Listen free for 30 days
-
Not for the Faint of Heart
- Lessons in Courage, Power, and Persistence
- Narrated by: Wendy R. Sherman
- Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Politics & Activism
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with a free trial
Buy Now for £26.19
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Netanyahu Years
- Translated by Ora Cummings
- By: Ben Caspit
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 17 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A portrait of the current Israeli prime minister, one of Israel's more noticeable leaders in recent decades. Benjamin Netanyahu is currently serving his fourth term in office as prime minister of Israel, the longest serving prime minister in the country's history. Now Israeli journalist Ben Caspit puts Netanyahu's life under a magnifying glass, focusing on his last two terms in office.
-
Peacerunner
- The True Story of How an Ex-Congressman Helped End the Centuries of War in Ireland
- By: Penn Rhodeen
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the true story of an unknown American politician who played a critical role in ending centuries of conflict in Northern Ireland. Without the president's permission, and breaking every conventional rule about how to deal with terrorists, former congressman Bruce Morrison helped end a conflict that most observers thought would continue indefinitely.
-
Black Wave
- Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Rivalry That Unravelled the Middle East
- By: Kim Ghattas
- Narrated by: Kim Ghattas, Nan McNamara
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A timely and unprecedented examination of how the modern Middle East unravelled and why it started with the pivotal year of 1979. 'What happened to us?' For decades, the question has haunted the Arab and Muslim world, heard across Iran and Syria, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, and in the author's home country of Lebanon. Was it always so? When did the extremism, intolerance and bloodletting of today displace the region's cultural promise and diversity?
-
-
A real five star eye opener
- By E P on 16-02-20
-
The Bushes
- Portrait of a Dynasty
- By: Peter Schweizer, Rochelle Schweizer
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean, Rochelle Schweizer
- Length: 23 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
President George W. Bush leads our nation in a time of unprecedented peril. But how well do we really know him or his remarkable family, whose history often mirrors the history of America? Now, in the first full-scale biography of the Bushes, Peter and Rochelle Schweizer trace the extraordinary trajectory of their rise to power.
-
West Wingers
- Stories from the Dream Chasers, Change Makers, and Hope Creators Inside the Obama White House
- By: Gautam Raghavan - editor
- Narrated by: Gautam Raghavan, Michael Strautmanis, Brad Jenkins, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In these moving and revealing personal stories, 18 Obama staffers bring us deep inside the presidency, offering intimate accounts of how they made it to the White House, what they witnessed, and what they accomplished there. In each one we see the human face of government, staffers devoting themselves to the issues that have defined their lives.
-
The Long Game
- A Memoir
- By: Mitch McConnell
- Narrated by: Mitch McConnell
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Long Game is the candid, behind-the-scenes memoir of a man famous for his discretion. He tells how his mother helped him beat polio by leading him through long, aching exercises every day for two years. He explains how his father taught him the importance of standing up to bullies, even if it meant taking the occasional punch. And he reveals what he really thinks about the rivalry between the Senate and the House;.
-
-
Exceptional
- By Anonymous User on 16-01-21
-
The Netanyahu Years
- Translated by Ora Cummings
- By: Ben Caspit
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 17 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A portrait of the current Israeli prime minister, one of Israel's more noticeable leaders in recent decades. Benjamin Netanyahu is currently serving his fourth term in office as prime minister of Israel, the longest serving prime minister in the country's history. Now Israeli journalist Ben Caspit puts Netanyahu's life under a magnifying glass, focusing on his last two terms in office.
-
Peacerunner
- The True Story of How an Ex-Congressman Helped End the Centuries of War in Ireland
- By: Penn Rhodeen
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the true story of an unknown American politician who played a critical role in ending centuries of conflict in Northern Ireland. Without the president's permission, and breaking every conventional rule about how to deal with terrorists, former congressman Bruce Morrison helped end a conflict that most observers thought would continue indefinitely.
