Audio Book Recommedation

[Specster]

I drive mega miles and spend on average 4.5 hours in my car, 6 days a week. While driving, audio books are great. Can members recommend a good audio book - I was thinking Fredricksburg or Chancellorsville battle - I like the battle field more than politics. If anyone could suggest a good audiobook it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in Advance,

Spec

 

[Poor Private]

One of my favorite is: "Last Of The Dixie Heroes" by Peter Abrahams. Read by Buck Schirner. 9 hours of listening pleasure(my description). It's not really about any particular battle, it's more of a novel about the civil war, and reenacting. The feller has trials and tribulations with his family, work problems. How he finds out his grandfather was a confederate hero during the civil war and, and a long lost relative shows up, and bonding with his 10 year old son. And it climaxes with the battle above the clouds. I listen to it at least once a year, somtimes more.

 

[huskerblitz]

I have a ton of CW-related audio books from my subscription from Audible.

I'm currently listening to Jeff Shaara's A Chain of Thunder which is part of a Vicksburg-area series on the Western theater. Its pretty good and easy to get into.

 

[St Albans Raid]

I don't have any suggestions other than check out what your local library has. I used to go and check them out and listen on my trip to work.

 

[tonijustine]

I don't have a personal recommendation, but it subscribe to Audible and use my long commute to listen to books that have been sitting on my shelf for a long time. I am 2 1/2 hours from finally finishing the Foote trilogy.

Audible has a pretty big library and all I am pulling up for Fredericksburg is short battle overviews and other books (Chamberlain's biography)

Chancellorsville has a bigger variety,including Chancellorsville 1863 by Ferguson which is rated relatively highly and Sears' Chancellorsville.

 

[Specster]

I don't have a personal recommendation, but it subscribe to Audible and use my long commute to listen to books that have been sitting on my shelf for a long time. I am 2 1/2 hours from finally finishing the Foote trilogy.

Audible has a pretty big library and all I am pulling up for Fredericksburg is short battle overviews and other books (Chamberlain's biography)

Chancellorsville has a bigger variety,including Chancellorsville 1863 by Ferguson which is rated relatively highly and Sears' Chancellorsville.

Thanks for the lead,

Best regards

 

[johnnydef47]

I listen to audio books in my workshop and some of my favorites are
'Confederates in the attic'
'Landscape turned red'
and of course 'Killer angels'

 

[Specster]

I listen to audio books in my workshop and some of my favorites are
'Confederates in the attic'
'Landscape turned red'
and of course 'Killer angels'

All non fiction?

 

[johnnydef47]

Confederates in the attic is more about todays culture of the war and the reenacting
Landscape turned red is non fiction
and Killer Angels is the book the movie Gettysburg is based on. I particularly like these ones because they are interesting but also an easy listen.

 

[JPinta]

*The* audiobook which changed my life is -- and I know there are diverse opinions on this -- Shelby Foote's The Civil War: A Narrative. Not everyone is a fan of Foote I realize, but his writing style mirrors fiction so closely (after all, he is an author) that it really lends itself very well to audiobooks. His entire 1.2 million word tome is available in audiobook, read by the wonderful Grover Gardner. I have listened to it all the way through once, and am about 1/5 of the way through my second go around right now (I have a morning commute and it makes the time fly by). It keeps the war always on my mind, for better or worse, and I would sincerely recommend it.

If Foote's not your thing, I would second the recommendation for Tony Horwitz's Confederates in the Attic. Also, and I personally own this on audiobook and can speak for its quality, Horwitz's book on John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid That Sparked the Civil War, is extremely recommendable (if you're OK with something slightly predating the war).

Audio books are wonderful ways to make being in the car enjoyable!

 

[johnnydef47]

I wanted to start Foote's book but it just seemed like such a huge undertaking. I think it will be next though

 

[tonijustine]

*The* audiobook which changed my life is -- and I know there are diverse opinions on this -- Shelby Foote's The Civil War: A Narrative. Not everyone is a fan of Foote I realize, but his writing style mirrors fiction so closely (after all, he is an author) that it really lends itself very well to audiobooks. His entire 1.2 million word tome is available in audiobook, read by the wonderful Grover Gardner. I have listened to it all the way through once, and am about 1/5 of the way through my second go around right now (I have a morning commute and it makes the time fly by). It keeps the war always on my mind, for better or worse, and I would sincerely recommend it.

If Foote's not your thing, I would second the recommendation for Tony Horwitz's Confederates in the Attic. Also, and I personally own this on audiobook and can speak for its quality, Horwitz's book on John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid That Sparked the Civil War, is extremely recommendable (if you're OK with something slightly predating the war).

Audio books are wonderful ways to make being in the car enjoyable!

If you are looking to do something outside of F'berg or Chancellorsville, I agree with JPinta's recommendations.

