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History > 21st Century

21st Century

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Joshua Kim
Joshua Kim Etna, NH, United States Member Since 2005

mostly nonfiction listener

HELPFUL VOTES
351
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154
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  • The Shadow Factory: The Ultra-Secret NSA from 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America

    "NSA Sunshine Policy"

    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    The Shadow Factory takes us on a behind the scenes tour of the NSA and the development of what Bamford calls "The Surveillance Industrial Complex" following 9/11.

    I read this book less from a perspective of worry about government intrusion or even national security - but more from a desire to understand the technology that the NSA utilizes to manage such large volumes of data.

    What the NSA does in terms of data storage, analysis, capture etc. is truly next generation. After 9/11 - the NSA became an IT organization with a blank check to throw as much hardware, software and folks at a technical problem as it needed. Can you imagine if we had those resources to throw technology at education.

    Sure...the story of the Bush's administrations warrant-less wiretapping is scary. I'm grateful that he tells this story and exposes this dirty side of our history.

    More

    The Shadow Factory: The Ultra-Secret NSA from 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America

    • UNABRIDGED (13 hrs and 41 mins)
    • By James Bamford
    • Narrated By Robertson Dean
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (197)
    Performance
    (66)
    Story
    (64)

    In The Shadow Factory, James Bamford, the foremost expert on National Security Agency, charts its transformation since 9/11, as the legendary code breakers turned their ears away from outside enemies, such as the Soviet Union, and inward to enemies whose communications increasingly crisscross America.

    Joshua Kim says: "NSA Sunshine Policy"
  • The American Future: A History

    "Compelling"

    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    You know those questions that go "if you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be?". Well...I think I'd choose Simon Schama. Or maybe a roadtrip. Schama is one of those historians who both have something to say about how we live now and the depth of knowledge to ground his thinking by weaving stories from our past. One part sociology, one part history, all very smart and engaging. The American Future should be read in conjunction with watching the BBC documentary of the same title, narrated by Schama.

    Reading the book while watching the documentary does wonderful things for the brain in terms of reinforcing the concepts and stories with images. It helps the stories stick.
    Schama's basic premise is that the election of Obama represents the culmination of an American journey towards our nation struggling to live up to our founding myths. Only American could produce the horror of the civil war, segregation and institutional racism while holding the promise of electing an African American to the highest office. This American Future beautifully chronicles our redemption, placing the biggest story of our times firmly within our American narrative.

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    The American Future: A History

    • UNABRIDGED (15 hrs and 58 mins)
    • By Simon Schama
    • Narrated By Rupert Degas
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    (7)
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    In The American Future, historian Simon Schama takes a long look at the multiple crises besetting the United States and asks how these problems look in the mirror of time. In four crucial debates - on wars, religion, race and immigration, and the relationship between natural resources and prosperity - Schama looks back to see more clearly into the future. Full of lost insights, The American Future showcases Schama's acclaimed gift for storytelling, ensuring these voices will be heard again.

    D. Littman says: "Simon Schama is always entertaining"
  • The Gamble

    "A Sure Bet"

    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    I've been wrong twice about Iraq. Supported the invasion. Opposed the Surge. (I also tend to think a military solution to stopping Iran from getting a nuclear bomb might be necessary - so it is a good thing that nobody listens to my thinking on the military). Ricks', "The Gamble" follows up on his masterfully depressing "Fiasco" - detailing everything that went wrong in Iraq before General Petraeus took over. What I had not realized about the Petraeus strategy was the force in which the rest of the armed forces opposed this plan, or the degree to which Petraeus was a marginal figure within the military establishment.

    In order to move to a strategy where the Iraqi people were "the prize" rather then the "playing field", Petraeus had to reverse many of the Army's (one of our largest and most conservative institutions) culture and doctrine on war fighting. As I was reading "The Gamble" I kept thinking of how we need someone like Petraeus in other institutions....education, car building, maybe newspapers? Ricks' conclusion is that while the Surge was the right thing to do, a tactical success, it does not represent a strategic victory. We are in for the "long war" in Iraq, with the most salient events of the war still ahead of us.

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    The Gamble

    • ABRIDGED (10 hrs and 16 mins)
    • By Thomas E. Ricks
    • Narrated By James Lurie
    Overall
    (54)
    Performance
    (14)
    Story
    (14)

    Fiasco, Thomas E. Ricks's #1 New York Times bestseller, transformed the political dialogue on the war in Iraq - The Gamble is the next news-breaking installment. Thomas E. Ricks uses hundreds of hours of exclusive interviews with top officers in Iraq and extraordinary on-the-ground reportage to document the inside story of the Iraq War since late 2005 as only he can, examining the events that took place as the military was forced to reckon with itself.

    Joshua Kim says: "A Sure Bet"
  1. The Shadow Factory: The U...
  2. The American Future: A Hi...
  3. The Gamble
    4. .

