Possess the Air
Love, Heroism, and the Battle for the Soul of Mussolini's Rome
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
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Possess the Air
Buy for $26.48
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Jeff Burling
-
By:
-
Taras Grescoe
About this listen
Whoever you are, you are sure to be a severe critic of Fascism, and you must feel the servile shame. But even you are responsible for your inaction. Do not seek to justify yourself with the illusion that there is nothing to be done. That is not true. Every person of courage and honour is quietly working for a free Italy. Even if you do not want to join us, there are still TEN THINGS which you can do. You can, and therefore you must.
These unsayable words, printed on leaflets that rained down on Mussolini’s headquarters in the heart of Rome at the height of the dictator’s power, drive the central drama of Possess the Air. This is the story of freedom fighters who defied Italy’s despot by opposing the rising tide of populism and xenophobia. Chief among them: poet and aviator Lauro de Bosis, firstborn of an Italian aristocrat and a New Englander, who transformed himself into a modern Icarus and amazed the world as he risked his life in the skies to bring Il Duce down. Taras Grescoe’s inspiring story of resistance, risk, and sacrifice paints a portrait of heroes in the fight against authoritarianism. This is an essential biography for our time.
©2019 Taras Grescoe (P)2020 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Oblivion or Glory
- 1921 and the Making of Winston Churchill
- By: David Stafford
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 158
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 138
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 138
This is an engaging and original account of 1921, a pivotal year for Winston Churchill that had a lasting impact on his political and personal legacy. After the tragic consequences of his involvement in the catastrophic Dardanelles Campaign of World War I, Churchill’s political career seemed over. He was widely regarded as little more than a bombastic and unpredictable buccaneer until, in 1921, an unexpected inheritance heralded a series of events that laid the foundations for his future success.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great explanation if this great m Chirchill’s an
- By David Hitchins on 10-25-20
By: David Stafford
-
An American Princess: The Many Lives of Allene Tew
- By: Annejet van der Zijl, Michele Hutchison - translator
- Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt
- Length: 5 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,138
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 943
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 944
Born to a pioneering family in Upstate New York in the late 1800s, Allene Tew was beautiful, impetuous, and frustrated by the confines of her small hometown. At eighteen, she met Tod Hostetter at a local dance, having no idea that the mercurial charmer she would impulsively wed was heir to one of the wealthiest families in America. But when he died twelve years later, Allene packed her bags for New York City. Never once did she look back.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
American princess
- By ZOE R on 05-12-18
By: Annejet van der Zijl, and others
-
The Daughters of Yalta
- The Churchills, Roosevelts, and Harrimans: A Story of Love and War
- By: Catherine Grace Katz
- Narrated by: Christine Rendel
- Length: 14 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 620
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 520
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 515
Tensions during the Yalta Conference in February 1945 threatened to tear apart the wartime alliance among Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin just as victory was close at hand. Catherine Grace Katz uncovers the dramatic story of the three young women who were chosen by their fathers to travel with them to Yalta, each bound by fierce family loyalty, political savvy, and intertwined romances that powerfully colored these crucial days.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Engaging
- By Jean on 06-19-21
-
Agent Sonya
- Moscow's Most Daring Wartime Spy
- By: Ben Macintyre
- Narrated by: Ben Macintyre
- Length: 14 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 864
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 745
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 743
In 1942, in a quiet village in the leafy English Cotswolds, a thin, elegant woman lived in a small cottage with her three children and her husband, who worked as a machinist nearby. Ursula Burton was friendly but reserved, and spoke English with a slight foreign accent. By all accounts, she seemed to be living a simple, unassuming life. Her neighbors in the village knew little about her. They didn’t know that she was a high-ranking Soviet intelligence officer. They didn’t know that her husband was also a spy, or that she was running powerful agents across Europe.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Wanted to love it
- By Robert Bell on 09-30-20
By: Ben Macintyre
-
The Hitler Virus
- The Insidious Legacy of Adolf Hitler
- By: Peter Wyden
- Narrated by: Robin Sachs
- Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 147
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 123
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 123
