
Mavericks, Mystics, and Misfits
Americans Against the Grain
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Arthur Hoyle
-
By:
-
Arthur Hoyle
About this listen
Mavericks, Mystics, and Misfits: Americans Against the Grain takes the listener on a journey across American history, from the colonial period to the present, through the life stories of exceptional men and women who have responded in unconventional ways to the challenges and circumstances of their time and place. The journey begins in Puritan New England, where the country’s roots were planted. It then visits America’s war of independence, before following the path of westward migration. It explores the struggle over slavery and the impact of the industrial revolution on the quality of American life. Chapters on the 20th century take up the issues of war, alienation, and social inequity that haunt the American dream. The journey ends as we wrestle with the challenge of climate change and its implications for our economic system and agriculture.
The cast of characters reflects the diversity of the people who make up the American melting pot - Northern Europeans, Hispanics, African-Americans, Asians, and Native Americans. Although these individuals represent widely varying cultural traditions and beliefs, they share a commitment to upholding the promise of liberty, equality, and opportunity that the New World held out to the Old. Their life stories, though often at variance with the direction of the mainstream society around them, exhibit certain enduring qualities of the American character: courage, experimentation, creativity, independence, compassion - qualities that make them exemplars.
©2020 Arthur Hoyle (P)2020 Arthur HoyleListeners also enjoyed...
-
Four Hundred Souls
- A Community History of African America, 1619-2019
- By: Ibram X. Kendi - editor, Keisha N. Blain - editor
- Narrated by: full cast
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A chorus of extraordinary voices comes together to tell one of history’s great epics: the 400-year journey of African Americans from 1619 to the present - edited by Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist, and Keisha N. Blain, author of Set the World on Fire.
-
-
History never taught
- By Scott P ODonnell on 02-16-21
By: Ibram X. Kendi - editor, and others
-
American Nations
- A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America
- By: Colin Woodard
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
North America was settled by people with distinct religious, political, and ethnographic characteristics, creating regional cultures that have been at odds with one another ever since. Subsequent immigrants didn't confront or assimilate into an "American" or "Canadian" culture, but rather into one of the 11 distinct regional ones that spread over the continent each staking out mutually exclusive territory. In American Nations, Colin Woodard leads us on a journey through the history of our fractured continent....
-
-
One of a Kind Masterpiece
- By Theo Horesh on 02-28-13
By: Colin Woodard
-
The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution: 1763-1789
- By: Robert Middlekauff
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 26 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first book to appear in the illustrious Oxford History of the United States, this critically-acclaimed volume - a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize - offers an unsurpassed history of the Revolutionary War and the birth of the American republic.
-
-
Strong History Rich With Behind The Scenes Details
- By John on 10-06-11
-
Revolutionary Leadership
- Essential Lessons from the Men and Women of the American Revolution
- By: Pat Williams, Jim Denney - contributor, Brian Kilmeade - foreword
- Narrated by: David Cochran Heath
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Times of crisis call for revolutionary leadership. What better model could we have for courage and creativity under fire than those who found themselves in positions of leadership during the American Revolutionary War? Now Pat Williams helps you apply their genius to your sphere of influence. Through the remarkable stories of more than 25 leaders of the American Revolution, you'll discover fresh insight into how great leaders are formed, refined, tested, and strengthened.
By: Pat Williams, and others
-
Unworthy Republic
- The Dispossession of Native Americans and the Road to Indian Territory
- By: Claudio Saunt
- Narrated by: Stephen Bowlby
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In May 1830, the United States formally launched a policy to expel Native Americans from the East to territories west of the Mississippi River. Justified as a humanitarian enterprise, the undertaking was to be systematic and rational, overseen by Washington's small but growing bureaucracy. But as the policy unfolded over the next decade, thousands of Native Americans died under the federal government's auspices, and thousands of others lost their possessions and homelands in an orgy of fraud, intimidation, and violence.
-
-
A Slow Burn
- By Hervé DuThé on 04-20-20
By: Claudio Saunt
-
A History of the American People
- By: Paul Johnson
- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 48 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Johnson's monumental history of the United States, from the first settlers to the Clinton administration, covers every aspect of American culture: politics, business, art, literature, science, society and customs, complex traditions, and religious beliefs. The story is told in terms of the men and women who shaped and led the nation and the ordinary people who collectively created its unique character.
-
-
A British conservative's view of American history.
- By Mike From Mesa on 06-17-09
By: Paul Johnson
-
Four Hundred Souls
- A Community History of African America, 1619-2019
- By: Ibram X. Kendi - editor, Keisha N. Blain - editor
- Narrated by: full cast
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A chorus of extraordinary voices comes together to tell one of history’s great epics: the 400-year journey of African Americans from 1619 to the present - edited by Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist, and Keisha N. Blain, author of Set the World on Fire.
