![Against All Hope Audiobook By Armando Valladares cover art](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51mNNKNrVBL._SL500_.jpg)
Against All Hope
The Prison Memoirs of Armando Valladares
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 logo](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/G/01/Audible/Homestead/Prime_Logo_RGB.png)
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $21.80
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Grover Gardner
About this listen
Armando Valladares describes his 22 years of torment and triumph in Castro's prison. Arrested at the age of 22 for being philosophically opposed to communism, he gives a dramatic and harrowing account of the regular beatings, the hunger, the humiliation, and the psychological "experimentation" to which the Cuban Revolution subjected its unrepentant enemies. However, Valladares's hope and courage transcended these horrors, showing us the heroic possibilities of one possessing unshaken faith.
More than an indictment of a cruel regime, this book is a testimony to the power of biblical faith to allow a man to survive against all hope.
©1986 Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (P)1989 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Queen of Cuba
- An FBI Agent's Insider Account of the Spy Who Evaded Detection for 17 Years
- By: Peter J. Lapp, Kelly Kennedy - contributor
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 6 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ana Montes had spent seventeen years spying for the Cubans. She had been raised in a patriotic Puerto Rican household: Her father, a psychiatrist, was a former colonel in the US Army. Her sister worked as a translator for the FBI and helped break up a ring of Cuban spies in Miami. Her brother was also a loyal FBI agent. Montes impressed her bosses but in secret spent her breaks memorizing top-secret documents before sending them to the Cuban government. Retired FBI agent Peter J. Lapp explains the clues that led their team to catch one of the United States’ most dangerous spies.
-
-
Narrator was great
- By Tasha on 01-21-24
By: Peter J. Lapp, and others
-
A Night Divided (Scholastic Gold)
- By: Jennifer A. Nielsen
- Narrated by: Kate Simses
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
. With the rise of the Berlin Wall, 12-year-old Gerta finds her family divided overnight. She, her mother, and her brother, Fritz, live on the eastern side, controlled by the Soviets. Her father and middle brother, who had gone west in search of work, cannot return home. Gerta knows it is dangerous to watch the wall, to think forbidden thoughts of freedom, yet she can't help herself. She sees the East German soldiers with their guns trained on their own citizens; she, her family, her neighbors, and her friends are prisoners in their own city.
-
-
Wonderful historical fiction!
- By Lane on 09-15-15
-
Cuba (Winner of the Pulitzer Prize)
- An American History
- By: Ada Ferrer
- Narrated by: Alma Cuervo, Ada Ferrer - prologue
- Length: 23 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1961, at the height of the Cold War, the United States severed diplomatic relations with Cuba, where a momentous revolution had taken power three years earlier. For more than half a century, the stand-off continued—through the tenure of ten American presidents and the fifty-year rule of Fidel Castro. His death in 2016, and the retirement of his brother and successor Raúl Castro in 2021, have spurred questions about the country’s future. Spanning more than five centuries, Cuba provides us with a front-row seat as we witness the evolution of the modern nation.
-
-
US Bash Job
- By Derek & Amber Witt on 04-14-22
By: Ada Ferrer
-
Live Not by Lies
- A Manual for Christian Dissidents
- By: Rod Dreher
- Narrated by: Adam Verner
- Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn famously said that one of the biggest mistakes people make is assuming totalitarianism can't happen in their country. Many American Christians are making that mistake today, sleepwalking through the erosion of our freedoms. Live Not by Lies will wake them and equip them for the long resistance.
-
-
A Must Read For All Christians!
- By Chuck B. on 10-02-20
By: Rod Dreher
-
Killing Jesus
- A History
- By: Bill O'Reilly, Martin Dugard
- Narrated by: Bill O'Reilly
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Millions of people have thrilled to best-selling authors Bill O'Reilly and historian Martin Dugard's Killing Kennedy and Killing Lincoln, works of nonfiction that have changed the way we view history. Now the anchor of The O'Reilly Factor details the events leading up to the murder of the most influential man in history: Jesus of Nazareth. Nearly 2,000 years after this beloved and controversial young revolutionary was brutally killed by Roman soldiers, more than 2.2 billion human beings attempt to follow his teachings and believe he is God.
-
-
The Jesus story in context
- By Kimberly on 10-01-13
By: Bill O'Reilly, and others
-
The Teeth of the Tiger
- By: Tom Clancy
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 16 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Charged with spotting terrorist threats, the top-secret "Campus" has its hands full when Middle East thugs and Colombian drug lords join forces. New Campus recruits include Jack Ryan Jr., son of master spy John Patrick Ryan, now President.
