A Hell of a Storm
The Battle for Kansas, the End of Compromise, and the Coming of the Civil War
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Narrated by:
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Jacques Roy
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By:
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David S. Brown
About this listen
From popular historian and author of the “marvelous” (The New York Times Book Review) The Last American Aristocrat comes the fascinating story of how in 1854, a new law—the Kansas-Nebraska Act—unexpectedly became the greatest miscalculation in American history, dividing North and South, creating the Republican party, and paving the way for the Civil War.
The history of the United States includes a series of sectional compromises—the Constitutional Convention, the Missouri Compromise in 1820, and the Compromise of 1850. While these accords created an imperfect republic, or “a house divided,” as Lincoln put it, the country remained united. But then in 1854, this three-generations system suddenly blew up with the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and here, David Brown explores in riveting detail how the Act led to the sudden division of North and South.
The Act declared that planters, if permitted by territorial laws, could bring their enslaved peoples to the land extending from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains—the core of Jefferson’s old Louisiana Purchase which had been reserved for free labor. Northerners were shocked that free soil might now be turned over to slavery and responded with unprecedented backlash. In the bill’s wake the conservative Whig Party (winners of multiple presidential elections) collapsed, and the radical Republican Party was born—in six years it would take control of the central government, provoking Southern secession.
In A Hell of a Storm, Brown brings history to life in a way that resonates with the events of present. Through chapters on Lincoln, Emerson, Stowe, Thoreau, and Tubman, along with a cast of presidents, poets, abolitionists, and black emigrationists, Brown weaves a political, cultural, and literary history that chronicles the Republican party’s creation and rise, the collapse of antebellum compromises, and the coming of the Civil War, all topics that mirror current discussions about polarization in our nation today. By illuminating the personalities and the platforms, the writings and ideas that upended an older America and made space for its successor, A Hell of a Storm reminds us that American history is always being made, and it can be both dynamic and dangerous, both then and now.
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Story
Henry Adams is perhaps the most eclectic, accomplished, and important American writer of his time. The last member of his distinguished family - after great-grandfather John Adams and grandfather John Quincy Adams - to gain national attention, he is remembered today as a historian, a political commentator, and a memoirist. Now, historian David Brown sheds light on the brilliant yet under-celebrated life of this major American intellectual.
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outstanding book, highly recommend it
- By D. Littman on 02-19-21
By: David S. Brown
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America First
- Roosevelt vs. Lindbergh in the Shadow of War
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 14 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Bestselling historian and Pulitzer Prize finalist H. W. Brands narrates the fierce debate over America's role in the world in the runup to World War II through its two most important figures: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who advocated intervention, and his isolationist nemesis, aviator and popular hero Charles Lindbergh.
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Another American History Pearl from H.W. Brands
- By Paul W. Brazis on 10-05-24
By: H. W. Brands
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A Quiet Company of Dangerous Men
- The Forgotten British Special Operations Soldiers of World War II
- By: Shannon Monaghan
- Narrated by: George Weightman
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The untold story of four special operations officers who fought together behind enemy lines across multiple theaters of World War II, and then continued to serve, officially and unofficially, for decades after in the hottest parts of the Cold War.
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Disappointing
- By thecol on 10-16-24
By: Shannon Monaghan
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Midway
- The Pacific War’s Most Famous Battle
- By: Mark Stille
- Narrated by: John Chancer
- Length: 15 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Midway is the most famous naval battle of the Pacific War, and one of the most mythologized. The traditional view of the battle, popularized in its immediate aftermath and surviving through to the present day, is of a heavily outnumbered American force snatching victory in the face of overwhelming odds. This view is simplistic and, in many respects, wrong. Pacific War expert Mark Stille provides a detailed analysis of this pivotal battle, and argues that Midway was neither a miraculous American victory, nor a product of good fortune.
