Publisher, Random House Audiobooks (June 2006)

This audiobook will serve as the companion to the History Channel's ten-hour documentary series Ten Days That Changed America set to air in April 2006. As the name indicates, the audiobook profiles ten historical events that shaped our national history, culture, and consciousness. Although the publication will be tied directly to the History Channel's series, the essays will explore themes and topics not developed in the documentaries.

This audiobook will be a must-have for any history buff or patriot interested in some of the most significant historical events that shaped our culture, explored in grandiose, passionate detail and understood as necessary stepping stones toward the state of society today. The History Channel selected these ten dates after a long, deliberative process utilizing the expertise of a dozen of the country's leading historians. Needless to say, choosing between the events that have shaped our boisterous country and ranking them was an unprecedented challenge. Consider some of these profound moments in our past - can you figure out which ones qualified in their debates?

1607 - Jamestown founded
1793 - Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin
1803 - Louisiana Purchase
1836 - The Battle at the Alamo
1863 - Battle of Gettysburg and Vicksburg
1890 - Sherman Antitrust Act passed
1903 - Ford Motor Company founded
1920 - Women win the right to vote
1929 - Stock Market Crash
1941 - Japan attacks Pearl Harbor
1954 - Brown vs. Board of Education
1980- CNN starts broadcasting

Give up? Thankfully, they didn't, and from a much longer list of critical moments similar to these - all highly charged and inherently debatable - the panel eventually agreed on ten chart-toppers which they will be officially announcing in January.

This audiobook of companion essays will pair the historically accurate facts and figures from each day with fascinating characters, well-versed argument, and an awe-inducing philosophical bent. Either perceived as a must-have, gloss over primer for newbies, an engrossing series of adventure and suspense stories, or a detailed, highly focused analysis serving doubly as a debate platform, this approach to our history offers something for everyone. Ten Days That Changed America will bring the excitement and import of our past to life, to the benefit of all the patriots and pundits of the present.

STEVEN M. GILLON is the resident historian of The History Channel and host of HistoryCENTER. Having taught at both Oxford and Yale, he is currently a professor at the University of Oklahoma.

About the Narrator: STEPHEN HOYE has worked as a professional actor in London and Los Angeles for over 30 years. He has appeared in several feature films, television shows, and theater productions.