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  • The Four Winds

  • A Novel
  • Written by: Kristin Hannah
  • Narrated by: Julia Whelan
  • Length: 15 hrs and 20 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (1,434 ratings)

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The Four Winds

Written by: Kristin Hannah
Narrated by: Julia Whelan
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Publisher's Summary

This program includes a bonus interview with the author.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

#1 USA TODAY BESTSELLER

#1 WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER

#1 INDIE BESTSELLER

"The Four Winds seems eerily prescient in 2021 . . . Its message is galvanizing and hopeful: We are a nation of scrappy survivors. We’ve been in dire straits before; we will be again. Hold your people close.”—The New York Times

"A spectacular tour de force that shines a spotlight on the indispensable but often overlooked role of Greatest Generation women."—People

"Through one woman’s survival during the harsh and haunting Dust Bowl, master storyteller, Kristin Hannah, reminds us that the human heart and our Earth are as tough, yet as fragile, as a change in the wind." Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing

From the number-one bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone comes a powerful American epic about love and heroism and hope, set during the Great Depression, a time when the country was in crisis and at war with itself, when millions were out of work and even the land seemed to have turned against them.

My land tells its story if you listen. The story of our family.”

Texas, 1921. A time of abundance. The Great War is over, the bounty of the land is plentiful, and America is on the brink of a new and optimistic era. But for Elsa Wolcott, deemed too old to marry in a time when marriage is a woman’s only option, the future seems bleak. Until the night she meets Rafe Martinelli and decides to change the direction of her life. With her reputation in ruin, there is only one respectable choice: marriage to a man she barely knows.

By 1934, the world has changed; millions are out of work and drought has devastated the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as crops fail and water dries up and the earth cracks open. Dust storms roll relentlessly across the plains. Everything on the Martinelli farm is dying, including Elsa’s tenuous marriage; each day is a desperate battle against nature and a fight to keep her children alive.

In this uncertain and perilous time, Elsa—like so many of her neighbors—must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or leave it behind and go west, to California, in search of a better life for her family.

The Four Winds is a rich, sweeping novel that stunningly brings to life the Great Depression and the people who lived through it—the harsh realities that divided us as a nation and the enduring battle between the haves and the have-nots. A testament to hope, resilience, and the strength of the human spirit to survive adversity, The Four Winds is an indelible portrait of America and the American dream, as seen through the eyes of one indomitable woman whose courage and sacrifice will come to define a generation.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press

©2021 Kristin Hannah (P)2021 Macmillan Audio

What the critics say

2021 Amazon.com Best Books of the Year, Long-listed

2021 Hudson Booksellers Best of the Year, Long-listed

2021 Washington Post Best Books of the Year, Long-listed

2021 USA Today Best Books of the Year, Long-listed

2021 Read with Jenna, Long-listed

"With forceful narrative drive, Whelan delivers a compelling performance of Hannah's memorable new novel." —AudioFile Magazine

"Julia Whelan is herself a master storyteller because it’s absolute magic how she brings this novel to life for listeners. Her emotional rendering will bring tears and laughter and she portrays every character perfectly, men women and children...Have the tissues close when you put those earbuds in." —Reading Franzy

What listeners say about The Four Winds

Average Customer Ratings
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The Four Winds

The Best Book I've read in a long time. The Narrator was awesome ,she certainly deserves a 5 Star the author is great .I have read almost all her books and will continue to do so. It brought tears to my eyes way to go

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16 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Well written but so very sad

This book was well written and I’m sure an accurate presentation of the times. My only problem was that nothing good ever happened to the heroine, nothing. Her life just kept getting worse and worse. I kept waiting for her to have some joy in her life.

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7 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Beautiful, Evocative and Heartbreaking

This book was so highly recommended but I kept thinking “sounds depressing”. It was so beautifully written with characters that leap out at you and have you feeling so many emotions with them and for them. I wanted to sweep them up and build them tiny houses in my backyard — these women are so strong and so real and somehow despite all that happens leave me feeling hope. I read this in the heart of Covid-19 pandemic restrictions and it made me stop whining and complaining and realize how lucky we have been. Julia Whelan as always brings characters to life.

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4 people found this helpful

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Wow! Grab your tissues!

Loved this book! The Dust Bowl of the 1930’s and the migration of people to California, is something that needs to be revisited. History is repeating itself with the treatment of immigrants to the US. I wish we could have learned from these experiences from the past, but we haven’t. Worth the listen!

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Loved this story of the Dust Bowl

One of my first audiobooks was The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan. It’s a piece of American history not talked about much but horrifying and so relevant to our current climate challenges. That book stuck with me. And then came The Four Winds, a novel of the same era, which perfectly captures the human side of the man made disaster. I loved this story, the characters and their challenges. The story exposes the lack of compassion in American society, also relevant in the current era. It’s a must listen, the narration too is excellent.

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3 people found this helpful

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  • B
  • 2021-03-15

resilience, family and love

It's the story of a family surviving through the dust storms then part of it having to travel to California where they aren't welcome, and their struggle, along with so many more, to find humanity when times are tough. The story is told from the mother and daughter's perspective. it's refreshing and meaningful to listen to historical fiction from women's stories, but this is by no means a book for women. It's a book for all, maybe even more importantly for men to read. Julia Whelan's performance is amazing, as always.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

another heart felt story by kristin hannah so good

easy read kept me wanting to listen to too it and some great history i have never heard of the dust storms:)

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2 people found this helpful

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A wonderful read

Just wonderful. This is my third book by Christine Hannah and I like this one better than the Nightingale. Way better! Of course, I cannot compare it to The Great Alone, which will always stay my favourite.
Things I like about The Four Winds:
- It picks up speed from chapter 1
- Elsa and Loretta's character and how they beautifully develop through the story. While they keep their basic characteristics intact, how they transform by the time the story ends. Interestingly, the change happens so smoothly that we don't realise, however, when they are changed, you can look for the seeds of those changes back in the story.
- The interview with the author at the end and the revelations she makes.
- Loved Julia's voice

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must read

This book was reviting, heart breaking and inspiring. Each one of Kristin Hannah's books pull me further and further into her talent to tell a story. This is a must read!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Perspective Shifting

A well written book, wonderfully narrated - A story of grit & hope despite dire circumstances. I found that after contemplating the poverty and challenges faced by so many in the dust bowl, I found myself really appreciating my own life and the privileges that I often take for granted, like food to eat, a warm shower, mattress to sleep on, etc.

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