-
-
History never taught
- By Scott P ODonnell on 02-16-21
By: Ibram X. Kendi - editor, and others
-
American Nations
- A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America
- By: Colin Woodard
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
North America was settled by people with distinct religious, political, and ethnographic characteristics, creating regional cultures that have been at odds with one another ever since. Subsequent immigrants didn't confront or assimilate into an "American" or "Canadian" culture, but rather into one of the 11 distinct regional ones that spread over the continent each staking out mutually exclusive territory. In American Nations, Colin Woodard leads us on a journey through the history of our fractured continent....
-
-
One of a Kind Masterpiece
- By Theo Horesh on 02-28-13
By: Colin Woodard
-
The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution: 1763-1789
- By: Robert Middlekauff
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 26 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first book to appear in the illustrious Oxford History of the United States, this critically-acclaimed volume - a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize - offers an unsurpassed history of the Revolutionary War and the birth of the American republic.
-
-
Strong History Rich With Behind The Scenes Details
- By John on 10-06-11
-
Revolutionary Leadership
- Essential Lessons from the Men and Women of the American Revolution
- By: Pat Williams, Jim Denney - contributor, Brian Kilmeade - foreword
- Narrated by: David Cochran Heath
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Times of crisis call for revolutionary leadership. What better model could we have for courage and creativity under fire than those who found themselves in positions of leadership during the American Revolutionary War? Now Pat Williams helps you apply their genius to your sphere of influence. Through the remarkable stories of more than 25 leaders of the American Revolution, you'll discover fresh insight into how great leaders are formed, refined, tested, and strengthened.
By: Pat Williams, and others
-
Unworthy Republic
- The Dispossession of Native Americans and the Road to Indian Territory
- By: Claudio Saunt
- Narrated by: Stephen Bowlby
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In May 1830, the United States formally launched a policy to expel Native Americans from the East to territories west of the Mississippi River. Justified as a humanitarian enterprise, the undertaking was to be systematic and rational, overseen by Washington's small but growing bureaucracy. But as the policy unfolded over the next decade, thousands of Native Americans died under the federal government's auspices, and thousands of others lost their possessions and homelands in an orgy of fraud, intimidation, and violence.
-
-
A Slow Burn
- By Hervé DuThé on 04-20-20
By: Claudio Saunt
-
A History of the American People
- By: Paul Johnson
- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 48 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Johnson's monumental history of the United States, from the first settlers to the Clinton administration, covers every aspect of American culture: politics, business, art, literature, science, society and customs, complex traditions, and religious beliefs. The story is told in terms of the men and women who shaped and led the nation and the ordinary people who collectively created its unique character.
-
-
A British conservative's view of American history.
- By Mike From Mesa on 06-17-09
By: Paul Johnson
-
Albion's Seed
- Four British Folkways in America, Vol. 1
- By: David Hackett Fischer
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 29 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This fascinating audiobook is the first volume in a projected cultural history of the United States, from the earliest English settlements to our own time. It is a history of American folkways as they have changed through time, and it argues a thesis about the importance for the United States of having been British in its cultural origins. While most people in the United States today have no British ancestors, they have assimilated regional cultures which were created by British colonists, even while preserving ethnic identities at the same time.
-
-
This is great, much more than title suggests
- By Kindle Customer on 07-26-14
-
Mao Zedong
- A Captivating Guide to the Life of a Chairman of the Communist Party of China, the Cultural Revolution and the Political Theory of Maoism
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Duke Holm
- Length: 2 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Explore the captivating life of Mao Zedong. Mao Zedong is recognized as one of the most influential figures of modern Chinese history. As the founding father of the People’s Republic of China and the centerpiece of one of the world’s most intense personality cults, the extent of his influence is difficult to understate. This biography details Mao’s remarkable journey from the son of a peasant to one of modern history’s greatest, and highly polarizing, leaders. It aims to provide a better understanding of Mao, his personality traits, and personal experiences that shaped his worldview.
-
-
A need read
- By Anonymous User on 05-09-20
-
Dawn of Detroit
- A Chronicle of Bondage and Freedom in the City of the Straits
- By: Tiya Miles
- Narrated by: Allyson Johnson
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Most Americans believe that slavery was a creature of the South, and that Northern states and territories provided stops on the Underground Railroad for fugitive slaves on their way to Canada. In this paradigm-shifting book, celebrated historian Tiya Miles reveals that slavery was at the heart of the Midwest's iconic city: Detroit. In this richly researched and eye-opening book, Miles has pieced together the experience of the unfree - both native and African American - in the frontier outpost of Detroit.
-
-
Great!
- By Melissa Eisner on 05-30-18
By: Tiya Miles
-
Heaven on Earth
- The Rise, Fall, and Afterlife of Socialism
- By: Joshua Muravchik
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Socialism was man's most ambitious attempt to supplant religion with a doctrine claiming to ground itself in "science". Each failure to create societies of abundance or give birth to "the New Man" inspired more searching for the path to the promised land: revolution, communes, social democracy, communism, fascism, Arab socialism, African socialism. None worked, and some exacted a staggering human toll. Then, after two centuries of wishful thinking and bitter disappointment, socialism imploded in a fin de siecle drama of falling walls and collapsing regimes.
