Allyson Johnson has narrated 138 audiobooks on Listento.it by 116 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.5★ across 8,305 ratings. The most-rated is All These Worlds.
Medical Bondage
Summary
The accomplishments of pioneering doctors such as John Peter Mettauer, James Marion Sims, and Nathan Bozeman are well documented. It is also no secret that these 19th-century gynecologists performed experimental caesarean sections, ovariotomies, and obstetric fistula repairs primarily on poor and powerless women. Medical Bondage breaks new ground by exploring how and why physicians denied these women their full humanity yet valued them as "medical superbodies" highly suited for medical experimentation. In Medical Bondage, Cooper Owens examines a wide range of scientific literature and less formal communications in which gynecologists created and disseminated medical fictions about their patients, such as their belief that black enslaved women could withstand pain better than white "ladies". Even as they were advancing medicine, these doctors were legitimizing, for decades to come, groundless theories related to whiteness and blackness, men and women, and the inferiority of other races or nationalities. Medical Bondage moves between southern plantations and northern urban centers to reveal how 19th-century American ideas about race, health, and status influenced doctor-patient relationships in sites of healing like slave cabins, medical colleges, and hospitals.
©2017 the University of Georgia Press (P)2019 Tantor
$2.00 a Day
Summary
We have made great steps toward eliminating poverty around the world - extreme poverty has declined significantly and seems on track to continue to do so in the next decades. Jim Yong Kim of the World Bank estimates that extreme poverty can be eliminated in 17 years. This is clearly cause for celebration. However, this good news can make us oblivious to the fact that there are, in the United States, a significant and growing number of families who live on less than $2.00 per person, per day. That figure, the World Bank measure of poverty, is hard to imagine in this country - most of us spend more than that before we get to work or school in the morning. In $2.00 A Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America, Kathryn Edin and Luke Schaefer introduce us to people like Jessica Compton, who survives by donating plasma as often as 10 times a month and spends hours with her young children in the public library so she can get access to an Internet connection for job-hunting; and like Modonna Harris who lost the cashier's job she had held for years, for the sake of $7.00 misplaced at the end of the day. They are the would-be working class, with hundreds of job applications submitted in recent months and thousands of work hours logged in past years. Twenty years after William Julius Wilson's When Work Disappears, it's still all about the work. But as Edin and Shaefer illuminate through incisive analysis and indelible human story, the combination of a government safety net built on the ability to work and a low-wage labor market increasingly designed not to deliver a living wage has delivered a vicious one-two punch to the would-be working poor. More than a powerful expose of a troubling trend, $2.00 a Day delivers new evidence and new ideas to our central national debate on work, income inequality, and what to do about it.
©2015 Kathryn J. Edin (P)2015 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books
Chariot on the Mountain
Summary
Two decades before the Civil War, a middle-class farmer named Samuel Maddox lies on his deathbed. Elsewhere in his Virginia home, a young woman named Kitty knows her life is about to change. She is one of the Maddox family's slaves - and Samuel's biological daughter. When Samuel's wife Mary inherits her husband's property, she will own Kitty, too, along with Kitty's three small children. Already in her 50s and with no children of her own, Mary Maddox has struggled to accept her husband's daughter, a strong-willed, confident, educated woman who works in the house and has been treated more like family than slave. After Samuel's death, Mary decides to grant Kitty and her children their freedom and travels with them to Pennsylvania, where she will file papers declaring Kitty's emancipation. Helped on their perilous flight by Quaker families along the Underground Railroad, they finally reach the free state. But Kitty is not yet safe. Dragged back to Virginia by a gang of slave catchers led by Samuel's own nephew, who is determined to sell her and her children, Kitty takes a defiant step: charging the younger Maddox with kidnapping and assault. The sensational trial that follows will decide the fate of Kitty and her children.
