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A Moonless, Starless Sky
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- Narrated by: Kamali Minter
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Release date: 10-03-17
- Language: English
- Publisher: Hachette Audio
Regular price: $28.50
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MOVING THE NEEDLE
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Such a powerful message
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The world is in turmoil. From India to Turkey and from Poland to the United States, authoritarian populists have seized power. As a result democracy itself may now be at risk. Two core components of liberal democracy - individual rights and the popular will - are at war with each other. As the role of money in politics soared and important issues were taken out of public contestation, a system of "rights without democracy" took hold. Populists who rail against this say they want to return power to the people. But in practice they create a system of "democracy without rights."
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Contrary to what is commonly believed, authoritarian leaders who agree to hold elections are generally able to remain in power longer than autocrats who refuse to allow the populace to vote. In this engaging and provocative audiobook, authors Nic Cheeseman and Brian Klaas expose the limitations of national elections as a means of promoting democratization and reveal the six essential strategies that dictators use to undermine the electoral process in order to guarantee victory for themselves.
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Long Walk to Freedom
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Nelson Mandela is one of the great moral and political leaders of our time: an international hero whose lifelong dedication to the fight against racial oppression in South Africa won him the Nobel Peace Prize and the presidency of his country. Since his triumphant release in 1990 from more than a quarter-century of imprisonment, Mandela has been at the center of the most compelling and inspiring political drama in the world.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Surprisingly honest autobiography.
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There There
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 925
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Jacquie Red Feather is newly sober and trying to make it back to the family she left behind in shame. Dene Oxendene is pulling his life back together after his uncle's death and has come to work at the powwow to honor his uncle's memory. Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield has come to watch her nephew Orvil, who has taught himself traditional Indian dance through YouTube videos and will perform in public for the very first time. There will be glorious communion and a spectacle of sacred tradition and pageantry. And there will be sacrifice, and heroism, and loss.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A gorgeous, white-hot debut
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Publisher's Summary
In the tradition of Behind the Beautiful Forevers, this is a masterful, humane work of literary journalism by New Yorker staff writer Alexis Okeowo - a vivid narrative of Africans who are courageously resisting their continent's wave of fundamentalism.
In A Moonless, Starless Sky Okeowo weaves together four narratives that form a powerful tapestry of modern Africa: a young couple, kidnap victims of Joseph Kony's LRA; a Mauritanian waging a lonely campaign against modern-day slavery; a women's basketball team flourishing amid war-torn Somalia; and a vigilante who takes up arms against the extremist group Boko Haram.
This debut book by one of America's most acclaimed young journalists illuminates the inner lives of ordinary people doing the extraordinary - lives that are too often hidden, underreported, or ignored by the rest of the world.
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- F L.
- 01-01-18
Amazing and Inspirational Stories<br />
So many beautiful examples of strong and corageous people. The narater brings the author's words to life so skillfully that you might forget that you are not actually listening to the people telling their own stories. Most importantly, the author brings the reality of the struggles to light. There but for the Grace of God go I.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 12-02-17
Heart wrenching and inspiring
Great book, highly recommend! i really liked thr female point of view as well as how she broke up the stories.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Marcia Baynes
- 06-23-18
Empathy inspired for all perspectives of a complex narrative.
Words fail to capture the intimacy one feels with the narrator and the perspective of humanity portrayed in this book, in case studies fashion. I mourn the loss and celebrate the accomplishments of the people introduced in this heart wrenching story. As I write this review, my words are blurry due to the tears that fill my eyes.
I recommend this book to all who seek to understand how as humans we are caught in the tangled webs we weave. We must stay awake and continue to advocate for justice, equity, and kindness wherever and when ever we see it threatened. I will forever be changed by this book, as will my teaching practice in the future. Everyone who seeks first to understand man’s inhumanity and how easily life can radically change should read A Moonless, Starless Sky, part memoir, novel, documentary and love letter to humanity.