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The Edge of Anarchy
- The Railroad Barons, the Gilded Age, and the Greatest Labor Uprising in America
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
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Publisher's summary
The dramatic story of the explosive 1894 clash of industry, labor, and government that shook the nation and marked a turning point for America
The Edge of Anarchy offers a vivid account of the greatest uprising of working people in American history. At the pinnacle of the Gilded Age, a boycott of Pullman sleeping cars by hundreds of thousands of railroad employees brought commerce to a standstill across much of the country. Famine threatened, riots broke out along the rail lines. Soon the US Army was on the march and gunfire rang from the streets of major cities.
This epochal tale offers fascinating portraits of two iconic characters of the age. George Pullman, who amassed a fortune by making train travel a pleasure, thought the model town that he built for his workers would erase urban squalor. Eugene Debs, founder of the nation's first industrial union, was determined to wrench power away from the reigning plutocrats. The clash between the two men's conflicting ideals pushed the country to what the US attorney general called "the ragged edge of anarchy."
Many of the themes of The Edge of Anarchy could be taken from today's headlines - upheaval in America's industrial heartland, wage stagnation, breakneck technological change, and festering conflict over race, immigration, and inequality. With the country now in a New Gilded Age, this look back at the violent conflict of an earlier era offers illuminating perspectives along with a breathtaking story of a nation on the edge.
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- Calemos
- 01-18-20
Wow! every workingman should read.
Great book on this turbulent time in American history. Eugene Debs was a great leader and was a true man of the working people. Everyone should know about Debs and this history. Its so relevant with how ignorant the working class is today. every worker that reads this history is one step closer to getting up off his/her knees in a time when capitalism is trampling all over the working class. great book. A+!
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8 people found this helpful
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- G3Dream
- 05-13-22
Know Thy Enemy
I am a model railroader. I love to study the history of the industry. I am also intellectually and spiritually attuned to the use of history and intrigue to propel propaganda. Beware. This book offers both intellectual stimulation, historical contextual agitation, and in the final chapters, affirmation of the propagation of a political philosophy rooted in secular humanism. Again beware, but be aware and relish the stimulating revelation of thy enemy.
“The latter 19th Century labor conflicts hinges upon the question whether American creed rests on Individualism and Private Property versus Solidarity grounded in Equality and Mutual Sympathy.”
This restated quote from the 29th chapter written by Jack Kelly, in railroad story context, reveals the false dichotomy erected by Secular Humanism in its antipathy toward Divine Authority.
Union Socialist Eugene Debs professed his agnosticism blended with his ethical enlightenment.
Capitalist tycoon George Pullman practiced personal charity mixed with resolute principles of initiative and ingenuity producing unbridled reward.
Secular Humanism often draws upon tiny morsels of ethical adherence to principles derived from studying Nature. But it’s aim and end never deviates from Man on the Throne versus God on the Throne.
The result of pursuing the former invariably results in chaos and trauma, regardless of the “good intentions” or superiority inferred by the proponents’ supposed heightened intellect.
Pursuing the latter, a world on bended knee before the Throne of God, also results in scorn, ridicule and antipathy due principally to the sinful, fallen nature of this world.
Yet it is the individually redeemed and reformed hearts of men that can reveal the false dichotomy of secular humanism and yearn to live lives that celebrate the Individual’s created nature in the image of God, the blessings of possession of the fruits of labor and ingenuity, and the solidarity of brotherhood out of love and humility that lends itself to celebrating equality while serving brotherhood out of empathy and sympathy.
My last paragraph is the antithesis to Jack Kelly’s thesis, restated in paragraph two. All in all, I am enriched by listening to this book and I highly recommend it to all who will proceed with intellectual and spiritual caution.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 11-29-21
Teach this in schools
or make a TV show or movie about it so people actually pay attention. The situation they were in rings true, right now, November, 29th, 2021. We always have the numbers. Stick together, stand strong, eat the rich.
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- Godjilla
- 01-29-21
Relevant
I won't say it was the most exciting book I've ever read, but I feel in this day and age, it is relevant.
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- C-lit
- 06-08-23
A great listen!
This was a very interesting story about something I never learned about in school. Very enlightening and highly recommended- great performance as well!