In spring 1945, as the Russians moved on Berlin and it became clear the Nazi cause was lost, Adolf Hitler assured his most trusted henchmen that even if he were to die, "the seed of National Socialism will grow again one day [in]…a radiant rebirth." Several times after the war, the distinguished author Peter Wyden, himself a victim of the Nazis, returned to Germany to discover, to his dismay, that Hitler's prediction was all too true. In this unsettling audiobook, Wyden documents the reality that the "Hitler virus" is still very much alive.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Well written but factually flawed
- By Catalyst on 12-25-20
By: Peter Wyden
-
Rebel Cinderella
- From Rags to Riches to Radical, the Epic Journey of Rose Pastor Stokes
- By: Adam Hochschild
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 38
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 38
Rose Pastor arrived in New York City in 1903, a Jewish refugee from Russia who had worked in cigar factories since the age of 11. Two years later, she captured headlines across the globe when she married James Graham Phelps Stokes, scion of one of the legendary 400 families of New York high society. Together, this unusual couple joined the burgeoning Socialist Party and, over the next dozen years, moved among the liveliest group of activists and dreamers this country has ever seen.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
terrific
- By Julie A. Joyce on 05-11-20
By: Adam Hochschild
-
Oblivion or Glory
- 1921 and the Making of Winston Churchill
- By: David Stafford
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 158
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 138
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 138
This is an engaging and original account of 1921, a pivotal year for Winston Churchill that had a lasting impact on his political and personal legacy. After the tragic consequences of his involvement in the catastrophic Dardanelles Campaign of World War I, Churchill’s political career seemed over. He was widely regarded as little more than a bombastic and unpredictable buccaneer until, in 1921, an unexpected inheritance heralded a series of events that laid the foundations for his future success.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great explanation if this great m Chirchill’s an
- By David Hitchins on 10-25-20
By: David Stafford
-
An American Princess: The Many Lives of Allene Tew
- By: Annejet van der Zijl, Michele Hutchison - translator
- Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt
- Length: 5 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,138
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 943
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 944
Born to a pioneering family in Upstate New York in the late 1800s, Allene Tew was beautiful, impetuous, and frustrated by the confines of her small hometown. At eighteen, she met Tod Hostetter at a local dance, having no idea that the mercurial charmer she would impulsively wed was heir to one of the wealthiest families in America. But when he died twelve years later, Allene packed her bags for New York City. Never once did she look back.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
American princess
- By ZOE R on 05-12-18
By: Annejet van der Zijl, and others
-
The Daughters of Yalta
- The Churchills, Roosevelts, and Harrimans: A Story of Love and War
- By: Catherine Grace Katz
- Narrated by: Christine Rendel
- Length: 14 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 620
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 520
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 515
Tensions during the Yalta Conference in February 1945 threatened to tear apart the wartime alliance among Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin just as victory was close at hand. Catherine Grace Katz uncovers the dramatic story of the three young women who were chosen by their fathers to travel with them to Yalta, each bound by fierce family loyalty, political savvy, and intertwined romances that powerfully colored these crucial days.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Engaging
- By Jean on 06-19-21
-
Agent Sonya
- Moscow's Most Daring Wartime Spy
- By: Ben Macintyre
- Narrated by: Ben Macintyre
- Length: 14 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 864
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 745
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 743
In 1942, in a quiet village in the leafy English Cotswolds, a thin, elegant woman lived in a small cottage with her three children and her husband, who worked as a machinist nearby. Ursula Burton was friendly but reserved, and spoke English with a slight foreign accent. By all accounts, she seemed to be living a simple, unassuming life. Her neighbors in the village knew little about her. They didn’t know that she was a high-ranking Soviet intelligence officer. They didn’t know that her husband was also a spy, or that she was running powerful agents across Europe.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Wanted to love it
- By Robert Bell on 09-30-20
By: Ben Macintyre
-
The Hitler Virus
- The Insidious Legacy of Adolf Hitler
- By: Peter Wyden
- Narrated by: Robin Sachs
- Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 147
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 123
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 123
