-
Corporation Nation
- Haney Foundation Series
- Narrated by: David Stifel
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 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 $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
From bank bailouts and corporate scandals to the financial panic of 2008 and its lingering effects, corporate governance in America has been wracked by crises. Amid a weakening system of checks and balances in which corporate executives have little incentive to protect shareholder interests, US corporations are growing larger and more irresponsible at the same time. But dependence on corporate profit was crucial to the early republic's growth, success, and security: despite protests that incorporated business was an inefficient and potentially corrupting system, US state governments chartered more corporations per capita than any other nation - including Britain - effectively making the United States a "corporation nation". Drawing on legal and economic history, Robert E. Wright traces the development and decline of corporate institutions in America, connecting today's financial failures to deteriorating corporate law.
Bolstered with archival and original data, including the first complete count of American business corporations before the Civil War, Corporation Nation makes a compelling argument for improved internal governance and more effective external government regulation.
The book is published by University of Pennsylvania Press.
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Wall Street
- A History, Updated Edition
- By: Charles R. Geisst
- Narrated by: Stephen McLaughlin
- Length: 27 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Wall Street is an unending source of legend - and nightmares. It is a universal symbol of both the highest aspirations of economic prosperity and the basest impulses of greed and deception. Charles R. Geisst's Wall Street is at once a chronicle of the street itself - from the days when the wall was merely a defensive barricade built by Peter Stuyvesant - and an engaging economic history of the United States, a tale of profits and losses, enterprising spirits, and key figures that transformed America into the most powerful economy in the world.
-
-
Many books in one; best linking of stories, eras
- By Philo on 03-23-14
-
The Ascent of Money
- A Financial History of the World
- By: Niall Ferguson
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Niall Ferguson follows the money to tell the human story behind the evolution of finance, from its origins in ancient Mesopotamia to the latest upheavals on what he calls Planet Finance. Bread, cash, dosh, dough, loot, lucre, moolah, readies, the wherewithal: Call it what you like, it matters. To Christians, love of it is the root of all evil. To generals, it's the sinews of war. To revolutionaries, it's the chains of labor. Niall Ferguson shows that finance is in fact the foundation of human progress.
-
-
A mostly successful and interesting history
- By A reader on 02-24-09
By: Niall Ferguson
-
Free to Choose
- A Personal Statement
- By: Milton Friedman, Rose Friedman
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Milton Friedman and his wife, Rose, teamed up to write this most convincing and readable guide, which illustrates the crucial link between Adam Smith's capitalism and the free society. They show how freedom has been eroded and prosperity undermined through the rapid growth of governmental agencies, laws, and regulations.
-
-
Fantastic
- By Erik on 01-21-08
By: Milton Friedman, and others
-
Saving Capitalism
- For the Many, Not the Few
- By: Robert B. Reich
- Narrated by: Robert B. Reich
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Saving Capitalism, Robert Reich reveals the entrenched cycles of power and influence that have damaged American capitalism, perpetuating a new oligarchy in which the 1 percent get ever richer and the rest - middle and working class alike - lose ever more economic agency, making for the greatest income inequality and wealth disparity since World War II.
-
-
A riveting economics book! Mind. Blown.
- By Nothing really matters on 04-18-16
By: Robert B. Reich
-
End the Fed
- By: Ron Paul
- Narrated by: Bob Craig
- Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over 4,000 students gathered at the University of Michigan to hear Republican Party candidate Ron Paul speak. As he began to address the topics of monetary policy and the coming depression, a chant rose from the crowd, "End the Fed! End the Fed!" As dollar bills were lit on fire and thrown into the night skies, it became clear that the real problem, one that nobody in the media was talking about, was the central bank-an unconstitutional entity and a political, economic, and moral disaster.
-
-
Very clear and understandable
- By Jonnie on 09-19-09
By: Ron Paul
-
FDR's Folly
- How Roosevelt and His New Deal Prolonged the Great Depression
- By: Jim Powell
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the minds of historians and the American public alike, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was one of our greatest presidents, not least because he supposedly saved America from the Great Depression. But as historian Jim Powell reveals in this groundbreaking book, Roosevelt's New Deal policies actually prolonged and exacerbated the economic disaster.
