The Politics & Government category has 4,793 audiobooks on Listento.it, with an average listener rating of 4.5★ across 40,708 ratings. The most-rated is A Promised Land.
Napoleonic Wars: A History from Beginning to End
Summary
Discover the remarkable history of the Napoleonic Wars. The Napoleonic Wars were a series of conflicts fought between France and various coalitions in Europe between 1803 and 1815 (though some put the start date at 1799). The prelude to the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Napoleonic Wars is the French Revolution, and the conflicts that continued after Napoleon seized power would radically affect Europe and indeed political philosophies not confined by artificial boundaries. When Napoleon rose to power, he had first to get his country on stable financial ground. After he did so, he created a professional, well-trained army that would go on to dominate Europe for years to come. And, it wasn’t only his army that changed the continent; it was also the liberal ideals - including democracy, the abolition of serfdom, and the reduction in power of the church - that would change the course of history and leave an enduring legacy. Discover a plethora of topics such as: Prelude to Revolution The Third Coalition: War Breaks Out The Invasion of Russia The Battle of Waterloo Military Legacy Napoleonic Innovations And much more! So if you want a concise and informative audiobook on the Napoleonic Wars, simply buy this audiobook now to begin listening!
©2020 Hourly History (P)2021 Hourly History
The Price of Politics
Summary
Based on 18 months of reporting, Woodward's 17th book The Price of Politics is an intimate, documented examination of how President Obama and the highest profile Republican and Democratic leaders in the United States Congress attempted to restore the American economy and improve the federal government's fiscal condition over three and one half years. Drawn from memos, contemporaneous meeting notes, emails, and in-depth interviews with the central players, The Price of Politics addresses the key issue of the presidential and congressional campaigns: the condition of the American economy and how and why we got there. Providing verbatim, day-by-day, even hour-by-hour accounts, the book shows what really happened, what drove the debates, negotiations, and struggles that define, and will continue to define, the American future.
©2012 Bob Woodward (P)2012 Simon & Schuster
The Punishment of Virtue
Summary
As a National Public Radio reporter covering the last stand of the Taliban in Afghanistan's southern borderland, Sarah Chayes became deeply immersed in the attempt to rebuild a broken nation. With her NPR assignment finished in early 2002, she left reporting to help turn around the country's fortunes, accepting a job running a nonprofit founded by President Hamid Karzai's brother. With remarkable access to leading players in the postwar government, Chayes witnessed a tragic, perverse turn of events: the U.S. government and armed forces allowing and abetting the return to power of corrupt militia commanders to the country. In addition, the reinfiltration of Taliban forces was supported by a U.S. ally, Pakistan. In this dramatic account of her four years on the ground, working with Afghanis to restore their country to order and establish democracy, Chayes opens Americans' eyes to the sobering realities of this vital front in the war on terror.
©2006 Sarah Chayes (P)2006 Tantor Media
The Patriots
Summary
In this masterful narrative, Winston Groom brings his signature storytelling panache to the tale of our nation's most fascinating founding fathers - Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams - painting a vivid picture of the improbable events, bold ideas, and extraordinary characters who created the United States of America. When the Revolutionary War ended in victory, there remained a stupendous problem: establishing a workable democratic government in the vast, newly independent country. Three key founding fathers played significant roles: John Adams, the brilliant, dour New Englander; Thomas Jefferson, the aristocratic Southern renaissance man; and Alexander Hamilton, an immigrant from the Caribbean island of Nevis. In this riveting narrative, best-selling author Winston Groom illuminates these men as the patriots fundamentally responsible for the ideas that shaped the emerging United States. Their lives could not have been more different, and their relationships with each other were often rife with animosity. And yet they led the charge - two of them creating and signing the Declaration of Independence, and the third establishing a national treasury and the earliest delineation of a Republican party. The time in which they lived was fraught with danger, and their achievements were strained by vast antagonisms that recall the intense political polarization of today. But through it all, they managed to shoulder the heavy mantle of creating the United States of America, putting aside their differences to make a great country. Drawing on extensive correspondence, Groom shares the remarkable story of the beginnings of our great nation.
