Richard
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Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
- De: Jack Weatherford
- Narrado por: Jonathan Davis, Jack Weatherford
- Duración: 14 h y 20 m
- Versión completa
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Historia
The Mongol army led by Genghis Khan subjugated more lands and people in 25 years than the Romans did in 400. In nearly every country the Mongols conquered, they brought an unprecedented rise in cultural communication, expanded trade, and a blossoming of civilization.
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Golden Horde/Platinum Listen
- De Cynthia en 12-11-13
Forget what you've been taught in the past!
Revisado: 03-05-10
I am not a big reader of history, but this caught my eye, and I was not disappointed. The audiobook is a little bit hard to follow, in terms of the large amount of information and its organization. So, it isn't a casual, or bedtime, read (listen). That said, I would include this in my short, "must listen" list since it is such a stereotype busting book. It will change your perception of the past with lessons that clearly apply to today's world. For me it ranks up there with Sun Tzu's Art of War -- albeit a much more engaging read.
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Stealth Jihad
- How Radical Islam Is Subverting America without Guns or Bombs
- De: Robert Spencer
- Narrado por: Lloyd James
- Duración: 9 h y 33 m
- Versión completa
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Most terrorism experts agree: it is not "if" we are attacked again, but "when." Yet the assault has already happened. A silent battle is being waged on our nation every day. Not with guns and bombs, but via covert sources: Islamic charities, the ACLU, even presidential candidates.
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Intro to the Radical Islamic Agenda for America
- De Richard en 02-28-09
- Stealth Jihad
- How Radical Islam Is Subverting America without Guns or Bombs
- De: Robert Spencer
- Narrado por: Lloyd James
Intro to the Radical Islamic Agenda for America
Revisado: 02-28-09
The implications of Spencer's book, at first glance, struck me as alarmist hyperbole designed to sell books to a fearful audience. However with careful documentation of the subject matter and a persuasive writing style, he carefully makes his points without the use of the fear mongering rhetoric that I had feared prior to purchasing this audiobook.
The narrator, Lloyd James, was an excellent choice. His voice is authoritative, yet not condescending. He reads with an even tone and cadence that contributed to the perception that this book was a reasoned, factual documentary of the radical Islamic agenda for the United States.
Unfortunately, it is precisely the fact that this book is a well-documented, reasoned, and calmly presented account of its topic, and not a shrill, anti-Islamic diatribe, that make its conclusions all the more frightening for our nation's future. This book's implications are an unpleasant reality that must be understood and confronted by the American public. Put this selection on your "must read" (listen) list.
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Spycraft
- The Secret History of the CIA's Spytechs from Communism to Al-Qaeda
- De: Robert Wallace, Henry Robert Schelsinger
- Narrado por: David Drummond
- Duración: 19 h y 50 m
- Versión completa
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Now, in the first book ever written about this ultrasecretive department, the former director of OTS teams up with an internationally renowned intelligence historian to give listeners an unprecedented look at the devices and operations deemed "inappropriate for public disclosure" by the CIA just two years ago.
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Unique, informative history of the CIA
- De Richard en 07-29-08
- Spycraft
- The Secret History of the CIA's Spytechs from Communism to Al-Qaeda
- De: Robert Wallace, Henry Robert Schelsinger
- Narrado por: David Drummond
Unique, informative history of the CIA
Revisado: 07-29-08
This is truly a unique book -- a long, unique book. However, potential readers (listeners) should not be intimidated by its sheer length. To the contrary, its varied themes, part CSI, part spy stories, part behind-the-scenes history, make it an interesting and entertaining collection.
At first glance, it may appear that this book was written just for those who enjoy reading spy novels and Popular Mechanics, or Popular Electronics. The technical details are adequate to tell the amazing story of the CIA's engineers and technicians, but they may not satisfy dedicated technophiles. This is not a "how-to" book. After all, there are security concerns about releasing the material in this book, and the authors obviously want to tell the story of these resourceful, creative CIA officers to as wide an audience as possible. By avoiding excessive technical minutiae, they were successful in keeping the book informative, yet readable.
With all of the post 9-11 CIA memoirs and histories that have been released in the past several years, it is difficult to decide what to read about this organization that plays such an important role in our nation's defense and security. However, this book, due to its unique technical insider perspective, stands out from these others as a "must read" for anyone who seeks to have an understanding and appreciation of the CIA's past, and more importantly, its future.
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War and Decision
- Inside the Pentagon at the Dawn of the War on Terrorism
- De: Douglas J. Feith
- Narrado por: Holter Graham
- Duración: 11 h y 3 m
- Versión resumida
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Of all the players in the planning and evolution of the Bush Administration's war on terrorism, few were more integral - or more controversial - than Douglas Feith, the chief strategist on Donald Rumsfeld's Pentagon policy team. A highly influential international policy analyst for more than a quarter century before joining the Bush Administration in 2001, Feith worked closely with officials and President Bush in defining the U.S. response to the attacks of 9/11.
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Refreshing perspective
- De Richard en 04-22-08
- War and Decision
- Inside the Pentagon at the Dawn of the War on Terrorism
- De: Douglas J. Feith
- Narrado por: Holter Graham
Refreshing perspective
Revisado: 04-22-08
After reading and listening to numerous accounts of the Iraq War, mostly from the Left, it is refreshing to finally have an account from someone who was actually "in the loop." Clearly, the author has his own political perspective, but that is why he was recruited and became a key player in the DoD and administration during the time that key decisions where being made in the planning and conduct of the war.
Feith does an admirable job of recording key events while offering his opinions and the various, frequently opposing, points of view that contributed to the "real-time" decision making process of the War. It reminded me that we often forget that hindsight is 20/20, and when looking forward, with limited information, choosing the correct -- much less optimal -- course of action can be a difficult, if not impossible, task.
One of the most interesting aspects of this book was the author's insight to the personalities involved in making Iraq War policy and how their interactions shaped those policies. It gives listeners the feeling of being a "fly on the wall" as these "alpha-males" (and Condi) clashed and compromised.
In the past, I promised myself to "never" purchase another abridged audiobook, especially those dealing with politics. However, I must say that this was an abridged, non-fiction recording that I found; and I suspect other discerning, detail-oriented, "political junkie" listeners will find, satisfying. Further, I found the author's audiobook narrative sufficiently compelling that I have purchased the print version just to be sure that I didn't miss any important details that were omitted in the abridgement. Perhaps this is a new strategy for publishers -- a print and audio "double-play?"
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The Female Brain
- De: Louann Brizendine M.D.
- Narrado por: Louann Brizendine M.D.
- Duración: 7 h y 2 m
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Why are women more verbal than men? Why do women remember details of fights that men can't remember at all? Why do women tend to form deeper bonds with their female friends than men do with their male counterparts? These and other questions have stumped both sexes throughout the ages. Now, pioneering neuropsychiatrist Louann Brizendine, M.D., brings together the latest findings to show how the unique structure of the female brain determines how women think and what they value.
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Great material :^D -- Agonizing orator >:^(
- De Michael Dillman en 01-04-08
- The Female Brain
- De: Louann Brizendine M.D.
- Narrado por: Louann Brizendine M.D.
Layperson’s Guide to the Female Brain
Revisado: 09-05-07
This book strikes a balance between academic rigor and the need for a readable, understandable book for the general public on this topic. For too long, men, women, teenagers and adolescents – as well as the many healthcare professionals, social workers, counselors, school teachers, etc. – have needed a practical guide that bridges that gap between advances in our knowledge of the sexual differences in the brain and their impact upon our daily lives. This book admirably does this WITHOUT getting bogged down in the details of PET scans, the minutiae of neuroanatomy, extended discussions of biochemical hormonal pathways, and other arcane topics that would render this book unreadable for its target audience.
This book and its author have come under fire for her use of clinical anecdotes, personal experiences, and generalizations of that summarize complex research in a way that does not pass muster for academic medical writing. These would be valid criticisms if Dr. Brizendine was writing a medical textbook, but she isn’t. The result is a very readable (listenable) book that presents the author’s point of view developed over a long clinical career.
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Sabotage
- America's Enemies within the CIA
- De: Rowan Scarborough
- Narrado por: Tom Weiner
- Duración: 6 h y 29 m
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In this groundbreaking new book, best-selling author Rowan Scarborough reveals how CIA bureaucrats are undermining President Bush and the war on terror through disinformation, incompetence, and outright sabotage. Using his first-rate sources in all levels of national security, from field officers to high ranking analysts to former intelligence heads, Scarborough paints a disturbing picture of partisan politics endangering the success of our campaigns abroad and the very lives of our soldiers and agents.
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I'm not convinced of the facts
- De Lorelei en 11-06-07
- Sabotage
- America's Enemies within the CIA
- De: Rowan Scarborough
- Narrado por: Tom Weiner
Politically Incorrect Guide to the CIA's History
Revisado: 08-30-07
This was a refreshing, somewhat alternative view, of the CIA and its history that contrasts with many of the other recently released books on the subject. If you read "Legacy of Ashes" by the NY Times' Tim Weiner, or George Tenet's "At the Center of the Storm," you owe it to yourself to read (listen) to this book.
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Legacy of Ashes
- The History of the CIA
- De: Tim Weiner
- Narrado por: Stefan Rudnicki
- Duración: 21 h y 37 m
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This is the book the CIA does not want you to read. For the last 60 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.
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Flawed but Important
- De Michael en 07-18-08
- Legacy of Ashes
- The History of the CIA
- De: Tim Weiner
- Narrado por: Stefan Rudnicki
NY Times Guide to CIA Follies
Revisado: 08-30-07
This is a “must read” (or “must listen”) for those who really want to understand the CIA and its history. It is more than a review of the recently released CIA “family jewels.” The author did extensive research to provide a much more complete picture, albeit through the prism of a New York Times pedigreed journalist. However, even a Southern conservative, Republican partisan, living in the Republican bastion of “Little Havana” in Miami, like myself, still found this to be a riveting book.
As a nation currently in the middle of an ideological, global struggle, this book begs the troubling question, “What should be the mission and scope of activities of our intelligence agency and its clandestine service; and who’s going to manage, staff, oversee and ultimately be responsible for its successes (or failures) while maintaining the utmost of secrecy in an ‘open’ society?”
Tough question.
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The Elephant and the Dragon
- The Rise of India and China, and What It Means for All of Us
- De: Robyn Meredith
- Narrado por: Laural Merlington
- Duración: 8 h y 42 m
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Exotic India is as near as the voice answering an 800 number for one dollar an hour. Communist China is as close as the nearest Wal-Mart, its shelves full of goods made in Chinese factories. But India and China are vastly different nations, with opposing economic and political strategies - strategies we must understand to survive in the new global economy. The Elephant and the Dragon explains how these nations have spurred a new "gold rush", and what this will mean for the rest of the world.
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Readable, even enjoyable, macroeconomics
- De Richard en 08-16-07
- The Elephant and the Dragon
- The Rise of India and China, and What It Means for All of Us
- De: Robyn Meredith
- Narrado por: Laural Merlington
Readable, even enjoyable, macroeconomics
Revisado: 08-16-07
This is an excellent synopsis of the emerging Asian economies of China and India presaging the implications of their economic growth and "coming of age" as global powers.
The author does a wonderful job of combining economic statistics with the stories of leaders and individuals that illustrate the meaning of the raw numbers. Economics may be the "dismal science," but Robyn Meredith makes it quite readable, even enjoyable.
Some of author's own political opinions color the "hard facts" contained in this book - which would be fine if clearly written as such. On the other hand, it would be almost impossible to write anything but the most bland statistical "yada, yada, yada" on this theme without some of the author's point of view creeping into the pages. Fortunately, these "transgressions" are few and detract little from the overall reading (or listening) experience.
On a technical note, the audio recording's volume levels seemed to be on the low side making listening on my "smartphone" difficult in the car, and other noisy environments. On my laptop, I could compensate for this, but some smartphone or portable MP3 player users may have similar difficulties. The recording's volume level can be corrected using volume compression, or normalization, during playback on many devices.
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