-
Revolver
- Sam Colt and the Six-Shooter That Changed America
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy
- Length: 16 hrs and 49 mins
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
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $22.49
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
A “gripping” (Booklist), “clear-eyed, and honest” (The New York Times Book Review) biography of Samuel Colt - the inventor of the legendary Colt revolver (a.k.a. six-shooter), which changed the US forever, triggering the industrial revolution and the settlement of the American West.
Patented in 1836, the Colt pistol with its revolving cylinder was the first practical firearm that could shoot more than one bullet without reloading. For many reasons, Colt’s gun had a profound effect on American history. Its most immediate impact was on the expansionism of the American West, where White emigrants and US soldiers came to depend on it and where Native Americans came to dread it. The six-shooter became the iconic weapon of gunslingers, outlaws, and cowboys - some willing to pay $500 out West for a gun that sold for $25 back East.
In making the revolver, Colt also changed American manufacturing - his factory revolutionized industry in the United States. Ultimately, Colt and his gunmaking brought together the two most significant forces of change before the Civil War - the industrial revolution in the East, Manifest Destiny in the West.
“Written with a journalist’s sense of color and a historian’s eye for the revealing detail” (The Wall Street Journal), Revolver brings the brazenly ambitious and profoundly innovative industrialist and leader Samuel Colt to vivid life. In the space of his 47 years, he seemingly lived five lives: He traveled, womanized, drank prodigiously, smuggled guns to Russia, bribed politicians, and supplied the Union Army with the guns they needed to win the Civil War. Colt lived during an age of promise and progress, but also of slavery, corruption, and unbridled greed, and he not only helped to create this America, he completely embodied it. By the time he died in 1862 in Hartford, Connecticut, he was one of the most famous men in the nation and one of the richest.
“Offering a panoramic view of American culture during Colt’s life” (LA Review of Books) Revolver is a “rollicking and informative account [that] will delight American history buffs” (Publishers Weekly).
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Guns of John Moses Browning
- The Remarkable Story of the Inventor Whose Firearms Changed the World
- By: Nathan Gorenstein
- Narrated by: Michael David Axtell
- Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Few people are aware that John Moses Browning - a tall, humble, cerebral man born in 1855 and raised as a Mormon in the American West - was the mind behind many of the world-changing firearms that dominated more than a century of conflict. He invented the design used in virtually all modern pistols, created the most popular hunting rifles and shotguns, and conceived the machine guns that proved decisive not just in World Wars I and II but nearly every major military action since. Yet few in America knew his name until he was into his 60s.
-
-
Fascinating Story
- By tb on 07-02-21
-
American Rifle
- A Biography
- By: Alexander Rose
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 16 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
George Washington insisted that his portrait be painted with one. Daniel Boone created a legend with one. Abraham Lincoln shot them on the White House lawn. And Teddy Roosevelt had his specially customized. Now, in this first-of-its-kind audiobook, historian Alexander Rose delivers a colorful, engrossing biography of an American icon: the rifle.
-
-
A Nation of Riflemen
- By T. Patterson on 12-17-13
By: Alexander Rose
-
Gun Barons
- The Weapons That Transformed America and the Men Who Invented Them
- By: John Bainbridge Jr.
- Narrated by: Lee Goettl
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Love them or hate them, guns are woven deeply into the American soul. Names like Colt, Smith & Wesson, Winchester, and Remington are legendary. Yet few people are aware of the roles these men played at a crucial time in United States history, from westward expansion in the 1840s, through the Civil War, and into the dawn of the Gilded Age. Through personal drive and fueled by bloodshed, they helped propel the young country into the forefront of the world's industrial powers. Their creations helped save a nation divided, while planting seeds that would divide the country again later.
-
-
Condescending and Biased at best
- By Harry W King III on 01-24-24
-
Glock
- The Rise of America's Gun
- By: Paul M. Barrett
- Narrated by: Kiff VandenHeuvel
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Today the Glock pistol has been embraced by two-thirds of all U.S. police departments, glamorized in countless Hollywood movies, and featured as a ubiquitous presence on prime-time TV. It has been rhapsodized by hip-hop artists, and coveted by cops and crooks alike. Created in 1982 by Gaston Glock, an obscure Austrian curtain-rod manufacturer, and swiftly adopted by the Austrian army, the Glock pistol, with its lightweight plastic frame and large-capacity spring-action magazine, arrived in America at a fortuitous time.