Foote has been wonderful...He is able to bring tension to a historic event which we know the outcome to, and writes with great humor. And Gardner's voice is how I imagine Grant would have sounded.

I really liked Midnight Rising too.

On the other end of the timeline is Manhunt, which was also fantastic.

I also like Battle Cry of Freedom if you were looking for a general survey of the war (though the first quarter of it is the setup of the regional discord that led to the War).

 

[JPinta]

Foote has been wonderful...He is able to bring tension to a historic event which we know the outcome to, and writes with great humor. And Gardner's voice is how I imagine Grant would have sounded.

I completely agree with all of that.

Great humor indeed! There are many, many points where I have laughed out loud listening to Narrative. Not because of any outright jokes, but just subtle Foote-isms which are perfectly delivered. You can tell Foote is a great admirer of A. Lincoln as well, as there is no shortage of witty Lincoln one-liners and just plain funny stories in which Lincoln is either involved or directly telling.

And I hadn't thought about Gardner and Grant, but now that you mention it I think I can hear it! I'll have to listen closely for that tomorrow morning .

 

[E_just_E]

I highly recommend Confederates in the Attic, as well. It is more of a social study of folks mainly in the South and their sentiments about the Civil War. Written by Pulitzer award winning WSJ and New Yorker journalist Tony Horwitz about 15+ years ago. Great read.

I used to have 3+ hrs car commutes too (these days I usually fly or drive and take the train.) I did try the audiobook thing and worked ok, but what I found is that History audiobooks are ridiculously awful when you try to stay awake at 4:30 or 5 AM. Your mileage may vary, but...

 

[Tom Elmore]

I am enjoying "Rebel Yell" on audio book, all about Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson and his battles. Now there was a man who was way ahead of nearly all his contemporaries in understanding how to wage war. His Shenandoah Valley campaign of 1862 was simply astonishing and is treated in considerable detail.

 

[Specster]

If you are looking to do something outside of F'berg or Chancellorsville, I agree with JPinta's recommendations.

Foote has been wonderful...He is able to bring tension to a historic event which we know the outcome to, and writes with great humor. And Gardner's voice is how I imagine Grant would have sounded.

I really liked Midnight Rising too.

On the other end of the timeline is Manhunt, which was also fantastic.

I also like Battle Cry of Freedom if you were looking for a general survey of the war (though the first quarter of it is the setup of the regional discord that led to the War).

Already Read Shelby Foote - hard to beat and Man Hunt.



Thank you all

 

[Quara]

I've had to drive 5 hours at a stretch (usually at night) every three weeks for years, and audiobooks got me through many a boring road trip.

I have the two-book a month Audible membership, and it's fantastic. I also 'sample' the audiobook to make sure I like the narrator. I usually don't do non-fiction, as I've found most non fiction audiobooks too dry, Manhunt being a notable exception, and Killing Lincoln, likely because O'Rielly narrated it himself. I also like Gary Gahligher's 'Great Courses' which you can get on audio on iTunes.

By far Shelby Foote's Civil War Narrative is one of my absolute favorites (that baby lasted me most of a year, and I'm now in a middle of a re-listen).

For fiction I'll repeat the vote for Jeff Shaara's western civil war series--the narrator is very good, and I really liked not having a movie to compare it to, but if you're interested in Fredricksburg, you might try Gods and Generals.

I liked the audiobook for St Patrick's Battalion by James Alexander Thom, though it's more about the Mexican War.

I also like audiobooks about spies in the civil war, 'the secrets of Mary Bower' and 'The Spymistress' were a lot of fun (both are set in Richmond during the war) I just finished 'On Secret Service' by John Jakes, so I'm searching for my next book now

 

[Al Murray]

Sorry I can't recommend a book but I share your experience. I used to work out of town and used audio books all the time. I found out then (accidentally) that I learn better from audio than from print. Or restated maybe I am too dumb to learn from reading. Either way, audio is great.

 

[johnnydef47]

Also there is a series of book written by I believe Newt Gingrich and Martin Dugard it's a trilogy starting with the Mexican war call ' Training Ground'. And a couple others. They are a histoical fiction of 'what if' but they follow history very closely and were good to listen too as well

 

[Quara]

Also there is a series of book written by I believe Newt Gingrich and Martin Dugard it's a trilogy starting with the Mexican war call ' Training Ground'. And a couple others. They are a histoical fiction of 'what if' but they follow history very closely and were good to listen too as well

There's the 'Gettysburg' trilogy by Gingrich (as mentioned, it's a 'what if' series) very well done IMO

There's also "The Training Ground" by Martin Dugard about the effect the Mexican war had in Civil war leaders. Also really quite fascinating.

I've read them but don't know about their audiobook availability.