Bernard Douthit
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Elon Musk
- By: Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Jeremy Bobb, Walter Isaacson
- Length: 20 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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When Elon Musk was a kid in South Africa, he was regularly beaten by bullies. One day a group pushed him down some concrete steps and kicked him until his face was a swollen ball of flesh. He was in the hospital for a week. But the physical scars were minor compared to the emotional ones inflicted by his father, an engineer, rogue, and charismatic fantasist.
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megalomania on display
- By JP on 09-12-23
- Elon Musk
- By: Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Jeremy Bobb, Walter Isaacson
Great Insights and Depth
Reviewed: 05-23-24
As with his book about Steve Jobs, this book is exhaustively researched and detailed. It brings out all the complexities and the story of one othe most brilliant, influential and flawed people in today’s world.
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Think Again
- The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know
- By: Adam Grant
- Narrated by: Adam Grant
- Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Intelligence is usually seen as the ability to think and learn, but in a rapidly changing world, there's another set of cognitive skills that might matter more: the ability to rethink and unlearn. In our daily lives, too many of us favor the comfort of conviction over the discomfort of doubt. We listen to opinions that make us feel good, instead of ideas that make us think hard. We see disagreement as a threat to our egos, rather than an opportunity to learn.
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Only Good if you've never questioned anything.
- By Victor Alvia on 02-10-21
- Think Again
- The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know
- By: Adam Grant
- Narrated by: Adam Grant
Very Solid.
Reviewed: 08-06-21
This is a solid book to get to make you rethink what you thought. Adam Grant does a nice job of narrating this book. The only thing I wish Adam would leave out is his numerous references to his life as a professor and his students. We don’t need to know that much detail.
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His Very Best
- Jimmy Carter, a Life
- By: Jonathan Alter
- Narrated by: Michael Boatman
- Length: 31 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Growing up in one of the meanest counties in the Jim Crow South, Carter is the only American president who essentially lived in three centuries: his early life on the farm in the 1920s without electricity or running water might as well have been in the nineteenth; his presidency put him at the center of major events in the twentieth; and his efforts on conflict resolution and global health set him on the cutting edge of the challenges of the 21st.
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Unbiased biography of a complex president
- By P Willis on 10-08-20
- His Very Best
- Jimmy Carter, a Life
- By: Jonathan Alter
- Narrated by: Michael Boatman
A Great Story
Reviewed: 02-02-21
This is a rich and thorough biography of a great man that also is a history of many key events in the 1970's.
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Break 'Em Up
- Recovering Our Freedom from Big Ag, Big Tech, and Big Money
- By: Zephyr Teachout, Bernie Sanders - foreword
- Narrated by: Matt Godfrey, Zephyr Teachout
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Every facet of American life is being overtaken by big platform monopolists like Facebook, Google, and Bayer (which has merged with the former agricultural giant Monsanto), resulting in a greater concentration of wealth and power than we've seen since the Gilded Age. They are evolving into political entities that often have more influence than the actual government, bending state and federal legislatures to their will and even creating arbitration courts that circumvent the US justice system.
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Needed Insight
- By P. on 12-20-20
- Break 'Em Up
- Recovering Our Freedom from Big Ag, Big Tech, and Big Money
- By: Zephyr Teachout, Bernie Sanders - foreword
- Narrated by: Matt Godfrey, Zephyr Teachout
A fantastic book that everyone should read.
Reviewed: 09-03-20
This book is a masterpiece of thoughtful research that everyone should read. Our economy and our democracy is at risk as industry consolidation is widespread. Consolidation not only causes inequality, it also reduces innovation because markets are less competitive. We need anitrust enforcement now and new laws passed reducing the use of arbitration.
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Everything for Everyone: The Radical Tradition That Is Shaping the Next Economy
- By: Nathan Schneider
- Narrated by: Matt Amendt
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Since the financial crash of 2008, the cooperative movement has been coming back with renewed vigor. Everything for Everyone chronicles this economic and social revolution. Cooperative enterprise is poised to help us reclaim faith in our capacity for creative, powerful democracy.
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A clear eyed assessment of the co-op movement.
- By Bill Eldridge on 07-05-22
One of the best books I’ve ever read. Everyone should read or listen to this.
Reviewed: 08-29-20
This is a masterpiece that everyone should read, regardless of their political leanings.
This book/audiobook is one of the best I’ve ever listened to. Even with a background in economics and a deep understanding of history, I found the historical insights in this book new and very useful. The author also does a great job tying them to the current Gig economy.
The Gig economy isn’t a sharing economy, it is really more akin to feudalism.
As Nathan says, joint stock owned companies / corporations are a relatively new invention, only about 150 years old in their current C Corp form. Cooperatives on the other hand have been around for thousands of years. We need to reset our culture to favor starting long-term cooperatives versus short term Venture Capital-backed get rich quick schemes.
If we want to fix American democracy, we need to make capitalism more democratic.
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Tools of Titans
- The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers
- By: Tim Ferriss
- Narrated by: Ray Porter, Kaleo Griffith, Tim Ferriss, and others
- Length: 22 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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The latest groundbreaking tome from Tim Ferriss, the number-one New York Times best-selling author of The 4-Hour Workweek. For the last two years, I've interviewed more than 200 world-class performers for my podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show. The guests range from super celebs (Jamie Foxx, Arnold Schwarzenegger, etc.) and athletes (icons of powerlifting, gymnastics, surfing, etc.) to legendary Special Operations commanders and black-market biochemists. For most of my guests, it’s the first time they’ve agreed to a two-to-three-hour interview.
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If I could sum it up: too much of a good thing
- By Brian Sachetta on 06-08-20
- Tools of Titans
- The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers
- By: Tim Ferriss
- Narrated by: Ray Porter, Kaleo Griffith, Tim Ferriss, Therese Plummer, Ryan Holiday, Kevin Rose, Jocko Willink, Tim Kreider, Mike Del Ponte
Insightful and valuable tidbits. Male narrator is a bit annoying at times.
Reviewed: 08-29-20
Overall this audiobook was worth the 1 credit I spent on it. I had not heard of Tim Ferriss before this, and he sounds a bit full of himself in the introduction. I came to learn from a Ted Talk video that he has Bipolar Disorder and has battles major depression dozens of times. This makes him much more human.
The insights are great - especially from Amelia Boone, Scott Adams and others.
The male narrator who reads passages is a bit annoying - sounds too macho and pompous sometimes. He detracts from overall good content.
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A Fine Mess
- A Global Quest for a Simpler, Fairer, and More Efficient Tax System
- By: T.R. Reid
- Narrated by: T.R. Reid
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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The US tax code is a total write-off. Overstuffed with loopholes and special interest provisions, it works for no one - except tax lawyers, accountants, and corporations, that is - certainly not me and you. Not for the first time, we have to tear it up and start over. That happened in 1922, and again in 1954, and again in 1986. There's a pattern here; we reach this point every 32 years. Which means the next complete re-write of the tax code is due in 2018. Can we write a new tax code that is fair and simple? In fact, we can.
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Excellent summary for those looking to understand taxes
- By Em on 04-18-17
- A Fine Mess
- A Global Quest for a Simpler, Fairer, and More Efficient Tax System
- By: T.R. Reid
- Narrated by: T.R. Reid
A Must Read For Everyone! Brilliant!
Reviewed: 05-02-17
Would you consider the audio edition of A Fine Mess to be better than the print version?
T.R. Reid does a terrific job of narrating this brilliant book he has so thoroughly researched and authored. It is really a gift when an author narrates his own book, and that is never more true than here. The author's passion, knowledge, energy and humor come through so vividly in this audio edition.
What did you like best about this story?
Tax policy is rarely seen as an entertaining and intriguing subject, but this book makes it exactly that.
