The Sinking of the SS Central America
The Tragic Story of the Richest Shipwreck in History
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 Sinking of the SS Central America
Buy for $6.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Dave Wright
About this listen
"Captain Herndon pointed to the thinning clouds and predicted that their breaking up portended an end to the storm. He spoke to the men at the pumps; he cheered the men in the bailing lines. He told them he thought the storm was abating, and that if they would just continue to bail until noon, the steamer might be saved.... Though the passengers received the captain's comments with great cheer, Herndon knew his hope was false. He knew the sea would rise again and the wind would blow with even greater fury. He knew that a ship floating 750 tons of iron with water filling her hold, and more water constantly rushing in, could remain afloat but a short while longer." - Gary Kinder, Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea: The History and Discovery of the World's Richest Shipwreck
There have been countless numbers of shipwrecks over the course of history, but few have had as great an impact as the sinking of the SS Central America in a hurricane in September 1857. The California Gold Rush was in full swing, state of the art steamer ships were used to transport the discovered gold back east, and the Central America was one of them. On its fateful voyage, the ship was carrying nearly 600 passengers and a huge haul of up to 20 tons of gold worth an estimated $2 million at the time.
On the way from Cuba to New York City, the Central America was caught in a Stage Two hurricane that it never had a chance of knowing about ahead of time. With winds over 100 miles per hour, the hurricane ripped its sails, and the ship started taking on water while struggling to keep its boiler going. These conditions all but doomed the ship.
©2012 Charles River Editors (P)2015 Charles River EditorsListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Shipwreck Hunter
- A Lifetime of Extraordinary Discoveries on the Ocean Floor
- By: David L. Mearns
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 16 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 333
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 280
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 279
David L. Mearns has discovered some of the world's most fascinating and elusive shipwrecks. The Shipwreck Hunter chronicles his most intriguing finds. It describes the extraordinary techniques used, the detailed research, and mid-ocean stamina and courage required to find a wreck thousands of feet beneath the sea, plus the moving human stories that lie behind each of these oceanic tragedies. Combining the adventuring derring-do of Indiana Jones with the precision of a scientist, The Shipwreck Hunter opens an illuminating porthole into the shadowy depths of the ocean.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Delivered More Than I Expected!
- By Jason V. Kilmer on 08-07-18
By: David L. Mearns
-
The Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald
- The Loss of the Largest Ship on the Great Lakes
- By: Charles River Editors
- Narrated by: Scott Clem
- Length: 1 hr and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 86
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 77
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 77
The Great Lakes have claimed countless thousands of vessels over the course of history, but its biggest and most famous victim was the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, the largest ship of its day to sail the Great Lakes and still the largest to lie below Lake Superior's murky depths. The giant ore freighter was intentionally built "within a foot of the maximum length allowed for passage through the soon-to-be completed Saint Lawrence Seaway."