©2018 Jack Ford (P)2018 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books
Wings of Pegasus
Summary
A grim, haunted expanse of space, vast light years filled with dead, empty worlds. A dark place, the graveyard of an empire…and a frontier where vast riches can be had by those with the courage - and the luck - to survive. But trade in old tech is not for the timid. Prospectors face rival crews, ancient imperial security systems, and the ever-present shadow of the Union’s dread spy agency, Sector Nine, as they plunge forth in search of artifacts worth vast fortunes. Andi Lafarge and the crew of Pegasus are among the elite of the strange brotherhood that ventures forth, seeking the remnants of humanity’s lost past. She and her people will face the deadliest challenges, fight constant battles, and plunge forth into the darkest corners of the lost region of space. Pegasus has a new mission, one far more important than even Andi had her crew realize, a search for ancient technology that could determine the outcome of the next Confederation-Union war. To get it, they must travel to a vast ocean world…and they must find what they seek before Sector Nine does. They will fight, suffer, endure. But they will never fail. Not while Andi Lafarge still draws breath.
©2019 Jay Allan Books Inc. (P)2019 Audible, Inc.
Andromeda Rising
Summary
An industrial hell. The foulest and most decrepit slum on Parsephon. A nest of human misery, where hope is word long forgotten, and the dead are carted away every day. It is the worst pit in the Confederation’s great industrial machine known as the Iron Belt. Among the millions born into misery, poverty, and despair under the dark and smoky haze that covers the planet, Andromeda Lafarge is unique. One lost soul among billions, she is tough, relentless, determined to get out, to escape, to blaze her own trail, and to make a name for herself across the stars. Andi will break the chains binding her to a life of destitution, leave the Gut and Parsephon behind forever, and plunge into the dark and deadly worlds of the lost empire, prospecting for imperial artifacts, the bits and pieces of old tech that can make her rich. She will find new friends - and enemies - on the frontier, and she will blaze a trail from the filthy, polluted Iron Belt world of her birth to the dead and haunted imperial planets of the Badlands. She will fight, endure hardships unimaginable, save comrades...and lose some, too. She will struggle to amass wealth, to do whatever is necessary to ensure she will never again be helpless, and she will bring back the technology of the ancients, scraps of mankind’s lost legacy, to do it. She will create a name for herself among the rough and tumble adventurers who ply the rogue trade in ancient tech. For some, she will become one to emulate, to follow. To others, her name will become the foulest of curses. She will make her way, blade and pistol in hand, from one dead and ancient world to another.
©2019 Jay Allan Books Inc. (P)2019 Audible, Inc.
Basket of Deplorables
Summary
Critics hailed Tom Rachman's smash debut and New York Times best seller, The Imperfectionists, as "spectacular" (New York Times), "superb" (The Plain Dealer), and "magnificent" (Seattle Post-Intelligencer). Reviews for his second novel, The Rise and Fall of Great Powers, were no less rapturous, with the New York Times calling it "ingenious". Now, in the shadows of a seismic shift in American politics, comes his timely and hilarious new work. Basket of Deplorables takes an incisive and satirical look at the United States in the era of Trump data breaches, liberal self-righteousness, red-hat rancor, Starbucks macchiatos, Ultimate Fighting factories, and Internet sinkholes. Written for Audible and featuring a shifting array of disparate voices, the five intricately linked stories take listeners from an Election Night party in Manhattan to a funeral populated by fake mourners in Lansing, Michigan, to an online date in an era when every email platform in the world has been hacked and, ultimately, to a reality where the impossible, the unthinkable, becomes all too real. In Basket of Deplorables, Rachman has created an urgent and deeply satisfying work that will continue to cement his place among the great literary stylists and cultural observers of our time. "Tom Rachman’s masterful collection provides an early literary look at Trump-era America…. These bang-up-to-the-minute stories feel like essential reading as we get to grips with a bizarre new era." (The Guardian) "Rachman’s deft cultural references and his acute skewering of American culture make for uncomfortably precise satire. (The Atlantic) "Hilariously funny and blackly despairing, often at the same time." (The Sydney Morning Herald) "These five linked stories share the same deft characterization, buoyant wit and imaginative richness of Rachman’s lauded novels The Imperfectionists and The Rise and Fall of Great Powers." (The Evening Standard)
©2017 Tom Rachman (P)2017 Audible, Inc.
