Pat

When you begin this amazing book, you better not blink or you will miss one of its many hidden surprises. The author takes the reader inside the secret world of research assumed to be dull and tedious. Each case study shows how the simplest of events can reveal secrets with ever so slight tweaking. It is a joyous, educational fun ride.

This is by far the best book on economics that I have read. Dr. Chang is clear, articulate, interesting and at times even humorous as he peels back the myths people believe regarding capitalism as well as the misunderstandings and false assumptions most folks labor under regarding this American sacred cow. He is in no way anti capitalism. Like Churchhill was about democracy, Chang argues that capitalism is the best of many poor economic choices. He does go into great detail explaining how he believes this sacred system could be tweaked and engineered to serve more of society with better outcomes. This liberal message did more to move me to the right in my economic philosophy than anything that I have read. He gave me hope that there can be a form of capitalism that does not produce more losers than winners. I am looking forward to reading his previous book, Bad Samaritans .

This is a delightful yarn about a distant cousin of his royal majesty in Edwardian England who needs to find an acceptable way of making a living. Her best career may be in murder investigation.

This an interesting historical eye-opener for all those who thought the early Christians and especially the catholic church had an exclusive lease on the moral high ground. Using "The Nature of Things" a poem by Lucretius, an early century follower of the philosopher Epicurus as a historical touchstone, Stephen Greenblatt leads his reader/listener from the gods of early Rome, through the superstition of the dark ages and fanatical tyranny of the Roman Catholic church to age of enlightenment and even evolution. This is not a read/listen for those that hide among their sacred cows.

Everyone who has had to fess up to something knows how hard it was to accept unmitigated responsibility for the behavior. "Mistakes were made, but not by me" is a fascinating exploration of the cognitive science behind rationalization. Seminal research in the psychology of everything from white lies to elaborate deceptions is offered up to the reader in an interesting and an understandable way. Everyone faced with prevaricators and excuse makers needs to listen to this one.

He who could explain all variance in nature would know what God knows. He who could manipulate all nature's variance would be God.

Pinker makes a convincing, witty, engaging, and creditable argument that at 50% of what we are is heritable.

How the Mind Work and The Language Instinct.. They were both excellent productions

No, it took about two weeks of one-hour commutes during which I listened at 1.5 times normal speed.

This was a delightful Audible listen that answered many of those cooking questions that many of us have always wanted to ask, but knew no one with more than a folklore rationale. Wolke offers not only scientific explanations to why good cooking requires so many mystical steps, but explains them in terms that anyone can understand. At the same time, he does not trivialize the science or use explanations that make those of us with science backgrounds shudder at his analogies and metaphors because of banality. His prose is filled with clever repartee. Finally, Wolke is comprehensive and well organized in answering all kinds of questions related to foods, cooking, and kitchen craft.

Pinker is articulate, brilliant and interesting as he leads the listener through a huge forest of cognitive research and evolutionary psychology. He explains as he begins that the fascinating features of our brain have evolved for two purposes: First, to help us reproduce as many offspring as possible. Second, to help us survive as long as long as possible. Any abilities that do not further these two goals are superfluous to our existence. It is a book I will probably read several times before I put it down for good.

For some time I have been looking for a primer on genetics that would prepare me to navigate the technical vocabulary and many concepts of that science that I encounter everyday in articles, news, and lectures. Dr. Dyer's set of lectures was the perfect answer. She repeatedly moved from metaphor to concept to label letting the listener first understand and then retain the many facets of genetics. Now I understand the relationships between bases, dna, rna, chromosomes, and alleles. Not since my grandmother taught me the differences of cities, states, and countries when I was five, have felt so satisfied by an explanation. Thanks Dr. Dyer.

After patiently waiting for the narrator to thank hundreds of patrons who made this listen possible, I finally got to hear the scholars who put the work together provide me with intriguing advanced organizers to help me navigate the next ten hours with Mr. Twain. When the book finally shifted into first person, I was treated to a delightful visit with a man like that uncle or grandfather that many were blessed with as children who would ramble through stories of his life both funny and poignant that you begged to hear over and over. His microscopic examination of the "Gilded Age" is a treasure. His discussion of his friendship and help to General Grant offered great insights into that interesting man. The listen never leaves the listener more than of few moments without another taste of Mark Twain's genius humor.

Though I just finished 14 semester hours of Spanish, I had not learned to pronounce many words correctly nor could I respond to a native speaker coherently. This set of lessons has significantly improved my pronounciaton and my ability to respond in Spanish with a native speaker.

I would highly recommend all of the "Learning Spanish Like Crazy" lessons to any one serious about learning the language.

Thanks,
M. Patrick Mabry, Jr., Ph.D.