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Russian Legends: The Life and Legacy of Nikita Khrushchev , Hörbuch, Digital, ungekürzt, 115min

A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history's most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors' Russian Legends series, listeners can get caught up to speed on the lives of Russia's most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. For 30 years, much of the West looked on with disdain as the Bolsheviks took power in Russia and created and consolidated the Soviet Union. As bad as Vladimir Lenin seemed in the early 20th century, Joseph Stalin was so much worse that Churchill later remarked of Lenin, "Their worst misfortune was his birth ... their next worst his death." Before World War II, Stalin consolidated his position by frequently purging party leaders (most famously Leon Trotsky) and Red Army leaders, executing hundreds of thousands of people at the least. And in one of history's greatest textbook examples of the idea that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, Stalin's Soviet Union allied with Britain and the United States to defeat Hitler in Europe during World War II. Stalin had ruled with an iron fist for nearly 30 years before his death in 1953, which may or may not have been murder, just as Stalin was preparing to conduct another purge. With his death, Soviet strongman and long-time Stalinist Nikita Khrushchev (1894-1971), who had managed to stay a step ahead of Stalin's purges if only because he participated in them, became the Soviet premier. ungekürzt. Language: English. Narrator: Scott Clem. Audio sample: https://samples.audible.de/bk/acx0/086386/bk_acx0_086386_sample.mp3. Digital audiobook in aax.

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1984 & Animal Farm (eBook, ePUB)

1984 is a political and dystopian science-fiction novel set in Airstrip One, a province of the superstate Oceania. It is a mind-numbing world which in a state of perpetual war, omnipresent government surveillance and public manipulation. Dictated by a political system, called Ingsoc, the lives of its people are under the control of privileged elite of the "Inner Party" which persecutes individualism and independent thinking as "thought crime." Due to the novel's huge popularity, many of its terms and concepts, such as Big Brother, doublethink, thoughtcrime, Newspeak, Room 101, telescreen, 2 + 2 = 5, and memory hole, have entered into common use since its publication in 1949. It has also popularised the adjective "Orwellian", which describes official deception, secret surveillance, and manipulation of recorded history by a totalitarian or authoritarian state. Animal Farm is an allegorical novel which reflects events leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and then on into the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union. Old Major, the old boar on the Manor Farm, summons the animals on the farm together for a meeting, during which he refers to humans as "enemies" and teaches the animals a revolutionary song called "Beasts of England". When Major dies, two young pigs, Snowball and Napoleon, assume command and consider it a duty to prepare for the Rebellion. The animal's revolt, driving the drunken, irresponsible farmer Mr Jones, as well as Mrs Jones and the other human caretakers and employees, off the farm, renaming it "Animal Farm". They adopt the Seven Commandments of Animalism, the most important of which is, "All animals are equal"....

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The Price of Defeat: The History of British Operations to Transfer Personnel, Technology, and Equipment from Germany to Britain after World War II , Hörbuch, Digital, ungekürzt, 123min

After the last shots of World War II were fired and the process of rebuilding Germany and Europe began, the Western Allies and the Soviet Union each tried to obtain the services of the Third Reich's leading scientists, especially those involved in rocketry, missile technology, and aerospace research. Naturally, this was a delicate affair due to the fact many of the German scientists were not only active Nazis but had helped the Nazi war machine terrorize the world. At the same time, by the late war period, the Anglo-American Allies formed a clear picture of the Soviet state. Though forced to ally with the USSR's dictator, the West came to understand Communist Russia represented yet another hungry totalitarian power, and thus a very real threat to an independent Europe. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill realized the menacing character of the Soviets from the Katyn Forest Massacre of Polish army officers, if not before, while the Americans only gradually shed a naïve assumption of continued Russian friendliness after the war. The Western approach, however self-interested, typically met with voluntary compliance on the German scientists' parts. In contrast, the Soviet answer to Paperclip, Operation Osoaviakhim, used the implied threat of imprisonment, torture, and death, the characteristic tools of Stalinist Russia, to coerce assistance from German scientists and engineers following the war. These men yielded rich dividends to the Soviet state in terms of achieving at least temporary technical parity with the USSR's western rivals. To say these operations had a profound impact on the Cold War and American history would be an understatement. The most well-known example of Operation Paperclip’s “success” was Wernher von Braun, who was once a member of a branch of the SS involved in the Holocaust before becoming known as the “father of rocket science” and fascinating the world with visions of winged rockets and space stations as a “new” Manhattan P ungekürzt. Language: English. Narrator: Jim D Johnston. Audio sample: https://samples.audible.de/bk/acx0/162782/bk_acx0_162782_sample.mp3. Digital audiobook in aax.