A Peek at Lynn's Bookshelf

Helpful
Votes
505
 
Lynn
BEAUMONT, TX, United States 143 REVIEWS / 151 ratings Member Since 2005 266 Followers / Following 1
 
Lynn's greatest hits:
  • Crash of the Titans: Greed, Hubris, the Fall of Merrill Lynch and the Near-Collapse of Bank of America
    Crash of the Titans: Greed, Hubris, the Fall of Merrill Lynch and the Near-Collapse of Bank of America

    "The Merrill Perspective"

    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    There are a number books available dealing with aspects of the financial crash. I have read a stack of them, but in Crash of the Titans Greg Farrell takes a different direction by telling the story from the perspective of Merrill Lynch. For years, Merrill was been a breed apart on Wall Street. Yet, the firm went under and was purchased by Bank of America (which is another story). The most interesting passages for me dealt with the management culture of Bank of America and how Merrill was managed after acquisition. In the postscript, Farrell provides a brief analysis of what went wrong and what it might mean. Essentially, he concludes that poor management decisions are not necessarily evidence of fraud. At least the Merrill stock price had some residual value. Farrell, who also authored Crash of Titans, Greg Farrell Corporate Crooks: How Rogue Executives Ripped Off Americans and Congress Helped Them Do It!, can really tell a story. It is helpful if the reader comes to the book with some understanding of the housing crisis, but the book can still be informative without that knowledge. The narration of Dan Woren is excellent.

  • The Reluctant Spy: My Secret Life in the CIA's War on Terror
    The Reluctant Spy: My Secret Life in the CIA's War on Terror

    "A Memoir about Kiriakou and the CIA"

    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    The Reluctant Spy is John Kirakou’s memoir of his work within the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The book doesn’t bash the CIA , but spares no quarter when telling truths not outside the classified. This is a memoir, so readers interested in how Kirakou came to work as a secret agent will be amply rewarded. Along the way, he reveals how his first marriage broke down in part because of CIA working pressures, reveals infighting in the agency, and how he finally determined he would leave the agency. To me, that was interesting and kept my interest. However, I was really looking for more insight into the CIA and how it works particularly in light of 9/11 than Kirakou revealed. On the other hand, this is a memoir and not a book about the CIA per se. A book at the opposite end which is also available from Audible is Joby Warrick’s The Triple Agent which is a book about the CIA. Both are worthwhile, but each fills a different niche. The reading of Arthur Morey is a plus!

  • The Deal from Hell: How Moguls and Wall Street Plundered Great American Newspapers
    The Deal from Hell: How Moguls and Wall Street Plundered Great American Newspapers

    "A Sad Tale"

    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    Look around the country and there is no doubt that America’s newspapers have been in a state of decline for sometime. James O’Shea, however, tells the story of this state of affairs from the perspective of a top editor. In The Deal from Hell: How Moguls and Wall Street Plundered Great American Newspapers, he relates how owners such as Sam Zell, Lee Abrams and Randy Michaels drove their papers into the ground. Along the way, he opens the curtains on what took place behind the scenes. This story will not be of interest to everyone, but will be informative to all who read it. O’Shea covers some old ground, but the review places this story in context. He spends a large amount of time on details which are tangential to the story, but extends the reader’s understanding and adds a great deal of color. Anyone interested in the decline of newpapers in the US and in media in general in that context will be rewarded by reading this book. The reading of L J Ganser is excellent.

  • The Terrorist Watch: Inside the Desperate Race to Stop the Next Attack
    The Terrorist Watch: Inside the Desperate Race to Stop the Next Attack

    "Beware if You Have Preconcieved Notions"

    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    Published in 2008, I am just now getting around to Ronald Kessler’s The Terrorist Watch. In this book, Kessler brings us up to speed on what has changed in security intelligence since 9/11. Readers are taken inside the FBI and CIA and given glimpses into what has been happening in the White House since then. This is really a revealing and exciting read. Every page has insights fully worth the effort. That said, readers who come to the Bush Administration with preconceived notions about how the War on Terror was carried out during his terms, might feel a little uncomfortable. Kessler’s position on media coverage of the War on Terror also might inflame some. However, the book still has a great deal to say about how we reacted, what the Government is doing to secure our security, and the implications of 9/11. The publication date is 2008, but the book is no less relevant still. The reading of Alan Sklar is well done.

Charles
Charles Philadelphia, PA 04-04-13 Member Since 2013

Always on the lookout for my next great listen!

HELPFUL VOTES
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8
5
FOLLOWERS
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8
  • Crash of the Titans: Greed, Hubris, the Fall of Merrill Lynch and the Near-Collapse of Bank of America

    "A Dizzying Story About the Fall of ..."

