George Wilson has narrated 41 audiobooks on Listento.it by 31 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.3★ across 522 ratings. The most-rated is The Forever War.
The Forever War
Summary
When it was first published over 20 years ago, Joe Haldeman's novel won the Hugo and Nebula awards and was chosen Best Novel in several countries. Today, it is hailed a classic of science fiction that foreshadowed many of the futuristic themes of the 1990s: bionics, sensory manipulation, and time distortion. William Mandella is a soldier in Earth's elite brigade. As the war against the Taurans sends him from galaxy to galaxy, he learns to use protective body shells and sophisticated weapons. He adapts to the cultures and terrains of distant outposts. But with each month in space, years are passing on Earth. Where will he call home when (and if) the Forever War ends? Narrator George Wilson's performance conveys all the imaginative technology and human drama of The Forever War. Set against a backdrop of vivid battle scenes, this absorbing work asks provocative questions about the very nature of war.
©1974 Joe W. Haldeman (P)1999 Recorded Books
State of Fear
Summary
The undisputed master of the techno-thriller has written his most riveting, and entertaining, book yet. Once again Michael Crichton gives us his trademark combination of pause-resistant suspense, cutting-edge technology, and extraordinary research. State of Fear is a superb blend of edge-of-your-seat suspense and thought provoking commentary on how information is manipulated in the modern world. From the streets of Paris, to the glaciers of Antarctica, to the exotic and dangerous Solomon Islands, State of Fear takes the listener on a rollercoaster thrill ride, all the while keeping the brain in high gear.
©2004 Michael Crichton (P)2004 Harper Audio
On Bullshit
Summary
One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bulls**t. Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his share. But we tend to take the situation for granted. Most people are rather confident of their ability to recognize bulls**t and to avoid being taken in by it. So the phenomenon has not aroused much deliberate concern. We have no clear understanding of what bulls**t is, why there is so much of it, or what functions it serves. And we lack a conscientiously developed appreciation of what it means to us. In other words, as Harry Frankfurt writes, "we have no theory". Frankfurt, one of the world's most influential moral philosophers, attempts to build such a theory here. With his characteristic combination of philosophical acuity, psychological insight, and wry humor, Frankfurt proceeds by exploring how bulls**t and the related concept of humbug are distinct from lying. He argues that bulls**tters misrepresent themselves to their audience not as liars do, that is, by deliberately making false claims about what is true. In fact, bulls**t need not be untrue at all. Rather, bulls**tters seek to convey a certain impression of themselves without being concerned about whether anything at all is true. They quietly change the rules governing their end of the conversation so that claims about truth and falsity are irrelevant. Frankfurt concludes that although bulls**t can take many innocent forms, excessive indulgence in it can eventually undermine the practitioner's capacity to tell the truth in a way that lying does not. Liars at least acknowledge that it matters what is true. By virtue of this, Frankfurt writes, bulls**t is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are.
©2005 Harry G. Frankfurt (P)2005 Recorded Books, LLC
Running with the Demon
Summary
Twenty years ago, New York Times best-selling author Terry Brooks published the first fantasy novel ever to hit the mainstream best-seller lists. Once again he breaks new ground in Running with the Demon, convincing listeners that impossible villains and heroes actually coexist with us in our everyday world. On a very hot Fourth of July weekend, two strangers appear in Hopewell, Illinois, in the middle of a bitter steel strike. One, a Demon of the Void, will use the angry steel workers to attain his own terrible ends. The other, a Knight of the Word, dreams about a nightmarish future and spends every waking moment desperately trying to change its course. The fate of the town and, ultimately, of humanity depends on one exceptional 14-year-old girl, the only one who can see the otherworldly creatures that have begun to invade her home town. George Wilson's narration powerfully conveys the apocalyptic magnitude of this novel of good versus evil. Mystery and suspense blend to keep the listener involved to the very last word.
