Audiobooks by Walter Isaacson

American Sketches: Great Leaders, Creative Thinkers, and Heroes of a Hurricane

By the author of the bestselling biographies of Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin, a reflection on: What are the roots of creativity? What makes for great leadership? In this collection of essays, Walter Isaacson reflects on the lessons to be learned from Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, Henry Kissinger, Ronald Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, and various other larger-than-life characters he has chronicled as a biographer and a journalist. Isaacson reflects on how he became a writer, the lessons he learned from various people he met, and the challenges he sees for journalism in the digital age. He offers living tributes to his hometown of New Orleans, which both before and after Hurricane Katrina offered many of the ingredients for a creative culture, and to the Louisiana novelist Walker Percy, who was an early mentor.

Walter Isaacson (Author), Cotter Smith (Narrator)

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Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin is the founding father who winks at us, the one who seems made of flesh rather than marble. In this authoritative and engrossing full-scale biography, Walter Isaacson shows how the most fascinating of America's founders helped define our national character. In a sweeping narrative that follows Franklin's life from Boston to Philadelphia to London and Paris and back, Isaacson chronicles the adventures of the spunky runaway apprentice who became, during his 84-year life, America's best writer, inventor, media baron, scientist, diplomat, and business strategist, as well as one of its most practical and ingenious political leaders. He explores the wit behind Poor Richard's Almanac and the wisdom behind the Declaration of Independence, the new nation's alliance with France, the treaty that ended the Revolution, and the compromises that created a near-perfect Constitution. Above all, Isaacson shows how Franklin's unwavering faith in the wisdom of the common citizen and his instinctive appreciation for the possibilities of democracy helped to forge an American national identity based on the virtues and values of its middle class.

Walter Isaacson (Author), Nelson Runger (Narrator)

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Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

Benjamin Franklin is the founding father who winks at us -- an ambitious urban entrepreneur who rose up the social ladder, from leather-aproned shopkeeper to dining with kings. In bestselling author Walter Isaacson's vivid and witty full-scale biography, we discover why Franklin turns to us from history's stage with eyes that twinkle from behind his new-fangled spectacles. In Benjamin Franklin, Isaacson shows how Franklin defines both his own time and ours. The most interesting thing that Franklin invented, and continually reinvented, was himself. America's first great publicist, he was consciously trying to create a new American archetype. In the process, he carefully crafted his own persona, portrayed it in public, and polished it for posterity. His guiding principle was a "dislike of everything that tended to debase the spirit of the common people." Few of his fellow founders felt this comfort with democracy so fully, and none so intuitively. In this colorful and intimate narrative, Isaacson provides the full sweep of Franklin's amazing life, from his days as a runaway printer to his triumphs as a statesman, scientist, and Founding Father. He chronicles Franklin's tumultuous relationship with his illegitimate son and grandson, his practical marriage, and his flirtations with the ladies of Paris. He also shows how Franklin helped to create the American character and why he has a particular resonance in the twenty-first century.

Walter Isaacson (Author), Boyd Gaines (Narrator)

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De codekraker: Het revolutionaire DNA-onderzoek van Nobelprijswinnaar Jennifer Doudna

Walter Isaacson vertelt het verhaal van DNA-expert en Nobelprijswinnaar Jennifer Doudna NEW SCIENTIST BOEK VAN DE MAAND 'Een pageturner over de vrouw achter CRISPR-Cas.' •••• NRC In oktober 2020 ontving biochemicus Jennifer Doudna samen met haar collega Emmanuelle Charpentier de Nobelprijs voor de Scheikunde voor hun doorslaggevende bijdrage aan de ontwikkeling van CRISPR-Cas. Met deze techniek kunnen wetenschappers het menselijk genoom bewerken door te knippen en plakken in DNA-sequenties. Net als de ontdekking van de structuur van DNA in de jaren vijftig door Watson en Crick bracht deze doorbaak een medische revolutie op gang: CRISPR wordt onder andere ingezet bij de bestrijding van Covid-19. In De codekraker vertelt Walter Isaacson het bijzondere verhaal van Doudna en haar grensverleggende onderzoek. Hij volgt haar wetenschappelijke reis naar de Nobelprijs en laat ons kennismaken met de techniek achter CRISPR en de belangrijke personen in Doudna's leven en carrière. Ook staat hij stil bij de morele vragen die deze techniek oproept. Waar ligt de grens voor genetische manipulatie? Moeten we willen dat welgestelde ouders hun kinderen perfectioneren? Het resultaat is een belangrijk boek over een van de grootste wetenschappers van onze tijd en de toekomst van de mens. 'De codekraker geeft met deze uitvoerigheid een prachtige inkijk in hoe de wetenschapswereld functioneert. [...] Een vlot leesbaar en mooi journalistiek werk.' FD 'Isaacson laat ons de vlijmscherpe randjes van de academische wereld zien, zodat deze wetenschappelijke biografie regelmatig leest als een detectiveroman.' New Scientist 'Het genot van een Isaacson-biografie is dat de auteur niet in cynische zaken blijft hangen; hij vertelt verhalen van mensen die per definitie onnavolgbaar zijn.' The New York Times