    5 of 5 helpful votes

    Crash of the Titans is a spiraling story that spans the 80 year history of Merrill Lynch and Bank of America in a back and forth, non-linear path. Understanding the back story and living through the storm as a Bank of America associate during the Great Recession, I was able to follow the cast of characters and timeline of events with ease. But I can't imagine someone outside of the firm being able to make the same connections as easily without having to re-read (or re-listen) to many sections.

    But if you can follow the timeline of events, understand the basics of the banking terms and functions of capital markets, the story is awesome. It is a can't miss thrill ride that puts a human context around the headlines that splashed the front pages of newspapers for weeks between 2007 and 2008. Everyone we though were villains were not necessary so. Everyone we thought were hero weren't so innocent either.

    Dan Woren speaks life into this very intriguing story written by Greg Farrell. Unlike some narrators of business books, Woren was no overly dry or stiff in tone. For those of us who enjoy business and non-fiction audiobooks, the narrator is key. And Woren's performance kept me going and gave feeling to each of the Wall Street bankers her spoke for.

    In all, this audiobook was well worth the credit, but it is not for the faint of heart. The story treats the reader (listener) as if they understand the basics of capital markets and jumps around with the timeline. But the holistic story of how an icon like the Thundering Herd of Merrill Lynch who helped restore confidence in the market by middle America after the 1929 stock market crash until its own demise is enthralling for those of us who lived through it.

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    Crash of the Titans: Greed, Hubris, the Fall of Merrill Lynch and the Near-Collapse of Bank of America

    • UNABRIDGED (16 hrs and 29 mins)
    • By Greg Farrell
    • Narrated By Dan Woren
    Overall
    (77)
    Performance
    (31)
    Story
    (31)

    With one notable exception, the firms that make up what we know as Wall Street have always been part of an inbred, insular culture that most people only vaguely understand. The exception was Merrill Lynch, a firm that revolutionized the stock market by bringing Wall Street to Main Street. Merrill Lynch was an icon. Its sudden decline, collapse, and sale to Bank of America was a shock. How did it happen? Why did it happen?

    Charles says: "A Dizzying Story About the Fall of an Icon"

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  • 4.5 (3679 ratings)
    The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine
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    • Michael Lewis

    The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine

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    • By Michael Lewis
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    Who understood the risk inherent in the assumption of ever-rising real-estate prices, a risk compounded daily by the creation of those arcane, artificial securities loosely based on piles of doubtful mortgages? Michael Lewis turns the inquiry on its head to create a fresh, character-driven narrative brimming with indignation and dark humor, a fitting sequel to his number-one best-selling Liar’s Poker.

    Jay says: "Informative and Engaging"
  • 4.3 (2567 ratings)
    No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden
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    • Mark Owen , Kevin Maurer

    No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden

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    From the streets of Iraq to the mountaintops of Afghanistan and to the third floor of Osama Bin Laden's compound, operator Mark Owen of the U.S. Naval Special Warfare Development Group - commonly known as SEAL Team Six - has been a part of some of the most memorable special operations in history, as well as countless missions that never made headlines. No Easy Day puts listeners alongside Owen and the other handpicked members of the 24-man team as they train for the biggest mission of their lives.

    Darwin8u says: "Gripping, first-hand narrative of Op Neptune Spear"
  • 4.4 (1679 ratings)
    Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime
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    Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime

    • UNABRIDGED (14 hrs and 49 mins)
    • By John Heilemann, Mark Halperin
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    Based on hundreds of interviews with the people who lived the story, Game Change is a reportorial tour de force that reads like a fast-paced novel. Character driven and dialogue rich, replete with extravagantly detailed scenes, this is the occasion-ally shocking, often hilarious, ultimately definitive account of the campaign of a lifetime.

    Joe says: "Best Audiobook of 2010!"
  • 4.4 (937 ratings)
    The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11
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    • Lawrence Wright

    The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11

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    • By Lawrence Wright
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    This is a sweeping narrative history of the events leading to 9/11, a groundbreaking look at the people and ideas, the terrorist plans, and the Western intelligence failures that culminated in the assault on America. Lawrence Wright's remarkable book is based on five years of research and hundreds of interviews that he conducted in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sudan, England, France, Germany, Spain, and the United States.

    John says: "Riveting... Sobering... Chilling..."
  •  
  • 4.3 (250 ratings)
    The Greatest Trade Ever: How John Paulson Defied Wall Street and Made Financial History
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    • Gregory Zuckerman

    The Greatest Trade Ever: How John Paulson Defied Wall Street and Made Financial History

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    In 2006, hedge fund manager John Paulson realized something few others suspected--that the housing market and the value of subprime mortgages were grossly inflated and headed for a major fall. Paulson's background was in mergers and acquisitions, however, and he knew little about real estate or how to wager against housing. He had spent a career as an also-ran on Wall Street. But Paulson was convinced this was his chance to make his mark. He just wasn't sure how to do it....

