Europeans arrived in the Americas in 1492 to find . . . people concerned with personal cleanliness in an age when Europeans rarely bathed, houses warmer than the ones they had left behind in Europe, and a prosperous Incan society without money. These are just a few of the facts Peter Johnson relates as he reads Charles C. Mann's study of pre-Columbus America. Johnson reads mainly to convey information, clearly but in a lecturer's voice. At times, he can be too dry, losing the natural humor that Mann includes. However, Mann's narrative is interesting enough to keep listeners' attention throughout.
Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2005
Duration: 11 hrs, 15 mins
Publisher: HighBridge Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This informative and insightful audiobook history of the Mississippi River and its regions quickly and necessarily focuses on questions of protection and preservation. The Mississippi is the center of American prosperity but is difficult to control and at every point is vulnerable. Narrator Gabriel Vaughan is a steadfast guide through a tangled history of levy building and floodplain management. He is most effective when the narrative frame is the author's own history. The narrative advances southward toward the river's delta and egress, and there environmental issues are overlain with a history of racial injustice and exploitation. During sections of tough listening, what Vaughan sometimes lacks in polish he more than makes up in impact and empathy.
Pub Date: June 11, 2024
Duration: 10 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781696615440
Publisher: HighBridge Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This history of American Indigenous people sounds like a well-constructed college lecture. But that's no surprise since author Kathleen DuVal is a university professor. But Carolina Hoyos's narration is far from a dry academic recitation. Rather, she comes across as a storyteller. Her voice is smooth and easy to listen to. Her pace allows listeners to absorb the author's points effectively. For most listeners, this audiobook will be a revelation. Nearly all U.S. history books give Native people short shrift. They make it seem like these people died out after encounters with white settlers. But the truth is they didn't disappear. They were written out of U.S. history. This work does a good job of writing them back into the American historical narrative.
Pub Date: April 9, 2024
Duration: 21 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9780593821954
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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