-
Black Wave
- Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Rivalry That Unravelled the Middle East
- By: Kim Ghattas
- Narrated by: Kim Ghattas, Nan McNamara
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A timely and unprecedented examination of how the modern Middle East unravelled and why it started with the pivotal year of 1979. 'What happened to us?' For decades, the question has haunted the Arab and Muslim world, heard across Iran and Syria, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, and in the author's home country of Lebanon. Was it always so? When did the extremism, intolerance and bloodletting of today displace the region's cultural promise and diversity?
-
-
A real five star eye opener
- By E P on 16-02-20
-
The Bushes
- Portrait of a Dynasty
- By: Peter Schweizer, Rochelle Schweizer
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean, Rochelle Schweizer
- Length: 23 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
President George W. Bush leads our nation in a time of unprecedented peril. But how well do we really know him or his remarkable family, whose history often mirrors the history of America? Now, in the first full-scale biography of the Bushes, Peter and Rochelle Schweizer trace the extraordinary trajectory of their rise to power.
-
West Wingers
- Stories from the Dream Chasers, Change Makers, and Hope Creators Inside the Obama White House
- By: Gautam Raghavan - editor
- Narrated by: Gautam Raghavan, Michael Strautmanis, Brad Jenkins, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In these moving and revealing personal stories, 18 Obama staffers bring us deep inside the presidency, offering intimate accounts of how they made it to the White House, what they witnessed, and what they accomplished there. In each one we see the human face of government, staffers devoting themselves to the issues that have defined their lives.
-
The Long Game
- A Memoir
- By: Mitch McConnell
- Narrated by: Mitch McConnell
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Long Game is the candid, behind-the-scenes memoir of a man famous for his discretion. He tells how his mother helped him beat polio by leading him through long, aching exercises every day for two years. He explains how his father taught him the importance of standing up to bullies, even if it meant taking the occasional punch. And he reveals what he really thinks about the rivalry between the Senate and the House;.
-
-
Exceptional
- By Anonymous User on 16-01-21
-
Revival
- The Struggle for Survival Inside the Obama White House
- By: Richard Wolffe
- Narrated by: Richard Wolffe
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Revival, by best-selling author Richard Wolffe, is based on exclusive and extensive interviews with President Obama and his inner circle inside the West Wing. It is an intimate and revealing portrait of the Obama White House at work in a critical period for the country and for the president.
-
A Global Life
- My Journey Among Rich and Poor, from Sydney to Wall Street to the World Bank
- By: James D. Wolfensohn
- Narrated by: Robin Sachs
- Length: 18 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As president of the World Bank for a decade, James Wolfensohn tackled world poverty with a passion and energy that made him a uniquely important figure in a fundamental arena of change. Using a lifetime of experience in the banking sector, he carved a distinct path in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe for the institution that serves as the major lender to the world's poor.
-
-
Very good depending on your interests
- By Lal-Akash on 16-04-11
-
Worthy Fights
- A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace
- By: Leon Panetta, Jim Newton
- Narrated by: Leon Panetta
- Length: 19 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It could be said that Leon Panetta has had two of the most consequential careers of any American public servant in the past 50 years. His first career, beginning as an army intelligence officer and including a distinguished run as one of Congress' most powerful and respected members, lasted 35 years and culminated in his transformational role as Clinton's budget czar and White House chief of staff.
-
Counselor
- A Life at the Edge of History
- By: Ted Sorensen
- Narrated by: Ted Sorensen
- Length: 14 hrs and 24 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ted Sorensen, John F. Kennedy's closest advisor, recounts in full, for the first time, his experience counseling Kennedy through some of the most dramatic moments in American history. Rising from legislative assistant to speechwriter and advisor, the young lawyer from Nebraska worked closely with JFK on his most important speeches, as well as his book Profiles in Courage. Sorensen encouraged the junior senator's political ambitions and was later named special counsel to the president.
-
-
This is my favourite biography
- By Anonymous User on 01-07-20
-
First in Line
- Presidents, Vice Presidents, and the Pursuit of Power
- By: Kate Andersen Brower
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the author of the New York Times best sellers First Women and The Residence, an intimate, news-making look at the men who are next in line to the most powerful office in the world - the vice presidents of the modern era - from Richard Nixon to Joe Biden to Mike Pence. In interviews with more than 200 people, Kate Andersen Brower pulls back the curtain and reveals the sometimes cold, sometimes close, and always complicated relationship between our modern presidents and their vice presidents.
