WWI Audiobooks?

[Blackadder33 1]

Hello to you all, hope you are doing well.

 

This question has been on my mind for a couple of years now. Perhaps one of you chaps here might know the answer? Well, we have seen a few films on WWI and perhaps read a few books and manuals, but what about audiobooks? The only one I have found so far is the BBC production of All Quiet on the Western Front and even that isn't about pilots of course, so, about all I can really do at the moment is to record the soundtrack of The Blue Max movie or something similar and listen to it while on the go. Speaking of the Blue Max, yes I have the score by Jerry Goldsmith and I can't recommend it highly enough. Almost better than Wagner! To be clear though, I'm not looking for music, my ideal audiobook would be something along the lines of Lothar-Gunther Buchheim's 'Das Boot' but from the perspective of a German WWI pilot! Or even British, I'm not fussy like that! But... I'm thinking this book has yet to be written?

 

By the way, I absolutely LOVED the "pilot interviews" in OFF! Even something like that in a non-fiction audiobook documentary would be very welcome to listen to while on the go!

 

Danke!

[Blackadder33 1]

As far as I know, audiobooks are only produced when there's possible profit to be made by such an action. Unfortunately with the possible exception of the Holy Bible, there aren't a whole lot of books which have recieved such treatment.

 

For a listing of Free aviation books on the internet, See the Sticky in the Knowledge Base "They're on the internet, and they're Free" #1

Thanks for the free aviation books but I've already read them. I only mentioned 'Das Boot' as it's one of my favourite audiobooks, narrated by Gordon Dulieu. One of the classics. If you don't already own it I can't recommend it highly enough. Then, we have Bernard Cornwell's 'Sharpe' series of audiobooks, wonderfully narrated by William Gaminara. The various Tom Clancy audiobooks... the Frederick Forsyth and Jack Higgins audiobooks... the Dan Brown audiobooks... Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of audiobooks narrated by Nigel Planer... the Michael Crichton audiobooks... The Complete Shakespeare audiobooks... the H.P. Lovecraft audiobooks... John Milton's Paradise Lost (1667)... a nice little BBC play called 'Aliens in the mind' featuring Peter Cushing and Vincent Price, Basil Rathbone reads Edgar Allen Poe, Spike Milligan reads 'Adolf Hitler - My Part in His Downfall' and my family especially likes the Harry Potter audiobook series but I'm not really a fan of this. In fact I'm not really a fan of "recent" books in general. I tend to like reading things that were made in the previous century (and better still, before that!). Same goes for film. Well, I think that besides this small list, I'm guessing that possibly one or two other audiobooks have been made at some point in the past... that is, besides the Holy Bible? Indeed, are you absolutely sure the Bible is available in audiobook form? Is it available on iTunes? I'm guessing it must be more than a couple of tapes or CD's long and narrated by Charlton Heston?

 

I'm just looking for WWI-themed audiobooks right now, something I might buy from Amazon to listen to. Thanks anyway, I'll keep looking.

Edited July 3, 2010 by Blackadder33

[Von Paulus 8]

You've Forgotten Voices, which is a kind of collection of interviews of people (British) who fought ( and lived) in WWI.

The book is quite interesting because it gives you the first hand accounts. But it's the audio version, with the real audio interviews, that gives you the full "picture".

English is not my native language, so I've a little difficulty in following them some times, specially those with a stronger accents.

In spite of that, IMHO, it's a must have.

 

This is the site where I've bought and download the audio files:

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

Link 4

 

In the same site you'll find more WWI non-fiction audiobooks. You may also find WWI poetry in that format.

 

P.S. If you want to buy them I'd advise too make a google search, because you may find them cheaper. When I bought a couple of years ago was no choice.

Edited July 4, 2010 by Von Paulus

[Flyby PC 23]

You've Forgotten Voices, which is a kind of collection of interviews of people (British) who fought ( and lived) in WWI.