Walter Isaacson (Author), Kevin Hassing (Narrator)

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Der Codebreaker: Wie die Erfindung der Genschere die Zukunft der Menschheit für immer verändert

Die CRISPR-Methode und die Zukunft der MedizinWas macht die Natur, wenn ein neuer Feind auftaucht? Sie findet eine neue Strategie. Wenn eine Bakterie von einem Virus attackiert wird, verteidigt sie sich beispielsweise, indem sie ihre genetische Struktur ändert. Doch wie können diese Mechanismen nachgewiesen werden? Und welchen Nutzen hat dieses Wissen für die Medizin?Der Amerikanerin Jennifer Doudna und der Französin Emmanuelle Charpentier sind bahnbrechende Erkenntnisse im Bereich der Biochemie gelungen: Die beiden Forscherinnen konnten die Verteidigungsstrategien der Natur auf grundlegendster Ebene, auf jener der Zelle, entdecken und nachbauen. Das Ergebnis heißt »CRISPR«. Diese Genschere kann den genetischen Bauplan punktgenau ändern. Die Sternstunde der Forschung: Blicken Sie den berühmten Wissenschaftlerinnen über die Schulter! Was trieb Jennifer Doudna und Emmanuelle Charpentier zu dieser Höchstleistung an? Welche Rückschläge und Erfolge begegneten den Forscherinnen auf ihrem Weg zum Durchbruch? Wie wurde aus einer Idee, die zunächst wie Science-Fiction klang, ein Projekt, das die Welt der Wissenschaft für immer verändern würde?Walter Isaacson erzählt in diesem fundierten Sachbuch nicht nur die Geschichte der CRISPR-Methode, sondern lässt Sie auch hinter die Kulissen blicken: in die Labore, in denen der Wettlauf der Biosciences entschieden wurde. Ein packendes Wissenschaftsbuch, das Forschung und Biografie verbindet!- Ausgezeichnet mit dem Nobelpreis für Chemie: Die Erfolgsgeschichte des Code-Breakers- Die Erfindung von CRISPR: So funktioniert die Technologie des Gen-Editierens- Frauen in der Wissenschaft: Jennifer Doudna und Emmanuelle Charpentier im persönlichen Porträt- Moralische und ethische Fragen, die bei der Genforschung bedacht werden müssen- So kann die Genschere in der Virus-Bekämpfung eingesetzt werden-

Walter Isaacson (Author), Marlen Ulonska (Narrator)

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Einstein

How did Einstein's mind work? What made him a genius? Isaacson's biography shows how his scientific imagination sprang from the rebellious nature of his personality. His fascinating story is a testament to the connection between creativity and freedom. Based on the newly released personal letters of Albert Einstein, Walter Isaacson explores how an imaginative, impertinent patent clerk -- a struggling father in a difficult marriage who couldn't get a teaching job or a doctorate -- became the mind reader of the creator of the cosmos, the locksmith of the mysteries of the atom and the universe. His success came from questioning conventional wisdom and marveling at mysteries that struck others as mundane. This led him to embrace a morality and politics based on respect for free minds, free spirits, and free individuals. These traits are just as vital for this new century of globalization, in which our success will depend on our creativity, as they were for the beginning of the last century, when Einstein helped usher in the modern age.

Walter Isaacson (Author), Edward Herrmann (Narrator)

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Einstein: Su vida y su universo

