John Sweeney has 5 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 3 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4★ across 4 ratings. The most-rated is The Church of Fear.
The Church of Fear
Summary
Tom Cruise and John Travolta say the Church of Scientology is a force for good. Others disagree. Award-winning journalist John Sweeney investigated the Church for more than half a decade. During that time he was intimidated, spied on, and followed, and the results were spectacular: Sweeney lost his temper with the Church's spokesman on camera, and his infamous 'exploding tomato' clip was seen by millions around the world. In The Church of Fear, Sweeney tells the full story of his experiences for the first time and paints a devastating picture of this strange organisation, from former Scientologists who tell heartbreaking stories of families torn apart and lives ruined to its current followers who say it is the solution to many of mankind's problems. This is the real story of the Church by the reporter who was brave enough to take it on. John Sweeney is a reporter for BBC Panorama. He is the author of six previous books including the novel Elephant Moon.
©2013 John Sweeney (P)2015 Audible, Ltd
The Useful Idiot
Summary
Moscow, 1932. Gareth Jones, a young Welsh reporter, arrives in the Soviet Union excited to see for himself how Josef Stalin is forging a new civilization. He meets American and British journalists who acclaim Stalin's great experiment-but when Jones witnesses people starving to death in Ukraine, his belief in the Soviet revolution is shattered. He must decide whether to report the truth or become just another useful idiot, saying only what the Communist secret police allow and smothering the evidence of his own eyes. In this special kind of hell, anyone could be an informer, and Jones knows his life will be at risk if he is even thought to be defying Stalin. And when the woman he loves falls under the suspicion of the secret police, everything Jones values is in danger. Can he reveal the terrible truth about the Ukrainian famine to the world, or will he be silenced forever? The Useful Idiot is the secret history of the first great Soviet lie - wrapped up in an electrifying novel perfect for fans of Robert Harris, Ken Follett, Frederick Forsyth, John le Carre, and Kate Atkinson. As Vladimir Putin rewrites the Nazi-Soviet pact, and with the horrors of Chernobyl and the Cold War so recent, this thriller of fake news in 1932 is real storytelling of enormous significance.
©2020 John Sweeney (P)2020 Tantor
Road
Summary
When a child is kidnapped by his unstable mother, the father turns to Joe Tiplady - offering him a lot of money to find the boy and bring him back. It soon becomes clear that Joe will have to earn every cent: mother and son are in war-torn Syria, and they've willingly joined the ranks of ISIS. Meanwhile Zeke Chandler, CIA deputy director, is in Albania, where four electrocuted bodies have been found on a mountainside near a secret black-ops facility. Two seemingly unrelated incidents, but Joe will find himself crossing paths with Zeke again. From the Hollywood underworld to bombed-out Aleppo, via a controversial US election and a global refugee crisis, Joe's hunt for the missing boy will send him to the darkest, most dangerous places in the modern world. And his search may force him to confront the unfinished business in his own murky past - that is, if he survives.
©2017 John Sweeney (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
Cold
Summary
In the feeble light of a London winter, Joe Tiplady walks his dog in the snow. He is not alone. Two men are tracking him, as is a woman with wolf eyes. Soon Joe will find himself caught in a storm of violence and retribution that he does not yet understand. Around the world, a chain of events is in motion that will make Joe a priceless target. A retired Soviet general hunts for his missing daughter after a series of brutal murders. A ruthless assassin loses something so precious he will do anything to get it back. And in the mountains of Utah, a brilliant ex-CIA chief wrestles with his religion. In the shadow of them all lies Zoba, strongman ruler of Russia and puppet-master of the world's darkest operatives. Can Joe save himself from this dangerous web of power and revenge? Where can he run when there's nowhere left to hide? Please note: this book contains strong language and scenes of torture.
©2016 John Sweeney (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.
Elephant Moon
Summary
As the Second World War rages, the Japanese Imperial Army enters Burma, and the British rulers prepare to flee. But the human legacy of the British Empire will be left behind in the shape of 62 Anglo-Burmese children, born to local women after affairs with foreign men. Half castes, they are not acknowledged by either side, and they are to be abandoned with no one to protect them. Their teacher, Grace Collins, a young Englishwoman, refuses to join the European evacuation and instead sets out to deliver the orphans to the safety of India. She faces impossible odds because between her and India lie 1,000 miles of jungle, mountains, rivers, and the constant, unseen threat of the Japanese. With Japanese soldiers chasing them down, the group's chances of survival shrink - until they come across a herd of 53 elephants who, with their awesome strength and kindness, quickly become the orphans' only hope of survival. Based on a true story, Elephant Moon is an unforgettable epic tale of courage and compassion in the midst of brutality and destruction. John Sweeney is a reporter for BBC Panorama. He has won many journalism awards and is the author of five previous books. Elephant Moon is his first novel.
©2012 John Sweeney (P)2015 Audible, Ltd