Audiobooks narrated by Joe Morton

"Brought to you by Penguin. James Baldwin's electrifying first novel. 'I had to deal with what hurt me most. I had to deal with my father.' Drawing on James Baldwin's own boyhood in a religious community in 1930s Harlem, his first novel tells the story of young Johnny Grimes. Johnny is destined to become a preacher like his father, Gabriel, at the Temple of the Fire Baptized, where the church swells with song and it is as if 'the Holy Ghost were riding on the air'. But he feels only scalding hatred for Gabriel, whose fear and fanaticism lead him to abuse his family. Johnny vows that, for him, things will be different. This blazing tale is full of passion and guilt, of secret sinners and prayers singing on the wind. 'His prose hit me, almost winding me with its intensity. I'd never read a novel that described loneliness and desire with such burning eloquence' Douglas Field, Guardian 'A beautiful, enduring, spirtual song of a novel' Andrew O'Hagan '[Morton] tunes into Baldwin's voice, understands his characters and knows how to bring Go Tell It on the Mountain to life for listeners. This is a timely reminder of why James Baldwin's work remains relevant and, a century after his birth, his voice must still be heard.' Entertainment Focus ©1954 James Baldwin (P)2024 Penguin Audio"

James Baldwin (Author), Joe Morton, Roxane Gay (Narrator)

Audiobook

Worst Case Scenario: A Novel

"Following her explosive debut thriller Falling and its harrowing follow-up Drowning, #1 internationally bestselling author T.J. Newman is back with Worst Case Scenario. When a pilot suffers a heart attack at 35,000 feet, a commercial airliner filled with passengers crashes into a nuclear power plant in the small town of Waketa, Minnesota, which becomes ground zero for a catastrophic national crisis with global implications. The International Nuclear Event Scale tracks nuclear disasters. It has seven levels. Level 7 is a Major Accident, with only two on record: Fukushima and Chernobyl. There has never been a Level 8. Until now. In this heart-stopping thriller, ordinary people-power plant employees, firefighters, teachers, families, neighbors, and friends- are thrust into an extraordinary situation as they face the ultimate test of their lives. It will take the combined courage, ingenuity, and determination of a brave few to save not only their community and loved ones, but the fate of humanity at large. "

T.J. Newman (Author), Joe Morton (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Book of Virtues: 30th Anniversary Edition

"Help your children develop moral character with this updated, 30th anniversary edition of the perennial classic The Book of Virtues. Almost 3 million copies of the Book of Virtues have been sold since it was published in 1993. It is one of the most popular moral primers ever written, an inspiring anthology that helps children understand and develop character—and helps parents teach it to them. Thirty years ago, readers thought that the times were right for a book about moral literacy. Back then, Americans worried that schools were no longer parents' allies in teaching good character. As the book's original introduction noted, "moral anchors and moorings have never been more necessary." If that was true in the 1990s, it is even more true today. The explosion of information with the Internet has left many unsure of what is valuable and what is not. Responsibility. Courage. Compassion. Loyalty. Honesty. Friendship. Persistence. Hard work. Self-discipline. Faith. These remain the essentials of good character. The Book of Virtues contains hundreds of exemplary stories offering children examples of good and bad, right and wrong. Drawing on the Bible, American history, Greek mythology, English poetry, fairy tales, and modern fiction, William J. and Elayne Bennett show children the many virtuous paths they can follow—and the ones they ought to avoid. For the 30th anniversary edition, the Bennetts have slimmed down the book's contents, while also finding room to introduce such figures as Mother Teresa, Colin Powell, and heroes of 9/11 and the War in Afghanistan. Here is a rich mine of moral literacy to teach a new generation of children about American culture, history, and traditions—ultimately, the ideals by which we wish to live our lives. The updated edition of The Book of Virtues will continue a legacy of raising moral children far into a new century."