Escucha ahora la biografía definitiva de Albert Einstein, uno de los iconos del siglo XX y su mayor genio. Albert Einstein es uno de los científicos más importantes de la historia y un icono del siglo XX. ¿Cómo funcionaba su mente? ¿Qué le hizo un genio? ¿Cómo era el hombre detrás de la celebridad? Walter Isaacson, que tuvo acceso a los archivos de Einstein, ofrece en este audiolibro un extraordinario retrato del personaje y de su época, así como un fascinante relato de su vida. A partir de su correspondencia privada, cuenta cómo un funcionario de patentes imaginativo e impertinente (un mal padre con un matrimonio complicado, incapaz de conseguir un empleo en la universidad ni un doctorado) logró desvelar los secretos del cosmos y comprender los misterios del átomo y del universo. Su creatividad estaba ligada a su rebeldía. Su éxito se basó en cuestionar las verdades aceptadas y en asombrarse ante cuestiones que otros consideraban mundanas. Las mejores biografías disponibles en formato audiolibro Reseñas: «Espléndida, un gran trabajo de investigación con mucho material inédito. Una obra fundamental y definitiva.» Amir D. Aczel, The Boston Globe «Walter Isaacson ha logrado un retrato completo de Einstein. Con un estilo ágil que disimula su atención al detalle y a la precisión científica, nos lleva a un maravilloso viaje por la vida, la mente y la ciencia de un hombre que cambió nuestra visión del universo.» Brian Greene, autor de El tejido del cosmos «Una biografía extraordinaria de un gran hombre. Walter Isaacson ha conseguido reflejar a Einstein como ser humano y al tiempo explicar profundos conceptos físicos. Su biografía se lee con placer y logra que el gran científico vuelva a la vida.» Murray Gell-Mann, Premio Nobel y autor de El quark y el jaguar «Magnífica. La biografía más completa de Einstein para el gran público. Una narración excelente.» Sharon Begley, Newsweek

Walter Isaacson (Author), Luis Solís (Narrator)

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El código de la vida: Jennifer Doudna, la edición genética y el futuro de la especie humana

Walter Isaacson vuelve a fascinarnos, esta vez con la historia de Jennifer Doudna, Premio Nobel de Química 2020, y el avance científico más importante del último siglo. Hay una revolución en marcha, una tecnología prodigiosa que nos va a permitir curar enfermedades, derrotar virus y tener hijos más sanos. A su cabeza está la reciente premio Nobel Jennifer Doudna y sus colegas, protagonistas del nuevo libro de Walter Isaacson. Aunque su profesor de instituto le advirtió que las niñas no podían ser científicas, su búsqueda apasionada de los mecanismos ocultos de la vida y su voluntad por convertir descubrimientos en inventos llevaron a Jennifer Doudna a participar en el avance más importante en el ámbito de la biología desde el descubrimiento de la doble hélice del ADN. Con su equipo, transformó una curiosidad de la naturaleza en una herramienta que cambiará el rumbo del ser humano. El CRISPR, una técnica fácil de usar que permite modificar el ADN, lo que abre un mundo nuevo de milagros médicos pero también de cuestiones morales. El desarrollo del CRISPR (y la carrera por encontrar la vacuna del coronavirus) acelerarán nuestra transición a la siguiente gran revolución. Los últimos cincuenta años han sido una era digital basada en el microchip, el ordenador e internet. Ahora comienza la revolución de las ciencias de la vida. A los estudiantes de código digital se les unirán los que estudian el código genético. ¿Deberíamos usar nuestras nuevas capacidades para hacernos menos vulnerables a los virus? ¿Y para prevenir la depresión? ¿Deberíamos aceptar que las familias que se lo puedan permitir mejoren la constitución física o la inteligencia de sus hijos? Tras dirigir el equipo que descubrió la tecnología CRISPR, Doudna ha liderado los debates en torno a estas cuestiones morales. Obtuvo, junto con su colaboradora Emmanuelle Charpentier, el Premio Nobel de Química en 2020. Su historia es una apasionante aventura que atraviesa las maravillas más profundas de la naturaleza, de los orígenes de la vida al futuro de nuestra especie. La crítica ha dicho... «El premio de este año tiene que ver con la idea de reescribir el código de la vida. Estas tijeras genéticas han llevado a la ciencia a una nueva era.» Anuncio del Premio Nobel de Química 2020 «Un libro extraordinario que profundiza en una de las tecnologías biológicas más innovadoras de nuestro tiempo y las personas que la crearon. Brillante es una lectura absolutamente necesaria para nuestra era.» Siddhartha Mukherjee «Un libro vital sobre la última gran innovación científica, y otra biografía de primer nivel de Isaacson.» Kirkus Weekly

Walter Isaacson (Author), Luis Solís, Yareli Arizmendi (Narrator)

