Liam Gerrard has narrated 37 audiobooks on Listento.it by 46 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.6★ across 48 ratings. The most-rated is The Open Society and Its Enemies.
The Open Society and Its Enemies
Summary
One of the most important books of the twentieth century, Karl Popper's The Open Society and Its Enemies is an uncompromising defense of liberal democracy and a powerful attack on the intellectual origins of totalitarianism. Popper was born in 1902 to a Viennese family of Jewish origin. He taught in Austria until 1937, when he emigrated to New Zealand in anticipation of the Nazi annexation of Austria the following year, and he settled in England in 1949. Before the annexation, Popper had written mainly about the philosophy of science, but from 1938 until the end of the Second World War he focused his energies on political philosophy, seeking to diagnose the intellectual origins of German and Soviet totalitarianism. The Open Society and Its Enemies was the result. An immediate sensation when it was first published in two volumes in 1945, Popper's monumental achievement has attained legendary status on both the Left and Right and is credited with inspiring anticommunist dissidents during the Cold War. Arguing that the spirit of free, critical inquiry that governs scientific investigation should also apply to politics, Popper traces the roots of an opposite, authoritarian tendency to a tradition represented by Plato, Marx, and Hegel.
©1994 The University of Klagenfurt/Karl Popper Library (P)2019 Tantor
The Seven Basic Plots
Summary
This remarkable and monumental book at last provides a comprehensive answer to the age-old riddle of whether there are only a small number of "basic stories" in the world. Using a wealth of examples, from ancient myths and folk tales via the plays and novels of great literature to the popular movies and TV soap operas of today, it reveals that there are seven archetypal themes which recur throughout every kind of storytelling. But this is only the prelude to an investigation into how and why we are "programmed" to imagine stories in these ways, and how they relate to the inmost patterns of human psychology. Drawing on a vast array of examples, from Proust to detective stories, from the Marquis de Sade to E.T., Christopher Booker then leads us through the extraordinary changes in the nature of storytelling over the past 200 years, and why so many stories have "lost the plot" by losing touch with their underlying archetypal purpose. Booker analyzes why evolution has given us the need to tell stories and illustrates how storytelling has provided a uniquely revealing mirror to mankind's psychological development over the past 5,000 years. This seminal book opens up in an entirely new way our understanding of the real purpose storytelling plays in our lives, and will be a talking point for years to come.
©2004 Christopher Booker (P)2019 Tantor
The Enigma of Reason
Summary
Reason, we are told, is what makes us human, the source of our knowledge and wisdom. If reason is so useful, why didn't it also evolve in other animals? If reason is that reliable, why do we produce so much thoroughly reasoned nonsense? In their groundbreaking account of the evolution and workings of reason, Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber set out to solve this double enigma. Reason, they argue with a compelling mix of real-life and experimental evidence, is not geared to solitary use, to arriving at better beliefs and decisions on our own. What reason does, rather, is help us justify our beliefs and actions to others, convince them through argumentation, and evaluate the justifications and arguments that others address to us. In other words, reason helps humans better exploit their uniquely rich social environment. This interactionist interpretation explains why reason may have evolved and how it fits with other cognitive mechanisms. It makes sense of strengths and weaknesses that have long puzzled philosophers and psychologists-why reason is biased in favor of what we already believe, why it may lead to terrible ideas and yet is indispensable to spreading good ones.
©2017 Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber (P)2017 Tantor
Descent
Summary
At age 20, Thomas Dekker was already earning €100,000 a year - as an amateur bike racer. The next year, he turned pro and his salary quadrupled then rose again to €900,000 as he established his position as a super-domestique among Europe's wealthiest superteams. The sport world marveled at Dekker's rise as the young racer set his ambitions on capturing cycling's biggest prizes for himself. Before long, though, Dekker found himself corrupted by money, dazzled by fame, and cracking under the relentless pressure to perform at a superhuman level. In his tell-all book Descent: My Epic Fall from Cycling Superstardom to Doping Dead End, Dekker reveals a sordid way of life full of blood bags, drugs, prostitutes, and money. Descent tells the story of a years-long bender that exposes the brutal truth of his life as a professional cyclist. And Dekker is not alone; he names those who fell with him and those who aided in his downfall. In Descent, we take an unflinching look at the European peloton as it roars through its modern boom years - the height of the EPO era - and what we see is shocking. You won't be able to turn away from this compelling book about one man's rise, fall, and redemption and what his story reveals about professional sports.