The book is quite interesting because it gives you the first hand accounts. But it's the audio version, with the real audio interviews, that gives you the full "picture".

English is not my native language, so I've a little difficulty in following them some times, specially those with a stronger accents.

In spite of that, IMHO, it's a must have.

 

This is the site where I've bought and download the audio files:

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

Link 4

 

In the same site you'll find more WWI non-fiction audiobooks. You may also find WWI poetry in that format.

 

P.S. If you want to buy them I'd advise too make a google search, because you may find them cheaper. When I bought a couple of years ago was no choice.

 

Wow. I've read the book and knew it came from actual recordings, but didn't know they were online.

 

Audio books can be excellent. They make a nice change to music to listen to while you're working, although not for everybody. I have some stuff on my Ipod, 1984, Sherlock Holmes, and also some 50's radio shows lie the Saint & Bulldog Drummond etc. You don't listen to them all the time, but now and again they fit the bill perfectly. Only problem is the Ipod can pick them randomly when playing music, so you get the odd random chapter out of context.

 

I'd never thought about WW1 stuff. Hmmmmm.....

 

Here's the link to the radio stuff... http://www.radiolovers.com/

 

Only strange thing I find is I can read a good book over and over again, but to listen to an audio book twice is harder work somehow.

[Blackadder33 1]

Yes! Now we're getting somewhere! Danke, Von Paulus! Thank you so much sir! I'll be adding these to my iPod as soon as I can! Joshua Levine's On a Wing and a Prayer looks like the first one I'll get, then I'll get the rest.

 

First you struck gold with BBC Wings and now this! You sir are a true ACE!

 

It seems a pity that we do seem to have a definite lack of WWI-themed works of fiction though... I mean we have quite a few WWII-based books (the Sven Hassel books come to mind) but WWI? Hm...

 

Thanks again for the links!

 

Audio books can be excellent.

For sure my friend. My iPod tends to have more audiobooks/podcasts on it than music! Even pdf books and manuals take up more space on it for me nowadays. But what I did do recently was make a nice compilation of WWI-themed music such as the Tipperrary song, Pack up your Troubles, Goodbye-ee... all those um.. "classics" heh! I sort of mix it in with some WWII "Batle of Britain" stuff lately too, perhaps some Al Bowly, Nowel Coward, George Formby, the Comedian Harmonists and Marlene Dietrich... perhaps some old radio BBC or even "Lord Haw Haw" broadcasts make an interesting listen to too eh...

 

With an iPod on it's little dock to play outside in the sun it makes a nice replacement for an old style Gramophone/Radio to sip Pimms to! Or doing carpentry work to outside... certain scenes from the film "Murphy's War" spring to mind...

 

Cheers chaps!

[Von Paulus 8]

It seems a pity that we do seem to have a definite lack of WWI-themed works of fiction though... I mean we have quite a few WWII-based books (the Sven Hassel books come to mind) but WWI? Hm...

Maybe you haven't so many, still you have a few.

Besides the classical ones like "Her Private We" by Frederic Manning, "Under Fire" by Henri Barbusse, "Storm of Steel" by Ernest Jünger (this one is more a first personal account ) and "All Quiet in the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque, you've modern writers basing some of their fiction in WWI.

The Regeneration trilogy ("Regeneration", "The Eye in the Door" and "The Ghost Road") from Pat Barker is one fine and best examples. (As long has you don't mind a certain Homosexual content)

You've also "Bird Song" from Sebastian Faulks, "Flanders" by Patricia Anthony, "The Unknown Soldier" by Neil Hanson (this one isn't really a novel) and "A Long Long Way" by Sebastian Barry. These are the ones that I own, but I'm sure you'll find more.

Edited July 4, 2010 by Von Paulus

[Flyby PC 23]

Don't know if you've already been here - http://www.audible.co.uk/aduk/site/audibleSearch/searchResults.jsp?N=1715&Np=-23952&Sc=-35972&Ns=P_Release_Date|1&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

 

Some good stuff.....