    David says: "Better Books Now Available"
  • 4.3 (243 ratings)
    Generation Kill
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    Generation Kill

    • UNABRIDGED (13 hrs and 21 mins)
    • By Evan Wright
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    They were called a generation without heroes. Then they were called upon to be heroes. Within hours of 9/11, America's war on terrorism fell to those like the 23 Marines of the First Recon Battalion, the first generation dispatched into open-ended combat since Vietnam.

    sherry says: "Here is the truth America"
  • 4.4 (221 ratings)
    The War for Late Night
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    • Bill Carter

    The War for Late Night

    • UNABRIDGED (15 hrs and 2 mins)
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    When NBC decided to move Jay Leno into prime time to make room for Conan O'Brien to host the Tonight show - a job he had been promised five years earlier - skeptics anticipated a train wreck for the ages. It took, in fact, only a few months for the dire predictions to come true. Leno's show, panned by critics, dragged down the ratings - and the profits - of NBC's affiliates, while ratings for Conan's new Tonight show plummeted to the lowest levels in history.

    Roy says: "Great Story"
  • 4.4 (209 ratings)
    The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor
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    • Jake Tapper

    The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor

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    At 6:00 a.m. on the morning of October 3, 2009, Combat Outpost Keating was viciously attacked by Taliban insurgents. The 53 U.S. troops, having been stationed at the bottom of three steep mountains, were severely outmanned by nearly 400 Taliban fighters. Though the Americans ultimately prevailed, their casualties made it one of the war's deadliest battles for U.S. forces. And after more than three years in that dangerous and vulnerable valley a mere 14 miles from the Pakistan border, the U.S. abandoned and bombed the camp.

    Jason says: "A must read!"
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  • 4.4 (194 ratings)
    Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress - and a Plan to Stop It
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    • Lawrence Lessig

    Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress - and a Plan to Stop It

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    In an era of ballooning corporate campaign expenditures, unleashed by the Supreme Court in Citizens United, trust in our government is at an all time low. More than ever before, Americans believe that money buys results in Congress - and that our Republic has been lost.Using examples that resonate as powerfully on the Right as on the Left, Republic, Lost not only makes clear how the economy of influence defeats the will of the people, but offers cogent strategies to correct our course....

    kevmoo says: "A profoundly important book. A must read."
  • 4.3 (185 ratings)
    Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden - from 9-11 to Abbottabad
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    • Peter L. Bergen

    Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden - from 9-11 to Abbottabad

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    From the author of the New York Times best-selling Holy War, Inc., this is the definitive account of the decade-long manhunt for the world’s most wanted man, Osama bin Laden. Al Qaeda expert and CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen paints a multidimensional picture of the hunt for bin Laden over the past decade, including the operation that killed him.

    Betty says: "DO NOT MISS THIS ONE!"
  • 4.6 (182 ratings)
    End This Depression Now!
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    End This Depression Now!

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    The Great Recession that began in 2007 is now more than four years old - and counting. Some 24 million Americans are unemployed or underemployed, and at recent rates of job creation we won’t be back to normal levels of employment until late this decade. This is a tragedy. Do we have to accept it? "No!" is the resounding answer given by Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman in this call to arms. We have seen this situation before and we know how to fix it; all we lack is the political will to take action.

    Michael says: "Listen to this before you vote!"
  • 4.4 (131 ratings)
    The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals
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    • Jane Mayer

    The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals

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    The Dark Side is a narrative account of the decisions the U.S. made after September 11, decisions that not only violated the Constitution, but also hampered the pursuit of Al Qaeda. In gripping detail, Jane Mayer relates specific cases, shown in real time against the larger tableau of Washington, looking at the intelligence gained and the price paid. In all cases, there were incalculable losses in terms of moral standing, our country's place in the world, and its sense of itself.

    Madeleine says: "Brilliant and Maddening"

Best Sellers

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  • Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield
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    • Jeremy Scahill

    Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield

    • UNABRIDGED (24 hrs and 8 mins)
    • By Jeremy Scahill
    • Narrated By Tom Weiner
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    (29)
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    (23)
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    (24)

    From Afghanistan and Pakistan to Yemen, Somalia, and beyond, Scahill speaks to the CIA agents, mercenaries, and elite Special Operations Forces operators who populate the dark side of American war-fighting. He goes deep into al Qaeda-held territory in Yemen and walks the streets of Mogadishu with CIA-backed warlords. We also meet the survivors of US night raids and drone strikes - including families of US citizens targeted for assassination by their own government - who reveal the human consequences of the dirty wars the United States struggles to keep hidden.

    aaron says: "Non political BUT very anti-violence"
  • No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden
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    No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden
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    • Mark Owen , Kevin Maurer

    No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden

    • UNABRIDGED (6 hrs and 54 mins)
    • By Mark Owen, Kevin Maurer
    • Narrated By Holter Graham
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    (2567)
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    (2319)

    From the streets of Iraq to the mountaintops of Afghanistan and to the third floor of Osama Bin Laden's compound, operator Mark Owen of the U.S. Naval Special Warfare Development Group - commonly known as SEAL Team Six - has been a part of some of the most memorable special operations in history, as well as countless missions that never made headlines. No Easy Day puts listeners alongside Owen and the other handpicked members of the 24-man team as they train for the biggest mission of their lives.

