History bestsellers

A People's History of the United States

By: Howard Zinn
Narrated by: Jeff Zinn
Length: 34 hours 9 minutes

“What this classic, alternative, and, yes, overtly leftist history of the United States most impressed upon me is that the history of American protest is just as vital and as old a tradition as the stars and stripes. The American people have always protested, gone on strike, marched - for suffrage, abolition, labor rights, civil rights,... Read more

The Sirens' Call

How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource

By: Chris Hayes
Narrated by: Chris Hayes
Length: 8 hours 54 minutes

An Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller

From the New York Times bestselling author and MSNBC and podcast host, a powerful wide-angle reckoning with how the assault from attention capitalism on our minds and our hearts has reordered our politics and the very fabric of our society

“An ambitious analysis of how the trivial amusements offered by... Read more

On Tyranny

Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century

By: Timothy Snyder
Narrated by: Timothy Snyder
Length: 1 hour 47 minutes

“This pocket guide to preserving our freedoms and resisting authoritarianism, penned by Yale historian of fascism Timothy Snyder, takes lessons from the fall of democracies across Europe in the 20th Century, each posing a warning to us now in the 21st Century. A brief but mind blowing, eye-opening read that left me feeling sobered and empowered... Read more

Caste (Oprah's Book Club)

The Origins of Our Discontents

By: Isabel Wilkerson
Narrated by: Robin Miles
Length: 15 hours 10 minutes

“Possibly one of the most important books I've read in the last decade. Caste examines the unspoken caste system that has shaped America. Wondering how America came to this? This book has brutal, unflinching answers. Read more

Spare

By: Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex
Narrated by: Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex
Length: 15 hours 37 minutes

“This is a tale of the reality of people's lives. It shows that we are all alike, no matter what our positions, titles, or economic status are. I loved this very real story of life with it's ups and downs. It's time to realize that everyone goes through hard times and good times...it's a simple fact that we have to all accept. Sharing all the... Read more

On Tyranny: Expanded Audio Edition

Updated with Twenty New Lessons from Russia's War on Ukraine

By: Timothy Snyder
Narrated by: Timothy Snyder
Length: 9 hours 45 minutes

The #1 New York Times bestseller, now in an expanded audiobook edition that includes detailed historical context for the democracy-threatening Ukrainian conflict and a call to action for modern times.

This edition includes the bestselling original essay collection On Tyranny, read by the author.

In this exclusive audiobook edition, which... Read more

The Demon of Unrest

A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War

By: Erik Larson
Narrated by: Will Patton & Erik Larson
Length: 17 hours 17 minutes

“So many history books focus on what happened, but Erik Larson always asks: Why? In this gripping narrative of the months leading to the first shots fired in what is still the bloodiest conflict in U.S. history, Larson brings us as near as it is possible to be inside the minds of key players in the decisions leading to the Civil War. This tale of... Read more

A Promised Land

By: Barack Obama
Narrated by: Barack Obama
Length: 29 hours 9 minutes

“No one really needs my blurb to help sell this book, but I wanted to give it anyway, especially for the audiobook, narrated by Barack Obama himself. If you want to know his incredible knowledge and wisdom that guided him through major decisions, and also hear him drop a few F-bombs, you need to listen to this fantastically written book. Read more

The Wager

A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder

By: David Grann
Narrated by: Dion Graham & David Grann
Length: 8 hours 28 minutes

“How has this story been kept under wraps for so long? It plays like a novel with vivid characters and escalating tension. Fans of Erik Larson or Patrick O'Brian will love this equally. Read more

The Small and the Mighty

Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement

By: Sharon McMahon
Narrated by: Sharon McMahon
Length: 10 hours 13 minutes

“A thoroughly informative and enjoyable look at 12 Americans who made a difference. Sharon McMahon narrates the book herself, and it’s all the better for her own inflections and emotions. Cannot recommend enough! Read more

The 1619 Project

A New Origin Story

By: Caitlin Roper, Ilena Silverman & Jake Silverstein
Narrated by: Nikole Hannah-Jones & Full Cast
Length: 18 hours 56 minutes

