-
Dark Money
- The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right
- Narrated by: Kirsten Potter
- Length: 16 hrs and 54 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
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $22.50
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Shadow Network
- By: Anne Nelson
- Narrated by: Katherine Fenton
- Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1981, emboldened by Ronald Reagan’s election, a group of some 50 Republican operatives, evangelicals, oil barons and gun lobbyists met in a Washington suburb to coordinate their attack on civil liberties and the social safety net. These men and women called their coalition the Council for National Policy. Over four decades, this elite club has become a strategic nerve centre for channelling money and mobilising votes behind the scenes.
-
-
Critical to understanding our current political dynamics.
- By Scott on 05-24-20
By: Anne Nelson
-
Captured
- The Corporate Infiltration of American Democracy
- By: Sheldon Whitehouse, Melanie Wachtell Stinnett
- Narrated by: Michael Bybee, Sheldon Whitehouse
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Americans know something is wrong in their government. Senator Whitehouse combines history, legal scholarship, and personal experiences to provide the first hands-on, comprehensive explanation of what's gone wrong, exposing multiple avenues through which our government has been infiltrated and disabled by corporate powers. Captured reveals an original oversight by the founders and shows how and why corporate power has exploited that vulnerability.
-
-
Dark Money is Diabolic
- By D. Sooley on 08-21-19
By: Sheldon Whitehouse, and others
-
The Scheme
- How the Right Wing Used Dark Money to Capture the Supreme Court
- By: Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Jennifer Mueller
- Narrated by: Charles Constant
- Length: 8 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Following his book Captured on corporate capture of regulatory and government agencies, and his years of experience as a prosecutor, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse here turns his attention to the right-wing scheme to capture the courts, and how it influenced the Trump administration's appointment of over 230 "business-friendly" judges, including the last three justices of the United States Supreme Court.
-
-
Dysfunctional democracy explained
- By Mark on 10-25-22
By: Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, and others
-
Democracy in Chains
- The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America
- By: Nancy MacLean
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Behind today's headlines of billionaires taking over our government is a secretive political establishment with long, deep, and troubling roots. The capitalist radical right has been working not simply to change who rules but to fundamentally alter the rules of democratic governance. But billionaires did not launch this movement; a white intellectual in the embattled Jim Crow South did.
-
-
A must read if you believe in democracy
- By H. L. Nelson on 10-11-17
By: Nancy MacLean
-
Kochland
- The Secret History of Koch Industries and Corporate Power in America
- By: Christopher Leonard
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy
- Length: 23 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Just as Steve Coll told the story of globalization through ExxonMobil and Andrew Ross Sorkin told the story of Wall Street excess through Too Big to Fail, Christopher Leonard’s Kochland uses the extraordinary account of how the biggest private company in the world grew to be that big to tell the story of modern corporate America.
-
-
An anti-capitalism treatise
- By Luis on 10-01-19
-
Blowback
- A Warning to Save Democracy from the Next Trump
- By: Miles Taylor
- Narrated by: Miles Taylor
- Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Donald Trump will be president again, whether he is on the ballot or not. That is because Trumpism is overtaking the Republican Party and will mount a vigorous comeback, potentially in the hands of a savvier successor—The Next Trump. This prophecy will come true, according to Miles Taylor, if we do not learn the lessons of the recent past.
-
-
We will only have ourselves to blame if we sink into autocracy
- By MS on 07-23-23
By: Miles Taylor
-
Shadow Network
- By: Anne Nelson
- Narrated by: Katherine Fenton
- Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1981, emboldened by Ronald Reagan’s election, a group of some 50 Republican operatives, evangelicals, oil barons and gun lobbyists met in a Washington suburb to coordinate their attack on civil liberties and the social safety net. These men and women called their coalition the Council for National Policy. Over four decades, this elite club has become a strategic nerve centre for channelling money and mobilising votes behind the scenes.
-
-
Critical to understanding our current political dynamics.
- By Scott on 05-24-20
By: Anne Nelson
-
Captured
- The Corporate Infiltration of American Democracy
- By: Sheldon Whitehouse, Melanie Wachtell Stinnett
- Narrated by: Michael Bybee, Sheldon Whitehouse
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Americans know something is wrong in their government. Senator Whitehouse combines history, legal scholarship, and personal experiences to provide the first hands-on, comprehensive explanation of what's gone wrong, exposing multiple avenues through which our government has been infiltrated and disabled by corporate powers. Captured reveals an original oversight by the founders and shows how and why corporate power has exploited that vulnerability.
-
-
Dark Money is Diabolic
- By D. Sooley on 08-21-19
By: Sheldon Whitehouse, and others
-
The Scheme
- How the Right Wing Used Dark Money to Capture the Supreme Court
- By: Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Jennifer Mueller
- Narrated by: Charles Constant
- Length: 8 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Following his book Captured on corporate capture of regulatory and government agencies, and his years of experience as a prosecutor, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse here turns his attention to the right-wing scheme to capture the courts, and how it influenced the Trump administration's appointment of over 230 "business-friendly" judges, including the last three justices of the United States Supreme Court.
-
-
Dysfunctional democracy explained
- By Mark on 10-25-22
By: Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, and others
-
Democracy in Chains
- The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America
- By: Nancy MacLean
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Behind today's headlines of billionaires taking over our government is a secretive political establishment with long, deep, and troubling roots. The capitalist radical right has been working not simply to change who rules but to fundamentally alter the rules of democratic governance. But billionaires did not launch this movement; a white intellectual in the embattled Jim Crow South did.
-
-
A must read if you believe in democracy
- By H. L. Nelson on 10-11-17
By: Nancy MacLean
-
Kochland
- The Secret History of Koch Industries and Corporate Power in America
- By: Christopher Leonard
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy
- Length: 23 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Just as Steve Coll told the story of globalization through ExxonMobil and Andrew Ross Sorkin told the story of Wall Street excess through Too Big to Fail, Christopher Leonard’s Kochland uses the extraordinary account of how the biggest private company in the world grew to be that big to tell the story of modern corporate America.
-
-
An anti-capitalism treatise
- By Luis on 10-01-19
-
Blowback
- A Warning to Save Democracy from the Next Trump
- By: Miles Taylor
- Narrated by: Miles Taylor
- Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Donald Trump will be president again, whether he is on the ballot or not. That is because Trumpism is overtaking the Republican Party and will mount a vigorous comeback, potentially in the hands of a savvier successor—The Next Trump. This prophecy will come true, according to Miles Taylor, if we do not learn the lessons of the recent past.
