Audiobooks narrated by Barry Abrams

The Whiz Kids: How the 1950 Phillies Took the Pennant, Lost the World Series, and Changed Philadelph

Before the 1950 World Series, the Philadelphia Phillies were infamous for a record-breaking lack of achievement that dated from their conception in 1883 through the 1940s. When twenty-eight-year-old Robert Carpenter Jr. took over in 1944, the Phillies had won only a single National League title in more than sixty years. For the next five years, Carpenter and the newly hired general manager, Herb Pennock, would overhaul the team's operations, building a farm system from scratch and spending a fortune on young talent to build a team that would gain immense popularity and finally bring a National League pennant in 1950. Nicknamed the 'Whiz Kids' because they had so many players under thirty, the team caught lightning in a bottle for one season. Although they lost the World Series to the New York Yankees, the team became legendary in Philadelphia and beyond. The Whiz Kids is about a team that shocked everyone by winning, and then shocked everyone by never winning again. The team succeeded under the watchful eye of its young owner, whose father handed him the team, and a college professor manager, only to see it slowly crumble as the slowest in the National League to integrate. The Whiz Kids recounts the history of a team that, though hand-built to be champions, fell short—yet remains legendary anyway.

Dennis Snelling (Author), Barry Abrams (Narrator)

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Knowing Enough: A Conversation About Money and Life and Figuring Out What to Do with Yours

Knowing Enough combines the penetrating insights into investing and life of John C. Bogle, the founder of Vanguard and the pioneer of index investing, and the priceless practical advice of William J. Bernstein, bestselling author of The Four Pillars of Investing and market historian. Their conversations were the centerpiece of Boglehead meetings until Bogle's passing on January 19, 2019. The book combines Bogle's insights from his bestselling Enough and Bernstein's practical how-to, If You Can. Their goal: to inspire you to lead a meaningful life that reaches well beyond your net worth to touch upon matters of self-worth, and to provide you with the means of doing so. You'll also find: ● How to focus less on chasing financial success and more on living a meaningful life ● Insight into investing wisely and contributing to the common good ● Reflections on lessons learned from Bogle throughout his career Written in the same conversational tone found between Bogle and Bernstein at Boglehead events, Knowing Enough challenges listeners to rethink their relationship with money, business, and society.

John C. Bogle, William J. Bernstein (Author), Barry Abrams (Narrator)

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To Know Him by Name: Discover the Power and Promises Revealed in the Hebrew Names and Titles of God

When you know what name to call on, you know more of whose you are. This book will guide you so you can declare and trust that the names of God perfectly describe who He is at His core. You will have peace through the storms of life and learn how to walk in victorious living. In today's culture, names are often little more than identifiers. But in ancient Hebrew culture, names held symbolic and prophetic meaning. This is why when God revealed His names and titles to us in the Scriptures, He was giving us more than interesting information. He was making known to us His character, purposes, and will. In To Know Him by Name, Rabbi Kirt A. Schneider takes listeners on a transformative journey to understand the true character of God by laying hold of the revelation found in His Hebrew names and titles. In a world where misconceptions about God abound, Rabbi Schneider challenges believers to reconsider their understanding of Him. Instead of seeing God as harsh and vengeful, they will be able to embrace Him for who He truly is—their provider, peace, savior, shepherd, victorious healer, and so much more. As they embrace the fullness of who God has declared Himself to be in their lives, listeners will be strengthened, peace will abound, and they will experience the victory and abundant blessings that come from knowing Him intimately.

Rabbi Kirt A. Schneider (Author), Barry Abrams (Narrator)

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Sovereignty and Religious Freedom: A Jewish History

A comparative legal history of Jewish sovereignty and religious freedom, illuminating the ways that collective and individual rights have evolved over the past two centuries It is a common assumption that in Israel, Jews have sovereignty, and in most other places where Jews live today, they have religious freedom instead. As Simon Rabinovitch shows in this original work, the situation is much more complicated. Jews today possess different kinds of legal rights in states around the world; some stem from religious freedom protections, and others evolved from a longer history of Jewish autonomy. By comparing conflicts between Jewish collective and individual rights in courts and laws across the globe, from the French Revolution to today, this book provides a nuanced legal history of Jewish sovereignty and religious freedom. Rabinovitch weaves key themes in Jewish legal history with the individual stories of litigants, exploring ideas about citizenship and belonging; who is a Jew; what makes a Jewish family; and how to define Jewish space. He uses recent court cases to explore problems of conflicting rights, and then situates each case in a wider historical context. This unique comparative history creates a global picture of modern legal development in which Jews continue to use the law to carve out surprising forms of sovereignty.