-
-
Introduction of Jack Ryan jr. as an covert agent
- By Wayne on 05-12-16
By: Tom Clancy
-
Queen of Cuba
- An FBI Agent's Insider Account of the Spy Who Evaded Detection for 17 Years
- By: Peter J. Lapp, Kelly Kennedy - contributor
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 6 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ana Montes had spent seventeen years spying for the Cubans. She had been raised in a patriotic Puerto Rican household: Her father, a psychiatrist, was a former colonel in the US Army. Her sister worked as a translator for the FBI and helped break up a ring of Cuban spies in Miami. Her brother was also a loyal FBI agent. Montes impressed her bosses but in secret spent her breaks memorizing top-secret documents before sending them to the Cuban government. Retired FBI agent Peter J. Lapp explains the clues that led their team to catch one of the United States’ most dangerous spies.
-
-
Narrator was great
- By Tasha on 01-21-24
By: Peter J. Lapp, and others
-
A Night Divided (Scholastic Gold)
- By: Jennifer A. Nielsen
- Narrated by: Kate Simses
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
. With the rise of the Berlin Wall, 12-year-old Gerta finds her family divided overnight. She, her mother, and her brother, Fritz, live on the eastern side, controlled by the Soviets. Her father and middle brother, who had gone west in search of work, cannot return home. Gerta knows it is dangerous to watch the wall, to think forbidden thoughts of freedom, yet she can't help herself. She sees the East German soldiers with their guns trained on their own citizens; she, her family, her neighbors, and her friends are prisoners in their own city.
-
-
Wonderful historical fiction!
- By Lane on 09-15-15
-
Cuba (Winner of the Pulitzer Prize)
- An American History
- By: Ada Ferrer
- Narrated by: Alma Cuervo, Ada Ferrer - prologue
- Length: 23 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1961, at the height of the Cold War, the United States severed diplomatic relations with Cuba, where a momentous revolution had taken power three years earlier. For more than half a century, the stand-off continued—through the tenure of ten American presidents and the fifty-year rule of Fidel Castro. His death in 2016, and the retirement of his brother and successor Raúl Castro in 2021, have spurred questions about the country’s future. Spanning more than five centuries, Cuba provides us with a front-row seat as we witness the evolution of the modern nation.
-
-
US Bash Job
- By Derek & Amber Witt on 04-14-22
By: Ada Ferrer
-
Live Not by Lies
- A Manual for Christian Dissidents
- By: Rod Dreher
- Narrated by: Adam Verner
- Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn famously said that one of the biggest mistakes people make is assuming totalitarianism can't happen in their country. Many American Christians are making that mistake today, sleepwalking through the erosion of our freedoms. Live Not by Lies will wake them and equip them for the long resistance.
-
-
A Must Read For All Christians!
- By Chuck B. on 10-02-20
By: Rod Dreher
-
Killing Jesus
- A History
- By: Bill O'Reilly, Martin Dugard
- Narrated by: Bill O'Reilly
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Millions of people have thrilled to best-selling authors Bill O'Reilly and historian Martin Dugard's Killing Kennedy and Killing Lincoln, works of nonfiction that have changed the way we view history. Now the anchor of The O'Reilly Factor details the events leading up to the murder of the most influential man in history: Jesus of Nazareth. Nearly 2,000 years after this beloved and controversial young revolutionary was brutally killed by Roman soldiers, more than 2.2 billion human beings attempt to follow his teachings and believe he is God.
-
-
The Jesus story in context
- By Kimberly on 10-01-13
By: Bill O'Reilly, and others
-
The Teeth of the Tiger
- By: Tom Clancy
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 16 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Charged with spotting terrorist threats, the top-secret "Campus" has its hands full when Middle East thugs and Colombian drug lords join forces. New Campus recruits include Jack Ryan Jr., son of master spy John Patrick Ryan, now President.
-
-
Introduction of Jack Ryan jr. as an covert agent
- By Wayne on 05-12-16
By: Tom Clancy
Critic reviews
"Valladares's book is an event of considerable cultural and political significance: the most detailed and irrefutable description yet published of the suffering engendered in Cuba by communism and Fidel Castro." ( Time)
"[A]n extraordinary account....What sets it apart from other prison memoirs is not the suffering...but its record of all-out resistance. It could almost be entitled 'The War Memoirs of Armando Valladares.'" ( Los Angeles Times)
Related to this topic
-
The Art of War
- By: Sun Tzu
- Narrated by: Aidan Gillen
- Length: 1 hr and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 13 chapters of The Art of War, each devoted to one aspect of warfare, were compiled by the high-ranking Chinese military general, strategist, and philosopher Sun-Tzu. In spite of its battlefield specificity, The Art of War has found new life in the modern age, with leaders in fields as wide and far-reaching as world politics, human psychology, and corporate strategy finding valuable insight in its timeworn words.
-
-
The actual book The Art of War, not a commentary
- By Nemo71 on 12-31-19
By: Sun Tzu
-
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
- By: Jack Weatherford
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Jack Weatherford
- Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Mongol army led by Genghis Khan subjugated more lands and people in 25 years than the Romans did in 400. In nearly every country the Mongols conquered, they brought an unprecedented rise in cultural communication, expanded trade, and a blossoming of civilization.
