
Operation Cowboy
The Secret American Mission to Save the World's Most Beautiful Horses in the Last Days of World War II
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 $9.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Wes Talbot
-
By:
-
Stephan Talty
About this listen
A thrilling account of one of the strangest and most daring military operations in history.
In the final days of World War II, with the ravenous Red Army marching across Czechoslovakia, a wily band of American soldiers did the unexpected: They teamed up with the Nazis and went behind enemy lines to save the world's rarest horses from imminent extinction at the hands of the Russians - including the exquisite white Lipizzaner, whose bloodlines date back to Genghis Khan. Based on personal interviews and new archival research, New York Times bestselling author Stephan Talty recreates in vivid detail the exhilarating rescue mission, led by unlikely heroes who just "wanted to do something beautiful."
©2014 Stephan Talty (P)2014 Audible Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Ride of Her Life
- The True Story of a Woman, Her Horse, and Their Last-Chance Journey Across America
- By: Elizabeth Letts
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Letts, Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1954, 63-year-old Maine farmer Annie Wilkins embarked on an impossible journey. She had no money and no family, she had just lost her farm, and her doctor had given her only two years to live. But Annie wanted to see the Pacific Ocean before she died. She ignored her doctor’s advice to move into the county charity home. Instead, she bought a cast-off brown gelding named Tarzan, donned men’s dungarees, and headed south in mid-November, hoping to beat the snow.
-
-
Not sure….
- By BeagleMom on 06-14-21
By: Elizabeth Letts
-
A Girl from Nowhere
- The Firewall Trilogy, Book 1
- By: James Maxwell
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Life in the wasteland is a constant struggle. No one knows it better than Taimin. Crippled, and with only his indomitable aunt to protect him, Taimin must learn to survive in a world scorched by two suns and frequented by raiders. But when Taimin discovers his homestead ransacked and his aunt killed, he sets off with one mission: to seek revenge against those who stole everything. With nowhere to call home, his hunt soon takes a turn when he meets a mystic, Selena, who convinces him to join her search for the fabled white city.
-
-
YA Book
- By John on 06-08-20
By: James Maxwell
-
The Perfect Horse
- The Daring U.S. Mission to Rescue the Priceless Stallions Kidnapped by the Nazis
- By: Elizabeth Letts
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 12 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the chaotic last days of the war, a small troop of battle-weary American soldiers captures a German spy and makes an astonishing find - his briefcase is empty but for photos of beautiful white horses that have been stolen and kept on a secret farm behind enemy lines. Hitler has stockpiled the world's finest purebreds in order to breed the perfect military machine - an equine master race. But with the starving Russian army closing in, the animals are in imminent danger of being slaughtered for food.
-
-
An Absorbing history
- By Jean on 04-17-17
By: Elizabeth Letts
-
Rogue Heroes
- The History of the SAS, Britain's Secret Special Forces Unit That Sabotaged the Nazis and Changed the Nature of War
- By: Ben Macintyre
- Narrated by: Ben Macintyre
- Length: 13 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Britain's Special Air Service - or SAS - was the brainchild of David Stirling, a young, gadabout aristocrat whose aimlessness in early life belied a remarkable strategic mind. Where most of his colleagues looked at a battlefield map of World War II's African theater and saw a protracted struggle with Rommel's desert forces, Stirling saw an opportunity: Given a small number of elite, well-trained men, he could parachute behind enemy lines and sabotage their airplanes and war matériel.
-
-
Those Who Dared, Won!
- By Matthew on 10-07-16
By: Ben Macintyre
-
Hero of the Empire
- The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill
- By: Candice Millard
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At age 24 Winston Churchill was utterly convinced it was his destiny to become prime minister of England one day, despite the fact he had just lost his first election campaign for Parliament. He believed that to achieve his goal, he had to do something spectacular on the battlefield. Despite deliberately putting himself in extreme danger as a British army officer in colonial wars in India and Sudan and as a journalist covering a Cuban uprising against the Spanish, glory and fame had eluded him.
-
-
Far More Than Simply, Hero of the Empire!
