The Chief
The Life of William Randolph Hearst
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.
The Chief
Buy for $30.09
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
David Colacci
-
By:
-
David Nasaw
About this listen
William Randolph Hearst, known to his staff as the "Chief", was a brilliant business strategist and a man of prodigious appetites. By the 1930s, he controlled the largest publishing empire in the United States, including 28 newspapers, the Cosmopolitan Picture Studio, radio stations, and 13 magazines. He quickly learned how to use this media stronghold to achieve unprecedented political power.
The son of a gold miner, Hearst underwent a public metamorphosis from Harvard dropout to political kingmaker; from outspoken populist to opponent of the New Deal; and from citizen to congressman. In The Chief, David Nasaw presents an intimate portrait of the man famously characterized in the classic film Citizen Kane.
With unprecedented access to Hearst's personal and business papers, Nasaw details Heart's relationship with his wife, Millicent, and his romance with Marion Davies; his interactions with Hitler, Mussolini, Churchill, and every American president from Grover Cleveland to Franklin Roosevelt; and his acquaintance with movie giants such as Louis B. Mayer, Jack Warner, and Irving Thalberg. An "absorbing, sympathetic portrait of an American original," The Chief sheds light on the private life of a very public man (Chicago Tribune).
©2000 David Nasaw (P)2021 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Patriarch
- The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy
- By: David Nasaw
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 30 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 710
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 620
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 615
Joseph Patrick Kennedy - whose life spanned the First World War, the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, the Second World War, and the Cold War - was the patriarch of America’s greatest political dynasty. The father of President John F. Kennedy and Senators Robert and Edward Kennedy, 'Joe' Kennedy was an indomitable and elusive figure whose dreams of advancement for his nine children were matched only by his extraordinary personal ambition and shrewd financial skills.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Commissioned by the Kennedy Family...
- By E.R. on 09-09-13
By: David Nasaw
-
The People's Tycoon
- Henry Ford and the American Century
- By: Steven Watts
- Narrated by: John H. Mayer
- Length: 29 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 296
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 242
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 240
How a Michigan farm boy became the richest man in America is a classic, almost mythic tale, but never before has Henry Ford's outsized genius been brought to life so vividly as it is in this engaging and superbly researched biography. The real Henry Ford was a tangle of contradictions. He set off the consumer revolution by producing a car affordable to the masses, all the while lamenting the moral toll exacted by consumerism.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
50% Longer than it needed to be.
- By Chris on 04-06-13
By: Steven Watts
-
Walt Whitman’s America
- A Cultural Biography
- By: David S. Reynolds
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 28 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 54
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 43
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 44
In his poetry, Walt Whitman set out to encompass all of America, and in so doing, heal its deepening divisions. This magisterial biography demonstrates the epic scale of his achievement, as well as the dreams and anxieties that impelled it, for it places the poet securely within the political and cultural context of his age.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Helps the listener to understand Leaves of Grass
- By M.Biblioswine on 10-13-22
-
The Dark Side of Genius
- The Life of Alfred Hitchcock
- By: Donald Spoto
- Narrated by: Jeff Riggenbach
- Length: 23 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 288
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 250
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 254
Acclaimed biographer Donald Spoto explores the roots of Hitchcock’s obsessions - with food, murder, and idealized love, among others - and traces the origins of his incomparable, bizarre genius, from his childhood and education to the golden years of his career. Based on interviews with his writers, actors, and longtime associates, and on exhaustive research, The Dark Side of Genius is the definitive biography of Alfred Hitchcock.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The Last Word
- By Erik on 09-22-13
By: Donald Spoto
-
Andrew Carnegie
- By: David Nasaw
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 32 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,222
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 962
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 957
The Scottish-born son of a failed weaver and a mother who supported the family by binding shoes, Andrew Carnegie was the embodiment of the American dream. In his rise from a job as a bobbin boy in a cotton factory to being the richest man in the world, he was single-minded, relentless and a major player in some of the most violent and notorious labor strikes of the time. The prototype of today's billionaire, he was a visionary in the way he earned his money and in the way he gave it away.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Andrew Carnegie
- By Peggie on 10-01-07
By: David Nasaw
-
The Sixth Family
- The Collapse of the New York Mafia and the Rise of Vito Rizzuto
- By: Lee Lamothe, Adrian Humphreys
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 22 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 103
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 92
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 90
On May 5, 1981, three rebellious members of New York's Bonanno crime family were gunned down in a Brooklyn social club. One of the gunmen was Vito Rizzuto, a man who would rise to the top of the underworld in Canada and then expand his reign across continents to become a global superboss. The Sixth Family, now revised and updated, reveals the hidden history of the rise of the Rizzuto clan, the alliances it forged around the world, and the bloody events that led to charges against Vito Rizzuto in the United States and Italy for racketeering and corruption.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
The most boring book I ever read
- By D. G. on 01-15-20
By: Lee Lamothe, and others
-
The Patriarch
- The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy
- By: David Nasaw
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 30 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 710
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 620
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 615
Joseph Patrick Kennedy - whose life spanned the First World War, the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, the Second World War, and the Cold War - was the patriarch of America’s greatest political dynasty. The father of President John F. Kennedy and Senators Robert and Edward Kennedy, 'Joe' Kennedy was an indomitable and elusive figure whose dreams of advancement for his nine children were matched only by his extraordinary personal ambition and shrewd financial skills.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Commissioned by the Kennedy Family...