-
-
Interesting story. Could have done w/o anti gun rhetoric
- By jcgeesling on 02-24-19
By: Paul M. Barrett
-
Deadly Force
- Understanding Your Right to Self-Defense, 2nd Edition
- By: Massad Ayoob
- Narrated by: Massad Ayoob
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Deadly Force, 2nd Edition is a continuation of Ayoob’s mission to educate gun owners on all aspects of lethal force laws. Drawing on more than four decades of experience as an expert witness for the courts in weapons and shooting cases and serving as a fully sworn and empowered part-time police officer for 43 years, Ayoob also educates through his Massad Ayoob Group classes such as the Armed Citizen’s Rules of Engagement.
-
-
Important update of a classic
- By Tim on 05-09-23
By: Massad Ayoob
-
American Gun
- A History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms
- By: Chris Kyle, William Doyle
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the time of his tragic death in February 2013, former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, the most accomplished sniper in U.S. military history, was finishing a remarkable book that retold American history through the lens of a hand-selected list of firearms. Kyle masterfully argues that guns have played a fascinating, indispensable, and often under-appreciated role in our national story. He carefully chose ten guns to help tell his story, ranging from the American long rifle to the modern M-16, and uses these guns as a platform for exploring American history.
-
-
An Important Look at US History
- By harry on 06-24-13
By: Chris Kyle, and others
-
The Guns of John Moses Browning
- The Remarkable Story of the Inventor Whose Firearms Changed the World
- By: Nathan Gorenstein
- Narrated by: Michael David Axtell
- Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Few people are aware that John Moses Browning - a tall, humble, cerebral man born in 1855 and raised as a Mormon in the American West - was the mind behind many of the world-changing firearms that dominated more than a century of conflict. He invented the design used in virtually all modern pistols, created the most popular hunting rifles and shotguns, and conceived the machine guns that proved decisive not just in World Wars I and II but nearly every major military action since. Yet few in America knew his name until he was into his 60s.
-
-
Fascinating Story
- By tb on 07-02-21
-
American Rifle
- A Biography
- By: Alexander Rose
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 16 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
George Washington insisted that his portrait be painted with one. Daniel Boone created a legend with one. Abraham Lincoln shot them on the White House lawn. And Teddy Roosevelt had his specially customized. Now, in this first-of-its-kind audiobook, historian Alexander Rose delivers a colorful, engrossing biography of an American icon: the rifle.
-
-
A Nation of Riflemen
- By T. Patterson on 12-17-13
By: Alexander Rose
-
Gun Barons
- The Weapons That Transformed America and the Men Who Invented Them
- By: John Bainbridge Jr.
- Narrated by: Lee Goettl
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Love them or hate them, guns are woven deeply into the American soul. Names like Colt, Smith & Wesson, Winchester, and Remington are legendary. Yet few people are aware of the roles these men played at a crucial time in United States history, from westward expansion in the 1840s, through the Civil War, and into the dawn of the Gilded Age. Through personal drive and fueled by bloodshed, they helped propel the young country into the forefront of the world's industrial powers. Their creations helped save a nation divided, while planting seeds that would divide the country again later.
-
-
Condescending and Biased at best
- By Harry W King III on 01-24-24
-
Glock
- The Rise of America's Gun
- By: Paul M. Barrett
- Narrated by: Kiff VandenHeuvel
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Today the Glock pistol has been embraced by two-thirds of all U.S. police departments, glamorized in countless Hollywood movies, and featured as a ubiquitous presence on prime-time TV. It has been rhapsodized by hip-hop artists, and coveted by cops and crooks alike. Created in 1982 by Gaston Glock, an obscure Austrian curtain-rod manufacturer, and swiftly adopted by the Austrian army, the Glock pistol, with its lightweight plastic frame and large-capacity spring-action magazine, arrived in America at a fortuitous time.
