-
The Perfect Horse
- The Daring U.S. Mission to Rescue the Priceless Stallions Kidnapped by the Nazis
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 12 hrs and 47 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $19.29
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Eighty-Dollar Champion
- Snowman, the Horse That Inspired a Nation
- By: Elizabeth Letts
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
November 1958: the National Horse Show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Into the rarefied atmosphere of wealth and tradition comes the most unlikely of horses - a drab white former plow horse named Snowman - and his rider, Harry de Leyer. They were the longest of all longshots - and their win was the stuff of legend.
-
-
Heartwarming and historical
- By Skipper on 07-01-20
By: Elizabeth Letts
-
Last Chance Mustang
- The Story of One Horse, One Horseman, and One Final Shot at Redemption
- By: Mitchell Bornstein
- Narrated by: Tom Zingarelli
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Last Chance Mustang is the story of Samson, a formerly free-roaming, still wild-at-heart American mustang that was plucked from his mountainous Nevada home and thrown into the domestic horse world, where he was brutalized and victimized. After years of abuse, Samson had evolved into a hateful and hated, maladjusted beast - until the day he found his way to a rural Illinois farm, an ill-equipped owner, and one last chance.
-
-
Great story
- By ggvan on 04-30-17
-
Ghost Riders
- When US and German Soldiers Fought Together to Save the World's Most Beautiful Horses in the Last Days of World War II
- By: Mark Felton
- Narrated by: Alex Hyde-White
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As the Red Army closes in on the Third Reich, a German colonel sends an American intelligence officer an unusual report about a POW camp soon to be overrun by the Soviets. Locked up, the report says, are over a thousand horses, including the entire herd of white Lipizzaners from Vienna's Spanish Riding School, as well as Europe's finest Arabian stallions - stolen to create an equine "master race". The horses are worth millions and, if the starving Red Army reaches the stables first, they will kill the horses for rations. The Americans decide to help the Germans save the horses.
-
-
Decent Story, Overwritten
- By Victor Lange on 09-19-20
By: Mark Felton
-
Secretariat
- By: William Nack
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1973, Secretariat, the greatest champion in horse-racing history, won the Triple Crown. The only horse to ever grace the covers of Time, Newsweek, and Sports Illustrated in the same week, he also still holds the record for the fastest times in both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes. He was also the only non-human chosen as one of ESPN's "50 Greatest Athletes of the Century".
-
-
Loved It - But It Is Not Just About A Super Horse
- By Julie on 06-10-12
By: William Nack
-
The Ride of Her Life
- The True Story of a Woman, Her Horse, and Their Last-Chance Journey Across America
- By: Elizabeth Letts
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Letts, Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1954, 63-year-old Maine farmer Annie Wilkins embarked on an impossible journey. She had no money and no family, she had just lost her farm, and her doctor had given her only two years to live. But Annie wanted to see the Pacific Ocean before she died. She ignored her doctor’s advice to move into the county charity home. Instead, she bought a cast-off brown gelding named Tarzan, donned men’s dungarees, and headed south in mid-November, hoping to beat the snow.
-
-
Not sure….
- By BeagleMom on 06-14-21
By: Elizabeth Letts
-
Out of the Clouds
- By: Linda Carroll, David Rosner
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the wake of World War II, as turmoil and chaos were giving way to optimism, Americans were looking for inspiration and role models showing that it was possible to start from the bottom and work your way up to the top—and they found it in Stymie, the failed racehorse plucked from the discard heap by trainer Hirsch Jacobs. Taking listeners on a crowd-pleasing ride with Stymie and Jacobs, Out of the Clouds unwinds a real-life Horatio Alger tale of a dauntless team and its working-class fans who lived vicariously through the stouthearted little colt they embraced as their own.
-
-
Mostly about the people, not much about the horse
- By BDM on 11-12-20
By: Linda Carroll, and others
-
The Eighty-Dollar Champion
- Snowman, the Horse That Inspired a Nation
- By: Elizabeth Letts
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
November 1958: the National Horse Show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Into the rarefied atmosphere of wealth and tradition comes the most unlikely of horses - a drab white former plow horse named Snowman - and his rider, Harry de Leyer. They were the longest of all longshots - and their win was the stuff of legend.
-
-
Heartwarming and historical
- By Skipper on 07-01-20
By: Elizabeth Letts
-
Last Chance Mustang
- The Story of One Horse, One Horseman, and One Final Shot at Redemption
- By: Mitchell Bornstein
- Narrated by: Tom Zingarelli
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Last Chance Mustang is the story of Samson, a formerly free-roaming, still wild-at-heart American mustang that was plucked from his mountainous Nevada home and thrown into the domestic horse world, where he was brutalized and victimized. After years of abuse, Samson had evolved into a hateful and hated, maladjusted beast - until the day he found his way to a rural Illinois farm, an ill-equipped owner, and one last chance.
