History Audiobooks | Science & Technology

A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness

The New York Times bestseller "A glistening psychological history, faceted largely by the biographies of eight famous leaders . . ." -The Boston Globe "A provocative thesis . . . Ghaemi's book deserves high marks for original thinking." -The Washington Post "Provocative, fascinating." -Salon.com Historians have long puzzled over the apparent mental instability of great and terrible leaders alike: Napoleon, Lincoln, Churchill, Hitler, and others. In A First-Rate Madness, Nassir Ghaemi, director of the Mood Disorders Program at Tufts Medical Center, offers a myth-shattering exploration of the powerful connections between mental illness and leadership and sets forth a controversial, compelling thesis: The very qualities that mark those with mood disorders also make for the best leaders in times of crisis. From the importance of Lincoln's 'depressive realism' to the lackluster leadership of exceedingly sane men as Neville Chamberlain, A First-Rate Madness overturns many of our most cherished perceptions about greatness and the mind.

Nassir Ghaemi (Author), Adam Barr (Narrator)

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A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety

At 90, Jimmy Carter reflects on his public and private life with a frankness that is disarming. He adds detail and emotion, for example, about his youth in rural Georgia that he described in his magnificent An Hour Before Daylight. He writes about racism and the isolation of the Carters. He describes the brutality of the hazing regimen at Annapolis, how he nearly lost his life twice serving on submarines. He tells how he beat the odds and got Admiral Rickover to accept him for the brand new nuclear submarine program by admitting: "No sir, I did not always do my best [in Annapolis]." He also describes the profound influence his mother had on him but how he adored his father even though he didn't emulate him. He admits that he both decided to quit the Navy and subsequently enter politics without consulting his wife and how appalled he is, in retrospect, at that behavior, how angry Rosalynn was and how she became his crucial partner. Carter tells what he is proud of in his terms as governor and as president, and what he would do differently. And he talks very frankly of other world and political leaders. He talks about his regret leaving the White House after he lost but how he and Rosalynn pushed on and made a new life and second career. He is frank about the presidents who have succeeded him and how they have treated him and is passionate about the causes he cares most about, particularly the condition of women and the deprived of the developing world. This is frank and wise and a moving look back from this extraordinary man. He was president for four of his 90 years. Of course that changed his life. But other things did too. Carter has lived one of our great American lives, from rural obscurity to world fame and respect, and privilege. And he is rigorous and energetic as he looks back clearly on his extraordinary life. And he is not afraid to tell us where he fell short, or at least short of where he imagined.

Jimmy Carter, Jimmy Carter (Author), Jimmy Carter, Jimmy Carter (Narrator)

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A Lot of People Are Saying: The New Conspiracism and the Assault on Democracy

How the new conspiracists are undermining democracy-and what can be done about it Conspiracy theories are as old as politics. But conspiracists today have introduced something new-conspiracy without theory. And the new conspiracism has moved from the fringes to the heart of government with the election of Donald Trump. In A Lot of People Are Saying, Russell Muirhead and Nancy Rosenblum show how the new conspiracism differs from classic conspiracy theory, why so few officials speak truth to conspiracy, and what needs to be done to resist it. Classic conspiracy theory insists that things are not what they seem and gathers evidence-especially facts ominously withheld by official sources-to tease out secret machinations. The new conspiracism is different. There is no demand for evidence, no dots revealed to form a pattern, no close examination of shadowy plotters. Dispensing with the burden of explanation, the new conspiracism imposes its own reality through repetition (exemplified by the Trump catchphrase "a lot of people are saying") and bare assertion ("rigged!"). The new conspiracism targets democratic foundations-political parties and knowledge-producing institutions. It makes it more difficult to argue, persuade, negotiate, compromise, and even to disagree. Ultimately, it delegitimates democracy. Filled with vivid examples, A Lot of People Are Saying diagnoses a defining and disorienting feature of today's politics and offers a guide to responding to the threat.