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The Famine Plot
- England's Role in Ireland's Greatest Tragedy
- By: Tim Pat Coogan
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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In this sweeping history, Ireland's best-known historian, Tim Pat Coogan, tackles the dark history of the Irish Famine and argues that it constituted one of the first acts of genocide. In what the Boston Globe calls "his greatest achievement", Coogan shows how the British government hid behind the smoke screen of laissez faire economics, the invocation of divine providence, and a carefully orchestrated publicity campaign, allowing more than a million people to die agonizing deaths and driving a further million into emigration.
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Atrocities abound.
- By GMJ on 06-05-18
By: Tim Pat Coogan
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Rediscovering America
- How the National Holidays Tell an Amazing Story About Who We Are
- By: Scott S. Powell, David Horowitz - introduction
- Narrated by: John Wood
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Ever wonder why everyone wants to immigrate to America? Rediscovering America answers that question, and it’s like no other history you have ever encountered. More than an account of people, dates, and events, this story is about the hidden hand of a purposeful historical development where the main actors are colorful characters, participating in an American drama of little-known but remarkable events where overcoming incredible odds of failure is more unbelievable and engaging than fiction.
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Enlightening and Encouraging
- By Charlaine on 12-21-22
By: Scott S. Powell, and others
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Indestructible
- The Unforgettable Memoir of a Marine Hero at the Battle of Iwo Jima
- By: Jack H. Lucas, D.K. Drum
- Narrated by: Lloyd James
- Length: 5 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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On February 20, 1945, the second day of the assault on Iwo Jima - one of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific theater in World War II - Private Jack Lucas, who was only 17, and three other Marines engaged in a close-proximity firefight with Japanese soldiers. When two enemy grenades landed in their trench, Lucas jumped on one and pulled the other under his body to save the lives of his comrades. Lucas was blown into the air as his body was torn apart by 250 entrance wounds. He was so severely wounded that his team left him for dead. Miraculously, he survived.
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Not Really About Iwo Jima
- By Barbara on 02-25-21
By: Jack H. Lucas, and others
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No Man’s Land
- 1918, the Last Year of the Great War
- By: John Toland
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 25 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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From freezing infantrymen huddled in bloodied trenches on the front lines to intricate political maneuvering and tense strategy sessions in European capitals, noted historian John Toland tells of the unforgettable final year of the First World War. In this audiobook, participants on both sides, from enlisted men to generals and prime ministers to monarchs, vividly recount the battles, sensational events, and behind-the-scenes strategies that shaped the climactic, terrifying year.
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Oddly biased, but worthy account of the period
- By Hellocat on 04-04-18
By: John Toland
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A Short History of Reconstruction, Updated Edition
- 1863-1877
- By: Eric Foner
- Narrated by: Paul Heitsch
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Reconstruction chronicles the way in which Americans - black and white - responded to the unprecedented changes unleashed by the war and the end of slavery. It addresses the quest of emancipated slaves' searching for economic autonomy and equal citizenship and describes the remodeling of Southern society; the evolution of racial attitudes and patterns of race relations; and the emergence of a national state possessing vastly expanded authority and one committed, for a time, to the principle of equal rights for all Americans.
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Depth and Deceptive
- By Amazon Customer on 08-31-19
By: Eric Foner
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This Is Chance!
- The Shaking of an All-American City, a Voice That Held It Together
- By: Jon Mooallem
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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In the spring of 1964, Anchorage, Alaska, was a modern-day frontier town yearning to be a metropolis - the largest, proudest city in a state that was still brand-new. But just before sundown on Good Friday, the community was jolted by the most powerful earthquake in American history, a catastrophic 9.2 on the Richter Scale. This Is Chance! is the thrilling, cinematic story of a community shattered by disaster - and the extraordinary woman who helped pull it back together.
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amazing story
- By Dani L on 02-07-21
By: Jon Mooallem
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Island of the Blue Foxes
- Disaster and Triumph on the World's Greatest Scientific Expedition
- By: Stephen R. Bown
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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The story of the world's largest, longest, and best-financed scientific expedition of all time, triumphantly successful, gruesomely tragic, and never before fully told. The immense 18th-century scientific journey, variously known as the Second Kamchatka Expedition or the Great Northern Expedition, from St. Petersburg across Siberia to the coast of North America, involved over 3,000 people and cost Peter the Great over one-sixth of his empire's annual revenue.