In spring 1945, as the Russians moved on Berlin and it became clear the Nazi cause was lost, Adolf Hitler assured his most trusted henchmen that even if he were to die, "the seed of National Socialism will grow again one day [in]…a radiant rebirth." Several times after the war, the distinguished author Peter Wyden, himself a victim of the Nazis, returned to Germany to discover, to his dismay, that Hitler's prediction was all too true. In this unsettling audiobook, Wyden documents the reality that the "Hitler virus" is still very much alive.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Well written but factually flawed
- By Catalyst on 12-25-20
By: Peter Wyden
-
Rebel Cinderella
- From Rags to Riches to Radical, the Epic Journey of Rose Pastor Stokes
- By: Adam Hochschild
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 38
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 38
Rose Pastor arrived in New York City in 1903, a Jewish refugee from Russia who had worked in cigar factories since the age of 11. Two years later, she captured headlines across the globe when she married James Graham Phelps Stokes, scion of one of the legendary 400 families of New York high society. Together, this unusual couple joined the burgeoning Socialist Party and, over the next dozen years, moved among the liveliest group of activists and dreamers this country has ever seen.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
terrific
- By Julie A. Joyce on 05-11-20
By: Adam Hochschild
-
Balkan Ghosts
- A Journey Through History
- By: Robert D. Kaplan
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 296
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 252
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 253
From the assassination that triggered World War I to the ethnic warfare in Serbia, Bosnia, and Croatia, the Balkans have been the crucible of the 20th century, the place where terrorism and genocide first became tools of policy. Chosen as one of the Best Books of the Year by the New York Times, and greeted with critical acclaim as "the most insightful and timely work on the Balkans to date" (The Boston Globe), Kaplan's prescient, enthralling, and often chilling political travelogue is already a modern classic.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Anti religious/anti catholic hit piece
- By Daniel Calvert on 05-04-21
By: Robert D. Kaplan
-
Genius & Anxiety
- How Jews Changed the World, 1847-1947
- By: Norman Lebrecht
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 18 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 79
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 68
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 67
Norman Lebrecht has devoted half of his life to pondering and researching the mindset of the Jewish intellectuals, writers, scientists, and thinkers who turned the tides of history and shaped the world today as we know it. In Genius & Anxiety, Lebrecht begins with the Communist Manifesto in 1847 and ends in 1947, when Israel was founded. This robust, magnificent volume, beautifully designed, is an urgent and necessary celebration of Jewish genius and contribution.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Post-anxiety
- By Amaze on 03-27-20
By: Norman Lebrecht
-
Crucible
- The Long End of the Great War and the Birth of a New World, 1917-1924
- By: Charles Emmerson
- Narrated by: Charles Emmerson
- Length: 25 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 29
In Petrograd, a fire is lit. The Tsar is packed off to Siberia. A rancorous Russian exile returns to proclaim a workers' revolution. In America, black soldiers who have served their country in Europe demand their rights at home. An Austrian war veteran trained by the German army to give rousing speeches against the Bolshevik peril begins to rail against the Jews. A solar eclipse turns a former patent clerk into a celebrity. An American reporter living the high life in Paris searches out a new literary style.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Splendid in all respects
- By Paul Custer on 02-11-20
By: Charles Emmerson
-
The Nine Lives of Pakistan
- Dispatches from a Precarious State
- By: Declan Walsh
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 103
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 87
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 87
Declan Walsh is one of the New York Times's most distinguished international correspondents. His electrifying portrait of Pakistan over a tumultuous decade captures the sweep of this strange, wondrous, and benighted country through the dramatic lives of nine fascinating individuals. On assignment as the country careened between crises, Walsh traveled from the raucous port of Karachi to the salons of Lahore, and from Baluchistan to the mountains of Waziristan. He met a diverse cast of extraordinary Pakistanis....
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Fascinating Look at a Troubled Country
- By Dipam on 07-11-21
By: Declan Walsh
-
The Streets of Paris
- A Guide to the City of Light Following in the Footsteps of Famous Parisians Throughout History
- By: Susan Cahill
- Narrated by: Christa Lewis
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 32
For hundreds of years, the City of Light has set the stage for larger-than-life characters-from medieval lovers Heloïse and Abelard to the defiant King Henri IV to the brilliant scientist Madame Curie, beloved chanteuse Edith Piaf, and the writer Colette. In this book, Susan Cahill recounts the lives of 22 famous Parisians and then takes you through the seductive streets of Paris to the quartiers where they lived and worked: the scenes of their greatest triumphs and tragedies, their favorite cafes, bars, and restaurants, and the places where they found inspiration and love.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
I feel there should be a pdf.