-
-
Great story
- By ggvan on 04-30-17
-
Ghost Riders
- When US and German Soldiers Fought Together to Save the World's Most Beautiful Horses in the Last Days of World War II
- By: Mark Felton
- Narrated by: Alex Hyde-White
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As the Red Army closes in on the Third Reich, a German colonel sends an American intelligence officer an unusual report about a POW camp soon to be overrun by the Soviets. Locked up, the report says, are over a thousand horses, including the entire herd of white Lipizzaners from Vienna's Spanish Riding School, as well as Europe's finest Arabian stallions - stolen to create an equine "master race". The horses are worth millions and, if the starving Red Army reaches the stables first, they will kill the horses for rations. The Americans decide to help the Germans save the horses.
-
-
Decent Story, Overwritten
- By Victor Lange on 09-19-20
By: Mark Felton
-
Secretariat
- By: William Nack
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1973, Secretariat, the greatest champion in horse-racing history, won the Triple Crown. The only horse to ever grace the covers of Time, Newsweek, and Sports Illustrated in the same week, he also still holds the record for the fastest times in both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes. He was also the only non-human chosen as one of ESPN's "50 Greatest Athletes of the Century".
-
-
Loved It - But It Is Not Just About A Super Horse
- By Julie on 06-10-12
By: William Nack
-
The Ride of Her Life
- The True Story of a Woman, Her Horse, and Their Last-Chance Journey Across America
- By: Elizabeth Letts
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Letts, Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1954, 63-year-old Maine farmer Annie Wilkins embarked on an impossible journey. She had no money and no family, she had just lost her farm, and her doctor had given her only two years to live. But Annie wanted to see the Pacific Ocean before she died. She ignored her doctor’s advice to move into the county charity home. Instead, she bought a cast-off brown gelding named Tarzan, donned men’s dungarees, and headed south in mid-November, hoping to beat the snow.
-
-
Not sure….
- By BeagleMom on 06-14-21
By: Elizabeth Letts
-
Out of the Clouds
- By: Linda Carroll, David Rosner
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the wake of World War II, as turmoil and chaos were giving way to optimism, Americans were looking for inspiration and role models showing that it was possible to start from the bottom and work your way up to the top—and they found it in Stymie, the failed racehorse plucked from the discard heap by trainer Hirsch Jacobs. Taking listeners on a crowd-pleasing ride with Stymie and Jacobs, Out of the Clouds unwinds a real-life Horatio Alger tale of a dauntless team and its working-class fans who lived vicariously through the stouthearted little colt they embraced as their own.
-
-
Mostly about the people, not much about the horse
- By BDM on 11-12-20
By: Linda Carroll, and others
-
Finding Dorothy
- A Novel
- By: Elizabeth Letts
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee, Elizabeth Letts
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hollywood, 1938: As soon as she learns MGM is adapting her late husband’s masterpiece for the screen, 77-year-old Maud Gage Baum sets about trying to finagle her way onto the set. Nineteen years after Frank’s passing, Maud is the only person who can help the producers stay true to the spirit of the book - because she’s the only one left who knows its secrets. But the moment she hears Judy Garland rehearsing the first notes of “Over the Rainbow”, Maud recognizes the yearning that defined her own life story.
-
-
Simple
- By Douglas A. Saunders on 04-02-19
By: Elizabeth Letts
-
Horse Brain, Human Brain
- The Neuroscience of Horsemanship
- By: Janet L. Jones
- Narrated by: Helena Harris
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this illuminating book, brain scientist and horsewoman Janet Jones describes human and equine brains working together. Using plain language, she explores the differences and similarities between equine and human ways of negotiating the world. Mental abilities—like seeing, learning, fearing, trusting, and focusing—are discussed from both human and horse perspectives. Throughout, true stories of horses and handlers attempting to understand each other—sometimes successfully, sometimes not—help to illustrate the principles.
-
-
Fascinating info
- By Stephib17 on 10-22-23
By: Janet L. Jones
-
In the Middle Are the Horsemen
- By: Tik Maynard
- Narrated by: Tik Maynard
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2008, 26-year-old Tik Maynard faced a crossroads not unlike that of other young adults. A university graduate and modern pentathlete, he suffered both a career-ending injury and a painful breakup, leaving him suddenly adrift. The son of prominent Canadian equestrians, Maynard decided to spend the next year as a "working student." In the horse industry, working students aspire to become professional riders or trainers, and willingly trade labor for hands-on education.