Nancy L. Rosenblum, Russell Muirhead (Author), Katherine Fenton (Narrator)

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A Mighty Long Way: My Journey to Justice at Little Rock Central High School

When fourteen-year-old Carlotta Walls walked up the stairs of Little Rock Central High School on September 25, 1957, she and eight other black students only wanted to make it to class. But the journey of the “Little Rock Nine,” as they came to be known, would lead the nation on an even longer and much more turbulent path, one that would challenge prevailing attitudes, break down barriers, and forever change the landscape of America. Descended from a line of proud black landowners and businessmen, Carlotta was raised to believe that education was the key to success. She embraced learning and excelled in her studies at the black schools she attended throughout the 1950s. With Brown v. Board of Education erasing the color divide in classrooms across the country, the teenager volunteered to be among the first black students–of whom she was the youngest–to integrate nearby Central High School, considered one of the nation’s best academic institutions. But for Carlotta and her eight comrades, simply getting through the door was the first of many trials. Angry mobs of white students and their parents hurled taunts, insults, and threats. Arkansas’s governor used the National Guard to bar the black students from entering the school. Finally, President Dwight D. Eisenhower was forced to send in the 101st Airborne to establish order and escort the Nine into the building. That was just the start of a heartbreaking three-year journey for Carlotta, who would see her home bombed, a crime for which her own father was a suspect and for which a friend of Carlotta’s was ultimately jailed–albeit wrongly, in Carlotta’s eyes. But she persevered to the victorious end: her graduation from Central. Breaking her silence at last and sharing her story for the first time, Carlotta Walls has written an inspiring, thoroughly engrossing memoir that is not only a testament to the power of one to make a difference but also of the sacrifices made by families and communities that found themselves a part of history. A Mighty Long Way shines a light on this watershed moment in civil rights history and shows that determination, fortitude, and the ability to change the world are not exclusive to a few special people but are inherent within us all.

Carlotta Walls Lanier, Lisa Frazier Page (Author), Carlotta Walls Lanier (Narrator)

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A Nation Forged by Crisis: A New American History

A concise new history of the United States revealing that crises--not unlike those of the present day--have determined our nation's course from the start In A Nation Forged by Crisis, historian Jay Sexton contends that our national narrative is not one of halting yet inevitable progress, but of repeated disruptions brought about by shifts in the international system. Sexton shows that the American Revolution was a consequence of the increasing integration of the British and American economies; that a necessary precondition for the Civil War was the absence, for the first time in decades, of foreign threats; and that we cannot understand the New Deal without examining the role of European immigrants and their offspring in transforming the Democratic Party. A necessary corrective to conventional narratives of American history, A Nation Forged by Crisis argues that we can only prepare for our unpredictable future by first acknowledging the contingencies of our collective past.

Jay Sexton (Author), Graham Corrigan (Narrator)

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A Nation of Sheep

In A NATION OF SHEEP, Judge Andrew P. Napolitano frankly discusses how the federal government has circumvented the Constitution and is systematically dismantling the rights and freedoms that are the foundation of American democracy. He challenges Americans to recognize that they are being led down a very dangerous path and that the cost of following without challenge is the loss of the basic freedoms that facilitate our pursuit of happiness and that define us as a nation. Judge Napolitano reminds readers what America is all about, that the purpose of government is to protect freedom, and freedom is the ability to follow your own free will and not the will of government bureaucrats. He asks the simple question, which are YOU, a sheep or a wolf? Do you blindly follow behind where you are led, or do you challenge the government at every pass, forcing it to make decisions that will protect our freedoms? Judge Napolitano asks the questions that no one else will, challenging readers to rethink why they are blindly following a government that has only its own interests in mind. He asks: - Why is the government using the war on terror as an excuse to sidestep the Constitution? - Why are Americans not challenging and questioning the government as it continues to limit more and more of our freedoms? - What part of 'Congress shall make no law...' does the government not understand when it criminalizes speech? - Whatever happened to our inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that are proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence, guaranteed by the Constitution, yet ignored by the governments elected to protect them? - Why does every public office holder swear allegiance to the Constitution, yet very few follow it? - Don't we have rights that are guaranteed and cannot be taken from us?

Andrew P. Napolitano (Author), Michael Quinlan (Narrator)

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A Pope and President: John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, and the Extraordinary Untold Story of the 20th Ce

Even as historians credit Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II with hastening the end of the Cold War, they have failed to recognize the depth or significance of the bond that developed between the two leaders. Acclaimed scholar and bestselling author Paul Kengor changes that. In this fascinating book, he reveals a singular bond-which included a spiritual connection between the Catholic pope and the Protestant president-that drove the two men to confront what they knew to be the great evil of the twentieth century: Soviet communism. Reagan and John Paul II almost didn't have the opportunity to forge this relationship: just six weeks apart in the spring of 1981, they took bullets from would-be assassins. But their strikingly similar near-death experiences brought them close together-to Moscow's dismay. A Pope and a President is the product of years of research. Based on Kengor's tireless archival digging and his unique access to Reagan insiders, this book reveals captivating new details on a relationship that changed history.

