Biography & Memoir Audiobooks

The Life and Legend of Chris Kyle: American Sniper, Navy SEAL

New York Times bestseller The life story of Chris Kyle, the American Sniper Journalist Michael J. Mooney reveals the life story of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, the American Sniper, from his Texas childhood up through his death in February 2013. A brutal warrior but a gentle father and husband, Kyle led the life of an American hero and legend. His heroism and reputation in the military service earned him the nickname "the devil" among insurgents and the nickname The Legend among his SEAL brethren, but his impact extended beyond that after he came home, through his work with fellow veterans. Mooney also sheds light on the life of the suffering fellow veteran who killed Kyle and interviews those closest to the late SEAL. The Life and Legend of Chris Kyle is an honest portrayal of the life of a man whose memorial service brought thousands of people to Cowboys Stadium--the most celebrated war hero of our time. [86 pages]

Michael J. Mooney (Author), Brian Troxell (Narrator)

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From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way

In this extraordinary and inspiring debut memoir, Jesse Thistle, once a high school dropout and now a rising Indigenous scholar, chronicles his life on the streets and how he overcame trauma and addiction to discover the truth about who he is. If I can just make it to the next minute...then I might have a chance to live; I might have a chance to be something more than just a struggling crackhead. From the Ashes is a remarkable memoir about hope and resilience, and a revelatory look into the life of a Métis-Cree man who refused to give up. Abandoned by his parents as a toddler, Jesse Thistle briefly found himself in the foster-care system with his two brothers, cut off from all they had known. Eventually the children landed in the home of their paternal grandparents, whose tough-love attitudes quickly resulted in conflicts. Throughout it all, the ghost of Jesse's drug-addicted father haunted the halls of the house and the memories of every family member. Struggling with all that had happened, Jesse succumbed to a self-destructive cycle of drug and alcohol addiction and petty crime, spending more than a decade on and off the streets, often homeless. Finally, he realized he would die unless he turned his life around. In this heart-warming and heart-wrenching memoir, Jesse Thistle writes honestly and fearlessly about his painful past, the abuse he endured, and how he uncovered the truth about his parents. Through sheer perseverance and education—and newfound love—he found his way back into the circle of his Indigenous culture and family. An eloquent exploration of the impact of prejudice and racism, From the Ashes is, in the end, about how love and support can help us find happiness despite the odds.

Jesse Thistle (Author), Jesse Thistle (Narrator)

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MOX

A vivid trip through the mind of the top professional wrestler in the business-a nobody from nowhere who achieved his ambitions and walked away with the gold and the girl of his dreams. Ride alongside Jon Moxley as he retraces some of the highways traveled on his remarkable journey. Revel in the never-before-told stories about his early life in Cincinnati, Ohio; the gritty independent wrestling scene where he cut his teeth; the complicated corporate landscape of the WWE where he bucked against authority; and the rebellious upstart AEW, where he won the championship in 2020 and was finally free to achieve the vision of the wrestler he'd always wanted to be. With plenty of pitstops and revelatory insights, including grisly ultraviolent encounters, crazy characters who became lifelong friends, and his unforgettable matches in Japan, MOX is the riveting account of the life of a brawler. It is a tale written in blood and soaked in debauchery, with a good dose of wisdom accumulated along the way. More than a backstage pass into the arena, MOX is a ticket into the ring. Once inside, you'll never look at pro wrestling the same again.

Jon Moxley (Author), Jon Moxley (Narrator)

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Politics On the Edge: The instant #1 Sunday Times bestseller from the host of hit podcast The Rest I

Brought to you by Penguin. From the former Conservative Cabinet minister and co-presenter of 2022's breakout hit podcast The Rest is Politics, a searing insider's account of ten extraordinary years in Parliament Over the course of a decade from 2010, Rory Stewart went from being a political outsider to standing for prime minister - before being sacked from a Conservative Party that he had come to barely recognise. Tackling ministerial briefs on flood response and prison violence, engaging with conflict and poverty abroad as a foreign minister, and Brexit as a Cabinet minister, Stewart learned first-hand how profoundly hollow and inadequate our democracy and government had become. Cronyism, ignorance and sheer incompetence ran rampant. Around him, individual politicians laid the foundations for the political and economic chaos of today. Stewart emerged battered but with a profound affection for his constituency of Penrith and the Border, and a deep direct insight into the era of populism and global conflict. Politics On the Edge invites us into the mind of one of the most interesting actors on the British political stage. Uncompromising, candid and darkly humorous, this is his story of the challenges, absurdities and realities of political life; a new classic of political memoir and a remarkable portrait of our age. ©2023 Rory Stewart (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Rory Stewart (Author), Rory Stewart (Narrator)

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Sounds Like Me: My Life (So Far) in Song

Sara Bareilles shot to fame in 2007 with her single 'Love Song,' but her journal as a songwriter started long before. In this candid book of essays, Sara pulls back the curtain to let us see the songwriting process, and all the struggle and joy inherent in creating great work while staying true to yourself. Written in the stripped down and confessional style of her songs, Sara's book will reward fans and singer-songwriters alike with the stories behind her most popular songs and insights into finding a balancing between making art for herself and popular music for her listeners. Sara's book is more that just a privileged view inside the experience of a remarkable musical talent - it's a moving tribute to the universal search for growth, healing and self-acceptance.

