Audiobooks narrated by Kitty Hendrix

Maria Theresa: Empress: The Making of the Austrian Enlightenment

A major new biography of Maria Theresa, the formidable Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa was the single most powerful woman in eighteenth-century Europe. At the age of just twenty-three she succeeded to the Habsburg domains only to find them contested by almost every power in Europe. Over the next forty years, she became a fierce leader and opponent, as well as a devoted wife and mother to sixteen children. In this engrossing biography, Richard Bassett traces Maria Theresa's life and complex legacy. Drawing on hitherto unpublished sources, Bassett reveals her keen sense of moderation and tolerance, innovative ideas on free trade and finance, and studied reluctance to resort to policies of territorial expansion. Yet Maria Theresa's modernization policies were not entirely progressive. Antisemitism and an enduring suspicion of Protestantism greatly affected the lives of her subjects. This is a gripping study of one of the world's most influential leaders, revealing how Maria Theresa confounded gendered expectations and left a lasting mark on Europe.

Richard Bassett (Author), Kitty Hendrix (Narrator)

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Penman of the Founding: A Biography of John Dickinson

John Dickinson of Pennsylvania and Delaware was an early leader of the resistance to British rule in the American colonies. In fact, to many, he was the most prominent figure in the struggle for independence, though his Quaker-influenced opposition to violence kept him from signing one of its most famous documents in July 1776. Still, Dickinson, one of the wealthiest men in the colonies, did more to promote the cause behind it than almost anyone else, not only as the lead draftsman in all the national Congresses, but in his popular writing. His hugely influential Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania educated colonists about their rights and instructed them in how to defend those rights in non-violent ways. In essence he taught the colonists to think of themselves as Americans, united in a common cause. Despite the key part he played in the country's founding, few Americans today have heard of John Dickinson. Early chroniclers and historians, seeking to create a patriotic narrative and taking their cues from his political enemies, cast him as a coward and Loyalist for not signing the Declaration. Many later historians have simply accepted and echoed this distorted and dismissive view. Jane Calvert's fascinating, authoritative, and accessible biography restores him to a place of prominence in the nation's formative years.

Jane E. Calvert (Author), Kitty Hendrix (Narrator)

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Dostoevsky: A Very Short Introduction

Fyodor Dostoevsky became the writer best known for his treatment of the big questions of ethics, religion, and philosophy. In this Very Short Introduction, Deborah Martinsen explores Dostoevsky's tumultuous life story: his political imprisonment and narrow escape from execution, his Siberian exile, his gambling addiction, his romantic marriage, and his literary success. Martinsen also delves into his major works—Notes from Underground, Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, Demons, The Brothers Karamazov, The Diary of a Writer, and more. Each chapter analyzes a key theme or aspect of Dostoevsky's writing that showcases his profound insights into human nature and society: doubling, freedom, shame, social justice, scandal, aesthetics, ethics, faith, and the eternal questions. Martinsen also demonstrates how Dostoevsky's novels remain relevant today as they address pressing questions about freedom, morality, and meaning in a complex world.

Deborah Martinsen (Author), Kitty Hendrix (Narrator)

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Gender History: A Very Short Introduction

This volume introduces the field of gender history—its origins, development, reception, recalibrations, and frictions. It offers a set of working definitions of gender as a descriptive category and as a category of historical analysis, tracing the emergence, usage, and applicability of these entwined subjects. Inevitably political, gender history has taken aim at the broader field of historical narrative by asking who counts as a historical subject, what difference gender makes, and how attention to it subverts reigning assumptions of what power, culture, economics, and identity have been in the past—and what they are today. The book explores how gender analysis has changed interpretations of the histories of slavery, capitalism, migration, and empire. As a field, gender history has been extraordinarily influential in shaping several generations of scholars and students. And, as part of the movement toward gender equality that is key to modern western progress, gender history has been caught up in the culture wars that continue to shape post-global society. The practice of gender history has always run up against the forces of race, class, and sexuality that challenge the singularity of gender itself as an explanatory category of historical analysis. That powerful, unruly tension is at the heart of this Very Short Introduction.

