-
An American Conscience
- The Reinhold Niebuhr Story
- Narrated by: Alan Taylor
- Length: 6 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Religious
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $19.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Irony of American History
- By: Reinhold Niebuhr
- Narrated by: Robert Blumenfeld
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Forged during the tumultuous but triumphant postwar years when America came of age as a world power, The Irony of American History is more relevant now than ever before. Cited by politicians as diverse as Hillary Clinton and John McCain, Niebuhr's masterpiece on the incongruity between personal ideals and political reality is both an indictment of American moral complacency and a warning against the arrogance of virtue.
-
-
The "Peter Drucker" of Political Science
- By Jonathan B Goodman on 01-03-11
By: Reinhold Niebuhr
-
The Courage to Be
- By: Paul Tillich
- Narrated by: Mort Crim
- Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this classic and deeply insightful book, one of the world's most eminent philosophers describes the dilemma of modern man and points a way to conquering the problem of anxiety.
-
-
An essential read for the sophisticated seeker.
- By D. Raynal on 04-19-13
By: Paul Tillich
-
Allow Me to Retort
- A Black Guy's Guide to the Constitution
- By: Elie Mystal
- Narrated by: Elie Mystal
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is an easily digestible argument about what rights we have, what rights Republicans are trying to take away, and how to stop them. Mystal explains how to protect the rights of women and people of color instead of cowering to the absolutism of gun owners and bigots. He explains the legal way to stop everything from police brutality to political gerrymandering, just by changing a few judges and justices. He strips out all of the fancy jargon conservatives like to hide behind and lays bare the truth of their project to keep America forever tethered to its slaveholding past.
-
-
Informative and Entertaining
- By Kindle Customer on 03-06-22
By: Elie Mystal
-
The Chancellor
- By: Kati Marton
- Narrated by: Alex Allwine, Kati Marton
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Angela Merkel has always been an outsider. A pastor’s daughter raised in Soviet-controlled East Germany, she spent her twenties working as a research chemist, entering politics only after the fall of the Berlin Wall. And yet within fifteen years, she had become chancellor of Germany and, before long, the unofficial leader of the West. In this “masterpiece of discernment and insight” (The New York Times Book Review), acclaimed biographer Kati Marton sets out to pierce the mystery of Merkel’s unlikely ascent.
-
-
Defying and Despising Trump and Putin
- By Dr. Bill- Northern NJ-USA on 11-04-21
By: Kati Marton
-
The Cross and the Lynching Tree
- By: James H. Cone
- Narrated by: Leon Nixon
- Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The cross and the lynching tree are the two most emotionally charged symbols in the history of the African American community. In this powerful work, theologian James H. Cone explores these symbols and their interconnection in the history and souls of black folk.
-
-
Great work to listen to on July 4th 2020
- By Jason Como on 07-04-20
By: James H. Cone
-
Weapons of Math Destruction
- How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy
- By: Cathy O'Neil
- Narrated by: Cathy O'Neil
- Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We live in the age of the algorithm. Increasingly the decisions that affect our lives - where we go to school, whether we get a car loan, how much we pay for health insurance - are being made not by humans but by mathematical models. In theory this should lead to greater fairness. But as Cathy O'Neil reveals in this urgent and necessary book, the opposite is true. Tracing the arc of a person's life, O'Neil exposes the black-box models that shape our future, both as individuals and as a society.
-
-
A fascinating and startling look at where big data is blind
- By Stephen on 10-02-16
By: Cathy O'Neil
-
The Irony of American History
- By: Reinhold Niebuhr
- Narrated by: Robert Blumenfeld
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Forged during the tumultuous but triumphant postwar years when America came of age as a world power, The Irony of American History is more relevant now than ever before. Cited by politicians as diverse as Hillary Clinton and John McCain, Niebuhr's masterpiece on the incongruity between personal ideals and political reality is both an indictment of American moral complacency and a warning against the arrogance of virtue.
-
-
The "Peter Drucker" of Political Science
- By Jonathan B Goodman on 01-03-11
By: Reinhold Niebuhr
-
The Courage to Be
- By: Paul Tillich
- Narrated by: Mort Crim
- Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this classic and deeply insightful book, one of the world's most eminent philosophers describes the dilemma of modern man and points a way to conquering the problem of anxiety.