- By E.R. on 09-09-13
By: David Nasaw
-
The People's Tycoon
- Henry Ford and the American Century
- By: Steven Watts
- Narrated by: John H. Mayer
- Length: 29 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 296
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 242
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 240
How a Michigan farm boy became the richest man in America is a classic, almost mythic tale, but never before has Henry Ford's outsized genius been brought to life so vividly as it is in this engaging and superbly researched biography. The real Henry Ford was a tangle of contradictions. He set off the consumer revolution by producing a car affordable to the masses, all the while lamenting the moral toll exacted by consumerism.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
50% Longer than it needed to be.
- By Chris on 04-06-13
By: Steven Watts
-
Walt Whitman’s America
- A Cultural Biography
- By: David S. Reynolds
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 28 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 54
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 43
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 44
In his poetry, Walt Whitman set out to encompass all of America, and in so doing, heal its deepening divisions. This magisterial biography demonstrates the epic scale of his achievement, as well as the dreams and anxieties that impelled it, for it places the poet securely within the political and cultural context of his age.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Helps the listener to understand Leaves of Grass
- By M.Biblioswine on 10-13-22
-
The Dark Side of Genius
- The Life of Alfred Hitchcock
- By: Donald Spoto
- Narrated by: Jeff Riggenbach
- Length: 23 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 288
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 250
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 254
Acclaimed biographer Donald Spoto explores the roots of Hitchcock’s obsessions - with food, murder, and idealized love, among others - and traces the origins of his incomparable, bizarre genius, from his childhood and education to the golden years of his career. Based on interviews with his writers, actors, and longtime associates, and on exhaustive research, The Dark Side of Genius is the definitive biography of Alfred Hitchcock.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The Last Word
- By Erik on 09-22-13
By: Donald Spoto
-
Andrew Carnegie
- By: David Nasaw
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 32 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,222
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 962
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 957
The Scottish-born son of a failed weaver and a mother who supported the family by binding shoes, Andrew Carnegie was the embodiment of the American dream. In his rise from a job as a bobbin boy in a cotton factory to being the richest man in the world, he was single-minded, relentless and a major player in some of the most violent and notorious labor strikes of the time. The prototype of today's billionaire, he was a visionary in the way he earned his money and in the way he gave it away.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Andrew Carnegie
- By Peggie on 10-01-07
By: David Nasaw
-
The Sixth Family
- The Collapse of the New York Mafia and the Rise of Vito Rizzuto
- By: Lee Lamothe, Adrian Humphreys
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 22 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 103
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 92
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 90
On May 5, 1981, three rebellious members of New York's Bonanno crime family were gunned down in a Brooklyn social club. One of the gunmen was Vito Rizzuto, a man who would rise to the top of the underworld in Canada and then expand his reign across continents to become a global superboss. The Sixth Family, now revised and updated, reveals the hidden history of the rise of the Rizzuto clan, the alliances it forged around the world, and the bloody events that led to charges against Vito Rizzuto in the United States and Italy for racketeering and corruption.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
The most boring book I ever read
- By D. G. on 01-15-20
By: Lee Lamothe, and others
-
The Death of a President
- November 20 - November 25, 1963
- By: William Manchester
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 33 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 303
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 270
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 272
As the world still reeled from the tragic and historic events of November 22, 1963, William Manchester set out, at the request of the Kennedy family, to create a detailed, authoritative record of President John F. Kennedy's death, including the days immediately preceding and following the assassination.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
IMPORTANT HISTORIC BOOK
- By Jeff on 12-06-13
-
Marlborough: His Life and Times
- By: Winston Churchill
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
- Length: 81 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 333
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 295
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 298
John Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough (1644-1722), was one of the greatest military commanders and statesmen in the history of England. Victorious in the Battles of Blenheim (1704) and Ramillies (1706) and countless other campaigns, Marlborough, whose political intrigues were almost as legendary as his military skill, never fought a battle he didn't win. Marlborough also bequeathed the world another great British military strategist and diplomat, his descendant, Winston S. Churchill.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Long, but what a story!