- By Matthew on 09-21-16
By: Candice Millard
-
Enemy at the Gates
- The Battle for Stalingrad
- By: William Craig
- Narrated by: David Baker
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On August 5, 1942, giant pillars of dust rose over the Russian steppe, marking the advance of the 6th Army, an elite German combat unit dispatched by Hitler to capture the industrial city of Stalingrad and press on to the oil fields of Azerbaijan. The Germans were supremely confident; in three years, they had not suffered a single defeat. The Luftwaffe had already bombed the city into ruins. German soldiers hoped to complete their mission and be home in time for Christmas.
-
-
An Unforgettable and Haunting Read
- By Jean on 02-03-16
By: William Craig
-
The Ride of Her Life
- The True Story of a Woman, Her Horse, and Their Last-Chance Journey Across America
- By: Elizabeth Letts
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Letts, Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1954, 63-year-old Maine farmer Annie Wilkins embarked on an impossible journey. She had no money and no family, she had just lost her farm, and her doctor had given her only two years to live. But Annie wanted to see the Pacific Ocean before she died. She ignored her doctor’s advice to move into the county charity home. Instead, she bought a cast-off brown gelding named Tarzan, donned men’s dungarees, and headed south in mid-November, hoping to beat the snow.
-
-
Not sure….
- By BeagleMom on 06-14-21
By: Elizabeth Letts
-
A Girl from Nowhere
- The Firewall Trilogy, Book 1
- By: James Maxwell
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Life in the wasteland is a constant struggle. No one knows it better than Taimin. Crippled, and with only his indomitable aunt to protect him, Taimin must learn to survive in a world scorched by two suns and frequented by raiders. But when Taimin discovers his homestead ransacked and his aunt killed, he sets off with one mission: to seek revenge against those who stole everything. With nowhere to call home, his hunt soon takes a turn when he meets a mystic, Selena, who convinces him to join her search for the fabled white city.
-
-
YA Book
- By John on 06-08-20
By: James Maxwell
-
The Perfect Horse
- The Daring U.S. Mission to Rescue the Priceless Stallions Kidnapped by the Nazis
- By: Elizabeth Letts
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 12 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the chaotic last days of the war, a small troop of battle-weary American soldiers captures a German spy and makes an astonishing find - his briefcase is empty but for photos of beautiful white horses that have been stolen and kept on a secret farm behind enemy lines. Hitler has stockpiled the world's finest purebreds in order to breed the perfect military machine - an equine master race. But with the starving Russian army closing in, the animals are in imminent danger of being slaughtered for food.
-
-
An Absorbing history
- By Jean on 04-17-17
By: Elizabeth Letts
-
Rogue Heroes
- The History of the SAS, Britain's Secret Special Forces Unit That Sabotaged the Nazis and Changed the Nature of War
- By: Ben Macintyre
- Narrated by: Ben Macintyre
- Length: 13 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Britain's Special Air Service - or SAS - was the brainchild of David Stirling, a young, gadabout aristocrat whose aimlessness in early life belied a remarkable strategic mind. Where most of his colleagues looked at a battlefield map of World War II's African theater and saw a protracted struggle with Rommel's desert forces, Stirling saw an opportunity: Given a small number of elite, well-trained men, he could parachute behind enemy lines and sabotage their airplanes and war matériel.
-
-
Those Who Dared, Won!
- By Matthew on 10-07-16
By: Ben Macintyre
-
Hero of the Empire
- The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill
- By: Candice Millard
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At age 24 Winston Churchill was utterly convinced it was his destiny to become prime minister of England one day, despite the fact he had just lost his first election campaign for Parliament. He believed that to achieve his goal, he had to do something spectacular on the battlefield. Despite deliberately putting himself in extreme danger as a British army officer in colonial wars in India and Sudan and as a journalist covering a Cuban uprising against the Spanish, glory and fame had eluded him.
-
-
Far More Than Simply, Hero of the Empire!
- By Matthew on 09-21-16
By: Candice Millard
-
Enemy at the Gates
- The Battle for Stalingrad
- By: William Craig
- Narrated by: David Baker
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On August 5, 1942, giant pillars of dust rose over the Russian steppe, marking the advance of the 6th Army, an elite German combat unit dispatched by Hitler to capture the industrial city of Stalingrad and press on to the oil fields of Azerbaijan. The Germans were supremely confident; in three years, they had not suffered a single defeat. The Luftwaffe had already bombed the city into ruins. German soldiers hoped to complete their mission and be home in time for Christmas.