Elayne Glover Bennett, William J. Bennett (Author), Andrea Martin, Barbara Bush, Charlton Heston, Claire Bloom, Dana Ivey, David Mccallum, Dorian Hairwood, Ed Asner, Elayne Glover Bennett, Eunice Wong, Faith Prince, Fritz Weaver, Harriet Walter, Janina Edwards, Jenn Bennett, Joe Morton, Kate Nelligan, Kirby Heyborne, Leon Nixon, Matt Stango, Michael York, Richard Thomas, Robert Petkoff, Timothy Andrés Pabon, Tom Selleck, Tonya Pinkins, William J. Bennett (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Essential Dick Gregory

"Narrated by Audie, Emmy, and NAACP® Image Award-winning actor, Joe Morton, and joined by Christian Gregory and Afrika K. Kenjyatta. A soulful, generation-defining collection of thought-provoking, agitating, and liberating works from Dick Gregory, the activist and author of sixteen books, including the classic bestseller Nigger: An Autobiography and the 2017 NAACP Image Award Winner, Defining Moments in Black History: Reading Between the Lies. A true renaissance man, Richard Claxton “Dick” Gregory was one of the pioneering satirists of his generation, a reformer and brilliant spokesperson for the downtrodden and forgotten who dedicated his life to speaking unadulterated truth—and to improving ordinary lives. A revered human rights and environmental activist, fearsome and uncompromising social critic, lauded bestselling author, and beloved nutrition guru, Gregory aimed not only to educate souls, but to liberate them. His words shaped a generation and remain vital for our own turbulent times, offering wisdom to enlighten and inspire a new activist age. This carefully curated anthology of selected writings reflects and celebrates Dick Gregory’s wisdom and his vision. Divided into three sections—Body, Mind, and Spirit—it includes previously unavailable transcriptions and excerpts taken from his sixteen books, fifteen albums and audio compilations, and more than 1,200 hours of archival video, including lectures, interviews, and comedic performances. It is a breathtaking tour through the life of one of America’s most prophetic and relevant cultural icons. The Essential Dick Gregory is a pointillistic portrait of a man who gave up a lucrative entertainment career to fight injustice on the front line of battle—leading protests and hunger strikes to end the Vietnam War and apartheid in South Africa; supporting civil rights, feminism, and Native Americans,; and addressing hunger, poverty, and police brutality. This compelling volume will challenge your beliefs, allow you to see life in unexpected ways, and dare you to make the world a better place. Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook."

Dick Gregory (Author), Afrika K. Kenjyatta, Andre Gaines, Christian Gregory, Joe Morton (Narrator)

Audiobook

Somersett: Benjamin Franklin and the Masterminding of American Independence

"An Audiobook Original There is no dearth of writings about the founding of America, but in this under-reported and under-taught story of the American Revolution, light is shed on the role Benjamin Franklin played in bringing the northern and southern colonies together against corrupt British rule. Along with an “Inner Circle” of British Abolitionists, Franklin worked behind the scenes to secure the freedom of a single American slave, James Somersett; and then, in cooperation with a vast network of colonial allies, set in motion a series of events that provided the impetus for northern patriots and politically cautious southern slaveholders to join forces. In 1757, Benjamin Franklin cared most about the security and prosperity of his beloved adopted home of Philadelphia. Threatened by the French during King George’s War and with little help from the proprietors of Pennsylvania, the hated Penn family, Franklin sought assistance and support in London to no avail, thus leading him to develop a secret plan to gain freedom from Great Britain for Pennsylvania, and ultimately all the colonies. The success of this plot would hinge upon politically motivating the northern and southern colonies, each with vastly different interests. In the end, it was two unrelated historical events: that of the freeing of the slave Somersett in London’s highest court; and the discovery, and leaking of, the Hutchinson letters, that turned the tide in favor of independence. Part courtroom drama, part political thriller, this assiduously researched work of American history is enacted by a cast of award-winning actors who electrify the drama as they bring to life over thirty historical characters in intermittent scenes presented in stage play form. In the London Courtroom of King’s Bench, we meet the most brilliant legal minds of the era as both sides argue their case for or against Somersett’s manumission. In the drawing room of London’s most prestigious physician, John Fothergill, we are witness to Franklin and the members of his Inner Circle as they grapple with, and meet, the massive challenges that planning a revolution entail. Here is a critically important, little known story that adds to our understanding of yet another complicated founding father. By laying out Franklin’s audacious plan to convince southern slaveholders that revolution, and only revolution, was sufficient to ensure their right to chattel labor, we are offered further evidence that the ugly stain of racism and slavery is embedded in every moment of our history."

