Audiobook13 hours
America 1908: The Dawn of Flight, the Race to the Pole, the Invention of the Model T, and the Making of a Modern Nation
Written by Jim Rasenberger
Narrated by James Jenner
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this audiobook
Renowned historian Jim Rasenberger turns his keen eye on America at the dawn of the 20th century-a time when innovation seemed to know no bounds. "Rasenberger renders 1908 as a series of snapshots, and his camera never blinks."-Publishers Weekly
Author
Jim Rasenberger
Jim Rasenberger is a frequent contributor to the New York Times. He lives in New York City with his wife and twin sons. High Steel is his first book.
More audiobooks from Jim Rasenberger
The Brilliant Disaster: JFK, Castro, and America's Doomed Invasion of Cuba Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Revolver: Sam Colt and the Six-Shooter that Changed America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to America 1908
Related audiobooks
The Impending Crisis: America Before the Civil War: 1848-1861 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lost Kingdom: Hawaii's Last Queen, the Sugar Kings, and America's First Imperial Adventure Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ride the Devil's Herd: Wyatt Earp's Epic Battle Against the West's Biggest Outlaw Gang Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Down the Great Unknown: John Wesley Powell's 1869 Journey of Discovery and Tragedy Through the Grand Canyon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Secret Empire: Eisenhower, the CIA, and the Hidden Story of America's Space Espionage Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The War of Jenkins' Ear: The Forgotten Struggle for North and South America: 1739-1742 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Big Rich: The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Texas Oil Fortunes Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soul Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Accidental Presidents: Eight Men Who Changed America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Browns of California: The Family Dynasty that Transformed a State and Shaped a Nation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sealand: The True Story of the World's Most Stubborn Micronation and Its Eccentric Royal Family Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings1956: The World in Revolt Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Blood and Treasure: Daniel Boone and the Fight for America's First Frontier Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making of America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Miami Babylon: Crime, Wealth, and Power---A Dispatch from the Beach Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Liberty is Sweet: The Hidden History of the American Revolution Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Texas Ranger: The Epic Life of Frank Hamer, the Man Who Killed Bonnie and Clyde Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Munich, 1938: Appeasement and World War II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Colossus: Hoover Dam and the Making of the American Century Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Public Enemies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Patriarch: George Washington and the New American Nation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mercury Rising: John Glenn, John Kennedy, and the New Battleground of the Cold War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5American Sanctuary: Mutiny, Martyrdom, and National Identity in the Age of Revolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Churchill's Empire: The World That Made Him and the World He Made Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
History For You
All the Sinners Bleed: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hell's Princess: The Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Five Rings Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Razorblade Tears: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Secret History of the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mary Magdalene: Women, the Church, and the Great Deception Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Demon Copperhead: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Overstory Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Korean War: A History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge: From Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World--and Why Things Are Better Than You Think Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis Thomas Jefferson And The Opening Of The American West Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Leave the World Behind: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Swingtime for Hitler: Goebbels’s Jazzmen, Tokyo Rose, and Propaganda That Carries a Tune Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Story of Art Without Men Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Small Mercies: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Valiant Women: The Extraordinary American Servicewomen Who Helped Win World War II Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/577 Days of February: Living and Dying in Ukraine, Told by the Nation’s Own Journalists Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for America 1908
Rating: 3.972972981081081 out of 5 stars
4/5
37 ratings4 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tonight I finished a very interesting American History book; America 1908. Unlike most history books that can be overly dry and factual, author Jim Rasenberger has a talent for making history come alive! His writing is light and easy with the ability to make the historic ground-breaking events of 1908 extremely exciting.Those readers who love history, adventure, innovation, and exploration, or have a passionate interest in the progress of our country, will love this wonderful book. I never realized how important the year 1908 was until now.America 1908 highlights the incredible events of Henry Ford's creation of the Model T automobile that took the country by storm, the exciting and dangerous New York to Paris car race, the horrors of the explorers racing to be the first to discover the North Pole, Teddy Roosevelt's success with the Great White Fleet that logged in 43,000 miles in order to pave the way of creating allies for the upcoming Great War, and lastly the feature event of the year, the Wright brothers sensational conquering of the air claiming fame with their first record-breaking flights! From Kitty Hawk North Carolina all the way to France, they were the heroes of 1908!Although I read this is sections in between other novels, I found this book simply riveting and a page turner. To learn how our country evolved due to the actions of the leaders and forerunners of the era was eye-opening and fascinating! Five Stars!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Being a panoramic look at one of America's more interesting ragtime years, 1908. The author does a good job of keeping a lot of balls in the air; major themes include the voyage of the Great White Fleet, Theodore Roosevelt, basebal's Merkle game, the Wright Brothers, polar exploration, and the New York-Paris auto race. Rasenberger has a good ear for the telling anecdote and contemporary sources which will bring the year's zeitgeist alive. This book was both informative and entertaining.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This book came out in 2008 as a "One Century Later!" kind of book. But it's still good in 2014The author is a teriffic story teller and he has some great stories to tell.We celebrate 1903 as the year of the Wright Brothers first flight but forget that the 1903 Flyer could only fly straight lines and could (barely) achieve level flight. It was the 1908 Flyer that figured out wing warping and could comfortably fly figure 8's and bank and swoop. It was the 1908 Flyer that secured the Wrights' claim to "the first practical airplane" 1908 was also the year of the first New York to Paris road race for cars. How do you get from New York to Paris in a car? Easy! Drive up to Alaska and go over on the frozen ice of the Bering Strait. (NOT!)America was still - pre World War I - the new kid in international affairs and our author tells the story of the Great White Fleet that sailed around the world and basically threw America's hat in the ring and made people take the young country more seriously. And the great story of "Merkle's Boner" in the 1908 World's Series and generally how baseball was played and reported back in the day.Great book for dipping into and flipping through - or reading straight through. A lot of fun. A lot to think about.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My kind of book. The kind I like to read and the kind I wish I could write. Rasenberger does a good job of weaving together the interesting story lines of 100 years ago. You can see the beginning of the modern as he tells his tales. Nicely done!