-
-
Interesting story. Could have done w/o anti gun rhetoric
- By jcgeesling on 02-24-19
By: Paul M. Barrett
-
Deadly Force
- Understanding Your Right to Self-Defense, 2nd Edition
- By: Massad Ayoob
- Narrated by: Massad Ayoob
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Deadly Force, 2nd Edition is a continuation of Ayoob’s mission to educate gun owners on all aspects of lethal force laws. Drawing on more than four decades of experience as an expert witness for the courts in weapons and shooting cases and serving as a fully sworn and empowered part-time police officer for 43 years, Ayoob also educates through his Massad Ayoob Group classes such as the Armed Citizen’s Rules of Engagement.
-
-
Important update of a classic
- By Tim on 05-09-23
By: Massad Ayoob
-
American Gun
- A History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms
- By: Chris Kyle, William Doyle
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the time of his tragic death in February 2013, former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, the most accomplished sniper in U.S. military history, was finishing a remarkable book that retold American history through the lens of a hand-selected list of firearms. Kyle masterfully argues that guns have played a fascinating, indispensable, and often under-appreciated role in our national story. He carefully chose ten guns to help tell his story, ranging from the American long rifle to the modern M-16, and uses these guns as a platform for exploring American history.
-
-
An Important Look at US History
- By harry on 06-24-13
By: Chris Kyle, and others
-
Misfire
- The Tragic Failure of the M16 in Vietnam
- By: Bob Orkand, Lyman Duryea
- Narrated by: Jim Seybert
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The M16 rifle is one of the world’s most famous firearms, iconic as the American weapon of the Vietnam War and, indeed, as the US military’s standard service rifle until only a few years ago. But the story of the M16 in Vietnam is anything but a success story. In the early years of the war, the US military had a problem: Its primary infantry rifle, the M14, couldn’t stand up to the enemy’s AK-47s. The search was on for a replacement that was lighter in weight, more durable, and more lethal than the M14.
-
-
I like the information provided.
- By Rhythmtech on 09-09-20
By: Bob Orkand, and others
-
Firepower
- How Weapons Shaped Warfare
- By: Paul Lockhart
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii
- Length: 21 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The history of warfare cannot be fully understood without considering the technology of killing. In Firepower, acclaimed historian Paul Lockhart tells the story of the evolution of weaponry and how it transformed not only the conduct of warfare, but also the very structure of power in the West, from the Renaissance to the dawn of the atomic era.
-
-
Needs More Guns Less Political Opinion
- By Jeb on 10-20-22
By: Paul Lockhart
-
Dodge City
- Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and the Wickedest Town in the American West
- By: Tom Clavin
- Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd
- Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dodge City, Kansas, is a place of legend. The town that started as a small military site exploded with the coming of the railroad, cattle drives, eager miners, settlers, and various entrepreneurs passing through to populate the expanding West. Before long Dodge City's streets were lined with saloons and brothels, and its populace was thick with gunmen, horse thieves, and desperadoes of every sort. By the 1870s, Dodge City was known as the most violent and turbulent town in the West.
-
-
The Real Life Story of Dodge City
- By Jean on 03-26-17
By: Tom Clavin
-
The Civil War: A Narrative, Volume I, Fort Sumter to Perryville
- By: Shelby Foote
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 42 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Civil War: A Narrative, Volume 1 begins one of the most remarkable works of history ever fashioned. All the great battles are here, of course, from Bull Run through Shiloh, the Seven Days Battles, and Antietam, but so are the smaller ones: Ball's Bluff, Fort Donelson, Pea Ridge, Island Ten, New Orleans, and Monitor versus Merrimac.
-
-
OUTSTANDING! I'M PROUD TO BE A BLACK AMERICAN!!
- By The Louligan on 08-22-13
By: Shelby Foote
-
American Gun
- The True Story of the AR-15 Rifle
- By: Cameron McWhirter, Zusha Elinson
- Narrated by: Roger Wayne
- Length: 14 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the 1950s, an obsessive firearms designer named Eugene Stoner invented the AR-15 rifle in a California garage. High-minded and patriotic, Stoner sought to devise a lightweight, easy-to-use weapon that could replace the M1s touted by soldiers in World War II. What he did create was a lethal handheld icon of the American century.
