Showing results by publisher "Recorded Books" in Vehicles & Transportation

Although Orville and Wilbur Wright are celebrated today as heroes for their revolutionary contributions to science and engineering - they are acknowledged as the first men to successfully achieve powered, piloted flight - their success was hard-earned. In fact, it took the self-taught engineers years of work and dozens of crashes before they managed a single 12-second flight! In this first installment of the brand new Epic Fails series, Ben Thompson and Erik Slader take listeners through the Wright brothers' many mishaps and misadventures as they paved the way for modern aviation.

On April 24, 1975, the last flight out of Saigon, Vietnam carried over 400 people to the United States, six days before Saigon’s surrender to the North Vietnamese Army. Kristen Giang was a little girl, on that flight with family, and here in this story she shares all the emotions of the decision to flee from the perspective of someone eight years old; Playing a game of space-explorers to protect herself and her sister’s eyes from tear gas; sneaking a stuffed animal into the family’s overstuffed suitcase for comfort.

Peter was born on the east side of Germany, the side that wasn't free. He watches news programs rather than cartoons, and wears scratchy uniforms instead of blue jeans. His family endures long lines and early curfews. But Peter knows it won't always be this way. Peter and his family have a secret. Late at night in their attic, they are piecing together a hot-air balloon—and a plan. Can Peter and his family fly their way to freedom?

The untold story of five women who fought to compete against men in the high-stakes national air races of the 1920s and 1930s - and won.  

The unbelievable true story of pilot Douglas Corrigan, who took off from New York to fly to California, but landed in Ireland instead. On July 17, 1938, American pilot Douglas Corrigan took off from New York City’s Floyd Bennett Field for a long-haul trip. He had 320 gallons of gas in a...

From the dramatic discovery of the world’s first analog computer to the incredible secrets uncovered in a sailor’s good luck charm, underwater excavation has revealed historical truths dating back to the beginning of modern civilization. As the exciting field of marine archaeology continues to grow, so do the astonishing discoveries from the ocean floor—with every sunken ship shedding light on moments in time that only the sea remembers. Shipwrecked! is a riveting deep dive into some of the world’s most incredible shipwrecks and what they reveal about human history.

Emma Lilian Todd's mind was always soaring—she loved to solve problems. Lilian tinkered and fiddled with all sorts of objects, turning dreams into useful inventions. As a child, she took apart and reassembled clocks to figure out how they worked. As an adult, typing up patents at the U.S. Patent Office, Lilian built the inventions in her mind, including many designs for flying machines. However, they all seemed too impractical. Lilian knew she could design one that worked. 

This thrilling companion to Iain Lawrence's award-winning The Wreckers and The Smugglers plunges listeners into high-sea action and intrigue. After 17-year-old John Spencer sets out on his first voyage to foreign lands, he and his crew are wary when they come across a stranger named Horn rowing a lifeboat in the middle of nowhere. What is the man hiding?

Meet Little Hippo! Today, he’s a firefighter, racing to an imaginary four-alarmer. But pedaling his fire truck is a challenge. Luckily, Little Hippo has lots of friends to help out. But what’s he to do when he finds a real fire? Firefighter Hippo thinks quickly and does exactly what a brave little fireman should.

Meet Little Hippo! Today he’s playing truck driver, racing to make a surprise delivery. Until—oh, no!—Truck Driver Hippo encounters a pack of grazing zebras blocking his path. Munch, crunch. Then, a huge train stops Little Hippo. CHOO-CHOOOOOOO! It’s a good thing this little truck driver has friends to help him along his way. But when Truck Driver Hippo almost crashes into Lion—yow-wee!—only his own bravery and kindness can save him…

When Jack Knight takes off in his biplane from North Platte, Nebraska, in 1921, hundreds of people crowd the airstrip. Is Jack transporting a famous passenger? Is he ferrying medicine for a sick child? Nope—Jack has six sacks of mail. For the past few years, biplanes like Jack's have been flying the mail only during daylight hours. Flying after dark is risky and crashes are too common, so lawmakers decide to cut funding for the US Air Mail Service. Outraged officials and pilots want to prove that flying the mail is best, so they concoct a plan—a coast-to-coast race.

Lily the sailboat is small but sturdy, in a harbor full of enormous cargo ships, speedy fishing vessels, and bossy tugboats that all have somewhere to go. And something to say—mostly, "Out of my way, Lily!" But Lily has somewhere to go, too. 

Tuckered out from a journey across the Wild West, cat brothers Anton and Cecil are ready to head east for home - until a minor stop to change trains in Chicago turns into a major escapade. The brothers are recruited by a police bloodhound to help solve a case: puppies are disappearing right off their leashes! Anton and Cecil's search takes them deep into the heart of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, where they befriend exotic animals, ride the newly invented Ferris Wheel, and look for clues amid the crowds of fairgoers.

Following the events of September 11, 2001, the governor of New York gave the navy a steel beam that was once inside one of the World Trade Towers. Seven and a Half Tons of Steel tells the story of what the navy did with it.

Terrible news has reached cat brothers Anton and Cecil: their rodent friend Hieronymus has been captured. Anton and Cecil must try to rescue the mouse who once saved Anton's life. Boarding one of the monstrous machines the mice call "landships," the brothers travel to the Wild West.

Critically acclaimed children’s author Jonah Winter reimagines a true story from 1987. The small Long Island town of Islip has a big problem - 3,168 tons of garbage and no place to put it! So workers pile the smelly refuse on a large barge, hire a tug boat, and send the stuff south to find a final resting place. But as the barge travels from North Carolina to New Orleans and from Mexico to Belize - nobody wants Islip’s rotting mountain of garbage.

Henry's family is going on vacation—to the Wild West! Henry and Mudge love the Wild West. There are cowboy hats and boots, deserts and canyons, and souvenir shops where Henry can buy pencils and magnets and even a snow globe with a cowboy inside. And there are lots of tumbleweeds for Mudge to chase. But as much fun as the Wild West is, Henry discovers that he and Mudge can have just as much fun back home.

When Mrs. Teaberry telephones Mr. Putter to tell him about a brilliant idea, he gets a little nervous. Besides, sometimes her ideas involve "running fast or wearing feathers." Mrs. Teaberry wants to take an afternoon train ride with Mr. Putter and their pets, Tabby and Zeke. Mrs. Teaberry hasn't ridden the train since 1938, so when they get to the train station, she is surprised to find that pets aren't allowed to ride. Now it's Mr. Putter's turn to think of a good idea.

Once upon a time there was a princess...who made a pit stop. While the birds and beasts changed her tires, her fairy godmother told her she was in last place! With just one lap left! She might as well give up! Give up? Not this princess! Instead, she hit the gas! Join Her Royal Highness in the driver's seat for a mad dash to the finish in this exciting ode to auto racing. 

In 1862, balloons were the only way to reach the sky. But 14-year-old Otto Lilienthal didn’t want to fly in balloons. He wanted to soar like a bird. Scientists, teachers, and news reporters everywhere said flying was impossible. Otto and his brother Gustav desperately wanted to prove them wrong, so they made their own wings and tried to take flight. The brothers quickly crashed, but this was just the beginning for Otto, who would spend the next 30 years of his life sketching, re-sketching, and building gliders.