-
-
We will only have ourselves to blame if we sink into autocracy
- By MS on 07-23-23
By: Miles Taylor
-
The Power Worshippers
- Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism
- By: Katherine Stewart
- Narrated by: Tosca Hopkins
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For too long the Religious Right has masqueraded as a social movement preoccupied with a number of cultural issues, such as abortion and same-sex marriage. In her deeply reported investigation, Katherine Stewart reveals a disturbing truth: this is a political movement that seeks to gain power and to impose its vision on all of society. America’s religious nationalists aren’t just fighting a culture war, they are waging a political war on the norms and institutions of American democracy.
-
-
The Audible editors were AWOL on this one
- By Frank Hightower on 05-24-20
-
Evil Geniuses
- The Unmaking of America: A Recent History
- By: Kurt Andersen
- Narrated by: Kurt Andersen
- Length: 16 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
During the 20th century, America managed to make its economic and social systems both more and more fair and more and more prosperous. A huge, secure, and contented middle class emerged. All boats rose together. But then the New Deal gave way to the Raw Deal. Beginning in the early 1970s, by means of a long war conceived of and executed by a confederacy of big business CEOs, the superrich, and right-wing zealots, the rules and norms that made the American middle class possible were undermined and dismantled.
-
-
History through a far left lens
- By Josh on 09-03-20
By: Kurt Andersen
-
The Fall
- The End of Fox News and the Murdoch Dynasty
- By: Michael Wolff
- Narrated by: Michael Wolff - introduction, Holter Graham
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For almost three decades, Fox News has not only made political careers (see: President Donald J. Trump) but also fundamentally altered the political landscape of the United States. It is a truism: as Fox goes, so goes the nation—into further divisiveness and awash in fake news, a gleefully polarizing company. But just as Fox has pushed America apart, now it too is coming apart. As is the family dynasty behind it.
-
-
Terrific rundown of Fox
- By Iread on 10-05-23
By: Michael Wolff
-
Sons of Wichita
- How the Koch Brothers Became America's Most Powerful and Private Dynasty
- By: Daniel Schulman
- Narrated by: Allen O'Reilly
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Like the Rockefellers and the Kennedys, the Kochs are one of the most influential dynasties of the modern age, but they have never been the subject of a major biography... until now. Not long after the death of his father, Charles Koch, then in his early 30s, discovered a letter the family patriarch had written to his sons. "You will receive what now seems to be a large sum of money," Fred Koch cautioned. "It may either be a blessing or a curse."
-
-
Interesting family
- By Jean on 05-28-14
By: Daniel Schulman
-
The Hidden History of American Oligarchy
- Reclaiming Our Democracy from the Ruling Class
- By: Thom Hartmann
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 4 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Billionaire oligarchs want to own our republic, and they’re nearly there, thanks to legislation and Supreme Court decisions that they have essentially bought. They put Trump and his political allies into office and support a vast network of think tanks, publications, and social media that every day push our nation closer and closer to police-state tyranny.
-
-
Contains much needed for this country
- By Roy Roebuck on 03-14-21
By: Thom Hartmann
-
The Undertow
- Scenes from a Slow Civil War
- By: Jeff Sharlet
- Narrated by: Jeff Sharlet
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An unmatched guide to the religious dimensions of American politics, Jeff Sharlet journeys into corners of our national psyche where others fear to tread. The Undertow is both inquiry and meditation, an attempt to understand how, over the last decade, reaction has morphed into delusion, social division into distrust, distrust into paranoia, and hatred into fantasies—sometimes realities—of violence.
-
-
I'm just not feeling this one....
- By J. Richmond on 08-04-23
By: Jeff Sharlet
-
The Dark Side
- The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals
- By: Jane Mayer
- Narrated by: Richard McGonagle
- Length: 16 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Dark Side is a narrative account of the decisions the U.S. made after September 11, decisions that not only violated the Constitution, but also hampered the pursuit of Al Qaeda. In gripping detail, Jane Mayer relates specific cases, shown in real time against the larger tableau of Washington, looking at the intelligence gained and the price paid. In all cases, there were incalculable losses in terms of moral standing, our country's place in the world, and its sense of itself.
-
-
Must read history
- By nancy udell on 11-09-08
By: Jane Mayer
-
The New Jim Crow
- Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, 10th Anniversary Edition
- By: Michelle Alexander
- Narrated by: Karen Chilton
- Length: 16 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Seldom does a book have the impact of Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow. Since it was first published in 2010, it has been cited in judicial decisions and has been adopted in campus-wide and community-wide reads; it helped inspire the creation of the Marshall Project and the new $100 million Art for Justice Fund; it has been the winner of numerous prizes, including the prestigious NAACP Image Award; and it has spent nearly 250 weeks on the New York Times best seller list.
-
-
Shocking, Important and Brilliant
- By Tim on 10-06-14
-
The Sum of Us
- What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together
- By: Heather McGhee
- Narrated by: Heather McGhee
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Heather McGhee’s specialty is the American economy—and the mystery of why it so often fails the American public. From the financial crisis of 2008 to rising student debt to collapsing public infrastructure, she found a root problem: racism in our politics and policymaking. But not just in the most obvious indignities for people of color. Racism has costs for white people, too. It is the common denominator of our most vexing public problems, the core dysfunction of our democracy and constitutive of the spiritual and moral crises that grip us all.
-
-
Good book but Recording tech is poor. Glitches
- By Jeannepup on 02-25-21
By: Heather McGhee
-
American Marxism
- By: Mark R. Levin
- Narrated by: Jeremy Lowell, Mark R. Levin
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2009, Mark R. Levin galvanized conservatives with his unforgettable manifesto Liberty and Tyranny, by providing a philosophical, historical, and practical framework for halting the liberal assault on Constitution-based values. That book was about standing at the precipice of progressivism’s threat to our freedom, and now, over a decade later, we’re fully over that precipice and paying the price. In American Marxism, Levin explains how the core elements of Marxist ideology are now pervasive in American society and culture.
-
-
An articulate and point by point analysis of current affairs
- By Ricky_Savage on 07-13-21
By: Mark R. Levin
-
Shoe Dog
- By: Phil Knight
- Narrated by: Norbert Leo Butz, Phil Knight - introduction
- Length: 13 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this candid and riveting memoir, for the first time ever, Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight shares the inside story of the company's early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world's most iconic, game-changing, and profitable brands.
-
-
Just read it. (or listen, whatever)
- By Dan D on 07-07-16
By: Phil Knight
-
The System
- Who Rigged It, How We Fix It
- By: Robert B. Reich
- Narrated by: Robert B. Reich
- Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Millions of Americans have lost confidence in our political and economic system. After years of stagnant wages, volatile job markets, and an unwillingness by those in power to deal with profound threats such as climate change, there is a mounting sense that the system is fixed, serving only those select few with enough money to secure a controlling stake. With the characteristic clarity and passion that has made him a central civil voice, Robert B. Reich shows how wealth and power have interacted to install an elite oligarchy, eviscerate the middle class, and undermine democracy.