-
-
Don't Look Away
- By Mike on 10-31-23
By: Cameron McWhirter, and others
-
The Gun
- By: C. J. Chivers
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 18 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is the world's most widely recognized weapon, the most profuse tool for killing ever made. More than fifty national armies carry the automatic Kalashnikov, as do an array of police, intelligence, and security agencies all over the world. In this tour de force, prizewinning New York Times reporter C. J. Chivers traces the invention of the assault rifle.
-
-
A compelling book about much more than guns!
- By Edward on 10-26-10
By: C. J. Chivers
-
Samuel Colt and Oliver Winchester
- The Lives and Careers of America's Most Influential Gunsmiths
- By: Charles River Editors
- Narrated by: Scott Clem
- Length: 2 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gunsmiths in early 19th-century America were helped along by noted artisans from Germany, Switzerland, and other European powers, but despite advances made in the European and American musket, the requirement of an exterior spark and percussion to ignite powder for a single-shot discharge remained the paradigm. Similarly, the era was unable to move past the cumbersome weapon that required at least half a minute to reload. The military compensation for such an ungainly and vulnerable process was the alternation of troop lines, in which one fired while the other reloaded from behind.
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
i would prefer david reading it
- By hooterwah on 05-07-19
By: David McCullough
-
The Summer of 1876
- Outlaws, Lawmen, and Legends in the Season That Defined the American West
- By: Chris Wimmer
- Narrated by: Chris Wimmer, Johnny Heller
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The summer of 1876 was a key time period in the development of the mythology of the Old West. Many individuals who are considered legends by modern listeners were involved in events that began their notoriety or turned out to be the most famous—or infamous—moments of their lives. Those individuals were Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Wild Bill Hickok, and Jesse James. The Summer of 1876 weaves together the timelines of the events that made these men legends.
-
-
Like History? You will thoroughly enjoy this book!
- By JRC on 04-26-24
By: Chris Wimmer
-
In Defense of the Second Amendment
- By: Larry Correia
- Narrated by: John McLain
- Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bringing with him the practical experience that comes from having owned a high-end gun store—catering largely to law enforcement—and as a competitive shooter and self-defense trainer, Correia blasts apart the emotion-laden, logic-free rhetoric of the gun-control fanatics who turn every "mass shooting" into a crazed call for violating your rights, abusing the Constitution—and doing absolutely nothing to really fight crime.
-
-
Easily relatable explanation of why 2A is valid
- By Andrew Johnson on 01-24-23
By: Larry Correia
-
First Freedom
- By: David Harsanyi
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For America, the gun is a story of innovation, power, violence, character, and freedom. From the founding of the nation to the pioneering of the West, from the freeing of the slaves to the urbanization of the 20th century, our country has had a complex and lasting relationship with firearms. Now, in First Freedom, nationally syndicated columnist and veteran writer David Harsanyi explores the ways in which firearms have helped preserve our religious, economic, and cultural institutions for more than two centuries.
-
-
A Must-Read/Must-Listen
- By Nathan on 01-22-19
By: David Harsanyi
-
Dreams of El Dorado
- A History of the American West
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Matt Kugler
- Length: 17 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Dreams of El Dorado, H. W. Brands tells the thrilling, panoramic story of the settling of the American West. He takes us from John Jacob Astor's fur trading outpost in Oregon to the Texas Revolution, from the California gold rush to the Oklahoma land rush. He shows how the migrants' dreams drove them to feats of courage and perseverance that put their stay-at-home cousins to shame - and how those same dreams also drove them to outrageous acts of violence against indigenous peoples and one another. El Dorado was at least as elusive in the West as it ever was in the East.
-
-
Dreadful narration
- By Fredmo on 12-09-19
By: H. W. Brands
Related to this topic
-
Three Roads to the Alamo
- The Lives and Fortunes of David Crockett, James Bowie, and William Barret Travis
- By: William C. Davis
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 27 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Three Roads to the Alamo is the definitive work about the lives of David Crockett, James Bowie, and William Barret Travis - the legendary frontiersmen and fighters who met their destiny at the Alamo in one of the most famous and tragic battles in American history - and about what really happened in that battle.
