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The Life of an American Slave (Fifty Years in Chains)
- Narrated by: Rodney Louis Tompkins
- Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
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The Life of an American Slave (Fifty Years in Chains)
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Publisher's summary
Charles Ball’s book (1836) was written with the help of a lawyer, Isaac Fischer. He recounts his experiences as a slave, including descriptions of the harsh and inhumane conditions under which he lived. He also points out how his well-being depended on the temperament of his slave masters.
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-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 41
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Story5 out of 5 stars 35
This is a special bicentennial edition of Douglass' most famous book, which has been published by his direct descendants through Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives (FDFI).
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5 out of 5 stars
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Most authentic voice
- By Troy Harris on 08-15-19
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21 Months a Captive
- Rachel Plummer and the Fort Parker Massacre
- By: Rachel Plummer, James W. Parker
- Narrated by: Brian V. Hunt, Claire Dayton
- Length: 3 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 78
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 69
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 69
On May 19, 1836, Fort Parker in Texas was overwhelmed by a band of Comanche Indians. Some residents were brutally murdered, others taken prisoner. Among those captured was 11-year-old Cynthia Parker, who would remain with the Comanche for 24 years and give birth to famed Chief Quanah.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Surprisingly dull
- By Erik Johnsrud on 04-06-22
By: Rachel Plummer, and others
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Sufferings in Africa
- By: James Riley
- Narrated by: Brian Emerson
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 201
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 162
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 160
In this classic tale of adventure, a young American sea captain named James Riley, shipwrecked off the western coast of North Africa in 1815, was captured by a band of nomadic Arabs and sold into slavery. Thus begins an epic adventure of survival and a quest for freedom that takes him across the Sahara desert.
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5 out of 5 stars
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19th century shipwreck saga
- By Leslie Grey on 09-05-07
By: James Riley
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Harriett Tubman
- The Moses of Her People
- By: Sarah H. Bradford
- Narrated by: Jim Hodges
- Length: 2 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 298
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 274
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 270
Historian Sarah Hopkins Bradford details the life of heroic abolitionist Harriet Tubman, who was born into slavery but escaped to lead other enslaved people to freedom.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Shame on the Narration
- By erica mary on 06-17-20
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Harry Heathcote of Gangoil
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Peter Joyce
- Length: 4 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 36
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 31
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Story4 out of 5 stars 31
"He was too imperious, too masterful, too much inclined to think that all things should be made to go as he would have them." Thus Trollope describes his hero Harry Heathcote, a settler and sheep farmer in the untamed bush of Australia in 1871. However, Harry has made enemies. In seeking always to act in the honourable fashion he cannot bend and embrace the weaknesses of others.
By: Anthony Trollope
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Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
- By: Harriet Jacobs
- Narrated by: Audio Élan
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 474
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 408
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 406
Harriet Jacobs’ autobiography, written under the pseudonym Linda Brent, details her experiences as a slave in North Carolina, her escape to freedom in the north, and her ensuing struggles to free her children. The narrative was partly serialized in the New York Tribune, but was discontinued because Jacobs’ depictions of the sexual abuse of female slaves were considered too shocking. It was published in book form in 1861.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Another impossible narration
- By JPALJ on 06-11-18
By: Harriet Jacobs
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Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
- By: Frederick Douglass
- Narrated by: Walter Covell
- Length: 3 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 488
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 409
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 407
Frederick Douglass was an American abolitionist, women's suffragist, editor, orator, author, statesman and reformer. He was called both "The Sage of Anacostia" and "The Lion of Anacostia" and is one of the most prominent figures in African-American history and United States history.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great Book!
- By Mama C on 03-05-11
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How I Found Livingstone in Central Africa
- By: Henry M. Stanley
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 15 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 60
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 50
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 50
This riveting history is a firsthand account of the long and arduous search for one of the greatest explorers of the 19th century. Journalist and adventurer Henry M. Stanley was known for his search for the legendary David Livingstone, and their eventual meeting led to the popular quotation "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" A real-life adventure story, How I Found Livingstone in Central Africa tells of the incredible hardships - disease, hostile natives, tribal warfare, impenetrable jungles, and other obstacles - faced by a daring explorer. This must-have account also includes a wealth of information on various African peoples.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Remarkable courage and pluck!