- By Elizabeth on 12-28-16
-
Astor
- The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune
- By: Anderson Cooper, Katherine Howe
- Narrated by: Anderson Cooper
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,118
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,017
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,016
From 1783, when German immigrant John Jacob Astor first arrived in the United States, until 2009, when Brooke Astor’s son, Anthony Marshall, was convicted of defrauding his elderly mother, the Astor name occupied a unique place in American society. The family fortune, first made by a beaver trapping business that grew into an empire, was then amplified by holdings in Manhattan real estate. Over the ensuing generations, Astors ruled Gilded Age New York society and inserted themselves into political and cultural life, but also suffered the most famous loss on the Titanic.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
A family first made, then destroyed by wealth.
- By Barbara W. on 09-23-23
By: Anderson Cooper, and others
-
Plagued by Fire
- The Dreams and Furies of Frank Lloyd Wright
- By: Paul Hendrickson
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 24 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 57
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 47
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 47
Frank Lloyd Wright has long been known as a rank egotist who held in contempt almost everything aside from his own genius. Harder to detect, but no less real, is a Wright who fully understood, and suffered from, the choices he made. This is the Wright whom Paul Hendrickson reveals in this masterful biography: the Wright who was haunted by his father, about whom he told the greatest lie of his life.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
A Very Nasty Biography of FLW
- By Conrad Hastler on 11-15-19
By: Paul Hendrickson
-
The Silk Roads
- A New History of the World
- By: Peter Frankopan
- Narrated by: Laurence Kennedy
- Length: 24 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 568
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 493
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 491
It was on the Silk Roads that East and West first encountered each other through trade and conquest, leading to the spread of ideas, cultures, and religions. From the rise and fall of empires to the spread of Buddhism and the advent of Christianity and Islam, right up to the great wars of the 20th century - this book shows how the fate of the West has always been inextricably linked to the East.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An Absolutely SUPERB Book for Lovers of History
- By Dipam on 06-27-21
By: Peter Frankopan
-
Beethoven
- Anguish and Triumph
- By: Jan Swafford
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 39 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 213
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 185
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 181
Jan Swafford's biographies have established him as a revered music historian, capable of bringing his subjects vibrantly to life. His magnificent new biography of Ludwig van Beethoven peels away layers of legend to get to the living, breathing human being who composed some of the world's most iconic music.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Huge book - musical reader appreciates best
- By DMgraphicGlass on 01-20-15
By: Jan Swafford
-
The Contender
- The Story of Marlon Brando
- By: William J. Mann
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 21 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 129
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 111
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 111
The award-winning film biographer presents a deeply-textured, ambitious, and definitive portrait of the greatest movie actor of the 20th century, the elusive Marlon Brando, bringing his extraordinarily complex life into view as never before. The most influential movie actor of his era, Marlon Brando changed the way other actors perceived their craft. His approach was natural, honest, and deeply personal, resulting in performances - most notably in A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront - that are without parallel.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Psychobabble run amok
- By Dr. Susan Tice-Alicke on 06-07-20
By: William J. Mann
-
Racing for the Bomb
- The True Story of General Leslie R. Groves, the Man Behind the Birth of the Atomic Age
- By: Robert S. Norris
- Narrated by: Peter Johnson
- Length: 23 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 93
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 80
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 78
Revealed for the first time in Racing for the Bomb, Groves played a crucial and decisive role in the planning, timing, and targeting of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki missions. Norris offers new insights into the complex and controversial questions surrounding the decision to drop the bomb in Japan and Groves' actions during World War II, which had a lasting imprint on the nuclear age and the Cold War that followed.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Fascinating
- By Jean on 04-22-15
By: Robert S. Norris
-
Oswald's Tale
- An American Mystery
- By: Norman Mailer
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 29 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 167
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 151
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 151
In perhaps his most important literary feat, Norman Mailer fashions an unprecedented portrait of one of the great villains - and enigmas - in United States history. Here is Lee Harvey Oswald - his family background, troubled marriage, controversial journey to Russia, and return to an "America [waiting] for him like an angry relative whose eyes glare in the heat."