-
-
Scones for the Tea Party
- By Chiefkent on 06-11-12
By: Jim Powell
-
Wall Street
- A History, Updated Edition
- By: Charles R. Geisst
- Narrated by: Stephen McLaughlin
- Length: 27 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Wall Street is an unending source of legend - and nightmares. It is a universal symbol of both the highest aspirations of economic prosperity and the basest impulses of greed and deception. Charles R. Geisst's Wall Street is at once a chronicle of the street itself - from the days when the wall was merely a defensive barricade built by Peter Stuyvesant - and an engaging economic history of the United States, a tale of profits and losses, enterprising spirits, and key figures that transformed America into the most powerful economy in the world.
-
-
Many books in one; best linking of stories, eras
- By Philo on 03-23-14
-
The Ascent of Money
- A Financial History of the World
- By: Niall Ferguson
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Niall Ferguson follows the money to tell the human story behind the evolution of finance, from its origins in ancient Mesopotamia to the latest upheavals on what he calls Planet Finance. Bread, cash, dosh, dough, loot, lucre, moolah, readies, the wherewithal: Call it what you like, it matters. To Christians, love of it is the root of all evil. To generals, it's the sinews of war. To revolutionaries, it's the chains of labor. Niall Ferguson shows that finance is in fact the foundation of human progress.
-
-
A mostly successful and interesting history
- By A reader on 02-24-09
By: Niall Ferguson
-
Free to Choose
- A Personal Statement
- By: Milton Friedman, Rose Friedman
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Milton Friedman and his wife, Rose, teamed up to write this most convincing and readable guide, which illustrates the crucial link between Adam Smith's capitalism and the free society. They show how freedom has been eroded and prosperity undermined through the rapid growth of governmental agencies, laws, and regulations.
-
-
Fantastic
- By Erik on 01-21-08
By: Milton Friedman, and others
-
Saving Capitalism
- For the Many, Not the Few
- By: Robert B. Reich
- Narrated by: Robert B. Reich
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Saving Capitalism, Robert Reich reveals the entrenched cycles of power and influence that have damaged American capitalism, perpetuating a new oligarchy in which the 1 percent get ever richer and the rest - middle and working class alike - lose ever more economic agency, making for the greatest income inequality and wealth disparity since World War II.
-
-
A riveting economics book! Mind. Blown.
- By Nothing really matters on 04-18-16
By: Robert B. Reich
-
End the Fed
- By: Ron Paul
- Narrated by: Bob Craig
- Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over 4,000 students gathered at the University of Michigan to hear Republican Party candidate Ron Paul speak. As he began to address the topics of monetary policy and the coming depression, a chant rose from the crowd, "End the Fed! End the Fed!" As dollar bills were lit on fire and thrown into the night skies, it became clear that the real problem, one that nobody in the media was talking about, was the central bank-an unconstitutional entity and a political, economic, and moral disaster.
-
-
Very clear and understandable
- By Jonnie on 09-19-09
By: Ron Paul
-
FDR's Folly
- How Roosevelt and His New Deal Prolonged the Great Depression
- By: Jim Powell
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the minds of historians and the American public alike, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was one of our greatest presidents, not least because he supposedly saved America from the Great Depression. But as historian Jim Powell reveals in this groundbreaking book, Roosevelt's New Deal policies actually prolonged and exacerbated the economic disaster.
-
-
Scones for the Tea Party
- By Chiefkent on 06-11-12
By: Jim Powell
-
How the Other Half Banks
- Exclusion, Exploitation, and the Threat to Democracy
- By: Mehrsa Baradaran
- Narrated by: Priya Ayyar
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The United States has two separate banking systems today - one serving the well-to-do and another exploiting everyone else. How the Other Half Banks contributes to the growing conversation on American inequality by highlighting one of its prime causes: unequal credit. Mehrsa Baradaran examines how a significant portion of the population, deserted by banks, is forced to wander through a Wild West of payday lenders and check-cashing services to cover emergency expenses and pay for necessities - all thanks to deregulation that began in the 1970s.
-
-
The Borrowers at the Fringe
- By Darwin8u on 09-13-16
By: Mehrsa Baradaran
-
Fragile by Design
- The Political Origins of Banking Crises and Scarce Credit
- By: Charles W. Calomiris, Stephen H. Haber
- Narrated by: Basil Sands
- Length: 20 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Analyzing the political and banking history of the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Brazil through several centuries, Fragile by Design demonstrates that chronic banking crises and scarce credit are not accidents due to unforeseen circumstances. Rather, these fluctuations result from the complex bargains made between politicians, bankers, bank shareholders, depositors, debtors, and taxpayers.
-
-
An all-time favorite in banking, history, politics
- By Philo on 05-20-14
By: Charles W. Calomiris, and others
-
The Hidden Wealth of Nations
- The Scourge of Tax Havens
- By: Gabriel Zucman, Teresa Lavender Fagan - translator
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 3 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No one, from economists to bankers to politicians, has been able to quantify exactly how much of the world's assets are currently hidden - until now. Gabriel Zucman is the first economist to offer reliable insight into the actual extent of the world's money held in tax havens. And it's staggering. In The Hidden Wealth of Nations, Zucman offers an inventive and sophisticated approach to quantifying how big the problem is, how tax havens work and are organized, and how we can begin to approach a solution.
-
-
very good book
- By Patrick Daoust on 01-03-17
By: Gabriel Zucman, and others
-
The Fed Unbound
- Central Banking in a Time of Crisis
- By: Lev Menand
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 3 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Federal Reserve, the U.S. central bank, was built for a monetary system composed primarily of investor-owned, government-chartered banks. But over the years, the erosion of banking law and the rise of alternative forms of money created outside of the banking system have pushed the Fed to take on more and more responsibilities to keep the economy out of recession, as it did during the 2008 crisis, and again during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when it created $3 trillion to stop another financial panic.
-
-
Must read for people wanting to understand how the financial system works
- By Matthew Haddad on 07-17-22
By: Lev Menand
-
Wealth Secrets of the One Percent
- A Modern Manual to Getting Marvelously, Obscenely Rich
- By: Sam Wilkin
- Narrated by: Sam Wilkin, Joe Barrett
- Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the richest Romans to the robber barons to today's bankers and tech billionaires, Sam Wilkin offers Freakonomics-esque insights into what it really takes to make a fortune. These stories of larger-than-life characters, strategies, and sacrifices reveal how the wealthiest did it, usually by a passion for finding loopholes, working around bureaucratic systems, and creating obstacles to competitors.
-
-
This is not a manual to getting "Obscenely Rich!"
- By Franck W. on 10-10-15
By: Sam Wilkin
-
Borrowed Time
- Two Centuries of Booms, Busts, and Bailouts at Citi
- By: James Freeman, Vern McKinley
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
To save the economy and keep Citi afloat in 2008, the government provided huge infusions of cash through multiple bailouts that frustrated and angered the American public. But, as Wall Street Journal writer James Freeman and financial expert Vern McKinley reveal, the 2008 crisis was just one of many disasters Citi has experienced since its founding more than 200 years ago. In Borrowed Time they reveal Citi’s disturbing history of instability and government support. It’s a story that neither Citi nor Washington wants told.
-
-
Biased
- By CF on 08-09-19
By: James Freeman, and others
-
Battle for the Soul of Capitalism
- By: John C. Bogle
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There is no one better qualified to tell us about the failures of the American financial system and the grotesque abuses that have taken place in recent years than John C. Bogle, founder and former chief executive of the Vanguard mutual-fund group. This legendary mutual-fund pioneer has witnessed firsthand the innermost workings of the financial industry for more than 50 years and has set the standards for sound investment strategies and stewardship.
-
-
Do You Own a Mutual Fund?
- By M. Kettell on 02-02-08
By: John C. Bogle
-
Predator Nation
- Corporate Criminals, Political Corruption, and the Hijacking of America
- By: Charles H. Ferguson
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 13 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Charles H. Ferguson, who electrified the world with his Oscar-winning documentary Inside Job, now explains how a predator elite took over the country, step by step, and he exposes the networks of academic, financial, and political influence, in all recent administrations, that prepared the predators' path to conquest. Over the last several decades, the United States has undergone one of the most radical social and economic transformations in its history.
-
-
J'accuse!!!
- By Nelson Alexander on 07-25-12
-
A Capitalism for the People
- Recapturing the Lost Genius of American Prosperity
- By: Luigi Zingales
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Born in Italy, University of Chicago economist Luigi Zingales witnessed firsthand the consequences of high inflation and unemployment - paired with rampant nepotism and cronyism - on a country’s economy. This experience profoundly shaped his professional interests, and in 1988 he arrived in the United States, armed with a political passion and the belief that economists should not merely interpret the world, but should change it for the better.
-
-
Enjoyable but a tad predictable.
- By Kevin on 12-24-12
By: Luigi Zingales
-
In Pursuit of Wealth
- By: Yaron Brook - editor, Don Watkins - editor, Raymond C. Niles, and others
- Narrated by: Chris Abell
- Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this new audiobook, In Pursuit of Wealth: The Moral Case for Finance, Yaron Brook and Don Watkins dispel the prevailing negative myths about finance and clearly lay out the industry's virtues within a moral framework. This ambitious audiobook shows listeners how we can reframe societal morals and end the vilification of financiers.
-
-
For all young financiers.
- By Amanda on 12-07-20
By: Yaron Brook - editor, and others
-
The Fine Print
- How Big Companies Use 'Plain English' to Rob You Blind
- By: David Cay Johnston
- Narrated by: Todd McLaren
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
David Cay Johnston has made a name for himself as the defender of the common man, calling out the rich and powerful for cheating the system at the expense of everyone else. Whether he's exposing unjust loopholes in the tax code that help the rich get richer or pointing out how powerful corporations pocket government subsidies at excessive taxpayer expense, Johnston is an eloquent town crier for justice and equality.
-
-
A must listen if you love or hate Trump
- By Rob D on 04-19-17
-
Other People's Money
- The Real Business of Finance
- By: John Kay
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The finance sector of Western economies is too large and attracts too many of the smartest college graduates. Financialization over the past three decades has created a structure that lacks resilience and supports absurd volumes of trading. The finance sector devotes too little attention to the search for new investment opportunities and the stewardship of existing ones, and far too much to secondary-market dealing in existing assets. Regulation has contributed more to the problems than the solutions.
-
-
Listened twice. Everyone must read this.
- By Tristan on 01-18-16
By: John Kay
Critic reviews
Related to this topic
-
Wall Street
- A History, Updated Edition
- By: Charles R. Geisst
- Narrated by: Stephen McLaughlin
- Length: 27 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Wall Street is an unending source of legend - and nightmares. It is a universal symbol of both the highest aspirations of economic prosperity and the basest impulses of greed and deception. Charles R. Geisst's Wall Street is at once a chronicle of the street itself - from the days when the wall was merely a defensive barricade built by Peter Stuyvesant - and an engaging economic history of the United States, a tale of profits and losses, enterprising spirits, and key figures that transformed America into the most powerful economy in the world.
-
-
Many books in one; best linking of stories, eras
- By Philo on 03-23-14
-
FDR's Folly
- How Roosevelt and His New Deal Prolonged the Great Depression
- By: Jim Powell
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the minds of historians and the American public alike, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was one of our greatest presidents, not least because he supposedly saved America from the Great Depression. But as historian Jim Powell reveals in this groundbreaking book, Roosevelt's New Deal policies actually prolonged and exacerbated the economic disaster.
-
-
Scones for the Tea Party
- By Chiefkent on 06-11-12
By: Jim Powell
-
How the Other Half Banks
- Exclusion, Exploitation, and the Threat to Democracy
- By: Mehrsa Baradaran
- Narrated by: Priya Ayyar
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The United States has two separate banking systems today - one serving the well-to-do and another exploiting everyone else. How the Other Half Banks contributes to the growing conversation on American inequality by highlighting one of its prime causes: unequal credit. Mehrsa Baradaran examines how a significant portion of the population, deserted by banks, is forced to wander through a Wild West of payday lenders and check-cashing services to cover emergency expenses and pay for necessities - all thanks to deregulation that began in the 1970s.
-
-
The Borrowers at the Fringe
- By Darwin8u on 09-13-16
By: Mehrsa Baradaran
-
Borrowed Time
- Two Centuries of Booms, Busts, and Bailouts at Citi
- By: James Freeman, Vern McKinley
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
To save the economy and keep Citi afloat in 2008, the government provided huge infusions of cash through multiple bailouts that frustrated and angered the American public. But, as Wall Street Journal writer James Freeman and financial expert Vern McKinley reveal, the 2008 crisis was just one of many disasters Citi has experienced since its founding more than 200 years ago. In Borrowed Time they reveal Citi’s disturbing history of instability and government support. It’s a story that neither Citi nor Washington wants told.
-
-
Biased
- By CF on 08-09-19
By: James Freeman, and others
-
Battle for the Soul of Capitalism
- By: John C. Bogle
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There is no one better qualified to tell us about the failures of the American financial system and the grotesque abuses that have taken place in recent years than John C. Bogle, founder and former chief executive of the Vanguard mutual-fund group. This legendary mutual-fund pioneer has witnessed firsthand the innermost workings of the financial industry for more than 50 years and has set the standards for sound investment strategies and stewardship.
-
-
Do You Own a Mutual Fund?
- By M. Kettell on 02-02-08
By: John C. Bogle
-
13 Bankers
- The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown
- By: Simon Johnson, James Kwak
- Narrated by: Erik Synnestvedt
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Even after the ruinous financial crisis of 2008, America is still beset by the depredations of an oligarchy that is now bigger, more profitable, and more resistant to regulation than ever. Anchored by six megabanks, which together control assets amounting to more than 60 percent of the country's gross domestic product, these financial institutions (now more emphatically "too big to fail") continue to hold the global economy hostage.
-
-
Easy to Understand and Comprehend
- By Kyle on 04-11-10
By: Simon Johnson, and others
-
Wall Street
- A History, Updated Edition
- By: Charles R. Geisst
- Narrated by: Stephen McLaughlin
- Length: 27 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Wall Street is an unending source of legend - and nightmares. It is a universal symbol of both the highest aspirations of economic prosperity and the basest impulses of greed and deception. Charles R. Geisst's Wall Street is at once a chronicle of the street itself - from the days when the wall was merely a defensive barricade built by Peter Stuyvesant - and an engaging economic history of the United States, a tale of profits and losses, enterprising spirits, and key figures that transformed America into the most powerful economy in the world.
-
-
Many books in one; best linking of stories, eras
- By Philo on 03-23-14
-
FDR's Folly
- How Roosevelt and His New Deal Prolonged the Great Depression
- By: Jim Powell
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the minds of historians and the American public alike, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was one of our greatest presidents, not least because he supposedly saved America from the Great Depression. But as historian Jim Powell reveals in this groundbreaking book, Roosevelt's New Deal policies actually prolonged and exacerbated the economic disaster.
-
-
Scones for the Tea Party
- By Chiefkent on 06-11-12
By: Jim Powell
-
How the Other Half Banks
- Exclusion, Exploitation, and the Threat to Democracy
- By: Mehrsa Baradaran
- Narrated by: Priya Ayyar
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The United States has two separate banking systems today - one serving the well-to-do and another exploiting everyone else. How the Other Half Banks contributes to the growing conversation on American inequality by highlighting one of its prime causes: unequal credit. Mehrsa Baradaran examines how a significant portion of the population, deserted by banks, is forced to wander through a Wild West of payday lenders and check-cashing services to cover emergency expenses and pay for necessities - all thanks to deregulation that began in the 1970s.
-
-
The Borrowers at the Fringe
- By Darwin8u on 09-13-16
By: Mehrsa Baradaran
-
Borrowed Time
- Two Centuries of Booms, Busts, and Bailouts at Citi
- By: James Freeman, Vern McKinley
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
To save the economy and keep Citi afloat in 2008, the government provided huge infusions of cash through multiple bailouts that frustrated and angered the American public. But, as Wall Street Journal writer James Freeman and financial expert Vern McKinley reveal, the 2008 crisis was just one of many disasters Citi has experienced since its founding more than 200 years ago. In Borrowed Time they reveal Citi’s disturbing history of instability and government support. It’s a story that neither Citi nor Washington wants told.
-
-
Biased
- By CF on 08-09-19
By: James Freeman, and others
-
Battle for the Soul of Capitalism
- By: John C. Bogle
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There is no one better qualified to tell us about the failures of the American financial system and the grotesque abuses that have taken place in recent years than John C. Bogle, founder and former chief executive of the Vanguard mutual-fund group. This legendary mutual-fund pioneer has witnessed firsthand the innermost workings of the financial industry for more than 50 years and has set the standards for sound investment strategies and stewardship.
-
-
Do You Own a Mutual Fund?
- By M. Kettell on 02-02-08
By: John C. Bogle
-
13 Bankers
- The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown
- By: Simon Johnson, James Kwak
- Narrated by: Erik Synnestvedt
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Even after the ruinous financial crisis of 2008, America is still beset by the depredations of an oligarchy that is now bigger, more profitable, and more resistant to regulation than ever. Anchored by six megabanks, which together control assets amounting to more than 60 percent of the country's gross domestic product, these financial institutions (now more emphatically "too big to fail") continue to hold the global economy hostage.
-
-
Easy to Understand and Comprehend
- By Kyle on 04-11-10
By: Simon Johnson, and others
-
A Capitalism for the People
- Recapturing the Lost Genius of American Prosperity
- By: Luigi Zingales
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Born in Italy, University of Chicago economist Luigi Zingales witnessed firsthand the consequences of high inflation and unemployment - paired with rampant nepotism and cronyism - on a country’s economy. This experience profoundly shaped his professional interests, and in 1988 he arrived in the United States, armed with a political passion and the belief that economists should not merely interpret the world, but should change it for the better.
-
-
Enjoyable but a tad predictable.
- By Kevin on 12-24-12
By: Luigi Zingales
-
The Fine Print
- How Big Companies Use 'Plain English' to Rob You Blind
- By: David Cay Johnston
- Narrated by: Todd McLaren
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
David Cay Johnston has made a name for himself as the defender of the common man, calling out the rich and powerful for cheating the system at the expense of everyone else. Whether he's exposing unjust loopholes in the tax code that help the rich get richer or pointing out how powerful corporations pocket government subsidies at excessive taxpayer expense, Johnston is an eloquent town crier for justice and equality.
-
-
A must listen if you love or hate Trump
- By Rob D on 04-19-17
-
Other People's Money
- The Real Business of Finance
- By: John Kay
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The finance sector of Western economies is too large and attracts too many of the smartest college graduates. Financialization over the past three decades has created a structure that lacks resilience and supports absurd volumes of trading. The finance sector devotes too little attention to the search for new investment opportunities and the stewardship of existing ones, and far too much to secondary-market dealing in existing assets. Regulation has contributed more to the problems than the solutions.
-
-
Listened twice. Everyone must read this.
- By Tristan on 01-18-16
By: John Kay
-
The Company
- A Short History of a Revolutionary Idea [Modern Library Chronicles]
- By: John Micklethwait, Adrian Wooldridge
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 6 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Company, the largely unknown history of the joint-stock company is presented by the editors of Economist. One of history's greatest catalysts, the joint-stock company has dramatically changed the way human beings live, work, and conduct business. With companies now affecting the world on a global scale, it is more pressing than ever before to understand this driving force.
-
-
unique history with a unique perspective
- By D. Littman on 10-31-05
By: John Micklethwait, and others
-
Supercapitalism
- The Transformation of Business, Democracy, and Everyday Life
- By: Robert B. Reich
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since the 1970s, and notwithstanding three recessions, the U.S. economy has soared. American capitalism has been a triumph, and it has spread throughout the world. At the same time, argues the former U.S. secretary of labor, Robert B. Reich, the effectiveness of democracy in America has declined. It has grown less responsive to the citizenry, and people are feeling more and more helpless as a result.
-
-
Robert Reich for V.P. (of the U.S.)
- By Horace on 11-07-07
By: Robert B. Reich
-
A History of Money and Banking in the United States: The Colonial Era to World War II
- By: Murray N. Rothbard
- Narrated by: Matthew Mezinskis
- Length: 13 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In what is sure to become the standard account, Rothbard traces inflations, banking panics, and money meltdowns from the colonial period through the mid-20th century to show how government's systematic war on sound money is the hidden force behind nearly all major economic calamities in American history. Never has the story of money and banking been told with such rhetorical power and theoretical vigor. You will treasure this volume.
-
-
Great facts (if selective); ideological rigidity
- By Philo on 02-04-16
-
Free to Choose
- A Personal Statement
- By: Milton Friedman, Rose Friedman
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Milton Friedman and his wife, Rose, teamed up to write this most convincing and readable guide, which illustrates the crucial link between Adam Smith's capitalism and the free society. They show how freedom has been eroded and prosperity undermined through the rapid growth of governmental agencies, laws, and regulations.
-
-
Fantastic
- By Erik on 01-21-08
By: Milton Friedman, and others
-
The Ascent of Money
- A Financial History of the World
- By: Niall Ferguson
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Niall Ferguson follows the money to tell the human story behind the evolution of finance, from its origins in ancient Mesopotamia to the latest upheavals on what he calls Planet Finance. Bread, cash, dosh, dough, loot, lucre, moolah, readies, the wherewithal: Call it what you like, it matters. To Christians, love of it is the root of all evil. To generals, it's the sinews of war. To revolutionaries, it's the chains of labor. Niall Ferguson shows that finance is in fact the foundation of human progress.
-
-
A mostly successful and interesting history
- By A reader on 02-24-09
By: Niall Ferguson
-
Reckless Endangerment
- How Outsized Ambition, Greed, and Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon
- By: Gretchen Morgenson, Joshua Rosner
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Reckless Endangerment, Gretchen Morgenson, the star business columnist of The New York Times, exposes how the watchdogs who were supposed to protect the country from financial harm were actually complicit in the actions that finally blew up the American economy.
-
-
Required reading
- By David on 10-24-11
By: Gretchen Morgenson, and others
-
The History of Banking
- The History of Banking and How the World of Finance Became What It Is Today
- By: K. Connors
- Narrated by: Michael J. Cover
- Length: 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Have you ever wondered who started banking and for what reason? Or where money came from and how it's regulated? Ever wonder how banks are able to lend out billions of dollars at a time? This book gives a detailed outline of the history of banking from the 15 century to present day. Whether you are a fellow banker like myself, aspiring to work in the world of finance, or just plain curious, this book covers everything you need to know from top to bottom.
-
-
Changing Lives..
- By jency on 12-12-17
By: K. Connors
-
Why Wall Street Matters
- By: William D. Cohan
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 4 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
William D. Cohan is no knee-jerk advocate for Wall Street and the big banks. He's one of America's most respected financial journalists and the progressive best-selling author of House of Cards. He has long been critical of the bad behavior that plagued much of Wall Street in the years leading up to the 2008 financial crisis, and because he spent 17 years as an investment banker on Wall Street, he is an expert on its inner workings as well.
-
-
An Inch Deep and A Mile Wide
- By Doug Sheridan on 04-26-17
By: William D. Cohan
-
All the Presidents' Bankers
- The Hidden Alliances That Drive American Power
- By: Nomi Prins
- Narrated by: Marguerite Gavin
- Length: 19 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nomi Prins ushers us into the intimate world of exclusive clubs, vacation spots, and Ivy League universities that binds presidents and financiers. She unravels the multi-generational blood, intermarriage, and protégé relationships that have confined national influence to a privileged cluster of people. This unprecedented history of American power illuminates how financiers have retained their authoritative position through history, swaying presidents regardless of party affiliation.
-
-
You better like history about the elite and rich
- By Victor on 01-12-15
By: Nomi Prins
What listeners say about Corporation Nation
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Philo
- 03-07-16
Essential USA business history
The author gives us a wealth of history of what worked and did not work in corporate law, structure and governance on our path here. He also engages in advocacy based on this history, for what can and should be done better, in his view, to escape the worst features of corporate affairs today, and to grow a resilient and sturdy economy and a right-sized government footprint in business affairs. These facets of the book are tied together well.
Listening to public discourse and media today, I am dismayed at the ignorance of what appears, ever more amplified with today's technologically enabled low cost of being a semi-uninformed loudmouth. Those ignorant of this book's history seem to me to flail in terms of overconfident launching of various ill-considered accusations in all directions. To some, "corporation" in conversation connotes a curse and a conspiracy theory rolled into one, some great pool of nothing but elite perfidy. To others, "government" fills that role, and perhaps a meat-axe taken to government, the thinking goes, would have things ironing themselves out. (These are my words, not the author's.) This author does not hesitate to point out problems with regulation and corporate governance today, but not for the knee-jerk reasons the torches-and-pitchforks crowd of whatever political fringe reflexively haul out. A central theme here is, bad corporate governance is a big factor dragging government into issuing prolix and burdensome regulations. This feedback swirl of far-less-than-best practices endangers the economy's health, we hear, because cost of capital increases, and investors and lenders are hesitant to trust their money to being put to work.
Theft and government overreach feed each other. The history narrative here requires my close attention but is correspondingly rewarding. I wish many of the overconfident wing-nuts out there would mind their business, in the sense of taking the time of getting a clearer picture, from sources like this, of what a healthy productive culture looks like. Likewise, countless mistakes and failures are reviewed, so we can saved some reinventing of the wheel.
The narrator has slightly unusual intonations occasionally but handles the work very well.
Finally, I think some basic familiarity with business organizations and the terminology is helpful. I'm not sure how much I would grasp if this was my first-ever exposure to the words and concepts. Things are defined and explained here, but the pace is brisk. I like this so much I am about to listen through again, to be sure it all sunk in.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!