©2020 Winston Groom (P)2020 Recorded Books
It's Dangerous to Believe
Summary
Mary Eberstadt, "one of the most acute and creative social observers of our time" (Francis Fukuyama), shines a much-needed spotlight on a disturbing trend in American society: discrimination against traditional religious belief and believers, who are being aggressively pushed out of public life by the concerted efforts of militant secularists. In It's Dangerous to Believe, Mary Eberstadt documents how people of faith - especially Christians who adhere to traditional religious beliefs - face widespread discrimination in today's increasingly secular society. Eberstadt details how recent laws, court decisions, and intimidation on campuses and elsewhere threaten believers who fear losing their jobs, their communities, and their basic freedoms solely because of their convictions. They fear that their religious universities and colleges will capitulate to aggressive secularist demands. They fear that they and their families will be ostracized or will have to lose their religion because of mounting social and financial penalties for believing. They fear they won't be able to maintain charitable operations that help the sick and feed the hungry. Is this what we want for our country? Religious freedom is a fundamental right, enshrined in the First Amendment. With It's Dangerous to Believe, Eberstadt calls attention to this growing bigotry and seeks to open the minds of secular liberals whose otherwise good intentions are transforming them into modern inquisitors. Not until these Progressives live up to their own standards of tolerance and diversity, she reminds us, can we build the inclusive society America was meant to be.
©2016 Mary Eberstadt (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers
Resetting the Table
Summary
A bold, science-based corrective to the groundswell of misinformation about food and how it's produced, examining in detail local and organic food, food companies, nutrition labeling, ethical treatment of animals, environmental impact, and every other aspect from farm to table Consumers want to know more about their food - including the farm from which it came, the chemicals used in its production, its nutritional value, how the animals were treated, and the costs to the environment. They are being told that buying organic foods, unprocessed and sourced from small local farms, is the most healthful and sustainable option. Now, Robert Paarlberg reviews the evidence and finds abundant reason to disagree. He delineates the ways in which global food markets have in fact improved our diet, and how "industrial" farming has recently turned green, thanks to GPS-guided precision methods that cut energy use and chemical pollution. He makes clear that America's serious obesity crisis does not come from farms, or from food deserts, but instead from "food swamps" created by food companies, retailers, and restaurant chains. And he explains how, though animal welfare is lagging behind, progress can be made through continued advocacy, more progressive regulations, and perhaps plant-based imitation meat. He finds solutions that can make sense for farmers and consumers alike and provides a road map through the rapidly changing worlds of food and farming, laying out a practical path to bring the two together.
©2020 Robert Paarlberg (P)2020 Random House Audio
Open Letter
Summary
An impassioned defense of the freedom of speech from Stéphane Charbonnier, a journalist murdered for his convictions On January 7, 2015, two gunmen stormed the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. They took the lives of 12 men and women, but they called for one man by name: "Charb". Known by his pen name, Stéphane Charbonnier was editor in chief of Charlie Hebdo, an outspoken critic of religious fundamentalism, and a renowned political cartoonist in his own right. In the past he had received death threats and had even earned a place on Al Qaeda's most-wanted list. On January 7 it seemed that Charb's enemies had finally succeeded in silencing him. But in a twist of fate befitting Charb's defiant nature, it was soon revealed that he had finished a book just two days before his murder on the very issues at the heart of the attacks: blasphemy, Islamophobia, and the necessary courage of satirists. Here, published for the first time in English, is Charb's final work. A searing criticism of hypocrisy and racism and a rousing, eloquent defense of free speech, Open Letter shows Charb's words to be as powerful and provocative as his art. This is an essential book about race, religion, the voice of ethnic minorities and majorities in a pluralistic society, and, above all, the right to free expression and the surprising challenges being leveled at it in our fraught and dangerous time.
©2016 Charb (P)2016 Hachette Audio
The Middle East
Summary
By the end of World War I, Britain had promised control of Palestine to both Arabs and Jews. Each of these peoples claimed a longstanding right to the same piece of land, and violence was inevitable. This presentation examines how and why this magical land has become a virtual war zone.
©1991 Knowledge Products, Inc. (P)1991 Knowledge Products, Inc.
Falling Behind
Summary
Although middle-income families don't earn much more than they did several decades ago, they are buying bigger cars, houses, and appliances. To pay for them, they spend more than they earn and carry record levels of debt. In a book that explores the very meaning of happiness and prosperity in America today, Robert Frank explains how increased concentrations of income and wealth at the top of the economic pyramid have set off "expenditure cascades" that raise the cost of achieving many basic goals for the middle class. Writing in lively prose for a general audience, Frank employs up-to-date economic data and examples drawn from everyday life to shed light on reigning models of consumer behavior. He also suggests reforms that could mitigate the costs of inequality. Falling Behind compels us to rethink how and why we live our economic lives the way we do.