    Darwin8u says: "Gripping, first-hand narrative of Op Neptune Spear"
  • The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth
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    • Mark Mazzetti

    The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth

    • UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 47 mins)
    • By Mark Mazzetti
    • Narrated By Richard Ferrone
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    (11)
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    (9)
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    (9)

    Pulitzer Prize winner Mark Mazzetti examines secret wars over the past decade, tracking key characters from the intelligence and military communities across the world. Among the characters we meet in The Way of the Knife are a young CIA officer dropped into the tribal areas to learn the hard way how the spy games in Pakistan are played; an Air Force test pilot who fired the first drone missile in the Nevada desert; and a chain-smoking Pentagon official who ran an off-the-books spying operation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

    Frank says: "Outstanding"
  • The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine
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    • Michael Lewis

    The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine

    • UNABRIDGED (9 hrs and 27 mins)
    • By Michael Lewis
    • Narrated By Jesse Boggs
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (3679)
    Performance
    (1225)
    Story
    (1231)

    Who understood the risk inherent in the assumption of ever-rising real-estate prices, a risk compounded daily by the creation of those arcane, artificial securities loosely based on piles of doubtful mortgages? Michael Lewis turns the inquiry on its head to create a fresh, character-driven narrative brimming with indignation and dark humor, a fitting sequel to his number-one best-selling Liar’s Poker.

    Jay says: "Informative and Engaging"
  •  
  • The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor
    Play The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor
    The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor
    UNABRIDGED
    • Jake Tapper

    The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor

    • UNABRIDGED (22 hrs and 21 mins)
    • By Jake Tapper
    • Narrated By Rob Shapiro
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (209)
    Performance
    (185)
    Story
    (183)

    At 6:00 a.m. on the morning of October 3, 2009, Combat Outpost Keating was viciously attacked by Taliban insurgents. The 53 U.S. troops, having been stationed at the bottom of three steep mountains, were severely outmanned by nearly 400 Taliban fighters. Though the Americans ultimately prevailed, their casualties made it one of the war's deadliest battles for U.S. forces. And after more than three years in that dangerous and vulnerable valley a mere 14 miles from the Pakistan border, the U.S. abandoned and bombed the camp.

    Jason says: "A must read!"
  • The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11
    Play The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11
    The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11
    UNABRIDGED
    • Lawrence Wright

    The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11

    • UNABRIDGED (17 hrs and 23 mins)
    • By Lawrence Wright
    • Narrated By Alan Sklar
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (937)
    Performance
    (243)
    Story
    (242)

    This is a sweeping narrative history of the events leading to 9/11, a groundbreaking look at the people and ideas, the terrorist plans, and the Western intelligence failures that culminated in the assault on America. Lawrence Wright's remarkable book is based on five years of research and hundreds of interviews that he conducted in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sudan, England, France, Germany, Spain, and the United States.

    John says: "Riveting... Sobering... Chilling..."
  • Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden - from 9-11 to Abbottabad
    Play Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden - from 9-11 to Abbottabad
    Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden - from 9-11 to Abbottabad
    UNABRIDGED
    • Peter L. Bergen

    Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden - from 9-11 to Abbottabad

    • UNABRIDGED (8 hrs and 42 mins)
    • By Peter L. Bergen
    • Narrated By Mark Deakins
    Overall
    (185)
    Performance
    (161)
    Story
    (159)

    From the author of the New York Times best-selling Holy War, Inc., this is the definitive account of the decade-long manhunt for the world’s most wanted man, Osama bin Laden. Al Qaeda expert and CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen paints a multidimensional picture of the hunt for bin Laden over the past decade, including the operation that killed him.

    Betty says: "DO NOT MISS THIS ONE!"
  • Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA
    Play Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA
    Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA
    UNABRIDGED
    • Tim Weiner

    Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA

    • UNABRIDGED (21 hrs and 25 mins)
    • By Tim Weiner
    • Narrated By Stefan Rudnicki
    Overall
    (1743)
    Performance
    (382)
    Story
    (379)

    This is the book the CIA does not want you to read. For the last 60 years, the CIA has maintained a formidable reputation in spite of its terrible record, never disclosing its blunders to the American public. It spun its own truth to the nation while reality lay buried in classified archives. Now, Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter Tim Weiner offers a stunning indictment of the CIA, a deeply flawed organization that has never deserved America's confidence.