-
-
Grandfather Dr. Death eats Applesauce on Christmas
- By McKinley L. Donnor on 07-15-20
By: William C. Davis
-
Big Wonderful Thing
- By: Stephen Harrigan
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 28 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The story of Texas is the story of struggle and triumph in a land of extremes. It is a story of drought and flood, invasion and war, boom and bust, and of the myriad peoples who, over centuries of conflict, gave rise to a place that has helped shape the identity of the United States and the destiny of the world.
-
-
Guidall is in top form with very good material
- By Elizabeth on 12-22-19
By: Stephen Harrigan
-
Gun Barons
- The Weapons That Transformed America and the Men Who Invented Them
- By: John Bainbridge Jr.
- Narrated by: Lee Goettl
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Love them or hate them, guns are woven deeply into the American soul. Names like Colt, Smith & Wesson, Winchester, and Remington are legendary. Yet few people are aware of the roles these men played at a crucial time in United States history, from westward expansion in the 1840s, through the Civil War, and into the dawn of the Gilded Age. Through personal drive and fueled by bloodshed, they helped propel the young country into the forefront of the world's industrial powers. Their creations helped save a nation divided, while planting seeds that would divide the country again later.
-
-
Condescending and Biased at best
- By Harry W King III on 01-24-24
-
Jesse James
- Last Rebel of the Civil War
- By: T. J. Stiles
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 18 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this brilliant biography T. J. Stiles offers a new understanding of the legendary outlaw Jesse James. Although he has often been portrayed as a Robin Hood of the old west, in this ground-breaking work Stiles places James within the context of the bloody conflicts of the Civil War to reveal a much more complicated and significant figure.
-
-
Borderline woke retelling of the era JJ live in
- By Rodney on 08-24-22
By: T. J. Stiles
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
i would prefer david reading it
- By hooterwah on 05-07-19
By: David McCullough
-
Chief Engineer
- Washington Roebling, the Man Who Built the Brooklyn Bridge
- By: Erica Wagner
- Narrated by: Jo Anna Perrin
- Length: 14 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
His father conceived of the Brooklyn Bridge, but after John Roebling's sudden death, Washington Roebling built what has become one of American's most iconic structures - as much a part of New York as the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building. Yet, as recognizable as the bridge is, its builder is too often forgotten - and his life is of interest far beyond his chosen field. It is the story of immigrants, of the frontier, of the greatest crisis in American history, and of the making of the modern world.
-
-
Monumental
- By charles mueller on 07-09-19
By: Erica Wagner
-
Three Roads to the Alamo
- The Lives and Fortunes of David Crockett, James Bowie, and William Barret Travis
- By: William C. Davis
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 27 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Three Roads to the Alamo is the definitive work about the lives of David Crockett, James Bowie, and William Barret Travis - the legendary frontiersmen and fighters who met their destiny at the Alamo in one of the most famous and tragic battles in American history - and about what really happened in that battle.
-
-
Grandfather Dr. Death eats Applesauce on Christmas
- By McKinley L. Donnor on 07-15-20
By: William C. Davis
-
Big Wonderful Thing
- By: Stephen Harrigan
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 28 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The story of Texas is the story of struggle and triumph in a land of extremes. It is a story of drought and flood, invasion and war, boom and bust, and of the myriad peoples who, over centuries of conflict, gave rise to a place that has helped shape the identity of the United States and the destiny of the world.
-
-
Guidall is in top form with very good material
- By Elizabeth on 12-22-19
By: Stephen Harrigan
-
Gun Barons
- The Weapons That Transformed America and the Men Who Invented Them
- By: John Bainbridge Jr.
- Narrated by: Lee Goettl
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Love them or hate them, guns are woven deeply into the American soul. Names like Colt, Smith & Wesson, Winchester, and Remington are legendary. Yet few people are aware of the roles these men played at a crucial time in United States history, from westward expansion in the 1840s, through the Civil War, and into the dawn of the Gilded Age. Through personal drive and fueled by bloodshed, they helped propel the young country into the forefront of the world's industrial powers. Their creations helped save a nation divided, while planting seeds that would divide the country again later.