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
A waste of money
- By Brutus the All Knowing on 04-13-17
-
Destiny of the Republic
- A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President
- By: Candice Millard
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7,531
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6,643
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6,618
James A. Garfield may have been the most extraordinary man ever elected president. Born into abject poverty, he rose to become a wunderkind scholar, a Civil War hero, and a renowned and admired reformist congressman. Nominated for president against his will, he engaged in a fierce battle with the corrupt political establishment. But four months after his inauguration, a deranged office seeker tracked Garfield down and shot him in the back. But the shot didn’t kill Garfield. The drama of what happened subsequently is a powerful story of a nation in turmoil.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Marvelous, Magnificent, Millard
- By Mel on 02-08-12
By: Candice Millard
-
The Loss of the S.S. Titanic
- Its Story and Its Lessons
- By: Lawrence Beesley
- Narrated by: Felbrigg Napoleon Herriot
- Length: 4 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 27
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 26
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 26
Lawrence Beesley was a passenger on the Titanic's maiden voyage and therefore a survivor of its tragic loss. In this audiobook he narrates the circumstances of the ship's collision with an iceberg and the strange unexpected behaviour of the passengers, who found it hard to believe anything at all had happened.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderfully Spellbinding
- By Sal from NJ on 02-20-19
By: Lawrence Beesley
-
Dead Wake
- The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
- By: Erik Larson
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 14,017
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 12,449
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 12,426
On May 1, 1915, with WWI entering its tenth month, a luxury ocean liner as richly appointed as an English country house sailed out of New York, bound for Liverpool, carrying a record number of children and infants. The passengers were surprisingly at ease, even though Germany had declared the seas around Britain to be a war zone. For months, German U-boats had brought terror to the North Atlantic.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Naivety VS Barbarians Of War
- By Sara on 03-05-16
By: Erik Larson
-
In the Heart of the Sea
- The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,486
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,799
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,795
The ordeal of the whaleship Essex was an event as mythic in the nineteenth century as the sinking of the Titanic was in the twentieth. In 1819 the Essex left Nantucket for the South Pacific with 20 crew members aboard. In the middle of the South Pacific the ship was rammed and sunk by an angry sperm whale. The crew drifted for more than 90 days in three tiny whaleboats, succumbing to weather, hunger, and disease and ultimately turning to drastic measures in the fight for survival.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Audio must have been fixed
- By Amazon Customer on 02-11-18
-
The Shipwreck Hunter
- A Lifetime of Extraordinary Discoveries on the Ocean Floor
- By: David L. Mearns
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 16 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 333
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 280
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 279
David L. Mearns has discovered some of the world's most fascinating and elusive shipwrecks. The Shipwreck Hunter chronicles his most intriguing finds. It describes the extraordinary techniques used, the detailed research, and mid-ocean stamina and courage required to find a wreck thousands of feet beneath the sea, plus the moving human stories that lie behind each of these oceanic tragedies. Combining the adventuring derring-do of Indiana Jones with the precision of a scientist, The Shipwreck Hunter opens an illuminating porthole into the shadowy depths of the ocean.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Delivered More Than I Expected!
- By Jason V. Kilmer on 08-07-18
By: David L. Mearns
-
The Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald
- The Loss of the Largest Ship on the Great Lakes
- By: Charles River Editors
- Narrated by: Scott Clem
- Length: 1 hr and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 86
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 77
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 77
The Great Lakes have claimed countless thousands of vessels over the course of history, but its biggest and most famous victim was the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, the largest ship of its day to sail the Great Lakes and still the largest to lie below Lake Superior's murky depths. The giant ore freighter was intentionally built "within a foot of the maximum length allowed for passage through the soon-to-be completed Saint Lawrence Seaway."
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
A waste of money
- By Brutus the All Knowing on 04-13-17
-
Destiny of the Republic
- A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President
- By: Candice Millard
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7,531
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6,643
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6,618
James A. Garfield may have been the most extraordinary man ever elected president. Born into abject poverty, he rose to become a wunderkind scholar, a Civil War hero, and a renowned and admired reformist congressman. Nominated for president against his will, he engaged in a fierce battle with the corrupt political establishment. But four months after his inauguration, a deranged office seeker tracked Garfield down and shot him in the back. But the shot didn’t kill Garfield. The drama of what happened subsequently is a powerful story of a nation in turmoil.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Marvelous, Magnificent, Millard