    Michael says: "Flawed but Important"
  •  
  • Battle Ready: Memoir of a SEAL Warrior Medic
    Play Battle Ready: Memoir of a SEAL Warrior Medic
    Battle Ready: Memoir of a SEAL Warrior Medic
    UNABRIDGED
    • Mark L. Donald , Scott Mactavish

    Battle Ready: Memoir of a SEAL Warrior Medic

    • UNABRIDGED (9 hrs and 59 mins)
    • By Mark L. Donald, Scott Mactavish
    • Narrated By Fred Berman
    Overall
    (9)
    Performance
    (8)
    Story
    (8)

    As A SEAL and combat medic, Mark served his country with valorous distinction for almost 25 years and survived some of the most dangerous combat actions imaginable. From the rigors of BUD/S training to the horrors of the battlefield, Battle Ready dramatically immerses the listener in the unique life of the elite warrior-medic who advances into combat with life-saving equipment in one hand and life-taking weapons in the other. It is also an uplifting human story that reveals how a young Hispanic American bootstrapped himself out of a life that promised a dead-end future by enlisting in the military.

    jones says: "Captivating, honest, humbling. Just a grade A job"
  • We Are Anonymous: Inside the Hacker World of LulzSec, Anonymous, and the Global Cyber Insurgency
    Play We Are Anonymous: Inside the Hacker World of LulzSec, Anonymous, and the Global Cyber Insurgency
    We Are Anonymous: Inside the Hacker World of LulzSec, Anonymous, and the Global Cyber Insurgency
    UNABRIDGED
    • Parmy Olson

    We Are Anonymous: Inside the Hacker World of LulzSec, Anonymous, and the Global Cyber Insurgency

    • UNABRIDGED (14 hrs and 16 mins)
    • By Parmy Olson
    • Narrated By Abby Craden
    Overall
    (232)
    Performance
    (200)
    Story
    (204)

    In late 2010, thousands of hacktivists joined a mass digital assault by Anonymous on the websites of VISA, MasterCard, and PayPal to protest their treatment of WikiLeaks. Splinter groups then infiltrated the networks of totalitarian governments in Libya and Tunisia, and an elite team of six people calling themselves LulzSec attacked the FBI, CIA, and Sony. They were flippant and taunting, grabbed headlines, and amassed more than a quarter of a million Twitter followers.

    Ulrike says: "Good book but horrible performance"
  • Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan
    Play Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan
    Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan
    UNABRIDGED
    • Doug Stanton

    Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan

    • UNABRIDGED (16 hrs and 40 mins)
    • By Doug Stanton
    • Narrated By Jack Garrett
    Overall
    (18)
    Performance
    (16)
    Story
    (15)

    From the New York Times best-selling author of In Harm’s Way comes a true-life story of American soldiers overcoming great odds to achieve a stunning military victory. Horse Soldiers is the dramatic account of a small band of Special Forces soldiers who secretly entered Afghanistan following 9/11 and rode to war against the Taliban on horses. Outnumbered 40 to 1, they pursued the enemy army across the mountainous Afghanistan terrain and, after a series of intense battles, captured the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, which was strategically essential to defeat their opponent throughout the country.

    Frances says: "Wild Ride"
  • Too Big to Fail
    Play Too Big to Fail
    Too Big to Fail
    UNABRIDGED
    • Andrew Ross Sorkin

    Too Big to Fail

    • UNABRIDGED (21 hrs and 3 mins)
    • By Andrew Ross Sorkin
    • Narrated By William Hughes
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (973)
    Performance
    (362)
    Story
    (366)

    A real-life thriller about the most tumultuous period in America's financial history by an acclaimed New York Times reporter. Andrew Ross Sorkin delivers the first true, behind-the-scenes, moment-by-moment account of how the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression developed into a global tsunami.

    Chuck says: "Best Book About Meltdown"

New Releases

(More 21st Century New Releases) All 21st Century New Releases
  • A Bad Day on the Romney Campaign: An Insider's Account
    Play A Bad Day on the Romney Campaign: An Insider's Account
    A Bad Day on the Romney Campaign: An Insider's Account
    UNABRIDGED
    • Gabriel Schoenfeld

    A Bad Day on the Romney Campaign: An Insider's Account

    • UNABRIDGED (2 hrs and 8 mins)
    • By Gabriel Schoenfeld
    • Narrated By Don Hagen
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    In A Bad Day on the Romney Campaign: An Insider's Account, Gabriel Schoenfeld, a senior adviser to the Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney for nearly two years, for the first time speaks out about the internal failures of the 2012 campaign. The book illuminates the chain of errors that ultimately contributed to Romney's defeat. Rich with detail and full of high drama, it will be of interest to anyone who wants to go behind the scenes to gain an inside look at how our political system actually operates, with all of its charms and all of its flaws.