-
-
Condescending and Biased at best
- By Harry W King III on 01-24-24
-
Jesse James
- Last Rebel of the Civil War
- By: T. J. Stiles
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 18 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this brilliant biography T. J. Stiles offers a new understanding of the legendary outlaw Jesse James. Although he has often been portrayed as a Robin Hood of the old west, in this ground-breaking work Stiles places James within the context of the bloody conflicts of the Civil War to reveal a much more complicated and significant figure.
-
-
Borderline woke retelling of the era JJ live in
- By Rodney on 08-24-22
By: T. J. Stiles
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
i would prefer david reading it
- By hooterwah on 05-07-19
By: David McCullough
-
Chief Engineer
- Washington Roebling, the Man Who Built the Brooklyn Bridge
- By: Erica Wagner
- Narrated by: Jo Anna Perrin
- Length: 14 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
His father conceived of the Brooklyn Bridge, but after John Roebling's sudden death, Washington Roebling built what has become one of American's most iconic structures - as much a part of New York as the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building. Yet, as recognizable as the bridge is, its builder is too often forgotten - and his life is of interest far beyond his chosen field. It is the story of immigrants, of the frontier, of the greatest crisis in American history, and of the making of the modern world.
-
-
Monumental
- By charles mueller on 07-09-19
By: Erica Wagner
-
Ben Franklin: Inventing America
- Sterling Point Books
- By: Thomas Fleming
- Narrated by: A. C. Fellner
- Length: 4 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Perhaps more than even Washington, Jefferson, or Adams, Ben Franklin is the Founding Father who best exemplifies the authentic American spirit and values. Eminent historian Thomas Fleming paints a lively portrait of this self-made man blessed with a wealth of talents: a best-selling author, the most important newspaper publisher in America, and a world-renowned scientist and inventor before he took on the task of becoming the true "Father" of American independence.
-
-
Amazing and Inspiring
- By Kindle Customer on 11-26-11
By: Thomas Fleming
-
Love and Hate in Jamestown
- John Smith, Pocahontas, and the Start of a New Nation
- By: David A. Price
- Narrated by: Josh Innerst
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Drawing on period letters and chronicles, and on the papers of the Virginia Company - which financed the settlement of Jamestown - David Price tells a tale of cowardice and courage, stupidity and brilliance, tragedy and costly triumph. He takes us into the day-to-day existence of the English men and women whose charge was to find gold and a route to the Orient, and who found, instead, hardship and wretched misery. Death, in fact, became the settlers' most faithful companion, and their infighting was ceaseless.
-
-
Five Star History!
- By Damian on 08-13-23
By: David A. Price
-
The Agitators
- Three Friends Who Fought for Abolition and Women's Rights
- By: Dorothy Wickenden
- Narrated by: Heather Alicia Simms, Anne Twomey, Gabra Zackman, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the 1850s, Harriet Tubman, strategically brilliant and uncannily prescient, rescued some seventy enslaved people from Maryland’s Eastern Shore and shepherded them north along the underground railroad. One of her regular stops was Auburn, New York, where she entrusted passengers to Martha Coffin Wright, a Quaker mother of seven, and Frances A. Seward, the wife of William H. Seward. Through exhaustive research, Wickenden traces the second American revolution these women fought to bring about, the toll it took on their families, and its lasting effects on the country.
-
-
Excellent!
- By Nikki on 12-22-21
-
The Grandees
- America's Sephardic Elite
- By: Stephen Birmingham
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 13 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1654, 23 Jewish families arrived in New Amsterdam (now New York) aboard a French privateer. They were the Sephardim, members of a proud orthodox sect that had served as royal advisors and honored professionals under Moorish rule in Spain and Portugal but were then exiled by intolerant monarchs. A small, closed, and intensely private community, the Sephardim soon established themselves as businessmen and financiers. They became powerful forces in society, with some, like banker Haym Salomon, even providing financial support to George Washington's army during the American Revolution.
-
-
Amazing American History - Jews Made a Profound Impact
- By Jimmy Rosen on 12-27-21
-
Master Slave Husband Wife
- An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom
- By: Ilyon Woo
- Narrated by: Janina Edwards, Leon Nixon
- Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1848, a year of international democratic revolt, a young, enslaved couple, Ellen and William Craft, achieved one of the boldest feats of self-emancipation in American history. Posing as master and slave, while sustained by their love as husband and wife, they made their escape together across more than 1,000 miles, riding out in the open on steamboats, carriages, and trains that took them from bondage in Georgia to the free states of the North.