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Vivid History of Russia's First Contact In Alaska
- By Neil Ring on 09-01-18
By: Stephen R. Bown
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The Phoenix Economy
- Work, Life, and Money in the New Not Normal
- By: Felix Salmon
- Narrated by: Felix Salmon
- Length: 10 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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We are living in a strange world—Salmon calls it “the New Not Normal.” The Phoenix Economy explores the ramifications of the pandemic years, many of which are surprisingly positive. In doing so, Salmon makes sense of one of the most disorienting and devastating events of our lifetimes. He examines the critical aspects of our lives that have been transformed in three parts: Time and Space, Mind and Body, and Business and Pleasure.
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Don't waste your time
- By Krissy on 06-06-23
By: Felix Salmon
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The Cause
- The American Revolution and Its Discontents, 1773-1783
- By: Joseph J. Ellis
- Narrated by: Graham Winton
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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George Washington claimed that anyone who attempted to provide an accurate account of the war for independence would be accused of writing fiction. At the time, no one called it the “American Revolution”: Former colonists still regarded themselves as Virginians or Pennsylvanians, not Americans, while John Adams insisted that the British were the real revolutionaries, for attempting to impose radical change without their colonists’ consent. With The Cause, Ellis takes a fresh look at the events between 1773 and 1783.
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Modest history primer, wished for more substance
- By Buretto on 10-21-21
By: Joseph J. Ellis
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Don’t Go There
- The Mystery of Dyatlov Pass
- By: Svetlana Oss
- Narrated by: Chloe Cannon
- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Nine wholesome university students mountaineering in the Urals go missing, and are later uncovered from the snows of a bleak forest's edge in the Siberian Taiga, in a series of grisly discoveries. Why were the climbers wearing no boots? Why were stout branches of the forest pines singed to a height of 30 feet? What were the mysterious markings in the bark of nearby trees? What was so-called "overwhelming force" that was capable of breaking eight ribs in a single blow without bruises?
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Finally a Russian view of the tragedy!
- By Jimmyjoejangles on 12-09-21
By: Svetlana Oss
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The Birth of Classical Europe
- A History from Troy to Augustine
- By: Simon Price, Peter Thonemann
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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To an extraordinary extent we continue to live in the shadow of the classical world. At every level, from languages to calendars to political systems, we are the descendants of a “classical Europe,” using frames of reference created by ancient Mediterranean cultures. As this consistently fresh and surprising new audio book makes clear, however, this was no less true for the inhabitants of those classical civilizations themselves, whose myths, history, and buildings were an elaborate engagement with an already old and revered past - one filled with great leaders and writers....
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Excellent overview of the Classical World
- By David I. Williams on 01-12-14
By: Simon Price, and others
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Tip of the Iceberg
- My 3,000-Mile Journey Around Wild Alaska, the Last Great American Frontier
- By: Mark Adams
- Narrated by: Mark Adams
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1899, railroad magnate Edward H. Harriman organized a most unusual summer voyage to the wilds of Alaska: He converted a steamship into a luxury "floating university", populated by some of America's best and brightest scientists and writers, including the anti-capitalist eco-prophet, John Muir. Armed with Dramamine and an industrial-strength mosquito net, Mark Adams sets out to retrace the 1899 expedition. Using the state's intricate public ferry system, the Alaska Marine Highway System, Adams travels 3,000 miles.
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Very engaging
- By rachel cartwright on 05-30-18
By: Mark Adams
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Blueprint
- The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society
- By: Nicholas A. Christakis
- Narrated by: Nicholas A. Christakis
- Length: 14 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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For too long, scientists have focused on the dark side of our biological heritage: our capacity for aggression, cruelty, prejudice, and self-interest. But natural selection has given us a suite of beneficial social features, including our capacity for love, friendship, cooperation, and learning. Beneath all our inventions - our tools, farms, machines, cities, nations - we carry with us innate proclivities to make a good society.
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Many interesting thoughts
- By Jonas Blomberg Ghini on 06-01-19