  • The Roberts Court: The Struggle for the Constitution
    Play The Roberts Court: The Struggle for the Constitution
    The Roberts Court: The Struggle for the Constitution
    UNABRIDGED
    • Marcia Coyle

    The Roberts Court: The Struggle for the Constitution

    • UNABRIDGED (12 hrs and 53 mins)
    • By Marcia Coyle
    • Narrated By Bernadette Dunne
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    Seven minutes after President Obama put his signature to a landmark national health care insurance program, a lawyer in the office of Florida GOP attorney general Bill McCollum hit a computer key, sparking a legal challenge to the new law that would eventually reach the nation’s highest court. Health care is only the most visible and recent front in a battle over the meaning and scope of the U.S. Constitution. The battleground is the Supreme Court, and one of the most skilled, insightful, and trenchant of its observers takes us close up to watch it in action.

  • The Price of the Ticket: Barack Obama and Rise and Decline of Black Politics 
    Play The Price of the Ticket: Barack Obama and Rise and Decline of Black Politics 
    The Price of the Ticket: Barack Obama and Rise and Decline of Black Politics 
    UNABRIDGED
    • Fredrick Harris

    The Price of the Ticket: Barack Obama and Rise and Decline of Black Politics 

    • UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 5 mins)
    • By Fredrick Harris
    • Narrated By Mary Kane
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    The historical significance of Barack Obama's triumph in the presidential election of 2008 scarcely requires comment. Yet it contains an irony: He won a victory as an African American only by denying that he was the candidate of African Americans. Obama's very success, writes Fredrick Harris, exacted a heavy cost on black politics.

    In The Price of the Ticket, Harris puts Obama's career in the context of decades of black activism, showing how his election undermined the very movement that made it possible.

  • Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield
    Play Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield
    Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield
    UNABRIDGED
    • Jeremy Scahill

    Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield

    • UNABRIDGED (24 hrs and 8 mins)
    • By Jeremy Scahill
    • Narrated By Tom Weiner
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (29)
    Performance
    (23)
    Story
    (24)

    From Afghanistan and Pakistan to Yemen, Somalia, and beyond, Scahill speaks to the CIA agents, mercenaries, and elite Special Operations Forces operators who populate the dark side of American war-fighting. He goes deep into al Qaeda-held territory in Yemen and walks the streets of Mogadishu with CIA-backed warlords. We also meet the survivors of US night raids and drone strikes - including families of US citizens targeted for assassination by their own government - who reveal the human consequences of the dirty wars the United States struggles to keep hidden.

    aaron says: "Non political BUT very anti-violence"
  •  
  • The Sinking of the Bounty: The True Story of a Tragic Shipwreck and its Aftermath
    Play The Sinking of the Bounty: The True Story of a Tragic Shipwreck and its Aftermath
    The Sinking of the Bounty: The True Story of a Tragic Shipwreck and its Aftermath
    UNABRIDGED
    • Matthew Shaer

    The Sinking of the Bounty: The True Story of a Tragic Shipwreck and its Aftermath

    • UNABRIDGED (1 hr and 34 mins)
    • By Matthew Shaer
    • Narrated By Matthew Shaer
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (2)
    Performance
    (2)
    Story
    (2)

    It was one of the strangest sights the Coast Guard pilots had ever seen: a tall-masted wooden ship, the kind that sailed centuries ago, capsizing in the wind and towering waves of Hurricane Sandy off the coast of North Carolina. It looked like something out of a movie - and, in a way, it was. The ship was the Bounty, a replica of a British merchant vessel of the same name whose crew famously mutinied in 1789. She had been built for a Marlon Brando film in the 1960s - and now she was sinking, her 16-person crew fleeing into the sea amid the splintered wood and torn canvas.

  • After the Fall: American Literature Since 9/11
    Play After the Fall: American Literature Since 9/11
    After the Fall: American Literature Since 9/11
    UNABRIDGED
    • Richard Gray

    After the Fall: American Literature Since 9/11

    • UNABRIDGED (8 hrs and 57 mins)
    • By Richard Gray
    • Narrated By Alex Hyde-White
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    After the Fall presents a timely and provocative examination of the impact and implications of 9/11 and the war on terror on American culture and literature. Presents the first detailed interrogation of U.S. writing in a time of crisis.