“This book was a true education, even coming after many recent books I’ve read on race in America. It details the history of African Americans, making clear not only how central it is to the history of the United States, but how revealing it is of our national character, past and present. Chapters of historical events alternate with poetry and... Read more

Challenger

A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space

By: Adam Higginbotham
Narrated by: Jacques Roy
Length: 17 hours 9 minutes

“In 1986, the space shuttle Challenger launched to total disaster, killing the 7 people aboard, including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe, within 73 seconds, all while America watched. This is a serious emotional account of those events. In great detail this book takes you through the years before the Challenger. It includes the first Apollo... Read more

The Dawn of Everything

A New History of Humanity

By: David Graeber & David Wengrow
Narrated by: Mark Williams
Length: 24 hours 19 minutes

“What do you do when a 700-page book about the entirety of human history has been sitting unopened on your desk for weeks, taunting you every time you pass it because you know you're going to love it but, man, it's intimidating? You download the audiobook. I've been listening to this radical, invigorating reexamination of the history of... Read more

By the Fire We Carry

The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land

By: Rebecca Nagle
Narrated by: Rebecca Nagle
Length: 8 hours 14 minutes

“In 2020, the Supreme Court affirmed the reservation of Muscogee Nation in a stunning victory for Indigenous land rights. Alternating between the case and the wider history of tribal sovereignty, removal, and resistance in Oklahoma, By the Fire We Carry is an engaging, infuriating account of Indigenous people's ongoing fight to exist in their own... Read more

Talking to Strangers

What We Should Know about the People We Don't Know

By: Malcolm Gladwell
Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
Length: 8 hours 57 minutes

“Talking To Strangers is perfect on audio. It reads (listens) like a podcast including audio clips from interviews, etc. Read more

Say Nothing

A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland

By: Patrick Radden Keefe
Narrated by: Matthew Blaney
Length: 14 hours 40 minutes

“This book is as good as everyone says. I knew I didn't know a ton about the troubles in Northern Ireland, but I didn't know HOW much I didn't know. This book turns a rather complex, sometimes dry (if you're not Irish or a war history person) subject into a story of intrigue, weaving the conflict's history with the stories of a few men and women... Read more

Mythos

By: Stephen Fry
Narrated by: Stephen Fry
Length: 15 hours 24 minutes

“Brush up on your classical mythology painlessly with the help of Stephen Fry! The Greek gods are brought to life with a fresh perspective and loads of uncensored naughty bits served with a side of pop culture references. Best enjoyed by listening to the Libro.fm audiobook to fully appreciate the storytelling aspect of these tales that were meant... Read more

An Unfinished Love Story

A Personal History of the 1960s

By: Doris Kearns Goodwin
Narrated by: Doris Kearns Goodwin
Length: 17 hours 37 minutes

“Great history/biography. The actual speeches are a great addition to a thoroughly enjoyable revisit to the 60’s political scene from insiders. Read more

Black AF History

The Un-Whitewashed Story of America

By: Michael Harriot
Narrated by: Michael Harriot
Length: 15 hours 42 minutes

From acclaimed columnist and political commentator Michael Harriot, a searingly smart and bitingly hilarious retelling of American history that corrects the record and showcases the perspectives and experiences of Black Americans.America’s backstory is a whitewashed mythology implanted in our collective memory. It is the story of the pilgrims on... Read more

The Wide Wide Sea

Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook

By: Hampton Sides
Narrated by: Peter Noble
Length: 15 hours 40 minutes

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES, TIME, THE ECONOMIST, NPR, THE NEW YORKER, THE SMITHSONIAN, AND KIRKUS REVIEWS

A “thrilling and superbly crafted” (The Wall Street Journal) account of the most momentous voyage of the Age of Exploration, which culminated in Captain James Cook’s death in Hawaii, and... Read more

Killers of the Flower Moon

The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

By: David Grann
Narrated by: Will Patton, Ann Marie Lee & Danny Campbell
Length: 9 hours 4 minutes

