: Operation Overlord.
-
-
Solid American Greatness
- By David Ewing on 09-28-10
By: Don Malarkey, and others
-
Code Talker
- The First and Only Memoir by One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII
- By: Chester Nez, Judith Schiess Avila
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
His name wasn’t Chester Nez. That was the English name he was assigned in kindergarten. And in boarding school at Fort Defiance, he was punished for speaking his native language, as the teachers sought to rid him of his culture and traditions. But discrimination didn’t stop Chester from answering the call to defend his country after Pearl Harbor, for the Navajo have always been warriors, and his upbringing on a New Mexico reservation gave him the strength to excel as a marine. This is the first and only memoir by one of the original Navajo code talkers of WWII.
-
-
Wrong narrator!
- By Kindle Customer on 06-26-20
By: Chester Nez, and others
Related to this topic
-
The Heart of Hell
- The Untold Story of Courage and Sacrifice in the Shadow of Iwo Jima
- By: Mitch Weiss
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 13 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Battle of Iwo Jima, a major event in the Pacific Theater of World War II - and one of the bloodiest in United States history - began on February 19, 1945. But what happened two days earlier has largely been a footnote - until now.... On February 17, Landing Craft Infantry 449 was among a dozen gunboats helping to prepare the area for their invasion two days later. US military leaders thought that they had weakened Japanese forces in the area.
-
-
Important History, but Not a Compelling Story
- By Craig on 07-30-16
By: Mitch Weiss
-
Unbroken
- A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
- By: Laura Hillenbrand
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why we think it’s a great listen: Seabiscuit was a runaway success, and Hillenbrand’s done it again with another true-life account about beating unbelievable odds. On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared....
-
-
Indescribable
- By Janice on 12-01-10
-
My Hitch in Hell, New Edition
- The Bataan Death March
- By: Lester I. Tenney, Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale USN - Ret.
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Captured by the Japanese after the fall of Bataan, Lester I. Tenney was one of the very few who would survive the legendary Death March and three and a half years in Japanese prison camps. With an understanding of human nature, a sense of humor, sharp thinking, and fierce determination, Tenney endured the rest of the war as a slave laborer in Japanese prison camps. My Hitch in Hell is an inspiring survivor's epic about the triumph of human will despite unimaginable suffering. This edition features a new introduction and epilogue by the author.e by the author.
-
-
Best Story I have ever listened to
- By Amazon Customer on 09-03-20
By: Lester I. Tenney, and others
-
Forgiveness
- A Gift from My Grandparents
- By: Mark Sakamoto
- Narrated by: Geoff Sugiyama
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the Second World War broke out, Ralph MacLean chose to escape his troubled life on the Magdalen Islands in eastern Canada and volunteer to serve his country overseas. Meanwhile, in Vancouver, Mitsue Sakamoto saw her family and her stable community torn apart after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
-
-
Admirable progenitors
- By M. D. Baines on 04-24-18
By: Mark Sakamoto
-
Hope and Honor
- By: Sid Shachnow, Jann Robbins
- Narrated by: Brian Emerson
- Length: 16 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Major General Sid Shachnow was ten-years-old when he escaped the notorious Kovno concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Lithuania. Later, he traveled to post-war Germany, and he earned a living as a courier for his mother's black market business. His family eventually came to America where he struggled to get an education, held down three jobs, and courted the girl of his dreams, whom he would marry and raise four daughters with.
-
-
riveting
- By Rob on 02-07-08
By: Sid Shachnow, and others
-
We Band of Angels
- The Untold Story of the American Women Trapped on Bataan
- By: Elizabeth M. Norman
- Narrated by: Dina Pearlman
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We Band of Angelsis the story of women searching for adventure, caught up in the drama and danger of war. On the same day the Japanese Imperial Navy launched its surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, it also struck American bases in the Far East, chief among them the Philippines. That raid led to the first major land battle for America in World War II and, in the end, to the largest defeat and surrender of American forces.
-
-
A very moving tribute!