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Europe Since 1815, Volume 3: Catastrophe and Renewal , Hörbuch, Digital, ungekürzt, 797min

The ominous forces of militarism, nationalism, and secret alliances were finally set loose by the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand. As the Central Powers of Austria-Hungary and Germany move to quickly bring the issue to a speedy climax, the wheels begin to come off. Instead of quick victory, a devastating stalemate ensued. Tens of millions died in the wretched trenches of Europe and by the time the Versailles Treaty was signed in 1919, weary Europeans were startled to see the rise of a Russian government so radical, it instantly became a pariah. Disillusionment with the Versailles Treaty became widespread among both victor and vanquished. As France pressed the Germans for reparations, the Germans dug in their heels. With each new perceived humiliation, the German population began to nurse a hatred that was easily fanned by demagogues. When the economic recovery of the 20s was derailed by the worldwide Great Depression, the door was flung open for the entry into history of the demonic force of Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist Party. In the Soviet Union, the communists under Stalin began implementing five-year plans of unprecedented scope. Millions died futiley followed by a savage Stalinist purge amid spectacular show trials. Yet Russia doggedly forged ahead. In the west, the democracies seemed powerless to stop Hitler until it was too late and war came to them unprepared. The French fell to Nazi armies, and Britain, with Churchill leading, stood alone. As the suspense heightens, Hitler suddenly launches an attack on the Soviet Union. In a titanic paroxysm of violence and death, the second world war comes to an end under a pall of destruction and despair never before known. Out of this desolation has emerged the New Europe we know today. From our present vantage point, the recovery has been no less than miraculous. ungekürzt. Language: English. Narrator: Charlton Griffin. Audio sample: https://samples.audible.de/bk/acon/000092/bk_acon_000092_sample.mp3. Digital audiobook in aax.

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The Soviet Union During the Brezhnev Era: The History of the USSR Under Leonid Brezhnev , Hörbuch, Digital, ungekürzt, 119min

For 30 years, much of the West looked on with disdain as the Bolsheviks took power in Russia and created and consolidated the Soviet Union. As bad as Vladimir Lenin seemed in the early 20th century, Joseph Stalin was so much worse that Churchill later remarked of Lenin, “Their worst misfortune was his birth... their next worst his death.”Stalin had ruled with an iron fist for nearly 30 years before his death in 1953, which may or may not have been murder, just as Stalin was preparing to conduct another purge. With his death, Soviet strongman and long-time Stalinist Nikita Khrushchev (1894-1971), became the Soviet premier.A barely known figure outside of the Eastern bloc, Khrushchev was derided as a buffoon by one Western diplomat and mocked for his physical appearance by others, but any Western hopes that he would prove a more conciliatory figure than Stalin were quickly snuffed out as the hard-line Khrushchev embraced confrontational stances.Personal histrionics aside, Khrushchev meant business when dealing with the West, especially the United States and its young president, John F. Kennedy. After sensing weakness and a lack of fortitude in Kennedy, Khrushchev made his most audacious and ultimately costly decision by attempting to place nuclear warheads at advanced, offensive bases located in Cuba, right off the American mainland. As it turned out, the Cuban Missile Crisis would show the Kennedy Administration’s resolve, force Khrushchev to back down, and ultimately sow the seeds of Khrushchev’s fall from power. By the time he died in 1971, he had been declared a non-citizen of the nation he had ruled for nearly 20 years.Leonid Brezhnev became First Secretary of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union in late 1964 after a plot to oust Khrushchev. Little is remembered in the public imagination about Brezhnev in comparison to Mikhail Gorbachev, Vladimir Lenin, or Joseph Stalin, despite the fact Brezhnev ruled the USSR from 1964-1982, lo ungekürzt. Language: English. Narrator: Colin Fluxman. Audio sample: https://samples.audible.de/bk/acx0/156914/bk_acx0_156914_sample.mp3. Digital audiobook in aax.