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Authors need to leave personal opinions out of history books
- By Roberto G on 12-28-24
By: Mark Stille
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Fifty-Three Days on Starvation Island
- The World War II Battle That Saved Marine Corps Aviation
- By: John R Bruning
- Narrated by: Brian Troxell
- Length: 19 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
On August 20, 1942, twelve Marine dive-bombers and nineteen Marine fighters landed at Guadalcanal. Their mission: defeat the Japanese navy and prevent it from sending more men and supplies to "Starvation Island," as Guadalcanal was nicknamed. The Japanese were turning the remote, jungle-covered mountain in the south Solomon Islands into an air base from which they could attack the supply lines between the U.S. and Australia.
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A unique perspective
- By Item arrived onetime and has functioned perfectly. on 05-23-24
By: John R Bruning
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Decade of Disunion
- How Massachusetts and South Carolina Led the Way to Civil War, 1849-1861
- By: Robert W. Merry
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy
- Length: 16 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The Mexican War brought vast new territories to the United States, which precipitated a growing crisis over slavery. The new territories seemed unsuitable for the type of agriculture that depended on slave labor, but they lay south of the line where slavery was permitted by the 1820 Missouri Compromise. The subject of expanding slavery to the new territories became a flash point between North and South.
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Very good overview of the period
- By Mike From Mesa on 09-24-24
By: Robert W. Merry
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The Last American Aristocrat
- The Brilliant Life and Improbable Education of Henry Adams
- By: David S. Brown
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy
- Length: 14 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Henry Adams is perhaps the most eclectic, accomplished, and important American writer of his time. The last member of his distinguished family - after great-grandfather John Adams and grandfather John Quincy Adams - to gain national attention, he is remembered today as a historian, a political commentator, and a memoirist. Now, historian David Brown sheds light on the brilliant yet under-celebrated life of this major American intellectual.
-
-
outstanding book, highly recommend it
- By D. Littman on 02-19-21
By: David S. Brown
-
America First
- Roosevelt vs. Lindbergh in the Shadow of War
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 14 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bestselling historian and Pulitzer Prize finalist H. W. Brands narrates the fierce debate over America's role in the world in the runup to World War II through its two most important figures: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who advocated intervention, and his isolationist nemesis, aviator and popular hero Charles Lindbergh.
-
-
Another American History Pearl from H.W. Brands
- By Paul W. Brazis on 10-05-24
By: H. W. Brands
-
A Quiet Company of Dangerous Men
- The Forgotten British Special Operations Soldiers of World War II
- By: Shannon Monaghan
- Narrated by: George Weightman
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The untold story of four special operations officers who fought together behind enemy lines across multiple theaters of World War II, and then continued to serve, officially and unofficially, for decades after in the hottest parts of the Cold War.
-
-
Disappointing
- By thecol on 10-16-24
By: Shannon Monaghan
-
Midway
- The Pacific War’s Most Famous Battle
- By: Mark Stille
- Narrated by: John Chancer
- Length: 15 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Midway is the most famous naval battle of the Pacific War, and one of the most mythologized. The traditional view of the battle, popularized in its immediate aftermath and surviving through to the present day, is of a heavily outnumbered American force snatching victory in the face of overwhelming odds. This view is simplistic and, in many respects, wrong. Pacific War expert Mark Stille provides a detailed analysis of this pivotal battle, and argues that Midway was neither a miraculous American victory, nor a product of good fortune.
-
-
Authors need to leave personal opinions out of history books
- By Roberto G on 12-28-24
By: Mark Stille
-
Fifty-Three Days on Starvation Island
- The World War II Battle That Saved Marine Corps Aviation
- By: John R Bruning
- Narrated by: Brian Troxell
- Length: 19 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On August 20, 1942, twelve Marine dive-bombers and nineteen Marine fighters landed at Guadalcanal. Their mission: defeat the Japanese navy and prevent it from sending more men and supplies to "Starvation Island," as Guadalcanal was nicknamed. The Japanese were turning the remote, jungle-covered mountain in the south Solomon Islands into an air base from which they could attack the supply lines between the U.S. and Australia.