Taking Flight
Summary
Michaela DePrince was known as girl no. 27 at the orphanage where she was abandoned at a young age and tormented as a "devil child" for a skin condition that makes her skin appear spotted. But it was at the orphanage that Michaela would find a picture of a beautiful ballerina en pointe that would help change the course of her life. At the age of four, Michaela was adopted by an American family who encouraged her love of dancing and enrolled her in classes. She went on to study at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at the American Ballet Theatre and now dances for the Dutch National Ballet. In this engaging, moving, and unforgettable memoir, Michaela shares her dramatic journey from an orphan in West Africa to becoming one of ballet's most exciting rising stars.
©2014 Elaine DePrince and Michaela DePrince (P)2015 Tantor
Whispers of Shadow & Flame
Summary
Whispers of Shadow & Flame is the incredible second book in the historical fantasy Earthsinger Chronicles by L. Penelope. The Mantle that separates the kingdoms of Elsira and Lagrimar is about to fall. And life will drastically change for both kingdoms. Born with a deadly magic she cannot control, Kyara is forced to become an assassin. Known as the Poison Flame in the kingdom of Lagrimar, she is notorious and lethal, but secretly seeks freedom from both her untamed power and the blood spell that commands her. She is tasked with capturing the legendary rebel called the Shadowfox, but everything changes when she learns her target’s true identity. Darvyn ol-Tahlyro may be the most powerful Earthsinger in generations, but guilt over those he couldn’t save tortures him daily. He isn’t sure he can trust the mysterious young woman who claims to need his help, but when he discovers Kyara can unlock the secrets of his past, he can’t stay away. Kyara and Darvyn grapple with betrayal, old promises, and older prophecies - all while trying to stop a war. And when a new threat emerges, they must beat the odds to save both kingdoms.
©2019 L. Penelope (P)2019 Macmillan Audio
Voices of a People's History of the United States, 10th Anniversary Edition
Summary
Selected testimonies to living history-speeches, letters, poems, songs-offered by the people who make history happen, but are often left out of history books: women, workers, nonwhites. Featuring introductions to the original texts by Howard Zinn. New voices featured in this 10th Anniversary Edition include Chelsea Manning, speaking after her 35-year prison sentence; Naomi Klein, speaking from the Occupy Wall Street encampment in Liberty Square; a member of Dream Defenders, a youth organization that confronts systemic racial inequality; members of the Undocumented Youth movement, who occupied, marched, and demonstrated in support of the DREAM Act; a member of the Day Laborers movement; Chicago Teachers Union strikers; and several critics of the Obama administration, including Glenn Greenwald, on governmental secrecy.
©2004, 2009; 2014 Howard Zinn, Anthony Arnove; Howard Zinn Revocable Trust, Anthony Arnove (P)2018 Blackstone Publishing
Song of the Trees
Summary
Another powerful story in the Logan Family Saga and companion to Mildred D. Taylor's Newbery Award-winning Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. With the depression bearing down on her family, there isn't much that Cassie Logan can count on anymore. But there is one thing that hasn't changed - the whispering trees outside her window. Cassie's trees, which have stood for centuries, are a great source of comfort to her. But they are also worth a lot of money. With Cassie's daddy gone to lay tracks for the railroad, it seems like no one can stop Mr. Andersen from forcing Big Ma to sell their valuable trees. How can Cassie sit by and watch them disappear? The beloved heroine of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry enchants us again in this story of strength and pride. "A triumphant book...A true story truly told." - The New York Times Book Review
©2018 Mildred D. Taylor (P)2018 Listening Library
Titan
Summary
John Varley's monumental trilogy - Titan, Wizard, and Demon - has achieved cult status, hailed as a modern triumph of the imagination by critics and fans.It begins with humankind's exploration of a massive satellite orbiting Saturn. It culminates in a shocking discovery: the satellite is a giant alien being. Her name is Gaea. Her awesome interior is mind-boggling - because it is a mind. A mind that calls out to explorers...and transforms all who enter.