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The Holodomor: The History and Legacy of the Ukrainian Famine Engineered by the Soviet Union , Hörbuch, Digital, ungekürzt, 148min

“What are the causes of the famine? The main reason for the catastrophe in Russian agriculture is the Soviet policy of collectivization. The prophecy of Paul Scheffer in 1920-30 that collectivization of agriculture would be the nemesis of Communism has come absolutely true.” (Gareth Jones)Famine - one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse in the Book of Revelation - continues to be one of the most crippling and destructive scourges of humanity. This inexorable affliction, traumatically fatal in the worst-case scenarios, has terrorized every single continent at some point throughout history, some more so than others. Perhaps the most famous was the notorious Irish Potato Famine of 1845, during which a noxious, fungus-like microorganism known as the “Phytophthora infestans” destroyed half of Ireland's potatoes and three-fourths of the crop in the following seven years, resulting in the deaths of 1.5 million and the forced migration of some two million citizens. The catastrophic Bengal Famine of 1943, which was precipitated by a dreadful cyclone and tidal waves the previous year, led to the deaths of an estimated seven million Bengalis. Among some of history’s famines, the Holodomor’s death toll is considerably lower than others, such as the the Chalisa and South India Famines between 1782 to 1784, which killed roughly 11 million people altogether, or the Chinese Famine of 1907, which claimed up to 25 million lives in northern China. The Holodomor, however, which ravaged Ukraine between 1932 and 1933, was not a natural occurrence, but a ghastly man-made famine brought about by Stalinist policies. When Ukraine was incorporated into the Soviet Union, communist ideology was enforced on every part of society, religion was effectively prohibited, and dissenters were sent to the Gulag prison camps. The church was an early target for the communists, as many buildings and religious icons were vandalized and believers were mocked. As awful ungekürzt. Language: English. Narrator: Daniel Houle. Audio sample: https://samples.audible.de/bk/acx0/226242/bk_acx0_226242_sample.mp3. Digital audiobook in aax.

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Orwell Collection: Animal Farm & 1984 , Hörbuch, Digital, ungekürzt, 978min

Audible Studios presents two new recordings of George Orwell's most celebrated novels – 1984 and Animal Farm – with exclusive introductions, written and performed by Stephen Fry. 1984The classic dystopian social science fiction novel first published on 8th June 1949 as Orwell's ninth and final book completed in his lifetime. One of the most brilliant satires on totalitarianism and the power-hungry ever written, introducing new language as words of warning for future generations; 1984, Newspeak, Doublethink, Thought Police, Big Brother is watching you.... Animal FarmOne of the most influential works of the 20th century. A socio-political allegory that reflects events leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and then on into the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union. Set in a farmyard, where the animals decide to seize the farmer's land and create a co-operative that reaps the benefits of their combined labours. Four legs good, two legs bad....About the narratorStephen Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter, film director and all-round national treasure. Whilst at university, Fry became involved with the Cambridge Footlights, where he met his long-time collaborator and friend Hugh Laurie. As half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, he co-wrote and co-starred in A Bit of Fry & Laurie and Jeeves and Wooster. Fry’s acting roles include Blackadder, Kingdom, Bones, V for Vendetta, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and The Hobbit trilogy. He has written and presented several documentary series and as a proudly out gay man, the award-winning Out There, documenting the lives of lesbian, bisexual gay and transgender people around the world is part of his 30-year advocacy of the rights of the LGBT community. Fry has written four novels, The Liar, The Hippopotamu ungekürzt. Language: English. Narrator: Stephen Fry. Audio sample: https://samples.audible.de/bk/adbl/055165/bk_adbl_055165_sample.mp3. Digital audiobook in aax.

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Music as a Mirror of History, Hörbuch, Digital, 1096min

In the worlds of painting and literature, it's easy to see where history and art intersect. In Picasso's Guernica or Tolstoy's War and Peace, it's evident how works of art mirror and participate in the life of their times, sometimes even playing roles in historical events. But what about music? In Music as a Mirror of History, Great Courses favorite Professor Greenberg of San Francisco Performances returns with a fascinating and provocative premise: Despite the abstractness and the universality of music - and our habit of listening to it divorced from any historical context - music is a mirror of the historical setting in which it was created. Music carries a rich spectrum of social, cultural, historical, and philosophical information, all grounded in the life and experience of the composer - if you're aware of what you're listening to. In these 24 lectures, you'll explore how composers convey such explicit information, evoking specific states of mind and giving voice to communal emotions, all colored by their own personal experiences. Music lovers and history enthusiasts alike will be enthralled by this exploration of how momentous compositions have responded to - and inspired - pivotal events. Ranging widely across the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, you witness historical moments such as the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, the Austrian-Ottoman conflict, the Hungarian nationalist movement, the movement for Italian unification, the economic ascent of the US, the Stalinist regime in the USSR, and World Wars I and II. Across the arc of the course, you'll see how these events were felt and expressed in the music of Mozart, Beethoven, Berlioz, Brahms, Verdi, Wagner, and many others, including modern masters such as Janáček, Górecki, and Crumb, and you'll hear superlative musical excerpts in each lecture. Join us for an unparalleled look into the power and scope of musical art. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase thi Language: English. Narrator: Robert Greenberg. Audio sample: https://samples.audible.de/bk/tcco/000445/bk_tcco_000445_sample.mp3. Digital audiobook in aax.

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Augusto Pinochet: The Life and Legacy of Chile's Controversial Dictator , Hörbuch, Digital, ungekürzt, 87min

For much of the 20th century, South American governments in large part lived under a system of military junta governments. The mixture of indigenous peoples, foreign settlers and European colonial superpowers produced cultural and social imbalances into which military forces intervened as a stabilizing influence. The proactive personalities of military heads and the rigid structures of such a hierarchy guaranteed the "strong man" commanding officer an abiding presence in the form of executive dictator. Such leaders often bore the more collaborative title of President, but the reality was, in most cases, identical. Likewise, the gap between rich and poor was often vast, and a disappearance of the middle class fed a frequent urge for revolution, reenergizing the military's intent to stop it. With no stabilizing center, the ideologies most prevalent in such conflicts alternated between a federal model of industrial and social nationalization and an equally conservative structure under privatized ownership and autocratic rule drawn from the head of a junta government. Whichever belief system was in play for the major industrial nations of the continent, a constant bombardment of foreign influence pushed the people of states such as Chile, Brazil, Argentina, and others, toward overthrow, in one direction or the other. From the left came Stalinist influences from the Soviet Union and Castro's Cuba, while the German World War II model and an anti-communist mindset from the United States worked behind the scenes to upset any movement toward extreme liberalism. The reign of Juan Peron in Argentina became the most iconic such arrangement to the Western observer, but General Augusto Pinochet's 17-year rule over Chile after an American-supported coup in the 1970s proved the most enduring and the most resistant to eradication by subsequent leaders of an opposite bent. Pinochet himself openly bragged, "My library is filled with UN condemnations." B ungekürzt. Language: English. Narrator: Kenneth Ray. Audio sample: https://samples.audible.de/bk/acx0/082821/bk_acx0_082821_sample.mp3. Digital audiobook in aax.

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Germany and the Cold War: The History and Legacy of the Divide Between East Germany and West Germany , Hörbuch, Digital, ungekürzt, 183min

In the wake of World War II, the European continent was devastated, and the conflict left the Soviet Union and the United States as uncontested superpowers. This ushered in over 45 years of the Cold War, and a political alignment of Western democracies against the Communist Soviet bloc that produced conflicts pitting allies on each sides fighting, even as the American and Soviet militaries never engaged each other. Though it never got “hot”, the Cold War was a tense era until the dissolution of the USSR, and nothing symbolized the split more than the Berlin Wall, which literally divided the city. Berlin had been a flashpoint even before World War II ended, and the city was occupied by the different Allies even as the close of the war turned them into adversaries. After the Soviets’ blockade of West Berlin was prevented by the Berlin Airlift, the Eastern Bloc and the Western powers continued to control different sections of the city, and by the 1960s, East Germany was pushing for a solution to the problem of an enclave of freedom within its borders. West Berlin was a haven for highly-educated East Germans who wanted freedom and a better life in the West, and this “brain drain” was threatening the survival of the East German economy. The history of East Germany was a remarkable one, from its chaotic origins through its ossification as a Stalinist regime, until the country collapsed along with the Berlin Wall. Conversely, West Germany became one of the most stable and prosperous states in Europe during the Cold War. In many ways, the legacy of the split is still around today. The West Germans honestly confronted its brutal past and competently absorbed the far poorer Soviet satellite East Germany upon the reunification of Germany in 1990. This, of course, was not at all certain or obvious when the Allies beat back the Nazis at the end of the war in 1945, but far from making the same mistakes the Allied Powers made after World War I, the Allies opted to ungekürzt. Language: English. Narrator: Jim Johnston. Audio sample: https://samples.audible.de/bk/acx0/119335/bk_acx0_119335_sample.mp3. Digital audiobook in aax.

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