-
The Man Who Painted the Universe
- The Story of a Planetarium in the Heart of the North Woods
- Narrated by: Wes Super
- Length: 3 hrs and 10 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
The Man Who Painted the Universe
Buy for $14.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Elon Musk
- Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
- By: Ashlee Vance
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 57,607
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 50,528
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 50,421
In the spirit of Steve Jobs and Moneyball, Elon Musk is both an illuminating and authorized look at the extraordinary life of one of Silicon Valley's most exciting, unpredictable, and ambitious entrepreneurs - a real-life Tony Stark - and a fascinating exploration of the renewal of American invention and its new makers.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The best of competence porn
- By Tristan on 08-20-16
By: Ashlee Vance
-
The Girls of Atomic City
- The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II
- By: Denise Kiernan
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,866
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,582
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,571
At the height of World War II, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, was home to 75,000 residents, consuming more electricity than New York City. But to most of the world, the town did not exist. Thousands of civilians - many of them young women from small towns across the South - were recruited to this secret city, enticed by solid wages and the promise of war-ending work. Kept very much in the dark, few would ever guess the true nature of the tasks they performed each day in the hulking factories in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Important story of this secret city
- By CBlox on 11-14-13
By: Denise Kiernan
-
Nomadland
- Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century
- By: Jessica Bruder
- Narrated by: Karen White
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,578
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 2,256
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,251
From the beet fields of North Dakota to the wilderness campgrounds of California to an Amazon warehouse in Texas, people who once might have kicked back to enjoy their sunset years are hard at work. Underwater on mortgages or finding that Social Security comes up short, they're hitting the road in astonishing numbers, forming a new community of nomads: RV and van-dwelling migrant laborers, or "workampers".
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Eccentric Hobby? No--Survival Skills!
- By Gillian on 03-07-18
By: Jessica Bruder
-
Brave Companions
- Portraits in History
- By: David McCullough
- Narrated by: David McCullough
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,573
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,379
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,357
The best-selling author of Truman and John Adams, David McCullough has written profiles of exceptional men and women past and present who have not only shaped the course of history or changed how we see the world but whose stories express much that is timeless about the human condition. Here are Alexander von Humboldt, whose epic explorations of South America surpassed the Lewis and Clark expedition; Harriet Beecher Stowe, "the little woman who made the big war”....
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
I USUALLY LOVE THIS GUY
- By Randall on 01-28-19
By: David McCullough
-
The Great Wall of China and the Salton Sea
- Monuments, Missteps, and the Audacity of Ambition
- By: Russell Rathbun
- Narrated by: Larry Herron
- Length: 5 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 25
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 23
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 23
We've been building and making things ever since we stumbled out of paradise. Some of those things are incredible continuations of God's creation, while others are nothing but ambitious catastrophes. We continue making, says Russell Rathbun, but we've lost ourselves in the process.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent narrator
- By Tammy on 03-17-18
By: Russell Rathbun
-
The Men Who United the States
- America's Explorers, Inventors, Eccentrics, and Mavericks, and the Creation of One Nation, Indivisible
- By: Simon Winchester
- Narrated by: Simon Winchester
- Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,177
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,074
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,068
How did America become “one nation, indivisible”? What unified a growing number of disparate states into the modern country we recognize today? To answer these questions, Winchester follows in the footsteps of America’s most essential explorers, thinkers, and innovators. Introducing the fascinating people who played a pivotal role in creating today’s United States, he ponders whether the historic work of uniting the States has succeeded, and to what degree.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Sarcastic
- By Cynthia Hartman on 06-16-16
By: Simon Winchester
-
Elon Musk
- Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
- By: Ashlee Vance
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 57,607
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 50,528
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 50,421
In the spirit of Steve Jobs and Moneyball, Elon Musk is both an illuminating and authorized look at the extraordinary life of one of Silicon Valley's most exciting, unpredictable, and ambitious entrepreneurs - a real-life Tony Stark - and a fascinating exploration of the renewal of American invention and its new makers.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The best of competence porn
- By Tristan on 08-20-16
By: Ashlee Vance
-
The Girls of Atomic City
- The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II
- By: Denise Kiernan
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,866
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,582
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,571
At the height of World War II, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, was home to 75,000 residents, consuming more electricity than New York City. But to most of the world, the town did not exist. Thousands of civilians - many of them young women from small towns across the South - were recruited to this secret city, enticed by solid wages and the promise of war-ending work. Kept very much in the dark, few would ever guess the true nature of the tasks they performed each day in the hulking factories in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Important story of this secret city
- By CBlox on 11-14-13
By: Denise Kiernan
-
Nomadland
- Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century
- By: Jessica Bruder
- Narrated by: Karen White
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,578
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 2,256
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,251
From the beet fields of North Dakota to the wilderness campgrounds of California to an Amazon warehouse in Texas, people who once might have kicked back to enjoy their sunset years are hard at work. Underwater on mortgages or finding that Social Security comes up short, they're hitting the road in astonishing numbers, forming a new community of nomads: RV and van-dwelling migrant laborers, or "workampers".
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Eccentric Hobby? No--Survival Skills!
- By Gillian on 03-07-18
By: Jessica Bruder
-
Brave Companions
- Portraits in History
- By: David McCullough
- Narrated by: David McCullough
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,573
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,379
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,357
The best-selling author of Truman and John Adams, David McCullough has written profiles of exceptional men and women past and present who have not only shaped the course of history or changed how we see the world but whose stories express much that is timeless about the human condition. Here are Alexander von Humboldt, whose epic explorations of South America surpassed the Lewis and Clark expedition; Harriet Beecher Stowe, "the little woman who made the big war”....
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
I USUALLY LOVE THIS GUY
- By Randall on 01-28-19
By: David McCullough
-
The Great Wall of China and the Salton Sea
- Monuments, Missteps, and the Audacity of Ambition
- By: Russell Rathbun
- Narrated by: Larry Herron
- Length: 5 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 25
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 23
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 23
We've been building and making things ever since we stumbled out of paradise. Some of those things are incredible continuations of God's creation, while others are nothing but ambitious catastrophes. We continue making, says Russell Rathbun, but we've lost ourselves in the process.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent narrator
- By Tammy on 03-17-18
By: Russell Rathbun
-
The Men Who United the States
- America's Explorers, Inventors, Eccentrics, and Mavericks, and the Creation of One Nation, Indivisible
- By: Simon Winchester
- Narrated by: Simon Winchester
- Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,177
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,074
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,068
How did America become “one nation, indivisible”? What unified a growing number of disparate states into the modern country we recognize today? To answer these questions, Winchester follows in the footsteps of America’s most essential explorers, thinkers, and innovators. Introducing the fascinating people who played a pivotal role in creating today’s United States, he ponders whether the historic work of uniting the States has succeeded, and to what degree.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Sarcastic
- By Cynthia Hartman on 06-16-16
By: Simon Winchester
-
A Place of My Own
- The Architecture of Daydreams
- By: Michael Pollan
- Narrated by: Michael Pollan
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,038
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 889
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 891
With this updated edition of his earlier book, A Place of My Own, listeners can revisit the inspired, intelligent, and often hilarious story of Pollan’s realization of a room of his own—a small, wooden hut, his “shelter for daydreams” — built with his admittedly unhandy hands. Inspired by both Thoreau and Mr. Blandings, A Place of My Own not only works to convey the history and meaning of all human building, it also marks the connections between our bodies, our minds, and the natural world.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Pollan is the master of hipster porn
- By Darwin8u on 02-28-15
By: Michael Pollan
-
The Disneyland Story
- The Unofficial Guide to the Evolution of Walt Disney's Dream
- By: Sam Gennawey
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 457
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 424
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 426
The Disneyland Story: The Unofficial Guide to the Evolution of Walt Disney's Dream is the story of how Walt Disney's greatest creation was conceived, nurtured, and how it grew into a source of joy and inspiration for generations of visitors. Despite his successors' battles with the whims of history and their own doubts and egos, Walt's vision maintained momentum, thrived, and taught future generations how to do it Walt Disney's way.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
The narration is killing me.
- By Chris on 03-24-15
By: Sam Gennawey
-
Conversations with Frank Gehry
- By: Barbara Isenberg
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki, Marsha Mason, Barbara Isenberg
- Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 38
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 33
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 32
An unprecedented, intimate portrait of Frank Gehry, one of the world's most influential architects. Drawing on the most candid, revealing, and entertaining conversations she has had with Gehry over the last 20 years, Barbara Isenberg provides new and fascinating insights into the man and his work. Gehry's subjects range from his childhood - when he first built cities with wooden blocks on the floor of his grandmother's kitchen - to his relationships with clients and his definition of a "great" client.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
I love architecture
- By Dallin Evans on 02-20-16
By: Barbara Isenberg
-
House
- By: Tracy Kidder
- Narrated by: Adrian Cronauer
- Length: 12 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 45
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 37
Why on earth should the nail-by-nail building of a house hold any fascination for anyone? Because when you put a lawyer, an architect, and a hippie builder together, that spells trouble. Kidder tells his story so well that you can’t help but take sides.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
I love this book
- By S. J. York on 08-13-23
By: Tracy Kidder
-
Ingenious
- A True Story of Invention, Automotive Daring, and the Race to Revive America
- By: Jason Fagone
- Narrated by: Adam Verner
- Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 34
In 2007, the X Prize Foundation announced that it would give $10 million to anyone who could build a safe, mass-producible car that could travel one hundred miles on the energy equivalent of a gallon of gas. The challenge attracted more than one hundred teams from all over the world, including dozens of amateurs. Many designed their cars entirely from scratch, rejecting decades of thinking about what a car should look like.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels.
- By Shamu from New York on 12-07-13
By: Jason Fagone
-
Country Driving
- A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory
- By: Peter Hessler
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 16 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 565
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 373
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 365
In the summer of 2001, Peter Hessler, the longtime Beijing correspondent for The New Yorker, acquired his Chinese driver's license. For the next seven years, he traveled the country, tracking how the automobile and improved roads were transforming China.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Pass the white rice please
- By Nick on 02-18-10
By: Peter Hessler
-
Maphead
- Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks
- By: Ken Jennings
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 229
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 191
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 191
It comes as no surprise that, as a kid, Jeopardy! legend Ken Jennings slept with a bulky Hammond world atlas by his pillow every night. Maphead recounts his lifelong love affair with geography and explores why maps have always been so fascinating to him and to fellow enthusiasts everywhere.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A Romp through Maps
- By Lynn on 01-27-12
By: Ken Jennings
-
Our Towns
- A 100,000-Mile Journey into the Heart of America
- By: James Fallows, Deborah Fallows
- Narrated by: James Fallows, Deborah Fallows
- Length: 15 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 204
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 186
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 185
For the last five years, James and Deborah Fallows have been traveling across America in a single-engine prop airplane. Visiting dozens of towns, they have met hundreds of civic leaders, workers, immigrants, educators, environmentalists, artists, public servants, librarians, businesspeople, city planners, students, and entrepreneurs to take the pulse and understand the prospects of places that usually draw notice only after a disaster or during a political campaign. The America they saw is acutely conscious of its problems, but it is also crafting solutions.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent premise, please hire a reader.
- By Elena G. on 05-24-18
By: James Fallows, and others
-
The Big Roads
- The Untold Story of the Engineers, Visionaries, and Trailblazers Who Created the American Superhighways
- By: Earl Swift
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 166
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 149
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 147
From author Earl Swift comes the surprising history of the U.S. interstate system, a fascinating route through the dreams, discoveries, and protests that shaped these mighty roads.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Lessons from The Big Roads
- By Joshua Kim on 05-06-12
By: Earl Swift
-
Elon Musk and the Quest for a Fantastic Future: Young Readers' Edition
- By: Ashlee Vance
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 103
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 88
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 87
With exclusive access to Elon, his family, and his friends, this book traces Elon's journey from a kid in South Africa to a young man in the United States, his dramatic technical inventions, and his world-changing companies. Elon has sparked new levels of innovation in the world, and this book gives young listeners a detailed but fast-paced look at his story.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Awesome book!
- By Anonymous User on 07-25-18
By: Ashlee Vance
-
Modern Man
- The Life of Le Corbusier, Architect of Tomorrow
- By: Anthony Flint
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 162
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 141
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 141
Modern Man is a penetrating psychological portrait of a true genius and constant self-inventor, as well as a sweeping tale filled with exotic locales, sex and celebrity (he was a lover of Josephine Baker), and high-stakes projects. In Flint's telling, Corbusier isn't just the grandfather of modern architecture but a man who sought to remake the world according to his vision, dispelling the Victorian style and replacing it with something never seen before.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent Bio
- By Greg Manley on 04-28-15
By: Anthony Flint
-
How to Make a Spaceship
- A Band of Renegades, an Epic Race, and the Birth of Private Spaceflight
- By: Julian Guthrie, Richard Branson - preface, Stephen Hawking - afterword
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 16 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 364
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 326
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 328
The story of the bullet-shaped SpaceShipOne and the other teams in the hunt is an extraordinary tale of making the impossible possible. It is driven by outsized characters - Burt Rutan, Richard Branson, John Carmack, Paul Allen - and obsessive pursuits. In the end, as Diamandis dreamed, the result wasn't just a victory for one team; it was the foundation for a new industry and a new age.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Fun and Thrilling Ride
- By Gillian on 09-28-16
By: Julian Guthrie, and others
Publisher's summary
As a young boy Frank Kovac Jr. fell deeply in love with stargazing, painting glow-in-the-dark constellations on his bedroom wall and inviting friends to an observatory he built in his Chicago backyard. As he reached adulthood, Kovac did not let go of his childhood dreams of reaching the stars. He began scheming to bring the universe home. While working at a paper mill as a young man, Kovac tirelessly built a 22-foot rotating globe planetarium in the woods. Despite failures and collapses, the amateur astronomer singlehandedly built a North Woods treasure, painting more than 5,000 glowing stars-dot by dot in glowing paints. Today, Kovac and his unique planetarium take visitors to the stars every day.
The Man Who Painted the Universe: The Story of a Planetarium in the Heart of the North Woods introduces listeners to the mild-mannered astronomy enthusiast whose creativity, ingenuity, fervor, and endurance realized a dream of galactic proportions. The story of this stargazer from Wisconsin's North Woods so inspired two newspapermen, authors Ron Legro and Avi Lank, that they sought to document the story of the Kovac Planetarium for a new generation of stargazers and dreamers.
More from the same
Related to this topic
-
The Disneyland Story
- The Unofficial Guide to the Evolution of Walt Disney's Dream
- By: Sam Gennawey
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 457
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 424
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 426
The Disneyland Story: The Unofficial Guide to the Evolution of Walt Disney's Dream is the story of how Walt Disney's greatest creation was conceived, nurtured, and how it grew into a source of joy and inspiration for generations of visitors. Despite his successors' battles with the whims of history and their own doubts and egos, Walt's vision maintained momentum, thrived, and taught future generations how to do it Walt Disney's way.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
The narration is killing me.
- By Chris on 03-24-15
By: Sam Gennawey
-
Maphead
- Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks
- By: Ken Jennings
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 229
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 191
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 191
It comes as no surprise that, as a kid, Jeopardy! legend Ken Jennings slept with a bulky Hammond world atlas by his pillow every night. Maphead recounts his lifelong love affair with geography and explores why maps have always been so fascinating to him and to fellow enthusiasts everywhere.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A Romp through Maps
- By Lynn on 01-27-12
By: Ken Jennings
-
The Big Roads
- The Untold Story of the Engineers, Visionaries, and Trailblazers Who Created the American Superhighways
- By: Earl Swift
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 166
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 149
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 147
From author Earl Swift comes the surprising history of the U.S. interstate system, a fascinating route through the dreams, discoveries, and protests that shaped these mighty roads.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Lessons from The Big Roads
- By Joshua Kim on 05-06-12
By: Earl Swift
-
Three Years in Wonderland
- The Disney Brothers, C. V. Wood, and the Making of the Great American Theme Park
- By: Todd James Pierce
- Narrated by: Al Kessel
- Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 91
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 86
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 85
While the success of Disneyland is largely credited to Walt and Roy Disney, there was a third, mostly forgotten dynamo instrumental to the development of the park: fast-talking Texan C. V. Wood. Three Years in Wonderland presents the never-before-told, full story of "the happiest place on earth".
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A really great and interesting story.
- By Mike on 02-20-20
-
LEGO
- A Love Story
- By: Jonathan Bender
- Narrated by: Jeremy Gage
- Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 135
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 109
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 109
There are 62 LEGO bricks for every person in the world, and at age 30, Jonathan Bender realized that he didn't have a single one of them. While reconsidering his childhood dream of becoming a master model builder for The LEGO Group, he discovers the men and women who are skewing the averages with collections of hundreds of thousands of LEGO bricks. What is it about the ubiquitous, brightly colored toys that makes them so hard for everyone to put down?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Be careful if you already like Lego
- By Matthew Center on 03-14-11
By: Jonathan Bender
-
You Say to Brick
- The Life of Louis Kahn
- By: Wendy Lesser
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 15 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 55
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 51
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 51
Born to a Jewish family in Estonia in 1901 and brought to America in 1906, the architect Louis Kahn grew up in poverty in Philadelphia; by the time of his death in 1974, he was widely recognized as one of the greatest architects of his era. Yet this enormous reputation was based on only a handful of masterpieces, all built during the last 15 years of his life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A book about architect needs pictures
- By Kristin Olson-garewal on 10-15-17
By: Wendy Lesser
-
The Disneyland Story
- The Unofficial Guide to the Evolution of Walt Disney's Dream
- By: Sam Gennawey
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 457
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 424
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 426
The Disneyland Story: The Unofficial Guide to the Evolution of Walt Disney's Dream is the story of how Walt Disney's greatest creation was conceived, nurtured, and how it grew into a source of joy and inspiration for generations of visitors. Despite his successors' battles with the whims of history and their own doubts and egos, Walt's vision maintained momentum, thrived, and taught future generations how to do it Walt Disney's way.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
The narration is killing me.
- By Chris on 03-24-15
By: Sam Gennawey
-
Maphead
- Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks
- By: Ken Jennings
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 229
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 191
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 191
It comes as no surprise that, as a kid, Jeopardy! legend Ken Jennings slept with a bulky Hammond world atlas by his pillow every night. Maphead recounts his lifelong love affair with geography and explores why maps have always been so fascinating to him and to fellow enthusiasts everywhere.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A Romp through Maps
- By Lynn on 01-27-12
By: Ken Jennings
-
The Big Roads
- The Untold Story of the Engineers, Visionaries, and Trailblazers Who Created the American Superhighways
- By: Earl Swift
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 166
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 149
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 147
From author Earl Swift comes the surprising history of the U.S. interstate system, a fascinating route through the dreams, discoveries, and protests that shaped these mighty roads.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Lessons from The Big Roads
- By Joshua Kim on 05-06-12
By: Earl Swift
-
Three Years in Wonderland
- The Disney Brothers, C. V. Wood, and the Making of the Great American Theme Park
- By: Todd James Pierce
- Narrated by: Al Kessel
- Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 91
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 86
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 85
While the success of Disneyland is largely credited to Walt and Roy Disney, there was a third, mostly forgotten dynamo instrumental to the development of the park: fast-talking Texan C. V. Wood. Three Years in Wonderland presents the never-before-told, full story of "the happiest place on earth".
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A really great and interesting story.
- By Mike on 02-20-20
-
LEGO
- A Love Story
- By: Jonathan Bender
- Narrated by: Jeremy Gage
- Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 135
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 109
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 109
There are 62 LEGO bricks for every person in the world, and at age 30, Jonathan Bender realized that he didn't have a single one of them. While reconsidering his childhood dream of becoming a master model builder for The LEGO Group, he discovers the men and women who are skewing the averages with collections of hundreds of thousands of LEGO bricks. What is it about the ubiquitous, brightly colored toys that makes them so hard for everyone to put down?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Be careful if you already like Lego
- By Matthew Center on 03-14-11
By: Jonathan Bender
-
You Say to Brick
- The Life of Louis Kahn
- By: Wendy Lesser
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 15 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 55
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 51
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 51
Born to a Jewish family in Estonia in 1901 and brought to America in 1906, the architect Louis Kahn grew up in poverty in Philadelphia; by the time of his death in 1974, he was widely recognized as one of the greatest architects of his era. Yet this enormous reputation was based on only a handful of masterpieces, all built during the last 15 years of his life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A book about architect needs pictures
- By Kristin Olson-garewal on 10-15-17
By: Wendy Lesser
-
The Great Wall of China and the Salton Sea
- Monuments, Missteps, and the Audacity of Ambition
- By: Russell Rathbun
- Narrated by: Larry Herron
- Length: 5 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 25
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 23
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 23
We've been building and making things ever since we stumbled out of paradise. Some of those things are incredible continuations of God's creation, while others are nothing but ambitious catastrophes. We continue making, says Russell Rathbun, but we've lost ourselves in the process.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent narrator
- By Tammy on 03-17-18
By: Russell Rathbun
-
Explore/Create
- My Life in Pursuit of New Frontiers, Hidden Worlds, and the Creative Spark
- By: Richard Garriott, David Fisher
- Narrated by: Christopher Grove
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 75
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 72
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 72
An inventor, adventurer, entrepreneur, collector, and entertainer, and son of legendary scientist-astronaut Owen Garriott, Richard Garriott de Cayeux has been behind some of the most exciting undertakings of our time. A legendary pioneer of the online gaming industry - and a member of every gaming Hall of Fame - Garriott invented the multi-player online game, and coined the term "Avatar" to describe an individual's online character. In this fascinating memoir, Garriott invites listeners on the great adventure that is his life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The Modern Day Explorer
- By Elijah on 04-17-17
By: Richard Garriott, and others
-
A Place of My Own
- The Architecture of Daydreams
- By: Michael Pollan
- Narrated by: Michael Pollan
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,038
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 889
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 891
With this updated edition of his earlier book, A Place of My Own, listeners can revisit the inspired, intelligent, and often hilarious story of Pollan’s realization of a room of his own—a small, wooden hut, his “shelter for daydreams” — built with his admittedly unhandy hands. Inspired by both Thoreau and Mr. Blandings, A Place of My Own not only works to convey the history and meaning of all human building, it also marks the connections between our bodies, our minds, and the natural world.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Pollan is the master of hipster porn
- By Darwin8u on 02-28-15
By: Michael Pollan
-
Fins
- Harley Earl, the Rise of General Motors, and the Glory Days of Detroit
- By: William Knoedelseder
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 111
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 97
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 97
This audiobook chronicles the birth and rise to greatness of the American auto industry through the life of Harley Earl, an eccentric six-foot-five, stuttering visionary who dropped out of college and went on to invent the profession of automobile styling, thereby revolutionized the way cars were made, marketed, and even imagined. Harleys Earl’s story qualifies as a bona fide American family saga. It began in the Michigan pine forest in the years after the Civil War, traveled across the Great Plains on the wheels of a covered wagon, and eventually settled in Hollywood, California.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Great report of amazing history but could do without the WOKE lean..
- By joshua Shaw on 07-02-22
-
Ingenious
- A True Story of Invention, Automotive Daring, and the Race to Revive America
- By: Jason Fagone
- Narrated by: Adam Verner
- Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 34
In 2007, the X Prize Foundation announced that it would give $10 million to anyone who could build a safe, mass-producible car that could travel one hundred miles on the energy equivalent of a gallon of gas. The challenge attracted more than one hundred teams from all over the world, including dozens of amateurs. Many designed their cars entirely from scratch, rejecting decades of thinking about what a car should look like.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels.