-
-
Turn Off Your TV. Wake Up and Listen Now!
- By Benchmark on 03-25-20
By: Robert B. Reich
Publisher's summary
Why is America living in an age of profound economic inequality? Why, despite the desperate need to address climate change, have even modest environmental efforts been defeated again and again? Why have protections for employees been decimated? Why do hedge-fund billionaires pay a far lower tax rate than middle-class workers?
The conventional answer is that a popular uprising against "big government" led to the rise of a broad-based conservative movement. But as Jane Mayer shows in this powerful, meticulously reported history, a network of exceedingly wealthy people with extreme libertarian views also played a key role by bankrolling a systematic, step-by-step plan to fundamentally alter the American political system.
The network has brought together some of the richest people on the planet, foremost among them Charles and David Koch. Their core beliefs - that taxes are a form of tyranny; that government oversight of business is an assault on freedom - are sincerely held. But these beliefs also advance their personal and corporate interests: Many of their companies have run afoul of federal pollution, worker safety, securities, and tax laws.
When libertarian ideas proved decidedly unpopular with voters, the Koch brothers and their allies decided on another path. If they pooled their vast resources, they could fund an interlocking array of organizations that could work in tandem to influence and ultimately control academic institutions, think tanks, the courts, statehouses, Congress, and, they hoped, the presidency.
The political operatives the network employs are disciplined, smart, and at times ruthless. And their efforts have been remarkably successful. Libertarian views on taxes and regulation, once far outside the mainstream and still rejected by most Americans, are ascendant in the majority of state governments, the Supreme Court, and Congress. Meaningful environmental, labor, finance, and tax reform have been stymied.
Jane Mayer spent five years conducting hundreds of interviews - including with several sources within the network - and scoured public records, private papers, and court proceedings in reporting this book. In a taut and utterly convincing narrative, she traces the byzantine trail of the billions of dollars spent by the network and provides vivid portraits of the colorful figures behind the new American oligarchy.
Dark Money is a book that must be listened to by anyone who cares about the future of American democracy.
More from the same
Related to this topic
-
The Shadow Party
- How George Soros, Hillary Clinton, and Sixties Radicals Seized Control of the Democratic Party
- By: David Horowitz, Richard Poe
- Narrated by: Gregg Rizzo
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
America is under attack. Its institutions and values are under daily assault. But the principal culprits are not foreign terrorists. They are influential and powerful Americans secretly stirring up disunion and disloyalty in the shifting shadows of the Democratic Party. Radical infiltrators have been quietly transforming America's societal, cultural, and political institutions for more than a generation. Now, backed by George Soros, they are ready to make their move.
-
-
Best introduction to the Democrat party in 2019
- By Larry on 06-12-19
By: David Horowitz, and others
-
Invisible Hands
- The Making of the Conservative Movement from the New Deal to Reagan
- By: Kim Phillips-Fein
- Narrated by: Lorna Raver
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Long before the "culture wars" usually associated with the rise of conservative politics, driven individuals funded think tanks, fought labor unions, and formed organizations to market their views.These nearly unknown, larger-than-life, and sometimes eccentric personalities - such as General Electric's zealous, silver-tongued Lemuel Ricketts Boulware and the self-described "revolutionary" Jasper Crane of DuPont - make for a fascinating, behind-the-scenes view of American history.
-
The Best Worst President
- What the Right Gets Wrong About Barack Obama
- By: Mark Hannah
- Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Political analyst and Democratic campaign veteran Mark Hannah gives Barack Obama the victory lap he deserves in this compendium that takes the president's critics head-on and celebrates the president's many underappreciated triumphs.
-
-
Thought-provoking
- By Jean on 07-11-16
By: Mark Hannah
-
New Deal or Raw Deal?
- How FDR's Economic Legacy Has Damaged America
- By: Burton Folsom Jr.
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this shocking and groundbreaking new book, economic historian Burton Folsom, Jr., exposes the idyllic legend of Franklin D. Roosevelt as a myth of epic proportions. With questionable moral character and a vendetta against the business elite, Roosevelt created New Deal programs marked by inconsistent planning, wasteful spending, and opportunity for political gain---ultimately elevating public opinion of his administration but falling flat in achieving the economic revitalization that America needed.
-
-
A must listen!
- By Book and Movie Lover on 06-14-09
-
The Center Holds
- Obama and His Enemies
- By: Jonathan Alter
- Narrated by: Jonathan Alter
- Length: 18 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies, Jonathan Alter uses his unmatched access and deep knowledge of politics and history to produce the first full account of America at the crossroads. He pierces the bubble of the White House and of the presidential campaigns with exclusive reporting and rare historical insight. More than a campaign book, this is the epic story of an embattled president facing a historic moment he considered more pivotal than 2008.
-
-
The Best Telling of the 2012 Campaign So Far
- By Mike on 06-11-13
By: Jonathan Alter
-
Armageddon
- How Trump Can Beat Hillary
- By: Dick Morris, Eileen McGann
- Narrated by: Ian Patterson
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Timed for the critical presidential election season, New York Times best-selling author and noted political commentator Dick Morris provides a strategy and position on the issues for Republicans to attract crucial new voters to the party in order to win back the White House in 2016 and put an end to the Obama agenda of ruinous socialism. By using new issues, attracting new voters, and offering new alternatives, Republicans can win the election of 2016 and save America!
-
-
Informative and practical a must read
- By quentin on 06-30-16
By: Dick Morris, and others
-
The Shadow Party
- How George Soros, Hillary Clinton, and Sixties Radicals Seized Control of the Democratic Party
- By: David Horowitz, Richard Poe
- Narrated by: Gregg Rizzo
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
America is under attack. Its institutions and values are under daily assault. But the principal culprits are not foreign terrorists. They are influential and powerful Americans secretly stirring up disunion and disloyalty in the shifting shadows of the Democratic Party. Radical infiltrators have been quietly transforming America's societal, cultural, and political institutions for more than a generation. Now, backed by George Soros, they are ready to make their move.
-
-
Best introduction to the Democrat party in 2019
- By Larry on 06-12-19
By: David Horowitz, and others
-
Invisible Hands
- The Making of the Conservative Movement from the New Deal to Reagan
- By: Kim Phillips-Fein
- Narrated by: Lorna Raver
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Long before the "culture wars" usually associated with the rise of conservative politics, driven individuals funded think tanks, fought labor unions, and formed organizations to market their views.These nearly unknown, larger-than-life, and sometimes eccentric personalities - such as General Electric's zealous, silver-tongued Lemuel Ricketts Boulware and the self-described "revolutionary" Jasper Crane of DuPont - make for a fascinating, behind-the-scenes view of American history.
