Looking for History-Related Audiobook Recommendations!

Hey everyone!

I’m in the mood for some best history audiobooks, and I’m hoping to get some recommendations from you all. I love learning about different historical periods, events, and figures, but I’m looking for something engaging that’s both informative and entertaining. Whether it’s ancient history, modern history, or anything in between, I’m open to all suggestions!

What history-related audiobooks do you recommend? Any favorites that really brought the past to life for you?
Looking forward to hearing your top picks!

I’m a big fan of Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History. They’re longform podcast episodes, and they’re so, so good. He’s really an incredible storyteller, and approaches the topics from interesting angles. I especially liked the Blueprint for Armageddon series.

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You might check out The Great Courses, here: The Great Courses. I purchased a number of their DVDs back in the day, and many were good; but they have gotten away from that format, so I haven’t looked at them in a while.

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Have you read Erik Larson? His newest one is about Lincoln (haven’t read it) but I have enjoyed his other books.

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Doris Kearns Goodwin writes presidential biographies and wrote An Unfinished Love Story about her life. Very interesting stories about LBJ, JFK, and others from that era. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

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The Small & The Mighty by Sharon McMahon

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The Killer Angels, Michael Shaara (Pulitzer Prize) A novelized account of the Battle of Gettysburg.

The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn,
by Nathaniel Philbrick

The Children’s Blizzard, by David Laskin

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Fiction / historical novel? Or nonfiction?

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non-fictional.

The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook, by Hampton Sides

I second this recommendation! This is a most readable history and while it’s not Doris Kearns Goodwin level of analysis, I learned about folks who made a difference and who are fairly unknown.

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Sarah Vowell has some good books. Although The Wordy Shipmates was a bestseller, Assassination Vacation contains a large cast of readers, and original music was composed by Michael Giacchino.

In order of appearance, the cast was: