Current Affairs, Law, & Politics Audiobooks | Non-Fiction

The Politically Incorrect Guide to the South (and Why It Will Rise Again)

"The latest installment in the New York Times bestselling Politically Incorrect Guide series expands on the hugely successful Politically Incorrect Guide to American History. Far from being the backwater of prejudice and ignorance that the liberal media would have you believe, the South has always been the center of American culture. From the founding fathers-Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and many others-to the frontiersmen who tamed the West, to the country music and NASCAR-loving, Bible-thumping heart of "red state" America, the South is the quintessence of what's original, unique, and most-loved about American culture. And with its emphasis on traditional values, family, faith, military service, good manners, small government, and independent-minded people, the South should certainly rise again."

Clint Johnson (Author), Dianna Dorman (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Capitalism

"Participating in the economy is a part of everyday life; yet much of what is commonly accepted as economic fact is wrong. Keynesian schoolteachers and the liberal media have filled the world with politically correct errors that myth-busting professor Robert Murphy sets straight. Murphy explains hot topics like outsourcing (why it's good for Americans) and zoning restrictions (why they're not). Just like the other books in the PIG series, The Politically Incorrect Guideto Capitalism pulls no punches. Murphy defends the free market on such sensitive issues as safety regulations, racial discrimination, and child-labor laws, all in a breezy manner that is anything but textbook. From rent control to golden parachutes to where money came from in the first place, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Capitalism sets the record straight on everything you thought you knew about economics. Murphy starts with a basic explanation of what capitalism really is, and then dives fearlessly into hot topics like –Why central planning has never worked and never will –How prices operate in a free market—and why socialist schemes like rent control always backfire –How labor unions actually hurt workers more than they help them –Why increasing the minimum wage is always a bad idea –Why the free market is the best guard against racism –How capitalism will save the environment—and why Communist countries were the most polluted on earth –Raising taxes: why it is never 'responsible' –Why no genuine advocate for the downtrodden could endorse the dehumanizing Welfare State –The single biggest myth underlying the public's support for government regulation of business –Antitrust suits: usually filed by firms that lose in free competition –How tariffs and other restrictions 'protect' privileged workers but make other Americans poorer –The IMF and World Bank: why they don't help poor countries The Politically Incorrect Guide to Capitalism is a solid and entertaining guide to free market economics. With his twelve-step plan for understanding the free market, Murphy shows why conservatives should resist attempts to socialize America and fight spiritedly for the free market."

Robert P. Murphy (Author), Perry Richards (Narrator)

Audiobook

Blood Diamonds: Tracing the Path of the World’s Most Precious Stones

"The true story of the events that inspired the feature film Blood Diamond First discovered in 1930, the diamonds of Sierra Leone have funded one of the most savage rebel campaigns in modern history. These 'blood diamonds' are smuggled out of West Africa and sold to legitimate diamond merchants in London, Antwerp, and New York, often with the complicity of the international diamond industry. Eventually, these very diamonds find their way into the rings and necklaces of brides the world over. Blood Diamonds is the gripping story of how diamond smuggling works, how the rebel war has effectively destroyed Sierra Leone and its people, and how the policies of the diamond industry—institutionalized in the 1880s by the De Beers cartel—have allowed it to happen. Award-winning journalist Greg Campbell traces the deadly trail of these diamonds, many of which are brought to the world market by fanatical enemies. The repercussions of diamond smuggling are felt far beyond the poor and war-ridden country of Sierra Leone, and the consequences of overlooking this African tragedy are both shockingly deadly and unquestionably global."

Greg Campbell (Author), Tom Weiner (Narrator)

Audiobook

Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field Commande

"In Jawbreaker Gary Berntsen, until recently one of the CIA’s most decorated officers, comes out from under cover for the first time to describe his no-holds-barred pursuit of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. With his unique mix of clandestine knowledge and paramilitary training, Berntsen represents the new face of counterterrorism. Recognized within the agency for his aggressiveness, Berntsen, when dispatched to Afghanistan, made annihilating the enemy his job description. As the CIA’s key commander coordinating the fight against the Taliban forces around Kabul, and the drive toward Tora Bora, Berntsen not only led dozens of CIA and Special Operations Forces, he also raised 2,000 Afghan fighters to aid in the hunt for bin Laden. In this first-person account of that incredible pursuit, which actually began years earlier in an East Africa bombing investigation, Berntsen describes being ferried by rickety helicopter over the towering peaks of Afghanistan, sitting by General Tommy Franks’s side as heated negotiations were conducted with Northern Alliance generals, bargaining relentlessly with treacherous Afghan warlords and Taliban traitors, plotting to save hostages about to be used as pawns, calling in B-52 strikes on dug-in enemy units, and deploying a dizzying array of Special Forces teams in the pursuit of the world’s most wanted terrorist. Most crucially, Berntsen tells of cornering bin Laden in the Tora Bora mountains—and what happened when Berntsen begged Washington to block the al-Qaeda leader’s last avenue of escape. As disturbingly eye-opening as it is adrenaline-charged, Jawbreaker races from CIA war rooms to diplomatic offices to mountaintop redoubts to paint a vivid portrait of a new kind of warfare, showing what can and should be done to deal a death blow to freedom’s enemies. CIA Commander Gary Berntsen on… His eyebrow-raising style: “Most CIA Case Officers advanced their careers by recruiting sources and producing intelligence, I took a more grab-them-by-the-neck approach…I operated on the principle that it was easier to seek forgiveness than ask for approval. Take risks, but make sure you’re successful. Success, not good intentions, would determine my fate.” Doing whatever it took: “I didn’t just want to survive: I wanted to annihilate the enemy. And I didn’t want to end up like one of my favorite historical characters—Alexander Burns…He was one of the first of more than 14,000 British soldiers to be wiped out by the Afghans in the First Afghan War. Like Burns before me, I was also an intelligence officer and spoke Persian. This was my second trip into Afghanistan, too. The difference, I told myself, was that Burns had been a gentleman and I would do whatever it took to win.” Dealing with a Taliban official who controlled American hostages: “Tell him that if he betrays me or loses the hostages I’ll spend every waking moment of my life hunting him down to kill him. Tell him I’m not like any American he has ever met.” The capabilities of his Tora Bora spotter team: “Working nonstop, the four men directed strike after strike by B-1s, B-2s, and F-14s onto the al-Qaeda encampment with incredible precision. Somehow through the massive bureaucracy, thousands of miles of distance [and] reams of red tape…the U.S. had managed to place four of the most skilled men in the world above the motherlode of al-Qaeda, with a laser designator and communications system linked to the most potent air power in history…As I listened over our encrypted radio network, one word kept pounding in my head: revenge.” Also available as a Random House AudioBook"

Gary Berntsen (Author), Ralph Pezzullo, Robertson Dean (Narrator)

Audiobook

Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy

"Prominent liberals support a whole litany of policies and principles: progressive taxes, affirmative action, greater regulation of corporations, raising the inheritance tax, strict environmental regulations, children’s rights, consumer rights, and more. But do they actually live by these beliefs? Peter Schweizer decided to investigate the private lives of politicians like the Clintons, Nancy Pelosi, the Kennedys, and Ralph Nader; commentators Michael Moore, Al Franken, Noam Chomsky, and Cornel West; entertainers or philanthropists Barbra Streisand and George Soros. Using publicly-available real estate records, IRS returns, court depositions, and their own published statements, he sought to examine whether they lived by the principles they so forcefully advocate. What he found was a long list of contradictions. Many of these proponents of organized labor had developed various methods to sidestep paying union wages or avoid employing unions altogether. They were also adept at avoiding taxes; invested heavily in corporations they had denounced; took advantage of foreign tax credits to use non-American labor overseas; espoused environmental causes while opposing those that might affect their own property rights; hid their investments in trusts to avoid paying estate tax; denounced oil companies but quietly owned them. Schweizer’s conclusion is simple: liberalism in the end forces its adherents to become hypocrites. They adopt one pose in public, but when it comes to what matters most in their own lives–their property, their privacy, and their children--they jettison their liberal principles and adopt conservative ones. If these ideas don’t work for the very individuals who promote them, Schweizer asks, how can they work for the country?"

Peter Schweizer (Author), Grover Gardner (Narrator)

Audiobook

Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World

"In this first collection of interviews since the bestselling 9-11: Was There an Alternative?, our foremost intellectual activist examines crucial questions of U.S. foreign policy. Timely, urgent, and powerfully elucidating, this important volume of previously unpublished interviews conducted by award-winning radio journalist David Barsamian features Noam Chomsky discussing America's policies in an increasingly unstable world. With his famous insight, lucidity, and redoubtable grasp of history, Chomsky offers his views on the invasion and occupation of Iraq, the doctrine of 'preemptive' strikes against so-called rogue states, and the prospects of the second Bush administration, warning of the growing threat to international peace posed by the U.S. drive for domination. In his inimitable style, Chomsky also dissects the propaganda system that fabricates a mythic past and airbrushes inconvenient facts out of history. Barsamian, recipient of the ACLU's Upton Sinclair Award for independent journalism, has conducted more interviews and radio broadcasts with Chomsky than has any other journalist. Enriched by their unique rapport, Imperial Ambitions explores topics Chomsky has never before discussed, among them the 2004 presidential campaign and election, the future of Social Security, and the increasing threat, including devastating weather patterns, of global warming. The result is an illuminating dialogue with one of the leading thinkers of our time—and a startling picture of the turbulent times in which we live."

David Barsamian, Noam Chomsky (Author), David Barsamian, Noam Chomsky (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Age of Anxiety: McCarthyism to Terrorism

Haynes Johnson (Author), Kristoffer Tabori (Narrator)

Audiobook

Night Draws Near: Iraq's People in the Shadow of America's War

"From the only journalist to win a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting from Iraq, here is the riveting account of ordinary people caught between the struggles of nations. Determined to offer an unfiltered version of events, the Washington Post's Anthony Shadid was neither embedded with soldiers nor briefed by politicians. Because he is fluent in Arabic, Shadid—an Arab-American born and raised in Oklahoma—was able to actually disappear into the divided, dangerous worlds of Iraq. Day by day, as American dreams clashed with Arab notions of justice, he pieced together the human story of ordinary Iraqis weathering the terrible dislocations and tragedies of war. Through the lives of Sunnis and Shiites, men and women, American sympathizers, and outraged young men newly transformed into martyrs, Shadid shows us the journey of defiant, hopeful, resilient Iraq. Moving from battle scenes to subdued streets enlivened only by the call to prayer, Shadid uses the experiences of his characters to illustrate how Saddam's downfall paved the way not only for democracy but also for an Islamic reawakening and jihad. NIGHT DRAWS NEAR—as compelling as it is human—is an illuminating and poignant account from a reporter whose coverage has drawn international attention and acclaim."

Anthony Shadid (Author), Anthony Shadid (Narrator)

Audiobook

[German] - Wähl' mal wieder!: Das ABC des mündigen Bürgers

"Demokratie - das heißt Freiheit, Recht und Verantwortung. Verantwortung heißt: Wählen! Wählen heißt: sich eine Meinung bilden, sich entscheiden. Richtig entscheiden heißt: sich zu informieren, Bescheid zu wissen über sein Land, seine Menschen, das politische Koordinatensystem, in dem jeder Bürger eine gleiche Stimme zur Mitsprache hat. Demokratie eben! Dieses Hörbuch macht Sie in 130 Minuten wieder fit als mündigen Bürger in unserem Lande. Es zeigt dessen steinigen Weg zur Demokratie, dem Wahlrecht für jedermann und -frau bis zur heutigen Verfassung, dem Föderalismus und zur Rolle der Parteien. Die Bundesrepublik Deutschland ist nicht perfekt, aber der beste Staat, den wir jemals hatten. Wir: das Volk, der Souverän, den die Geschichte nicht oft nach seiner Meinung gefragt hat. Also: Informieren, Meinung bilden, wählen! Weil zur Freiheit die Verantwortung jedes einzelnen gehört."