- By Mel on 02-08-12
By: Candice Millard
-
The Loss of the S.S. Titanic
- Its Story and Its Lessons
- By: Lawrence Beesley
- Narrated by: Felbrigg Napoleon Herriot
- Length: 4 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 27
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 26
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 26
Lawrence Beesley was a passenger on the Titanic's maiden voyage and therefore a survivor of its tragic loss. In this audiobook he narrates the circumstances of the ship's collision with an iceberg and the strange unexpected behaviour of the passengers, who found it hard to believe anything at all had happened.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderfully Spellbinding
- By Sal from NJ on 02-20-19
By: Lawrence Beesley
-
Dead Wake
- The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
- By: Erik Larson
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 14,017
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 12,449
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 12,426
On May 1, 1915, with WWI entering its tenth month, a luxury ocean liner as richly appointed as an English country house sailed out of New York, bound for Liverpool, carrying a record number of children and infants. The passengers were surprisingly at ease, even though Germany had declared the seas around Britain to be a war zone. For months, German U-boats had brought terror to the North Atlantic.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Naivety VS Barbarians Of War
- By Sara on 03-05-16
By: Erik Larson
-
In the Heart of the Sea
- The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,486
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,799
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,795
The ordeal of the whaleship Essex was an event as mythic in the nineteenth century as the sinking of the Titanic was in the twentieth. In 1819 the Essex left Nantucket for the South Pacific with 20 crew members aboard. In the middle of the South Pacific the ship was rammed and sunk by an angry sperm whale. The crew drifted for more than 90 days in three tiny whaleboats, succumbing to weather, hunger, and disease and ultimately turning to drastic measures in the fight for survival.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Audio must have been fixed
- By Amazon Customer on 02-11-18
-
In the Kingdom of Ice
- The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette
- By: Hampton Sides
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,467
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,149
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,143
In the late nineteenth century, people were obsessed by one of the last unmapped areas of the globe: The North Pole. No one knew what existed beyond the fortress of ice rimming the northern oceans. On July 8, 1879, the USS Jeannette set sail from San Francisco to cheering crowds in the grip of "Arctic Fever." The ship sailed into uncharted seas, but soon was trapped in pack ice. Two years into the harrowing voyage, the hull was breached. Amid the rush of water and the shrieks of breaking wooden boards, the crew abandoned the ship.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Superb tale that unravels at an iceburg's pace
- By Mel on 03-19-15
By: Hampton Sides
-
Isaac's Storm
- A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History
- By: Erik Larson
- Narrated by: Richard Davidson
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,200
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,035
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,028
At the dawn of the 20th century, a great confidence suffused America. Isaac Cline was one of the era's new men, a scientist who believed he knew all there was to know about the motion of clouds and the behavior of storms. The idea that a hurricane could damage the city of Galveston, Texas, where he was based, was to him preposterous, "an absurd delusion." It was 1900, a year when America felt bigger and stronger than ever before. Nothing in nature could hobble the gleaming city of Galveston, then a magical place that seemed destined to become the New York of the Gulf.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Two versions on Audible
- By stephiemav42 on 03-10-21
By: Erik Larson
-
Miracles on the Water
- The Heroic Survivors of a World War II U-Boat Attack
- By: Tom Nagorski
- Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 17
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 18
An unforgettable story of children in wartime, of heroism at sea, and - above all - of courage and the power of the human spirit. On September 17, 1940, at a little after 10 at night, a German submarine torpedoed the passenger liner S.S. City of Benares in the North Atlantic. There were 406 people on board, but the ship's prized passengers were 90 children whose parents had elected to send their boys and girls away from Great Britain to escape the ravages of World War II. They were considered lucky, headed for quiet, peaceful, and relatively bountiful Canada.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Riveting history
- By appreciative reader on 05-21-17
By: Tom Nagorski
-
Mutiny on the Bounty
- By: Peter FitzSimons
- Narrated by: Michael Carman
- Length: 22 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 926
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 807
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 803
The mutiny on HMS Bounty, in the South Pacific on 28 April 1789, is one of history's truly great stories - a tale of human drama, intrigue and adventure of the highest order - and in the hands of Peter FitzSimons it comes to life as never before. Commissioned by the Royal Navy to collect breadfruit plants from Tahiti and take them to the West Indies, the Bounty's crew found themselves in a tropical paradise. Five months later, they did not want to leave.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
You don't know the whole story.