  • The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth
    Play The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth
    The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth
    UNABRIDGED
    • Mark Mazzetti

    The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth

    • UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 47 mins)
    • By Mark Mazzetti
    • Narrated By Richard Ferrone
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (11)
    Performance
    (9)
    Story
    (9)

    Pulitzer Prize winner Mark Mazzetti examines secret wars over the past decade, tracking key characters from the intelligence and military communities across the world. Among the characters we meet in The Way of the Knife are a young CIA officer dropped into the tribal areas to learn the hard way how the spy games in Pakistan are played; an Air Force test pilot who fired the first drone missile in the Nevada desert; and a chain-smoking Pentagon official who ran an off-the-books spying operation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

    Frank says: "Outstanding"
  • Australians in Antarctica
    Play Australians in Antarctica
    Australians in Antarctica
    UNABRIDGED
    • Tim Bowden

    Australians in Antarctica

    • UNABRIDGED (2 hrs and 55 mins)
    • By Tim Bowden
    • Narrated By Tim Bowden
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    Australia claims about 42 percent of the land mass of Antarctica Continent - largely based on the exploration voyages led by Sir Douglas Mawson in the first half of this century. Yet by 1953 we had no permanent bases on the Antarctic continent. Australians in Antarctica reviews Australia's postwar push south, with the establishment of permanent stations on the sub-Antarctic islands of Heard and Masquarie in 1948, and the first settlement on the Antarctic mainland - Mawson Station - achieved by 1954.

  •  
  • Black Hearts: One Platoon's Descent into Madness in Iraq's Triangle of Death
    Play Black Hearts: One Platoon's Descent into Madness in Iraq's Triangle of Death
    Black Hearts: One Platoon's Descent into Madness in Iraq's Triangle of Death
    UNABRIDGED
    • Jim Frederick

    Black Hearts: One Platoon's Descent into Madness in Iraq's Triangle of Death

    • UNABRIDGED (12 hrs and 12 mins)
    • By Jim Frederick
    • Narrated By Corey Snow
    Overall
    (3)
    Performance
    (3)
    Story
    (3)

    This is the story of a small group of soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division's fabled 502nd Infantry Regiment - a unit known as the Black Heart Brigade. Deployed in late 2005 to Iraq's so-called Triangle of Death, a veritable meat grinder just south of Baghdad, the Black Hearts found themselves in arguably the country's most dangerous location at its most dangerous time.

    Vygramul says: "Difficult story, well read"
  • Battle Ready: Memoir of a SEAL Warrior Medic
    Play Battle Ready: Memoir of a SEAL Warrior Medic
    Battle Ready: Memoir of a SEAL Warrior Medic
    UNABRIDGED
    • Mark L. Donald , Scott Mactavish

    Battle Ready: Memoir of a SEAL Warrior Medic

    • UNABRIDGED (9 hrs and 59 mins)
    • By Mark L. Donald, Scott Mactavish
    • Narrated By Fred Berman
    Overall
    (9)
    Performance
    (8)
    Story
    (8)

    As A SEAL and combat medic, Mark served his country with valorous distinction for almost 25 years and survived some of the most dangerous combat actions imaginable. From the rigors of BUD/S training to the horrors of the battlefield, Battle Ready dramatically immerses the listener in the unique life of the elite warrior-medic who advances into combat with life-saving equipment in one hand and life-taking weapons in the other. It is also an uplifting human story that reveals how a young Hispanic American bootstrapped himself out of a life that promised a dead-end future by enlisting in the military.

    jones says: "Captivating, honest, humbling. Just a grade A job"
  • Defiant Courage: A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance
    Play Defiant Courage: A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance
    Defiant Courage: A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance
    UNABRIDGED
    • Astrid Karlson Scott , Tore Haug

    Defiant Courage: A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance

    • UNABRIDGED (10 hrs and 23 mins)
    • By Astrid Karlson Scott, Tore Haug
    • Narrated By Peter Altshuler
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    In late March of 1943, four commandos arrive in northern Norway with a mission of establishing a base for sabotage operations. Before they can unload their cutter, they are betrayed, as a German Schnell boat arrives and turns the quiet fjord into a battle zone. Only one man, Jan Baalsrud, surrvives the attack. This is the story of his perilous journey to freedom. Wounded, the dauntless soldier swims icy fjord waters, climbs snow-laden granite peaks, endures violent snowstorms and is hurled off a mountain by an avalanche.

  • Undaunted: The Real Story of America’s Servicewomen in Today’s Military
    Play Undaunted: The Real Story of America’s Servicewomen in Today’s Military
    Undaunted: The Real Story of America’s Servicewomen in Today’s Military
    UNABRIDGED
    • Tanya Biank

    Undaunted: The Real Story of America’s Servicewomen in Today’s Military

    • UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 31 mins)
    • By Tanya Biank
    • Narrated By Pam Ward
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    As she did so provocatively with military spouses in Army Wives, Tanya Biank gives us the inside story of women in today’s military - their professional and personal challenges from the combat zone to the home front. Since 9/11, more than 240,000 women have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan - more than 140 have died there, and they currently make up 14 percent of the total active-duty forces. Despite advances, today’s servicewomen are constantly pressed to prove themselves.

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