©1997 Terry Brooks (P)1998 Recorded Books
Sundiver
Summary
David Brin's Uplift novels are among the most thrilling, highly regarded works of contemporary science fiction. Beginning with Sundiver, Brin provides an intriguing exploration of humanity's future in the universe. For nearly a billion years, every known sentient species in the universe has been the result of genetic and cultural guidance - or "uplifting" - by a previously uplifted patron race. Then humans are discovered. Having already uplifted chimps and dolphins, humanity clearly qualifies as an intelligent species, but did they actually evolve their own intelligence, or did some mysterious patron race begin the process, then suddenly abandon Earth? The answer to this mystery might be as close as our own sun, but it will take a daring dive into its fiery interior to know for sure. Sundiver begins David Brin's thoughtful, exhilarating exploration of a future filled with an imaginative array of strange alien races, dazzling scientific achievements, and age-old enigmas.
©1980 David Brin (P)2001 Recorded Books
The Crying of Lot 49
Summary
Quite unexpectedly, Mrs. Oedipa Maas finds herself the executor of the estate of Pierce Inverarity, a man she used to know in a more-or-less intimate fashion. When Oedipa heads off to Southern California to sort through Pierce's affairs, she becomes ensnared in a hilarious and puzzling worldwide conspiracy. Calling Thomas Pynchon a "virtuoso with prose", the Chicago Tribune compares his work to James Joyce's Ulysses. Pynchon, winner of the National Book Award, has shocked, enthralled, and delighted fans for more than 40 years with his satire and wit.
©1965, 1966 Thomas Pynchon (P)2005 Recorded Books
Startide Rising
Summary
When Streaker - the first starship designed and crewed by dolphins - discovers a derelict ancient armada with evidence of the first sentient species ever, she sets off a war between dozens of galactic races eager to use the information for their own advancement. New York Times best-selling author David Brin's novels stretch the imagination while providing action and thrills galore. Packed with exotic aliens and ancient mysteries, Startide Rising delivers breath-taking adventure in the grandest tradition of space opera.
©1983 David Brin (P)2003 Recorded Books
The Singularity Is Near
Summary
“Startling in scope and bravado.” (Janet Maslin, The New York Times) “Artfully envisions a breathtakingly better world.” (Los Angeles Times) “Elaborate, smart and persuasive.” (The Boston Globe) “A pleasure to read.” (The Wall Street Journal) One of CBS News’ Best Fall Books of 2005 Among St Louis Post-Dispatch’s Best Nonfiction Books of 2005 One of Amazon.com’s Best Science Books of 2005 A radical and optimistic view of the future course of human development from the best-selling author of How to Create a Mind and The Singularity is Nearer who Bill Gates calls “the best person I know at predicting the future of artificial intelligence”. For over three decades, Ray Kurzweil has been one of the most respected and provocative advocates of the role of technology in our future. In his classic The Age of Spiritual Machines, he argued that computers would soon rival the full range of human intelligence at its best. Now he examines the next step in this inexorable evolutionary process: The union of human and machine, in which the knowledge and skills embedded in our brains will be combined with the vastly greater capacity, speed, and knowledge-sharing ability of our creations.
©2005 Ray Kurzweil (P)2019 Penguin Audio
Forever Peace
Summary
Drawing on his own war experiences, Vietnam veteran Joe Haldeman creates stunning works of science fiction. Forever Peace is not a sequel to his previous award-winning work, The Forever War, but it deals with similarly provocative issues. When it was published, Forever Peace was chosen as the Best Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly. It also won the coveted Hugo Award. War in the 21st century is fought by "soldierboys". Remote-controlled mechanical monsters, they are run by human soldiers who hard-wire their brains together to form each unit. Julian is one of these dedicated soldiers, until he inadvertently kills a young boy. Now he struggles to understand how this has changed his mind. Forever Peace is a riveting portrayal of the effects of collective consciousness, and it offers some tantalizing revelations. Narrator George Wilson's skillful performance weaves together the elements of futuristic technology with the drama of a trained soldier reconciling basic human needs.
