
The Statesman and the Storyteller
John Hay, Mark Twain, and the Rise of American Imperialism
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Narrated by:
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Joe Barrett
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By:
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Mark Zwonitzer
About this listen
John Hay, Lincoln's private secretary and later secretary of state under presidents McKinley and Roosevelt, and Samuel Langhorne Clemens, famous as "Mark Twain", grew up 50 miles apart on the banks of the Mississippi River in the same rural antebellum stew of race, class, and want. This shared history drew them together in the late 1860s, and their mutual admiration never waned in spite of sharp differences.
In The Statesman and the Storyteller, the last decade of their lives plays out against the tumultuous events of the day, as the United States government begins to aggressively pursue a policy of imperialism, overthrowing the duly elected queen of Hawaii; violently wresting Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines away from Spain; and finally supporting a revolution to clear a path for the building of the US-controlled Panama Canal.
Stunning in its relevance, The Statesman and the Storyteller explores the tactics of America's earliest global policies and their influence on US actions for years to follow. Ultimately, it is the very human rendering of Clemens and Hay that distinguishes Zwonitzer's work, providing profound insights into the lives of two men who helped define their era.
©2016 Mark Zwonitzer (P)2016 HighBridge, a division of Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
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In Enemies and Neighbors, Ian Black, who has spent over three decades covering events in the Middle East and is currently a fellow at the London School of Economics, offers a major new history of the Arab-Zionist conflict from 1917 to today. Laying the historical groundwork in the final decades of the Ottoman Era, when the first Zionist settlers arrived in the Holy Land, Black draws on a wide range of sources - from declassified documents to oral histories to his own vivid on-the-ground reporting - to recreate the major milestones in the most polarizing conflict of the modern age from both sides.
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Decent historical compilation, poor framing
- By Dan Harris on 07-08-20
By: Ian Black
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A People’s History of the Civil War
- Struggles for the Meaning of Freedom
- By: David Williams, Howard Zinn - editor
- Narrated by: Rick Adamson
- Length: 22 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Historian David Williams has written the first account of the American Civil War as viewed though the eyes of ordinary people - foot soldiers, slaves, women, prisoners of war, draft resisters, Native Americans, and others. Richly illuminated with little-known anecdotes and firsthand testimony, this path-breaking narrative moves beyond presidents and generals to tell a new and powerful story about America's most destructive conflict.
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There’s things here you didn’t know
- By Ira S. Saposnik on 02-07-21
By: David Williams, and others
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Morgan: American Financier
- By: Jean Strouse
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 43 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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In Morgan, noted biographer Jean Strouse creates the first complete portrait of a man who defined American commerce and banking. Contemporaries described J. Pierpoint Morgan as “the financial Moses of the New World.” She shows J.Pierpoint Morgan in the full context of his childhood and health, travels and tastes, personal affairs and business relationships. And through Nelson Runger’s thoughtful narration, this accessible biography becomes a fascinating audio production.
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A masterfull biography
- By Ruben D Restrepo Jr on 05-08-15
By: Jean Strouse
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The Women with Silver Wings
- The Inspiring True Story of the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II
- By: Katherine Sharp Landdeck
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, Cornelia Fort was already in the air. At 22, Fort had escaped Nashville’s debutante scene for a fresh start as a flight instructor in Hawaii. She and her student were in the middle of a lesson when the bombs began to fall, and they barely made it back to ground. Still, when the US Army Air Forces put out a call for women pilots to aid the war effort, Fort was one of the first to respond. She became one of just over 1,100 women from across the nation to make it through the Army’s rigorous selection process and earn her silver wings.
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To Remember
- By erica skipton on 05-11-20
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Union 1812
- The Americans Who Fought the Second War of Independence
- By: A. J. Langguth
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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This dramatic account of the War of 1812 fills a surprising gap in the popular literature of the nation's formative years. It is this war, followed closely on the War of Independence, that established the young nation as a permanent power and proved its claim to Manifest Destiny.
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Fantastic narrative history
- By Tad on 03-22-12
By: A. J. Langguth
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George V
- Never a Dull Moment
- By: Jane Ridley
- Narrated by: Joanna David
- Length: 22 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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The grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II, King George V reigned over the British Empire from 1910 to 1936, a period of unprecedented international turbulence. Yet no one could deny that as a young man, George seemed uninspired. As his biographer Harold Nicolson famously put it, "he did nothing at all but kill animals and stick in stamps.” The contrast between him and his flamboyant, hedonistic, playboy father Edward VII could hardly have been greater.
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great but long listen
- By aleks r on 02-23-22
By: Jane Ridley
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Crucible of War
- The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766
- By: Fred Anderson
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 29 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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In this vivid and compelling narrative, the Seven Years' War - long seen as a mere backdrop to the American Revolution - takes on a whole new significance. Relating the history of the war as it developed, Anderson shows how the complex array of forces brought into conflict helped both to create Britain's empire and to sow the seeds of its eventual dissolution. Beginning with a skirmish in the Pennsylvania backcountry involving an inexperienced George Washington, the Iroquois chief Tanaghrisson, and the ill-fated French emissary Jumonville, Anderson reveals a chain of events that would lead to world conflagration.