Paul Kengor (Author), James Anderson Foster (Narrator)

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A Rare Recording of David Lloyd George

David Lloyd George (Jan. 17, 1863 - March 26, 1945) was a British politician of great audacity, charm, wit, and mastery of the art of debate. A champion of liberal causes throughour his career, Lloyd George entered Parliament in 1890, and was later was appointed to the president of the Board of Trade in 1906. As Prime Minister, from 1916 to 1922, Lloyd George led Britain to victory in World War I. In this recording, Lloyd George discusses the famous "People's Budget" of 1909.

David Lloyd George (Author), David Lloyd George (Narrator)

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A Rude Life: The Memoir

Vir Sanghvi's has been an interesting life - one that took him to Oxford, movie and political journalism, television and magazines - and he depicts it with the silky polish his readers expect of him. In A Rude Life, he turns his dispassionate observer's gaze on himself, and in taut prose tells us about all that he's experienced, and nothing more for he's still a private man. He unhurriedly recounts memories from his childhood and college years, moving on to give us an understanding of how he wrote his biggest stories, while giving us an insider's view into the politics and glamour of that time.

Vir Sanghvi (Author), Ashish Bhandari (Narrator)

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A Spy in Plain Sight: The Inside Story of the FBI and Robert Hanssen―America’s Most Damaging Russian

A legal analyst for NPR, NBC, and CNN, delves into the facts surrounding what has been called the “worst intelligence disaster in US history”: the case of Robert Hanssen—a Russian spy who was embedded in the FBI for two decades. As a federal prosecutor and the daughter of an FBI agent, Wiehl has an inside perspective. She brings her experience and the ingrained lessons of her upraising to bear on her remarkable exploration of the case, interviewing numerous FBI and CIA agents both past and present as well as the individuals closest to Hanssen. She speaks with his brother-in-law, his oldest and best friend, and even his psychiatrist. In all her conversations, Wiehl is trying to figure out how he did it—and at what cost. But she also pursues questions urgently relevant to our national security today. Could there be another spy in the system? Could the presence of a spy be an even greater threat now than ever before, with the greater prominence cyber security has taken in recent years? Wiehl explores the mechanisms and politics of our national security apparatus and how they make us vulnerable to precisely this kind of threat.

Lis Wiehl (Author), Lis Wiehl (Narrator)

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A Tale of Two Systems: A View of Ordinary Life in Communist USSR and “The West” - the United States

A narrative of personal experiences and observations, A Tale of Two Systems is the honest diary of someone who has experienced two opposite governmental systems side by side. Comparing the two cultures in a compelling and personal way, it is a powerful insight into what life’s really like under two opposing systems. In A Tale of Two Systems, you’ll find a rich and engaging narrative detailing exactly what it’s like to transition between Communism and democracy. You’ll discover: ● How Russia developed from being a thriving Empire to the world’s first communist nation ● A concise yet detailed history of the Soviet Union and its Communist regime ● A firsthand account of what it was really like to live and work in the USSR ● A unique view of the freedoms we take for granted in the West -- and a glimpse at what life is like when those freedoms are removed ● An in-depth comparison of democracy and Communism -- through the eyes of someone who was there ● A clear illustration of how the gulf between countries is not about the people, but about politics And much more.

Ian Williams (Author), Joshua Mount (Narrator)

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A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

In A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Mary Wollstonecraft tackles the wasted potential she sees in women, refusing to see them as inferior to men; she decries their limitations and suggests that they are worthy of an equal standard of education, and that they should be taught to develop their own reason, not simply how to gain a man. Written in 1792, at the height of the French Revolution, A Vindication is an eloquent and persuasive response to the prevailing attitudes of the time. It is the original feminist manifesto.

Mary Wollstonecraft (Author), Fiona Shaw, Jonathan Keeble (Narrator)

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History Audiobooks in Science & Technology