©2007 Robert H. Frank (P)2007 University of California Press
The ISIS Solution
Summary
The president recently announced that we don't have a strategy for dealing with ISIS. "It's too soon to say what steps the United States will take against ISIS. I don't want to put the cart before the horse," Obama told reporters during a White House news briefing. "We don't have a strategy yet." If we have been at war with terror for over a decade and still don't have solid strategies for dealing with radical terrorism, then what have we really been doing the last 13 years? It's a good question to ask yourself, and at least the president was telling the truth when he said we don't have a strategy for ISIS. As ISIS grows in strength with each successful battle, they will also set up the infrastructure of something resembling a functional state. They will become a self-funded organization making millions of dollars from oil revenue. Left unchecked, it is hard to say how powerful they could become. The dream of a pan-Islamic caliphate is most certainly beyond their reach, however, they could carve out a very large swath of the Middle East for their empire. If ISIS were to capture the first and second most holy sites of the Islamic faith, Mecca and Medina, the entire Middle East may very well implode. The ISIS Solution takes a look at the current geopolitical situation, organizational structure of ISIS, and provides new thinking and strategies for dealing with the Islamic State in the Middle East. Its authors and contributors have over 50 years of combined experience in the intelligence, analyst, and Special Operations communities. Leadership and a new philosophical conversation of action is needed to eliminate violent terrorism. This book starts the conversation.
©2014 SOFREP, INC (P)2014 Macmillan Audio
The United Nations: Bolinda Beginner Guides
Summary
Since its inception in 1945, the United Nations has had a powerful but controversial influence on global politics. In this informative guide, Norrie MacQueen provides a clear introduction to its institutions, remit, personalities, and role in the modern world. Defending the UN from common criticisms of bureaucratic paralysis and bias towards the developed world, MacQueen argues that its limitations are due to the complex web of national interests that it seeks to reconcile, and that despite criticisms the UN has had a positive influence on the modern world.
©2010 Norrie Macqueen (P)2012 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd
The Last Best Hope
Summary
In this groundbreaking book, Joe Scarborough tells Republican Party bosses what they don't want to hear, explains why Democrats are making matters so much worse, and then shows leaders of both parties the way forward.The Last Best Hope draws on the forgotten genius of conservatism to offer a road map for the movement and the country. Delivering a searing indictment of the political leaders who have led us astray, Scarborough inspires conservatives to reclaim their heritage by drawing upon the strength of the movement's rich history.With independent thinking and straight talk, Scarborough explains:How Washington and Wall Street conspired to create the housing bubble that caused America's financial meltdownHow the "candidate of change" has not only maintained but accelerated the reckless spending policies that led us to this historic economic collapseHow Washington's bailout culture will cripple America's future if left uncheckedHow Barack Obama's stimulus plan devolved into a socialist spending spree that would make FDR and LBJ shudderAnd how conservatives need to take a closer look at Ronald Reagan's political career before claiming his great legacyA fearlessly argued conservative manifesto that brings American conservatism into the 21st century, The Last Best Hope is a must-read for all who care about the direction in which America is heading.
©2009 Joe Scarborough (P)2009 Random House
Blood Gun Money
Summary
Bloomsbury presents Blood Gun Money by Ioan Grillo, read by Shawn Compton. The gun control debate is revived with every mass shooting. But far more people die from gun deaths on the street corners of inner city America and across the border as Mexico’s powerful cartels battle to control the drug trade. Guns and drugs aren’t often connected in our heated discussions of gun control - but they should be. In Ioan Grillo’s groundbreaking new work of investigative journalism, he shows us this connection by following the market for guns in the Americas and how it has made the continent the most murderous on earth. Grillo travels to gun manufacturers, strolls the aisles of gun shows and gun shops, talks to FBI agents who have infiltrated biker gangs, hangs out on Baltimore street corners and visits the ATF gun tracing center in West Virginia. Along the way, he details the many ways that legal guns can cross over into the black market and into the hands of criminals, fuelling violence here and south of the border. Simple legislative measures would help close these loopholes, but America’s powerful gun lobby is uncompromising in its defence of the hallowed Second Amendment. Perhaps, however, if guns were seen not as symbols of freedom, but as key accessories in our epidemics of addiction, the conversation would shift. Blood Gun Money is that conversation shifter.