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Outstanding
- By night owl on 04-21-17
By: Norman Mailer
-
Alexander Hamilton
- By: Ron Chernow
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 35 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 24,548
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 21,273
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 21,143
Historians have long told the story of America’s birth as the triumph of Jefferson’s democratic ideals over the aristocratic intentions of Hamilton. Chernow presents an entirely different man, whose legendary ambitions were motivated not merely by self-interest but by passionate patriotism and a stubborn will to build the foundations of American prosperity and power.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An Outstanding & Riveting Book!
- By Kevin on 03-04-05
By: Ron Chernow
-
Sinatra
- The Chairman
- By: James Kaplan
- Narrated by: Donald Corren
- Length: 40 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 391
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 348
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 350
Just in time for the Chairman's centennial, the endlessly absorbing sequel to James Kaplan's best-selling Frank: The Voice - finally the definitive biography that Frank Sinatra, justly termed "The Entertainer of the Century", deserves and requires. Like Peter Guralnick on Elvis, Kaplan goes behind the legend to give us the man in full, in his many guises and aspects: peerless singer, (sometimes) powerful actor, business mogul, tireless lover, and associate of the powerful and infamous.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
So, So Long...
- By A Concerned Reader on 03-03-16
By: James Kaplan
-
Gotham
- A History of New York City to 1898
- By: Edwin G. Burrows, Mike Wallace
- Narrated by: Victor Bevine
- Length: 67 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 270
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 225
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 225
In Gotham, Edwin G. Burrows and Mike Wallace have produced a monumental work of history, one that ranges from the Indian tribes that settled in and around the island of Manna-hata, to the consolidation of the five boroughs into Greater New York in 1898. It is an epic narrative, a story as vast and as varied as the city it chronicles, and it underscores that the history of New York is the story of our nation. The events and people who crowd this audiobook guarantee that this is no mere local history. It is in fact a portrait of the heart and soul of America....
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
THANK YOU!!!!!
- By Stephen F (SPFJR) on 09-29-18
By: Edwin G. Burrows, and others
Related to this topic
-
JFK
- Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917-1956
- By: Fredrik Logevall
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 29 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 551
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 486
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 484
By the time of his assassination in 1963, John F. Kennedy stood at the helm of the greatest power the world had ever seen, a booming American nation that he had steered through some of the most perilous diplomatic standoffs of the Cold War. Born in 1917 to a striving Irish American family that had become among Boston’s wealthiest, Kennedy knew political ambition from an early age, and his meteoric rise to become the youngest elected president cemented his status as one of the most mythologized figures in American history.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent Portrait of JFK & His Times
- By John David on 12-14-20
By: Fredrik Logevall
-
The Kennedys
- An American Drama
- By: Peter Collier, David Horowitz
- Narrated by: Christopher Hurt
- Length: 20 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 76
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 65
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 65
Who are the Kennedys? Are they the brilliant, heroic, extraordinary people their admirers believe them to be? Or are they arrogant, competitive, self-absorbed children of a willful and immensely rich patriarch, as their detractors claim? In fact, they are all of these things, and more.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Well-written (and narrated) Kennedy history.
