American Politics Audiobooks | Politics

The Divide: American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST, NPR, AND KIRKUS REVIEWSA scathing portrait of an urgent new American crisis Over the last two decades, America has been falling deeper and deeper into a statistical mystery: Poverty goes up. Crime goes down. The prison population doubles. Fraud by the rich wipes out 40 percent of the world's wealth. The rich get massively richer. No one goes to jail. In search of a solution, journalist Matt Taibbi discovered the Divide, the seam in American life where our two most troubling trends-growing wealth inequality and mass incarceration-come together, driven by a dramatic shift in American citizenship: Our basic rights are now determined by our wealth or poverty. The Divide is what allows massively destructive fraud by the hyperwealthy to go unpunished, while turning poverty itself into a crime-but it's impossible to see until you look at these two alarming trends side by side. In The Divide, Matt Taibbi takes readers on a galvanizing journey through both sides of our new system of justice-the fun-house-mirror worlds of the untouchably wealthy and the criminalized poor. He uncovers the startling looting that preceded the financial collapse; a wild conspiracy of billionaire hedge fund managers to destroy a company through dirty tricks; and the story of a whistleblower who gets in the way of the largest banks in America, only to find herself in the crosshairs. On the other side of the Divide, Taibbi takes us to the front lines of the immigrant dragnet; into the newly punitive welfare system which treats its beneficiaries as thieves; and deep inside the stop-and-frisk world, where standing in front of your own home has become an arrestable offense. As he narrates these incredible stories, he draws out and analyzes their common source: a perverse new standard of justice, based on a radical, disturbing new vision of civil rights. Through astonishing-and enraging-accounts of the high-stakes capers of the wealthy and nightmare stories of regular people caught in the Divide's punishing logic, Taibbi lays bare one of the greatest challenges we face in contemporary American life: surviving a system that devours the lives of the poor, turns a blind eye to the destructive crimes of the wealthy, and implicates us all.Praise for The Divide "Ambitious . . . deeply reported, highly compelling . . . impossible to put down." -The New York Times Book Review "These are the stories that will keep you up at night. . . . The Divide is not just a report from the new America; it is advocacy journalism at its finest." -Los Angeles Times "Taibbi is a relentless investigative reporter. He takes readers inside not only investment banks, hedge funds and the blood sport of short-sellers, but into the lives of the needy, minorities, street drifters and illegal immigrants. . . . The Divide is an important book. Its documentation is powerful and shocking." -The Washington Post "Captivating . . . The Divide enshrines its author's position as one of the most important voices in contemporary American journalism."- The Independent (UK) "Taibbi [is] perhaps the greatest reporter on Wall Street's crimes in the modern era."- Salon From the Hardcover edition.

Matt Taibbi (Author), Ray Porter (Narrator)

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Six Amendments: How and Why We Should Change the Constitution

For the first time ever, a retired Supreme Court Justice offers a manifesto on how the Constitution needs to change. By the time of his retirement in June 2010, John Paul Stevens had become the second longest serving Justice in the history of the Supreme Court. Now he draws upon his more than three decades on the Court, during which he was involved with many of the defining decisions of the modern era, to offer a book like none other. SIX AMENDMENTS is an absolutely unprecedented call to arms, detailing six specific ways in which the Constitution should be amended in order to protect our democracy and the safety and wellbeing of American citizens. Written with the same precision and elegance that made Stevens's own Court opinions legendary for their clarity as well as logic, SIX AMENDMENTS is a remarkable work, both because of its unprecedented nature and, in an age of partisan ferocity, its inarguable common sense.

John Paul Stevens (Author), Daniel Hagen (Narrator)

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63 Documents the Government Doesn't Want You to Read

There's the Freedom of Information Act, and then there's Ventura's way. The official spin on numerous government programs is flat-out bull, according to Jesse Ventura. In this incredible collection of actual government documents, Ventura, the ultimate nonpartisan truth-seeker, proves it beyond any doubt. He and Dick Russell walk listeners through sixty-three of the most incriminating programs to reveal what really happens behind the closed doors. In addition to providing original government data, Ventura discusses what it really means and how regular Americans can stop criminal behavior at the top levels of government and in the media. Among the cases discussed: —The CIA's top-secret program to control human behavior —Operation Northwoods: the military plan to hijack airplanes and blame it on Cuban terrorists —The discovery of a secret Afghan archive, information that never left the boardroom —Potentially deadly healthcare cover-ups, including a dengue fever outbreak —What the Department of Defense knows about our food supply but is keeping mum Although these documents are now in the public domain, the powers that be would just as soon they stay under wraps. Ventura's research and commentary sheds new light on what they're not telling you—and why it matters.