- By Jim on 05-25-18
By: Henry M. Stanley
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The Swiss Family Robinson
- By: Johann David Wyss
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 4 hrs and 56 mins
- Abridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 21
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 17
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 18
A classic tale of adventure and survival, The Swiss Family Robinson has been a best seller ever since it was published in 1812, just over 200 years ago. Written by Swiss pastor Johann David Wyss, it begins with a shipwreck. A boat carrying a family of settlers to a distant colony is driven onto a reef just off an uncharted tropical island. The sailors desert the ship in lifeboats, leaving the family onboard.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Not as good as I hoped
- By Travis and Becky Pitcher on 01-30-21
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Swiss Family Robinson
- By: Johann Wyss
- Narrated by: Jack Sondericker
- Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 288
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 248
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 253
The Swiss Family Robinson recounts the adventures of a father, mother, and four sons marooned on a tropical island. The story unfolds beginning with the tragic storm that claims their ship and the lives of the captain and crew, continuing with their own harrowing battle with the elements and dangerous landing on the remote island shore, and onward through their ingenious use of the materials at hand to survive.
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3 out of 5 stars
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1812 Classic - served authors purposes
- By Jan on 03-04-13
By: Johann Wyss
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Roughing It
- By: Mark Twain
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 15 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,210
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,083
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,075
In 1861, young Mark Twain found himself adrift as a tenderfoot in the Wild West. Roughing It is a hilarious record of his travels over a six-year period that comes to life with his inimitable mixture of reporting, social satire, and rollicking tall tales. Twain reflects on his scuffling years mining silver in Nevada, working at a Virginia City newspaper, being downandout in San Francisco, reporting for a newspaper from Hawaii, and more.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The wild humorist of the West
- By Tad Davis on 01-02-12
By: Mark Twain
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The Pioneers
- The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West
- By: David McCullough
- Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 5,000
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,316
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Story4 out of 5 stars 4,288
The number one New York Times best seller by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough rediscovers an important chapter in the American story that's "as resonant today as ever" (The Wall Street Journal) - the settling of the Northwest Territory by courageous pioneers who overcame incredible hardships to build a community based on ideals that would define our country.
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5 out of 5 stars
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i would prefer david reading it
- By hooterwah on 05-07-19
By: David McCullough
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Twelve Years a Slave
- By: Solomon Northup
- Narrated by: Stephen L. Vernon
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 533
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 467
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Story5 out of 5 stars 466
Twelve Years a Slave is an account of actual events that took place in the life of Solomon Northup, during the pre-Civil War era of the 1840s. It follows the trials and tribulations of an educated African American man that was born into freedom and later kidnapped, taken away from his family, and forced into slavery.
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5 out of 5 stars
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What a great book!!!
- By Andrew Robbin on 09-07-14
By: Solomon Northup
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Andersonville Diary
- A True Account
- By: John L. Ransom
- Narrated by: Adrian Cronauer
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 108
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 48
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 49
Almost 10 times as many men died in the Civil War prison camps of the North and South as were killed at the Battle of Gettysburg. One such camp was Andersonville, where Union soldiers like Brigade Quartermaster John L. Ransom of the Ninth Michigan Cavalry, were subjected to hunger, disease, cruelty, and despair. Captured in November 1863, Ransom kept his spirits and courage up enough to survive and record this compelling true account of his experiences.
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4 out of 5 stars
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It was an awful time
- By Randolph on 10-11-03
By: John L. Ransom
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A Commonwealth of Thieves
- The Improbable Birth of Australia
- By: Thomas Keneally
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 116
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 76
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Story4 out of 5 stars 76
It was 1786 when Arthur Phillip, an ambitious captain in the Royal Navy, was assigned the formidable task of organizing an expedition to Australia in order to establish a penal colony. With the authority of a renowned historian and the narrative grace of a brilliant novelist, Thomas Keneally offers an insider's perspective into the dramatic saga of the birth of a vibrant society in an unfamiliar land.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Interesting tidbits, but slow overall
- By Dan on 08-23-07
By: Thomas Keneally
What listeners say about The Life of an American Slave (Fifty Years in Chains)
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Starr
- 01-05-24
Amazing book
I would definitely recommend this title it was a great read. The audiobook itself has many editing errors where the voice actor repeats small sections of the book however that is the only issue I found. The voice actor also has no emotion in the reading process it sounds more like he is reading a dictionary than the story of someone’s life
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mo Gregory III
- 10-21-21
A poignant tale of resistance against all odds!
The book was an unflinching look at the horrors of slavery. Told through the view point of a man with an unconquerable spirit. Wow!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Berigitte Gray
- 10-24-21
A great but sad and interesting story!
I was curious the entire time. I was imagining all of what he/they went through which is very tragic. Books like this make you think and wonder why.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Algansk
- 02-15-21
Great book. Very well read!
Loved the book. The writer and the narrator did an excellent job. I found myself sitting at edge of my seat at certain points in the story... bellissimo!!
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