Phillip Goodrich (Author), Euan Morton, Joe Morton, Nicola Barber, Robert Petkoff, Simon Jones (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Water Dancer: The New York Times Bestseller

"THE NEW YORK TIMES #1 BESTSELLER OPRAH BOOK CLUB PICK 'One of the best books I have ever read in my entire life. I haven't felt this way since I first read Beloved . . .' Oprah Winfrey The unmissable debut novel by the critically acclaimed author of Between the World and Me and We Were Eight Years in Power - a richly imagined and compulsively page-turning journey to freedom Hiram Walker is a man with a secret, and a war to win. A war for the right to life, to family, to freedom. Born into bondage on a Virginia plantation, he is also born gifted with a mysterious power that he won't discover until he is almost a man, when he risks everything for a chance to escape. One fateful decision will carry him away from his makeshift plantation family and into the heart of the underground war on slavery... 'A transcendent work from a crucial political and literary artist' Diana Evans 'I've been wondering who might fill the intellectual void that plagued me after James Baldwin died. Clearly it is Ta-Nehisi Coates' Toni Morrison"

Ta-Nehisi Coates (Author), Joe Morton (Narrator)

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Juneteenth: A Novel

"From the author of bestselling Invisible Man-the classic novel of African-American experience-this long-awaited second novel tells an evocative tale of a prodigal of the twentieth century. Brilliantly crafted, moving, and wise, Juneteenth is the work of an American master. 'Tell me what happened while there's still time,' demands the dying Senator Adam Sunraider to the itinerate preacher whom he calls Daddy Hickman. As a young man, Sunraider was Bliss, an orphan taken in by Hickman and raised to be a preacher like himself. Bliss's history encompasses the joys of young southern boyhood; bucolic days as a filmmaker, lovemaking in a field in the Oklahoma sun. And behind it all lies a mystery: how did this chosen child become the man who would deny everything to achieve his goals? Here is the master of American vernacular at the height of his powers, evoking the rhythms of jazz and gospel and ordinary speech. 'An extraordinary book, a work of staggering virtuosity. With its publication, a giant world of literature has just grown twice as tall.' -Newsday"

Ralph Ellison (Author), Joe Morton (Narrator)

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How the West Was Won

"They came by river and by wagon train, braving the endless distances of the Great Plains and the icy passes of the Sierra Nevada. They were men like Linus Rawlings, a restless survivor of Indian country who'd headed east to see the ocean but left his heart-and his home-in the West. They were women like Lilith Prescott, a smart, spirited beauty who fled her family and fell for a gambling man in the midst of a frontier gold boom. These pioneering men and women sowed the seeds of a nation with their courage-and with their blood. Here is the story of how their paths would meet amid the epic struggle against fierce enemies and nature's cruelty, to win for all time the rich and untamed West."

Louis L'Amour (Author), Joe Morton (Narrator)

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Invisible Man

"Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of all time Ralph Elllison's Invisible Man is a monumental novel, one that can well be called an epic of modern American Negro life. It is a strange story, in which many extraordinary things happen, some of them shocking and brutal, some of them pitiful and touching--yet always with elements of comedy and irony and burlesque that appear in unexpected places. It is a book that has a great deal to say and which is destined to have a great deal said about it. After a brief prologue, the story begins with a terrifying experience of the hero's high school days, moves quickly to the campus of a Southern Negro college and then to New York's Harlem, where most of the action takes place. The many people that the hero meets in the course of his wanderings are remarkably various, complex and significant. With them he becomes involved in an amazing series of adventures, in which he is sometimes befriended but more often deceived and betrayed--as much by himself and his own illusions as by the duplicity of the blindness of others. Invisible Man is not only a great triumph of storytelling and characterization; it is a profound and uncompromising interpretation of the Negro's anomalous position in American society."