Dick Russell, Jesse Ventura (Author), George K. Wilson (Narrator)

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Lincoln's Boys: John Hay, John Nicolay, and the War for Lincoln's Image

A timely and intimate look into Abraham Lincoln's White House through the lives of his two closest aides and confidants Lincoln's official secretaries John Hay and John Nicolay enjoyed more access, witnessed more history, and knew Lincoln better than anyone outside of the president's immediate family. Hay and Nicolay were the gatekeepers of the Lincoln legacy. They read poetry and attended the theater with the president, commiserated with him over Union army setbacks, and plotted electoral strategy. They were present at every seminal event, from the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation to Lincoln's delivery of the Gettysburg Address-and they wrote about it after his death. In their biography of Lincoln, Hay and Nicolay fought to establish Lincoln's heroic legacy and to preserve a narrative that saw slavery-not states' rights-as the sole cause of the Civil War. As Joshua Zeitz shows, the image of a humble man with uncommon intellect who rose from obscurity to become a storied wartime leader and emancipator is very much their creation. Drawing on letters, diaries, and memoirs, Lincoln's Boys is part political drama and part coming-of-age tale-a fascinating story of friendship, politics, war, and the contest over history and remembrance.

Joshua Zeitz (Author), Malcolm Hillgartner (Narrator)

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The Party's Over: How the Extreme Right Hijacked the GOP and I Became a Democrat

Charlie Crist, the former Republican governor of Florida, spent years in the party’s inner circle. In this no-holds-barred memoir, he shows why he switched sides and became a Democrat. After serving as a Republican governor—one who was on the short list for the vice presidency in 2008—Charlie Crist made headlines when he decided to run for the U.S. Senate as an Independent. He was on the front page again when he endorsed President Obama in 2012 and spoke at the Democratic National Convention—and yet again when he officially joined the Democratic Party later that year. In The Party’s Over, he’ll make even more news when he reveals: -The inside story of his 2010 Senate primary campaign against Marco Rubio, where he learned exactly how vicious the Republican leadership can be. -His journey from inner circle to persona non grata, thanks to his literal embrace of President Obama. -His very frank opinions on Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, and other top-tier Republicans. -Why he believes that Democrats have the right vision for Florida and the nation. • What he’s learned as a member of both parties and why he remains convinced that the two-party system can still work—with the right leadership. Rather than just rehashing his career, in this book Crist offers a focused indictment of the failings of the Republican Party, naming names and identifying where things went wrong. The Party’s Over is as far from “politics as usual” as you can get.

Charlie Crist, Ellis Henican (Author), Charlie Crist (Narrator)

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Rollback: Repealing Big Government Before the Coming Fiscal Collapse

Thomas E. Woods, Jr., senior fellow at the Ludwig von Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama, offers conservatives his ideas for rolling back the liberal policies pushed through by President Obama and his cronies. In his blockbuster new book Rollback, New York Times bestselling author Thomas E. Woods, Jr., offers the first critical analysis of the 2010 midterm elections and answers the number-one question on conservatives' minds: How do we roll back the liberal policies and big government programs that Obama/Pelosi/Reid rushed through Congress before the midterms? From getting rid of wasteful and inefficient federal agencies to abolishing the income tax to repealing health care reform and all of Obama's "green" policies, Woods outlines a bold plan for dramatically overhauling the government and restoring our Founding Fathers' vision for America.