Jutta Förtsch, Ulrich Offenberg (Author), Achim Höppner, Oliver Luxenburger, Peter Bertram (Narrator)

Audiobook

[German] - Die Grundrechte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland: Die Würde des Menschen ist unantastbar

"Feudalismus, Kaiserreich und Weimarer Republik sowie die Exzesse des 3. Reiches prägten die Entwicklung und Kodifizierung der 19 Grundrechtsartikel des Grundgesetzes der BRD. Sie sind Ausdruck des Aufbruchs in eine aufgeklärte, freiheitliche Welt, in der staatliche Übergriffe und Fremdbestimmung der Vergangenheit angehören sollen. 'Die Würde des Menschen ist unantastbar', 'alle Menschen sind vor dem Gesetz gleich', 'Pressefreiheit', 'Asylrecht' oder 'Versammlungsfreiheit' ... sind Basis einer Grundwerteordnung, aus der auch die Drohung 'und wenn ich bis nach Karlsruhe gehen muss' resultiert. Was steckt aber wirklich hinter den Grundrechten? Wie sind diese Eckpfeiler unserer heutigen Gesellschaft entstanden? Welche historischen und politischen Einflüsse führten zu ihrer heutigen Form und hat sich diese ethisch-politische Grundlage bisher bewährt? Das Hörbuch bietet eine Einführung in dieses nur auf den ersten Blick 'trockene' Thema. Es gibt einen Überblick über alle Grundrechte und zeigt wichtige Entwicklungen ergänzt durch Fallbeispiele und Vorstellungen aktueller Karlsruher Urteile auf."

Renate Förtsch (Author), Anja Buczkowsky, Christian Hoening (Narrator)

Audiobook

What Were You Thinking??: $600-Per-Hour Legal Advice on Relationships, Marriage & Divorce

"Wouldn't it be nice if you could sit down with an attorney who normally charges $600 per hour—or more—and receive expert legal advice on what is no doubt one of the biggest decisions you will ever make? Listening to What Were You Thinking?? gives you that opportunity. This is an absolutely indispensable guide for anyone considering coupling or uncoupling. Filled with solid legal advice, tricks of the trade you will not find anywhere else, and even hilarious anecdotes, this is THE must-have guide to what everyone needs to know when it comes to the legal ramifications of relationships, marriage, and divorce. Not only will you get the benefit of Mark Barondess' decades of experience as a top family law practitioner, you will also receive exclusive and candid advice from some of Mark's friends including Dr. Phil, Lewis Black, Larry King, Robert Shapiro, Montel Williams, and even rock star Gene Simmons. They all weigh in with their unique thoughts and advice on marriage and divorce."

Mark A. Barondess (Author), Mark A. Barondess (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Triumph of Liberty: A 2,000-Year History, Told through the Lives of Freedom’s Greatest Champions

"Of humankind's great achievements over the past 2,000 years, one towers above all the rest: the arduous, painstaking process of wresting liberty from tyranny's iron fist. The Triumph of Liberty chronicles this inspiring story through sixty-five biographical portraits. From the millions of men and women whose struggles and successes have made freedom possible, Jim Powell has chosen a few talented, courageous individuals whose lives illustrate the triumphing will of the human spirit. Some of these people, like Martin Luther King Jr., remain famous; others, like John Lilburne, who spent most of his adult life in prison battling England's infamous Star Chamber, are almost unknown. Some of Powell's choices-Ludwig van Beethoven, Louis L'Amour-may be surprising. Others still-like Milton Friedman or Margaret Thatcher-are controversial. Woven together, their moving life stories tell a brilliant epic saga of the triumph of liberty as a whole."

Jim Powell (Author), Jeff Riggenbach (Narrator)

Audiobook

Current Affairs, Law, & Politics Audiobooks in Non-Fiction