©1997 Joe Haldeman (P)2000 Recorded Books
Rollback
Summary
Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author Robert J. Sawyer writes imaginative SF novels that have earned him an enthusiastic following. Set in the near future, Rollback is "a novel to be savored by science fiction and mainstream readers alike" ( Globe and Mail). Thirty-eight years ago, Dr. Sarah Halifax earned worldwide fame by deciphering a radio transmission from an unknown intelligence reaching out from deep space. Now 87, Sarah receives news that, at long last, a new signal has been received, and her services are desperately needed once again. But Sarah needs to stay alive long enough to decode the message. With the aid of corporate backers, she and her husband undertake an incredibly costly medical process called a Rollback, in which decades may be added to their lives - but only if it's successful.
©2007 Robert J. Sawyer (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC
The Uplift War
Summary
Hugo Award Winner, Best Novel, 1988 David Brin's New York Times best-selling novels thrill listeners with their stirring adventures and intriguing speculation about humanity's future. Set in a universe where no species has reached sentience without the "uplifting" help of a patron race, the books delve into the greatest mystery of all: Who uplifted humankind? Earth has been allowed to colonize the planet Garth only because its previous occupants went berserk and wiped out virtually all life there. But now humans, chimps, and their alien allies on Garth are being held hostage in a conflict that could affect the fate of the entire Five Galaxies. As a ragtag group of freedom fighters wage a desperate guerilla war, their only hope for victory lies in unravelling the elusive truth behind the legend of a hidden native species that could prove a powerful ally. The Uplift War provides entertainment in the grandest tradition of science fiction, with exotic aliens, visionary action, and universe-encompassing mysteries.
©1987 David Brin (P)2001 Recorded Books
Blind Man's Bluff
Summary
No espionage missions have been kept more secret than those involving American submarines. Now, Blind Man's Bluff shows for the first time how the navy sent submarines wired with self-destruct charges into the heart of Soviet seas to tap crucial underwater telephone cables. It unveils how the navy's own negligence might have been responsible for the loss of the USS Scorpion, a submarine that disappeared, all hands lost, 30 years ago. It tells the complete story of the audacious attempt to steal a Soviet submarine with the help of eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes and how it was doomed from the start. And it reveals how the navy used the comforting notion of deep-sea rescue vehicles to hide operations that were more James Bond than Jacques Cousteau. Blind Man's Bluff contains an unforgettable array of characters, including the cowboy sub commander who brazenly outraced torpedoes and couldn't resist sneaking up to within feet of unaware enemy subs. It takes us inside clandestine Washington meetings where top submarine captains briefed presidents and where the espionage war was planned one sub and one dangerous encounter at a time. Stretching from the years immediately after World War II to the operations of the Clinton administration, it is an epic story of daring and deception. A magnificent achievement in investigative reporting, it feels like a spy thriller but with one important difference: Everything in it is true.
©1998 Sherry Sontag and Christopher Drew with Annette Lawrence Drew (P)1999 Recorded Books, LLC
Double Whammy
Summary
"Robert Clinch loved his boat more that anything else in the world...more than his wife...his kids...his girlfiend...even more than the largemouth bass he was pursuing." Thus begins a twisted tale of murder in the world of big-stakes bass fishing tournaments. Filled with ex-wives, evangelists, and an armed pit-bull, this is a story that could only be concocted by Carl Hiaasen, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, New York Times best-selling author, and czar of Florida noir fiction.
©1988 Carl Hiaasen (P)1998 Recorded Books, LLC
Florida Roadkill
Summary
Sunshine State trivia buff Serge A. Storms loves eliminating jerks and pests. His drug-addled partner Coleman loves cartoons. Hot stripper Sharon Rhodes loves cocaine, especially when purchased with rich dead men's money. On the other hand, there's Sean and David, who love fishing and are kind to animals - and who are about to cross paths with a suitcase filled with $5 million in stolen insurance money. Serge wants the suitcase. Sharon wants the suitcase. Coleman wants more drugs... and the suitcase. In the meantime, there's murder by gun, Space Shuttle, Barbie doll, and Levi's 501s. In other words, welcome to Tim Dorsey's Florida - where nobody gets out unscathed and untanned!