-
-
An Unforgettable and Haunting Read
- By Jean on 02-03-16
By: William Craig
-
Panzer Commander
- The Memoirs of Colonel Hans von Luck
- By: Hans von Luck, Stephen E. Ambrose - introduction
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 15 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A stunning look at World War II from the other side.... From the turret of a German tank, Colonel Hans von Luck commanded Rommel's 7th and then 21st Panzer Division. El Alamein, Kasserine Pass, Poland, Belgium, Normandy on D-Day, the disastrous Russian front - von Luck fought there with some of the best soldiers in the world. German soldiers. Awarded the German Cross in Gold and the Knight's Cross, von Luck writes as an officer and a gentleman.
-
-
Reads like Forrest Gump ( a fiction )
- By Randall on 11-08-16
By: Hans von Luck, and others
-
The Liberator
- One World War II Soldier's 500-Day Odyssey from the Beaches of Sicily to the Gates of Dachau
- By: Alex Kershaw
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From July 10, 1943, the date of the Allied landing in Sicily, to May 8, 1945, when victory in Europe was declared - the entire time it took to liberate Europe - no regiment saw more action, and no single platoon, company, or battalion endured worse, than the ones commanded by Felix Sparks, who had entered the war as a greenhorn second lieutenant of the 157th "Eager for Duty" Infantry Regiment of the 45th "Thunderbird" Division. Sparks and his fellow Thunderbirds fought longest and hardest to defeat Hitler.
-
-
Now I Know What a Hero Really Is
- By Steven on 11-27-12
By: Alex Kershaw
-
Immortal Valor
- The Black Medal of Honor Winners of World War II
- By: Robert Child
- Narrated by: Vaughn Johseph
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The remarkable story of the seven African American soldiers ultimately awarded the World War II Medal of Honor, and the 50-year campaign to deny them their recognition. In 1945, when Congress began reviewing the record of the most conspicuous acts of courage by American soldiers during World War II, they recommended awarding the Medal of Honor to 432 recipients. Despite the fact that more than one million African-Americans served, not a single black soldier received the Medal of Honor. The omission remained on the record for over four decades.
-
-
Informative
- By Garry Schettini on 10-05-22
By: Robert Child
-
Hitler's Last Days
- The Death of the Nazi Regime and the World's Most Notorious Dictator
- By: Bill O'Reilly
- Narrated by: Bill O'Reilly - introduction, Robert Petkoff
- Length: 4 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By early 1945 the destruction of the German Nazi State seems certain. The Allied forces, led by American generals George S. Patton and Dwight D. Eisenhower, are gaining control of Europe, leaving German leaders scrambling. Facing defeat, Adolf Hitler flees to a secret bunker with his new wife, Eva Braun, and his beloved dog, Blondi. It is there that all three would meet their ends, thus ending the Third Reich and one of the darkest chapters of history.
-
-
2/3 end of WW2 1/3 Demise of Hitler~4 STAR
- By Molly on 09-02-15
By: Bill O'Reilly
-
At First Light
- A True World War II Story of a Hero, His Bravery, and an Amazing Horse
- By: Mike Yorkey, Walt Larimore MD
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 12 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Landing on the Anzio beachhead in February 1944, Phil is put in charge of an Ammunition Pioneer Platoon in the 3rd Infantry Division. Their job: deliver ammunition to the frontline foxholes—a dangerous assignment involving regular forays into No Man’s Land. As Phil fights his way up the Italian boot, into Southern France and across the Rhine River into Germany, he is caught up in some of the most intense combat ever. But it’s what happens in the final stages of the war and his homecoming that makes Phil’s story incredibly special and heartwarming.
-
-
Great story that shows you should never give up!
- By Karen on 11-27-24
By: Mike Yorkey, and others
-
The Last Battle
- By: Cornelius Ryan
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 15 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Battle for Berlin was the culminating struggle of World War II in the European theater. The last offensive against Hitler’s Third Reich, it devastated one of Europe’s historic capitals and marked the final defeat of Nazi Germany. It was also one of the war’s bloodiest and most pivotal battles, whose outcome would shape international politics for decades to come.
-
-
Thanks to Dan Carlin of Hardcore History podcasts.
- By GB on 06-30-12
By: Cornelius Ryan
-
The Generals
- Patton, MacArthur, Marshall, and the Winning of World War II
- By: Winston Groom
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 16 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Celebrated historian Winston Groom tells the intertwined and uniquely American tales of George Patton, Douglas MacArthur, and George Marshall - from the World War I battle that shaped them to their greatest achievement: leading the allies to victory in World War II.