-
The Best Worst President
- What the Right Gets Wrong About Barack Obama
- By: Mark Hannah
- Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Political analyst and Democratic campaign veteran Mark Hannah gives Barack Obama the victory lap he deserves in this compendium that takes the president's critics head-on and celebrates the president's many underappreciated triumphs.
-
-
Thought-provoking
- By Jean on 07-11-16
By: Mark Hannah
-
New Deal or Raw Deal?
- How FDR's Economic Legacy Has Damaged America
- By: Burton Folsom Jr.
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this shocking and groundbreaking new book, economic historian Burton Folsom, Jr., exposes the idyllic legend of Franklin D. Roosevelt as a myth of epic proportions. With questionable moral character and a vendetta against the business elite, Roosevelt created New Deal programs marked by inconsistent planning, wasteful spending, and opportunity for political gain---ultimately elevating public opinion of his administration but falling flat in achieving the economic revitalization that America needed.
-
-
A must listen!
- By Book and Movie Lover on 06-14-09
-
The Center Holds
- Obama and His Enemies
- By: Jonathan Alter
- Narrated by: Jonathan Alter
- Length: 18 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies, Jonathan Alter uses his unmatched access and deep knowledge of politics and history to produce the first full account of America at the crossroads. He pierces the bubble of the White House and of the presidential campaigns with exclusive reporting and rare historical insight. More than a campaign book, this is the epic story of an embattled president facing a historic moment he considered more pivotal than 2008.
-
-
The Best Telling of the 2012 Campaign So Far
- By Mike on 06-11-13
By: Jonathan Alter
-
Armageddon
- How Trump Can Beat Hillary
- By: Dick Morris, Eileen McGann
- Narrated by: Ian Patterson
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Timed for the critical presidential election season, New York Times best-selling author and noted political commentator Dick Morris provides a strategy and position on the issues for Republicans to attract crucial new voters to the party in order to win back the White House in 2016 and put an end to the Obama agenda of ruinous socialism. By using new issues, attracting new voters, and offering new alternatives, Republicans can win the election of 2016 and save America!
-
-
Informative and practical a must read
- By quentin on 06-30-16
By: Dick Morris, and others
-
Fault Lines
- A History of the United States Since 1974
- By: Kevin M. Kruse, Julian E. Zelizer
- Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If you were asked when America became polarized, your answer would likely depend on your age: You might say during Barack Obama’s presidency, or with the post-9/11 war on terror, or the culture wars of the 1980s and 1990s, or the “Reagan Revolution” and the the rise of the New Right. How did the US become so divided? Fault Lines offers a richly told, wide-angle history view toward an answer.
-
-
Good overview of the past 45 years
- By Adam Shields on 02-26-19
By: Kevin M. Kruse, and others
-
Deadly Spin
- An Insurance Company Insider Speaks Out on How Corporate PR Is Killing Health Care and Deceiving Americans
- By: Wendell Potter
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In June 2009, Wendell Potter made national headlines with his scorching testimony before the Senate panel on health care reform. This former senior vice president of CIGNA explained how health insurers make promises they have no intention of keeping, how they flout regulations designed to protect consumers, and how they skew political debate with multibillion-dollar public relations campaigns designed to spread disinformation.
-
-
Must Read
- By Randy on 01-11-11
By: Wendell Potter
-
The Party Is Over
- How Republicans Went Crazy, Democrats Became Useless, and the Middle Class Got Shafted
- By: Mike Lofgren
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There was a time, not so very long ago, when perfectly rational people ran the Republican Party. So how did the party of Lincoln become the party of lunatics? That is what this book aims to answer. Fear not, the Dems come in for their share of tough talk - they are zombies, a party of the living dead. Mike Lofgren came to Washington in the early eighties - those halcyon, post-Nixonian glory days - for what he imagined would be a short stint on Capitol Hill.
-
-
A Great Analysis
- By Dan D on 09-04-12
By: Mike Lofgren
-
The Swamp
- Washington's Murky Pool of Corruption and Cronyism—and How Trump Can Drain It
- By: Eric Bolling
- Narrated by: Eric Bolling
- Length: 5 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bestselling author and Fox News Channel host Eric Bolling presents an infuriating, amusing, revealing, and outrageous history of American politics, past and present, Republican and Democrat. From national political scandals to tempests in a teapot that blew up; bribery, blackmail, bullying, and backroom deals that contradicted public policies; cronyism that cost taxpayers hundreds upon hundreds of millions of dollars; and personal conduct that can only be described as regrettable, The Swamp is a journey downriver through the bayous and marshes of Capitol Hill and Foggy Bottom.
-
-
Mr. President, drain the swamp
- By Wayne on 06-30-17
By: Eric Bolling
-
Trickle Down Tyranny
- Crushing Obama's Dreams of a Socialist America
- By: Michael Savage
- Narrated by: Pete Larkin
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Trickle Down Tyranny is the single book you need to stop Obama's emerging dictatorship before we lose all of our constitutional, God-given rights. These pages show you the dangerous laws and powergrabs of the Obama administration… and what we can do to stop this leftist gang from seizing another term in office. Obama is transforming us into a second-class nation, with communists and Islamists given free rein to expand their power.
-
-
Brings Clarity to the Obama charade.
- By Mrs. Stolle on 04-05-12
By: Michael Savage
-
The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution: 1763-1789
- By: Robert Middlekauff
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 26 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first book to appear in the illustrious Oxford History of the United States, this critically-acclaimed volume - a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize - offers an unsurpassed history of the Revolutionary War and the birth of the American republic.
-
-
Strong History Rich With Behind The Scenes Details
- By John on 10-06-11
-
Bushwhacked
- Life in George W. Bush's America
- By: Molly Ivins, Lou Dubose
- Narrated by: Anna Fields
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In their second book on our current White House occupant, Ivins and Dubose take the wire brush to the Bush presidency and show how he has applied the same flawed strategies he used in governing Texas to running the largest superpower in the world.
-
-
Richly informative & entertaining...
- By Native Texan on 10-29-03
By: Molly Ivins, and others
-
Trickle Up Poverty
- Stopping Obama's Attack on Our Borders, Economy, and Security
- By: Michael Savage
- Narrated by: Robert Louis
- Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Trickle Up Poverty is your best defense against the Obamanomics that are dragging the middle class, and everyone else, into a Marxist-Socialist death spiral. The Savage manifesto you hold in your hands shows how Obama is circumventing the Constitution to push through his radical agenda - and, most important, how we can restore our country to the power and prestige that Barack Obama and his corrupt and degenerate "czars" are trying to destroy.