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A unique perspective
- By Item arrived onetime and has functioned perfectly. on 05-23-24
By: John R Bruning
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Squanto
- A Native Odyssey
- By: Andrew Lipman
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
American schoolchildren have long learned about Squanto, the welcoming Native who made the First Thanksgiving possible, but his story goes deeper than the holiday legend. Born in the Wampanoag-speaking town of Patuxet in the late 1500s, Squanto was kidnapped in 1614 by an English captain, who took him to Spain. From there, Englishmen brought him to London and Newfoundland before sending him home in 1619, when Squanto discovered that most of Patuxet had died in an epidemic. A year later, the Mayflower colonists arrived at his home and renamed it Plymouth.
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Wonderful!
- By ecole on 11-15-24
By: Andrew Lipman
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Task Force Black
- The explosive true story of the SAS and the secret war in Iraq
- By: Mark Urban
- Narrated by: Mark Urban
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Following the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq in 2003, the SAS launched one of the most intense and secretive operations in its history: Task Force Black. BBC journalist Mark Urban uncovers the sensational story of this operation and the extraordinary men who carried it out.
By: Mark Urban
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Surviving The Collapse
- The Citizen Defender's Guide to Guerrilla Tactics and Strategic Resilience in a Lawless Society
- By: Josh Luberisse
- Narrated by: Virtual Voice
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In a world where the institutions we rely on can suddenly fail, where society’s fragile fabric can unravel, and where collapse—whether through conflict, natural disaster, or systemic breakdown—becomes a reality, we face a choice: to succumb to the chaos or rise above it. Surviving the Collapse is not just a manual for surviving the worst—it’s a guide to leading, thriving, and rebuilding in the face of destruction. Surviving the Collapse is for the citizen defenders, the leaders, and the communities who refuse to be defined by the collapse of the world around them. Drawing from ...
By: Josh Luberisse
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Lincoln vs. Davis
- The War of the Presidents
- By: Nigel Hamilton
- Narrated by: Rick Adamson
- Length: 32 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
From a renowned biographer comes the greatest untold story of the Civil War: how two American presidents faced off as the fate of the nation hung in the balance—and how Abraham Lincoln came to embrace emancipation as the last, best chance to save the Union. With a cast of unforgettable characters, from first ladies to fugitive coachmen to treasonous cabinet officials, Lincoln vs. Davis is a spellbinding dual biography from renowned presidential chronicler Nigel Hamilton: a saga that will surprise, touch, and enthrall.
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loved the insights of inner cabinets.
- By Amazon Customer on 11-07-24
By: Nigel Hamilton
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The Envoy
- The Epic Rescue of the Last Jews of Europe in the Desperate Closing Months of World War II
- By: Alex Kershaw
- Narrated by: Tim Campbell
- Length: 7 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
December 1944. Soviet and German troops fight from house to house in the shattered, corpse-strewn suburbs of Budapest. Crazed Hungarian fascists join with die-hard Nazis to slaughter Jews day and night, turning the Danube blood-red. In less than six months, thirty-eight-year-old SS Colonel Adolf Eichmann has sent over half a million Hungarians to the gas chambers in Auschwitz. Now all that prevents him from liquidating Europe's last Jewish ghetto is an unarmed Swedish diplomatic envoy named Raoul Wallenberg.
By: Alex Kershaw
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The Good Allies
- How Canada and the United States Fought Together to Defeat Fascism During the Second World War
- By: Tim Cook
- Narrated by: David Ferry
- Length: 16 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
From our country's most important war historian, a gripping account of the turbulent relationship between Canada and the US during the Second World War. The two nations entered the war amidst rivalry and mutual suspicion, but learned to fight together before emerging triumphant and bound by an alliance that has lasted to this day.