©1979 John Varley (P)2008 Audible
Her Brother's Keeper
Summary
When privateer Captain Catherine Blackwood is enlisted to rescue her brother from a treacherous warlord, she finds herself on her most dangerous mission yet. It's been years since Catherine Blackwood left the stodgy, repressive colony world of Avalon. Now the captain of the privateer vessel Andromeda, she is the master of her own destiny. But Catherine soon finds herself back on Avalon after receiving a plea for help from a most unlikely source: her estranged father, esteemed Avalon Council member Augustus Blackwood. It seems Catherine's brother, the heir to the Blackwood aristocracy, has gone off in search of treasure on the failed, chaotic world of Zanzibar. But Cecil Blackwood's plans have gone very, very wrong, and he has been taken hostage and held for ransom by a fearsome local warlord. Augustus, knowing his daughter is the only one who can be trusted to return his son safely, swallows his pride and hires Catherine to bring her brother home. Catherine takes the job - but it won't be easy. Just getting to Zanzibar proves treacherous. And once she arrives, things only get worse. If she is to save her brother, Catherine Blackwood must face down danger at every turn and uncover a mystery four million years in the making.
©2015 Mike Kupari (P)2015 Audible, Inc.
Cry of Metal & Bone
Summary
L. Penelope's stunning epic fantasy Earthsinger Chronicles continues with Cry of Metal & Bone. The Mantle dividing Elsira and Lagrimar has fallen. As the two kingdoms struggle to unify, one threat stands above them all. As desperate Lagrimari flee their barren land for a chance at a better life in Elsira, a shadowy group with ties to the Elsiran government launches an attack on their own soil. With threats of more violence, an unlikely crew is assembled to investigate. Among them are Lizvette Nirall, a disgraced socialite seeking redemption for past mistakes, and Tai Summerhawk, a foreign smuggler determined to keep a promise he made to a dead man. It’s a race against time in this world of deadly magic, secret agendas and court intrigue to discover those responsible before the next assault. And in another land a new enemy awakens - one that will strike terror into the hearts of gods and men. A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Griffin
©2020 L. Penelope (P)2020 Macmillan Audio
Always & Forever: A Saga of Slavery and Deliverance
Summary
Since they were children running barefoot about Toulouse Plantation, Josie and Cleo have been as close as sisters, forging an unbreakable bond that defies their roles as mistress and slave. Together, the two have shared secrets and protected each other through happiness and heartbreak. They never dream they could also share an intense passion for the same man, the elegant, charming, and irresistibly seductive Bertrand Chamard. His love will change their friendship forever and set in motion a series of events from which there can be no turning back. Set among the bayous of Old Louisiana and the grand avenues of New Orleans, Always & Forever is the stirring saga of a Creole family and of two women, bound by blood and friendship, who are tested by prejudice, betrayal, and the tragedies of slavery.
©2014 Gretchen Craig (P)2017 Tantor
Charleston's Daughter
Summary
A Charleston belle with slavery on her conscience. A slave with rebellion in her heart. In South Carolina in 1858, no friendship could be more dangerous. Caro Jarvie's father, who owns her, loves her, and educates her. He raises her for a life she can never have - as a wealthy planter's daughter. When he dies, he can't protect her, and she is cast back into slavery. But she can't forget her father's promise. As she grieves for him, she yearns for freedom. Emily Jarvie, daughter of a wealthy planter, is content with slavery - until she inherits a slave cousin in Caro. Her conscience goads her into an act of charity. She gives Caro a shawl. She is shocked - and transformed - when Caro has the audacity to ask her for a book instead. Unlikely cousins, unlikely friends, Emily and Caro become unlikely allies as Caro glimpses a path to freedom and Emily begins to question slavery itself. As South Carolina hurtles toward secession, will their bond destroy their lives - or set them both free?
