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The Silencing  By  cover art

The Silencing

By: Kirsten Powers
Narrated by: Kristin Watson Heintz
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Publisher's summary

Life-long liberal Kirsten Powers blasts the Left's forced march towards conformity in an exposé of the illiberal war on free speech. No longer champions of tolerance and free speech, the "illiberal Left" now viciously attacks and silences anyone with alternative points of view. Powers asks, "Whatever happened to free speech in America?"

©2015 Kirsten Powers (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

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Audible censors fantastic book on free speech

Audible, don't censor any words in a book about free speech! This recording censors several words as the author is lambasting censorship. I highly recommend this book, but I wish Audible would knock off the censorship to protect our "delicate" sensibilities. Please uncensor those parts of the book.

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36 people found this helpful

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A very good, and tragically, needful, listen...

If you could sum up The Silencing in three words, what would they be?

Surprising, quite informative.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

The sad fact that its premise is so true.

What does Kristin Watson Heintz bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Well, if nothing else, an audible voice.

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

The extent to which this silencing is taking place, and the hate speech used by the alleged opponents of it.

Any additional comments?

Again, it's sad that a book like this even had to be published- by a longtime progressive, no less. But this book definitely serves as a sign of the times.

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18 people found this helpful

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Great listen for all, regardless of your politics!

What did you love best about The Silencing?

Being a life long liberal gives Kirsten Powers a unique position when it comes to the activities to squelch free speech of the left. She supports her points with facts and logic that are not shrouded with any of her own political bias's.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Silencing?

Her outlining the attacks by the left on Fax News and the facts she present that dissect the attacks as baseless. While no news organization is perfect when you take time to watch the various networks operate, listen to their on-air personalities her points really clarify the nasty nature of the left's anti-Fox operations.

What does Kristin Watson Heintz bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She is an outstanding narrator with a delivery that aligned well with the book's topic.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

It was a great listen all around. Have recommended to several people with all kinds of political stripes!

Any additional comments?

Over the years I have read or watched Kirsten Powers numerous times. While I do not closely align with her politics I will always take the time to absorb her message and the logic she had used to from her thoughts. She is a consummate professional who conducts herself from facts, logic and the ability to look, listen and lear from others. "The Silencing" is a perfect example of how opinion columnist, news personalities and other who are within the media should operate with: facts, logic and respect for those who you may differ with.

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16 people found this helpful

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Well done

The book is right on the money. Good research well thought though and well told. This is a truth we all know but is not spoken by most in the media. Kirsten is fast becoming my favorite journalist. I recommend this book.

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9 people found this helpful

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The Politics of Thoughtcrime

I enjoyed this book. I'd have rated it a 3.8 were the option available.

This book, as the title implies, is concerned with recent attempts by the political left to limit or discredit some opposing views. Powers mostly details events from the past half-decade, but does touch on some earlier episodes where individuals were shamed into silence or forced from their careers. The author presents a compelling, but by no-means even-handed, argument, which resonate with free-speech proponents.

I think the books suffers some from a lack of just a few counter-examples of rightist censoriousness. And yes, this book is about the silencing of free speech by the left, and as such I wouldn't expect the author to give anything close to equal time for the right, but I think that sprinkling a few examples of conservative lockstep-think throughout the chapters would make this sound a little less like a screed, and drive home a little better the idea that she cares about free speech (although I believe she does) and not just bashing the left, with whom she shares many viewpoints, and indeed considers herself a liberal. She does invoke McCarthy (and given the subject matter, how could she not?), but largely conservatives are given easy treatment.

One other problem I had with the audio version is the frequency with which offensive (or often just vulgar) words are bleeped out. It may be that the words are redacted in the original text, which would force the audio producers' hands. I don't know who's to blame, but it's distracting.

Having said that, I really did enjoy the book and would recommend it. The narration is solid.

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6 people found this helpful

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Enjoyed a lot.

I really liked the subject matter and the research was impeccable. The examples given are great. The book is well written and the narrator was superb. I will recommend this book to everyone I know. To tell the truth, I haven't been very fond of Kirsten Powers because of her debates on O'Riley and the dumb positions that she mostly takes, but the book has made me view her in a very different light.

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5 people found this helpful

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Excellent reading for all political persuasions!

This book is eye opening in many ways! The author clearly demonstrates how the "supposed" most open minded people are often the most judgmental.

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5 people found this helpful

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One of the Most Important Books of the Year

Kirsten Powers has done a great service by writing in excruciating detail about how certain members of the press and academia are stifling legitimate debate and argument by shaming, shouting down, and affixing heinous labels to those with whom they disagree. This approach is the absolute antithesis of free speech and the robust exchange of differing views on which our system was founded and without which it withers.

It is truly distressing that the two hives for this activity are academia and the press--two institutions who should be fully supportive of Evelyn Hall's statement (sometime attributed to Voltaire) that: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

Powers--a lifelong liberal--chronicles all of it. At the end of the book, one realizes that the reality of what has happened to our our public discourse (or lack of it) is much worse than the perception. Much like the proverbial frog in a pot of water that is slowly heated to a boil, society at large has largely ignored the damage that has taken place and has become numb to the actions of the thought police. It may be too late to fix this, but let's hope not.

We can all start by refusing to label people, engaging in meaningful discussions, and listening. I'm afraid that the modern world however--where "thoughts" are exchanged in 140 characters--does not lend itself to this. Maybe if we all speak up just one time in the next year against the labeling, the shaming, and the shouting down, we can turn things around.

Great book and excellent narration. I agree with others who are puzzled and a little troubled by the "bleeping" of certain words. Given the subject, it is difficult to imagine less enlightened production.

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4 people found this helpful

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Excellent!

Refreshing to hear a democrat writing a book based on facts and not about what feels good. Being a conservative I was hesitant to buy this book. I gained a lot of respect for Kirsten.

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Refreshing

Great book. Fantastic narrator. So refreshing to have someone from the left acknowledge the bias that exists in media and academia.

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