-
-
All about the Journey
- By Kindle Customer on 11-28-22
By: Tik Maynard
-
Horse
- A Novel
- By: Geraldine Brooks
- Narrated by: James Fouhey, Lisa Flanagan, Graham Halstead, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kentucky, 1850. An enslaved groom named Jarret and a bay foal forge a bond of understanding that will carry the horse to record-setting victories across the South. When the nation erupts in civil war, an itinerant young artist who has made his name on paintings of the racehorse takes up arms for the Union. On a perilous night, he reunites with the stallion and his groom, very far from the glamor of any racetrack.
-
-
Love Geraldine Brooks
- By Regina on 06-25-22
By: Geraldine Brooks
-
Paul Revere's Ride
- By: David Hackett Fischer
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Paul Revere's midnight ride looms as an almost mythical event in American history - yet it has been largely ignored by scholars and left to patriotic writers and debunkers. In Paul Revere's Ride, David Hackett Fischer fashions an exciting narrative that offers deep insight into the outbreak of revolution and the emergence of the American republic. Beginning in the years before the eruption of war, Fischer illuminates the figure of Paul Revere.
-
-
Damn
- By Claudio on 06-24-17
-
Seabiscuit
- An American Legend
- By: Laura Hillenbrand
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 13 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Seabiscuit was one of the most electrifying and popular attractions in sports history and the single biggest newsmaker in the world in 1938, receiving more coverage than FDR, Hitler, or Mussolini. But his success was a surprise to the racing establishment, which had written off the crooked-legged racehorse with the sad tail.
-
-
See you in the winner's circle
- By Janice on 06-26-13
-
The Man Who Listens to Horses
- By: Monty Roberts
- Narrated by: Ed Sala
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Monty Roberts' father, a traditional horse trainer, had taught his son to dominate a horse in order to "break" it. But when he was 13, Monty made a discovery that changed his life. As he watched a mare tame a rebellious colt, Monty saw that she was speaking to it through eye and body movements. Astonished, Monty realized that he could train horses by using their language, speaking to them in ways that would form trust and understanding. Developing techniques based on what he learned from the horses around him, Monty embarked on a remarkable career - one that would bring him international fame as the real Horse Whisperer.
-
-
Great read/listen for any horse lover
- By Anonymous User on 09-07-18
By: Monty Roberts
-
The Horse God Built
- The Untold Story of Secretariat, the World’s Greatest Racehorse
- By: Lawrence Scanlan
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Horse God Built, best-selling equestrian writer Lawrence Scanlan has written a tribute to an exceptional man that is also a backroads journey to a corner of the racing world rarely visited. As a young black man growing up in South Carolina, Eddie Sweat struggled at several occupations before settling on the job he was born for - groom to North America's finest racehorses. As Secretariat's groom, loyal friend, and protector, Eddie understood the horse far better than anyone else.
-
-
Excellent book and perfectly written
- By Jeffrey P. Allen on 09-01-17
By: Lawrence Scanlan
-
Sunflower Sisters
- A Novel
- By: Martha Hall Kelly
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld, Shayna Small, Jenna Lamia, and others
- Length: 17 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Georgeanna “Georgey” Woolsey isn’t meant for the world of lavish parties and the demure attitudes of women of her stature. So when war ignites the nation, Georgey follows her passion for nursing during a time when doctors considered women on the battlefront a bother. In proving them wrong, she and her sister Eliza venture from New York to Washington, DC, to Gettysburg and witness the unparalleled horrors of slavery as they become involved in the war effort.
-
-
It is a hard book to "listen" to.
- By Anna on 04-09-21
-
Beneath a Scarlet Sky
- A Novel
- By: Mark Sullivan
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 17 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Pino Lella wants nothing to do with the war or the Nazis. He's a normal Italian teenager - obsessed with music, food, and girls - but his days of innocence are numbered. When his family home in Milan is destroyed by Allied bombs, Pino joins an underground railroad helping Jews escape over the Alps, and falls for Anna, a beautiful widow six years his senior. In an attempt to protect him, Pino's parents force him to enlist as a German soldier - a move they think will keep him out of combat.
-
-
The Best Thing? It Really Happened!
- By Chip Atkinson on 08-07-17
By: Mark Sullivan
-
The Monuments Men
- Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History
- By: Robert M. Edsel, Bret Witter
- Narrated by: Jeremy Davidson
- Length: 14 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a race against time, behind enemy lines, often unarmed, a special force of American and British museum directors, curators, art historians, and others, called the Monuments Men, risked their lives scouring Europe to prevent the destruction of thousands of years of culture.
