Historical Survival Stories

The proud sailing ship Polaris is on a mission to explore new lands, and its crew is eager to bring their discoveries back home. But when half the landing party fails to return from the Amazon jungle, the tensions lead to a bloody mutiny. The remaining adults abandon ship, leaving behind a cabin boy, a botanist's assistant, and a handful of deckhands -- none of them older than twelve.

Heart-breaking - a tale of love and survival amidst the horrors of Auschwitz Human - the real story behind one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust - the blue numbers tattooed on prisoners' arms Inspirational - the very best of humanity in the very worst of circumstances Unforgettable - a...

‘In sixteen hundred and sixty-six, London burned like rotten sticks.’ Left alone and homeless by the Great Plague, Sam struggled to survive. He was lucky to get a job working for the Giraud family. But Andre, the son of his boss, doesn't make life easy. Then a fire breaks out on Pudding Lane...

When a spontaneous time leap sends Nickolas Flux back to Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated Endurance Expedition to Antarctica, what's a teenage history buff to do? Try to avoid becoming stranded at the bottom of the world, of course!

A powerful story of the devastation of the Dust Bowl—and the courage of those who survived it—in the tradition of Out of the Dust. We came all the way from California to make something of ourselves. Today’s the day we start. California, 1939. It’s hard being the new kid in school...

Nominated in Best Fiction at the Audie Awards 2020. The sequel to the International Number One Bestseller The Tattooist of Auschwitz, based on a true story of love and resilience. Her beauty saved her life - and condemned her. Cilka was only sixteen-years-old when she was taken to...

A heartwarming tale of courage and warmth, set against the backdrop of the second world war, about a cat who survives against the odds. "Something's up. Something big too, very big. At school, in the village, whoever you meet, it's all anyone talks about. It's like a sudden curse has come down...

The engrossing memoir of a spirited and glamorous young fashion designer who survived World War ll, with an afterword by her daughter, Helen Epstein. In the summer of 1942, twenty-two year-old Franci Rabinek--designated a Jew by the Nazi racial laws--arrived at Terezin, a concentration camp and...

In 1863 the Civil War is raging throughout the country. Eleven-year-old Henry has been on the sidelines so far - but the events of a hot July week in Pennsylvania are about to change his life forever. Does he have what it takes to survive the Battle of Gettysburg?

In the summer of 1916, 10-year-old Chet Roscow is captivated by the local news: A great white shark has been attacking and killing people up and down the Atlantic Coast, not far from Chet's hometown of Springfield, New Jersey. Then one day, while swimming with his friends, Chet sees something in the water....

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The enthralling true story of the rise and reign of O-Six, the celebrated Yellowstone wolf, and the people who loved or feared her. Before men ruled the earth, there were wolves. Once abundant in North America, these majestic creatures were hunted to near...

Bloomsbury presents Cast Away by Francesca De Tores, read by Thoren Ferguson How big must a man’s folly be, that it can cost him the whole of his life? As big as a ship; as big as an island. 1704: Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk has been abandoned by his own shipmates on a remote...

New York Times bestselling author of Collusion and The Snowden Files Luke Harding’s personal, frontline reporting on Russia’s harrowing invasion of Ukraine, the biggest news event of the year and an inflection point in international politics “An excellent, moving account of an ongoing...

Ten-year-old George Calder can't believe his luck -- he and his little sister, Phoebe, are on the famous Titanic, crossing the ocean with their Aunt Daisy. The ship is full of exciting places to explore, but when George ventures into the first class storage cabin, a terrible boom shakes the entire boat. Suddenly, water is everywhere, and George's life changes forever. Listeners will be transported by stories of amazing kids and how they survived!

It's 1944 and the world is at war. Hideki lives peacefully with his family on the island of Okinawa, near Japan. Until the day WWII reaches their door. Hideki is drafted into the "Blood and Iron Imperial Corps" to fight for the Japanese army. He is handed two grenades and a set of instructions: go off into the jungle, and don't come back until you've killed an American soldier. Meanwhile, young American soldier Ray Majors has just landed on the beach in Okinawa. He doesn't know what to expect, or if he'll make it out alive, but he knows he must keep moving forward.

"An extraordinary saga." —David Grann, New York Times bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon The mesmerizing account of a granddaughter's search for a World War II family history hidden for sixty years Growing up in Paris as the daughter of a German mother and an Irish father, Svenja...

Behind every battle fought during the American Civil War stood ordinary men and women whose lives were forever changed by extraordinary circumstances. In these seventeen classic stories and historical sketches, young soldiers confront the harsh realities of war, families are divided by loyalty...

Life in lower Manhattan is normal for Molly, her dads, and younger sister. But on September 11, 2001, everything changes. Molly and her younger sister, Adeline, are at school when the first plane hits the World Trade Center. When the Twin Towers fall, the city is thrown into chaos. Papa, a pilot, is flying, Dad can't be reached, and Gran, an EMT with the New York Fire Department, is at Ground Zero. It's up to Molly to find her sister and navigate a city she no longer recognizes.

A legend is born An extraordinary story of the Knights Templar. On the Iberian Peninsula the wars of the Reconquista rage across Aragon and Castile. Once again, the Moors are gaining the upper hand. Christendom is divided. Amidst the chaos is a young knight: Arnau of Vallbona. After his Lord is...

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable, audiobook edition of The Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands, read by Ray Panthaki. Follow the clues. Crack the code. Stay alive. Potions, puzzles and the occasional explosion are all in a day's work for young apothecary Christopher Rowe. Murder is...