Jr. Thomas E. Woods, Thomas E. Woods Jr., Thomas E. Woods Jr., Ph.D., Thomas E. Woods, Jr. (Author), Johnny Heller (Narrator)

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Love & War: 20 Years, Three Presidents, Two Daughters and One Louisiana Home

New York Timesbestseller Twenty years after the publication of the bestselling All's Fair, James Carville and Mary Matalin look at how they-and America-have changed in the last two decades. James Carville and Mary Matalin have long held the mantle of the nation's most ideologically mismatched and intensely opinionated political couple. In this follow-up to All's Fair, Carville and Matalin pick up the story they began in that groundbreaking bestsellerand talk family, faith, love, and politics in their two winning voices. If nothing else, this new collaboration proves that after twenty years of marriage they can still manage to agree on a few things.A fascinating look at the last two decades in American politics and an intimate, quick-witted primer on grown-up relationships and values,Love & War provides unprecedented insight into one of our nation's most intriguing and powerful couples. With their natural charm and sharp intelligence, Carville and Matalin have written undoubtedly the most spirited memoir of the year.

James Carville, Mary Matalin (Author), James Carville, Mary Matalin (Narrator)

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Things That Matter: Three Decades of Passions, Pastimes and Politics

From America's preeminent columnist, named by the Financial Times the most influential commentator in the nation, the long-awaited collection of Charles Krauthammer's essential, timeless writings. A brilliant stylist known for an uncompromising honesty that challenges conventional wisdom at every turn, Krauthammer has for decades dazzled readers with his keen insight into politics and government. His weekly column is a must-read in Washington and across the country. Now, finally, the best of Krauthammer's intelligence, erudition and wit are collected in one volume. Readers will find here not only the country's leading conservative thinker offering a passionate defense of limited government, but also a highly independent mind whose views-on feminism, evolution and the death penalty, for example-defy ideological convention. Things That Matter also features several of Krauthammer's major path-breaking essays-on bioethics, on Jewish destiny and on America's role as the world's superpower-that have profoundly influenced the nation's thoughts and policies. And finally, the collection presents a trove of always penetrating, often bemused reflections on everything from border collies to Halley's Comet, from Woody Allen to Winston Churchill, from the punishing pleasures of speed chess to the elegance of the perfectly thrown outfield assist. With a special, highly autobiographical introduction in which Krauthammer reflects on the events that shaped his career and political philosophy, this indispensible chronicle takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the fashions and follies, the tragedies and triumphs, of the last three decades of American life.

Charles Krauthammer (Author), Charles Krauthammer, George Newbern (Narrator)

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Crucible of Decline – America's Plague and Plunder – Tottering on the Fall

After decades of corruption the American experiment is at an end. The forces that have distorted the Four Pillars of the United States of America’s strength –The Cultural Pillar – The Political Pillar – The Economic Pillar – are finally attacking the last pillar of American greatness – The Military Pillar. The last hope to restore the Republic is a Military Coup D'E tat.

Columbus Falco, R.S. Bagaladi (Author), Michael Hudson Arnold (Narrator)

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The Right Path: From Ike to Reagan, How Republicans Once Mastered Politics--and Can Again

Joe Scarborough—former Republican congressman and the always insightful host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe—takes a nuanced and surprising look at the unexpected rise and self-inflicted fall of the Republican Party. Dominant in national politics for forty years under the influence of the conservative but pragmatic leadership of Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan, the GOP, Scarborough argues, is in a self-inflicted eclipse. The only way forward? Recover the principled realism of the giants who led the party to greatness. In the aftermath of Lyndon Johnson’s 1964 landslide, the Republican Party appeared to be on the verge of permanent irrelevance. LBJ’s Great Society was institutionalizing sweeping liberal reforms, and the United States had a thriving, prosperous economy. Yet in an instant everything changed, and the next four decades would witness an unprecedented era of Republican ascendancy. What happened? In The Right Path, Joe Scarborough looks back in time to discern how Republicans once dominated American public life. From Eisenhower’s refusal to let “the perfect be the enemy of the good” to Reagan’s charismatic but resolutely practical genius, Scarborough shows how principled pragmatism, combined with a commitment to core conservative values, led to victory after victory. Now, however, political incalcitrance is threatening to turn a once-mighty party into a permanent minority. Opening with the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965—the high-water moment for liberalism—and ending with the national disillusionment that set in after Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans, The Right Path effortlessly blends American political history with astute analysis and pithy, no-holds-barred commentary. Both a bracing call to arms and a commonsense history, The Right Path provides an illuminating look at conservatism and its discontents—and why the GOP must regain its former tone and tradition if it hopes to survive. Advance praise for The Right Path “The Right Path is the right book at the right time to spark a much-needed conversation about the future of the Republican Party.”—Doris Kearns Goodwin “If you’re interested in the Republican future, you need to read The Right Path. I don’t agree with all of it, but Joe Scarborough has written a book that’s both thought-provoking and fun.”—William Kristol “Joe Scarborough’s lively, provocative, and instructive history of the modern Republican Party will stir up the GOP—which is exactly what he has in mind. As the Grand Old Party searches for a path to victory, Joe offers some important lessons to be learned.”—Tom Brokaw “Joe Scarborough’s incisive, original, provocative, and well-argued book, deploying American political history both distant and recent, deserves to be widely read, carefully considered, and energetically debated.”—Michael Beschloss “Blending political and cultural history with sharp analysis, Joe Scarborough’s The Right Path is highly readable, timely, and, most important, provocative. This book comes at a crucial time for the Republican Party.”—Craig Shirley “Joe Scarborough, a good Republican, wants to save the Republicans from themselves. In this provocative, lively, and wise book, he shows the way.”—Evan Thomas

Joe Scarborough (Author), George Newbern, Joe Scarborough (Narrator)

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Unintimidated: A Governor's Story and a Nation's Challenge

A controversial governor recounts his fight to reform his state and issues a call to action for the whole country In 2010, Scott Walker was elected governor of Wisconsin with a mandate to improve its economy and restore fiscal responsibility. With the state facing a $3.6 billion budget deficit, he proposed a series of reforms to limit the collective bargaining power of public employee unions, which was costing taxpayers billions in pension and health care costs. The reaction was swift and severe. Angry protesters gathered outside the capitol, teacher unions accused him of sabotaging education, and the media descended on Wisconsin to make it a national controversy. Soon, liberals nationwide were denouncing Governor Walker. He stood his ground despite relentless political and personal attacks with the help of supporters across the country who hailed him for having the courage to drive real change. In June 2012, he won a special recall election with a higher share of the vote than he had for his original election, becoming the first governor in the country to survive a recall election. In this book, Governor Walker shows how his commitment to limited but effective government paid off. During his tenure Wisconsin has saved more than $1 billion, property taxes have gone down for the first time in twelve years, and the deficit was turned into a surplus. He also shows what his experiences can teach defenders of liberty across the country about standing up to the special interests that favor the status quo.

Marc A. Thiessen, Marc Thiessen, Scott Walker (Author), Scott Walker (Narrator)

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The Crash of 2016: The Plot to Destroy America--and What We Can Do to Stop It

The United States is more vulnerable today than ever before-including during the Great Depression and the Civil War-because the pillars of democracy that once supported a booming middle class have been corrupted, and without them, America teeters on the verge of the next Great Crash. The United States is in the midst of an economic implosion that could make the Great Depression look like child's play. In THE CRASH OF 2016, Thom Hartmann argues that the facade of our once-great United States will soon disintegrate to reveal the rotting core where corporate and billionaire power and greed have replaced democratic infrastructure and governance. Our once-enlightened political and economic systems have been manipulated to ensure the success of only a fraction of the population at the expense of the rest of us. The result is a "for the rich, by the rich" scheme leading to policies that only benefit the highest bidders. Hartmann outlines the destructive forces-planted by Lewis Powell in 1971 and come to fruition with the "Reagan Revolution"-that have looted our nation over the past decade, and how their actions fit into a cycle of American history that lets such forces rise to power every four generations. However, a backlash is now palpable against the "economic royalists"-a term coined by FDR to describe those hoarding power and wealth-including the banksters, oligarchs, and politicians who have plunged our nation into economic chaos and social instability. Although we are in the midst of what could become the most catastrophic economic crash in American History, a way forward is emerging, just as it did in the previous great crashes of the 1760s, 1856, and 1929. The choices we make now will redefine American culture. Before us stands a genuine opportunity to embrace the moral motive over the profit motive-and to rebuild the American economic model that once yielded great success. Thoroughly researched and passionately argued, THE CRASH OF 2016 is not just a roadmap to redemption in post-Crash America, but a critical wake-up call, challenging us to act. Only if the right reforms are enacted and the moral choices are made, can we avert disaster and make our nation whole again.

Thom Hartmann (Author), Dan Woren (Narrator)

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