©2021 Ioan Grillo (P)2021 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Dying to Kill
Summary
What motivates suicide bombers in Iraq and around the world? Can winning the hearts and minds of local populations stop them? Will the phenomenon spread to the United States? These vital questions are at the heart of this important book. Mia Bloom examines the use, strategies, successes, and failures of suicide bombing in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe and assesses the effectiveness of government responses. She argues that in many instances the efforts of Israel, Russia, and the United States in Iraq have failed to deter terrorism and suicide bombings. Bloom also considers how terrorist groups learn from one another, how they respond to counterterror tactics, the financing of terrorism, and the role of suicide attacks against the backdrop of larger ethnic and political conflicts. Bloom explores how suicide terror is used to achieve the goals of terrorist groups: To instill public fear, attract international news coverage, gain support for their cause, and create solidarity or competition between disparate terrorist organizations. She contends that it is often social and political motivations rather than inherently religious ones that inspire suicide bombers. The book is published by Columbia University Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks. "This lucid and comprehensive study of the historical roots and contemporary motivations of suicide terror is a major study." (Publishers Weekly) "An insightful investigation into the internal workings of terrorist groups." (Foreword) "A great introduction for students and those wishing to know more about the complex motivations of suicide bombers." (Altar Magazine)
©2007 Columbia University Press (P)2020 Redwood Audiobooks
Uprising
Summary
Emerging markets are big news. But after the financial crisis, what does the future really hold for them? And what does this future mean for global business? George Magnus, one of the world's most respected economic analysts, is your guide through the challenges and opportunities for emerging markets and those doing business in them. This magisterial book looks in detail at China and India - the big players - and also less hyped but crucial markets, including Eastern European countries and Turkey. Magnus takes in everything from commodity prices to climate change, from comparative advantage to demographic, to provide a compelling analysis of what the future might look like - not just for emerging markets, but for investors, businesses and economies everywhere. Uprising is a must-listen for anyone who cares about the future of the global economy. George Magnus is Senior Economic Adviser at UBS Investment Bank, London; previously, he was Chief Economist at UBS and has held similar positions with Union Bank of Switzerland and SG Warburg. Magnus is well-known and respected as a public commentator on the long-term consequences of the financial crisis. His first book, The Age of Aging: How Demographics are changing the Global Economy and Our World, was published by Wiley in 2008.
©2010 George Magnus (P)2012 Audible Ltd
The Bible of Unspeakable Truths
Summary
Renowned fake conservative pundit Stephen Colbert may have coined the word truthiness, but it's Greg Gutfeld, real conservative political pundit and host of the Fox News Channel's Red Eye who has made a name for himself by unabashedly pronouncing the actual uncomfortable truthiness of life that is sure to shock the P.C. The Bible of Unspeakable Truths is packed full of his most aggressive (and hilarious) rants, with each chapter devoted to a single "unspeakable truth". For example, in one chapter he might be ranting that "liberals are the least liberal minded people you know," and in the next, "You aren't racist if you make fun of poor whites." Though Gutfeld is best known for his "straight-from-the-gut" political commentary, as featured every night on Red Eye as well as his blog, The Daily Gut, this book will go well beyond politics, exploring pop culture, current events, and nearly every other aspect of life, such as "if house cats were your size, they would eat you without a second thought," "PETA would never march for a vulture," "The media wanted bird flu to kill thousands," "Attractive people don't write for a living," and "Ethan Hawke is a rodent." With an irreverent voice, sharp wit, and a take on nearly everything, this "manual about how to think about things, for people equipped to think about things" will be one that listeners either love wholeheartedly, or love to hate - and will guarantee to entertain and amuse anyone who's ever been afraid to say what they really thought. As Greg says, "In the end, this book should make you nod your head a lot, and laugh more. If it doesn't then you should probably seek medical help. I did. And I am the better for it!"