©2017 Thomas Dekker and Thijs Zonneveld (P)2018 Tantor
Blood and Guts
Summary
Today, astonishing surgical breakthroughs are making limb transplants, face transplants, and a host of other previously undreamed-of operations possible. But getting here has not been a simple story of medical progress. In Blood and Guts, veteran science writer Richard Hollingham weaves a compelling narrative from the key moments in surgical history. We have a ringside seat in the operating theater of University College Hospital in London as world-renowned Victorian surgeon Robert Liston performs a remarkable amputation in 30 seconds - from first cut to final stitch. Innovations such as Joseph Lister's antiseptic technique, the first open-heart surgery, and Walter Freeman's lobotomy operations, among other breakthroughs, are brought to life in vivid detail. This is popular science writing at its best.
©2008 Richard Hollingham (P)2019 Tantor
Frozen in Time
Summary
In 1845, Sir John Franklin and his men set out to "penetrate the icy fastness of the north, and to circumnavigate America." And then they disappeared. The truth about what happened to Franklin's ill-fated Arctic expedition was shrouded in mystery for more than a century. Then, in 1984, Owen Beattie and his team exhumed two crew members from a burial site in the North for forensic evidence, to shocking results. But the most startling discovery didn't come until 2014, when a team commissioned by the Canadian government uncovered one of the lost ships: Erebus.
©1987, 1988, 1998, 2004, 2014 Owen Beattie and John Geiger (P)2019 Tantor
Humankind
Summary
A radical call for solidarity between humans and nonhumans What is it that makes humans human? As science and technology challenge the boundaries between life and nonlife, between organic and inorganic, this ancient question is more timely than ever. Acclaimed object-oriented philosopher Timothy Morton invites us to consider this philosophical issue as eminently political. In our relationship with nonhumans, we decide the fate of our humanity. Becoming human, claims Morton, actually means creating a network of kindness and solidarity with nonhuman beings, in the name of a broader understanding of reality that both includes and overcomes the notion of species. Negotiating the politics of humanity is the first crucial step in reclaiming the upper scales of ecological coexistence and resisting corporations like Monsanto and the technophilic billionaires who would rob us of our kinship with people beyond our species.
©2017 Timothy Morton (P)2018 Tantor
Trump and Churchill
Summary
Trump and Churchill both fought valiantly to protect Western Civilization, and while fighting different forms of tyranny, Trump could very well be to the 21st century what Churchill was to the 20th. What do Winston Churchill - the eloquent, eternally quotable wordsmith, pudgy politician of 50 years, wealthy aristocrat, war-time Prime Minister of England - and Donald Trump, the 6'4", brash, Twitter happy, political neophyte, billionaire entrepreneur - have in common? In his new book, complete with never-before-told anecdotes, best-selling author Nick Adams explores how both leaders, with seemingly nothing in common, turned their day's prevailing politics on its head. In doing so, they both endured shockingly similar battles instigated by the political establishment seeking their destruction. Trump and Churchill's unorthodox approach to both domestic and international relations has rescued Western Civilization from the brink.