- By Justin Sluyter on 05-01-19
By: Peter FitzSimons
-
The Survivors of the Chancellor
- By: Jules Verne
- Narrated by: John Bolen
- Length: 5 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 152
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 133
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 131
Mr. Kazallon thought that booking passage on a cargo ship from Charleston to Liverpool would be a charming way to return to his English homeland. If only he knew! A crazed sea captain, a disaster in the hold, storms, oppressive heat, sharks and starvation are just some of the many travails that will beset both passengers and crew. Will any of them survive the wreck of the Chancellor?
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Overall, Good
- By Caleb on 03-16-15
By: Jules Verne
-
Under Enemy Colors
- By: S. Thomas Russell
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 617
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 458
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 458
At the time of the French Revolution, one of Britain's most skillful naval officers, Charles Saunders Hayden, is a young lieutenant, the son of an English father and a French mother. His abilities and his loyalty to the king of England are beyond dispute, yet his career seems doomed by his "mixed" heritage and lack of political connections. Consequently, Hayden is assigned to an aging frigate, the Themis, under the command of Captain Josiah Hart, a man known as "Faint Hart" throughout the service.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Perfect for first timer
- By Blackmac on 08-07-08
-
Titanic: Voices From the Disaster
- By: Deborah Hopkinson
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall, Peter Altschuler
- Length: 4 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 140
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 119
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 120
Scheduled to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the tragic sinking of the Titanic, a topic that continues to haunt and thrill listeners to this day, this audiobook by critically acclaimed author Deborah Hopkinson weaves together the voices and stories of real Titanic survivors and witnesses to the disaster - from the stewardess Violet Jessop to Captain Arthur Rostron of the Carpatia, who came to the rescue of the sinking ship. Packed with heart-stopping action, devastating drama, and more.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
different... decent...
- By john on 05-16-16
-
Simple Courage
- The True Story of Peril on the Sea
- By: Frank Delaney
- Narrated by: Frank Delaney
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 329
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 208
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 211
Drawing on historical documents and contemporary accounts and on exclusive interviews with Carlsen's family, Delaney opens a window into the world of the merchant marine. With deep affection, and respect, for the weather and all that goes with it, he places us in the heart of the storm, a "biblical tempest" of unimaginable power. He illuminates the bravery and ingenuity of Carlsen and the extraordinary courage that the 37-year-old captain inspired in his stalwart crew.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Well written and read
- By AMS on 03-03-08
By: Frank Delaney
-
Other Side of the Night
- The Carpathia, the Californian and the Night the Titanic Was Lost
- By: Daniel Allen Butler
- Narrated by: Paul Heitsch
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 610
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 555
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 559
A few minutes before midnight on April 14, 1912, the "unsinkable" RMS Titanic, on her maiden voyage to New York, struck an iceberg. Less than three hours later she lay at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. While the world has remained fascinated by the tragedy, the most amazing drama of those fateful hours was not played out aboard the doomed liner. It took place on the decks of two other ships, one 58 miles distant from the sinking Titanic, the other barely 10 miles away.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The Other Side of the Night
- By Amazon Customer on 04-19-15
-
Adrift
- A True Story of Tragedy on the Icy Atlantic and the One Who Lived to Tell About It
- By: Brian Murphy, Toula Vlahou
- Narrated by: Dan Warren
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 54
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 50
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 50
The small ship making the Liverpool-to-New York trip in the early months of 1856 carried mail, crates of dry goods, and more than 100 passengers, mostly Irish emigrants. Suddenly, an iceberg tore the ship asunder, and five lifeboats were lowered. As four lifeboats drifted into the fog and icy water, never to be heard from again, the last boat wrenched away from the sinking ship with a few blankets, some water and biscuits, and 13 souls. Only one would survive. This is his story.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Engrossing
- By Trish on 04-20-22
By: Brian Murphy, and others
-
Sea of Glory
- America's Voyage of Discovery, the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 626
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 467
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 471