- By Matthew Spinola on 09-20-21
By: Susan Cahill
-
Twilight Man
- Love and Ruin in the Shadows of Hollywood and the Clark Empire
- By: Liz Brown
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot, Liz Brown
- Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 71
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 60
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 59
The unbelievable true story of Harrison Post - the enigmatic lover of one of the richest men in 1920s Hollywood - and the battle for a family fortune.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Butte amateur historian
- By Josh M. Peck on 09-30-21
By: Liz Brown
-
Our Man Down in Havana
- The Story Behind Graham Greene's Cold War Spy Novel
- By: Christopher Hull
- Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
- Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 101
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 84
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 83
Combining biography, history, and politics, Our Man Down in Havana investigates the real story behind Greene's fictional one. This includes his many visits to a pleasure island that became a revolutionary island, turning his chance involvement into a political commitment. Exploiting a wealth of archival material and interviews with key protagonists, Our Man Down in Havana delves into the story behind and beyond the author's prophetic Cuban tale, focusing on one slice of Greene's manic life: a single novel and its complex history.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Entertaining and informative
- By Nancy on 03-17-21
By: Christopher Hull
-
Erdogan Rising
- The Battle for the Soul of Turkey
- By: Hannah Lucinda Smith
- Narrated by: Hannah Lucinda Smith
- Length: 14 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 60
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 51
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 51
Everyone has heard of Erdogan: Turkey’s bullish, mercurial president is the original postmodern populist. Around the world, other strongmen are now following the path that he has blazed. For the first time, Erdogan Rising tells the inside story of how a democracy on the fringe of Europe has succumbed to dictatorship. Hannah Lucinda Smith, Turkey correspondent with The Times of London, has witnessed all that has befallen Turkey and the wider region since the onset of the Arab Spring.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Overall fascinating profile of Erdogan’s Turkey
- By Saul M on 09-18-20
-
The Orientalist
- Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life
- By: Tom Reiss
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 15 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 125
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 110
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 111
Part history, part cultural biography, and part literary mystery, The Orientalist traces the life of Lev Nussimbaum, a Jew who transformed himself into a Muslim prince and became a best-selling author in Nazi Germany. Born in 1905 to a wealthy family in the oil-boom city of Baku, Lev escaped the Russian Revolution in a camel caravan. He found refuge in Germany, where, writing under the names Essad Bey and Kurban Said, his remarkable books about Islam, desert adventures, and global revolution became celebrated across fascist Europe.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The essential but mostly forgotten history leading up to the Russian and German revolutions of the 20th century
- By mark on 05-11-21
By: Tom Reiss
-
Lindbergh
- By: A. Scott Berg
- Narrated by: Lloyd James
- Length: 31 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 233
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 200
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 204
Few American icons provoke more enduring fascination than Charles Lindbergh - renowned for his one-man transatlantic flight in 1927, remembered for the sorrow surrounding the kidnapping and death of his firstborn son in 1932, and reviled by many for his opposition to America's entry into World War II.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Needs updating
- By R. Taylor on 03-14-15
By: A. Scott Berg
-
Paris, City of Dreams
- Napoleon III, Baron Haussmann, and the Creation of Paris
- By: Mary McAuliffe
- Narrated by: Tim H. Dixon
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 33
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 29
Acclaimed historian Mary McAuliffe vividly recaptures the Paris of Napoleon III, Claude Monet, and Victor Hugo as Georges Haussmann tore down and rebuilt Paris into the beautiful City of Light we know today. Paris, City of Dreams traces the transformation of the City of Light during Napoleon III’s Second Empire into the beloved city of today.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Superb
- By Cheri Stocking on 02-17-23
By: Mary McAuliffe
-
1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows
- A Memoir
- By: Ai Weiwei, Allan H. Barr - translator
- Narrated by: David Shih
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 182