©1999 Tim Dorsey (P)2011 Recorded Books, LLC
Brightness Reef
Summary
David Brin, the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of Sundiver, crafts Brightness Reef, a luminous gem of science-fiction literature. Persecuted refugees from six separate alien races have migrated to the idyllic planet Jijo. And despite their incredible diversity, the inhabitants live together in blissful harmony. However, settlement on Jijo is illegal - and it's only a matter of time before the residents of this forbidden paradise are discovered by the galactic powers-that-be.
©1995 David Brin (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC
Citizen Soldiers
Summary
Citizen Soldiers opens on June 7, 1944, on the Normandy beaches, and ends on May 7, 1945. From the high command on down to the enlisted men, Stephen E. Ambrose draws on hundreds of interviews and oral histories from men on both sides who were there. He recreates the experiences of the individuals who fought the battles, the women who served, and the Germans who fought against us. Ambrose reveals the learning process of a great army: how to cross rivers, how to fight in snow or hedgerows, how to fight in cities, how to coordinate air and ground campaigns, how to fight in winter and on the defensive, how citizens become soldiers in the best army in the world. A masterful biography of the U.S. Army in the European Theater of Operations, Citizen Soldiers provides a compelling account of the extraordinary stories of ordinary men in their fight for democracy.
©1997 Stephen E. Ambrose (P)2011 Simon & Schuster
![Cover art for Communism [Modern Library Chronicles]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31eeTPckVLL._SL500_.jpg)
Communism [Modern Library Chronicles]
Summary
From the acclaimed Modern Library Chronicles comes an exploration of a promising theory that when put to practice wreaked havoc on the world. An expert on communism, Richard Pipes follows the history of the Soviet Union from the 1917 revolution to the Cold War, and finally, to its deterioration and collapse.
©2001 Richard Pipes
Infinity's Shore
Summary
A futuristic novel of epic proportions from Hugo and Nebula award-winning author David Brin, Infinity's Shore is the second book in the new Uplift Trilogy. On the planet Jijo, peace is upended when the starship Streaker arrives, bringing with it knowledge of a two-billion-year-old fleet and hordes of followers eager to exploit its power. Publishers Weekly hails Brin's "extraordinary capacity to handle a wide-ranging narrative and to create ... complex alien races."
©1996 David Brin (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC
Stormy Weather
Summary
Carl Hiaasen, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and best-selling author, has earned a reputation for perceptive, sharp-edged suspense that also cuts to the bone of environmental issues. His novels have been translated into many languages and are touted worldwide for their quirky characters and surreal adventures set in the ravaged cultural wasteland of southern Florida. Stormy Weather centers on the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew. The devastation of the storm has attracted crowds of voyeurs and impostors to Florida. Drawn by the chance to prey on Andrew's victims, misfits like the murderous ex-con Snapper and the dangerously seductive Edie find easy targets for their insurance scams. They're not prepared, though, when they meet their opposition, led by a hoary ex-governor who smokes toads. Both hilariously funny and deadly accurate, Carl Hiaasen's novel will take you into a Florida that is far from the frilly palms and pink flamingos of its post cards. Strap on your seatbelt. Stormy Weather is an unforgettable, turbulent ride.
©1995 Carl Hiaasen (P)1997 Recorded Books, LLC
Native Tongue
Summary
Ex-reporter Joe Winder had been working in the public relations department of a sleazy family entertainment park, The Amazing Kingdom of Thrills, when he chanced upon a news-breaking story inspired by the disappearance of two blue-tongued voles and the bizarre death of Orky, the killer whale.
©1991 Carl Hiaasen (P)1992 Recorded Books