-
-
Necessary story well told!
- By Marc W Rhoades on 01-19-23
By: Ilyon Woo
-
Away Off Shore
- Nantucket Island and Its People, 1602-1890
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In his first book of history, Away Off Shore, New York Times best-selling author Nathaniel Philbrick reveals the people and the stories behind what was once the whaling capital of the world. Beyond its charm, quaint local traditions, and whaling yarns, Philbrick explores the origins of Nantucket in this comprehensive history. From the English settlers who thought they were purchasing a "Native American ghost town" but actually found a fully realized society, the story of Nantucket is a truly unique chapter of American history.
-
-
There once were some (wo)men in Nantucket...
- By Darwin8u on 02-03-19
-
The Patriots
- Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and the Making of America
- By: Winston Groom
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this masterful narrative, Winston Groom brings his signature storytelling panache to the tale of our nation's most fascinating founding fathers - Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams - painting a vivid picture of the improbable events, bold ideas, and extraordinary characters who created the United States of America.
-
-
For newbies or history buffs
- By SBR72 on 06-06-21
By: Winston Groom
-
38 Nooses
- Lincoln, Little Crow, and the Beginning of the Frontier's End
- By: Scott W. Berg
- Narrated by: Paul Heitsch
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In August 1862, after decades of broken treaties, increasing hardship, and relentless encroachment on their lands, a group of Dakota warriors convened a council at the tepee of their leader, Little Crow. Knowing the strength and resilience of the young American nation, Little Crow counseled caution, but anger won the day. Forced to either lead his warriors in a war he knew they could not win or leave them to their fates, he declared, "[Little Crow] is not a coward: he will die with you."
-
-
Powerful condemnation of Manifest Destiny
- By Buretto on 09-26-19
By: Scott W. Berg
-
Travels with George
- In Search of Washington and His Legacy
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Does George Washington still matter? Best-selling author Nathaniel Philbrick argues for Washington’s unique contribution to the forging of America by retracing his journey as a new president through all 13 former colonies, which were now an unsure nation. Travels with George marks a new first-person voice for Philbrick, weaving history and personal reflection into a single narrative.
-
-
Fun listen but too much about slavery
- By Paul W. Brazis on 09-19-21
-
American Rebels
- How the Hancock, Adams, and Quincy Families Fanned the Flames of Revolution
- By: Nina Sankovitch
- Narrated by: Suzie Althens
- Length: 15 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nina Sankovitch’s American Rebels explores, for the first time, the intertwined lives of the Hancock, Quincy, and Adams families, and the role each person played in sparking the American Revolution. American Rebels explores how the desire for independence cut across class lines, binding people together as well as dividing them -rebels versus loyalists - as they pursued commonly held goals of opportunity, liberty, and stability. Nina Sankovitch's new audiobook is a fresh history of our revolution that makes listeners look more closely at Massachusetts.
-
-
I loved this book!
- By John H on 06-22-20
By: Nina Sankovitch
-
Bury the Chains
- Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire's Slaves
- By: Adam Hochschild
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 13 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In early 1787, 12 men - a printer, a lawyer, a clergyman, and others united by their hatred of slavery - came together in a London printing shop and began a remarkable grass-roots movement, battling for the rights of people on another continent. Masterfully stoking public opinion, the movement's leaders pioneered a variety of techniques that have been adopted by citizens' movements ever since, from consumer boycotts to wall posters and lapel buttons to celebrity endorsements.
-
-
Great Eye-Opener
- By Carl Thompson on 01-06-19
By: Adam Hochschild
-
1861: The Civil War Awakening
- By: Adam Goodheart
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 18 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As the United States marks the 150th anniversary of our defining national drama, 1861 presents a gripping and original account of how the Civil War began. 1861 is an epic of courage and heroism beyond the battlefields. Early in that fateful year, a second American revolution unfolded, inspiring a new generation to reject their parents' faith in compromise and appeasement, to do the unthinkable in the name of an ideal.
