Raymond S Gray has narrated 3 audiobooks on Listento.it by 2 authors, with an average listener rating of 5★ across 1 ratings. The most-rated is China Vision.
China Vision
Summary
Daniel Wagner, a veteran current affairs analyst and Asia expert, has been traveling to China since 1986, has visited the country dozens of times, has worked with some of its largest Chinese financial institutions and state-owned enterprises, and has published scores of articles on China since the 1990s. In this book, he examines why the Chinese government acts as it does on the international stage and the impacts it has had, and will have, on countries around the world in the future. Having been a leading economic and political power for centuries, it is well on its way to once again becoming the world's leading country in the coming decade. This is due in large part to China's amazing transformation from rural economic backwater to global manufacturing powerhouse, but also the Chinese government's unique view of the country's place in the world. From China's perspective, it is merely picking up where it left off in the 19th century. Seen in Asia as the 800-pound gorilla that can more or less do as it pleases in the economic, political, and military arenas, and elsewhere in the world as a country that must be reckoned with, China plays by its own set of rules. Very few countries are willing to object or stand up to it. The book explores how and why China has approached foreign policy as it has, the impact this has had on countries around the world, and what the rest of the world can expect from China once it becomes the world's largest economy, its strongest political power, and continues to develop its already advanced technological prowess. There is good reason why China is on the precipice of global supremacy-it has used the existing global framework to its own distinct advantage, and yet, it would like to modify that framework to ensure that its comparative advantage continues well into the future. The Chinese government has already redefined some of the rules of the game in areas such as cyber warfare and artificial intelligence, and is in the process of redefining the nature of diplomacy and international relations. Understanding the Chinese government's motivations and actions will be more important than ever going forward. The book is broad in scope and includes chapters on the global economy, Asia and the South China Sea, the US, the Middle East, cyber warfare, and AI. Listeners will benefit from Wagner's decades of experience in Asia and his own unique lens from which to analyze and interpret international relations as well as Beijing's likely future impact on the global economic, political, technological, and military landscape. The stakes are high for the Chinese, greater Asia, and the world, as China seeks to create a world crafted in its own image.
©2019 Daniel Wagner (P)2019 Daniel Wagner
James Patterson Still Can't Beat Detective Frank Jones
Summary
Detective Frank Jones begins with an unsolved murder of another young college student. He is informed by DHS (Department of Hit Security) and other Fed agencies that he is off the case. They are handling the murder investigation. The next day, Jamal McBrown, a 22-year-old African American male is found hanging above the Confederate Museum in Charleston. Jones and his new partner Mary Parker hit pay dirt during their interview of their first suspect, Vito Corlean, Sicilian Energy entrepreneur and billionaire. In a twist of bitter irony, Vito's daughter Melanie was dating Jamal despite her father’s condemnations, or did he condone the interracial union between the two? Yet, Frank now faces new enemies, including his new partner Mary Parker. Mary is 33 years old and juggles raising her son Nate and chasing bad guys. In lieu of Frank chemical imbalances, Mary goes through her own transformation, as she embraces a new alternative lifestyle of lesbianism. As Frank learns, Vito’s reach is like the Ravenel Bridge over the Cooper. Travel with Frank as he attempts to save his life by ending it; takes on a new identity in Palermo, Sicily, to infiltrate Vito’s family roots; and learns his wife is a lesbian as well. Set in Charleston, SC, and Palermo, Sicily, it is a travail of a detective most mortals would not survive. Thank you especially to Japan. The last book was number six under lesbian/gay fictional genre. I hope France, India, Canada, Brazil, Germany, and all over will embrace a new unconvetional Detective Frank Jones. (Leslie Indigo Nicole)
©2014 Eugene Cole Bolchoz (P)2018 Eugene Cole Bolchoz
The America-China Divide
Summary
China and the US are in a pitched battle to control the way the world functions - from the global trade and investment regime and choice of reserve currency to its top products and which country is the most influential. Governments, businesses, and individuals are being forced to make a choice: lean in the direction of the eagle and pursue a free, democratic, and market-oriented economic and political system, or lean in the direction of the panda, toward that of an authoritarian form of government and state-dominated economic system. It is, ultimately, a confrontation that will determine our collective future, and the stakes are extremely high. For some nations, businesses, and consumers, the choice is easy and obvious; for others, it is a real dilemma. This book explores many of the dynamics at play in arriving at that decision, including the impact China and the US have on global politics, economics, technology, military power, geostrategic influence, and the environment. Wagner has written an important and fascinating exploration of the divisive landscape that is already in the process of defining the 21st century. The rules governing geopolitics, supply chains, military strategy and capabilities, and a host of other variables that define how the world functions are in the process of being rewritten by these two great powers. The America-China Divide is an insightful and sobering analysis. As Washington seeks to preserve the postwar world order it was instrumental in creating, Beijing is attempting to seize what it views as China's rightful place as the world's leading nation, based on its own set of rules. The ability to control the global corridors of power, the health of national economies, AI and military supremacy, and the fate of the world's environment all ride in the balance. In this race, there will be no single winner or loser, but rather, an ongoing skirmish that will last well into the future for the hearts, souls, minds, and dollars of everyone on the planet.
©2020 Daniel Wagner (P)2020 Daniel Wagner