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 152
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 151
Once a close associate of Mao Zedong and the nation’s most celebrated poet, Ai Weiwei’s father, Ai Qing, was branded a rightist during the Cultural Revolution, and he and his family were banished to a desolate place known as “Little Siberia,” where Ai Qing was sentenced to hard labor cleaning public toilets. Ai Weiwei recounts his childhood in exile, and his difficult decision to leave his family to study art in America, where he befriended Allen Ginsberg and was inspired by Andy Warhol and the artworks of Marcel Duchamp.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
This book changed my life
- By Johnny Nopolis on 08-16-22
By: Ai Weiwei, and others
Related to this topic
-
Oblivion or Glory
- 1921 and the Making of Winston Churchill
- By: David Stafford
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 158
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 138
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 138
This is an engaging and original account of 1921, a pivotal year for Winston Churchill that had a lasting impact on his political and personal legacy. After the tragic consequences of his involvement in the catastrophic Dardanelles Campaign of World War I, Churchill’s political career seemed over. He was widely regarded as little more than a bombastic and unpredictable buccaneer until, in 1921, an unexpected inheritance heralded a series of events that laid the foundations for his future success.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great explanation if this great m Chirchill’s an
- By David Hitchins on 10-25-20
By: David Stafford
-
Balkan Ghosts
- A Journey Through History
- By: Robert D. Kaplan
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 296
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 252
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 253
From the assassination that triggered World War I to the ethnic warfare in Serbia, Bosnia, and Croatia, the Balkans have been the crucible of the 20th century, the place where terrorism and genocide first became tools of policy. Chosen as one of the Best Books of the Year by the New York Times, and greeted with critical acclaim as "the most insightful and timely work on the Balkans to date" (The Boston Globe), Kaplan's prescient, enthralling, and often chilling political travelogue is already a modern classic.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Anti religious/anti catholic hit piece
- By Daniel Calvert on 05-04-21
By: Robert D. Kaplan
-
Genius & Anxiety
- How Jews Changed the World, 1847-1947
- By: Norman Lebrecht
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 18 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 79
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 68
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 67
Norman Lebrecht has devoted half of his life to pondering and researching the mindset of the Jewish intellectuals, writers, scientists, and thinkers who turned the tides of history and shaped the world today as we know it. In Genius & Anxiety, Lebrecht begins with the Communist Manifesto in 1847 and ends in 1947, when Israel was founded. This robust, magnificent volume, beautifully designed, is an urgent and necessary celebration of Jewish genius and contribution.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Post-anxiety
- By Amaze on 03-27-20
By: Norman Lebrecht
-
Crucible
- The Long End of the Great War and the Birth of a New World, 1917-1924
- By: Charles Emmerson
- Narrated by: Charles Emmerson
- Length: 25 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 29
In Petrograd, a fire is lit. The Tsar is packed off to Siberia. A rancorous Russian exile returns to proclaim a workers' revolution. In America, black soldiers who have served their country in Europe demand their rights at home. An Austrian war veteran trained by the German army to give rousing speeches against the Bolshevik peril begins to rail against the Jews. A solar eclipse turns a former patent clerk into a celebrity. An American reporter living the high life in Paris searches out a new literary style.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Splendid in all respects
- By Paul Custer on 02-11-20
By: Charles Emmerson
-
The Nine Lives of Pakistan
- Dispatches from a Precarious State
- By: Declan Walsh
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 103
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 87
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 87
Declan Walsh is one of the New York Times's most distinguished international correspondents. His electrifying portrait of Pakistan over a tumultuous decade captures the sweep of this strange, wondrous, and benighted country through the dramatic lives of nine fascinating individuals. On assignment as the country careened between crises, Walsh traveled from the raucous port of Karachi to the salons of Lahore, and from Baluchistan to the mountains of Waziristan. He met a diverse cast of extraordinary Pakistanis....