America's first frontier was not the West; it was the sea, and no one writes more eloquently about that watery wilderness than Nathaniel Philbrick. In his best-selling In the Heart of the Sea, Philbrick probed the nightmarish dangers of the vast Pacific. Now, in an epic sea adventure, he writes about one of the most ambitious voyages of discovery the Western world has ever seen - the US Exploring Expedition of 1838-1842.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A good solid voyage of discovery
- By Ken Sundermeyer on 06-18-05
-
Batavia
- By: Peter FitzSimons
- Narrated by: Richard Aspel
- Length: 17 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 551
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 484
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 483
The story begins in 1629, when the pride of the Dutch East India Company, the Batavia, is on its maiden voyage en route from Amsterdam to the Dutch East Indies, laden down with the greatest treasure to leave Holland. The magnificent ship is already boiling over with a mutinous plot that is just about to break into the open when, just off the coast of Western Australia, it strikes an unseen reef in the middle of the night.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Disaster, Mutiny, Murder, Survival
- By Todd on 02-07-13
By: Peter FitzSimons
Related to this topic
-
Miracles on the Water
- The Heroic Survivors of a World War II U-Boat Attack
- By: Tom Nagorski
- Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 17
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 18
An unforgettable story of children in wartime, of heroism at sea, and - above all - of courage and the power of the human spirit. On September 17, 1940, at a little after 10 at night, a German submarine torpedoed the passenger liner S.S. City of Benares in the North Atlantic. There were 406 people on board, but the ship's prized passengers were 90 children whose parents had elected to send their boys and girls away from Great Britain to escape the ravages of World War II. They were considered lucky, headed for quiet, peaceful, and relatively bountiful Canada.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Riveting history
- By appreciative reader on 05-21-17
By: Tom Nagorski
-
Simple Courage
- The True Story of Peril on the Sea
- By: Frank Delaney
- Narrated by: Frank Delaney
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 329
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 208
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 211
Drawing on historical documents and contemporary accounts and on exclusive interviews with Carlsen's family, Delaney opens a window into the world of the merchant marine. With deep affection, and respect, for the weather and all that goes with it, he places us in the heart of the storm, a "biblical tempest" of unimaginable power. He illuminates the bravery and ingenuity of Carlsen and the extraordinary courage that the 37-year-old captain inspired in his stalwart crew.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Well written and read
- By AMS on 03-03-08
By: Frank Delaney
-
Other Side of the Night
- The Carpathia, the Californian and the Night the Titanic Was Lost
- By: Daniel Allen Butler
- Narrated by: Paul Heitsch
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 610
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 555
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 559
A few minutes before midnight on April 14, 1912, the "unsinkable" RMS Titanic, on her maiden voyage to New York, struck an iceberg. Less than three hours later she lay at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. While the world has remained fascinated by the tragedy, the most amazing drama of those fateful hours was not played out aboard the doomed liner. It took place on the decks of two other ships, one 58 miles distant from the sinking Titanic, the other barely 10 miles away.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The Other Side of the Night
- By Amazon Customer on 04-19-15
-
In the Heart of the Sea
- The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,486
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,799
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,795
The ordeal of the whaleship Essex was an event as mythic in the nineteenth century as the sinking of the Titanic was in the twentieth. In 1819 the Essex left Nantucket for the South Pacific with 20 crew members aboard. In the middle of the South Pacific the ship was rammed and sunk by an angry sperm whale. The crew drifted for more than 90 days in three tiny whaleboats, succumbing to weather, hunger, and disease and ultimately turning to drastic measures in the fight for survival.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Audio must have been fixed
- By Amazon Customer on 02-11-18
-
Mutiny on the Bounty
- By: Peter FitzSimons
- Narrated by: Michael Carman
- Length: 22 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 926
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 807
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 803
The mutiny on HMS Bounty, in the South Pacific on 28 April 1789, is one of history's truly great stories - a tale of human drama, intrigue and adventure of the highest order - and in the hands of Peter FitzSimons it comes to life as never before. Commissioned by the Royal Navy to collect breadfruit plants from Tahiti and take them to the West Indies, the Bounty's crew found themselves in a tropical paradise. Five months later, they did not want to leave.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
You don't know the whole story.