Antoinette Burton (Author), Kitty Hendrix (Narrator)

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HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing Projects and Initiatives

Everyone is now a project leader-learn how to manage them more effectively. If you read (or listen to) nothing else on managing projects and initiatives, listen to these ten articles. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you lead initiatives that will inspire your people, tackle your biggest challenges with agile, and prepare yourself and your organization for a world driven by projects. This book will inspire you to deliver on time and within budget; become a better project sponsor; allocate resources to the highest-potential projects; understand when agile versus traditional methods are best; get deeper insight into your organization's project portfolio; and prioritize your projects and stop what needs stopping. HBR's 10 Must Reads series is the definitive collection of books for new and experienced leaders alike. Leaders looking for the inspiration that big ideas provide, both to accelerate their own growth and that of their companies, should look no further. The series focuses on the core topics that every ambitious manager needs to know: leadership, strategy, change, managing people, and managing yourself.

Harvard Business Review (Author), Kitty Hendrix, Lyle Blaker (Narrator)

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The Tory’s Wife: A Woman and Her Family in Revolutionary America

The Spurgin family of North Carolina experienced the cataclysm of the American Revolution in the most dramatic ways-and from different sides. This engrossing book tells the story of Jane Welborn Spurgin, a patriot who welcomed General Nathanael Greene to her home and aided Continental forces while her loyalist husband was fighting for the king as an officer in the Tory militia. By focusing on the wife of a middling backcountry farmer, esteemed historian Cynthia Kierner shows how the Revolution not only toppled long-established political hierarchies but also strained family ties and drew women into the public sphere to claim both citizenship and rights-as Jane Spurgin did with a dramatic series of petitions to the North Carolina state legislature when she fought to reclaim her family's lost property after the war was over. While providing listeners with stories of battles, horse-stealing, bigamy, and exile that bring the Revolutionary era vividly to life, this book also serves as an invaluable examination of the potentially transformative effects of war and revolution, both personally and politically.

Cynthia A. Kierner (Author), Kitty Hendrix (Narrator)

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Marshall's Great Captain: Lieutenant General Frank M. Andrews and Air Power in the World Wars

On May 3, 1943, dozens of planes could be seen flying in and out of Royal Air Force Bovingdon Airfield. Among the aircraft seen that day was a B-24D bomber named Hot Stuff, which carried the Commanding General of US Forces in Europe, Lieutenant General Frank M. Andrews-the officer charged with formulating a plan to invade Europe. Speculation was that General George C. Marshall had called Andrews back to Washington, DC, leading many to believe that Marshall had another promotion in store for Andrews. Tragically, Andrews would never arrive. While attempting to land in Iceland, the bomber crashed into a mountain, with no survivors other than the tail gunner; Andrews's personal papers were also destroyed. In Marshall's Great Captain, author Kathy Wilson details Andrews's extraordinary life and career. The first biography dedicated to the namesake of Joint Base Andrews, this book sheds a light on Andrews's crucial role in orchestrating US involvement in WWII, as well as the professional relationship between Andrews and Marshall. Wilson raises Andrews's legacy to its legitimate place within the annals of both air power and WWII history and posits that there is a high probability that Andrews was Marshall's first choice for the office of Supreme Allied Commander. Marshall recounted that Andrews was the only one he had a chance to prepare for such a command.

Kathy Wilson (Author), Kitty Hendrix (Narrator)

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Neighborhood Watch

The neighborhood of Oleander Court is the poster child for suburban bliss. The residents compare lawns beautified by hired help. They monitor home values. They toss perfect furniture because they wanted tapioca, not beige. But when a string of murders rips through the neighborhood, suspicions abound as new secrets come to light. And as more and more bodies are taken away, it becomes clear that the killer is strategically selecting each and every victim, picking off the shallowest, most wasteful of the lot in spectacular fashion and leaving everyone in the neighborhood to wonder Who’s next? While most of their neighbors scatter like well-dressed cockroaches, a small group of the neighborhood ladies team up to solve their local mystery and restore their once-peaceful lives. But is this ragtag collection of amateur sleuths truly a united front? With reputations, freedom, and personal sanity on the line, the ladies must unmask the killer...even if the killer is among them.

Sarah Reida (Author), Bailey Carr, Carlotta Brentan, Carmen Jewel Jones, Dominique Franceschi, Jennifer Sun Bell, Joshua Manning, Kitty Hendrix, Megan Tusing, Romy Nordlinger, Suzie Althens (Narrator)

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HBR Guide to Your Job Search

Finding a new job can be stressful. Assessing positions and employers, meeting the requirements in a job description, competing with other job searchers, and submitting an application that will get noticed-each element comes with its own set of obstacles. And that's all before the nerve-wracking interview. The HBR Guide to Your Job Search is here to help. Whether you're fresh out of school, have been working for decades, or somewhere in between, this book offers you tips and advice for navigating your job hunt. You'll discover how to define what you want in a new role, find the position you want, and pitch yourself as a standout candidate. You'll learn how to: identify your strengths and create a personal brand; ignite your network to find the best opportunities; write an attention-grabbing resume and cover letter; prepare for and answer common interview questions; negotiate your job offer, from benefits to salary; and start your first day on the right foot. Arm yourself with the advice you need to succeed on the job, with the most trusted brand in business. Packed with how-to essentials from leading experts, the HBR Guides provide smart answers to your most pressing work challenges.

Harvard Business Review (Author), Al Kessel, Kitty Hendrix (Narrator)

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HBR's 10 Must Reads 2024: The Definitive Management Ideas of the Year from Harvard Business Review (

A year's worth of management wisdom, all in one place. We've combed through the ideas, insights, and best practices from the past year of Harvard Business Review to help you get up to speed fast on the relevant concepts driving business today. Discover new ideas and sample the latest thinking from our vast array of management experts. Revisit these topics now to make sure your organization is incorporating the best, most up-to-date practices, or keep this book as a reference so that you can turn to these memorable pieces when you need them the most. The collection includes articles on leadership, diversity, and strategy, as well as articles that will help you manage yourself and others. HBR's 10 Must Reads series is the definitive collection of books for new and experienced leaders alike. Leaders looking for the inspiration that big ideas provide, both to accelerate their own growth and that of their companies, should look no further. HBR's 10 Must Reads series focuses on the core topics that every ambitious manager needs to know: leadership, strategy, change, managing people, and managing yourself. Harvard Business Review has sorted through hundreds of articles and selected only the most essential reading on each topic. Each title includes timeless advice that will be relevant regardless of an ever-changing business environment.

Harvard Business Review (Author), Kitty Hendrix, Lyle Blaker (Narrator)

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HBR Guide to Unlocking Creativity

Without creativity, innovation is impossible. Creativity is the key driver of innovation, but too many teams and projects are organized in ways that stifle new ideas. It's your job as a manager to create the right conditions for creativity to thrive-and to be part of the process yourself. Fortunately, anyone can use a method-driven approach to teach and learn to be more creative. The HBR Guide to Unlocking Creativity will show you how to design a work environment that allows you and your team to change how you think, reach your creative potential, and achieve groundbreaking results. This guide will help you: get out of a creativity rut; overcome the fear that blocks creativity; balance creativity with productivity; model a creative mindset for your team; encourage curiosity and experimentation; avoid breakdowns in creative collaboration; and bring breakthrough ideas to life. Arm yourself with the advice you need to succeed on the job, with the most trusted brand in business. Packed with how-to essentials from leading experts, the HBR Guides provide smart answers to your most pressing work challenges.

Harvard Business Review (Author), Kitty Hendrix, Lyle Blaker (Narrator)

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Habit Forming: Drug Addiction in America, 1776-1914

Habitual drug use in the United States is at least as old as the nation itself. Habit Forming traces the history of unregulated drug use and dependency before 1914, when the Harrison Narcotic Tax Act limited sales of opiates and cocaine under US law. Many Americans used opiates and other drugs medically and became addicted. Some tried Hasheesh Candy, injected morphine, or visited opium dens, but neither use nor addiction was linked to crime, due to the dearth of restrictive laws. After the Civil War, American presses published extensively about domestic addiction. Later in the nineteenth century, many used cocaine and heroin as medicine. As addiction became a major public health issue, commentators typically sympathized with white, middle-class drug users, while criticizing such use by poor or working-class people and people of color. When habituation was associated with middle-class morphine users, few advocated for restricted drug access. By the 1910s, as use was increasingly associated with poor young men, support for regulations increased. In outlawing users' access to habit-forming drugs at the national level, a public health problem became a larger legal and social problem, one with an enduring influence on American drug laws and their enforcement.

Elizabeth Kelly Gray (Author), Kitty Hendrix (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Kitty Hendrix