Simon Rabinovitch (Author), Barry Abrams (Narrator)

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The Art of Change: Transforming Paradoxes into Breakthroughs

Are you stuck in a rut, unable to create meaningful change in your life or organization? The Art of Change is the solution you've been searching for. Written by Jeff and Staney DeGraff, founders of the consulting firm Innovatrium, this book provides a masterclass in sustainable transformation. This masterclass in sustainable transformation includes strategies for challenging your biases and embracing ambiguity; thought-provoking insights from over thirty years of experience coaching Fortune 500 executives; real-world examples and deeply personal anecdotes; and proven, pragmatic techniques to reshape your mindset and habits. But this isn't just another lecture on change management theory. With candor and vulnerability, the Degraffs share deeply personal anecdotes that underscore how growth often emerges from resilience in the face of failure. You'll discover how to harness the power of paradoxical thinking, challenge your biases, and embrace ambiguity as a catalyst for innovation. Whether you're an individual looking to level up or a leader tasked with evolving your organization, The Art of Change is your roadmap to breaking free from stagnation and unlocking your full potential.

Jeff DeGraff, Staney DeGraff (Author), Barry Abrams (Narrator)

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The Survivor of the Holocaust

When Hitler's Nazis marched into Poland, it brought an abrupt, cruel end to Jack Eisner's childhood, shattered his loving family, and turned his peaceful Jewish community into a nightmarish world of atrocity and murder. Instead of entering the Warsaw Music Conservatory, to which he'd won a scholarship, Jack found himself climbing cemetery walls, leaping over rooftops, and tunneling through sewers with a gang of fellow teenagers to smuggle food, hope, and survival into his besieged home. Pulse-pounding and chillingly graphic, Jack's story takes you into the terror of the Warsaw ghetto . . . to the clandestine meetings with Christian friends who risk their lives to help the teenagers . . . and alongside young rebels as they raise the flag with the Star of David in the final, unforgettable moments of the daring but doomed Warsaw uprising. From the rubble of the ghetto to the horror of the concentration and slave labor camps, The Survivor of the Holocaust is both a stunning chronicle and a poignant true story of a young man sustained by his passionate desire to be reunited with the girl he loves. It also stands as captivating memorial to the 100 members of a single family who perished, told by one among them who—pitted against overwhelming odds—clung fiercely to their life-affirming message.

Jack Eisner (Author), Barry Abrams (Narrator)

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Zionism: An Emotional State

Emotion lies at the heart of all national movements, and Zionism is no exception. For those who identify as Zionist, the word connotes liberation and redemption, uniqueness and vulnerability. Yet for many, Zionism is a source of distaste if not disgust, and those who reject it are no less passionate than those who embrace it. The power of such emotions helps explain why a word originally associated with territorial aspiration has survived so many years after the establishment of the Israeli state. Zionism: An Emotional State expertly demonstrates how the energy propelling the Zionist project originates from bundles of feeling whose elements have varied in volume, intensity, and durability across space and time. Beginning with an original typology of Zionism and a new take on its relationship to colonialism, Penslar then examines the emotions that have shaped Zionist sensibilities and practices over the course of the movement's history. The resulting portrait of Zionism reconfigures how we understand Jewish identity amidst continuing debates on the role of nationalism in the modern world.

Derek J. Penslar (Author), Barry Abrams (Narrator)

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The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market

The Little Book of Common Sense Investing is the classic guide to getting smart about the market. Legendary mutual fund pioneer John C. Bogle reveals his key to getting more out of investing: low-cost index funds. Bogle describes the simplest and most effective investment strategy for building wealth over the long term: buy and hold, at very low cost, a mutual fund that tracks a broad stock market Index such as the S&P 500. While the stock market has tumbled and then soared since the first edition of Little Book of Common Sense was published in April 2007, Bogle's investment principles have endured and served investors well. This tenth anniversary edition includes updated data and new information but maintains the same long-term perspective as in its predecessor. Bogle has also added two new chapters designed to provide further guidance to investors: one on asset allocation, the other on retirement investing. A portfolio focused on index funds is the only investment that effectively guarantees your fair share of stock market returns. Bogle shows you how to make index investing work for you and help you achieve your financial goals, and finds support from some of the world's best financial minds, including Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Paul Samuelson, Burton Malkiel, Yale's David Swensen, Cliff Asness of AQR, and many others.