-
-
The book is much better than the radio show
- By Jonnie on 12-19-10
By: Michael Savage
-
Big, Hot, Cheap, and Right
- What America Can Learn from the Strange Genius of Texas
- By: Erica Grieder
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Texas may well be America’s most controversial state. Evangelicals dominate the halls of power, millions of its people live in poverty, and its death row is the busiest in the country. Skeptical outsiders have found much to be offended by in the state’s politics and attitude, and yet, according to journalist and Texan Erica Grieder, the United States has a great deal to learn from Texas. In Big, Hot, Cheap, and Right, Grieder traces the political history of a state that was always larger than life. From its rowdy beginnings, Texas has combined a long-standing suspicion of government intrusion with a passion for business.
-
-
Loved this book!
- By ccarp on 06-04-14
By: Erica Grieder
-
The Forgotten Man
- By: Amity Shlaes
- Narrated by: Terence Aselford
- Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's difficult today to imagine how America survived the Great Depression. Only through the stories of the common people who struggled during that era can we really understand how the nation endured. In The Forgotten Man, Amity Shlaes offers a striking reinterpretation of the Great Depression. Rejecting the old emphasis on the New Deal, she turns to the neglected and moving stories of individual Americans, and shows how they helped establish the steadfast character we developed as a nation.
-
-
a story of forgotten times
- By Debb Robinson on 10-11-07
By: Amity Shlaes
-
Why the Right Went Wrong
- Conservatism from Goldwater to the Tea Party and Beyond
- By: E. J. Dionne Jr.
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 20 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why the Right Went Wrong offers a historical view of the right since the 1960s. Its core contention is that American conservatism and the Republican Party took a wrong turn when they adopted Barry Goldwater's worldview during and after the 1964 campaign. Since 1968, no conservative administration could live up to the rhetoric rooted in the Goldwater movement that began to reshape American politics 50 years ago.
-
-
Outstanding, refreshing, inspiring
- By James Adams on 03-19-16
By: E. J. Dionne Jr.
-
Nothing to Fear
- FDR's Inner Circle and the Hundred Days That Created Modern America
- By: Adam Cohen
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nothing to Fear brings to life a fulcrum moment in American history - the tense, feverish first 100 days of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's presidency, when he and his inner circle completely reinvented the role of the federal government.
-
-
Important contribution
- By R.S. on 03-05-09
By: Adam Cohen
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Dark Side
- The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals
- By: Jane Mayer
- Narrated by: Richard McGonagle
- Length: 16 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Dark Side is a narrative account of the decisions the U.S. made after September 11, decisions that not only violated the Constitution, but also hampered the pursuit of Al Qaeda. In gripping detail, Jane Mayer relates specific cases, shown in real time against the larger tableau of Washington, looking at the intelligence gained and the price paid. In all cases, there were incalculable losses in terms of moral standing, our country's place in the world, and its sense of itself.
-
-
Must read history
- By nancy udell on 11-09-08
By: Jane Mayer
-
Kochland
- The Secret History of Koch Industries and Corporate Power in America
- By: Christopher Leonard
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy
- Length: 23 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Just as Steve Coll told the story of globalization through ExxonMobil and Andrew Ross Sorkin told the story of Wall Street excess through Too Big to Fail, Christopher Leonard’s Kochland uses the extraordinary account of how the biggest private company in the world grew to be that big to tell the story of modern corporate America.
-
-
An anti-capitalism treatise
- By Luis on 10-01-19
-
Democracy in Chains
- The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America
- By: Nancy MacLean
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Behind today's headlines of billionaires taking over our government is a secretive political establishment with long, deep, and troubling roots. The capitalist radical right has been working not simply to change who rules but to fundamentally alter the rules of democratic governance. But billionaires did not launch this movement; a white intellectual in the embattled Jim Crow South did.
-
-
A must read if you believe in democracy
- By H. L. Nelson on 10-11-17
By: Nancy MacLean
-
Shadow Network
- By: Anne Nelson
- Narrated by: Katherine Fenton
- Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1981, emboldened by Ronald Reagan’s election, a group of some 50 Republican operatives, evangelicals, oil barons and gun lobbyists met in a Washington suburb to coordinate their attack on civil liberties and the social safety net. These men and women called their coalition the Council for National Policy. Over four decades, this elite club has become a strategic nerve centre for channelling money and mobilising votes behind the scenes.
-
-
Critical to understanding our current political dynamics.
- By Scott on 05-24-20
By: Anne Nelson
-
Captured
- The Corporate Infiltration of American Democracy
- By: Sheldon Whitehouse, Melanie Wachtell Stinnett
- Narrated by: Michael Bybee, Sheldon Whitehouse
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Americans know something is wrong in their government. Senator Whitehouse combines history, legal scholarship, and personal experiences to provide the first hands-on, comprehensive explanation of what's gone wrong, exposing multiple avenues through which our government has been infiltrated and disabled by corporate powers. Captured reveals an original oversight by the founders and shows how and why corporate power has exploited that vulnerability.
-
-
Dark Money is Diabolic
- By D. Sooley on 08-21-19
By: Sheldon Whitehouse, and others
-
Landslide
- The Unmaking of the President, 1984-1988
- By: Jane Mayer, Doyle McManus
- Narrated by: Kirsten Potter
- Length: 19 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The explosive tale of the unraveling of an American president. For six years, Ronald Reagan seemed invincible. But behind the glowing image of success was an administration courting disaster. In this spellbinding book, two top Washington reporters trace the origins of the Iran-Contra affair and the unraveling of the Reagan presidency, taking us deep inside a white house that cared more for stagecraft than statecraft and that mistook a landslide reelection for an unlimited mandate.
-
-
Great reporting
- By daisey on 09-03-23
By: Jane Mayer, and others
-
The Dark Side
- The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals
- By: Jane Mayer
- Narrated by: Richard McGonagle
- Length: 16 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Dark Side is a narrative account of the decisions the U.S. made after September 11, decisions that not only violated the Constitution, but also hampered the pursuit of Al Qaeda. In gripping detail, Jane Mayer relates specific cases, shown in real time against the larger tableau of Washington, looking at the intelligence gained and the price paid. In all cases, there were incalculable losses in terms of moral standing, our country's place in the world, and its sense of itself.
-
-
Must read history
- By nancy udell on 11-09-08
By: Jane Mayer
-
Kochland
- The Secret History of Koch Industries and Corporate Power in America
- By: Christopher Leonard
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy
- Length: 23 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Just as Steve Coll told the story of globalization through ExxonMobil and Andrew Ross Sorkin told the story of Wall Street excess through Too Big to Fail, Christopher Leonard’s Kochland uses the extraordinary account of how the biggest private company in the world grew to be that big to tell the story of modern corporate America.
-
-
An anti-capitalism treatise
- By Luis on 10-01-19
-
Democracy in Chains
- The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America
- By: Nancy MacLean
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Behind today's headlines of billionaires taking over our government is a secretive political establishment with long, deep, and troubling roots. The capitalist radical right has been working not simply to change who rules but to fundamentally alter the rules of democratic governance. But billionaires did not launch this movement; a white intellectual in the embattled Jim Crow South did.
-
-
A must read if you believe in democracy
- By H. L. Nelson on 10-11-17
By: Nancy MacLean
-
Shadow Network
- By: Anne Nelson
- Narrated by: Katherine Fenton
- Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1981, emboldened by Ronald Reagan’s election, a group of some 50 Republican operatives, evangelicals, oil barons and gun lobbyists met in a Washington suburb to coordinate their attack on civil liberties and the social safety net. These men and women called their coalition the Council for National Policy. Over four decades, this elite club has become a strategic nerve centre for channelling money and mobilising votes behind the scenes.
-
-
Critical to understanding our current political dynamics.
- By Scott on 05-24-20
By: Anne Nelson
-
Captured
- The Corporate Infiltration of American Democracy
- By: Sheldon Whitehouse, Melanie Wachtell Stinnett
- Narrated by: Michael Bybee, Sheldon Whitehouse
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Americans know something is wrong in their government. Senator Whitehouse combines history, legal scholarship, and personal experiences to provide the first hands-on, comprehensive explanation of what's gone wrong, exposing multiple avenues through which our government has been infiltrated and disabled by corporate powers. Captured reveals an original oversight by the founders and shows how and why corporate power has exploited that vulnerability.
-
-
Dark Money is Diabolic
- By D. Sooley on 08-21-19
By: Sheldon Whitehouse, and others
-
Landslide
- The Unmaking of the President, 1984-1988
- By: Jane Mayer, Doyle McManus
- Narrated by: Kirsten Potter
- Length: 19 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The explosive tale of the unraveling of an American president. For six years, Ronald Reagan seemed invincible. But behind the glowing image of success was an administration courting disaster. In this spellbinding book, two top Washington reporters trace the origins of the Iran-Contra affair and the unraveling of the Reagan presidency, taking us deep inside a white house that cared more for stagecraft than statecraft and that mistook a landslide reelection for an unlimited mandate.
-
-
Great reporting
- By daisey on 09-03-23
By: Jane Mayer, and others
-
The Scheme
- How the Right Wing Used Dark Money to Capture the Supreme Court
- By: Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Jennifer Mueller
- Narrated by: Charles Constant
- Length: 8 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Following his book Captured on corporate capture of regulatory and government agencies, and his years of experience as a prosecutor, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse here turns his attention to the right-wing scheme to capture the courts, and how it influenced the Trump administration's appointment of over 230 "business-friendly" judges, including the last three justices of the United States Supreme Court.
-
-
Dysfunctional democracy explained
- By Mark on 10-25-22
By: Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, and others
-
Strange Justice: The Selling of Clarence Thomas
- By: Jane Mayer, Jill Abramson
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 17 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Charged with racial, sexual, and political overtones, the confirmation of Clarence Thomas as a Supreme Court justice was one of the most divisive spectacles the country has ever seen. Anita Hill's accusation of sexual harassment by Thomas, and the attacks on her that were part of his high-placed supporters rebuttal, both shocked the nation and split it into two camps. In this brilliant, often shocking book, Jane Mayer and Jill Abramson, two of the nation's top investigative journalists, examine all aspects of this controversial case.
-
-
Great read/listen
- By S. Gallegos on 11-24-19
By: Jane Mayer, and others
-
Sons of Wichita
- How the Koch Brothers Became America's Most Powerful and Private Dynasty
- By: Daniel Schulman
- Narrated by: Allen O'Reilly
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Like the Rockefellers and the Kennedys, the Kochs are one of the most influential dynasties of the modern age, but they have never been the subject of a major biography... until now. Not long after the death of his father, Charles Koch, then in his early 30s, discovered a letter the family patriarch had written to his sons. "You will receive what now seems to be a large sum of money," Fred Koch cautioned. "It may either be a blessing or a curse."
-
-
Interesting family
- By Jean on 05-28-14
By: Daniel Schulman
-
Evil Geniuses
- The Unmaking of America: A Recent History
- By: Kurt Andersen
- Narrated by: Kurt Andersen
- Length: 16 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
During the 20th century, America managed to make its economic and social systems both more and more fair and more and more prosperous. A huge, secure, and contented middle class emerged. All boats rose together. But then the New Deal gave way to the Raw Deal. Beginning in the early 1970s, by means of a long war conceived of and executed by a confederacy of big business CEOs, the superrich, and right-wing zealots, the rules and norms that made the American middle class possible were undermined and dismantled.
-
-
History through a far left lens
- By Josh on 09-03-20
By: Kurt Andersen
-
The Power Worshippers
- Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism
- By: Katherine Stewart
- Narrated by: Tosca Hopkins
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For too long the Religious Right has masqueraded as a social movement preoccupied with a number of cultural issues, such as abortion and same-sex marriage. In her deeply reported investigation, Katherine Stewart reveals a disturbing truth: this is a political movement that seeks to gain power and to impose its vision on all of society. America’s religious nationalists aren’t just fighting a culture war, they are waging a political war on the norms and institutions of American democracy.
-
-
The Audible editors were AWOL on this one
- By Frank Hightower on 05-24-20
-
Summary of Jane Mayer's Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right
- By: Ant Hive Media
- Narrated by: Brian Ackley
- Length: 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is a strong and powerful book that shows an in-depth report of a network made up of the wealthy and the influential and their goal of creating a clear plan to change the American political structure. Within the network are people whose wealth is overflowing. They create an environment fashioned after their corporate and personal interests. In fact, some of these companies have been accused of problems like worker safety, federal pollution, tax laws and even securities.
-
-
Is no one paying attention?
- By Linda on 11-12-16
By: Ant Hive Media
-
The System
- Who Rigged It, How We Fix It
- By: Robert B. Reich
- Narrated by: Robert B. Reich
- Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Millions of Americans have lost confidence in our political and economic system. After years of stagnant wages, volatile job markets, and an unwillingness by those in power to deal with profound threats such as climate change, there is a mounting sense that the system is fixed, serving only those select few with enough money to secure a controlling stake. With the characteristic clarity and passion that has made him a central civil voice, Robert B. Reich shows how wealth and power have interacted to install an elite oligarchy, eviscerate the middle class, and undermine democracy.
