Listen Legally to Best Full Audiobooks in History, American

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Title: The Idea of America

Author: Gordon S Wood

Narrator: Robert Fass

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-26-11

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 31 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

The preeminent historian of the American Revolution explains why it remains the most significant event in our history.

Members Reviews:

Sophisticated analyses

These essays are sophisticated historical analyses. A listener needs to be familiar with the major developments of the Revolutionary and early Republican periods as well as with the major historical interpretations of such periods. This is therefore not an introductory work.

It is instead an advanced scholarly work. The essays challenge some of the commonly accepted interpretations of our early history in some intriguing and well argued ways. I found them both convincing and enjoyable.

MetaHistory

This is a history of historian's views of the American Revolution and following years, not a history of those years per se. Very, very abstract and vague. Almost no names of individuals (except to say they weren't exactly mad)... A lot more mention of historians from the 1940s to 1970s than of the founding fathers or anyone else from circa 1800 AD.

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Title: A New Orleans Voudou Priestess

Subtitle: The Legend and Reality of Marie Laveau

Author: Carolyn Morrow Long

Narrator: Ian Eugene Ryan

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-12-11

Publisher: University Press Audiobooks

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 44 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Against the backdrop of 18th and 19th-century New Orleans, A New Orleans Voudou Priestess: The Legend and Reality of Marie Laveau disentangles the complex threads of the legend surrounding the famous Voudou priestess. According to mysterious, oft-told tales, Laveau was an extraordinary celebrity whose sorcery-fueled influence extended widely from slaves to upper-class whites. Some accounts claim that she led the "orgiastic" Voudou dances in Congo Square and on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain, kept a giant snake named Zombi, and was the proprietress of an infamous house of assignation. Though legendary for an unusual combination of spiritual power, beauty, charisma, showmanship, intimidation, and shrewd business sense, she was also known for her kindness and charity, nursing yellow fever victims and ministering to condemned prisoners, and her devotion to the Roman Catholic Church. The true story of Marie Laveau, though considerably less flamboyant than the legend, is equally compelling.In separating verifiable fact from semi-truths and complete fabrication, Long explores the unique social, political, and legal setting in which the lives of Marie Laveau's African and European ancestors became intertwined. Changes in New Orleans engendered by French and Spanish rule, the Louisiana Purchase, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and Jim Crow segregation affected seven generations of Laveau's family, from enslaved great-grandparents of pure African blood to great-grandchildren who were legally classified as white. Simultaneously, Long examines the evolution of New Orleans Voudou, which until recently has been ignored by scholars. The book is published by University Press of Florida.

Critic Reviews:

"There are few figures in New Orleans history as alluring as Marie Laveau... a figure who stood at the very nexus of religion, music, commerce, and history, and this fascinating, well-documented volume is the worthy result." (New Orleans Times-Picayune)

Members Reviews:

Interesting book, problematic reader.

This book is a well-researched historical exploration of Marie Laveau, and deserves to be read. However, the choice of the reader worked against the text so much that I was unable to finish the book. I had read it in print form, and was eager to listen to it and reflect on the author's analyses of historical documents as I listened. The reader mispronounced many of the key names in the book, and the vocal quality was orotund and lethargic, making it very difficult to listen to. What made it even more frustrating was that the overall pitch of the reader's voice was perfect for the content. I only wish he had taken the time (or been given the opportunity) to practice the reading and to receive feedback on his oral interpretation from someone in a position to correct errors and problematic phrasing (like, perhaps, the author?).

More like reference book.

If you plan to write about Marie, this looks like a good resource.

Very clinical and just a statement of historic record rather than a deeper look at the woman.

The performance draws yawns over interest.

interesting but dry

Very dry . I liked that it was factual, but the writing was so straight forward that I struggled to finish.

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Title: The Civil War

Subtitle: A Concise History

Author: Louis P. Masur

Narrator: Lance Guest

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 12 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-05-11

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 24 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

One hundred and fifty years after the first shots were fired on Fort Sumter, the Civil War still captures the American imagination, and its reverberations can still be felt throughout America's social and political landscape. Louis P. Masur's The Civil War: A Concise History offers a masterful and eminently listenable overview of the war's multiple causes and catastrophic effects.

Masur begins by examining the complex origins of the war, focusing on the pulsating tensions over states rights and slavery. The book then proceeds to cover, year by year, the major political, social, and military events, highlighting two important themes: how the war shifted from a limited conflict to restore the Union to an all-out war that would fundamentally transform Southern society, and the process by which the war ultimately became a battle to abolish slavery. Masur explains how the war turned what had been a loose collection of fiercely independent states into a nation, remaking its political, cultural, and social institutions. But he also focuses on the soldiers themselves, both Union and Confederate, whose stories constitute nothing less than America's Iliad.