“In "Killers of the Flower Moon", David Grann recounts the tragic tale of the Osage Indian Nations decimation and deceit at the hands of their government appointed guardians. Motivated by money, morally corrupt and masterfully manipulative, the true role of these benevolent benefactors, perpetrators of mass murder, is still a mystery today.... Read more

Black in Blues

How a Color Tells the Story of My People

By: Imani Perry
Narrated by: Imani Perry
Length: 9 hours 3 minutes

NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK BY: Time, USA Today, People, AARP, Today.com, BookRiot, Bustle, LitHub, BookPage, Our Culture, and VultureA surprising and beautiful meditation on the color blue—and its fascinating role in Black history and culture—from National Book Award winner Imani PerryThroughout history, the concept of Blackness has been... Read more

Master Slave Husband Wife

An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom

By: Ilyon Woo
Narrated by: Janina Edwards & Leon Nixon
Length: 12 hours 54 minutes

“Ellen and William Craft, married slaves from Georgia, pulled off one of the most daring escapes from slavery in recorded history. Ellen, who was able to pass for white because she had a white father, dressed as a very ill young man. The couple convinced people that they were master and slave bound for the North to seek medical care. After four... Read more

Sapiens

A Brief History of Humankind

By: Yuval Noah Harari
Narrated by: Derek Perkins
Length: 15 hours 17 minutes

“I don't own many books. I read books and give them away. However, I will NOT be giving away my copy of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. It's a keeper! Sapiens was an intense read for me. I found myself taking breaks every dozen pages or so. Not because I was bored - just the opposite. I needed time to let the author's perspective on the... Read more

Original Sins

The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism

By: Eve L. Ewing
Narrated by: Robin Miles & Eve L. Ewing
Length: 12 hours 14 minutes

Why don’t our schools work? Eve L. Ewing tackles this question from a new angle: What if they’re actually doing what they were built to do? She argues that instead of being the great equalizer, America’s classrooms were designed to do the opposite: to maintain the nation’s inequalities. It’s a task at which they excel.

“This book will transform... Read more

Democracy Awakening

Notes on the State of America

By: Heather Cox Richardson
Narrated by: Heather Cox Richardson
Length: 8 hours 51 minutes

A New York Times Bestseller

A vital and urgent call to action about the precarious state of American democracy, charting its historical challenges and current threats, from one of our era’s most important and insightful historians, with a new afterword by the author.

“Magisterial.” –The Washington Post

“An excellent primer for anyone who needs the... Read more

Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here

The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis

By: Jonathan Blitzer
Narrated by: André Santana & Jonathan Blitzer
Length: 18 hours 13 minutes

A National Bestseller • A New York Times Top 10 Book of 2024 • Named a Best Book of the Year by The New Yorker, Chicago Tribune, Newsweek, PBS NewsHour, LitHub, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Lunch, Christian Science Monitor, and Counterpunch • One of Barack Obama's Summer Reading List Picks • Named a Notable Book by New York Times and Washington... Read more

How the Word Is Passed

A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America

By: Clint Smith
Narrated by: Clint Smith
Length: 10 hours 6 minutes

“Smith has crafted a resource, narrative and detailed explanation into how we teach the legacy of slavery. He recounts visits from everywhere from NYC to the Whitney Plantation, integrating stories of people and visitors today. This book is lays a beautiful written foundation for interrogating the history we've been taught. Particularly... Read more

Nexus

A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI

By: Yuval Noah Harari
Narrated by: Vidish Athavale
Length: 17 hours 27 minutes

“Harari takes the listener through the history of human attempts to gather and organize information. Not a technical manual for AI but a historical context for what its place may be in history. Read more

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You

A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning

By: Jason Reynolds & Ibram X. Kendi
Narrated by: Jason Reynolds
Length: 4 hours 11 minutes

“This “not history, history book” is a remix of Ibram X. Kendi’s adult book, Stamped From the Beginning. In Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, Jason Reynolds tells the narrative of racism throughout time with a young adult audience in mind. From the first racist, to slavery, to modern politics, Reynolds revelations surrounding the history of... Read more