-
-
Turn Off Your TV. Wake Up and Listen Now!
- By Benchmark on 03-25-20
By: Robert B. Reich
-
The Power of Dignity
- How Transforming Justice Can Heal Our Communities
- By: Judge Victoria Pratt, Senator Cory Booker - foreword
- Narrated by: Chanté McCormick, Cary Hite, Judge Victoria Pratt
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Black and Latina daughter of a working-class family, Victoria Pratt learned to treat everyone with dignity, no matter their background. When she became Newark Municipal Court’s chief judge, she knew well the inequities that poor, mentally ill, Black, and brown people faced in the criminal justice system. Pratt’s reforms transformed her courtroom into a place for problem-solving and a resource for healing.
-
-
must read for everyone in the legal system
- By Nancy E. McGrath Bott on 09-12-22
By: Judge Victoria Pratt, and others
-
Alt-America
- The Rise of the Radical Right in the Age of Trump
- By: David Neiwert
- Narrated by: Matthew Josdal
- Length: 14 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Just as Donald Trump's victorious campaign for the US presidency shocked the world, the seemingly sudden national prominence of white supremacists, xenophobes, militia leaders, and mysterious "alt-right" figures mystifies many. But the American extreme right has been growing steadily in number and influence since the 1990s with the rise of patriot militias. Following 9/11, conspiracy theorists found fresh life; and in virulent reaction to the first black US president, militant racists have come out of the woodwork.
-
-
amazing. I want to recommend it to everyone.
- By Charlie Dubou on 05-13-18
By: David Neiwert
-
The Paranoid Style in American Politics
- By: Richard Hofstadter, Sean Wilentz - foreward
- Narrated by: Keith Sellon-Wright
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This timely reissue of Richard Hofstadter's classic work on the fringe groups that influence American electoral politics offers an invaluable perspective on contemporary domestic affairs. In The Paranoid Style in American Politics, acclaimed historian Richard Hofstadter examines the competing forces in American political discourse and how fringe groups can influence - and derail - the larger agendas of a political party.
-
-
Written in the 50s and 60s...
- By Kindle Customer on 11-06-19
By: Richard Hofstadter, and others
-
American Fascists
- The Christian Right and the War on America
- By: Chris Hedges, Eunice Wong
- Narrated by: Chris Hedges, Eunice Wong
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twenty-five years ago, when Pat Robertson and other televangelists first spoke of the United States being a Christian nation that would build a global Christian empire, it was hard to take such hyperbolic rhetoric seriously. Today, such language no longer sounds like hyperbole but poses, instead, a very real threat to our freedoms and our way of life.
-
-
Please, read or listen to this book.
- By D on 06-22-07
By: Chris Hedges, and others
-
The Man Who Hated Women
- Sex, Censorship, and Civil Liberties in the Gilded Age
- By: Amy Sohn
- Narrated by: Amy Sohn
- Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Anthony Comstock was one of the most important men in the lives of 19th-century women. His eponymous law, passed in 1873, penalized the mailing of contraception and obscenity with long prison sentences and steep fines. Between 1873 and Comstock’s death in 1915, eight remarkable women were charged with violating state and federal Comstock laws. These “sex radicals” supported contraception, sexual education, gender equality, and women’s right to pleasure. Amy Sohn tells the overlooked story of their valiant attempts to fight Comstock in court and in the press.
-
-
Fabulous. Great research.
- By Jordan on 12-08-22
By: Amy Sohn
What listeners say about Dark Money
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Darwin8u
- 11-28-16
"I just want my fair share--which is all of it."
"I just want my fair share--which is all of it."
- Charles Koch, quoted in Jane Mayer, Dark Money
I'm not sure reading this right after Trump got elected was the right decision. As I write this Betsy DeVos (sister of Eric Prince, daughter of billionaire Edgar Prince, daughter-in-law to Amway founder Richard DeVos) just got picked to be Trump's Secretary of Education. Let it sink in for a minute. We just had a billionaire nominate another billionaire for a seat at the political table.
It is really starting to feel a bit like we are living in a Plutocracy. Jane Mayer's brilliantly researched book into the Koch political machine (and other closely related political organizations) has only exacerbated this feeling.
The sad part is how many people I personally know that are somehow connected to this Dark Money web. I have friends that have worked for various Koch groups, other friends who have taught "leadership" courses in Koch-funded university courses. I have old professors who now do research at the Mercatus Center at George Mason, etc.. Hell, I have more than a dozen friends in common with Sean Noble, the AZ political operator largely created with initially setting up much of the Koch network. In some ways, this book almost reads as much a biography of Noble's rise and fall as it does the Koch brother's rise.
I give the book five stars, but almost want to remove a star because it just makes me mad and sad. I'm sad that so many people I like seem to operate as mercenaries for the Koch brothers interests and their extreme vision of our future. I'm sad because with the election of Donald Trump (even though Trump at one level isn't a part of the Koch network, he might further enable it since he shares many of the same interests as his fellow GOP billionaires) I see this extreme plutocracy getting worse not better.
I remember reading a couple years ago about how our country was evolving into a plutocracy. I felt at the time, that might be a bit extreme. After the last couple elections and after reading this book, I feel a bit naïve. We are living in a nation that is designed to largely serve the interests of its richest 1%. It isn't evolving. The kleptocracy egg has hatched.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
110 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mark
- 05-29-16
Fact attack
This clever and revealing book exposes the extent to which a few mega-rich families in the United States cynically manipulate and control the political machinery in order to increase their profits. Their overriding goal is to minimise the role of government. This involves reducing taxes and encouraging free, unregulated trade. In their ideal world, social welfare programmes would be eradicated or stripped to the bare minimum, and there would be no environmental regulations placing restrictions on polluting industries. For example, they invest a lot of money in spreading seeds of doubt about global warming being caused by carbon dioxide emissions.
What’s good about this book is that it succeeds in presenting mountains of evidence of this manipulative activity, which has gone on for decades and is continually increasing in intensity. Huge sums of money are spent in subtle and strategic Machiavellian ploys to achieve these goals. It will leave you in no doubt that America is controlled, or at least heavily influenced by, unscrupulous, greedy, selfish elites who care only about money, power and perpetuating their dynasties.
What’s bad about this book, aside from the fact that it is depressing and leaves you feeling powerless, is that it is just a succession of facts, one after the other. It’s really hard to maintain concentration because it is like listening to a shopping list of 247 items. They may be accurate, they may be damning, they may represent extensive investigation and research by the author, but these things alone do not an entertaining listen make – and this is nothing to do with the inadequacies of the narrator – she is very good.
I stuck with it out of a sense of the worthiness of the material – the world does need to know that this is happening – but it was hard work and my concentration strayed frequently. I feel bad saying this because it’s an important work and I don’t want to discourage people from listening, but it isn’t a lot of fun.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
109 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- CharlieSeymourJr
- 03-19-16
Hated this book!
Don't get me wrong: the information and flow of the book we're great! The details about those behind all this dark money were disgusting. VERY important book. Read it, learn, and weep for our country.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
91 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mel
- 07-02-16
How Much is Enough?
It takes some bravery to read this because it's so comforting to hold onto our belief in the American myth. And most of us still cling to that belief that We are a "government of the people, by the people, for the people, [that] shall not perish from the earth." We don't just vote then wear those little "I Voted" stickers because we forgot to peel them off our jackets when we left the booths. Probably more than anything I've read in years, this book worked my head over and left me both enlightened and emotionally spent. Jane Mayer traces the history of two brothers and the fortune that they would use to commandeer the government of this nation and restructure it for their personal gains. She does so with integrity of information and great journalistic talent.
After an unsuccessful bid for President of the United States of America, and spending enormous amounts of money from their inherited fortune, David Koch and his brother Charles set out to buy political power. With an impressive history of the Koch brothers, and an insight from years of researching and following their actions, Mayer lays out the path of their ambitious machinations toward a bleak destination for America, the like-wise billionaire allies and cabals willing to back the brothers, and the perpetration of colleges, think-tanks, religious groups, and "middle-Americans." Bullies with a bankroll, Charles and David (not the fruit basket gift kings) attack with the vigor of greedy monsters without conscience, discarding facts to meet their own goals, discrediting anyone that got in their way, parsing and twisting laws. As angry as you can get at this kind of deception and corruption, it's still harder to realize we peons don't mean squat to these people that don't let the facts get in the way of their views -- that our environment and future don't mean squat to them. [*The Koch's recorded environmental violations alone, noted in this book, are ridiculously blatant middle-fingers up to the citizens of this country.]
This is hard to swallow information, especially so close to the elections. I thought about the words of Gerald Lieberman's, as if he'd just put down this book: "Elections are held to delude the populace into believing that they are participating in government." (It's at least reassuring that Koch lost in 1980.) An interesting and important read if you want to step out of the dark. Mayer, by shedding some light on these termites, gives me some hope that we aren't completely fuched by the Kochs and their self-minded cronies.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
63 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- No Name
- 01-21-16
The Truth And Nothing But The Truth
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes, I would recommend this book to friends and family. I would do so because every Americans needs to learn how "Dark Money" is corrupting our once great nation.
What does Kirsten Potter bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Her smooth presentation enhanced the whole listening experience.
What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?
Discovering that Charles and David Koch are actually some of the worst people on this planet.
Any additional comments?
I hope those that take the time to read/listen to this book remember what they learned before voting on Election Day. If they do, hopefully they will reject any candidate controlled by self-centered, greedy, extremist.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
50 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Walt C.
- 02-04-16
Scarier than Pet Cemetary
Would you listen to Dark Money again? Why?
I don't know...it scares me. I listen to this for at least an hour per day while at the gym.It doesn't keep me awake, too long, at night but everyday I get another dose of why I fear for this country. It is clearly controlled by the wealthiest among us for their own purposes. Every day I learn of another reason why.
What did you like best about this story?
It's non-fiction. Interesting question, what did you like best? Let's see, that this proves the country was bought by the mega-wealthy? No, that's not a 'best' item. That it is a call-to-arms for everyone other than the 0.1% to tell our elected officials, especially in Congress, what it will take to keep them in office.
Have you listened to any of Kirsten Potter’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
No, I haven't but I am willing to see what else she'll read to me.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
It made me fear for this country's future. With Citizens United there is a real risk to democracy as we were taught in school, a very real risk.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
48 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sandy Martin
- 02-28-16
What an Eye Opener!!
I don't know if I've ever read any book that makes me feel this much disgust toward the 1% of the richest families and our so-called elected officials. I don't know whether I want to quit voting and be like the sheep in our country, or become an activist for voting.
Jane Mayer describes how a few of the wealthiest families...mostly heirs to their fortunes, consider it their absolute right to use their considerable wealth to shape and change public opinion toward their own personal goals. I was absolutely amazed at some of the back stories of the many issues that came up in the last two presidential elections and before. The Reverend Wright-Obama scandal was completely formed, narrated and paid for by these families. The Mosque at Ground Zero was another. I am appalled that we, as a nation, fall for and believe this stuff. But when our daily news is part of their communication machine, it's no wonder.
Some of the names involved are the Koch brothers, Scaife, and Olin families as well as many, many more.
A must read for anyone interested in what our US democracy has become.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
33 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Belinda
- 02-27-16
Every American should read
Confirms much we have heard through the years but the situation is much more pervasive than most realize. How very sad for our democracy! The 1% want to control it all--and at this point almost do.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
30 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amanda Gannon
- 01-26-16
Lots of bias, little hard data.
This book is a biased history of the impact of conservative Libertarians on politics from pre-WWII to the present. I thought there would be financial data but there are very few numbers to justify the claims made in this book. There are also a number of personal attacks, which I found distasteful. The author seems to lack interest in attempting to understand the mindset of her subjects and seems to be more interested in showing how evil and/or stupid they are. I was disappointed because I was expecting a well referenced financial analysis and instead I got a very long op-ed. The book is well written with elevated sentence structure, and the narration is excellent. It's not the worst book I've listened to, but don't come here looking for unbiased facts or any revolutionary new information.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
29 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Wayne
- 11-26-17
Hateful political hit job by leftist journalist
Beginning with progressive Republican president Richard Nixon the US has moved leftward during 1969 until president Obama left office in 2017 with the eight year Reagan administration being a temporary deceleration of the leftward movement.
During the last three presidential elections combined Democrats doubled the Republicans spending. In 2008 Democrats outspent Republicans more than 3 to 1.
The most recent Fortune list of the richest 400 US citizens clearly shows that of those involved in political funding Democrats outnumber those funding Republicans by more than 2 to 1 and Democrats in the 400 have wealth greater than 3 to 1 compared to Republicans on the list.
Every political funding mechanism described by the author was started by Democrats and copied by Republicans. Dark money was a Democrat invention and they continue to be the bigger abusers. Taking advantage of 501(3)c and 501(c)4 to raise huge amounts of dark money was started by Democrats and they are still the pros at it while Republicans remain neophytes.
There is so much that is incorrect, and even deeply dishonest, in this book. Yet, in reading the reviews here and at Amazon most listeners and readers obviously believe it is true. It is not! It is a dishonest and one sided.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
24 people found this helpful