-
41: A Portrait of My Father
- By: George W. Bush
- Narrated by: George W. Bush
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Forty-three men have served as President of the United States. Countless books have been written about them. But never before has a President told the story of his father, another President, through his own eyes and in his own words. A unique and intimate biography, the book covers the entire scope of the elder President Bush’s life and career, including his service in the Pacific during World War II, his pioneering work in the Texas oil business, and his political rise as a Congressman, U.S.
-
-
Nice
- By mat brown on 10-01-16
-
The Real Romney
- By: Michael Kranish, Scott Helman
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 12 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mitt Romney has masterfully positioned himself as the front-runner for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Even though he's become a household name, the former Massachusetts governor remains an enigma to many in America, his character and core convictions elusive, his record little known. Who is the man behind that high-wattage smile? In this definitive, unflinching biography by Boston Globe investigative reporters Michael Kranish and Scott Helman, listeners will finally discover the real Romney.
-
The Quiet Man
- The Indispensable Presidency of George H.W. Bush
- By: John H. Sununu
- Narrated by: Qarie Marshall
- Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this unique insider account, John H. Sununu pays tribute to his former boss - an intelligent, thoughtful, modest leader - and his overlooked accomplishments. Though George H. W. Bush is remembered for orchestrating one of the largest and most successful military campaigns in history - the Gulf War - Sununu argues that conventional wisdom misses many of Bush's other great achievements.
-
The Revolution of Robert Kennedy
- By: John R. Bohrer
- Narrated by: John R. Bohrer
- Length: 14 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Revolution of Robert Kennedy, journalist John R. Bohrer focuses in intimate and revealing detail on Bobby Kennedy's life during the three years following JFK's assassination. Torn between mourning the past and plotting his future, Bobby was placed in a sudden competition with his political enemy, Lyndon Johnson, for control of the Democratic Party.
-
-
Excellent
- By Mrs on 16-01-18
-
Three Days in Moscow
- Ronald Reagan and the Fall of the Soviet Empire
- By: Bret Baier, Catherine Whitney
- Narrated by: Bret Baier
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Three Days in Moscow, Baier explores the dramatic endgame of America’s long struggle with the Soviet Union and President Ronald Reagan’s central role in shaping the world we live in today. On May 31, 1988, Reagan stood on Russian soil and addressed a packed audience at Moscow State University, delivering a remarkable - yet now largely forgotten - speech that capped his first visit to the Soviet capital.
-
The Last Republicans
- Inside the Extraordinary Relationship Between George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush
- By: Mark K. Updegrove
- Narrated by: Milton Jeffers
- Length: 14 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this balanced, illuminating audiobook, Updegrove tells the story of the Bushes' relationship from the birth of George W. through their postpresidential years and Jeb Bush's failed candidacy. Drawing on exclusive access and interviews with both presidents and the key people in their lives, Updegrove reveals the Bushes' views on the current state of the nation and the GOP and how the party they both led and helped build is undergoing a radical transformation.
-
Reagan
- By: Brett Harper
- Narrated by: Stephen Bowlby
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
He was the unlikeliest of presidential candidates - dismissed by opponents as a movie actor, a right-winger trying to undo the work of liberals stretching back to Franklin Roosevelt. Yet Ronald Reagan made it to the White House, taking office in a time of economic turmoil, waning prestige abroad, and a general dampening of the American spirit. Reagan's patriotism, wit, and optimism lifted the nation and brought it through several crises.
-
-
Reagan
- By Mike La-Traille on 30-03-22
Summary
Distinguished diplomat Ambassador Wendy Sherman brings listeners inside the negotiating room to show how to put diplomatic values like courage, power, and persistence to work in their own lives.
Few people have sat across from the Iranians and the North Koreans at the negotiating table. Wendy Sherman has done both. During her time as the lead US negotiator of the historic Iran nuclear deal and throughout her distinguished career, Wendy Sherman has amassed tremendous expertise in the most pressing foreign policy issues of our time. Throughout her life - from growing up in civil-rights-era Baltimore to stints as a social worker, campaign manager, and business owner to advising multiple presidents - she has relied on values that have shaped her approach to work and leadership: authenticity, effective use of power and persistence, acceptance of change, and commitment to the team.
