This is a story about madness. It all starts when journalist Jon Ronson is contacted by a leading neurologist. She and several colleagues have recently received a cryptically puzzling book in the mail, and Jon is challenged to solve the mystery behind it. As he searches for the answer, Jon soon finds himself, unexpectedly, on an utterly compelling and often unbelievable adventure into the world of madness.
In this stunning new book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers"--the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different? His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing.
Born to Run: The Hidden Tribe, the Ultra-Runners, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
By
Christopher McDougall
Narrated By
Fred Sanders
Overall
(110)
Performance
(7)
Story
(7)
Full of incredible characters, amazing athletic achievements, cutting-edge science, and, most of all, pure inspiration, Born to Run is an epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt? In search of an answer, Christopher McDougall sets off to find a tribe of the world's greatest distance runners and learn their secrets - and in the process shows us that everything we thought we knew about running is wrong.
Them began as a book about different kinds of extremists, but after Jon had got to know some of them - Islamic fundamentalists, neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klansmen - he found that they had one oddly similar belief: that a tiny, shadowy elite rule the world from a secret room. In Them, Jon sets out, with the help of the extremists, to locate that room. The journey is as creepy as it is comic, and along the way Jon is chased by men in dark glasses, unmasked as a Jew in the middle of a Jihad training camp, and more.
The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll through the Hidden Connections of the English Language
By
Mark Forsyth
Narrated By
Simon Shepherd
Overall
(56)
Performance
(6)
Story
(5)
A quirky, entertaining and thought-provoking tour of the unexpected connections between words, read by Simon Shepherd. What is the actual connection between disgruntled and gruntled? What links church organs to organised crime, California to the Caliphate, or brackets to codpieces? The Etymologicon springs from Mark Forsyth's Inky Fool blog on the strange connections between words.
In a pulls-no-punches essay intended to provoke rational discussion, Stephen King sets down his thoughts about gun violence in America. Anger and grief in the wake of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School are palpable in this urgent piece of writing, but no less remarkable are King's keen thoughtfulness and composure as he explores the contours of the gun-control issue and constructs his argument for what can and should be done.
The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined
By
Steven Pinker
Narrated By
Arthur Morey
Overall
(46)
Performance
(3)
Story
(4)
We've all had the experience of reading about a bloody war or shocking crime and asking, "What is the world coming to?" But we seldom ask, "How bad was the world in the past?" In this startling new book, the best-selling cognitive scientist Steven Pinker shows that the world of the past was much worse. In fact, we may be living in the most peaceable era in our species' existence.
Danny Wallace was bored. Just to see what would happen, he placed a whimsical ad in a local London paper. It said, simply, 'Join Me'. Within a month, he was receiving letters and emails from teachers, mechanics, sales reps, vicars, schoolchildren and pensioners - all pledging allegiance to his cause. But no one knew what his cause was.
Warming the Stone Child: Myths and Stories about Abandonment and the Unmothered Child
By
Clarissa Pinkola Estes
Narrated By
Clarissa Pinkola Estes
Overall
(40)
Performance
(2)
Story
(2)
The pain of abandonment, both real and metaphorical, can cast a shadow over our entire adult experience. Warming the Stone Child investigates the abandoned child archetype in world myths and cultures to find clues about the process of healing the "unmothered" child within us all. Spiced with Dr. Estes' wonderful storytelling, Warming the Stone Child is a unique listening experience with a practical edge.
What did Charles Darwin, middling schoolboy and underachieving second son, do to become one of the earliest and greatest naturalists the world has known? What were the similar choices made by Mozart and by Caesar Rodriguez, the U.S. Air Force's last ace fighter pilot? In Mastery, Robert Greene's fifth book, he mines the biographies of great historical figures for clues about gaining control over our own lives and destinies. Picking up where The 48 Laws of Power left off, Greene culls years of research and original interviews to blend historical anecdote and psychological insight, distilling the universal ingredients of the world's masters.
In the book that he was born to write, provocateur and best-selling author Christopher Hitchens inspires future generations of radicals, gadflies, mavericks, rebels, angry young (wo)men, and dissidents. Who better to speak to that person who finds him or herself in a contrarian position than Hitchens, who has made a career of disagreeing in profound and entertaining ways.
Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki are both concerned. Their concern is that the rich are getting richer, but America is getting poorer. The entitlement mentality is epidemic, creating people who expect their country, employer, or family to take care of them. And like the polar ice caps, the middle class is disappearing. America is becoming a two-class society, and soon you will be either rich or poor. Trump and Kiyosaki want you to be rich.
Winner of the British Book Awards, Author of the Year, 2007. Shortlisted for the British Book Awards, Book of the Year, 2007. Shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize, 2007. Winner of the Audiobook Download of the Year, 2007. As the author of many classic works on science and philosophy, Richard Dawkins has always asserted the irrationality of belief in God and the grievous harm it has inflicted on society. He now focuses his fierce intellect exclusively on this subject, denouncing its faulty logic and the suffering it causes.