- By Justin Sluyter on 05-01-19
By: Peter FitzSimons
-
Adrift
- A True Story of Tragedy on the Icy Atlantic and the One Who Lived to Tell About It
- By: Brian Murphy, Toula Vlahou
- Narrated by: Dan Warren
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 54
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 50
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 50
The small ship making the Liverpool-to-New York trip in the early months of 1856 carried mail, crates of dry goods, and more than 100 passengers, mostly Irish emigrants. Suddenly, an iceberg tore the ship asunder, and five lifeboats were lowered. As four lifeboats drifted into the fog and icy water, never to be heard from again, the last boat wrenched away from the sinking ship with a few blankets, some water and biscuits, and 13 souls. Only one would survive. This is his story.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Engrossing
- By Trish on 04-20-22
By: Brian Murphy, and others
-
Miracles on the Water
- The Heroic Survivors of a World War II U-Boat Attack
- By: Tom Nagorski
- Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 17
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 18
An unforgettable story of children in wartime, of heroism at sea, and - above all - of courage and the power of the human spirit. On September 17, 1940, at a little after 10 at night, a German submarine torpedoed the passenger liner S.S. City of Benares in the North Atlantic. There were 406 people on board, but the ship's prized passengers were 90 children whose parents had elected to send their boys and girls away from Great Britain to escape the ravages of World War II. They were considered lucky, headed for quiet, peaceful, and relatively bountiful Canada.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Riveting history
- By appreciative reader on 05-21-17
By: Tom Nagorski
-
Simple Courage
- The True Story of Peril on the Sea
- By: Frank Delaney
- Narrated by: Frank Delaney
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 329
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 208
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 211
Drawing on historical documents and contemporary accounts and on exclusive interviews with Carlsen's family, Delaney opens a window into the world of the merchant marine. With deep affection, and respect, for the weather and all that goes with it, he places us in the heart of the storm, a "biblical tempest" of unimaginable power. He illuminates the bravery and ingenuity of Carlsen and the extraordinary courage that the 37-year-old captain inspired in his stalwart crew.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Well written and read
- By AMS on 03-03-08
By: Frank Delaney
-
Other Side of the Night
- The Carpathia, the Californian and the Night the Titanic Was Lost
- By: Daniel Allen Butler
- Narrated by: Paul Heitsch
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 610
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 555
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 559
A few minutes before midnight on April 14, 1912, the "unsinkable" RMS Titanic, on her maiden voyage to New York, struck an iceberg. Less than three hours later she lay at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. While the world has remained fascinated by the tragedy, the most amazing drama of those fateful hours was not played out aboard the doomed liner. It took place on the decks of two other ships, one 58 miles distant from the sinking Titanic, the other barely 10 miles away.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The Other Side of the Night
- By Amazon Customer on 04-19-15
-
In the Heart of the Sea
- The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,486
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,799
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,795
The ordeal of the whaleship Essex was an event as mythic in the nineteenth century as the sinking of the Titanic was in the twentieth. In 1819 the Essex left Nantucket for the South Pacific with 20 crew members aboard. In the middle of the South Pacific the ship was rammed and sunk by an angry sperm whale. The crew drifted for more than 90 days in three tiny whaleboats, succumbing to weather, hunger, and disease and ultimately turning to drastic measures in the fight for survival.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Audio must have been fixed
- By Amazon Customer on 02-11-18
-
Mutiny on the Bounty
- By: Peter FitzSimons
- Narrated by: Michael Carman
- Length: 22 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 926
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 807
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 803
The mutiny on HMS Bounty, in the South Pacific on 28 April 1789, is one of history's truly great stories - a tale of human drama, intrigue and adventure of the highest order - and in the hands of Peter FitzSimons it comes to life as never before. Commissioned by the Royal Navy to collect breadfruit plants from Tahiti and take them to the West Indies, the Bounty's crew found themselves in a tropical paradise. Five months later, they did not want to leave.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
You don't know the whole story.