-
-
An essential read for the sophisticated seeker.
- By D. Raynal on 04-19-13
By: Paul Tillich
-
Allow Me to Retort
- A Black Guy's Guide to the Constitution
- By: Elie Mystal
- Narrated by: Elie Mystal
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is an easily digestible argument about what rights we have, what rights Republicans are trying to take away, and how to stop them. Mystal explains how to protect the rights of women and people of color instead of cowering to the absolutism of gun owners and bigots. He explains the legal way to stop everything from police brutality to political gerrymandering, just by changing a few judges and justices. He strips out all of the fancy jargon conservatives like to hide behind and lays bare the truth of their project to keep America forever tethered to its slaveholding past.
-
-
Informative and Entertaining
- By Kindle Customer on 03-06-22
By: Elie Mystal
-
The Chancellor
- By: Kati Marton
- Narrated by: Alex Allwine, Kati Marton
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Angela Merkel has always been an outsider. A pastor’s daughter raised in Soviet-controlled East Germany, she spent her twenties working as a research chemist, entering politics only after the fall of the Berlin Wall. And yet within fifteen years, she had become chancellor of Germany and, before long, the unofficial leader of the West. In this “masterpiece of discernment and insight” (The New York Times Book Review), acclaimed biographer Kati Marton sets out to pierce the mystery of Merkel’s unlikely ascent.
-
-
Defying and Despising Trump and Putin
- By Dr. Bill- Northern NJ-USA on 11-04-21
By: Kati Marton
-
The Cross and the Lynching Tree
- By: James H. Cone
- Narrated by: Leon Nixon
- Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The cross and the lynching tree are the two most emotionally charged symbols in the history of the African American community. In this powerful work, theologian James H. Cone explores these symbols and their interconnection in the history and souls of black folk.
-
-
Great work to listen to on July 4th 2020
- By Jason Como on 07-04-20
By: James H. Cone
-
Weapons of Math Destruction
- How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy
- By: Cathy O'Neil
- Narrated by: Cathy O'Neil
- Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We live in the age of the algorithm. Increasingly the decisions that affect our lives - where we go to school, whether we get a car loan, how much we pay for health insurance - are being made not by humans but by mathematical models. In theory this should lead to greater fairness. But as Cathy O'Neil reveals in this urgent and necessary book, the opposite is true. Tracing the arc of a person's life, O'Neil exposes the black-box models that shape our future, both as individuals and as a society.
-
-
A fascinating and startling look at where big data is blind
- By Stephen on 10-02-16
By: Cathy O'Neil
-
His Truth Is Marching On
- John Lewis and the Power of Hope
- By: Jon Meacham, John Lewis - afterword
- Narrated by: JD Jackson, Jon Meacham
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An intimate and revealing portrait of civil rights icon and longtime US congressman John Lewis, linking his life to the painful quest for justice in America from the 1950s to the present - from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Soul of America.
-
-
Absolutely remarkable!
- By Janie on 08-30-20
By: Jon Meacham, and others
-
Ukraine: What Everyone Needs to Know
- By: Serhy Yekelchyk
- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ukraine's sudden prominence in American politics has compounded an already-widespread misunderstanding of what is actually happening in the nation. In the American media, Ukraine has come to signify an inherently corrupt place, rather than a real country struggling in the face of great challenges. Ukraine: What Everyone Needs to Know addresses Ukraine's relations with the West, particularly the United States, from the perspective of Ukrainians.
-
-
Everyone Should Read This Book in 2022
- By Theo Horesh on 03-09-22
By: Serhy Yekelchyk
-
The Character of Virtue
- Letters to a Godson
- By: Stanley Hauerwas
- Narrated by: Scott R. Pollak
- Length: 4 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the fairy godmother’s pumpkin coach to Herr Drosselmeyer’s nutcracker, godparents have long been associated with good gifts. But in The Character of Virtue theologian and ethicist Stanley Hauerwas offers his real-life godson something far more precious than toys or trinkets - the gift of hard-won wisdom on life and the process of maturing.
