Audiobooks Books - Page 12

The Prince

Niccolo Machiavelli

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 284 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A Poor Translation 2 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

This review was submitted on the web page presenting Mansfield's translation.

I have been using Wootton's translation of The Prince in a university program where the texts are set by the faculty. This year we changed to the Mansfield translation and I've requested that we return to Wootton's.

In his attempt to provide an "accurate" translation of the Italian, Mansfield made the mistake of many translators in overlooking the clarity of his English prose.

For example, where Wootton writes, "he increased the strength of one of the most powerful Italian states," Mansfield writes, "he . . . increased the power of a power in Italy." (15) There are other odd uses of diction in Mansfield, for example, where Wootton speaks of a "founder," Mansfield uses the word "introducer." (23) And though concise in places, Mansfield has a tendency to write long sentences, perhaps in imitation of the Italian, where Wootton is more to the point.

If you're still not convinced, compare the following passages:

Wootton: "So, too, with those who, having been private citizens, were made emperors of Rome because they had corrupted the soldiers. Such rulers are entirely dependent on the goodwill and good fortune of whoever has given them power. Good will and good fortune are totally unreliable and capricious."

Mansfield: ". . . as also those emperors were made who from private individual [sic] attained the empire through corrupting soldiers. These persons rest simply on the will and fortune of whoever has given a state to them, which are two very inconstant and unstable things."

Editorial Review:

The prince has long been both praised and reviled for its message of moral relativism, and political expediency. Although a large part is devoted to the mechanics of gaining and staying in power, Machiavelli's end purpose is to maintain a just and stabile government. He is not ambiguous in stating his belief that committing a small cruelty to avert a larger is not only justifiable, but required of a just ruler.
Machiavelli gives a vivid portrayal of his world in the chaos and tumult of early 16th century Florence, Italy and Europe. He uses both his contemporary political situation, and that of the classical period to illustrate his precepts of statecraft.

Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful mercenary Army

Jeremy Scahill

Amazon Price: $26.03 List Price: $32.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Blackstone Audio, Inc. Amazon Marketplace: 14 new & used starting at $20.03

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 247 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

It was the Mogadishu moment of the Iraq war. March 31, 2004, four American mercenaries were ambushed in the Sunni hotbed of Fallujah, their jeeps set ablaze with the men inside. An angry mob dragged their charred corpses through the streets, hanging them from a bridge over the Euphrates River. "Fallujah is the graveyard of the Americans!" the mob declared in front of the cameras. The ensuing US slaughter in Fallujah would fuel the fierce Iraqi resistance that haunts US occupation forces to this day.

Meet Blackwater USA, the world's most secretive and powerful mercenary firm and the fastest growing private army on the planet, with forces capable of carrying out regime change throughout the world. Blackwater was founded by an extreme right-wing fundamentalist Christian mega-millionaire ex-Navy Seal named Erik Prince, the scion of a wealthy conservative family that bankrolls far-right-wing causes.

This is the dark story of the rise of a powerful mercenary army, ranging from the blood-soaked streets of Fallujah to the hurricane-ravaged US gulf to Washington, D.C. where Blackwater executives are hailed as new heroes in the war on terror.

Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA

Tim Weiner

Amazon Price: $27.61 List Price: $34.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Blackstone Audio Inc. Amazon Marketplace: 20 new & used starting at $20.98

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 136 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A Wealth of information 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book is extremely well-written and includes a wealth of previously unknown information. Basically it starts with the creation of the CIA and continues to the present. It provides details that pretty well shows how the leaders of the CIA operated mostly on what they believed was wanted of the CIA versus what was actually wanted. And, in many cases, the CIA operated on only what it's leaders wanted. I am completely amazed at the intricacy of operations between our Government and other countries.

Editorial Review:

This is the book the CIA does not want you to read. For the last sixty years, the CIA has maintained a formidable reputation in spite of its terrible record, never disclosing its blunders to the American public. It spun its own truth to the nation while reality lay buried in classified archives. Now, Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter Tim Weiner offers a stunning indictment of the CIA, a deeply flawed organization that has never deserved America's confidence.

Legacy of Ashes is based on more than 50,000 documents, primarily from the archives of the CIA. Everything is on the record. There are no anonymous sources, no blind quotations. With shocking revelations that will make headlines, Tim Weiner gets at the truth and tells how the CIA's failures have profoundly jeopardized our national security.

The Case Against Barack Obama: The Unlikely Rise and Unexamined Agenda of the Media's Favorite Candidate

David Freddoso

Amazon Price: $23.07 List Price: $34.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Phoenix Audio Amazon Marketplace: 41 new & used starting at $14.99

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 213 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

He's the media's darling, the fresh face of the Democratic ticket. But what does Barack Obama really stand for--and will his extreme liberal agenda and complete inexperience in global affairs endanger the country? That's what David Freddoso, investigative reporter and National Review Online columnist, examines in The Case Against Barack Obama. In this shocking exposé, Freddoso explores the reality behind the rhetoric, the plans behind the promises, and the faults behind the façade, revealing:

* Why Obama's inexperience and extreme left-wing voting record is more dangerous than any threat we face today
* Why the Rev. Wright debacle reveals Obama's poor judgment of character and deceitful nature
* Why it won't be politics of change with President Obama--it will be liberal politics as usual

Freddoso exposes the real Barack Obama: a typical big-government politician, the #1 most liberal U.S. senator, and--if he were commander in chief--a serious threat to our national security.

The New Ann Coulter

Amazon Price: $19.77 List Price: $29.95 Not yet published By: Random House Audio

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Editorial Review:

This book is so hot we can't tell you what it's about. Ann Coulter never disappoints.


From the Hardcover edition.

Under the Banner of Heaven

Jon Krakauer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 729 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

morbid and fascinating 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I love Jon Krakauer's mountaineering writing; this was different but no less fascinating. Highly recommended if you can stomach both the violence and the religious weirdness.

Scary and enlightening 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

this book is applicable to all religions. It asks the disturbing question -- why do people kill other people for the benefit of their religion? the book also contains interesting history about the american southwest --- learn about the other american tragedy that occured on sept 11, but about 150 years ago.

Excellent book, difficult subject matter 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I'm not a fan of crime literature and I wasn't excited about reading this book. I'd devoured everything else of Krakauer's since "Into Thin Air" and his writing does not disappoint here, even when the going gets thick and rough and you almost need a program to figure out which Mormon is murdering whom on direct orders from God.

I'd never given Mormonism much thought, they seem like nice people, but I'd never heard of "fundamental" Mormonism, which was just about as creepy as anything I'd ever read about any other group or religion or cult. The idea of "celestial marriage" seems like a loony idea dreamt up by a horny old goat, it's laughable, yet it exists.

It's a fascinating history overall, and it is a Jon Krakauer book, so it's worth reading, but it is work to read about a couple of lunatics who conveniently receive instruction from God to murder an "uppity wife" of one of their own flesh-and-blood brothers. Certainly religious mania is stretched to transparency when a God-ordered killing plainly serves one's own interests.

Absent is the sense of a doomed but inspired hero as in "Into Thin Air" and "Into The Wild" -- the perpetrators deserve no sympathy and some sections of the book detail such heinous crimes that I wanted to put it down and go bathe in live steam to try and erase what I'd read. It's not an easy read and I'm glad I'm done with it.

Fascinating history, however. Worth reading.

Editorial Review:

Brothers Ron and Dan Lafferty insist they were commanded to kill by God. Krakauer's investigation is a meticulously researched narrative of polygamy, savage violence and unyielding faith: a work of non-fiction that illuminates an otherwise confounding realm of human behaviour.

The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy: Or Everything Your Doctor Won't Tell You

Vicki Iovine

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Total reviews: 1060 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Your doctor gives you medical advice.
Your mother buys you baby clothes.
But who can give you the real skinny when you're pregnant?

Your girlfriends, of course -- at least, the ones who've been through the exhilaration and exhaustion, the agony and ecstasy of pregnancy. Four-time delivery room veteran Vicki lovine talks to you the way that only a best friend can-in the book that will go the whole nine months for every mother-to-be. Here is straight talk about those little things that are too strange or embarrassing to ask anyone about, practical tips and hilarious takes on everything pregnant. From learning you're expecting ("Oh my god, how do I get out of this?") to the day your newborn arrives ("You mean I have to take the baby home with me?"), she gives you the lowdown on:

WHAT REALLY HAPPENS TO YOUR BODY -- from morning sickness to eating everything in sight, what to expect when going from being a babe to having one.

COMMON FEARS AND PARANOIA -- from turning into your mother to leaving the baby on the car roof, rest assured your anxieties are perfectly normal.

THE MANY MOODS OF PREGNANCY -- or why you're so irritable/distracted/tired/lightheaded (or at least, more than usual).

THE PREGNANCY YENTAS -- from your mom to his mom, they think they know everything -- and they don't hesitate to tell you what you're doing wrong. Girlfriend, take heart: if it's working for you, then you're doing just fine.

HOW TO HAVE SEX DURING PREGNANCY, SHOULD YOU SO DESIRE -- bearing in mind you'll have no interest afterward.

LOOKING AND FEELING YOUR BEST -- cautionary style tips from your best friend, who really would tell you if your perky newmom haircut makes you look like a pinheaded whale.

When you need a reassuring voice or just a few good belly laughs, turn to The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy.

Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2121 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher, or a colleague.  Someone older, patient and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, helped you see the world as a more profound place, gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it.

For Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly twenty years ago.

Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded, and the world seemed colder.  Wouldn't you like to see that person again, ask the bigger questions that still haunt you, receive wisdom for your busy life today the way you once did when you were younger?

Mitch Albom had that second chance.  He rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man's life.  Knowing he was dying, Morrie visited with Mitch in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college.  Their rekindled relationship turned into one final "class": lessons in how to live.

Tuesdays with Morrie is a magical chronicle of their time together, through which Mitch shares Morrie's lasting gift with the world.


From the Hardcover edition.

Ask and It Is Given - Part 1: The Law of Attraction (Ask and It Is Given)

Esther Hicks, Jerry Hicks

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 444 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Feeling good is all that matters! 1 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This is yet another book that professes to know the way to riches. Good news! it's easy, I mean it is REALLY easy. Basically; think positive, visualize the 'things' you want, get your vibration all lined up and you're done.

Then add some selfishness, which is important and the more the better! In case you think that the world may need people who actually have empathy and compassion, they cover that one. Simply believe that all those poor sots suffering and disabled choose their lot in life. Got it? OK, let's focus back to feeling good!!!

The two 'leaders' are former Amway sales people (Source: NY TIMES ARTICLE)
This manifesting of success DOES WORK - it works for the people who convince people that it works.

Their law of attraction is true-ish. First, it's not a law. Second it is a small piece of the whole. It's like believing that eating vegetables is the way to health, which is correct, but so are many things IN CONJUNCTION. With this book, it's just vegetables or just LOA and that's all.

Shallow with tunnel vision and a desperate need to believe that things will be easy? Then this is the book for you!

Editorial Review:

Ask and It Is Given, by Esther and Jerry Hicks, which presents the teachings of the nonphysical entity Abraham, will help you learn how to manifest your desires so that you’re living the joyous and fulfilling life you deserve.

As you listen, you’ll come to understand how the Universal laws that govern your time/space reality influence your relationships, health issues, finances, career concerns, and more. It’s your birthright to live a life filled with everything that is good—and this CD set will show you how to make it so in every way!

The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town

John Grisham

Amazon Price: $34.16 List Price: $44.95 Usually ships in 1 to 3 weeks By: Random House Audio Amazon Marketplace: 11 new & used starting at $4.75

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 550 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

When Ron Williamson signed with the Oakland A’s in 1971, he said goodbye to his hometown of Ada and left to pursue his dreams of big-league glory. Six years later he was back, his dreams broken by a bad arm and bad habits. He moved in with his mother and slept twenty hours a day on her sofa.
In 1982, a twenty-one-year-old cocktail waitress in Ada named Debra Sue Carter was raped and murdered, and for reasons that were never clear, they suspected Ron Williamson and his friend Dennis Fritz. The two were arrested and charged with capital murder.
The prosecution’s case was built on junk science and the testimony of jailhouse snitches and convicts. Dennis Fritz was found guilty and given a life sentence. Ron Williamson was sent to death row.
If you believe that in America you are innocent until proven guilty, this audiobook will shock you. If you believe in the death penalty, this book will disturb you. If you believe the criminal justice system is fair, this book will infuriate you.