Kirk Winkler has narrated 7 audiobooks on Listento.it by 8 authors. The most-rated is Abominable Science!.
The Promise of Wilderness
Summary
The Promise of Wilderness examines how the idea of wilderness has shaped the management of public lands since the passage of the Wilderness Act in 1964. Wilderness preservation has engaged diverse groups of citizens, from hunters and ranchers to wildlife enthusiasts and hikers, as political advocates who have leveraged the resources of local and national groups toward a common goal. Turner demonstrates how these efforts have contributed to major shifts in modern American environmental politics, which have emerged not just in reaction to a new generation of environmental concerns, such as environmental justice and climate change, but also in response to changed debates over old conservation issues, such as public lands management. He also shows how battles over wilderness protection have influenced American politics more broadly, fueling disputes over the proper role of government, individual rights, and the interests of rural communities; giving rise to radical environmentalism; and playing an important role in the resurgence of the conservative movement, especially in the American West. The book is published by University of Washington Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks. "Required reading for environmental historians, but this magnificent book has value well beyond the field. (The Journal of American History) "Turner’s landmark new book shows that [wilderness preservation] was perennially inclusive and cutting-edge." (Pacific Historical Review) "An epic history of the heart, soul, and mind of the wilderness community over the last fifty years." (William H. Meadows, Former President, The Wilderness Society)
©2012 University of Washington Press (P)2019 Redwood Audiobooks
The Mountain Meadows Massacre
Summary
In the Fall of 1857, some 120 California-bound emigrants were killed in lonely Mountain Meadows in southern Utah; only 18 young children were spared. The men on the ground after the bloody deed took an oath that they would never mention the event again, either in public or in private. The leaders of the Mormon church also counseled silence. The first report, soon after the massacre, described it as an Indian onslaught at which a few white men were present, only one of whom, John D. Lee, was actually named. With admirable scholarship, Mrs. Brooks has traced the background of conflict, analyzed the emotional climate at the time, pointed up the social and military organization in Utah, and revealed the forces which culminated in the great tragedy at Mountain Meadows. The result is a near-classic treatment which neither smears nor clears the participants as individuals. It portrays an atmosphere of war hysteria, whipped up by recitals of past persecutions and the vision of an approaching "army" coming to drive the Mormons from their homes.
©1962, 1970 University of Oklahoma Press (P)2014 Redwood Audiobooks
Calling Out Liberty
Summary
On Sunday, September 9, 1739, 20 Kongolese slaves armed themselves by breaking into a storehouse near the Stono River south of Charleston, South Carolina. They killed 23 white colonists, joined forces with other slaves, and marched toward Spanish Florida. There they expected to find freedom. One report claims the rebels were overheard shouting, "Liberty!" Before the day ended, however, the rebellion was crushed, and afterwards many surviving rebels were executed. South Carolina rapidly responded with a comprehensive slave code. The Negro Act reinforced white power through laws meant to control the ability of slaves to communicate and congregate. It was an important model for many slaveholding colonies and states, and its tenets greatly inhibited African American access to the public sphere for years to come.
The Stono Rebellion serves as a touchstone for Calling Out Liberty, an exploration of human rights in early America. Expanding upon historical analyses of this rebellion, Jack Shuler suggests a relationship between the Stono rebels and human rights discourse in early American literature. Though human rights scholars and policy makers usually offer the European Enlightenment as the source of contemporary ideas about human rights, this book repositions the sources of these important and often challenged American ideals.
The book is published by University Press of Mississippi. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.
©2009 University Press of Mississippi (P)2019 Redwood Audiobooks
To the Shores of Tripoli
Summary
The First Barbary War (1801-1805), or "America's first war on terror" as some refer to it, was a pivotal moment in US history. While both the Navy and Marines participated in the quasi-war with France, it was the war with the Barbary pirates that cemented both the Marine Corps and the Navy as the proud organizations that they are today. This was the war that produced heroes such as O'Bannon, Decatur, Preble, Porter, Hull, and Somers. To the Shores of Tripoli follows three fictional Marine privates as they participate in the watershed moments in the war. Private Seth Crocker is an uneducated, underage Marine who fights from the tops of the USS Enterprise, and in battles such as the Gunboat Battle off the coast of Tripoli. Private Ichabod Cone, a veteran of the Revolution, is part of the crew of the USS Philadelphia when it is captured and spends most of the war as a slave of the pasha. Private Jacob Brissey is one of the seven Marines, under Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon, who march 600 miles across the desert against tremendous odds to attack and capture the city of Derne, where, for the first time in history, the US flag is raised over foreign soil. This book is historical fiction, but the events it describes are historical fact. Most of the characters actually existed and fought in the war. Where possible, their actual words are reproduced here. In all other cases, dialogue and characterizations were born in the author's imagination. The First Barbary War is considered the birth of the US Navy. It is equally valid to say that the war created the foundation for the Marine Corps as we know it today.