Not for the Faint of Heart takes listeners inside the world of international diplomacy and into the mind of one of our most effective negotiators - often the only woman in the room. She shows why good work in her field is so hard to do, and how we can learn to apply core skills of diplomacy to the challenges in our own lives.
Critic reviews
"This is an indispensable insider's account of America's negotiations with Iran and North Korea and a timely reminder of the importance of diplomacy. Sherman and her colleagues' struggles to make peace underscore how recently expertise and careful strategy were tangible realities of foreign policy, rather than lost arts. This book is also the personal saga of a woman navigating a generation of change in American politics. At an inflection point in our national conversations about diplomacy and gender, this book is illuminating on both fronts." (Ronan Farrow, contributing writer, The New Yorker, and author of War on Peace)
"Sharp and genuine, the book is as much a testament to [Ambassador Sherman's] accomplishments as it is a call to 'find common ground...[and] do good' in an increasingly polarized world. Insightful reading." (Kirkus Reviews)
"Wendy doesn't just write about the value of courage, power, and persistence, she lives it. She's an example that a strong negotiator can also be a humane mentor. Her work helped prevent a war and a stop a nuclear arms race. As someone who has been privileged to be Wendy's teammate and even more grateful to remain her friend, I know every reader will learn much from her story but even more from her example." (John Kerry, 68th US Secretary of State and author of Every Day Is Extra)
What listeners say about Not for the Faint of Heart
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Kate Bass
- 16-05-19
This book got me through marathon training
I loved listening to this. It was as if I got to sit down with Ambassador Sherman with a very large cup of tea, and then wine. For women looking for advice that beautifully harmonizes the personal and professional, I recommend without reservation. Very glad, also, that I listened to this. It works beautifully as an audio book.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- HP Woman
- 21-02-19
This book was very informative.
I wanted lessons in courage, power, and persistence. I lost interest. I didn't hear lessons. I heard a boring monotone narration of the author's experience. Very informative, but wasn't helpful to me.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Paul
- 27-12-18
Wish I was president ...
...so that I could name Wendy Sherman to be Secretary of State. This book moves around chronologically but it isn't a history book. If anything it is psychological. In this book we don't simply see how negotiations end (we can see that in the newspaper). Instead we get insights into what it feels like to negotiate things like the Iran deal and having to handle relationships with multiple countries and different viewpoints at home.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Laila P. Kuznezov
- 17-01-21
This is not a review, but a correction
In Chapter 4 Mrs Sherman discusses flying into Baghdad. However, she references “Bagram”, which is in Afghanistan. I believe she meant “BIAP”. The correction should be made for future editions.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- JohnDoe
- 01-11-21
Profited much from this
Amy is another diplomat-author with rare talent to allow reader to permit others to " Listen to her THINK," AND, her thoughts "on the go" is extraordinarily, not unlike Dean Acheson, George Schultz, and Colin Powell's writings. I thoroughly enjoyed her stamina, sheer intellectual and emotional fortitude.
I was less impressed with her commitment to breaking personal promises, although that practice is rampant in our culture today.
I DO admire here promotion of women's interests, even though she does that in a forceful, harsh manner. I share her admiration of Madeleine Albright, but could not Disagree more with her promotion of the SOULLESS Hilary, even though I was forced to vote for Hiliary, because of Trump.
Author lacks personal qualities for TRUE GREATNESS .
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Peter J. Metz
- 29-03-21
An Encouraging Inside View of a Committed Person
On one hand the story of the completely unpredictable life of a person committed to living a useful life. On the other hand the inside story of dedication and persistence in negotiating a really difficult agreement under immense pressure, the Iran Nuclear Deal (JCPOA). I give the story only 4 stars because I would have liked to hear even more of Sherman's story.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Emily C.
- 20-08-20
What a lady!
Mz. Sherman is straightforward and refreshing. I’m so proud of the work she did for us, and I’m so sad it was dissolved. I hope she has a chance to help rebuild what we can.