-
-
Interesting listen
- By Laurie on 12-22-09
By: Robert M. Edsel, and others
-
Milo's Eyes
- How a Blind Equestrian and Her "Seeing Eye Horse" Rescued Each Other
- By: Lissa Bachner
- Narrated by: Johanna Parker
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lissa Bachner was born with a passion for horses and won her first blue ribbon at age five. Other awards would follow as a young rider, and for years Lissa trained with jumpers, tackling more difficult leaps, and working to perfect her ride. When blindness struck in her teens, it appeared her passion for riding would come to an end. How could she jump hurdles when she could barely navigate through her own home? But success, trust, and love came to Lissa when her trainer convinced her to buy a "diamond in the rough" from Germany.
-
-
Inspirational Listen
- By Amazon Customer on 11-29-22
By: Lissa Bachner
Publisher's summary
New York Times best seller
From the author of The Eighty-Dollar Champion, the remarkable story of the heroic rescue of priceless horses in the closing days of World War II
Winner of the PEN Award for Research Nonfiction
In the chaotic last days of the war, a small troop of battle-weary American soldiers captures a German spy and makes an astonishing find - his briefcase is empty but for photos of beautiful white horses that have been stolen and kept on a secret farm behind enemy lines. Hitler has stockpiled the world's finest purebreds in order to breed the perfect military machine - an equine master race. But with the starving Russian army closing in, the animals are in imminent danger of being slaughtered for food.
With only hours to spare, one of the US Army's last great cavalrymen, Colonel Hank Reed, makes a bold decision - with General George Patton's blessing - to mount a covert rescue operation. Racing against time, Reed's small but determined force of soldiers, aided by several turncoat Germans, steals across enemy lines in a last-ditch effort to save the horses.
Pulling together this multistranded story, Elizabeth Letts introduces us to an unforgettable cast of characters: Alois Podhajsky, director of the famed Spanish Riding School of Vienna, a former Olympic medalist who is forced to flee the bomb-ravaged Austrian capital with his entire stable in tow; Gustav Rau, Hitler's imperious chief of horse breeding, a proponent of eugenics who dreams of genetically engineering the perfect warhorse for Germany; and Tom Stewart, a senator's son who makes a daring moonlight ride on a white stallion to secure the farm's surrender.
A compelling account for animal lovers and World War II buffs alike, The Perfect Horse tells for the first time the full story of these events. Elizabeth Letts' exhilarating tale of behind-enemy-lines adventure, courage, and sacrifice brings to life one of the most inspiring chapters in the annals of human valor.
“Letts captures both the personalities and the stakes of this daring mission with such a sharp ear for drama that the whole second half of the book reads like a WWII thriller dreamed up by Alan Furst or Len Deighton.... The right director could make a Hollywood classic out of this fairy tale.” (The Christian Science Monitor)
Critic reviews
"[Elizabeth] Letts, a lifelong equestrienne, eloquently brings together the many facets of this unlikely, poignant story underscoring the love and respect of man for horses.... The author's elegant narrative conveys how the love for these amazing creatures transcends national animosities." (Kirkus Reviews)
“Winningly readable... Letts captures both the personalities and the stakes of this daring mission with such a sharp ear for drama that the whole second half of the book reads like a WWII thriller dreamed up by Alan Furst or Len Deighton.... The right director could make a Hollywood classic out of this fairy tale.” (The Christian Science Monitor)
“Hard to put down... One need not be an equestrian or horse lover in order to appreciate this story.” (New York Journal of Books)
More from the same
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Girls and Their Horses
- By: Eliza Jane Brazier
- Narrated by: Helen Laser
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the nouveau riche Parker family moves to an exclusive community in the heart of Southern California, they believe it’s their chance at a fresh start. Heather Parker is determined to give her daughters the life she never had—starting with horses. She signs them up for riding lessons at Rancho Santa Fe Equestrian, where horses are a lifestyle. Heather becomes a “Barn Mom,” part of a group of wealthy women who hang at the stables, drink wine, and prepare their daughters for competition.
-
-
Sort of ok story
- By Linda on 09-18-23
-
Hitler's Forgotten Children
- A True Story of the Lebensborn Program and One Woman's Search for Her Real Identity
- By: Ingrid von Oelhafen, Tim Tate
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hitler’s Forgotten Children is both a harrowing personal memoir and a devastating investigation into the awful crimes and monstrous scope of the Lebensborn program in World War 2. Created by Heinrich Himmler, the Lebensborn program abducted as many as half a million children from across Europe. Through a process called Germanization, they were to become the next generation of the Aryan master race in the second phase of the Final Solution.
-
-
Interesting story.