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Fascinating Look at a Troubled Country
- By Dipam on 07-11-21
By: Declan Walsh
-
Erdogan Rising
- The Battle for the Soul of Turkey
- By: Hannah Lucinda Smith
- Narrated by: Hannah Lucinda Smith
- Length: 14 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 60
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 51
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 51
Everyone has heard of Erdogan: Turkey’s bullish, mercurial president is the original postmodern populist. Around the world, other strongmen are now following the path that he has blazed. For the first time, Erdogan Rising tells the inside story of how a democracy on the fringe of Europe has succumbed to dictatorship. Hannah Lucinda Smith, Turkey correspondent with The Times of London, has witnessed all that has befallen Turkey and the wider region since the onset of the Arab Spring.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Overall fascinating profile of Erdogan’s Turkey
- By Saul M on 09-18-20
-
Oblivion or Glory
- 1921 and the Making of Winston Churchill
- By: David Stafford
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 158
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 138
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 138
This is an engaging and original account of 1921, a pivotal year for Winston Churchill that had a lasting impact on his political and personal legacy. After the tragic consequences of his involvement in the catastrophic Dardanelles Campaign of World War I, Churchill’s political career seemed over. He was widely regarded as little more than a bombastic and unpredictable buccaneer until, in 1921, an unexpected inheritance heralded a series of events that laid the foundations for his future success.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great explanation if this great m Chirchill’s an
- By David Hitchins on 10-25-20
By: David Stafford
-
Balkan Ghosts
- A Journey Through History
- By: Robert D. Kaplan
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 296
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 252
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 253
From the assassination that triggered World War I to the ethnic warfare in Serbia, Bosnia, and Croatia, the Balkans have been the crucible of the 20th century, the place where terrorism and genocide first became tools of policy. Chosen as one of the Best Books of the Year by the New York Times, and greeted with critical acclaim as "the most insightful and timely work on the Balkans to date" (The Boston Globe), Kaplan's prescient, enthralling, and often chilling political travelogue is already a modern classic.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Anti religious/anti catholic hit piece
- By Daniel Calvert on 05-04-21
By: Robert D. Kaplan
-
Genius & Anxiety
- How Jews Changed the World, 1847-1947
- By: Norman Lebrecht
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 18 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 79
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 68
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 67
Norman Lebrecht has devoted half of his life to pondering and researching the mindset of the Jewish intellectuals, writers, scientists, and thinkers who turned the tides of history and shaped the world today as we know it. In Genius & Anxiety, Lebrecht begins with the Communist Manifesto in 1847 and ends in 1947, when Israel was founded. This robust, magnificent volume, beautifully designed, is an urgent and necessary celebration of Jewish genius and contribution.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Post-anxiety
- By Amaze on 03-27-20
By: Norman Lebrecht
-
Crucible
- The Long End of the Great War and the Birth of a New World, 1917-1924
- By: Charles Emmerson
- Narrated by: Charles Emmerson
- Length: 25 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 29
In Petrograd, a fire is lit. The Tsar is packed off to Siberia. A rancorous Russian exile returns to proclaim a workers' revolution. In America, black soldiers who have served their country in Europe demand their rights at home. An Austrian war veteran trained by the German army to give rousing speeches against the Bolshevik peril begins to rail against the Jews. A solar eclipse turns a former patent clerk into a celebrity. An American reporter living the high life in Paris searches out a new literary style.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Splendid in all respects
- By Paul Custer on 02-11-20
By: Charles Emmerson
-
The Nine Lives of Pakistan
- Dispatches from a Precarious State
- By: Declan Walsh
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 103
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 87
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 87
Declan Walsh is one of the New York Times's most distinguished international correspondents. His electrifying portrait of Pakistan over a tumultuous decade captures the sweep of this strange, wondrous, and benighted country through the dramatic lives of nine fascinating individuals. On assignment as the country careened between crises, Walsh traveled from the raucous port of Karachi to the salons of Lahore, and from Baluchistan to the mountains of Waziristan. He met a diverse cast of extraordinary Pakistanis....
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Fascinating Look at a Troubled Country
- By Dipam on 07-11-21
By: Declan Walsh
-
Erdogan Rising
- The Battle for the Soul of Turkey
- By: Hannah Lucinda Smith
- Narrated by: Hannah Lucinda Smith
- Length: 14 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 60
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 51
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 51
Everyone has heard of Erdogan: Turkey’s bullish, mercurial president is the original postmodern populist. Around the world, other strongmen are now following the path that he has blazed. For the first time, Erdogan Rising tells the inside story of how a democracy on the fringe of Europe has succumbed to dictatorship. Hannah Lucinda Smith, Turkey correspondent with The Times of London, has witnessed all that has befallen Turkey and the wider region since the onset of the Arab Spring.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Overall fascinating profile of Erdogan’s Turkey
- By Saul M on 09-18-20
-
Paris, City of Dreams
- Napoleon III, Baron Haussmann, and the Creation of Paris
- By: Mary McAuliffe
- Narrated by: Tim H. Dixon
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 33
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 29