©2013 Jonathan P. Brazee (P)2015 Jonathan P. Brazee
Sovereign Soldiers
Summary
They helped conquer the greatest armies ever assembled. Yet no sooner had they tasted victory after World War II than American generals suddenly found themselves governing their former enemies, devising domestic policy and making critical economic decisions for people they had just defeated in battle. In postwar Germany and Japan, this authority fell into the hands of Dwight D. Eisenhower and Douglas MacArthur, along with a cadre of military officials like Lucius Clay and the Detroit banker Joseph Dodge. In Sovereign Soldiers, Grant Madsen tells the story of how this cast of characters assumed an unfamiliar and often untold policymaking role. Seeking to avoid the harsh punishments meted out after World War I, military leaders believed they had to rebuild and rehabilitate their former enemies; if they failed they might cause an even deadlier World War III. Although they knew economic recovery would be critical in their effort, none was schooled in economics. Beyond their hopes, they managed to rebuild not only their former enemies but the entire western economy during the early Cold War. Madsen shows how army leaders learned from the people they governed, drawing expertise that they ultimately brought back to the United States during the Eisenhower Administration in 1953. The book is published by University of Pennsylvania Press. “Offers a lively account of economic policymaking in post-World War II Germany, Japan, and the United States." (Mark R. Wilson, author of Destructive Creation: American Business and the Winning of World War II) “This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the historical roots of our current global economy and its discontents." (Jeremi Suri, author of The Impossible Presidency: The Rise and Fall of America's Highest Offic
©2018 University of Pennsylvania Press (P)2019 Redwood Audiobooks
The World of the John Birch Society
Summary
Founded in 1958 as a force for conservative political advocacy, the John Birch Society espoused the dangers of enemies - foreign and domestic - including the Soviet Union, organizers of the US civil rights movement, and government officials who were deemed "soft" on communism in both the Republican and Democratic parties. Sound familiar? In The World of the John Birch Society, author D. J. Mulloy reveals the tactics of the society in a way they've never been understood before, allowing the listener to make the connections to contemporary American politics, up to and including the Tea Party. These tactics included organized dissemination of broad-based accusations and innuendo, political brinksmanship within the Republican Party, and frequent doomsday predictions regarding world events. At the heart of the organization was Robert Welch, a charismatic writer and organizer who is revealed to have been the lifeblood of the society's efforts. The society has seen its influence recede from the high-water mark of 1970s, but the organization still exists today. Throughout The World of the John Birch Society, the listener sees the very tenets and practices in play that make the contemporary Tea Party so effective on a local level. Indeed, without the John Birch Society paving the way, the Tea Party may have encountered a dramatically different political terrain on its path to power. The book is published by Vanderbilt University Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks. Praise for the book: "A must-read for anyone who wants to understand the mind-set of the JBS." (H-Net Reviews in the Humanities & Social Sciences) "Brilliantly reveals the Society's hard-nosed conservatism while linking it to movements that preceded today's Tea Party." (Publishers Weekly) "A much-needed return to an examination of the far right." (Timothy Thurber, author of Republicans and Race)
©2014 Vanderbilt University Press (P)2020 Redwood Audiobooks
Abominable Science!
Summary
Throughout our history, humans have been captivated by mythic beasts and legendary creatures. Tales of Bigfoot, the Yeti, and the Loch Ness monster are part of our collective experience. Now comes a book from two dedicated investigators that explores and elucidates the fascinating world of cryptozoology. Daniel Loxton and Donald R. Prothero have written an entertaining, educational, and definitive text on cryptids, presenting the arguments both for and against their existence and systematically challenging the pseudoscience that perpetuates their myths. After examining the nature of science and pseudoscience and their relation to cryptozoology, Loxton and Prothero take on Bigfoot; the Yeti, or Abominable Snowman, and its cross-cultural incarnations; the Loch Ness monster and its highly publicized sightings; the evolution of the Great Sea Serpent; and Mokele Mbembe, or the Congo dinosaur. They conclude with an analysis of the psychology behind the persistent belief in paranormal phenomena, identifying the major players in cryptozoology, discussing the character of its subculture, and considering the challenge it poses to clear and critical thinking in our increasingly complex world. The book is published by Columbia University Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks. "Abominable Science! is the defining work on cryptozoology of our generation." (from the foreword by Michael Shermer, author of The Believing Brain) "Highly recommended for readers looking for scientific but accessible evaluations of the existence of five notable cryptids that have captured our imaginations." (Library Journal) "An entertaining and thoroughly documented book." (Wall Street Journal)
©2013 Daniel Loxton, Donald R. Prothero (P)2021 Redwood Audiobooks