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A Detailed History
- By Daniel on 07-15-18
By: Fred Anderson
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An Empire of Wealth
- The Epic History of American Economic Power
- By: John Steele Gordon
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 14 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Throughout time, from ancient Rome to modern Britain, the great empires built and maintained their domination through force of arms and political power. But not the United States. America has dominated the world in a new, peaceful, and pervasive way - through the continued creation of staggering wealth. In this authoritative, engrossing history, John Steele Gordon captures as never before the true source of our nation's global influence: wealth and the capacity to create more of it.
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KNOW YOUR HISTORY!
- By CP Guy on 12-22-20
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A Monetary and Fiscal History of the United States, 1961-2021
- By: Alan S. Blinder
- Narrated by: Todd McLaren
- Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Alan Blinder, one of the world's most influential economists and one of the field's best writers, draws on his deep firsthand experience to provide an authoritative account of sixty years of monetary and fiscal policy in the United States. Spanning twelve presidents, from John F. Kennedy to Joe Biden, and eight Federal Reserve chairs, from William McChesney Martin to Jerome Powell, this is an insider's story of macroeconomic policy that hasn't been told before—one that is a pleasure to listen to, and as interesting as it is important.
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Listen for Nixon's Sake
- By Tricia on 10-26-22
By: Alan S. Blinder
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American Colonies: The Settling of North America
- Penguin History of the United States, Book 1
- By: Alan Taylor
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 21 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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In the first volume in the Penguin History of the United States series, edited by Eric Foner, Alan Taylor challenges the traditional story of colonial history by examining the many cultures that helped make America, from the native inhabitants from millennia past through the decades of Western colonization and conquest and across the entire continent, all the way to the Pacific coast.
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Excellent ..
- By aintbuyinit on 09-03-18
By: Alan Taylor
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A Country of Vast Designs
- James K. Polk, the Mexican War and the Conquest of the American Continent
- By: Robert W. Merry
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 18 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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When James K. Polk was elected president in 1844, the United States was locked in a bitter diplomatic struggle with Britain over the rich lands of the Oregon Territory, which included what is now Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Texas, not yet part of the Union, was threatened by a more powerful Mexico. And the territories north and west of Texas---what would become California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and part of Colorado---belonged to Mexico.
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A Decent Overview of Polk's Presidency
- By James on 06-20-10
By: Robert W. Merry
What listeners say about The Statesman and the Storyteller
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Tad Davis
- 06-05-18
Good story well told
The central notion of this book - the friendship of Sam Clemens and John Hay - doesn’t hold up that well. They are more acquaintances than friends, and they move in different social circles. But the book succeeds brilliantly anyway. It’s a good story well told, an outstanding example of narrative nonfiction.
It covers a critical period in the lives of both men. Sam Clemens has gone bankrupt and goes on a round-the-world lecture tour to restore his finances. His daughter Susy dies, and then his wife Livy; his daughter Jean has epileptic seizures. An initial proponent of war with Spain, he becomes radicalized by the horrific way freedom fighters in the Philippines are treated after the US wins "possession" of the islands.
John Hay, one of Lincoln’s secretaries during the Civil War, later served McKinley as ambassador to the UK and then Secretary of State. When McKinley is assassinated at the beginning of his second term, Hay stays on at State under Theodore Roosevelt. (TR, an ambitious, blustering, and shallow imperialist warmonger, doesn’t come off well in this book.) Hay oversees the resolution of a Canadian border controversy and the acquisition of territory from Colombia - territory that became the future state of Panama - to build a canal across the isthmus. (The US sent gunboats to discourage Colombia from trying to suppress the rebellion in Panama.)
Zwonitzer has a great eye for detail, and his narrative is vivid and entertaining. And Joe Barrett gives a fantastic performance. It should be an entertaining read for fans of Mark Twain, Teddy Roosevelt, John Hay, and anyone interested in this less-well-known (by me) period of American history.
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3 people found this helpful
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- David J. Rosenbrock
- 06-28-17
Chocked full of wit and wisdom!
A charming look back to an interesting time. The book takes me back to an age of American expansion.
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2 people found this helpful
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- robert
- 09-01-23
Excellent
I wasn't expecting this to be as good as it is. The author gives an unexpected intimate look at thrse two incredible men. He could be accused of focusing on the anti-war aspect of Clemens. But I feel it's fair. It's also a side you don't get with other Twain books. It's important too look at all sides of an issue. Theodore Roosevelt comes across as a diminished president, which isn't exactly what you'd expect. But that's what makes this book interesting. The author uses their words to create a slightly different view of these figures. Very entertaining and I feel accurate. .... within the larger context, which one should get in addition. Narrator is excellent! He brings life to the story, with his unique voice.
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