-
-
16 Letters to his Godson about virtues
- By Adam Shields on 07-28-18
By: Stanley Hauerwas
-
The Cost of Discipleship
- By: Dietrich Bonhoeffer
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What can the call to discipleship, the adherence to the word of Jesus, mean today to the businessman, the soldier, the laborer, or the aristocrat? What did Jesus mean to say to us? What is his will for us today? Drawing on the Sermon on the Mount, Dietrich Bonhoeffer answers these timeless questions by providing a seminal reading of the dichotomy between "cheap grace" and "costly grace."
-
-
Get this book
- By Jennifer L. Conover on 03-02-10
-
Robert E. Lee
- A Life
- By: Allen C. Guelzo
- Narrated by: Jason Culp
- Length: 22 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Robert E. Lee, the award-winning historian Allen Guelzo has written the definitive biography of the general, following him from his refined upbringing in Virginia high society, to his long career in the U.S. Army, his agonized decision to side with Virginia when it seceded from the Union, and his leadership during the Civil War. Above all, Guelzo captures Robert E. Lee in all his complexity--his hypocrisy and courage, his outward calm and inner turmoil, his honor and his disloyalty.
-
-
Unfortunately falls into judging Lee like CNN
- By Jeff B on 11-08-21
By: Allen C. Guelzo
-
George Marshall
- Defender of the Republic
- By: David L. Roll
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 27 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The extraordinary career of George Catlett Marshall - America’s most distinguished soldier - statesman since George Washington - whose selfless leadership and moral character influenced the course of two world wars and helped define the American century. Set against the backdrop of five major conflicts - two world wars, Palestine, Korea, and the Cold War - Marshall's education in military, diplomatic, and political power, replete with their nuances and ambiguities, runs parallel with America's emergence as a global superpower.
-
-
There are better books about Marshall
- By JustinT on 09-24-19
By: David L. Roll
-
Woke Racism
- How a New Religion Has Betrayed Black America
- By: John McWhorter
- Narrated by: John McWhorter
- Length: 5 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Acclaimed linguist and award-winning writer John McWhorter argues that an illiberal neoracism, disguised as antiracism, is hurting Black communities and weakening the American social fabric.
-
-
Thank You
- By Withacy on 10-26-21
By: John McWhorter
-
Legacy of Violence
- A History of the British Empire
- By: Caroline Elkins
- Narrated by: Adam Barr
- Length: 31 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sprawling across a quarter of the world's land mass and claiming nearly seven hundred million people, Britain's 20th-century empire was the largest empire in human history. For many Britons, it epitomized their nation's cultural superiority, but what legacy did the island nation deliver to the world? Covering more than 200 years of history, Caroline Elkins reveals an evolutionary and racialized doctrine that espoused an unrelenting deployment of violence to secure and preserve the nation's imperial interests.
By: Caroline Elkins
-
The Tragedy of Great Power Politics
- By: John J. Mearsheimer
- Narrated by: Mark Ashby
- Length: 16 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A decade after the cold war ended, policy makers and academics foresaw a new era of peace and prosperity, an era in which democracy and open trade would herald the "end of history." The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, sadly shattered these idyllic illusions, and John Mearsheimer's masterful new book explains why these harmonious visions remain utopian.
-
-
Exceptional
- By Logical Paradox on 08-19-14
-
Gangsters of Capitalism
- Smedley Butler, the Marines, and the Making and Breaking of America's Empire
- By: Jonathan M. Katz
- Narrated by: Adam Barr
- Length: 14 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Smedley Butler was the most celebrated warfighter of his time. Best-selling books were written about him. Hollywood adored him. Wherever the flag went, “The Fighting Quaker” went - serving in nearly every major overseas conflict from the Spanish War of 1898 until the eve of World War II.
-
-
A good history of how we’ve gotten to where we are
- By Daniel on 01-29-22
By: Jonathan M. Katz
-
The Racial Contract
- By: Charles Wade Mills
- Narrated by: Jeff Wilburn
- Length: 4 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Racial Contract puts classic Western social contract theory to extraordinary radical use. With a sweeping look at the European expansionism and racism of the last 500 years, Charles W. Mills demonstrates how this peculiar and unacknowledged "contract" has shaped a system of global European domination: how it brings into existence "whites" and "non-whites," full persons and sub-persons, how it influences white moral theory and moral psychology; and how this system is imposed.
-
-
An important but difficult read
- By Anne T Chambers on 03-02-18
-
An Autobiography
- The Story of My Experiments with Truth
- By: Mohandas - Mahatma K. Gandhi
- Narrated by: Bill Wallace
- Length: 18 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A holy man to Hindus, a hero to Muslims, and a criminal to the British, Mohandas K. Gandhi was an inspiring figure of the 20th century, a man whose quest to live in accord with God’s highest truth led him to initiate massive campaigns against racism, violence, and colonialism.
-
-
Narration disappointment
- By Antonia on 06-23-11
Publisher's Summary
Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971) was an inner-city pastor, ethics professor, and author of the famous Serenity Prayer. Time magazine's March 8, 1948, cover story called him "the greatest Protestant theologian in America since Jonathan Edwards". Cited as an influence by public figures ranging from Billy Graham to Barack Obama, Niebuhr was described by historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. as "the most influential American theologian of the 20th century".
In this companion volume to the forthcoming documentary film by Martin Doblmeier on the life and influence of Reinhold Niebuhr, Jeremy Sabella draws on an unprecedented set of exclusive interviews to explore how Niebuhr continues to compel minds and stir consciences in the 21st century. Interviews with leading voices such as Jimmy Carter, David Brooks, Cornel West, and Stanley Hauerwas as well as with people who knew Niebuhr personally, including his daughter Elisabeth, provide a rich trove of original material to help listeners understand Niebuhr's enduring impact on American life and thought.
More from the same
What listeners say about An American Conscience
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Adam Shields
- 09-19-17
A companion book to the PBS documentary on Reinhol
The past couple of months I keep running across Reinhold Niebuhr. While I read him in seminary, I have not directly read anything by him for several years. But Niebuhr has come back to the world again with modern politics.
The two strong points that Niebuhr makes to our current political and theological world is that systems are always broken. No matter how good the goals or purposes of any institution or organization is, that institution or organization is still made up of sinful humans and will eventually disappoint or harm.
The second related point, that primarily comes out in his Irony of American History, is that in addition to institutions be broken, organizations with good goals will often adopt bad means to accomplish those good goals and in some ways be more dangerous than the institutions that are openly negative. With good intentions, comes the thought that people working within good institutions to cut corners or harm people because of the greater good that accomplishing those good goals will bring.
Those two points keep coming up. So I picked up An American Conscience and then watched the documentary after I finished the book. This is a brief book, not even 200 pages. But it does a good job introducing Niebuhr to readers that were likely not even born when he passed away.
Niebuhr is probably best known as the author of the Serenity Prayer or for being on the cover of Time’s 25th Anniversary edition, or for being Obama, Carter and McCain’s favorite theologian. James Comey wrote his dissertation using Niebuhr as a framework and named his private twitter account after Niebuhr.
The American Conscious book is clearly intended to be a companion to the Documentary (which can be streamed for free and is only 1 hour.) The book goes into much more detail than the documentary and is roughly framed around Niebuhr’s major books. I have only read Moral Man and Immoral Society, the Irony of American History and parts of Nature and Destiny of Man. Moral Man and Immoral Society is a perfect descriptive title. There are two cheap kindle editions available and after I finished An American Conscience I started reading it again.
If you just want an overview of Niebuhr, An American Conscience is a good option. Several years ago I read the The Niebuhr Brothers for Armchair Theologians. The structure was basically the same for both books. They both primarily concentrated on the books instead of biography. But An American Conscience was far more interesting (and less like an extended book report) than the Armchair Theologians books.
Part of what I like about history is that we should be learning from the past. What I like about Niebuhr is that he seems to take the idea that we should learn from the past seriously. In his case, what he wrote about was inspired by what he experienced. He was a progressive, socialist, pacifist in the 1920s and 30s. Then with the rise of Hitler (Niebuhr was the child of German immigrants and english was his second language) he gave up his pacifism. While touring Europe he gave up his socialism because of the weaknesses of the Russian system. And with the rise of the Cold War he gave up much of his progressivism can called for a much more conservative form of social change.
In someways, Niebuhr is not unlike many young progressives. As they age they understand the weaknesses of some forms of progressivism. But Niebuhr did not give up on the ideals that he originally had. He believed in a gospel that means something for the world today. He believed in many progressive causes, like worker’s rights, civil rights, other social reforms. He understood that sin was more than individual, it was systematic. To address sin as only individual, was to ignore its root causes (this was his main public complaint against Billy Graham.)
Niebuhr throughout his life understood that ethics had to be influenced by faith, not the other way around.
16 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kingsley
- 11-28-18
Detailed life of an american pastor
You probably know Reinhold Niebuhr's Serenity Prayer, even if you do not know the man:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.
If nothing else, this is a great thing that Niebuhr brought to the public consciousness. But there is much more to that man than just this.
'An American Conscience' is a companion to a PBS documentary about Niebuhr. Not having seen the documentary, I feel there are some gaps in this book. But nothing substantial, and the book overall feels comprehensive enough. it doesn't spend much time on his early life, for instance. It really focuses on his ministry.
This book gives a very good overview of his ministry. Focusing strongly on his written works and the events happening around them. It talks about his calling out of Henry ford, when everyone else was thinking Ford was progressive. It talks about his relationship to anti-Hitler German pastor Friedrich Bonhoeffer It talks about his approach to race relations, and his sadness when his previous church changed their stance after he left. It focuses on his presentation of the 'social gospel'. It also discussed how and why his views changed over time, giving a strong justification for that change and why changing views is often a good thing.
It is not theological in content. It is not beating you over the head with Biblical beliefs and teachings. It's a fairly 'secular' approach to giving his story, when compared to many other pastoral biographies I have read.
Narration by Alan Taylor was good. Clean, clear, well paced. enjoyable to listen to.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this review voluntarily.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- zachary nerison
- 03-03-20
Excellent coverage
The content of Niebuhr’s is organized well. Really enjoyed the survey of his writings as life milestones. Perhaps the only improvement could have been a survey of his reception within churches nation wide. In other words, how did his life impact and change the pastoral role.
-
Overall
- Anonymous User
- 02-06-20
good reading
loved it but it was a little hard to finish. the knowledge was worth every minute.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Darren Sapp
- 11-27-18
Solid Intro
A solid introduction to this influential theologian. Impeccable research on a man that influenced so many. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request, and I have voluntarily left this review.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mary V
- 11-23-18
Film Companion Book Recounts Life of Niebuhr
It should be kept in mind that this book is a companion piece to the PBS film of the same name. Otherwise, you will be wondering where the documentation is. I assume the historical luminaries are identified in the film which is the one source for this work.
Reinhold Niebuhr was a brilliant theologian, and first-generation American born of European immigrants.
As a pastor, a speaker, a writer, holding positions of sway at universities and in government both domestic and global, Niebuhr was what one would call today, an influencer. Niebuhr traveled actively spreading his views.
Niebuhr tackled Henry Ford's treatment of his assembly line workers and their pay, the role and responsibility of the US post-WWII, race relations, civil rights, other "social gospel" issues, as well as personal responsibility issues.
Niebuhr was a contemporary of Detrick Bonhoeffer and arranged for him to come to Princeton to study for a year. Niebuhr arranged a second year for Bonhoeffer to spend in America, safely away from Hitler, but Bonhoeffer's conscience wouldn't permit him to and he returned to Germany. As you are probably aware, Bonhoeffer was caught and hung for taking part in a plot to kill Hitler.
I was pleasantly surprised to learn it is Niebuhr who wrote the famous Serenity Prayer, which has become almost synonymous with Alcoholics Anonymous.
Niebuhr suffered a series of strokes in the 1950s which slowed his travel but did not slow the writing of his book.
I heartily recommend this audiobook for anyone interested In the formation of America's social conscience from the 1930s through the 1960s.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Anonymous User
- 03-24-19
great introduction to Niebuhr, very informative
very good outline of the life and work of a crucial figure in US history