By: Tim Cook
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How the World Made the West
- A 4,000 Year History
- By: Josephine Quinn
- Narrated by: Alix Dunmore
- Length: 15 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In How the World Made the West, Josephine Quinn poses perhaps the most significant challenge ever to the “civilizational thinking” regarding the origins of Western culture—that is, the idea that civilizations arose separately and distinctly from one another. Rather, she locates the roots of the modern West in everything from the law codes of Babylon, Assyrian irrigation, and the Phoenician art of sail to Indian literature, Arabic scholarship, and the metalworking riders of the Steppe, to name just a few examples.
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Middling
- By Amazon Customer on 11-14-24
By: Josephine Quinn
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All the Presidents' Money
- How the Men Who Governed America Governed Their Money
- By: Megan Gorman
- Narrated by: Vivienne Leheny
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
We often think of the US presidents as being above the fray. But the truth is, the presidents are just like us. While some presidents like Herbert Hoover and Gerald Ford became wildly successful with money, others like Thomas Jefferson and Joe Biden struggled to sustain their lifestyle. The ability to win the presidency is no guarantee of financial security, although today it’s a much easier path to monetize. In All the Presidents' Money, tax attorney and wealth manager Megan Gorman takes us on a journey to understand the different personal money stories of the presidents
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President Stories of Money
- By MR JOHN PUGH on 10-12-24
By: Megan Gorman
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Soldier of Destiny
- Slavery, Secession, and the Redemption of Ulysses S. Grant
- By: John Reeves
- Narrated by: David Stifel
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Captain Ulysses S. Grant rose to become general-in-chief of the United States Army in 1864. Was it destiny? Or was he just an ordinary man, opportunistically benefiting from the turmoil of the Civil War to advance to the highest military rank? Soldier of Destiny reveals that Grant always possessed the latent abilities of a skilled commander-and he was able to develop these skills out West without the overwhelming pressure faced by more senior commanders in the Eastern theater at the beginning of the Civil War.
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Filled in some gaps
- By Ripley on 10-09-24
By: John Reeves
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The Strategists
- Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt, Mussolini, and Hitler: How War Made Them and How They Made War
- By: Phillips Payson O'Brien
- Narrated by: Justin Price
- Length: 18 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Churchill. Hitler. Stalin. Mussolini. Roosevelt. Five of the most impactful leaders of WW2, each with their own individualistic and idiosyncratic approach to warfare. But if we want to understand their military strategy, we must first understand the strategist. In The Strategists, Professor Phillips Payson O'Brien shows how the views these five leaders forged in WW1 are crucial to understanding how they fought WW2.
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American Civil Wars
- A Continental History, 1850-1873
- By: Alan Taylor
- Narrated by: Graham Winton
- Length: 17 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The American Civil War stands at the center of the story, its military history and the drama of emancipation the highlights. Taylor relies on vivid characters to carry the story, from Joseph Hooker, whose timidity in crisis was exploited by Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson in the Union defeat at Chancellorsville, to Martin Delany and Mary Ann Shadd Cary, Black abolitionists whose critical work in Canada and the United States advanced emancipation and the enrollment of Black soldiers in Union armies.
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fascinating!
- By Brandon Marken on 07-12-24
By: Alan Taylor
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Murderabilia
- A History of Crime in 100 Objects
- By: Harold Schechter
- Narrated by: Buck Groat
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The false teeth of a female serial killer from 1908, the cut-and-paste confession of the Black Dahlia killer, the newly cracked cipher of the Zodiac killer, the shotgun used in the Clutter family murders, which were made famous by Truman Capote's true crime classic In Cold Blood—these are more than simple artifacts that once belonged to notorious murderers. They are objects of fascination to the legion of true crime obsessives around the world. Veteran true crime writer Harold Schechter presents 100 murder-related artifacts spanning two centuries, with accompanying stories of various lengths.
By: Harold Schechter
What listeners say about A Hell of a Storm
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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- JFG
- 10-07-24
No narrative
The book contained some interesting parts, but the material was disconnected with no overarching theme. There was also considerable duplication in various parts. I was also disappointed that the book’s title alluding to the Kansas-Nebraska Act was misleading in that there was little analysis of what actually transpired in the two territories.
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