- By Brad Bowles on 04-08-16
By: Ingrid von Oelhafen, and others
-
The Eighty-Dollar Champion
- Snowman, the Horse That Inspired a Nation
- By: Elizabeth Letts
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
November 1958: the National Horse Show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Into the rarefied atmosphere of wealth and tradition comes the most unlikely of horses - a drab white former plow horse named Snowman - and his rider, Harry de Leyer. They were the longest of all longshots - and their win was the stuff of legend.
-
-
Heartwarming and historical
- By Skipper on 07-01-20
By: Elizabeth Letts
-
In the Waves
- My Quest to Solve the Mystery of a Civil War Submarine
- By: Rachel Lance
- Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the night of February 17, 1864, the tiny Confederate submarine HL Hunley made its way toward the USS Housatonic just outside Charleston harbor. Within a matter of hours, the Union ship’s stern was blown open in a spray of wood planks. The explosion sank the ship, killing many of its crew. And the submarine, the first ever to be successful in combat, disappeared without a trace. For 131 years the eight-man crew of the HL Hunley lay in their watery graves, undiscovered.
-
-
A wonderful scientific dive!
- By Stephen on 05-01-20
By: Rachel Lance
-
They Fought Alone
- The True Story of the Starr Brothers, British Secret Agents in Nazi-Occupied France
- By: Charles Glass
- Narrated by: Allan Corduner
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As far as the public knew, Britain's Special Operations Executive (SOE) did not exist. After the defeat of the French Army and Britain's retreat from the Continent in June 1940, Prime Minister Winston Churchill created the top-secret espionage operation to "set Europe ablaze". Of the many brave men and women conscripted, two Anglo-American recruits, the Starr brothers, stood out to become legendary figures to the guerillas, assassins, and saboteurs they led.
-
-
hard to listen to
- By Marc V. on 05-21-19
By: Charles Glass
-
Disappointment River
- Finding and Losing the Northwest Passage
- By: Brian Castner
- Narrated by: Brian Castner
- Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Disappointment River is a dual historical narrative and travel memoir that at once transports listeners back to the heroic age of North American exploration and places them in a still rugged but increasingly fragile Arctic wilderness in the process of profound alteration by the dual forces of energy extraction and climate change.
-
-
Excellent
- By Jean on 05-06-18
By: Brian Castner
-
Girls and Their Horses
- By: Eliza Jane Brazier
- Narrated by: Helen Laser
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the nouveau riche Parker family moves to an exclusive community in the heart of Southern California, they believe it’s their chance at a fresh start. Heather Parker is determined to give her daughters the life she never had—starting with horses. She signs them up for riding lessons at Rancho Santa Fe Equestrian, where horses are a lifestyle. Heather becomes a “Barn Mom,” part of a group of wealthy women who hang at the stables, drink wine, and prepare their daughters for competition.
-
-
Sort of ok story
- By Linda on 09-18-23
-
Hitler's Forgotten Children
- A True Story of the Lebensborn Program and One Woman's Search for Her Real Identity
- By: Ingrid von Oelhafen, Tim Tate
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hitler’s Forgotten Children is both a harrowing personal memoir and a devastating investigation into the awful crimes and monstrous scope of the Lebensborn program in World War 2. Created by Heinrich Himmler, the Lebensborn program abducted as many as half a million children from across Europe. Through a process called Germanization, they were to become the next generation of the Aryan master race in the second phase of the Final Solution.
-
-
Interesting story.
- By Brad Bowles on 04-08-16
By: Ingrid von Oelhafen, and others
-
The Eighty-Dollar Champion
- Snowman, the Horse That Inspired a Nation
- By: Elizabeth Letts
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
November 1958: the National Horse Show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Into the rarefied atmosphere of wealth and tradition comes the most unlikely of horses - a drab white former plow horse named Snowman - and his rider, Harry de Leyer. They were the longest of all longshots - and their win was the stuff of legend.
-
-
Heartwarming and historical
- By Skipper on 07-01-20
By: Elizabeth Letts
-
In the Waves
- My Quest to Solve the Mystery of a Civil War Submarine
- By: Rachel Lance
- Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the night of February 17, 1864, the tiny Confederate submarine HL Hunley made its way toward the USS Housatonic just outside Charleston harbor. Within a matter of hours, the Union ship’s stern was blown open in a spray of wood planks. The explosion sank the ship, killing many of its crew. And the submarine, the first ever to be successful in combat, disappeared without a trace. For 131 years the eight-man crew of the HL Hunley lay in their watery graves, undiscovered.
-
-
A wonderful scientific dive!