Bill Bryson was struck one day by the thought that we devote more time to studying the battles and wars of history than to considering what history really consists of: centuries of people quietly going about their daily business. This inspired him to start a journey around his own house, an old rectory in Norfolk, considering how the ordinary things in life came to be.
What did Charles Darwin, middling schoolboy and underachieving second son, do to become one of the earliest and greatest naturalists the world has known? What were the similar choices made by Mozart and by Caesar Rodriguez, the U.S. Air Force's last ace fighter pilot? In Mastery, Robert Greene's fifth book, he mines the biographies of great historical figures for clues about gaining control over our own lives and destinies. Picking up where The 48 Laws of Power left off, Greene culls years of research and original interviews to blend historical anecdote and psychological insight, distilling the universal ingredients of the world's masters.
In this stunning new book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers"--the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different? His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing.
The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion
by
Jonathan Haidt
Narrated by
Jonathan Haidt
4.4
(8 ratings)
In The Righteous Mind, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt explores the origins of our divisions and points the way forward to mutual understanding. His starting point is moral intuition - the nearly instantaneous perceptions we all have about other people and the things they do. These intuitions feel like self-evident truths, making us righteously certain that those who see things differently are wrong. Haidt shows us how these intuitions differ across cultures, including the cultures of the political left and right.
Possibly the only drawback about the best-selling How to Be a Woman was that its author, Caitlin Moran, was limited to pretty much one subject: being a woman. Moranthology is proof that Caitlin can actually be 'quite chatty' about many other things, including cultural, social and political issues which are usually the province of learned professors, or hot-shot wonks - and not a woman who once, as an experiment, put a wasp in a jar, and got it stoned.
From elicitation, pretexting, influence and manipulation all aspects of social engineering are picked apart, discussed and explained by using real world examples, personal experience and the Science & Technology behind them to unraveled the mystery in social engineering. Kevin Mitnick - one of the most famous social engineers in the world - popularized the term social engineering. He explained that it is much easier to trick someone into revealing a password than to exert the effort of hacking.
Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
by
Dan Ariely
Narrated by
Simon Jones
4.2
(213 ratings)
In a series of illuminating, often surprising experiments, MIT behavioral economist Dan Ariely refutes the common assumption that we behave in fundamentally rational ways. Blending everyday experience with groundbreaking research, Ariely explains how expectations, emotions, social norms, and other invisible, seemingly illogical forces skew our reasoning abilities.
The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll through the Hidden Connections of the English Language
by
Mark Forsyth
Narrated by
Simon Shepherd
4.6
(56 ratings)
A quirky, entertaining and thought-provoking tour of the unexpected connections between words, read by Simon Shepherd. What is the actual connection between disgruntled and gruntled? What links church organs to organised crime, California to the Caliphate, or brackets to codpieces? The Etymologicon springs from Mark Forsyth's Inky Fool blog on the strange connections between words.
This is a story about madness. It all starts when journalist Jon Ronson is contacted by a leading neurologist. She and several colleagues have recently received a cryptically puzzling book in the mail, and Jon is challenged to solve the mystery behind it. As he searches for the answer, Jon soon finds himself, unexpectedly, on an utterly compelling and often unbelievable adventure into the world of madness.
British military historian John Keegan, the author of such groundbreaking works as The Face of Battle, addresses some fundamental questions about war: Is man innately violent? Are soldiers like other men? Is a disciplined army essential for a civilization's success? With interludes on such topics as fortifications, weaponry, and logistics, and interesting perspectives on some of history's great military leaders, Keegan's study offers an expansive, panoramic view of warfare.
Power Systems: Conversations on Global Democratic Uprisings and the New Challenges to U.S. Empire
by
Noam Chomsky
Narrated by
Noam Chomsky,
David Barsamian
4.7
(3 ratings)
A compelling new set of interviews on our changing and turbulent times with Noam Chomsky, one of the world's foremost thinkers...
In this new collection of conversations, conducted from 2010 to 2012, Noam Chomsky explores the most immediate and urgent concerns: the future of democracy in the Arab world, the implications of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the European financial crisis, the breakdown of American mainstream political institutions, and the rise of the Occupy movement. As always, Chomsky presents his ideas vividly and accessibly, with uncompromising principle and clarifying insight.
Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do
By
Claude M. Steele
Narrated By
DeMario Clarke
Overall
(0)
Performance
(0)
Story
(0)
Claude M. Steele, who has been called "one of the few great social psychologists," offers a vivid first-person account of the research that supports his groundbreaking conclusions on stereotypes and identity. He sheds new light on American social phenomena from racial and gender gaps in test scores to the belief in the superior athletic prowess of black men, and lays out a plan for mitigating these "stereotype threats" and reshaping American identities.
Media Control: The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda
By
Noam Chomsky
Narrated By
Noam Chomsky
Overall
(0)
Performance
(0)
Story
(0)
Noam Chomsky's backpocket classic on wartime propaganda and opinion control begins by asserting two models of democracy - one in which the public actively participates, and one in which the public is manipulated and controlled. According to Chomsky, "propaganda is to democracy as the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state", and the mass media is the primary vehicle for delivering propaganda in the United States.