Patriot

A Memoir

By: Alexei Navalny
Narrated by: Matthew Goode
Length: 16 hours 46 minutes

“A powerhouse of a memoir. Learn about Navalny's metamorphosis from ordinary Soviet citizen to activist who took on the corruption and treachery of Putin's regime, and as a result, was almost fatally poisoned. Navalny's is a tale of caution of what happens to a country when we allow autocrats and oligarchs to have complete rule which ultimately... Read more

Wild Faith

How the Christian Right Is Taking Over America

By: Talia Lavin
Narrated by: Talia Lavin
Length: 9 hours 45 minutes

The acclaimed author of Culture Warlords investigates the rise of the Christian Right over the last half-century that lays out the grim vision evangelicals are enforcing on our democracy.

All across America, a storm is gathering: from book bans in school libraries to anti-trans laws in state legislatures; firebombings of abortion clinics and... Read more

The Devil in the White City

Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

By: Erik Larson
Narrated by: Scott Brick
Length: 14 hours 58 minutes

“The Devil in the White City is one of the most fascinating books I've ever read. Set amidst the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, Erik Larson's historical narrative interweaves the stories of two men who would come to define it, for better and for worse. One is Daniel Burnham, chief architect of the Fair, who threw his entire being into creating a... Read more

Man's Search for Meaning

By: Viktor E. Frankl
Narrated by: Theo Solomon
Length: 5 hours 43 minutes

“A profound, moving, and transformative meditation on suffering and meaning written by a psychologist who was a prisoner in Auschwitz for three years. Read more

Let This Radicalize You

Organizing and the Revolution of Reciprocal Care

By: Kelly Hayes & Mariame Kaba
Narrated by: Diana Blue
Length: 10 hours 41 minutes

What fuels and sustains activism and organizing when it feels like our worlds are collapsing? Let This Radicalize You is a practical and imaginative resource for activists and organizers building power in an era of destabilization and catastrophe.



Longtime organizers and movement educators Mariame Kaba and Kelly Hayes examine some of the... Read more

Everything Is Tuberculosis

The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection

By: John Green
Narrated by: John Green
Length: TBA

John Green, the #1 bestselling author of The Anthropocene Reviewed and a passionate advocate for global healthcare reform, tells a deeply human story illuminating the fight against the world’s deadliest infectious disease.

Tuberculosis has been entwined with hu­manity for millennia. Once romanticized as a malady of poets, today tuberculosis is... Read more

The Hundred Years' War on Palestine

A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017

By: Rashid Khalidi
Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi & Rashid Khalidi
Length: 10 hours 30 minutes

This program includes an introduction read by the author.

A landmark history of one hundred years of war waged against the Palestinians from the foremost US historian of the Middle East, told through pivotal events and family history.

In 1899, Yusuf Diya al-Khalidi, mayor of Jerusalem, alarmed by the Zionist call to create a Jewish national home... Read more

A Woman of No Importance

The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II

By: Sonia Purnell
Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
Length: 13 hours 53 minutes

“Fans of World War II, Women’s and Resistance History will love this biography of Virginia Hall. The story is told like a spy THRILLER and every page is riveting!! Sonia Purnell’s years of extensive research tells the extraordinary tale of a very brave female American spy behind enemy lines during World War II in occupied France. Virginia Hall... Read more

We Refuse

A Forceful History of Black Resistance

By: Kellie Carter Jackson
Narrated by: Kellie Carter Jackson
Length: 9 hours 11 minutes

“This is a heavy read but a necessary one. I implore everyone to read not only this one, but also the ones referenced. Read more

Four Hundred Souls

A Community History of African America, 1619-2019

By: Ibram X. Kendi & Keisha N. Blain
Narrated by: Various
Length: 14 hours 1 minute

“An absolutely stunning history of African America for people who do not normally read history. Compiled of short stories, essays, and poems, it is perfect for someone who is intimidated by lists of names and dates. Each individual voice stands on its own but together they truly make a 'choir' that flows together beautifully. This is a... Read more

Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza

A Reckoning

By: Peter Beinart
Narrated by: Peter Beinart
Length: 3 hours 34 minutes

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A bold, urgent appeal from the acclaimed columnist and political commentator, addressing one of the most important issues of our time