- By Stephen on 05-01-20
By: Rachel Lance
-
They Fought Alone
- The True Story of the Starr Brothers, British Secret Agents in Nazi-Occupied France
- By: Charles Glass
- Narrated by: Allan Corduner
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As far as the public knew, Britain's Special Operations Executive (SOE) did not exist. After the defeat of the French Army and Britain's retreat from the Continent in June 1940, Prime Minister Winston Churchill created the top-secret espionage operation to "set Europe ablaze". Of the many brave men and women conscripted, two Anglo-American recruits, the Starr brothers, stood out to become legendary figures to the guerillas, assassins, and saboteurs they led.
-
-
hard to listen to
- By Marc V. on 05-21-19
By: Charles Glass
-
Disappointment River
- Finding and Losing the Northwest Passage
- By: Brian Castner
- Narrated by: Brian Castner
- Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Disappointment River is a dual historical narrative and travel memoir that at once transports listeners back to the heroic age of North American exploration and places them in a still rugged but increasingly fragile Arctic wilderness in the process of profound alteration by the dual forces of energy extraction and climate change.
-
-
Excellent
- By Jean on 05-06-18
By: Brian Castner
-
Murder at the Mission
- A Frontier Killing, Its Legacy of Lies, and the Taking of the American West
- By: Blaine Harden
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1836, two missionaries and their wives were among the first Americans to cross the Rockies by covered wagon on what would become the Oregon Trail. Dr. Marcus Whitman and Reverend Henry Spalding were headed to present-day Washington state and Idaho, where they aimed to convert members of the Cayuse and Nez Perce tribes. Both would fail spectacularly as missionaries.
-
-
Good history; wanted more indigenous perspective.
- By Anonymous User on 07-06-21
By: Blaine Harden
-
Bones
- Brothers, Horses, Cartels, and the Borderland Dream
- By: Joe Tone
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The dramatic true story of two brothers living parallel lives on either side of the US-Mexico border - and how their lives converged in a major criminal conspiracy.
-
-
If you want to hear a sermon
- By Fred D. Haener on 10-25-17
By: Joe Tone
-
The Last Pirate of New York
- A Ghost Ship, a Killer, and the Birth of a Gangster Nation
- By: Rich Cohen
- Narrated by: Ari Fliakos, Rich Cohen
- Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Handsome and charismatic, Albert Hicks had long been known in the dive bars and gin joints of the Five Points, the most dangerous neighborhood in maritime Manhattan. For years, he operated out of the public eye, rambling from crime to crime, working on the water in ships, sleeping in the nickel-a-night flops, drinking in barrooms where rat-baiting and bear-baiting were great entertainments. Rich Cohen tells the story of this notorious underworld figure, from his humble origins to the wild, globe-crossing, bacchanalian crime spree that forged his ruthlessness and his reputation.
-
-
Should have been a simple story of a murderer
- By Buretto on 08-12-19
By: Rich Cohen
-
For the Glory
- Eric Liddell's Journey from Olympic Champion to Modern Martyr
- By: Duncan Hamilton
- Narrated by: Nicholas Guy Smith
- Length: 13 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Many people will remember Eric Liddell as the Olympic gold medalist from the Academy Award-winning film Chariots of Fire. Famously, Liddell would not run on Sunday because of his strict observance of the Christian Sabbath, and so he did not compete in his signature event, the 100 meters, at the 1924 Paris Olympics. He was the greatest sprinter in the world at the time, and his choice not to run was ridiculed by the British Olympic committee, his fellow athletes, and most of the world press.
-
-
The challenge of a life lived for God's Glory
- By David on 06-30-16
By: Duncan Hamilton
-
The Mathews Men
- Seven Brothers and the War Against Hitler's U-boats
- By: William Geroux
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the author of The Ghost Ships of Archangel, one of the last unheralded heroic stories of World War II: The U-boat assault off the American coast against the men of the US Merchant Marine who were supplying the European war, and one community’s monumental contribution to that effort. Mathews County, Virginia, is a remote outpost on the Chesapeake Bay with little to offer except unspoiled scenery - but it sent an unusually large concentration of sea captains to fight in World War II.
-
-
Engaging Read Not About Brothers, but Men
- By Gillian on 04-22-16
By: William Geroux
-
The Third Pole
- Mystery, Obsession, and Death on Mount Everest
- By: Mark Synnott
- Narrated by: Steve Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A hundred-year mystery lured veteran climber Mark Synnott into an unlikely expedition up Mount Everest during the spring 2019 season that came to be known as “the Year Everest Broke”. What he found was a gripping human story of impassioned characters from around the globe and a mountain that will consume your soul - and your life - if you let it.