-
-
Golden Horde/Platinum Listen
- By Cynthia on 12-11-13
By: Jack Weatherford
-
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
- As Told to Alex Haley
- By: Malcolm X, Alex Haley
- Narrated by: Laurence Fishburne
- Length: 16 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Experience a bold take on this classic autobiography as it’s performed by Oscar-nominated Laurence Fishburne. In this searing classic autobiography, originally published in 1965, Malcolm X, the Muslim leader, firebrand, and Black empowerment activist, tells the extraordinary story of his life and the growth of the Human Rights movement. His fascinating perspective on the lies and limitations of the American dream and the inherent racism in a society that denies its non-White citizens the opportunity to dream, gives extraordinary insight into the most urgent issues of our own time.
-
-
it's Nearly perfect
- By Kerry on 09-16-20
By: Malcolm X, and others
-
Fingerprints of the Gods
- The Quest Continues
- By: Graham Hancock
- Narrated by: Graham Hancock
- Length: 18 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fingerprints of the Gods is the revolutionary rewrite of history that has persuaded millions of listeners throughout the world to change their preconceptions about the history behind modern society. An intellectual detective story, this unique history audiobook directs probing questions at orthodox history, presenting disturbing new evidence that historians have tried - but failed - to explain.
-
-
Classic in Historical Mysteries
- By Kelly on 09-05-19
By: Graham Hancock
-
The Pagan World
- Ancient Religions Before Christianity
- By: Hans-Friedrich Mueller, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Hans-Friedrich Mueller
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Pagan World: Ancient Religions Before Christianity, you will meet the fascinating, ancient polytheistic peoples of the Mediterranean and beyond, their many gods and goddesses, and their public and private worship practices, as you come to appreciate the foundational role religion played in their lives. Professor Hans-Friedrich Mueller, of Union College in Schenectady, New York, makes this ancient world come alive in 24 lectures with captivating stories of intrigue, artifacts, illustrations, and detailed descriptions from primary sources of intriguing personalities.
-
-
The Pagan World
- By arnold e andersen md Dr Andersen on 03-28-20
By: Hans-Friedrich Mueller, and others
-
Ali in Me
- By: Mercury Studios, Treefort Media
- Narrated by: Lonnie Ali, John Ramsey
- Length: 3 hrs and 31 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Muhammad Ali, never afraid to express himself loudly and boldly, stays true to form in Ali in Me, an eight-part audio series that explores his life and legacy, guided by his own words through never-before-heard audio recordings. Hosted by Muhammad’s widow, Lonnie Ali, and his close friend, award-winning broadcaster John Ramsey, Ali in Me goes beyond the boxing ring to delve deeply into the extraordinary life and lasting contributions The Champ made to individuals around the world.
-
-
Billy crystal
- By Anonymous User on 01-28-25
By: Mercury Studios, and others
-
The Art of War
- By: Sun Tzu
- Narrated by: Aidan Gillen
- Length: 1 hr and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 13 chapters of The Art of War, each devoted to one aspect of warfare, were compiled by the high-ranking Chinese military general, strategist, and philosopher Sun-Tzu. In spite of its battlefield specificity, The Art of War has found new life in the modern age, with leaders in fields as wide and far-reaching as world politics, human psychology, and corporate strategy finding valuable insight in its timeworn words.
-
-
The actual book The Art of War, not a commentary
- By Nemo71 on 12-31-19
By: Sun Tzu
-
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
- By: Jack Weatherford
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Jack Weatherford
- Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Mongol army led by Genghis Khan subjugated more lands and people in 25 years than the Romans did in 400. In nearly every country the Mongols conquered, they brought an unprecedented rise in cultural communication, expanded trade, and a blossoming of civilization.
-
-
Golden Horde/Platinum Listen
- By Cynthia on 12-11-13
By: Jack Weatherford
-
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
- As Told to Alex Haley
- By: Malcolm X, Alex Haley
- Narrated by: Laurence Fishburne
- Length: 16 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Experience a bold take on this classic autobiography as it’s performed by Oscar-nominated Laurence Fishburne. In this searing classic autobiography, originally published in 1965, Malcolm X, the Muslim leader, firebrand, and Black empowerment activist, tells the extraordinary story of his life and the growth of the Human Rights movement. His fascinating perspective on the lies and limitations of the American dream and the inherent racism in a society that denies its non-White citizens the opportunity to dream, gives extraordinary insight into the most urgent issues of our own time.
-
-
it's Nearly perfect
- By Kerry on 09-16-20
By: Malcolm X, and others
-
Fingerprints of the Gods
- The Quest Continues
- By: Graham Hancock
- Narrated by: Graham Hancock
- Length: 18 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fingerprints of the Gods is the revolutionary rewrite of history that has persuaded millions of listeners throughout the world to change their preconceptions about the history behind modern society. An intellectual detective story, this unique history audiobook directs probing questions at orthodox history, presenting disturbing new evidence that historians have tried - but failed - to explain.
-
-
Classic in Historical Mysteries
- By Kelly on 09-05-19
By: Graham Hancock
-
The Pagan World
- Ancient Religions Before Christianity
- By: Hans-Friedrich Mueller, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Hans-Friedrich Mueller
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Pagan World: Ancient Religions Before Christianity, you will meet the fascinating, ancient polytheistic peoples of the Mediterranean and beyond, their many gods and goddesses, and their public and private worship practices, as you come to appreciate the foundational role religion played in their lives. Professor Hans-Friedrich Mueller, of Union College in Schenectady, New York, makes this ancient world come alive in 24 lectures with captivating stories of intrigue, artifacts, illustrations, and detailed descriptions from primary sources of intriguing personalities.
-
-
The Pagan World
- By arnold e andersen md Dr Andersen on 03-28-20
By: Hans-Friedrich Mueller, and others
-
Ali in Me
- By: Mercury Studios, Treefort Media
- Narrated by: Lonnie Ali, John Ramsey
- Length: 3 hrs and 31 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Muhammad Ali, never afraid to express himself loudly and boldly, stays true to form in Ali in Me, an eight-part audio series that explores his life and legacy, guided by his own words through never-before-heard audio recordings. Hosted by Muhammad’s widow, Lonnie Ali, and his close friend, award-winning broadcaster John Ramsey, Ali in Me goes beyond the boxing ring to delve deeply into the extraordinary life and lasting contributions The Champ made to individuals around the world.
-
-
Billy crystal
- By Anonymous User on 01-28-25
By: Mercury Studios, and others
What listeners say about Against All Hope
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Leslie
- 08-18-24
I loathe communism
I loathe communism and also cannot stand it when others like to romanticize it! I had a real hard time getting through this book, not because of bad writing (the writing is excellent), but because it hits close to home. My family was one of the lucky ones that was able to leave Cuba after Castro took my grandfathers home that he built with his own hands. The account of this man and those he knew who suffered under communism in Cuba will be like the millions of average citizens in the USA who will have to suffer since such as a large part of the population has embraced the ideas of communism. Read this book and "The Diary of a Survivor Nineteen Years in a Cuban Women's Prison" and "The Gulag Archipelago" and "First they killed my father" and others like them and you will see the true face of socialism/communism as it is played out in murder, theft, and injustice. I try to warn anyone who will listen about the danger of trust in and worship of government, but most do not listen. Socialistic/communistic governments are among the worst governments to plague humanity, so testimonies like this book are necessary for anyone with even the slightest intelligence to read and think about. When I think of how humans can do this to each other their own countrymen, it makes me ashamed to be Cuban but also very proud when you read about men like this. Its utterly heartbreaking!!
Remember Khrushchev's Prediction, 1959? It's coming true. It's been more than 60 years since Russia’s Khrushchev delivered this. Many of you may not remember his quote or even were alive when Mr. Khrushchev of the Soviet Union made his remarks to President John F. Kennedy, September 29, 1959.
THIS WAS HIS QUOTE :
"Your children's children will live under communism, You Americans are
so gullible. No, you won't accept communism outright; but we will keep
feeding you small doses of socialism until you will finally wake up and find you already have Communism. We will not have to fight you; we will so weaken your economy, until you will fall like overripe fruit into our hands." "The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."
Can you imagine not being able to read any book you wanted? I can’t, cause I was born free. What a tragedy that would have been for me. A life without my books. And the sad part is they don’t even know what they are missing or even what the world has to offer. My heat can't take it 😭
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- stereotypo
- 01-02-18
The Face of Communism
This should be required reading at high school level, and for every brainwashed snowflake in academia.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ian
- 04-20-17
Armando shows the world true faith and courage.
I was absolutely pulled into this book. I fell in love with Armando's true faith.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Juliette L.
- 03-14-20
Must Reading
This account of man’s inhumanity to man deserves the widest possible audience. How does something like this happen? Because people are ignorant of the situation or choose to ignore it for their own purposes.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 06-22-18
this book is life changing, inspiring
this book is so eye opening to the horrors that Castro has created. however, it also allows us to see how a soul & spirit can never be destroyed by those who don't value humanity. thank you Armando valladares for giving me a glimpse of what my fellow patriots & father endured in that hell. thank you for allowing me & so many others to see that the torch of liberty should never be extinguished & passed on to all generations.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
True story of communism
I’m Cuban but left at a very young age. This is a must for all Cubans and all those who fantasize about communism.
Very strong material but by far best book I’ve read.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful