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Can Democracy Work?
- A Short History of a Radical Idea, from Ancient Athens to Our World
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
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Can Democracy Work?
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Publisher's summary
A new history of the world's most embattled idea.
Today, democracy is the world's only broadly accepted political system, and yet it has become synonymous with disappointment and crisis. How did it come to this? In Can Democracy Work? James Miller, the author of the classic history of 1960s protest Democracy Is in the Streets, offers a lively, surprising, and urgent history of the democratic idea from its first stirrings to the present. As he shows, democracy has always been rife with inner tensions. The ancient Greeks preferred to choose leaders by lottery and regarded elections as inherently corrupt and undemocratic. The French revolutionaries sought to incarnate the popular will, but many of them came to see the people as the enemy. And in the United States, the franchise would be extended to some even as it was taken from others. Amid the wars and revolutions of the 20th century, communists, liberals, and nationalists all sought to claim the ideals of democracy for themselves - even as they manifestly failed to realize them.
Ranging from the theaters of Athens to the tents of Occupy Wall Street, Can Democracy Work? is an entertaining and insightful guide to our most cherished - and vexed - ideal.
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- The Founders and Us
- By: Joseph J. Ellis
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 246
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 213
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 211
The story of history is a ceaseless conversation between past and present, and in American Dialogue, Joseph J. Ellis focuses the conversation on the often-asked question "What would the Founding Fathers think?" He examines four of our most seminal historical figures through the prism of particular topics, using the perspective of the present to shed light on their views and, in turn, to make clear how their now centuries-old ideas illuminate the disturbing impasse of today's political conflicts.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A fine work, even with the editorializing
- By Casey Kerrick on 11-24-18
By: Joseph J. Ellis
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The Anatomy of Fascism
- By: Robert O. Paxton
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,168
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 990
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 974
What is fascism? By focusing on the concrete, what the fascists did rather than what they said, the esteemed historian Robert O. Paxton answers this question for the first time. From the first violent uniformed bands beating up "enemies of the state", through Mussolini's rise to power, to Germany's fascist radicalization in World War II, Paxton shows clearly why fascists came to power in some countries and not others.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great book for getting a clearer idea of fascism
- By Amazon Customer on 11-02-17
By: Robert O. Paxton
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The Habsburg Empire
- A New History
- By: Pieter M. Judson
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 18 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 368
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 316
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Story4 out of 5 stars 315
Rejecting fragmented histories of nations in the making, this bold revision surveys the shared institutions that bridged difference and distance to bring stability and meaning to the far-flung empire. By supporting new schools, law courts, and railroads along with scientific and artistic advances, the Habsburg monarchs sought to anchor their authority in the cultures and economies of Central Europe. A rising standard of living throughout the empire deepened the legitimacy of Habsburg rule.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Ideal for students of empires, nationalism, minorities and ethnic groups
- By Uther on 02-11-17
By: Pieter M. Judson
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Our Divided Political Heart
- The Battle for the American Idea in an Age of Discontent
- By: E. J. Dionne
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 41
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 33
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 35
Our Divided Political Heart will be the must-listen book of the 2012 election campaign. Offering an incisive analysis of how hyper-individualism is poisoning the nation's political atmosphere, E. J. Dionne Jr., argues that Americans can't agree on who we are because we can't agree on who we've been, or what it is, philosophically and spiritually, that makes us Americans.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good points and lots of good information
- By Jamie B on 08-15-12
By: E. J. Dionne
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The American Revolution
- A History [Modern Library Chronicles]
- By: Gordon S. Wood
- Narrated by: Jack Garrett
- Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 133
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 78
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 78
The American Revolution signalled a great change in the course of world history and progress. From this colonial revolt sprouted ideals of liberty and democracy, and all the aspirations and ambitions of a new people. In this work, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Gordon S. Wood discusses the character and consequences of the revolution, grounding the events and ideas that shaped the American consciousness.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The foremost scholar on the subject
- By Robert on 08-20-05
By: Gordon S. Wood
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The Idea of America
- By: Gordon S Wood
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 50
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 39
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 36
The preeminent historian of the American Revolution explains why it remains the most significant event in our history
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5 out of 5 stars
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Sophisticated analyses
- By Roger on 01-25-12
By: Gordon S Wood
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Liberal Fascism
- The Secret History of the American Left
- By: Jonah Goldberg
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 15 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,172
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 758
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 758
"Fascists", "Brownshirts", "jackbooted stormtroopers" - such are the insults typically hurled at conservatives by their liberal opponents. Calling someone a fascist is the fastest way to shut them up, defining their views as beyond the political pale. But who are the real fascists in our midst?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great book
- By Mark on 05-10-08
By: Jonah Goldberg
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The American Political Tradition
- And the Men Who Made It
- By: Richard Hofstadter, Christopher Lasch - foreword
- Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith
- Length: 17 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 35
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 30
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Story5 out of 5 stars 28
The American Political Tradition is one of the most influential and widely read historical volumes of our time. First published in 1948, its elegance, passion, and iconoclastic erudition laid the groundwork for a totally new understanding of the American past. By writing a "kind of intellectual history of the assumptions behind American politics", Richard Hofstadter changed the way Americans understand the relationship between power and ideas in their national experience. Hofstadter was able to articulate, in a single work, a historical vision that inspired and shaped an entire generation.
By: Richard Hofstadter, and others
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The Coming of the Third Reich
- By: Richard J. Evans
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 21 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,107
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,653
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,653
There is no story in 20th-century history more important to understand than Hitler’s rise to power and the collapse of civilization in Nazi Germany. With The Coming of the Third Reich, Richard Evans, one of the world’s most distinguished historians, has written the definitive account for our time.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Compelling and depressing
- By Tad Davis on 06-30-10
By: Richard J. Evans
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Free Speech
- A History from Socrates to Social Media
- By: Jacob Mchangama
- Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi
- Length: 13 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 66
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 60
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Story5 out of 5 stars 60
Hailed as the “first freedom”, free speech is the bedrock of democracy. But it is a challenging principle, subject to erosion in times of upheaval. Today, in democracies and authoritarian states around the world, it is on the retreat. In Free Speech, Jacob Mchangama traces the riveting legal, political, and cultural history of this idea.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great review of free speech and history
- By Anonymous User on 02-22-22
By: Jacob Mchangama
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Churchill's Trial
- Winston Churchill and the Salvation of Free Government
- By: Dr. Larry Arnn
- Narrated by: Wayne Campbell
- Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 147
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 130
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 130
A penetrating look at the necessity of constitutional limits upon government and exceptional men to lead those governments, uniquely taken by overlaying the life and writings of Winston Churchill with the American experiment.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A Masterpiece of Political Philosophy
- By Jean on 01-25-16
By: Dr. Larry Arnn
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Lost Kingdom
- The Quest for Empire and the Making of the Russian Nation
- By: Serhii Plokhy
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 16 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 115
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 100
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 100
From a preeminent scholar of Eastern Europe and the prizewinning author of Chernobyl, the essential history of Russian imperialism. In 2014, Russia annexed the Crimea and attempted to seize a portion of Ukraine - only the latest iteration of a centuries-long effort to expand Russian boundaries and create a pan-Russian nation. In Lost Kingdom, award-winning historian Serhii Plokhy argues that we can only understand the confluence of Russian imperialism and nationalism today by delving into the nation's history.
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2 out of 5 stars
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More like a history of Languages spoke in Russia.
- By kucherv on 10-24-17
By: Serhii Plokhy
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Washington's Farewell
- The Founding Father's Warning to Future Generations
- By: John Avlon
- Narrated by: John Avlon
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 280
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 247
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 249
George Washington's Farewell Address was a prophetic letter from a "parting friend" to his fellow citizens about the forces he feared could destroy our democracy: hyper-partisanship, excessive debt, and foreign wars. Once celebrated as civic scripture, more widely reprinted than the Declaration of Independence, the Farewell Address is now almost forgotten. Its message remains starkly relevant. In Washington's Farewell, John Avlon offers a stunning portrait of our first president and his battle to save America from self-destruction.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Very well written and performed
- By Michael Reading on 03-02-17
By: John Avlon
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The Paranoid Style in American Politics
- By: Richard Hofstadter, Sean Wilentz - foreward
- Narrated by: Keith Sellon-Wright
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 61
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 53
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 53
This timely reissue of Richard Hofstadter's classic work on the fringe groups that influence American electoral politics offers an invaluable perspective on contemporary domestic affairs. In The Paranoid Style in American Politics, acclaimed historian Richard Hofstadter examines the competing forces in American political discourse and how fringe groups can influence - and derail - the larger agendas of a political party.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Written in the 50s and 60s...
- By Kindle Customer on 11-06-19
By: Richard Hofstadter, and others
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Temptations of Power
- Islamists & Illiberal Democracy in a New Middle East
- By: Shadi Hamid
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 33
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Story4 out of 5 stars 33
In 1989, Francis Fukuyama famously announced the "end of history." The Berlin Wall had fallen; liberal democracy had won out. But what of illiberal democracy - the idea that popular majorities, working through the democratic process, might reject gender equality, religious freedoms, and other norms that Western democracies take for granted? Nowhere have such considerations become more relevant than in the Middle East, where the uprisings of 2011 swept the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups to power.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A new perspective
- By Dave114 on 08-06-18
By: Shadi Hamid
What listeners say about Can Democracy Work?
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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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
- Alex
- 12-07-18
Challenging, Dense, Enlightening, and Hopeful
I enjoyed this book tremendously. Miller’s brief sketch of both successful and abortive democratic movements across time and culture provides much needed historical context for our current moment. As more and more of the world becomes avowedly democratic, despite espousing radically different values and goals, this timeless work reminds us all that democracy is not a way of life in and of itself, but merely a method of constructing one.
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