-
-
This is not a book about the search for Sandy Irvine
- By erik on 09-15-21
By: Mark Synnott
-
American Revolutions
- A Continental History, 1750-1804
- By: Alan Taylor
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 18 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The American Revolution is often portrayed as a high-minded, orderly event whose capstone, the Constitution, provided the ideal framework for a democratic, prosperous nation. Alan Taylor, two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, gives us a different creation story in this magisterial history of the nation's founding. Rising out of the continental rivalries of European empires and their native allies, Taylor's Revolution builds like a ground fire overspreading Britain's mainland colonies, fueled by local conditions, destructive, hard to quell.
-
-
Best book on the American Revolution that I have read
- By Peter Stephens on 11-16-16
By: Alan Taylor
-
American Baby
- A Mother, a Child, and the Shadow History of Adoption
- By: Gabrielle Glaser
- Narrated by: Kathe Mazur, Gabrielle Glaser, Margaret Katz
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The adoption business was founded on secrecy and lies. American Baby lays out how a lucrative and exploitative industry removed children from their birth mothers and placed them with hopeful families, fabricating stories about infants' origins and destinations, then closing the door firmly between the parties forever. Adoption agencies and other organizations that purported to help pregnant women struck unethical deals with doctors and researchers for pseudoscientific "assessments," and shamed millions of women into surrendering their children.
-
-
I felt the love of my birth mom...
- By Mary H. on 02-03-21
By: Gabrielle Glaser
-
Under a Flaming Sky
- The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894
- By: Daniel James Brown
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall, Daniel James Brown
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On September 1, 1894, two forest fires converged on the town of Hinckley, Minnesota, trapping over 2,000 people. Daniel J. Brown recounts the events surrounding the fire in the first and only book to chronicle the dramatic story that unfolded. Whereas Oregon's famous "Biscuit" fire in 2002 burned 350,000 acres in one week, the Hinckley fire did the same damage in five hours. The fire created its own weather, including hurricane-strength winds, bubbles of plasmalike glowing gas, and 200-foot-tall flames.
-
-
History lovers dream book.
- By Lynn Fraser on 10-18-18
-
Last Stand
- George Bird Grinnell, the Battle to Save the Buffalo, and the Birth of the New West
- By: Michael Punke
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the last three decades of the 19th century, an American buffalo herd once numbering 30 million animals was reduced to 23. It was the era of Manifest Destiny, a gilded age that viewed the West as nothing more than a treasure chest of resources to be dug up or shot down. Supporting hide hunters was the US Army, which considered the eradication of the buffalo essential to victory in its ongoing war on Native Americans.
-
-
Depressing history of American tragedy
- By J. A. Bowen on 05-16-16
By: Michael Punke
-
Under the Tulip Tree
- By: Michelle Shocklee
- Narrated by: Sarah Zimmerman
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sixteen-year-old Lorena Leland’s dreams of a rich and fulfilling life as a writer are dashed when the stock market crashes in 1929. Seven years into the Great Depression, Rena’s banker father has retreated into the bottle, her sister is married to a lazy charlatan and gambler, and Rena is an unemployed newspaper reporter. Eager for any writing job, Rena accepts a position interviewing former slaves for the Federal Writers’ Project. There, she meets Frankie Washington, a 101-year-old woman whose honest yet tragic past captivates Rena.
-
-
Wonderful!
- By Becky on 12-03-20
-
Hero of the Empire
- The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill
- By: Candice Millard
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At age 24 Winston Churchill was utterly convinced it was his destiny to become prime minister of England one day, despite the fact he had just lost his first election campaign for Parliament. He believed that to achieve his goal, he had to do something spectacular on the battlefield. Despite deliberately putting himself in extreme danger as a British army officer in colonial wars in India and Sudan and as a journalist covering a Cuban uprising against the Spanish, glory and fame had eluded him.
-
-
Far More Than Simply, Hero of the Empire!
- By Matthew on 09-21-16
By: Candice Millard
What listeners say about The Perfect Horse
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- amanda curry
- 01-22-18
Great Story Ruined by Narrator
Any additional comments?
I have been a horse lover all of my life. I still remember with great fondness the Marguerite Henry books I read as a child, particularly the "White Stallion of Lippizza". I was excited to read a nonfiction account of what actually happened to the Lippizaner horses during WWII but found myself mostly irritated with the narration of the book. If I had wanted a lesson in German phonetics I would have bought Rosetta Stone instead. I somehow managed to finish the book but I will never listen to another book narrated by Paul Boehmer.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Deborah
- 12-27-16
An Equestrian or Historian's Dream Story
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
This story is magnificently written, beautifully narrated and emotionally charged. Whether you are an equestrian, historian or just someone looking to enjoy a story filled with larger than life passionate characters, this is the choice for 2016.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Perfect Horse?