©2020 Nick Adams (P)2020 Kalorama
EuroTragedy
Summary
Blending economic analysis with political drama, EuroTragedy is a groundbreaking account of the euro's history and tragic consequences. In this vivid and compelling chronicle, Ashoka Mody describes how the euro improbably emerged through a narrow historical window as a flawed compromise wrapped in a false pro-European rhetoric of peace and unity. Drawing on his frontline experience as an official with the IMF, Mody situates the tragedy in a fast-paced global context and guides the listener through the forced - and unforced - errors Eurozone authorities committed during their long financial crisis. The decision to switch from national currencies to the euro unfolded as both economic and political tragedy. It weakened the growth potential of member states, which made financially vulnerable Europeans more anxious. It deepened perceptions of unfairness and widened the division between nations. Now, the burden falls on younger Europeans, a generation with a discouragingly bleak future. A compassionate view of European possibilities, EuroTragedy makes clear that the euro's structural flaws will continue to haunt the continent. Instead of centralizing authority to prop up an ossified pro-Europeanist model, it is time to loosen ties that bind too tightly so that a liberal order can once more flourish.
©2018 Oxford University Press (P)2019 Tantor
Frank Ramsey
Summary
When he died in 1930 aged 26, Frank Ramsey had already invented one branch of mathematics and two branches of economics, laying the foundations for decision theory and game theory. Keynes deferred to him; he was the only philosopher whom Wittgenstein treated as an equal. Had he lived he might have been recognized as the most brilliant thinker of the century. This amiable shambling bear of a man was an ardent socialist, a believer in free love, and an intimate of the Bloomsbury set. For the first time Cheryl Misak tells the full story of his extraordinary life.
©2020 Cheryl Misak (P)2020 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books
The Sober Survival Guide
Summary
Are you too tired and fed up with the routine of drinking, and want to make a change and improve your life? Or you may simply be curious about how an alcohol-free life might look for you. Could it be better? Happier? Calmer? More peaceful? The Sober Survival Guide is a unique quit-alcohol book and is split into two parts. The first is designed to set you up for success and put you in a place where you can find freedom from alcohol. The first part of the book contains essential information for when you're in the early stages of controlling your drinking. The second part serves as a handbook as you move forward into an alcohol-free life. As you listen, you'll see I've used my own experiences and those of the people I've worked with to help ensure you're ready for the challenges, fears, and questions that will come up in the years after quitting drinking. You'll learn how to handle the work Christmas party without a glass of bubbly in hand, the joys of sober holidays, what to do when you stop drinking but your partner won't, and a whole lot more. This unique quit-alcohol book also shares my own stories and personal accounts that helped me learn (sometimes the hard way). Part memoir, part sober guide, and 100 percent alcohol-free, The Sober Survival Guide is perfect for anyone looking to free themselves from the grip of alcohol.
©2020 Simon Chapple (P)2020 Tantor
Build It
Summary
Companies with the best cultures generate stock market returns of twice the general market and enjoy half the employee turnover of their peers. Their staff innovate more, deliver better customer service, and, hands-down, beat the competition. These companies outperform and disrupt their markets. They break the rules of traditional HR, they rebel against the status quo. Build It has found these rebels and the rule breakers. From small startups to global powerhouses, this book shows that courage, commitment and a people-centric mindset, rather than money and resources, are what you need to turn an average business into a category leader. The book follows the clear and proven Engagement Bridge model, developed from working with thousands of leading companies worldwide on their own employee engagement journeys. The practical model highlights the areas that leaders need to examine in order to build a highly engaged company culture and provides a framework for success.
©2018 Glenn Elliott and Debra Corey (P)2019 Gildan Media
To Wed an Heiress
Summary
Rebellion drove Mercy Rutherford to Scotland to escape the possessive grip of her fiancé. But it’s fate that lands her in the crumbling highlands castle of Lennox Caitheart. A dreamer with visions of inventing airships, he’s most certainly mad. Handsome beyond words, he’s also causing an irresistible flutter in her stomach beyond reason. When Gregory arrives to see their arranged marriage to its bitter end, Mercy desperately turns to Ross with an offer of her fortune - and her hand in marriage. The earl of Morton has a reputation for being a daredevil eccentric, but even he is hesitant to engage in such a rash proposition - no matter how utterly beguiled he is by the wildly independent American heiress. And yet, with so much at stake, how can he possibly say no? But when their unconventional union grows into a passionate and inseparable love, more than Gregory’s obsession threatens them. Now, Lennox and Mercy will have to risk more than their hearts to save it.