-
-
Nothing new here
- By Mike From Mesa on 01-13-16
By: Winston Groom
-
Ghost Soldiers
- The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission
- By: Hampton Sides
- Narrated by: James Naughton
- Length: 5 hrs and 57 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At once a gripping depiction of men at war and a compelling story of redemption, Ghost Soldiers joins such landmark works as Flags of Our Fathers and The Greatest Generation Speaks in preserving the legacy of World War II for future generations.
-
-
Ghost soldiers
- By Zach on 09-07-03
By: Hampton Sides
-
Fierce Valor
- The True Story of Ronald Speirs and His Band of Brothers
- By: Jared Frederick, Erik Dorr
- Narrated by: Chris Abell
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fans of Stephen E. Ambrose’s Band of Brothers will be drawn to this complex portrait of the controversial Ronald Speirs, an iconic commander of celebrated Easy Company during D-Day and beyond, whose ferocious courage and drive across three wars were matched by a devotion to duty and a hidden heart shadowed by lost love.
-
-
Felt like a historical yet cursory summary
- By JWalkup on 06-30-22
By: Jared Frederick, and others
-
Never in Finer Company
- The Men of the Great War's Lost Battalion
- By: Edward G. Lengel
- Narrated by: James Lurie
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the first week of October, 1918, six hundred men attacked into Europe's forbidding Argonne Forest. Against all odds, they surged through enemy lines—alone. They were soon surrounded and besieged. As they ran out of ammunition, water, and food, the doughboys withstood constant bombardment and relentless enemy assaults. Seven days later, only 194 soldiers from the original unit walked out of the forest. The stand of the US Army's "Lost Battalion" remains an unprecedented display of heroism under fire.
-
-
An Amazing story
- By Bradley on 11-28-18
By: Edward G. Lengel
-
Eleventh Month, Eleventh Day, Eleventh Hour
- Armistice Day, 1918 World War I and Its Violent Climax
- By: Joseph E. Persico
- Narrated by: Jonathan Marosz
- Length: 17 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The best-selling author of Roosevelt's Secret War traces the last day of World War I, weaving together the experiences of the famous, such as President Wilson, General Pershing, and Douglas MacArthur, and the unsung and unremembered.
-
-
Beauty amidst savagery
- By Amazon Customer on 12-06-04
-
The Road to Kalamata
- By: Mike Hoare
- Narrated by: Mike Hoare
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Col. Mike Hoare describes how his 4 Commando supported Moise Tshombe's breakaway state of Katanga against both the UN forces, and the Baluba tribesmen who used poison arrows, pit traps, marijuana, spells, jungle drums...and even reorted to ritual torture and cannibalism.
-
-
Amazing
- By Paula y Federico Hanhausen on 01-09-25
By: Mike Hoare
What listeners say about Operation Cowboy
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- J. M. Bullis
- 01-01-17
What Americans do
A good story telling how a group of soldiers heat about the prized and the rare breed of horses will need rescue or face being made into chow by the Red Army.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mary L. Preston
- 01-14-17
interesting
learned more about the war and things that took place during that period. I never thought about the horses and the how some of them survive.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- PowderRiverRose
- 03-12-15
Operation Cowboy is a unique bit of history
The saving of Lippizaner horses in WWII 1945 was a secret mission and one barely known to people-then or now. It's a lovely story for all whether strictly history buffs or lovers of horses/animals.
It's a short story (about 2 hours) and worth every minute of your time. The narrator is pretty perfect in my estimation and the production fine. This should be made into a movie with the quality production of the "monuments men," definitely not the Disney fantasy of years ago.
Enjoy.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Gr8ful Lady
- 04-09-19
A Must Read for History and Horse Lovers
Wow! Thank you Stephan Talty for sharing this story from World War II. I saw the Lipizzaners perform when I was 12 or so. They were incredible, but I'd never have seen them if not for Operation Cowboy that saved the Lipizzaners. I did not know the price paid to keep the breed alive. Two American servicemen died in the operation to save the horses and this magical breed. I will be forever grateful for their sacrifice as are horse-lovers everywhere. The Disney movie - wrong. This book tells the real story. Thank you, again for preserving this important piece of history.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!