The chapters devoted to the intense sense of loyalty, commitment, hard work and partnership that the caretakers and riders of the Austrian Lippizaner stallions. Their love for these amazing horses was complete and incomparable! The huge sacrifice made by multiple individuals in Europe and the U.S. to save an invaluable asset...the lives of the priceless horses, caught in the middle of the battle of WWII. The reader also comes to appreciate the importance of the relationship between man and equine and how the significance of such a bond exceeds the human need for control, dominance and power of humans and their geographic territorial needs.
What about Paul Boehmer’s performance did you like?
Paul's ability to capture the true essence of each character and his flexibility in moving back and forth between complex personality types made the story a joy to listen to. I was so riveted by the story that I purposefully sat in my driveway, unwilling to shut my car off so I could listen to every last word of a given chapter on more than one occasion.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
Rescuing the Lippizaner: The U.S. Military and Their Role in Europe During WWII
Any additional comments?
I loved this book so much that I bought several copies and sent them to fellow equestrian friends as a holiday gift. The result was an overwhelming love for the story told in such a heartwarming and flawless manner.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Laurie S
- 07-17-18
Wow
What in interesting history and story. This got a little bogged down in the middle with details about some of the individuals involved and wasn’t the kind of book I could stay up all night listening to, but it was perfect to have on while cooking or doing other things. Loved all the facts. It’s definitely worth buying.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jane Mathewson
- 07-10-19
What a read!
Only rarely does a book get my undivided attention and The Perfect Horse did just that. If you have even a assign interest in the majesty of horses or the details of WW 11, this will keep you listening for hours at a time. The narration/narrator is also worthy of high praise. Job well done to all involved.
Thank you for sharing this story with all of us.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazonian Michelle
- 05-27-22
Love the detail!
love that the story named people, places, and horses! Horsexlovers like to know them. Knowing the conditions, and what was done for the horses was the best version I have heard/read.
I forgot to review right after I finished this so can't think of a more descriptive review. Essentially even if you are not a big fan of horses, the wartime description of helping then is well done.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Larry
- 08-02-18
A bit florid but very absorbing
I had conflicting reactions to this book. First of all it certainly evoked a lot of deep emotions in that I am a horse owner and my dad is a combat veteran of WWII. Although the narrator bothered me sometimes I think ultimately he was successful in telling the story. The author's style is quite florid and manipulative. She interweaves imagined thoughts and feelings of horses with the historical narrative. In addition, she misleads the reader to set up a false drama. This is especially true when it comes to the story of Witez, where Black Beauty appears to be retold. However, undeniably this is a great and mostly true story.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- P. Herron
- 01-07-17
great story and a very entertaining performance
What did you love best about The Perfect Horse?
how joint cooperation between characters of similar values overcame great odds to save innocent horses of amazing talent from extermination
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- NanS
- 04-24-17
Good history/horse story
Where does The Perfect Horse rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Gee, I've listened to so many over the years! This book is definitely in my top 20% and since I rarely listen to history books, I'd rate it as in the top 10% among nonfiction books.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Perfect Horse?
The race in the middle of the night, with Lessing and Stewart one on a black and one white horse was described perfectly.
Which scene was your favorite?
As a horse person, I really enjoyed several of the descriptions of being around horses. There was one description about Hank Reed's familiarity of those things any horse person knows - the rhythm of a horse's gait, the scent of fresh straw and "what the end of a day on horseback felt like, salty with sweat, dirt under his nails, and a mind white-washed on worry".
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I am always drawn to people who understand that the animals of this world are worth saving.
Any additional comments?
This is an excellent book for horse lovers who are not regular history readers. Instead of just dates and battles, Letts educates her readers about the people and places in this book. Not as good as In the Company of Elephants, but still quite good.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- awesomeness123
- 10-02-16
Excellent story, irritating narration
I loved the story. I am an avid equestrian and for years I have wanted to know the details of how Patton's men saved the Lipizzaners during WWII. The story is fascinating and the writing has moments of true beauty. The author weaves disparate strands of seemingly unrelated topics into a tapestry that contains rich elements of setting and characterization. The reader begins to understand the art of classical riding, social Darwinism as applied by the Third Reich, and even the complexities of horse breeding.
The narrator, on the other hand, so faithfully reproduces German pronunciation of words that at times it sounded like the SNL spoof of news anchorpersons saying Spanish place names like a native.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- MH
- 11-28-16
Great story, stick with it beyond the first chapter
This is my fourth book on audible, and I realize how important the style of narration is. I was not a fan of the narrator's style of speaking, especially in the first chapter. Initially, it felt too distracting and I almost quit the audible book to order it in paperback. The style seemed to be exaggerated especially in the beginning of the book, but it toned, and I was able to focus on the story, which was very good - especially if you happen to be a horse lover. I ordered a hardback of the book as well as a gift for a family member.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful