Western America

Tom Cotter undertakes his most epic adventure in America’s Greatest Road Trip. Launching from Key West, Florida, Cotter and photographer Michael Alan Ross pilot their Ford Bronco/Airstream camper combination nearly 9,000 miles to America’s literal end of the road in Deadhorse, Alaska.

In 1609, two years after its English founding, colonists struggled to stay alive in a tiny fort at Jamestown. John Smith fought to keep order. When he left, desperate colonists ate lizards, rats, and human flesh. Meanwhile, the Virginia-bound Sea Venture was shipwrecked on Bermuda, the dreaded, uninhabited “Isle of Devils”. Bermuda became England’s second New World colony in 1612. A Tale of Two Colonies examines the existing sources on the colonies, sets them in a transatlantic context, and weighs them against circumstantial evidence.

The lonely and forgotten spirits peer at you through the windows as you enter the door to their private hell. They follow you through the halls and scream out in desperation hoping that you may be the one who will finally release them from their life in prison. The tortured souls whisper in your ear and cry out in anguished pain to the visitors that cannot physically see them, and they beg for freedom to those who can. Welcome to the saddest depth of hell you will ever witness...

The era of piracy in the Caribbean began in the 1500s and died out in the 1830s after the navies of the nations of Western Europe and North America with colonies in the Caribbean began combating pirates. In the early 18th century, a number of the great pirate captains, including Edward "Blackbeard" Teach and "Black Sam" Bellamy, joined forces. This infamous "Pirating Gang" was more than simply a thieving band of brothers.

Discover Jamaica’s Journey: From Ancient Tribes to the Fight for Freedom.

Dive into the untold story of the Taíno people, the original inhabitants of Puerto Rico. "Echoes of the Taíno" transports listeners to an era before colonization, where rich traditions, spirituality, and resilient culture thrived in the heart of the Caribbean. Through vivid storytelling, this book unravels the profound connection between the Taíno people and the lush, breathtaking island of Borikén.

West Point has long been America's most famous military academy, but in the early 19th century it was a highly unimpressive school consisting of a few ugly buildings facing a desolate, barren parade ground. As it turned out, West Point would become the foremost military academy in the nation, and it would churn out the cadets who became the most important generals in the Civil War.

Tom Zoellner loves trains with a ferocious passion. In his new audiobook he chronicles the innovation and sociological impact of the railway technology that changed the world, and could very well change it again. From the frigid Trans-Siberian Railroad to the antiquated Indian Railways to the futuristic maglev trains, Zoellner offers a stirring story of man's relationship with trains. Zoellner examines both the mechanics of the rails and their engines and how they helped societies evolve. Not only do trains transport people and goods in an efficient manner, but they also reduce pollution and dependency upon oil.

In the late 1630s, lured by the promise of the New World, Andrea Stuart's earliest known maternal ancestor, George Ashby, set sail from England to settle in Barbados. He fell into the life of a sugar plantation owner by mere chance, but by the time he harvested his first crop, a revolution was fully under way, binding together ambitious White entrepreneurs and enslaved Black workers in a strangling embrace....

Mary Prince's 1831 book is one of the earliest narratives that revealed the ugly facts about slavery in the West Indies. The book begins with a brief description of her childhood, before recounting her adult experiences as a slave. Her strong spirit enabled her to survive and to take up the abolitionist cause.

Roy Adkins, with his wife, Lesley, returns to the Napoleonic War in The War for All the Oceans, a gripping account of the naval struggle that lasted from 1798 to 1815, a period marked at the beginning by Napoleon's seizing power and at the end by the War of 1812. In this vivid and visceral account, Adkins draws on eyewitness records to portray not only the battles but also the details of a sailor's life: shipwrecks, press-gangs, prostitutes, spies, and prisoners of war.

This is the audiobook millions of Rick Steves fans have been waiting for! A journal of Rick's favorite European stories, his traveling life, and how he started his business, all told in that funny, down-to-earth style that makes Rick America's favorite travel writer. Rick Steves' Postcards from Europe takes you on a European vacation, complete with the sights, sounds, tastes, and people of Europe, without ever leaving that comfy sofa or the relative safety of your own car.

Between 1820 and 1840 more than 35 million American Bison were taken from the West. For the Native Americans, this was a disaster. Starvation became a possibility. In the fall of 1858, a battle between the Shoshone and Crow Tribes was fought for control of the rich hunting grounds of the Yellowstone ecosystem and the Wind River valley rich in animal resources that the Lakota and Cheyenne also coveted. After a staggering loss of lives, both tribes realized that continuing the war would mean that neither tribe would have enough young and fit warriors left to hunt. If the losses continued both...

From the 1880s to the 1950s, the Harvey Girls went west to work in Fred Harvey's restaurants along the Santa Fe railway. At a time when there were "no ladies west of Dodge City and no women west of Albuquerque," they came as waitresses, but many stayed and settled, founding the struggling cattle and mining towns that dotted the region. Interviews and historical research help recreate the Harvey Girl experience. The accounts are personal, but laced with the history the women lived.

With a vibrant, intelligent and enterprising population, Haiti is a unique country with a rich history. Indeed, it was called the Pearl of the Antilles and it is the first independent republic of coloured people in modern times. However, Haiti has experienced significant decline since its early days. It is presently the poorest country in the Americas and has an economy that depends mainly on foreign aid. Is Haiti condemned to perpetual poverty? Ernst Etienne demonstrates that mathematical principles can be used to develop a formula for the sustainable development of Haiti. The diligent ...

Maisie thinks of herself as a tough, resourceful woman, and that’s about to be put to the test. After leaving her abusive husband and making off with all the cash she can carry, her only goal is to stay out of sight and survive. Then she learns her husband is six feet under. She should be able to relax, only she fears she will be blamed for his murder. So she hops a train and finds herself as a Bridal Train Bride. Henry Cartwright loves tending the land, growing crops and raising animals for market, though it’s a lonely life. When his family urges him to take a wife, he can’t think of...

This collection of short, action-filled stories of the Old West's most egregiously badly behaved female outlaws, gamblers, soiled doves, and other wicked women offers a glimpse into the Western women's experience that's less sunbonnets and more six-shooters. During the late 1800s, while men were settling the new frontier and rushing off to the latest boomtowns, women of easy virtue found wicked lives west of the Mississippi when they followed fortune hunters seeking gold and land in an unsettled territory.

Written in accessible prose that includes a synthesis of recent scholarship, this edition delves further into the life of an African American soldier in the 19th century. It also explores the experiences of soldiers' families at frontier posts. In a new epilogue, the authors summarize developments in the lives of buffalo soldiers after the Indian Wars and discuss contemporary efforts to memorialize them in film, art, and architecture.

The history of the Caribbean is an exciting ride, but few outside of the region know much about it in depth beyond Columbus’s discovery. This audiobook will lead you through the history of the region, which witnessed some of the world’s most important events. We will begin with Christopher Columbus’s accidental discovery and the race for control over the islands of the Caribbean.

She should never have promised her sister to be at the wedding - not when it meant returning to the small town she left behind and confronting her first love and heartbreak Ten years ago, Isabella left Misty Springs to start a new life. Now she’s back, and absolutely not ready to confront her past or make the most of this second chance. Being involved in her sister Abigail’s wedding brings back unwelcome memories - and it puts her right in the path of the man she’s been struggling to forget. Logan Cooper was her first love, before she broke his heart. It looks as if this time, it will...