-
-
Not what I expected
- By Sol on 07-01-11
By: Adam Goodheart
What listeners say about Revolver
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anthony Sutton
- 04-15-24
the Colt weapons which brought many too massacre
I now realized Sam Colt a Confederate sympathizer, a traitor of fact, and a devious business man
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- E. P. Schreier
- 08-06-20
How a revolver changed the world.
Anyone interested in 19th Century US history will love this book. Rasenberger weaves the story of how Colt’s revolver revolutionized manufacturing with the ease and skill of William Manchester and David McCullough. An immensely informative and enjoyable read.
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
- Drcutler1026
- 06-12-24
Would be better with out the virtue signaling
I enjoyed the book alright, but the author makes a point to morally wag his finger at the past. Looking at the past with today’s morals is a fools errand and I would rather hear the whole story than looking at it from today’s perspective. There are better books about this subject.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 12-03-20
Outstanding history of Colt, his gun, & the time
This book is well researched and scholarly, but still readable and entertaining. The author gives you an easy to follow chronology, filling it with well known and little known facts about Colt's life, his family and the development of his gun. Where sources are conflicting, he presents the known facts but lets the reader draw his/her own conclusions. Finally, in today's environment with strong sentiments about firearms, he deftly lays out the story without passing judgement.
A great read with a first rate narrator.
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
- Ray928
- 04-16-21
Fascinating, and so well done.
I think this book is exceedingly good and well narrated. I found the book compelling. It is long, but I never lost interest. While it is essentially a biography of Sam Colt and his revolver, it also provides rich historical insight into life in America in the early 19th century. I applaud the author, the narrator, and others involved in creating this masterpiece.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Eggleston
- 08-01-20
Sam Colt, but not the Revolver
All about Sam Colt, who patented the first mass-produced a rapid-fire pistol. But not about the arm itself or its characteristics, or about its subsequent history. Colt arguably, along with Eli Whitney, invented the 'American System' or assembly-line method of manufacture.
Very little about the gun itself.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Greetings
- 01-22-21
great history
did not realize the amount of history the Colt family has and the struggles they endured. excellent read!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- John Cashman
- 06-17-20
Great biography
This is so much more than the story of a gun. It is a meticulously researched biography of a man and a family. Colt's experiences and inventions were diverse. Much of his life resembles a soap opera, so this makes for an entertaining read.
The author seems to run out of steam over the last decade or so of Colts life. I don't know if this is due to a lack of source material, but I would have liked more detail on that era. But its a minor quibble for an excellent book.
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
- Anonymous
- 02-25-22
I’m not convinced he wanted to write this book
It’s a very mixed bag. It is a pretty good, and often entertaining, summation of Colt’s life. The guns are not really discussed in any great depth, which is probably for the best, as the author gets a lot of those details wrong. The author may have a vague, passing familiarity with firearms, but he makes plain, though unintentionally, that he doesn’t know much about them, their use, or their history.
Now for the bad. The book spends a great deal of time exploring what he feels is wrong about America, the Mexican War, Sand Creek, Bloody Bill Anderson, the Texas Rangers, westward expansion, the South, anyone that didn’t vote for Lincoln, among many other things he views as national and cultural failings. Beyond being not terribly relevant to main subject, his command of those events is often downright poor. He either really wanted to write books on those subjects instead of Samuel Colt, and for some reason could not, or he really, REALLY, didn’t want his woke friends to denounce him for writing a book about someone of whom they might disapprove.
Which is a shame, because when he isn’t giving opinions and discussing history he doesn’t know much about, it’s an interesting book.
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
- GMRLMerrill
- 08-29-22
Political hit piece veiled as a historical account
Unfortunately the author chose to write this book seemingly to vilify current gun violence and attempt to lead readers to drawing the conclusion that Samuel Colt is somehow responsible for tragic modern day atrocities. For a book titled revolver, he spends very little time describing or discussing it or Colt’s manufacturing or innovation. Rather he glosses over those topics intent on placing blame on Colt for the notions of slavery, international conflict between European and Asian countries and general gun hysteria surrounding modern day. Great performance from the narrator. It was very hard to get through this as a history enthusiast. Even harder to listen to as a gun enthusiast. Look elsewhere for actual history unless you want to hear this author’s opinion on the aforementioned topics.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!