- By SBG on 09-17-19
By: Peter Collier, and others
-
"The Rest of Us"
- The Rise of America's Eastern European Jews
- By: Stephen Birmingham
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 18 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 32
The wave of Eastern European Jewish immigrants who swept into New York in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by way of Ellis Island were not welcomed by the Jews who had arrived decades before. These refugees from czarist Russia and the Polish shtetls who came to America to escape pogroms and persecution were considered barbaric, uneducated, and too steeped in the traditions of the "old country" to be accepted by the more refined and already well-established German-Jewish community. But the new arrivals were tough, passionate, and determined.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Book 3 of 3
- By Etoile NEOhio on 11-15-22
-
The Defining Moment
- FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope
- By: Jonathan Alter
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,104
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 774
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 772
In this dramatic and fascinating account, Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter shows how Franklin Delano Roosevelt used his first 100 days in office to lift the country from the despair and paralysis of the Great Depression and transform the American presidency.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Very infomative, and also refreshingly honest
- By Andy on 02-19-09
By: Jonathan Alter
-
The Hour of Fate
- Theodore Roosevelt, J.P. Morgan, and the Battle to Transform American Capitalism
- By: Susan Berfield
- Narrated by: Jennifer Woodward
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 72
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 56
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 56
A riveting narrative of Wall Street buccaneering, political intrigue and two of American history’s most colossal characters, struggling for mastery in an era of social upheaval and rampant inequality. Today, as the country again asks whether saving democracy means taming capital, the lessons of Roosevelt and Morgan’s time are more urgent than ever.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Engaging
- By Jean on 06-08-20
By: Susan Berfield
-
The Fifties
- By: David Halberstam
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 34 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 570
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 505
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 500
The Fifties is a sweeping social, political, economic, and cultural history of the 10 years that Halberstam regards as seminal in determining what our nation is today. Halberstam offers portraits of not only the titans of the age: Eisenhower, Dulles, Oppenheimer, MacArthur, Hoover, and Nixon; but also of Harley Earl, who put fins on cars; Dick and Mac McDonald and Ray Kroc, who mass-produced the American hamburger; Kemmons Wilson, who placed his Holiday Inns along the nation's roadsides; and more.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
one of the very best
- By Chester Chellman on 09-25-18
By: David Halberstam
-
JFK
- Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917-1956
- By: Fredrik Logevall
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 29 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 551
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 486
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 484
By the time of his assassination in 1963, John F. Kennedy stood at the helm of the greatest power the world had ever seen, a booming American nation that he had steered through some of the most perilous diplomatic standoffs of the Cold War. Born in 1917 to a striving Irish American family that had become among Boston’s wealthiest, Kennedy knew political ambition from an early age, and his meteoric rise to become the youngest elected president cemented his status as one of the most mythologized figures in American history.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent Portrait of JFK & His Times
- By John David on 12-14-20
By: Fredrik Logevall
-
The Kennedys
- An American Drama
- By: Peter Collier, David Horowitz
- Narrated by: Christopher Hurt
- Length: 20 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 76
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 65
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 65
Who are the Kennedys? Are they the brilliant, heroic, extraordinary people their admirers believe them to be? Or are they arrogant, competitive, self-absorbed children of a willful and immensely rich patriarch, as their detractors claim? In fact, they are all of these things, and more.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Well-written (and narrated) Kennedy history.
- By SBG on 09-17-19
By: Peter Collier, and others
-
"The Rest of Us"
- The Rise of America's Eastern European Jews
- By: Stephen Birmingham
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 18 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 32
The wave of Eastern European Jewish immigrants who swept into New York in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by way of Ellis Island were not welcomed by the Jews who had arrived decades before. These refugees from czarist Russia and the Polish shtetls who came to America to escape pogroms and persecution were considered barbaric, uneducated, and too steeped in the traditions of the "old country" to be accepted by the more refined and already well-established German-Jewish community. But the new arrivals were tough, passionate, and determined.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Book 3 of 3
- By Etoile NEOhio on 11-15-22
-
The Defining Moment
- FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope
- By: Jonathan Alter
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,104
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 774
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 772
In this dramatic and fascinating account, Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter shows how Franklin Delano Roosevelt used his first 100 days in office to lift the country from the despair and paralysis of the Great Depression and transform the American presidency.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Very infomative, and also refreshingly honest
- By Andy on 02-19-09
By: Jonathan Alter
-
The Hour of Fate
- Theodore Roosevelt, J.P. Morgan, and the Battle to Transform American Capitalism
- By: Susan Berfield
- Narrated by: Jennifer Woodward
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 72
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 56
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 56
A riveting narrative of Wall Street buccaneering, political intrigue and two of American history’s most colossal characters, struggling for mastery in an era of social upheaval and rampant inequality. Today, as the country again asks whether saving democracy means taming capital, the lessons of Roosevelt and Morgan’s time are more urgent than ever.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Engaging
- By Jean on 06-08-20
By: Susan Berfield
-
The Fifties
- By: David Halberstam
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 34 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 570
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 505
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 500
The Fifties is a sweeping social, political, economic, and cultural history of the 10 years that Halberstam regards as seminal in determining what our nation is today. Halberstam offers portraits of not only the titans of the age: Eisenhower, Dulles, Oppenheimer, MacArthur, Hoover, and Nixon; but also of Harley Earl, who put fins on cars; Dick and Mac McDonald and Ray Kroc, who mass-produced the American hamburger; Kemmons Wilson, who placed his Holiday Inns along the nation's roadsides; and more.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
one of the very best
- By Chester Chellman on 09-25-18
By: David Halberstam
-
Coolidge
- By: Amity Shlaes
- Narrated by: Terence Aselford
- Length: 21 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 929
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 819
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 811
Calvin Coolidge, president from 1923 to 1929, never rated highly in polls, and history has remembered the decade in which he served as an extravagant period predating the Great Depression. Now Amity Shlaes provides a fresh look at the 1920s and its elusive president, showing that the mid-1920s was in fact a triumphant period that established our modern way of life: The nation electrified, Americans drove their first cars, and the federal deficit was replaced with a surplus.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Silent Cal
- By Jean on 02-19-13
By: Amity Shlaes
-
The Ambassador
- Joseph P. Kennedy at the Court of St. James's 1938-1940
- By: Susan Ronald
- Narrated by: Victor Bevine
- Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 82
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 74
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 75
Acclaimed biographer Susan Ronald reveals the truth about Joseph P. Kennedy's shockingly controversial tenure as ambassador to Great Britain on the eve of World War II.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Needs a bit of editing
- By Mike From Mesa on 09-02-21
By: Susan Ronald
-
Eleanor
- By: David Michaelis
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 19 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 622
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 526
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 520
In the first single-volume cradle-to-grave portrait in six decades, acclaimed biographer David Michaelis delivers a stunning account of Eleanor Roosevelt’s remarkable life of transformation. An orphaned niece of President Theodore Roosevelt, she converted her Gilded Age childhood of denial and secrecy into an irreconcilable marriage with her ambitious fifth cousin Franklin. Franklin Roosevelt transformed Eleanor from a settlement house volunteer on New York’s Lower East Side into a matching partner in New York’s most important power couple in a generation.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Stands apart from other biographies of ER
- By Debra Malone on 11-20-20
By: David Michaelis
-
Truman
- By: David McCullough
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 54 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 5,271
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 4,666
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 4,650
Hailed by critics as an American masterpiece, David McCullough's sweeping biography of Harry S. Truman captured the heart of the nation. The life and times of the 33rd president of the United States, Truman provides a deeply moving look at an extraordinary, singular American.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
That Mousy Little Man From Missouri Revisited
- By Sara on 07-23-15
By: David McCullough
-
The Irregulars
- Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington
- By: Jennet Conant
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 514
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 306
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 307
Prior to the U.S. entering WWII, a small coterie of British spies in Washington, D.C., was formed. They called themselves the Baker Street Irregulars after the band of street urchins who were the eyes and ears of Sherlock Holmes in some Arthur Conan Doyle stories.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Spying in Washington
- By Sara on 10-03-14
By: Jennet Conant
-
The Rockefellers
- By: Peter Collier, David Horowitz
- Narrated by: Michael Anthony
- Length: 30 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 109
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 56
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 57
Against a richly detailed backdrop of history, the story of this unique American family unfolds. It begins with John D. Rockefeller Sr., who amassed a fortune amid the muck and disorder of the Pennsylvania oil fields and left his son to deal with the public outcry.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Too Long
- By Rohit on 05-25-07
By: Peter Collier, and others
-
"Our Crowd"
- The Great Jewish Families of New York
- By: Stephen Birmingham
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 19 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 304
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 261
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 260