“At this painful moment, Peter Beinart’s voice is more vital than ever. His reach is broad—from the tragedy of today’s Middle East to the South Africa he knows well to events centuries... Read more

Nuclear War

A Scenario

By: Annie Jacobsen
Narrated by: Annie Jacobsen
Length: 11 hours 18 minutes

“Jacobsen extensively researched the military science and our country's preparation plan should a nuclear war occur. The consequences are understandably brutal. The subject of nuclear warfare is described in an assertive style that will leave you thinking about the subject long after the book is finished. Told in a relentless play-by-play... Read more

The Shock Doctrine - Abridged

The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

By: Naomi Klein
Narrated by: Jennifer Wiltsie
Length: 9 hours 1 minute

The bestselling author of No Logo shows how the global "free market" has exploited crises and shock for three decades, from Chile to Iraq

In her groundbreaking reporting, Naomi Klein introduced the term "disaster capitalism." Whether covering Baghdad after the U.S. occupation, Sri Lanka in the wake of the tsunami, or New Orleans post-Katrina, she... Read more

The Barn

The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi

By: Wright Thompson
Narrated by: Wright Thompson
Length: 11 hours 38 minutes

“This is the story/history of the kidnapping, torture and murder of 14 year old Emmett Till in Mississippi in the summer of 1955. It is a reckoning with the horrors and injustices that Black Americans face daily, even today, but specifically in the South. It is a history of the insular community surrounding this (and other) murders. It is the... Read more

Autocracy, Inc.

The Dictators Who Want to Run the World

By: Anne Applebaum
Narrated by: Anne Applebaum
Length: 4 hours 48 minutes

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the Pulitzer-prize winning author, an alarming account of how autocracies work together to undermine the democratic world, and how we should organize to defeat them

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Economist, Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, The Times

"A masterful guide to the new age of authoritarianism... clear-sighted... Read more

Character Limit

How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter

By: Kate Conger & Ryan Mac
Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
Length: 15 hours 19 minutes

Named a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus Reviews

“Riveting . . . Character Limit offers a telling lesson in the cost of getting everything you want.” —The Washington Post

“You couldn’t hope for a better ringside seat on the unfolding drama . . . [Character Limit] is a triumph.” —The Guardian
 
“Masterful in how it paints a picture and puts you in the... Read more

A Fever in the Heartland

The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them

By: Timothy Egan
Narrated by: Timothy Egan
Length: 10 hours 29 minutes

“Some pride themselves on knowing historical facts and hidden histories, and yet, Egan, with his horror story about the KKK, will stop you in your tracks. Wasn't this just a 19th century Southern phenomenon? Who knew American Terror happened literally in our own backyard. Read more

Kingmaker

Pamela Harriman's Astonishing Life of Power, Seduction, and Intrigue

By: Sonia Purnell
Narrated by: Louise Brealey
Length: 16 hours 57 minutes

“The scintillating true story of Pamela Harriman’s rise to power from learning tricks of influence on Churchill’s knee during the blitz, to 1992 when she helped Clinton become President. Since a woman in her day couldn’t achieve political power herself, she got as close to power as she could by using her beauty and intelligence to help... Read more

The Sinners All Bow

Two Authors, One Murder, and the Real Hester Prynne

By: Kate Winkler Dawson
Narrated by: Kate Winkler Dawson
Length: 9 hours 34 minutes

INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER!

One of Amazon’s Best History Books of January

Acclaimed journalist, podcaster, and true-crime historian Kate Winkler Dawson tells the true story of the scandalous murder investigation that became the inspiration for both Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and the first true-crime book published in America.

On a... Read more

Technofeudalism

What Killed Capitalism

By: Yanis Varoufakis
Narrated by: Yanis Varoufakis
Length: 7 hours 39 minutes

In a revelatory and path breaking work, the #1 international bestselling economist opens our eyes to the new power that is reshaping our lives and the world.
“The Thucydides of our time.” —Jeffrey Sachs
Big tech has replaced capitalism's twin pillars—markets and profit—with its platforms and rents. With every click and scroll, we labor like serfs... Read more