- By Justin Sluyter on 05-01-19
By: Peter FitzSimons
-
Adrift
- A True Story of Tragedy on the Icy Atlantic and the One Who Lived to Tell About It
- By: Brian Murphy, Toula Vlahou
- Narrated by: Dan Warren
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 54
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 50
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 50
The small ship making the Liverpool-to-New York trip in the early months of 1856 carried mail, crates of dry goods, and more than 100 passengers, mostly Irish emigrants. Suddenly, an iceberg tore the ship asunder, and five lifeboats were lowered. As four lifeboats drifted into the fog and icy water, never to be heard from again, the last boat wrenched away from the sinking ship with a few blankets, some water and biscuits, and 13 souls. Only one would survive. This is his story.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Engrossing
- By Trish on 04-20-22
By: Brian Murphy, and others
-
Dead Wake
- The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
- By: Erik Larson
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 14,017
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 12,449
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 12,426
On May 1, 1915, with WWI entering its tenth month, a luxury ocean liner as richly appointed as an English country house sailed out of New York, bound for Liverpool, carrying a record number of children and infants. The passengers were surprisingly at ease, even though Germany had declared the seas around Britain to be a war zone. For months, German U-boats had brought terror to the North Atlantic.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Naivety VS Barbarians Of War
- By Sara on 03-05-16
By: Erik Larson
-
Sea of Glory
- America's Voyage of Discovery, the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 626
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 467
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 471
America's first frontier was not the West; it was the sea, and no one writes more eloquently about that watery wilderness than Nathaniel Philbrick. In his best-selling In the Heart of the Sea, Philbrick probed the nightmarish dangers of the vast Pacific. Now, in an epic sea adventure, he writes about one of the most ambitious voyages of discovery the Western world has ever seen - the US Exploring Expedition of 1838-1842.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A good solid voyage of discovery
- By Ken Sundermeyer on 06-18-05
-
Batavia
- By: Peter FitzSimons
- Narrated by: Richard Aspel
- Length: 17 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 551
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 484
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 483
The story begins in 1629, when the pride of the Dutch East India Company, the Batavia, is on its maiden voyage en route from Amsterdam to the Dutch East Indies, laden down with the greatest treasure to leave Holland. The magnificent ship is already boiling over with a mutinous plot that is just about to break into the open when, just off the coast of Western Australia, it strikes an unseen reef in the middle of the night.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Disaster, Mutiny, Murder, Survival
- By Todd on 02-07-13
By: Peter FitzSimons
-
Sailing Alone Around the World
- By: Joshua Slocum
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 204
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 110
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 113
Joshua Slocum was believed to be the first man to sail single-handed around the world. After a distinguished career, where he worked his way up from cabin boy to captain, Joshua Slocum wrecked his ship off the coast of Brazil. Turning this catastrophe to his advantage, he built a sailing canoe from the wreckage and sailed back to New York. Moreover, he wrote Voyage of the Liberdad, a chronicle of his trip, and earned some literary success.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A REMARKABLE MAN
- By Rod on 05-03-06
By: Joshua Slocum
-
Last Flag Down
- The Epic Journey of the Last Confederate Warship
- By: John Baldwin, Ron Powers
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 88
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 55
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 55
As the Confederacy felt itself slipping beneath the Union juggernaut in late 1864, the South launched a desperate counteroffensive to force a standoff. Its secret weapon? A state-of-the-art raiding ship whose mission was to sink the U.S. merchant fleet. The raider's name was Shenandoah, and her executive officer was Conway Whittle, a 24-year-old warrior.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Good all around
- By Rob on 01-19-08
By: John Baldwin, and others
-
How to Survive the Titanic
- The Sinking of J. Bruce Ismay
- By: Frances Wilson
- Narrated by: Robin Sachs
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 28
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 27
On the terrifying, chaotic night of April 14, 1912, while the Titanic was sinking, Bruce J. Ismay, the ship's owner, made a decision that would save his life - and end it. Ismay boarded a lifeboat meant for women and children, and within days became The Most Talked-of Man in the World. Branded a coward, he became a flesh-and-blood embodiment of Joseph Conrad's legendary eponymous character, Lord Jim.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Not especially uplifting, but quite good
- By Anonymous User on 04-18-12
By: Frances Wilson
-
In the Wake of Madness
- The Murderous Voyage of the Whaleship Sharon
- By: Joan Druett
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 6 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 169
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 127
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 125
Commanded by Captain Howes Norris, the Sharon headed for the whaling grounds of the northwestern Pacific. At Pohnpei Island, 12 men from the Sharon deserted the ship, leaving her critically shorthanded. After steering for New Zealand to recruit more crew, the men on lookout raised a school of sperm whales. Two boats gave chase, each with a crew of six. Five men were left on board the Sharon: Norris, three pacific Islanders, and a Portuguese boy named Manuel.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Love this author.