-
-
A biased yet informative masterpiece
- By CodyPeacock12349 on 04-04-21
By: Joshua Muravchik
-
Give Me Liberty
- A History of America's Exceptional Idea
- By: Richard Brookhiser
- Narrated by: Tony Messano
- Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nationalism is inevitable: It supplies feelings of belonging, identity, and recognition. It binds us to our neighbors and tells us who we are. But increasingly - from the United States to India, from Russia to Burma - nationalism is being invoked for unworthy ends: to disdain minorities or to support despots. As a result, nationalism has become to many a dirty word.
-
-
Extraordinary!
- By Cynthia M. Suprenant on 12-23-19
-
How the Scots Invented the Modern World
- By: Arthur Herman
- Narrated by: Robert Ian Mackenzie
- Length: 18 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Who formed the first literate society? Who invented our modern ideas of democracy and free market capitalism? The Scots. As historian and author Arthur Herman reveals, in the 18th and 19th centuries Scotland made crucial contributions to science, philosophy, literature, education, medicine, commerce, and politics - contributions that have formed and nurtured the modern West ever since. This book is not just about Scotland: it is an exciting account of the origins of the modern world.
-
-
Eagerly Awaited Audiobook
- By Lulu on 09-01-16
By: Arthur Herman
-
Thomas Paine and the Clarion Call for American Independence
- By: Harlow Giles Unger
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From New York Times best-selling author and Founding Fathers' biographer Harlow Giles Unger comes the astonishing biography of the man whose pen set America ablaze, inspiring its revolution, and whose ideas about reason and religion continue to try men's souls.
-
-
well written and researched
- By K D on 09-29-19
-
John Brown, Abolitionist
- The Man Who Killed Slavery, Sparked the Civil War, and Seeded Civil Rights
- By: David S. Reynolds
- Narrated by: P.J. Ochlan
- Length: 25 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Few historical figures are as intriguing as John Brown, the controversial Abolitionist who used terrorist tactics against slavery and single-handedly changed the course of American history. This brilliant biography of Brown (1800-1859) by the prize-winning critic and cultural biographer David S. Reynolds brings to life the Puritan warrior who gripped slavery by the throat and triggered the Civil War. When does principled resistance become anarchic brutality? How can a murderer be viewed as a heroic freedom fighter? The case of John Brown opens windows on these timely issues.
-
-
The story of the man who saved America from itself
- By Marc on 09-29-20
-
The Craft
- How the Freemasons Made the Modern World
- By: John Dickie
- Narrated by: Simon Slater
- Length: 16 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Founded in London in 1717 as a way of binding men in fellowship, Freemasonry proved so addictive that within two decades it had spread across the globe. Masonic influence became pervasive. Under George Washington, the Craft became a creed for the new American nation. Masonic networks held the British empire together. Under Napoleon, the Craft became a tool of authoritarianism and then a cover for revolutionary conspiracy. Both the Mormon Church and the Sicilian mafia owe their origins to Freemasonry.
-
-
The best book about Freemasonry out there.
- By Isaac Pea on 02-19-21
By: John Dickie
-
California
- A History
- By: Kevin Starr
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Acclaimed author, historian, and Guggenheim Fellow Kevin Starr is a professor at the University of Southern California. His extensive knowledge shines through this concise, yet comprehensive, depiction of the most fascinating aspects in California's history. From its colonial beginnings through Governor Schwarzenegger's administration, the Golden State has become a uniquely American phenomenon that has enchanted people with the possibility of a better life.
-
-
Interesting read, until it's not
- By MiamiMe on 03-27-18
By: Kevin Starr
-
Debunking the 1619 Project
- Exposing the Plan to Divide America
- By: Mary Grabar
- Narrated by: Liisa Ivary
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
According the New York Times’ “1619 Project”, America was not founded in 1776, with a declaration of freedom and independence, but in 1619 with the introduction of African slavery into the New World. Ever since then, the “1619 Project” argues, American history has been one long sordid tale of systemic racism.
-
-
the ultimate downplay
- By Stephen Alston on 01-09-22
By: Mary Grabar
-
Marx's General
- The Revolutionary Life of Friedrich Engels
- By: Tristram Hunt
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 17 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Friedrich Engels is one of the most intriguing and contradictory figures of the 19th century. Born to a prosperous Prussian mercantile family, he spent his life working in the Manchester cotton industry, riding to the Cheshire hounds, and enjoying the comfortable upper-middle-class existence of a Victorian gentleman.
-
-
Not many choices here anyways.
- By Prof. Neil Larsen on 02-16-13
By: Tristram Hunt