Acclaimed historian Mary McAuliffe vividly recaptures the Paris of Napoleon III, Claude Monet, and Victor Hugo as Georges Haussmann tore down and rebuilt Paris into the beautiful City of Light we know today. Paris, City of Dreams traces the transformation of the City of Light during Napoleon III’s Second Empire into the beloved city of today.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Superb
- By Cheri Stocking on 02-17-23
By: Mary McAuliffe
-
1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows
- A Memoir
- By: Ai Weiwei, Allan H. Barr - translator
- Narrated by: David Shih
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 182
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 152
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 151
Once a close associate of Mao Zedong and the nation’s most celebrated poet, Ai Weiwei’s father, Ai Qing, was branded a rightist during the Cultural Revolution, and he and his family were banished to a desolate place known as “Little Siberia,” where Ai Qing was sentenced to hard labor cleaning public toilets. Ai Weiwei recounts his childhood in exile, and his difficult decision to leave his family to study art in America, where he befriended Allen Ginsberg and was inspired by Andy Warhol and the artworks of Marcel Duchamp.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
This book changed my life
- By Johnny Nopolis on 08-16-22
By: Ai Weiwei, and others
-
The Correspondents
- Six Women Writers on the Front Lines of World War II
- By: Judith Mackrell
- Narrated by: Julie Teal
- Length: 17 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 36
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 35
On the front lines of the Second World War, a contingent of female journalists were bravely waging their own battle. Barred from combat zones and faced with entrenched prejudice and bureaucratic restrictions, these women were forced to fight for the right to work on equal terms with men.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Narration was nails on a chalkboard
- By aunt deb on 12-20-21
By: Judith Mackrell
-
Nazi Wives
- The Women at the Top of Hitler's Germany
- By: James Wyllie
- Narrated by: Dalya Raphael
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 177
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 153
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 152
Goering, Goebbels, Himmler, Heydrich, Hess, Bormann - names synonymous with power and influence in the Third Reich. Perhaps less familiar are Carin, Emmy, Magda, Margarete, Lina, Ilse, and Gerda. These are the women behind the infamous men - complex individuals with distinctive personalities who were captivated by Hitler and whose everyday lives were governed by Nazi ideology. Throughout the rise and fall of Nazism these women loved and lost, raised families, and quarreled with their husbands and each other, all the while jostling for position with the Fuhrer himself.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Scary
- By Three River on 05-15-21
By: James Wyllie
-
Travelers in the Third Reich
- The Rise of Fascism: 1919-1945
- By: Julia Boyd
- Narrated by: Christa Lewis
- Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 86
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 77
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 77
Travelers in the Third Reich is an extraordinary history of the rise of the Nazis based on fascinating firsthand accounts, drawing together a multitude of voices and stories, including politicians, musicians, diplomats, schoolchildren, communists, scholars, athletes, poets, fascists, artists, tourists, and even celebrities like Charles Lindbergh and Samuel Beckett. Their experiences create a remarkable three-dimensional picture of Germany under Hitler - one so palpable that the listener will feel, hear, even breathe the atmosphere.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Why must I write a review to have my rating count?
- By Saint Exupery on 03-04-23
By: Julia Boyd
-
In Putin's Footsteps
- Searching for the Soul of an Empire Across Russia's Eleven Time Zones
- By: Nina Khrushcheva, Jeffrey Tayler
- Narrated by: Kathleen Gati
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 33
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 28
With exclusive insider status as Nikita Khrushchev’s great grand-daughter, and an ex-pat living and reporting on Russia and the Soviet Union since 1993, Nina Khrushcheva and Jeffrey Tayler offer a poignant exploration of the largest country on Earth through their recreation of Vladimir Putin’s fabled New Year’s Eve speech planned across all 11 time zones.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Up to date assessment of Russia in 2019
- By Joseph C. Wilson on 04-10-19
By: Nina Khrushcheva, and others
-
Hitler and the Habsburgs
- The Fuhrer's Vendetta Against the Austrian Royals
- By: James Longo
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 93
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 83
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 84
As he rose to power, Hitler's hatred toward the Habsburgs and their diverse empire fixated on Franz Ferdinand's sons, who became outspoken critics and opponents of the Nazi party and its racist ideology. When Germany seized Austria in 1938, they were the first two Austrians arrested by the Gestapo, deported to Germany, and sent to Dachau. Within hours they went from palace to prison. The women in the family, including the Archduke's only daughter Princess Sophie Hohenberg, declared their own war on Hitler.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
More of the Story
- By EJJ on 08-28-19
By: James Longo
-
The Unfathomable Ascent
- How Hitler Came to Power
- By: Peter Ross Range
- Narrated by: Paul Hodgson
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 50
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 46
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 46
On the night of January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler leaned out of a spotlit window of the Reich chancellery in Berlin, bursting with joy. The moment seemed unbelievable, even to Hitler. After an improbable political journey that came close to faltering on many occasions, his march to power had finally succeeded. While the path of Hitler's rise has been told in books covering larger portions of his life, no previous work has focused solely on his eight-year climb to rule: 1925-1933.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The best account of Hitler’s rise to power.