Sara Bareilles (Author), Sara Bareilles (Narrator)

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I, Partridge: We Need To Talk About Alan

Journalist, presenter, broadcaster, husband, father, vigorous all-rounder - Alan Partridge - a man with a fascinating past and an amazing future. Gregarious and popular, yet Alan's never happier than when relaxing in his own five-bedroom, south-built house with three acres of land and access to a private stream. But who is this mysterious enigma? Alan Gordon Partridge is the best - and best-loved - radio presenter in the region. Born into a changing world of rationing, Teddy Boys, apes in space and the launch of ITV, Alan's broadcasting career began as chief DJ of Radio Smile at St. Luke's Hospital in Norwich. After replacing Peter Flint as the presenter of Scout About, he entered the top 8 of BBC sports presenters. But Alan's big break came with his primetime BBC chat show Knowing Me, Knowing You. Sadly, the show battled against poor scheduling, having been put up against News at Ten, then in its heyday. Due to declining ratings, a single catastrophic hitch (the killing of a guest on air) and the dumbing down of network TV, Alan's show was cancelled. Not to be dissuaded, he embraced this opportunity to wind up his production company, leave London and fulfil a lifelong ambition to return to his roots in local radio. Now single, Alan is an intensely private man but he opens up, for the second time, in this candid, entertaining, often deeply emotional - and of course compelling - memoir, written entirely in his own words. (Alan quickly dispelled the idea of using a ghost writer. With a grade B English Language O-Level, he knew he was up to the task.) He speaks touchingly about his tragic Toblerone addiction, and the painful moment when unsold copies of his first autobiography, Bouncing Back, were pulped like 'word porridge'. He reveals all about his relationship with his ex-Ukrainian girlfriend, Sonja, with whom he had sex at least twice a day, and the truth about the thick people who make key decisions at the BBC.A literary tour de force, I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan charts the incredible journey of one of our greatest broadcasters.

Alan Partridge (Author), Alan Partridge (Narrator)

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Writing My Wrongs: Life, Death, and One Man's Story of Redemption in an American Prison

New York Times Bestseller A memoir of redemption, reform, and second chances amidst America's mass incarceration epidemic. Shaka Senghor was raised in a middle class neighborhood on Detroit's east side during the height of the 1980s crack epidemic. An honor roll student and a natural leader, he dreamed of becoming a doctor but at age 11, his parents' marriage began to unravel, and the beatings from his mother worsened, sending him on a downward spiral that saw him run away from home, turn to drug dealing to survive, and end up in prison for murder at the age of 19, fuming with anger and despair. Writing My Wrongs is the story of what came next. During his nineteen-year incarceration, seven of which were spent in solitary confinement, Senghor discovered literature, meditation, self-examination, and the kindness of others tools he used to confront the demons of his past, forgive the people who hurt him, and begin atoning for the wrongs he had committed. Upon his release at age thirty-eight, Senghor became an activist and mentor to young men and women facing circumstances like his. His work in the community and the courage to share his story led him to fellowships at the MIT Media Lab and the Kellogg Foundation and invitations to speak at events like TED and the Aspen Ideas Festival. In equal turns, Writing My Wrongs is a page-turning portrait of life in the shadow of poverty, violence, and fear; an unforgettable story of redemption, reminding us that our worst deeds don't define us; and a compelling witness to our country's need for rethinking its approach to crime, prison, and the men and women sent there. From the Hardcover edition.

Shaka Senghor (Author), Shaka Senghor (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories from My Life

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable, audiobook edition of The Pigeon Tunnel. Written and read by John le Carré. 'Out of the secret world I once knew, I have tried to make a theatre for the larger worlds we inhabit. First comes the imagining, then the search for reality. Then back to the imagining, and to the desk where I'm sitting now.' From his years serving in British Intelligence during the Cold War, to a career as a writer that took him from war-torn Cambodia to Beirut on the cusp of the 1982 Israeli invasion, to Russia before and after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, John le Carré has always written from the heart of modern times. In this, his first memoir, le Carré is as funny as he is incisive - reading into the events he witnesses the same moral ambiguity with which he imbues his novels. Whether he's writing about the parrot at a Beirut hotel that could perfectly mimic machine gun fire, or visiting Rwanda's museums of the unburied dead in the aftermath of the genocide, or celebrating New Year's Eve with Yasser Arafat, or interviewing a German terrorist in her desert prison in the Negev, or watching Alec Guinness preparing for his role as George Smiley, or describing the female aid worker who inspired the main character in his The Constant Gardener, le Carré endows each happening with vividness and humour, now making us laugh out loud, now inviting us to think anew about events and people we believed we understood. Best of all, le Carré gives us a glimpse of a writer's journey over more than six decades, and his own hunt for the human spark that has given so much life and heart to his fictional characters. 'No other writer has charted - pitilessly for politicians but thrillingly for readers - the public and secret histories of his times' Guardian 'John le Carré is as recognizable a writer as Dickens or Austen' Financial Times 'When I was under house arrest I was helped by the books of John le Carré ... they were a journey into the wider world ... These were the journeys that made me feel that I was not really cut off from the rest of humankind' Aung San Suu Kyi