©2010 Greg Gutfeld (P)2010 Hachette
Inside the Fed
Summary
Stephen Axilrod is the ultimate Federal Reserve insider. He worked at the Fed's Board of Governors for over 30 years and after that in private markets and as a consultant on monetary policy. With Inside the Fed, he offers his unique perspective on the inner workings of the Federal Reserve System during the last 50 years - writing about personalities as much as policy - based on his knowledge and observations of every Fed chairman since 1951. He describes, for example, Arthur Burns's response to political pressure from the Nixon White House and Paul Volcker's radical shift to an anti-inflationary policy at the end of the 1970s - a transition in which Axilrod himself played a crucial role. As for the Greenspan years, Axilrod points to the unintended effects of the Fed's newfound "garrulousness" (the plethora of announcements and hints about policy intentions) - one of which was the Fed's loss of credibility in the aftermath of the chairman's 1996 comment about "irrational exuberance". Great leadership in monetary policy, Axilrod says, is determined not by pure economic sophistication but by the ability to push through political and social barriers to achieve a paradigm shift in policy - and by the courage and bureaucratic moxie to pull it off.
©2011 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (P)2017 Redwood Audiobooks
El Green New Deal global
Summary
Si bien el Green New Deal se ha convertido en una sensación de la noche a la mañana dentro de los círculos activistas, también está ganando peso como movimiento paralelo dentro de la comunidad empresarial global y va a sacudir los cimientos de la sociedad en los próximos años. Los sectores clave que conforman la infraestructura de la economía mundial se están desvinculando rápidamente de los combustibles fósiles y están apostando por las energías solar y eólica. Asimismo, estudios recientes han dado la voz de alarma sobre la posibilidad de que el abandono de las viejas energías del siglo XX por las nuevas energías verdes más baratas del siglo XXI dé lugar a un billón de activos varados, creando así una burbuja de carbono que probablemente explote en 2028 y que llevaría al colapso de la civilización de los combustibles fósiles. El mercado ya está dando señales de dicho cambio y cada gobierno tendrá que seguir al mercado o enfrentar las consecuencias. Los gobiernos que lideren la ampliación de una nueva infraestructura verde con cero emisiones de carbono y creen nuevas oportunidades de negocio, así como el empleo que las acompañan, se mantendrán a la vanguardia. Los demás estarán condenados. La concurrencia de una burbuja de activos de combustibles fósiles varados y una nueva visión política en clave verde abre la posibilidad de un cambio de paradigma global masivo hacia una era ecológica post-carbono. Todo ello con la esperanza de impedir a tiempo que un aumento de la temperatura del planeta nos lleve al borde del colapso por el cambio climático. Please note: This audiobook is in Spanish.
©2019 Jeremy Rifkin Enterprises (P)2020 Editorial Planeta, S. A., Paidós
A Great Improvisation
Summary
In this dazzling work of history, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author follows Benjamin Franklin to France for the crowning achievement of his career. "In December of 1776 a small boat delivered an old man to France." So begins an enthralling narrative account of how Benjamin Franklin - 70 years old, without any diplomatic training, and possessed of the most rudimentary French - convinced France, an absolute monarchy, to underwrite America's experiment in democracy. When Franklin stepped onto French soil, he well understood he was embarking on the greatest gamble of his career. By virtue of fame, charisma, and ingenuity, Franklin outmaneuvered British spies, French informers, and hostile colleagues; engineered the Franco-American alliance of l778; and helped to negotiate the peace of l783. The eight-year French mission stands not only as Franklin's most vital service to his country but as the most revealing of the man. In A Great Improvisation, Stacy Schiff draws from new and little-known sources to illuminate the least-explored part of Franklin's life. Here is an unfamiliar, unforgettable chapter of the Revolution, a rousing tale of American infighting, and the treacherous backroom dealings at Versailles that would propel George Washington from near decimation at Valley Forge to victory at Yorktown. From this audiobook emerges a particularly human and yet fiercely determined Founding Father, as well as a profound sense of how fragile, improvisational, and international was our country's bid for independence.
©2006 Stacy Schiff (P)2012 Random House Audio
Bury Him
Summary
"A combat veteran's astute look at the Vietnam War, both captivating and emotionally forthcoming." (Kirkus Reviews) In this frank, engaging memoir, Captain Chamberlain chronicles the missions, personal courage and sacrifice of the Marines he was privileged to command; painfully recalls the unspeakable order he and his Marines were forced to obey; and the cover-up which followed. Nearly four decades later, Captain Chamberlain makes right what was wrong; brings closure to the family of a fallen and abandoned warrior; and attempts to put to rest the guilt which plagued his military career and life. Unlike most books on the Viet Nam War, this book is written at a tactical level by a Marine Company Commander who was there. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2019 Doug Chamberlain (P)2020 Doug Chamberlain