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Elon Musk

Epic feats. Epic failures. An epic story. Walter Isaacson charts Elon Musk's journey from humble beginnings to one of the wealthiest people on the planet - but is Musk a genius or a jerk? From the author of Steve Jobs and other bestselling biographies, this is the astonishingly intimate story of Elon Musk, the most fascinating and controversial innovator of our era - a rule-breaking visionary who helped to lead the world into the era of electric vehicles, private space exploration and artificial intelligence. Oh, and took over Twitter. When Elon Musk was a kid in South Africa, he was regularly beaten by bullies. One day a group pushed him down some concrete steps and kicked him until his face was a swollen ball of flesh. He was in the hospital for a week. But the physical scars were minor compared to the emotional ones inflicted by his father, an engineer, rogue and charismatic fantasist. His father's impact on his psyche would linger. He developed into a tough yet vulnerable man-child with an exceedingly high tolerance for risk, a craving for drama, an epic sense of mission, and a maniacal intensity that was callous and at times destructive. At the beginning of 2022 - after a year marked by SpaceX launching thirty-one rockets into orbit, Tesla selling a million cars, and him becoming the richest man on earth - Musk spoke ruefully about his compulsion to stir up dramas. 'I need to shift my mindset away from being in crisis mode, which it has been for about fourteen years now, or arguably most of my life,' he said. It was a wistful comment, not a New Year's resolution. Even as he said it, he was secretly buying up shares of Twitter, the world's ultimate playground. Over the years, whenever he was in a dark place, his mind went back to being bullied on the playground. Now he had the chance to own the playground. For two years, Walter Isaacson had unprecedented access. He shadowed Musk, attended his meetings, walked his factories with him and spent hours interviewing him, his family, friends, coworkers and adversaries. The result is the revealing inside story, filled with amazing tales of triumphs and turmoil, that addresses the question: are the demons that drive Musk also what it takes to drive innovation and progress?

Walter Isaacson (Author), Jeremy Bobb (Narrator)

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Kissinger: A Biography

By the time Henry Kissinger was made secretary of state in 1973, he had become, according to a Gallup poll, the most admired person in America and one of the most unlikely celebrities ever to capture the world’s imagination. Yet Kissinger was also reviled by large segments of the American public, ranging from liberal intellectuals to conservative activists. Kissinger explores the relationship between this complex man’s personality and the foreign policy he pursued. Drawing on extensive interviews with Kissinger as well as 150 other sources, including US presidents and his business clients, this first full-length biography makes use of many of Kissinger’s private papers and classified memos to tell his uniquely American story. The result is an intimate narrative, filled with surprising revelations, that follows this grandly colorful statesman from his childhood as a persecuted Jew in Nazi Germany, through his tortured relationship with Richard Nixon, to his later years as a globe-trotting business consultant. “In its range and research, it is the book to end all books on Mr. Kissinger. For his aficionados, it makes compulsive reading; for students of his years of influence on United States foreign policy, it is compulsory.”—New York Times

Walter Isaacson (Author), Malcolm Hillgartner (Narrator)

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Kissinger: A Biography

By the time Henry Kissinger was made secretary of state in 1973, he had become, according to a Gallup poll, the most admired person in America and one of the most unlikely celebrities ever to capture the world's imagination. Yet Kissinger was also reviled by large segments of the American public, ranging from liberal intellectuals to conservative activists. Kissinger explores the relationship between this complex man's personality and the foreign policy he pursued. Drawing on extensive interviews with Kissinger as well as 150 other sources, including US presidents and his business clients, this first full-length biography makes use of many of Kissinger's private papers and classified memos to tell his uniquely American story. The result is an intimate narrative, filled with surprising revelations, that follows this grandly colorful statesman from his childhood as a persecuted Jew in Nazi Germany, through his tortured relationship with Richard Nixon, to his later years as a globe-trotting business consultant.

Walter Isaacson (Author), Malcolm Hillgartner (Narrator)

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Leonardo da Vinci

The author of the acclaimed bestsellers Benjamin Franklin, Einstein, and Steve Jobs delivers an engrossing biography of Leonardo da Vinci, the world's most creative genius. Leonardo da Vinci created the two most famous paintings in history, The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa. But in his own mind, he was just as much a man of science and engineering. With a passion that sometimes became obsessive, he pursued innovative studies of anatomy, fossils, birds, the heart, flying machines, botany, geology, and weaponry. His ability to stand at the crossroads of the humanities and the sciences, made iconic by his drawing of Vitruvian Man, made him history's most creative genius. Now Walter Isaacson brings Leonardo da Vinci to life, showing why we have much to learn from him. His combination of science, art, technology, and imagination remains an enduring recipe for creativity. So, too, was his ease at being a bit of a misfit: illegitimate, gay, vegetarian, left-handed, easily distracted, and at times heretical. His relentless curiosity should remind us of the importance of instilling, both in ourselves and our children, not just received knowledge but a willingness to question it-to be imaginative and, like talented misfits and rebels in any era, to think different **Contact Customer Service for Additional Material**

Walter Isaacson (Author), Alfred Molina (Narrator)

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