- By mark nelsen on 05-17-17
-
The Heart of Hell
- The Untold Story of Courage and Sacrifice in the Shadow of Iwo Jima
- By: Mitch Weiss
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 13 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Battle of Iwo Jima, a major event in the Pacific Theater of World War II - and one of the bloodiest in United States history - began on February 19, 1945. But what happened two days earlier has largely been a footnote - until now.... On February 17, Landing Craft Infantry 449 was among a dozen gunboats helping to prepare the area for their invasion two days later. US military leaders thought that they had weakened Japanese forces in the area.
-
-
Important History, but Not a Compelling Story
- By Craig on 07-30-16
By: Mitch Weiss
-
Unbroken
- A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
- By: Laura Hillenbrand
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why we think it’s a great listen: Seabiscuit was a runaway success, and Hillenbrand’s done it again with another true-life account about beating unbelievable odds. On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared....
-
-
Indescribable
- By Janice on 12-01-10
-
My Hitch in Hell, New Edition
- The Bataan Death March
- By: Lester I. Tenney, Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale USN - Ret.
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Captured by the Japanese after the fall of Bataan, Lester I. Tenney was one of the very few who would survive the legendary Death March and three and a half years in Japanese prison camps. With an understanding of human nature, a sense of humor, sharp thinking, and fierce determination, Tenney endured the rest of the war as a slave laborer in Japanese prison camps. My Hitch in Hell is an inspiring survivor's epic about the triumph of human will despite unimaginable suffering. This edition features a new introduction and epilogue by the author.e by the author.
-
-
Best Story I have ever listened to
- By Amazon Customer on 09-03-20
By: Lester I. Tenney, and others
-
Forgiveness
- A Gift from My Grandparents
- By: Mark Sakamoto
- Narrated by: Geoff Sugiyama
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the Second World War broke out, Ralph MacLean chose to escape his troubled life on the Magdalen Islands in eastern Canada and volunteer to serve his country overseas. Meanwhile, in Vancouver, Mitsue Sakamoto saw her family and her stable community torn apart after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
-
-
Admirable progenitors
- By M. D. Baines on 04-24-18
By: Mark Sakamoto
-
Hope and Honor
- By: Sid Shachnow, Jann Robbins
- Narrated by: Brian Emerson
- Length: 16 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Major General Sid Shachnow was ten-years-old when he escaped the notorious Kovno concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Lithuania. Later, he traveled to post-war Germany, and he earned a living as a courier for his mother's black market business. His family eventually came to America where he struggled to get an education, held down three jobs, and courted the girl of his dreams, whom he would marry and raise four daughters with.
-
-
riveting
- By Rob on 02-07-08
By: Sid Shachnow, and others
-
We Band of Angels
- The Untold Story of the American Women Trapped on Bataan
- By: Elizabeth M. Norman
- Narrated by: Dina Pearlman
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We Band of Angelsis the story of women searching for adventure, caught up in the drama and danger of war. On the same day the Japanese Imperial Navy launched its surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, it also struck American bases in the Far East, chief among them the Philippines. That raid led to the first major land battle for America in World War II and, in the end, to the largest defeat and surrender of American forces.
-
-
A very moving tribute!
- By mark nelsen on 05-17-17
-
Don't Give Up, Don't Give In
- Lessons from an Extraordinary Life
- By: Louis Zamperini, David Rensin
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 4 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Don't Give Up, Don’t Give In, Louis Zamperini offers never-before told tales that embody his simple, yet essential secrets of success: how his relationship with God, his ever-positive attitude, his constant pursuit of accomplishment - and a healthy dose of mischief - have helped him lead a long and fulfilled life, lessons we can all use to transform our own.
-
-
Great Followup to "Unbroken!"
- By Johnny on 05-13-15
By: Louis Zamperini, and others
-
You Don't Lose 'Til You Quit Trying
- Lessons on Adversity and Victory from a Vietnam Veteran and Medal of Honor Recipient
- By: Sammy Lee Davis, Caroline Lambert
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On November 18, 1967, Private First Class Davis' artillery unit was hit by a massive enemy offensive. At 21 years old, he resolved to face the onslaught and prepared to die. Soon he would have a perforated kidney, crushed ribs, a broken vertebra, his flesh ripped by beehive darts, a bullet in his thigh, and burns all over his body. Ignoring his injuries, he manned a two-ton Howitzer by himself, crossed a canal under heavy fire to rescue three wounded American soldiers, and kept fighting until the enemy retreated.