©2019 Sabra Waldfogel (P)2020 Tantor
Everfair
Summary
Everfair is a wonderful neo-Victorian alternate history novel that explores the question of what might have come of Belgium's disastrous colonization of the Congo if the native populations had learned about steam technology a bit earlier. Fabian Socialists from Great Britian join forces with African American missionaries to purchase land from the Belgian Congo's "owner", King Leopold II. This land, named Everfair, is set aside as a safe haven, an imaginary utopia for native populations of the Congo, as well as escaped slaves returning from America and other places where African natives were being mistreated. Nisi Shawl's speculative masterpiece manages to turn one of the worst human rights disasters on record into a marvelous and exciting exploration of the possibilities inherent in a turn of history. Everfair is told from a multiplicity of voices: Africans, Europeans, East Asians, and African Americans in complex relationships with one another, in a compelling range of voices that have historically been silenced. Everfair is not only a beautiful book, but an educational and inspiring one that will give the listener new insight into an often ignored period of history.
©2016 Nisi Shawl (P)2016 Tantor
Ever My Love
Summary
Brought up amid the luxury of plantation life, Marianne Johnston never questions her sheltered life until, driven by her conscience, she joins the Underground Railroad. Soon Marianne is living a dangerous double life, helping slaves flee by night and acting the belle by day. And nothing is riskier than her attraction to wild, heartless young Southerner Yves Chamard - while being courted by his noble older brother. Now Marianne is desperately trying to resist Yves's seduction, knowing that her surrender to his touch may cost her everything. Gretchen Craig returns with another sweeping story that brings the Old South to life in all its glory - and a passionate heroine compelled to follow her heart.
©2014 Gretchen Craig (P)2017 Tantor
Wizard
Summary
One of the greatest science-fiction epics ever written, John Varley's Titan, Wizard, and Demon comprise a groundbreaking trilogy that will live forever. Human explorers have entered the sprawling mind of the alien Gaea. Now they must fight her will. For she is much too powerful. And definitely insane....
©1979 John Varley (P)2008 Audible
Sins of Her Father
Summary
The Razor's Edge of Tyranny and Freedom The Exiled Leader: He was known as the Butcher of Jonasport. Zander Krycek made a choice that saved his world of Ithaca, but doomed his reputation and banished him to a planet far, far away. The Evil Empire: The Orlov Combine intends to swallow Ithaca in the same way they have devoured so many worlds, creating a "company planet" where the residents are litle beter than slaves. The Daughter: Adisa Masozi never knew her father, but was taught he was a monster. Now she must reclaim her father's legacy of leadership. And the place to start is with the mysterious aliens who also inhabit Ithaca. The Natives: The saurians have held themselves aloof from galactic politics for eons in order to regain the strength to exact their revenge on an ancient foe. They have the means to resist the Combine. If they can be convinced to help. The Privateer: Enter privateer Captain Catherine Blackwood and her ship, the Andromeda. Blackwood and her crew have handled dangerous cargo and dicey situations before. Now, they'll have to navigate assassination attempts, warring factions, and civil unrest. But Catherine has made a promise, and the freedom of a world hangs in the balance.The Privateer Andromeda series continues!
©2018 Mike Kupari (P)2018 Audible, Inc.
Rift in the Sky
Summary
Third in the prequel series to the Locus best-selling Trade Pact Universe novels. Despite all good intentions, the lure of the Talent to move through space using the M'hir dimension is too much for the Om'ray of Cersi to resist. As the awareness of this talent spreads, all those Om'ray who are capable converge on the settlement at Sona. To prevent the disruption of the Agreement and the destruction that it would unleash, the M'hiray, as they now call themselves, agree to leave Cersi forever and try to establish their own haven within the Trade Pact worlds - only to learn that not everybody wants peace.
©2009 Julie E. Czerneda (P)2020 Audible, Inc.