Reid brings to life the history and rationale of the income tax and other taxes by citing historical examples from Ancient Rome to the Bible along with more current ones. He asks all of the good questions that we all should be asking including: Why and how are taxes necessary?What is the right level of taxation to promote economic growth and equity? Should the rich be taxed more than the poor? Why don't we just move to a flat tax? Why is the current tax code such a disaster and are there historical patterns for it that we can learn from? American spend roughly 6 billion hours doing taxes each year. Does it really have to be this way?
What about T.R. Reid’s performance did you like?
His humor, passion, expertise and enthusiasm comes through so vividly in his narration of this brilliant book.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
I thought Reid's citation of the Biblical story of the Widow's Mite was really moving. It is a great story and lesson about the fundamental idea of taxes and that each of us should pay our fair share.
To summarize the story here:
"Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.
Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
Any additional comments?
As someone with a background in Economics and Finance, I should admit that I am probably a bit more of a nerd about this type of subject that many people. Still, I think this book should be required reading for every American as taxes and tax policy affect our lives every single day. T.R. shows us how we can follow what other countries have done to make taxes much simpler and easier.
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David and Goliath
- Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants
- By: Malcolm Gladwell
- Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
- Length: 7 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Explore the power of the underdog in Malcolm Gladwell's dazzling examination of success, motivation, and the role of adversity in shaping our lives, from the best-selling author of The Bomber Mafia. Three thousand years ago on a battlefield in ancient Palestine, a shepherd boy felled a mighty warrior with nothing more than a stone and a sling, and ever since then the names of David and Goliath have stood for battles between underdogs and giants. David's victory was improbable and miraculous. He shouldn't have won. Or should he have?
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The Art of (Unconventional) War
- By Cynthia on 10-04-13
- David and Goliath
- Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants
- By: Malcolm Gladwell
- Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
This may be Gladwell's best book to date
Reviewed: 02-02-14
Would you consider the audio edition of David and Goliath to be better than the print version?
Yes. Because the author reads this book himself, you really get the true tone and context of what he is trying to convey.
What did you like best about this story?
That adversity may very often be much more than an obstacle, but also an advantage. This book includes some wonderful history about the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, Northern Ireland, and a doctor's quest to cure Leukemia.
Have you listened to any of Malcolm Gladwell’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
I have listened to The Tipping Point, Blink and Outliers and I think this may be his best book yet.
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Proof of Heaven
- A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife
- By: Eben Alexander
- Narrated by: Eben Alexander
- Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Thousands of people have had near-death experiences, but scientists have argued that they are impossible. Dr. Eben Alexander was one of those scientists. A highly trained neurosurgeon, Alexander knew that NDEs feel real, but are simply fantasies produced by brains under extreme stress. Then, Dr. Alexander’s own brain was attacked by a rare illness. The part of the brain that controls thought and emotion—and in essence makes us human—shut down completely. For seven days he lay in a coma. Then, as his doctors considered stopping treatment, Alexander’s eyes popped open. He had come back.
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Compelling
- By Kelly on 10-27-12
- Proof of Heaven
- A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife
- By: Eben Alexander
- Narrated by: Eben Alexander
A good story and a great listen!!
Reviewed: 01-09-13
Would you listen to Proof of Heaven again? Why?
Yes, I thought it was well laid out and was a very memorable listen. I also may pick up some additional details if I were to listen to it again.
I have a number of doctors in my family and many skeptics about Near Death Experiences and I think they all should listen to this book. I think this is an outstanding book and that Eben Alexander is sincere. I purchased this book as a Christmas present for a good friend of mine. I highly recommend it.
My only concern is what Eben Alexander is doing with the proceeds of sales of this book. As a Neurosurgeon he must be fairly wealthy already. I would think that the proceeds should be donated to charity or NDE research.
Who was your favorite character and why?
I would say Eben, the author - but he's really the only character.
What about Eben Alexander’s performance did you like?
It seemed genuine and personal.
Any additional comments?
Eben Alexander goes into a little bit too much detail about his personal history and life. While I think this might help the story a bit, it was more detail than was probably needed.
Overall though I thought this was a great book.
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