At a time when it seems that every school’s curriculum is under scrutiny, this audiobook educates listeners about people and events that are not included in many history books—the stories of Black and Indigenous Americans from pre-Revolutionary times to the present. Narrator Shaun Taylor-Corbett’s performance is precise and captures listeners’ attention from start to finish. With a delivery that would be the envy of teachers everywhere, Taylor-Corbett uses tones and inflection to infuse every chapter with its own personality. The resulting performance gives life to the author’s perspective on issues and cultural icons that range from contemporary protests to the Civil Rights Movement of the twentieth century to the Declaration of Independence, and seemingly everything in between. D.J.S. 2023 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Pub Date: Nov. 30, 2021
Duration: 8 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9780807093900
Publisher: Beacon Press
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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