-
-
Creed to Live By
- By GroovyMonkey8 on 01-15-21
By: Sammy Lee Davis, and others
-
Indestructible
- One Man's Rescue Mission That Changed the Course of WWII
- By: John R. Bruning
- Narrated by: Brian Troxell
- Length: 17 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this remarkable WWII story by New York Times best-selling author John R. Bruning, a renegade American pilot fights against all odds to rescue his family - imprisoned by the Japanese - and revolutionizes modern warfare along the way. From the knife fights and smuggling runs of his youth to his fiery days as a pioneering naval aviator, Paul Irving "Pappy" Gunn played by his own set of rules and always survived on his wits and fists. But when he fell for a conservative Southern belle, her love transformed him from a wild and reckless airman to a cunning entrepreneur.
-
-
You will love Pappy's story
- By A. L. DeWitt on 11-15-16
By: John R. Bruning
-
The First Heroes
- The Extraordinary Story of the Doolittle Raid
- By: Craig Nelson
- Narrated by: Raymond Todd
- Length: 17 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Immediately after Japan's December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt sought to restore the honor of the United States with a dramatic act of vengeance: a retaliatory bombing raid on Tokyo itself. In those early days of World War II, America was ill-prepared for any sort of warfare. But FDR was not to be dissuaded, and at his bidding a squadron of scarcely trained army fliers, led by the famous daredevil Jimmy Doolittle, set forth on what everyone regarded as a suicide mission.
-
-
Heroic Attempt
- By William on 07-20-04
By: Craig Nelson
-
Easy Company Soldier
- The Legendary Battles of a Sergeant from WW II's 'Band of Brothers'
- By: Don Malarkey, Bob Welch
- Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sgt. Don Malarkey takes us not only into the battles fought from Normandy to Germany, but into the heart and mind of a soldier who beat the odds to become an elite paratrooper and lost his best friend during the nightmarish engagement at Bastogne. Drafted in 1942, Malarkey arrived at Toccoa Camp in Georgia and was one of six soldiers who earned their Eagle wings and went to England in 1943 to provide ground cover for the largest amphibious military attack in history: Operation Overlord.
-
-
Solid American Greatness
- By David Ewing on 09-28-10
By: Don Malarkey, and others
-
Coffin Corner Boys
- By: Carole Engle Avriett, Captain George W. Starks
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a young band of brothers flies over German-occupied France, they come under heavy fire. Their B-17 is shot down and the airmen - stumbling through fields and villages - scatter across Europe. Some struggled to flee for safety. Others were captured immediately and imprisoned. Now, for the first time, their incredible story of grit, survival, and reunion is told. Join George as he retraces his steps to freedom and discover the amazing stories of sacrifice and survival and how 10 young American boys plus their French helpers became heroes.
-
-
Not what I was expecting.
- By Doug Riehle on 06-03-20
By: Carole Engle Avriett, and others
-
The Man Who Broke into Auschwitz
- A True Story of World War II
- By: Denis Avey, Rob Broomby
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Man Who Broke into Auschwitz is the extraordinary true story of a British soldier who marched willingly into the notorious concentration camp, Buna-Monowitz, known as Auschwitz III. In the summer of 1944, Denis Avey was being held in a British POW labor camp, E715, near the site of Auschwitz III. He had heard of the brutality meted out to the prisoners there and he was determined to witness what he could.
-
-
Great, great story
- By Anonymous User on 08-12-11
By: Denis Avey, and others
-
First into Nagasaki
- By: George Weller
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On September 6, 1945, less than a month after the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, George Weller, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, became the first free Westerner to enter the devastated city. Going into the hospitals and consulting the doctors of the bomb's victims, Weller was the first to document its unprecedented long-range medical effects. He also became the first to enter the nearby Allied POW camps, which rivaled those of the Nazis for cruelty and bested them for death count.