John C. Bogle (Author), Barry Abrams (Narrator)

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A Life for Liberty: The Making of an American Originalist

From prosecuting murderers in Chicago, to arguing before the Supreme Court, to authoring more than a dozen books, Georgetown University law professor Randy Barnett has played an integral role in the rise of originalism—the movement to identify, restore, and defend the original meaning of the Constitution. Thanks in part to his efforts, by 2018 a majority of sitting Supreme Court justices self-identified as 'originalists.' After writing seminal books on libertarianism and contract law, Barnett pivoted to constitutional law. His mission to restore 'the lost Constitution' took him from the schoolhouse to the courthouse, where he argued the medical marijuana case of Gonzeles v. Raich in the Supreme Court—a case now taught to every law student. Later, he devised and spearheaded the constitutional challenge to Obamacare. All this earned him major profiles in such publications as the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times. Now he recounts his compelling journey from a working-class kid in Calumet City, Illinois, to 'Washington Power Breaker,' as the Congressional Quarterly Weekly called him. The engaging story of his rise from obscurity to one of the most influential thinkers in America is an inspiring how-to guide for anyone seeking real-world advancement of justice and liberty for all.

Randy E. Barnett (Author), Barry Abrams (Narrator)

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Jewish Priorities: Sixty-Five Proposals for the Future of Our People

Imagine having the entire Jewish people over for dinner—and hosting a raucous, creative, riveting debate about their collective future. Jewish Priorities offers, for the first time, a wide-ranging, ambitious, and genuinely 'pan-Jewish' conversation. Encompassing more than sixty top authors from around the Jewish world—Israelis and Diaspora writers; younger influencers and veteran opinion leaders; rabbinic and communal leaders, journalists and scholars, and literary and cultural figures, ranging from secular to ultra-Orthodox—each contributor offers a different priority for the Jewish people. These essays are all original and come from some of our greatest luminaries—thought leaders like Natan Sharansky, Dara Horn, Yossi Klein Halevi, Ruth Wisse, Shaul Magid, David Wolpe, Fania Oz-Salzberger, and many more. Their topics vary widely, from Zionism and antisemitism to education and philanthropy; from the Holocaust to Jewish intimacy; from the quest for God to the failure of Jewish institutions, to the best way to study the Torah in an age of viral videos. Jewish Priorities offers an unprecedented snapshot of the cultural, political, and religious currents driving an entire generation of Jews—but also the deepest aspirations and dreams of this beautiful, unique people at a pivotal moment in our history.

David Hazony (Author), Barry Abrams (Narrator)

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Diary of a Crisis: Israel in Turmoil

Searching reflections on the crisis in Israel and Gaza by a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian of the Holocaust Diary of a Crisis explores the past tumultuous and traumatic year in Israel-Palestine. The eminent historian Saul Friedländer began a diary of Israeli politics in January 2023 as the country was convulsed by protests against Netanyahu's attempt to overhaul the judiciary. Hundreds of thousands took to the streets to demonstrate against this threat to democracy. But the protests said nothing about the Palestinian question—the 'elephant in the room,' according to Friedländer, who resumed his diary after Hamas's October 7 assault on southern Israel. Israel was facing one of the worst crises in its history, he observes, under the worst possible internal conditions. Friedländer weaves together profound reflections on a national history in which he has been an active participant. He describes how Prime Minister Golda Meir once flatly declared to him, 'There is no Palestinian people.' For Friedländer, on the other hand, the fight for democracy is inseparable from equality of treatment for Arab and Jewish citizens and an end to Israeli domination over Palestinians in the Occupied Territories. He argues that despite the continuing bloodshed, a two-state solution remains the only long-term answer to this most intractable of conflicts.

Saul Friedländer (Author), Barry Abrams (Narrator)

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The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering

This iconoclastic study was one of the most widely debated books of 2000. Finkelstein indicts with vigor and honesty those who exploit the tragedy of the Holocaust for their own personal political and financial gain. This new edition includes updated material discussing the initial reception to the book's publication. In a controversial new study, Norman G. Finkelstein moves from an interrogation of the place the Holocaust has come to occupy in American culture to a disturbing examination of recent Holocaust compensation agreements. Leaders of America's Jewish community were delighted that Israel was now deemed a major strategic asset and, Finkelstein contends, exploited the Holocaust to enhance this newfound status. Their interpretations of the tragedy are often at variance with historical events and are employed to deflect any criticism of Israel and its supporters. Finkelstein contends that the main danger posed to the memory of Nazism's victims comes not from the distortions of Holocaust deniers but from prominent, self-proclaimed guardians of Holocaust memory. The Holocaust Industry is all the more disturbing and powerful because the issues it deals with are so rarely discussed.

Norman G. Finkelstein (Author), Barry Abrams (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Barry Abrams