©2019 Karen Ranney (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers
The Secret Life
Summary
The slippery online ecosystem is the perfect breeding ground for identities: true, false, and in between. The Internet shorthand IRL - "in real life" - now seems naïve. We no longer question the reality of online experiences but the reality of selfhood in the digital age. In The Secret Life, the essayist and novelist Andrew O'Hagan issues three bulletins from the porous border between cyberspace and IRL. "Ghosting" introduces us to the beguiling and divisive Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, whose autobiography the author agrees to ghostwrite with unforeseen - and unforgettable - consequences. "The Invention of Ronnie Pinn" finds the author using the actual identity of a deceased young man to construct an entirely new one in cyberspace, leading him on a journey deep into the Web's darkest realms. And "The Satoshi Affair" chronicles the strange case of Craig Wright, the Australian Web developer who may or may not be the mysterious inventor of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto - and who may or may not be willing, or even able, to reveal the truth.
©2017 Andrew O'Hagan (P)2017 Tantor
Key Performance Indicators (3rd Edition)
Summary
Streamline KPIs to craft a simpler, more effective system of performance measurement. Key Performance Indicators provides an in-depth look at how KPIs can be most effectively used to assess and drive organizational performance. Now in its third edition, this best-selling guide provides a model for simplifying KPIs and avoiding the pitfalls ready to trap the unprepared organization. New information includes guidance toward defining critical success factors, project leader essentials, new tools including worksheets and questionnaires, and real-world case studies that illustrate the practical application of the strategies presented. The audiobook includes a variety of templates, checklists, and performance measures to help streamline processes. Key performance indicators are a set of measures that focus on the factors most critical to an organization's success. Most companies have too many, rendering the strategy ineffective due to overwhelming complexity. Key Performance Indicators guides listeners toward simplification, paring down to the most fundamental issues to better define and measure progress toward goals. Listeners will learn to: Separate out performance measures between those that can be tied to a team and result in a follow-up phone call (performance measures) and those that are a summation of a number of teams working together (result indicators) Look for and eradicate those measures that have a damaging unintended consequence, a major dark side Sell a KPI project to the board, the CEO, and the senior management team using best-practice leading change techniques Develop and use KPIs effectively with a simple five-stage model Ascertain essential performance measures and develop a reporting strategy Learn the things that a KPI project leader needs to know A KPI project is a chance at a legacy - the project leader, facilitator, or coordinator savvy enough to craft a winning strategy can affect the organization for years to come. KPI projects entail some risk, but this audiobook works to minimize that risk by arming stakeholders with the tools and information they need up front. Key Performance Indicators helps leaders shape a performance measurement initiative that works. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2015 David Parmenter (P)2019 Gildan Media, LLC
To Love a Duchess
Summary
From New York Times best-selling author Karen Ranney comes the first book in a royally romantic and deeply emotional new series about taking risks and allowing the power of love satisfy the questions of the heart.... Undercover as a majordomo, spy Adam Drummond has infiltrated Marsley House with one purpose only - to plunder its mysteries and gather proof that the late Duke of Marsley was an unforgivable traitor to his country. At the same time, Adam is drawn to a more beguiling puzzle: the young and still-grieving duchess - a beauty with impenetrable secrets of her own. For Drummond, uncovering them without exposing his masquerade will require the most challenging and tender moves of his career. That a servant can arouse such passion in her is too shocking for Suzanne Whitcomb, Duchess of Marsley, to consider. Yet nothing quickens her pulse like Drummond’s touch. It’s been two years since the duke lost his life in a tragic accident - and even longer since she’s been treated like a woman. But when Drummond’s real mission is revealed, and the truth behind Suzanne’s grief comes to light, every secret conspired to tear them apart is nothing compared to the love that can hold them together.