Women in Science: Then and Now - 25th Anniversary Edition
By
Vivian Gornick
Narrated By
Madelyn Buzzard
Overall
(0)
Performance
(0)
Story
(0)
In this newly revised 25th anniversary edition, acclaimed writer and journalist Vivian Gornick interviews famous and lesser-known scientists, compares their experiences then and now, and shows that, although not much has changed in the world of science, what is different is women's expectations that they can and will succeed. Everything from the disparaging comments by Harvard's then-president to government reports and media coverage has focused on the ways in which women supposedly can't do science.
This is a collection of essays on essays on Smollett, Lawrence, Austen, Dickens & others, by a man who went on to write a number of hugely popular novels. The classic book on the craft of writing, this is Norman Collins' first published work.
Just what is life? What do we really know about God? What do we really know about the universe? Is there intelligent life out there? Are we likely to encounter aliens in our lifetime? Is there more than one universe? Will parallel universes soon be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt? These are just some of the questions that two friend have been asking since we were in grammar school together over 70 years ago.
The Signal and the Noise in 30 Minutes: The Expert Guide to Nate Silver's Critically Acclaimed Book - The 30 Minute Expert Series
By
The 30 Minute Expert Series
Narrated By
Kevin Pierce
Overall
(0)
Performance
(0)
Story
(0)
The Signal and the Noise in 30 Minutes is your expert guide to Nate Silver's main thesis that our decision making is filtered through our personal assumptions and beliefs as opposed to the truth of the data at hand. About the 30 Minute Expert Series: Offering a concise exploration of a book's ideas, history, application, and critical reception, the 30 Minute Expert Series is designed for busy individuals interested in acquiring an in-depth understanding of seminal works.
Stiletto Network: Inside the Women's Power Circles That Are Changing the Face of Business
By
Pamela Ryckman
Narrated By
Pamela Ryckman
Overall
(0)
Performance
(0)
Story
(0)
More women are running major companies than ever before. While still far too few in number, these female heads of industry are the forerunners of a radical shift in power now underway. During the past few years, women's groups have been coalescing in every major American city. Formidable ladies across professions are convening at unprecedented rates, forming salons, dinner groups, and networking circles, and collaborating to achieve clout and success. A new girls' network is alive and set to hyperdrive.
To Repair the World: Paul Farmer Speaks to the Next Generation
By
Paul Farmer,
Jonathan Weigel (editor),
Bill Clinton (foreword)
Narrated By
Kevin T. Collins,
David Ledoux,
Joe Barrett
Overall
(0)
Performance
(0)
Story
(0)
Here, for the first time, is a collection of short speeches by the charismatic doctor and social activist Paul Farmer. One of the most passionate and influential voices for global health equity and social justice, Farmer encourages young people to tackle the greatest challenges of our times. Engaging, often humorous, and always inspiring, these speeches bring to light the brilliance and force of Farmer's vision in a single, accessible volume.
Paul Farmer
,
Jonathan Weigel (editor)
,
Bill Clinton (foreword)
Marijuana Legalization: What Everyone Needs to Know
By
Mark A. R. Kleiman,
Jonathan P. Caulkins,
Angela Hawken,
Beau Kilmer
Narrated By
Steven Menasche
Overall
(0)
Performance
(0)
Story
(0)
Should marijuana be legalized? The latest Gallup poll reports that exactly half of Americans say "yes"; opinion couldn't be more evenly divided. Marijuana Legalization: What Everyone Needs to Know will provide readers with a non-partisan primer about the topic, covering everything from the risks and benefits of using marijuana, to describing the current laws around the drug in the U.S. and abroad.
Mark A. R. Kleiman
,
Jonathan P. Caulkins
,
Angela Hawken
,
Beau Kilmer
The Men in My Life
By
Vivian Gornick
Narrated By
J. Michael McCullough
Overall
(0)
Performance
(0)
Story
(0)
Gornick on V. S. Naipaul, James Baldwin, George Gissing, Randall Jarrell, H. G. Wells, Loren Eiseley, Allen Ginsberg, Hayden Carruth, Saul Bellow, and Philip Roth and the intimate relationship between emotional damage and great literature.
Workers talk about the lives they lived, the battles they fought, the union they built, and the history they made. The United Auto Workers' Ford Local No. 600 was not only the biggest local union in the world, it was also one of the most militant, radical, yet democratic unions in the United States. Talking Union gives us the exceptional opportunity to hear members of this local tell about their activism as they experienced it.
Nuzi, Women's Rights and Hurrian Ethnicity And Other Academic Essays
By
Heerak Christian Kim
Narrated By
Gregg A. Rizzo
Overall
(0)
Performance
(0)
Story
(0)
Nuzi, Women's Rights and Hurrian Ethnicity And Other Academic Essays is the first book in the Hermit Kingdom Studies in Identity and Society series. The academic research publication series seeks to examine the question of identity and its relation to society. The research publication project promotes creative new approaches to thinking about identity as well as a combination of traditional academic methodologies.