- By Shamu from New York on 12-07-13
By: Jason Fagone
-
Rust
- The Longest War
- By: Jonathan Waldman
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 13 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 218
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 181
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 182
In Rust journalist Jonathan Waldman travels from Key West, Florida, to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to meet the colorful and often reclusive people concerned with corrosion. He sneaks into an abandoned steelworks with a brave artist and nearly gets kicked out of Can School. Across the Arctic he follows a massive high-tech robot, hunting for rust in the Alaska pipeline.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Almost too geeky for geeks
- By Norman B. Bernstein on 03-26-15
By: Jonathan Waldman
-
Higher
- A Historic Race to the Sky and the Making of a City
- By: Neal Bascomb
- Narrated by: Richard M. Davidson
- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 139
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 56
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 57
This riveting, true account of the 1929 race to build New York City's tallest skyscraper evokes the glory of an exciting time long past.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Outstanding Audio Book!!!
- By Tim on 11-16-05
By: Neal Bascomb
-
House Lessons
- Renovating a Life
- By: Erica Bauermeister
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 98
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 84
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 84
In this mesmerizing memoir-in-essays, New York Times best-selling author Erica Bauermeister renovates a trash-filled house in eccentric Port Townsend, Washington, and in the process takes listeners on a journey to discover the ways our spaces subliminally affect us. A personal, accessible, and literary exploration of the psychology of architecture, this book is designed for homeowners, remodelers, and those who are simply curious about how our built environments shape who we become.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful book for anyone home shopping
- By ERICK on 09-04-20
-
Land Rover
- The Story of the Car That Conquered the World
- By: Ben Fogle
- Narrated by: Rupert Farley
- Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 27
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 27
As quintessentially British as a plate of fish and chips or a British bulldog, the boxy, utilitarian Land Rover Defender has become an iconic part of what it is to be British. It is said that for more than half the world's population, the first car they ever saw was a Land Rover Defender. It mirrors many of our national traits, stiff upper-lipped and slightly eccentric.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
As a Landy lover
- By jamzDOTnet on 11-24-21
By: Ben Fogle
-
The End of Night
- Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light
- By: Paul Bogard
- Narrated by: Paul Bogard
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 73
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 64
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 66
A deeply panoramic tour of the night, from its brightest spots to the darkest skies we have left. A starry night is one of nature's most magical wonders. Yet in our artificially lit world, three-quarters of Americans' eyes never switch to night vision and most of us no longer experience true darkness. In The End of Night, Paul Bogard restores our awareness of the spectacularly primal, wildly dark night sky and how it has influenced the human experience across everything from science to art.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
A little too poetic for my taste
- By Dan B on 03-18-19
By: Paul Bogard
-
The Men Who United the States
- America's Explorers, Inventors, Eccentrics, and Mavericks, and the Creation of One Nation, Indivisible
- By: Simon Winchester
- Narrated by: Simon Winchester
- Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,177
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,074
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,068
How did America become “one nation, indivisible”? What unified a growing number of disparate states into the modern country we recognize today? To answer these questions, Winchester follows in the footsteps of America’s most essential explorers, thinkers, and innovators. Introducing the fascinating people who played a pivotal role in creating today’s United States, he ponders whether the historic work of uniting the States has succeeded, and to what degree.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Sarcastic
- By Cynthia Hartman on 06-16-16
By: Simon Winchester
-
The Girls of Atomic City
- The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II
- By: Denise Kiernan
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,866
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,582
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,571
At the height of World War II, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, was home to 75,000 residents, consuming more electricity than New York City. But to most of the world, the town did not exist. Thousands of civilians - many of them young women from small towns across the South - were recruited to this secret city, enticed by solid wages and the promise of war-ending work. Kept very much in the dark, few would ever guess the true nature of the tasks they performed each day in the hulking factories in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Important story of this secret city
- By CBlox on 11-14-13
By: Denise Kiernan