©2018 Karen Ranney LLC (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers
Making Channel Sales Work
Summary
A concise and structured approach to third-party sales management that blends many of the tools and the rigor of Sandler Training with specific guidance for channel managers. Create a world-class third-party selling program! Channel sales is selling that takes place by means of any third party. Sales completed through value-added resellers, partners, systems integrators, independent representatives or agents, licensed distributors, and franchisees are all examples of channel sales. Many companies operate under a channel-sales model without ever having heard of the term! Regardless of what it's called, this model presents both special challenges and special opportunities. Whether you are an early-stage venture or a small vendor of products, intellectual property, or services looking to build your footprint quickly and reliably; whether you already have a channel process in place and you want to improve or revitalize it, or you are aiming to create your first channel program from scratch; whether you are working with a group of independent agents or you are looking to build a franchise operation from the ground up - this book has been written with you in mind.
©2018 Sandler Systems, Inc. (P)2020 Gildan Media
Game of Thrones Psychology
Summary
This thought-provoking anthology offers a close examination of the psychology behind the intricate narrative and compelling characters in author George R.R. Martin's best-selling work, A Song of Ice and Fire, and the popular HBO TV series based upon his books, Game of Thrones. In Martin's richly detailed world, deceit, manipulation, and greed rule the day, and almost everyone fights for power over the realm or simply over their own lives. How do love and hate, good and evil, need and greed, altruism and narcissism drive the very best and very worst human behaviors? With no moral boundaries honored, the psychological games played by the series' conniving protagonists are seemingly limitless. Game of Thrones Psychology: The Mind Is Dark and Full of Terrors explores motivations, relations, personality disorders, psychopathy, trauma, and much more. What kind of person can survive the game of thrones, much less hope to win?
©2016 Travis Langley (P)2018 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books
My Highland Rogue
Summary
New York Times best-selling author Karen Ranney takes listeners back to beautiful Scotland in the first novel in her breathtaking new series. Since she was a little girl, Jennifer Adaire, daughter of the earl of Burfield, has loved Gordon McDonnell, even though his station as the gardener’s son made him strictly forbidden to her. After Gordon was forced from Adaire Hall, taking Jennifer’s heart with him, he headed for London, intent on making a better life for himself. Though they’ve kept in touch through letters and Jennifer has waited patiently for him, it’s taken Gordon five years to return to Scotland. Now, Jennifer doesn’t know if she can manage seeing again the man she loves - but can never have. In the time since his departure, Gordon has achieved the success he’s always sought. When he learns that his father is dying, he returns home and discovers much to his surprise that the feelings he’s always had for Jennifer burn ever stronger. But when a family secret surfaces, Jennifer and Gordon’s chance at a future together could be threatened....
©2020 Karen Ranney (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers
Beeronomics
Summary
Beeronomics covers world history through the lens of beer, exploring the common role that beer taxation has played throughout and providing context for recognizable brands and consumer trends and tastes. Beeronomics examines key developments that have moved the brewing industry forward. Its most ubiquitous ingredient, hops, was used by the Hanseatic League to establish the export dominance of Hamburg and Bremen in the 16th century. During the late 19th century, bottom-fermentation led to the spread of industrial lager beer. Industrial innovations in bottling, refrigeration, and TV advertising paved the way for the consolidation and market dominance of major macrobreweries like Anheuser Busch in America and Artois Brewery in Belgium during the 20th century. We're now in the era of global integration - one multinational AB InBev, claims 46 percent of all beer profits - but there's a counterrevolution afoot of small, independent craft breweries in America, Belgium and around the world. Beeronomics surveys these trends, giving context to why you see which brands and styles on shelves at your local supermarket or on tap at the nearby pub.
©2017 Johan Swinnen (P)2017 Tantor