Ralph Ellison (Author), Joe Morton (Narrator)

Audiobook

At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years, 1965-68

"At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years, 1965-68 is the final volume in Taylor Branch's magnificent history of America in the years of the Civil Rights Movement and Vietnam War, recognized universally as the definitive account and ultimate recognition of Martin Luther King's heroic place in the nation's history. The final volume of Taylor Branch's monumental, much honored, and definitive history of the Civil Rights Movement (America in the King Years), At Canaan's Edge covers the final years of King's struggle to hold his non-violent movement together in the face of factionalism within the Movement, hostility and harassment of the Johnson Administration, the country torn apart by Vietnam, and his own attempt (and failure) to take the Freedom Movement north. At Canaan's Edge traces a seminal era in our defining national story, freedom. The narrative resumes in Selma, crucible of the voting rights struggle for black people across the South. The time is early 1965, when the modern Civil Rights Movement enters its second decade since the Supreme Court's Brown decision declared segregation by race a violation of the Constitution. From Selma, King's non-violent Movement is under threat from competing forces inside and outside. Branch chronicles the dramatic voting rights drives in Mississippi and Alabama, Meredith's murder, the challenge to King from the Johnson Administration and the FBI and other enemies. When King tries to bring his Movement north (to Chicago), he falters. Finally we reach Memphis, the garbage strike, King's assassination. Branch's magnificent trilogy makes clear why the Civil Rights Movement, and indeed King's leadership, are among the nation's enduring achievements."

Taylor Branch (Author), Joe Morton (Narrator)

Audiobook

Star Trek: New Frontier: Excalibur #3: Restoration: Excalibur #3

"The ever resourceful Captain Mackenzie Calhoun abruptly finds himself at a loss—marooned on he primitive outback world of Yakaba after his ship, Excalibur, is destroyed by deadly sabotage. He is separated from his loyal first officer, Shelby, who has gone one to command the Exeter and is certain that Calhoun has been blasted into oblivion. On Yakaba's dry frontier, Calhoun meets and befriends Shula, an extraordinary woman beset by enemies trying to control or destroy her and her gift—summoning rain to her parched homeland. Trapped on this hostile world, unable to relay to his people that he survived their ship's cataclysm, Calhoun must stand against countless adversaries who will stop at nothing to gain power or keep it from others. Life and death hang in the balance. Out in the distance, mourning but determined to move on, Shelby must discover what sort of captain she really is."

Peter David (Author), Joe Morton (Narrator)

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Star Trek Deep Space 9: Millenium

"Welcome, Emissary. As Benjamin Sisko picked his way over the wreckage that was his new command, a thousand questions, countless problems, dire reports, and the soon-to-be-familiar harangue of the Bajoran Liaison Officer clamored for his attention. From the shadows, a monk stepped out and greeted him. With all that had happened, it is no small wonder that Sisko took that greeting and relegated it to the back of his mind. Six years have passed. Despite the recent retaking of Deep Space 9™, it seems that the Federation is losing the Dominion war. As commander of a front-line post, Sisko focuses on the war effort, paying little attention to the latest rumor. 'The fabled lost Orbs of the Prophets have been recovered. Legend holds that these orbs are the key to unlocking a second wormhole -- a second Celestial Temple.' In war, sometimes the little things you don't notice are your undoing. Now Benjamin Sisko, a man of science and a Starfleet officer -- and also the Emissary -- is swept up in the ultimate war of good versus evil. Every decision he makes draws him, his family, and his crew into the abyss. Faced with the possibility that he alone must decide the fate of life in the galaxy, Captain Sisko must unlock the truth behind the fabled Orbs of the Prophets or the future, the past, and even the present will wink out of existence!"

Judith Reeves-Stevens (Author), Joe Morton (Narrator)

Audiobook

Audiobooks Narrated by Joe Morton