John Le Carré (Author), John Le Carré (Narrator)

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Lincoln's Gift: How Humor Shaped Lincoln's Life and Legacy

'Simply the best book that has been published on this great president's humor and stories...Everyone interested in Abraham Lincoln will want to read this.' ?William C. Harris, author of Lincoln and the Border States Abraham Lincoln has long been admired for his leadership, honesty, and eloquence. But despite his somber reputation, the sixteenth president was quite funny. With an uncanny ability to mimic others and an irresistible midwestern twang, Lincoln, in fact, could be downright hilarious. Brimming with his funniest quips, jokes, and stories, Lincoln's Gift explores the crucial role humor played throughout his tumultuous professional and private life. Perfect for history buffs and Lincoln enthusiasts alike, this clever and captivating biography reveals how America's greatest president used his lighter side to lead the country through one of its darkest times, the Civil War. 'Gordon Leidner ingeniously blends a study of Lincoln's humor with an account of his life, showing how our sixteenth president was not always a 'man of sorrows' but often a man of laughter, capable alike of enjoying as well as telling a good story.'?Michael Burlingame, author of Abraham Lincoln: A Life

Gordon Leidner (Author), Frank Gerard (Narrator)

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When Heaven Calls

America's top psychic medium reflects on his life of speaking to Spirit and the lessons he's learned along the way—from both the living and the dead. People who are not in the habit of talking with the dead have a hard time imagining what Matt Fraser's life is like. Based on the questions he gets, they seem to think he spends most of his time sitting cross-legged in a trance, maybe hovering a few inches off the ground, leaving his physical body behind as he journeys across the veil to the spirit realm. But it's not like that at all. The real Matt Fraser is just an ordinary twenty-eight-year-old guy…who happens to talk to dead people. Born into a psychic family, Matt carries on the legacy passed down from his late Grandmother Mary by connecting people to their dearly departed loved ones and delivering messages from the other side. His sold-out live group readings, television appearances, and popular private readings have allowed him to bring hope and healing to fans from around the world. Now, in When Heaven Calls, Matt opens up about his life as a psychic medium—including how he discovered his spiritual gift, what it's like to connect with souls on the other side, what communicating with the dead has taught him about embracing life, and how you can tap into your own intuitive awareness to manifest your dreams, goals, and desires.

Matt Fraser (Author), Matt Fraser (Narrator)

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Righteous Indignation: Excuse Me While I Save the World!

Known for his network of conservative websites that draws millions of readers everyday, Andrew Breitbart has one main goal: to make sure the "liberally biased" major news outlets in this country cover all aspects of a story fairly. Breitbart is convinced that too many national stories are slanted by the news media in an unfair way. In RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION, Breitbart talks about the key issues that Americans face, how he has aligned himself with the Tea Party, and how one needs to deal with the liberal news world head on. Along the way, he details his early years, working with Matt Drudge, the Huffington Post, and so on, and how Breitbart developed his unique style of launching key websites to help get the word out to conservatives all over. A rollicking and controversial listen, Breitbart will certainly raise your blood pressure, one way or another.

Andrew Breitbart (Author), Jeremy Guskin (Narrator)

Audiobook

A Work in Progress: A Memoir

From YouTube star vlogger Connor Franta comes a book that grows out of his massive social media outreach (specifically Tumblr & Instagram). This is a small book of postcards, notes, texts, tweets, journal entries, emails, letters, etc. that charts his coming of age. In the postcards Franta answers questions from fans or relating anecdotes about the things that drive and influence him. The book tells a coherent narrative about coming-of-age and becoming an adult, and the ups and downs that are a part of that. From bullying to dating to leaving home, this is an inspirational book for fans aged 12-18 who are growing up and establishing their individuality. A cross between an essay collection and a coming-of-age memoir, told in brief, the book is divided into sections, with each section beginning with a short introduction about what's affected Connor growing up. For example, a section on family begins with a short piece on Connor's family and what he's learned from them, so that his fans can get a greater insight into his life and learn something from it.

Connor Franta (Author), Connor Franta (Narrator)

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