- By Deal W. Hudson on 08-26-20
By: Peter Ross Range
-
All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days
- The True Story of the American Woman at the Heart of the German Resistance to Hitler
- By: Rebecca Donner
- Narrated by: Rebecca Donner
- Length: 13 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 549
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 483
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 481
Born and raised in Milwaukee, Mildred Harnack was twenty-six when she enrolled in a PhD program in Germany and witnessed the meteoric rise of the Nazi party. In 1932, she began holding secret meetings in her apartment—a small band of political activists that by 1940 had grown into the largest underground resistance group in Berlin. She recruited working-class Germans into the resistance, helped Jews escape, plotted acts of sabotage, and collaborated in writing leaflets that denounced Hitler and called for revolution.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Riveting narrative non fiction
- By Sarah Q on 10-22-21
By: Rebecca Donner
-
Hitler's First Hundred Days
- When Germans Embraced the Third Reich
- By: Peter Fritzsche
- Narrated by: Jim Seybert
- Length: 14 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 90
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 80
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 78
Amid the ravages of economic depression, Germans in the early 1930s were pulled to political extremes both left and right. Then, in the spring of 1933, Germany turned itself inside out, from a deeply divided republic into a one-party dictatorship. In Hitler's First Hundred Days, award-winning historian Peter Fritzsche offers a probing account of the pivotal moments when the majority of Germans seemed, all at once, to join the Nazis to construct the Third Reich.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Whoa! This Is Too Tense To Be A Horror Novel!
- By Ted on 07-02-20
By: Peter Fritzsche
-
Three Tigers, One Mountain
- A Journey Through the Bitter History and Current Conflicts of China, Korea, and Japan
- By: Michael Booth
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 169
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 149
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 150
There is an ancient Chinese proverb that states, "Two tigers cannot share the same mountain." However, in East Asia, there are three tigers on that mountain: China, Japan, and Korea, and they have a long history of turmoil and tension with each other. In his latest entertaining and thought-provoking narrative travelogue, Michael Booth sets out to discover how deep, really, the enmity is between these three "tiger" nations and what prevents them from making peace.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Not much new here if you are already familiar
- By Neil Richert on 07-13-20
By: Michael Booth
-
How to Be a Dictator
- The Cult of Personality in the Twentieth Century
- By: Frank Dikötter
- Narrated by: Jack Bennett
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 167
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 141
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 140
No dictator can rule through fear and violence alone. Naked power can be grabbed and held temporarily, but it never suffices in the long term. A tyrant who can compel his own people to acclaim him will last longer. The paradox of the modern dictator is that he must create the illusion of popular support. Throughout the 20th century, hundreds of millions of people were condemned to enthusiasm, obliged to hail their leaders even as they were herded down the road to serfdom.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Worth a listen
- By Amazon Customer on 12-06-19
By: Frank Dikötter
What listeners say about Possess the Air
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance2 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- John Faithful Hamer
- 02-27-20
Brilliant book, outstanding author, mediocre reader
I have three versions of this fantastic book: the paperback version, the Kindle version, and the Audible version. The first two are flawless, but the last is marred by the reader’s inability to pronounce fairly standard English words. The actors who are hired to do this kind of work are often unable to properly pronounce foreign words. That is less than ideal, but it’s ultimately forgivable. This is not.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall1 out of 5 stars
-
Performance1 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- alan@cooper.com
- 08-29-24
I simply can't listen to this reader any longer.
This book is about a fascinating time in European history. The story is complex and filled with interesting characters. However, the reader is the worst I've ever heard from any audiobook. His enunciation is clear and his pronunciation of most Italian words isn't bad, but his pronunciation of *English* words is so bad that it seriously distracts from the reading/listening experience. What's more, his herky-jerky pacing is equally distracting; apparently he interprets a comma as a period and a period as a comma, making it very difficult to follow. The book itself is promising, and I'm going to purchase it on physical paper and read it that way. I simply cannot bear to hear Jeff Burling destroy another sentence. And Giacomo is pronounced ZHOCK-ah-moe, not Gee-ah-KOE-moe.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!