-
-
First Into Nagasaki
- By Harold on 02-15-07
By: George Weller
-
All the Gallant Men
- An American Sailor's Firsthand Account of Pearl Harbor
- By: Donald Stratton, Ken Gire
- Narrated by: Mike Ortego
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An unforgettable and moving story of tragedy, heroism, resilience, and redemption that is sure to become an enduring document of American history, All the Brave Men is a sailor's moment-by-moment eyewitness account of the Japanese surprise attack that decimated the US Pacific Fleet in Hawaii on December 7, 1941, and his inspiring return to active duty to carry on the Allied fight in the Pacific.
-
-
Absolutely wonderful book!
- By Cris Conerty on 01-15-17
By: Donald Stratton, and others
-
For Crew and Country
- The Inspirational True Story of Bravery and Sacrifice Aboard the USS Samuel B. Roberts
- By: John Wukovits
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On October 25, 1944, the Samuel B. Roberts and 12 other vessels stood between Japan’s largest battleship force ever and MacArthur’s transports inside Leyte Gulf. Facing more than 20 Japanese vessels - including the 70,000-ton Yamato - the 1,200-ton Samuel B. Roberts turned immediately to action, churning straight at the enemy in a near-suicidal attempt to deflect the more potent foe and buy time for MacArthur’s forces.
-
-
Well Done Naval Story of the Samuel B. Roberts
- By David on 05-15-13
By: John Wukovits
-
Code Talker
- The First and Only Memoir by One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII
- By: Chester Nez, Judith Schiess Avila
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
His name wasn’t Chester Nez. That was the English name he was assigned in kindergarten. And in boarding school at Fort Defiance, he was punished for speaking his native language, as the teachers sought to rid him of his culture and traditions. But discrimination didn’t stop Chester from answering the call to defend his country after Pearl Harbor, for the Navajo have always been warriors, and his upbringing on a New Mexico reservation gave him the strength to excel as a marine. This is the first and only memoir by one of the original Navajo code talkers of WWII.
-
-
Wrong narrator!
- By Kindle Customer on 06-26-20
By: Chester Nez, and others
-
Destined to Witness
- Growing Up Black in Nazi Germany
- By: Hans Massaquoi
- Narrated by: Peter Jay Fernandez
- Length: 19 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What would life be like for a Black boy growing up in Nazi Germany? This unprecedented autobiography answers that question with the spellbinding true story of Hans J. Massaquoi’s life in Hamburg during the height of Hitler’s regime. Hans is the son of a Black Liberian diplomat father and a white German mother. His father returns to Africa at the beginning of the war, leaving them behind in poverty without the means to flee. Within this tense atmosphere, increasingly violent Nazi policies and Allied bombing raids make Hans and his mother’s lives a day-to-day survival struggle.
-
-
An important story, marred by lackluster writing.
- By Christopher on 03-04-15
By: Hans Massaquoi
What listeners say about No Ordinary Joes
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Delaney Family
- 02-05-19
A Must Read
The story is incredible. The best thing that I can say is that if you really want to know about what went on with the people in this book, read it.
The Audible performance is outstanding.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- richard carlson
- 04-12-22
Horray
Great story by teally good author and excellent narration
Cant wait for more of lc’s books
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Drew Dimmitt
- 11-16-21
Excellent book for any WW2 or military history buff
Amazing story, narrator does a great job. At a loss for words for how much we owe these men.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
- Lynn
- 03-20-11
Prisoner of War Tale
Larry Cotton is reporting the story of four submariners who were captured by the Japanese and held for two years. Prisoner of war books are not unusual, but his one is very welll researched and brings the reader up to the latter days of their lives. We find out how the four fared as they went through life and about their children. This is an emotional book and I have read a number from this genre. The most interesting portions of the book to me were about how their sub was taken and their later lives. At the end of the book, Colton digresses to reflect on the various life views of each of these men and what it might mean for those of us who remain after them. His insights are instructive. This is well written and the reading of Robert Fass is flawless.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- mike t
- 12-05-18
this book will leave you in tears
the horror these young boys endured as prisoners of war is unspeakable and not taught in any history book in school. the ending will leave you in tears. this should be made into a movie
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
- Matt G.
- 08-16-21
the war details were interesting
too many unnecessary details on their sex lives. We don't need to know how long and how many times in a day.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!