They immigrated to America from Germany in the nineteenth century with names like Loeb, Sachs, Seligman, Lehman, Guggenheim, and Goldman. From tenements on the Lower East Side to Park Avenue mansions, this handful of Jewish families turned small businesses into imposing enterprises and amassed spectacular fortunes. But despite possessing breathtaking wealth that rivaled the Astors and Rockefellers, they were barred by the gentile establishment from the lofty realm of "the 400," a register of New York's most elite, because of their religion and humble backgrounds.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Finance heavy
- By Shayla on 03-28-21
-
Lyndon
- An Oral Biography
- By: Merle Miller
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 32 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 38
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 38
Best-selling presidential biographer Merle Miller has crafted a candid portrait of one of the most complex, fascinating, difficult, and colorful figures in American history. From his birth in 1908 to his death in 1973, the story of Lyndon B. Johnson is told with no sparing his personal excesses and contentious public image - while also highlighting the strength of his greatest accomplishments in Washington.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Flawless
- By Jeffrey on 01-04-21
By: Merle Miller
-
The American Story
- Conversations with Master Historians
- By: David M. Rubenstein, Carla Hayden - foreword
- Narrated by: David M. Rubenstein, David McCullough, Walter Isaacson, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Highlights
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 852
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 731
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 724
Through his popular program The David Rubenstein Show, David Rubenstein has established himself as one of today’s most thoughtful interviewers. Now, in The American Story, David shares almost a dozen interviews that capture the brilliance of today’s most esteemed historians, as well as the souls of their subjects. The audiobook presents archival recordings of these interviews and features new introductions by Rubenstein as well as a foreword by Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, the first woman and the first African American to lead our national library.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Stories missing
- By Judith Princz on 01-02-20
By: David M. Rubenstein, and others
-
The Last Lone Inventor
- A Tale of Genius, Deceit, and the Birth of Television
- By: Evan I. Schwartz
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 22
In a story that is both of its time and timeless, Evan I. Schwartz tells a tale of genius versus greed, innocence versus deceit, and independent brilliance versus corporate arrogance. Many men have laid claim to the title "father of television," but Philo T. Farnsworth is the true genius behind what may be the most influential invention of our time. Driven by his obsession to demonstrate his idea, by the age of 20 Farnsworth was operating his own laboratory above a garage in San Francisco and filing for patents. The resulting publicity caught the attention of RCA tycoon David Sarnoff, who became determined to control television in the same way he monopolized radio.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Thank you, Philo.
- By JPALJ on 03-29-20
By: Evan I. Schwartz
-
The Day the Bubble Burst
- A Social History of the Wall Street Crash of 1929
- By: Gordon Thomas, Max Morgan-Witts
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 21 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 45
The New York Times best seller that tells the story of an overheated stock market and the financial disaster that led to the Great Depression of the 1930s. A riveting living history about Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929. Captures the era, the intoxicating expectancy, the hope that ruled men's heart and minds before the bubble burst and the black despair of the decade that followed.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Thorough and fascinating
- By Bowen Florsheim on 04-23-21
By: Gordon Thomas, and others
-
Titan
- The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
- By: Ron Chernow
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 35 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 8,985
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7,905
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 7,879
Titan is the first full-length biography based on unrestricted access to Rockefeller’s exceptionally rich trove of papers. A landmark publication full of startling revelations, the book indelibly alters our image of this most enigmatic capitalist. Born the son of a flamboyant, bigamous snake-oil salesman and a pious, straitlaced mother, Rockefeller rose from rustic origins to become the world’s richest man by creating America’s most powerful and feared monopoly, Standard Oil. Branded "the Octopus" by legions of muckrakers, the trust refined and marketed nearly 90 percent of the oil produced in America.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
He makes Bill Gates look like a Pauper!
- By Rick on 11-04-13
By: Ron Chernow
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Patriarch
- The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy
- By: David Nasaw
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 30 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 710
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 620
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 615
Joseph Patrick Kennedy - whose life spanned the First World War, the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, the Second World War, and the Cold War - was the patriarch of America’s greatest political dynasty. The father of President John F. Kennedy and Senators Robert and Edward Kennedy, 'Joe' Kennedy was an indomitable and elusive figure whose dreams of advancement for his nine children were matched only by his extraordinary personal ambition and shrewd financial skills.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Commissioned by the Kennedy Family...
- By E.R. on 09-09-13
By: David Nasaw
-
Andrew Carnegie
- By: David Nasaw
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 32 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall