Audiobooks by Simon Johnson

Great Leaders: Biographies of Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, George Washington, Ulysses S. Gran

Discover the lives of history’s greatest leaders. From statesmen to generals and presidents to Prime Ministers, this detailed book explores the lives and legacies of five of the world’s most famous and influential men. With a comprehensive account of their lives, achievements, philosophies, and more, inside this bundle you’ll find: - Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the United States, and famous for his anti-slavery policy and leadership during the Civil War. - Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister who stood up to Hitler and the Nazis, leading the UK to victory in World War II. - George Washington, figurehead of America’s independence and one of the greatest military men of all time. - Ulysses S. Grant, 18th president of the United States and General during the Civil War. With Lincoln, he helped secure a Union victory and defeat the Confederates. - Napoleon Bonaparte, one of history’s most ambitious rulers, famous for his role in the Napoleonic Wars and the French Revolution. History is filled with remarkable figures who have shaped the course of entire nations. From military masterminds to world leaders, this biography delves into the lives of these five extraordinary men and the achievements and legacies they leave behind. Great Leaders is a must-listen for anyone interested in politics, history, war, or leadership principles.

Simon Johnson (Author), Kevin Theis (Narrator)

Audiobook

Jump-Starting America: How Breakthrough Science Can Revive Economic Growth and the American Dream

The untold story of how America once created the most successful economy the world has ever seen and how we can do it again. The American economy glitters on the outside, but the reality is quite different. Job opportunities and economic growth are increasingly concentrated in a few crowded coastal enclaves. Corporations and investors are disproportionately developing technologies that benefit the wealthiest Americans in the most prosperous areas--and destroying middle class jobs elsewhere. To turn this tide, we must look to a brilliant and all-but-forgotten American success story and embark on a plan that will create the industries of the future--and the jobs that go with them. Beginning in 1940, massive public investment generated breakthroughs in science and technology that first helped win WWII and then created the most successful economy the world has ever seen. Private enterprise then built on these breakthroughs to create new industries--such as radar, jet engines, digital computers, mobile telecommunications, life-saving medicines, and the internet-- that became the catalyst for broader economic growth that generated millions of good jobs. We lifted almost all boats, not just the yachts. Jonathan Gruber and Simon Johnson tell the story of this first American growth engine and provide the blueprint for a second. It's a visionary, pragmatic, sure-to-be controversial plan that will lead to job growth and a new American economy in places now left behind.

Jonathan Gruber, Simon Johnson (Author), Robert Fass (Narrator)

Audiobook

Economism: Bad Economics and the Rise of Inequality

Here is a bracing deconstruction of the framework for understanding the world that is learned as gospel in Economics 101, regardless of its imaginary assumptions and misleading half-truths. Economism: an ideology that distorts the valid principles and tools of introductory college economics, propagated by self-styled experts, zealous lobbyists, clueless politicians, and ignorant pundits. In order to illuminate the fallacies of economism, James Kwak first offers a primer on supply and demand, market equilibrium, and social welfare: the underpinnings of most popular economic arguments. Then he provides a historical account of how economism became a prevalent mode of thought in the United States—focusing on the people who packaged Econ 101 into sound bites that were then repeated until they took on the aura of truth. He shows us how issues of moment in contemporary American society—labor markets, taxes, finance, health care, and international trade, among others—are shaped by economism, demonstrating in each case with clarity and élan how, because of its failure to reflect the complexities of our world, economism has had a deleterious influence on policies that affect hundreds of millions of Americans.

James Kwak, Simon Johnson (Author), Mark Bramhall (Narrator)

Audiobook

White House is Burning

America is mired in debt-more than $30,000 for every man, woman, and child. Bitter fighting over deficits, taxes, and spending bedevils Washington, D.C., even as partisan gridlock has brought the government to the brink of default. Yet the more politicians on both sides of the aisle rant and the citizenry fumes, the more things seem to remain the same. In White House Burning, Simon Johnson and James Kwak-authors of the national best seller 13 Bankers and cofounders of The Baseline Scenario, a widely cited blog on economics and public policy-demystify the national debt, explaining whence it came and, even more important, what it means to you and to future generations. They tell the story of the Founding Fathers' divisive struggles over taxes and spending. They chart the rise of the almighty dollar, which makes it easy for the United States to borrow money. They account for the debasement of our political system in the 1980s and 1990s, which produced today's dysfunctional and impotent Congress. And they show how, if we persist on our current course, the national debt will harm ordinary Americans by reducing the number of jobs, lowering living standards, increasing inequality, and forcing a sudden and drastic reduction in the government services we now take for granted. But Johnson and Kwak also provide a clear and compelling vision for how our debt crisis can be solved while strengthening our economy and preserving the essential functions of government. They debunk the myth that such crucial programs as Social Security and Medicare must be slashed to the bone. White House Burning looks squarely at the burgeoning national debt and proposes to defuse its threat to our well-being without forcing struggling middle-class families and the elderly into poverty. Carefully researched and informed by the same compelling storytelling and lucid analysis as 13 Bankers, White House Burning is an invaluable guide to the central political and economic issue of our time. It is certain to provoke vigorous debate.

James Kwak, Simon Johnson (Author), Nicholas Hormann (Narrator)

Audiobook

13 Bankers: The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown

James Kwak, Simon Johnson (Author), Erik Synnestvedt (Narrator)

Audiobook