- By David H. on 07-15-17
By: Joan Druett
-
Wreck of the Whale Ship Essex
- Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex (Original News Stories of Whale Attacks & Cannibals)
- By: Owen Chase, Thomas Nickerson
- Narrated by: Paul J. McSorley
- Length: 4 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 44
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 36
In one of the most spellbinding accounts of men who go down to the sea in ships, the modern listener is given a seat in the whale boat of Owen Chase as he and his fellow crew and their captain make way in three boats after the wreckage of the Whaleship Essex. The account of how the Essex was wrecked inspired the infamous book Moby Dick and countless movies, including In the Heart of the Sea.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent telling of the true story
- By Vicki Goodwin on 03-03-16
By: Owen Chase, and others
-
Wolf of the Deep
- Raphael Semmes and the Notorious Confederate Raider CSS Alabama
- By: Stephen Fox
- Narrated by: Barrett Whitener
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 70
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 48
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 48
In July 1862, Confederate Captain Raphael Semmes took command of a secret new warship. At the helm of the Alabama, he became the most hated and feared man along the Union coast, as well as a Confederate legend. Now, with unparalleled authority, depth, and a vivid sense of the excitement and danger of the time, Stephen Fox describes Captain Semmes's remarkable wartime exploits.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Wolf of the Deep
- By Sammi on 08-18-07
By: Stephen Fox
-
The Lion of St. Mark
- By: G.A. Henty
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 180
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 132
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 131
Of The Lion of St. Mark, G.A. Henty wrote: "I have laid my story in the time not of the triumphs of Venice but of her hardest struggle for existence, when she defended herself successfully against the coalition of Hungary, Padua, and Genoa, for never at any time were the virtues of Venice, her steadfastness, her patriotism, and her willingness to make all sacrifice for her independence more brilliantly shown.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Great Listen
- By Jef on 04-04-05
By: G.A. Henty
-
A Night to Remember
- The Classic Account of the Final Hours of the Titanic
- By: Walter Lord
- Narrated by: Martin Jarvis
- Length: 5 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,379
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,225
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,221
The Titanic collided with an iceberg on the night of April 14, and 1,500 people died in the freezing waters as the ship met her watery grave. Spectacular in many ways, it's a story that has spurred legends and still sends shivers down the spine a century later. This minute-by-minute account of the sinking is based on over 20 years of research and offers amazing detail of that fateful night.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A gripping story grounded in historical fact
- By Abigail Carney on 05-30-20
By: Walter Lord
-
Voyagers of the Titanic
- Passengers, Sailors, Shipbuilders, Aristocrats, and the Worlds They Came From
- By: Richard Davenport-Hines
- Narrated by: Robin Sachs
- Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 154
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 136
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 133
Late in the night of April 14, 1912, the mighty Titanic, a passenger liner traveling from Southampton, England, to New York City, struck an iceberg four hundred miles south of Newfoundland. Its sinking over the next two and a half hours brought the ship—mythological in name and size—100 years of infamy.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Thorough, panoramic
- By Tad Davis on 04-10-12