I love telling stories, which is one reason why most of my audiobooks are histories and biographies. Even when the writing is dry and academic, some historical characters are always entertaining to read about. When a book comes along that is not only focused on remarkable people but written by a gifted storyteller, it lights me up. My 89th audiobook is just that. I had an absolute blast producing it, and I think it’s one of the best books I’ve done.

Team of Giants by Matt Bernstein focuses on the years leading up to and including the Spanish-American War. Any book with Theodore Roosevelt in it can’t go wrong. Add in William Randolph Hearst and General “Fighting Joe” Wheeler, and you’re in for a great ride. This narrative also includes Hearst’s father George, the Silver King, who was a miner with an almost intuitive gift for prospecting; Richard Harding Davis, the hyper-competitive newspaperman; and the strange, antisocial, consumptive writer Stephen Crane following TR’s band as a reporter.

TR, of course, dreamed for years of leading a regiment of cowboys into battle, and in 1898 he got his wish. He endured personal tragedy and toughened himself building ranches in the Badlands on the way. William Randolph Hearst was standing the world of New York newspapers on its ear, with spectacular yellow journalism, and equipped a steamboat as a mobile printing facility to produce the first English language newspaper in Cuba during the war. General Wheeler was a Confederate war hero who was determined to prove that he and his fellows were good, patriotic Americans, even if it meant fighting in Cuba when he was deathly ill and could hardly stand. Their stories will lead you to an understanding of the times that began the American Century.

As with all of my Audible titles, PM me if you would like a free review copy. You don’t need to have an Audible subscription to get the freebie, but you do need to use the free Audible app to listen to it.