In the final chapter, Masur considers the aftermath of the South's surrender at Appomattox and the clash over the policies of reconstruction that continued to divide president and Congress, conservatives and radicals, Southerners and Northerners for years to come.

In 1873, Mark Twain and Charles Dudley wrote that the war had "wrought so profoundly upon the entire national character that the influence cannot be measured short of two or three generations." From the vantage of the war's sesquicentennial, this concise history of the entire Civil War era offers an invaluable introduction to the dramatic events whose effects are still felt today.

Critic Reviews:

"A short history of the Civil War is a daunting task to say the least, so complex and wide-ranging is the story, yet Louis P. Masur has accomplished the task not only with remarkable all-inclusiveness, but with considerable perception, and not a little genuine eloquence. The result is surely the finest account in brief compass that we have." (William C. Davis, Virginia Center for Civil War Studies, Virginia Tech)

"An ideal guide. Masur's deft touch is reflected in the judicious way he mines his material, which includes analysis for the set of illustrations included in the text. One finishes this book, whether read over the course of hours or months, with a sense of having traced the outlines of a vast historiographic territory." (History News Network)

"Masur performs a miracle by providing a concise but compelling narrative of the Civil War era, packing in the critical information to track the trajectory of secession, war, emancipation, and Reconstruction.... Highly recommended." (Library Journal)

Members Reviews:

A meandering read

I'm not sure the author's focus is right with this one, as it's less a book about the war than a book about how the war changed America. That's fine, but isn't what I expect when I buy a book called "The Civil War".

I must say I found this book hard work.

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Title: American Uprising

Subtitle: The Untold Story of America's Largest Slave Revolt

Author: Daniel Rasmussen

Narrator: David Drummond

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-18-11

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 78 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

In January 1811, 500 slaves dressed in military uniforms and armed with guns, cane knives, and axes rose up from the plantations around New Orleans and set out to conquer the city. Ethnically diverse, politically astute, and highly organized, this self-made army challenged not only the economic system of plantation agriculture but also American expansion. Their march represented the largest act of armed resistance against slavery in the history of the United States.

American Uprising is the riveting and long-neglected story of this elaborate plot, the rebel army's dramatic march on the city, and its shocking conclusion. No North American slave uprising - not Gabriel Prosser's, not Denmark Vesey's, not Nat Turner's - has rivaled the scale of this rebellion either in terms of the number of the slaves involved or the number who were killed.

More than 100 slaves were slaughtered by federal troops and French planters, who then sought to write the event out of history and prevent the spread of the slaves' revolutionary philosophy. With the Haitian revolution a recent memory and the War of 1812 looming on the horizon, the revolt had epic consequences for America.

Through groundbreaking original research, Daniel Rasmussen offers a window into the young, expansionist country, illuminating the early history of New Orleans and providing new insight into the path to the Civil War and the slave revolutionaries who fought and died for justice and the hope of freedom.

Critic Reviews:

"Impressive work by an up-and-coming historian." (Kirkus)

Members Reviews:

Nice try, but ...

The author has good intentions, but the book is weak in some areas, some of which aren't his fault. Others are. I hadn't heard of the slave revolt he describes, which he does very well. Unfortunately, unlike the Nat Turner rebellion, it was kind of covered up by the planters, so not much is really known about it. In compensation, the author spends only a small part of the book on the revolt itself, and the rest ranging over the history of slavery and plantation life in the New Orleans area in general of the first half of the 19th century, and its implications for antebellum American expansionism That's interesting too.

But in what I assume is a politically and academically trendy effort to give "agency" to the slaves, he makes all sorts of assertions about the slaves' political beliefs and how carefully they planned the revolt, etc, without much evidence. Perhaps it wasn't planned so well, had no sophisticated political philosophy beyond the desire to not be exploited, was betrayed by "loyal" slaves from the outset, and was scattered to the winds very quickly when the planters, with their superior weaponry and training, counterattacked. Would that be so bad? The author appears to strongly hint that saying so would put you in the same category as the slaveowners and their subsequent apologists.

The conclusion of the book is a bit bizarre. After an interesting discussion of the historiography of the revolt, he goes on to criticize Martin Luther King for unclear reasons, and praise Black Power advocates.

A detail point: the author appears to believe that the Articles of Confederation and the Confederate constitution are the same thing.

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Title: The Bitter Waters of Medicine Creek

Subtitle: A Tragic Clash Between White and Native America

Author: Richard Kluger

Narrator: Alan Sklar

Format: Unabridged

Length: 14 hrs and 56 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-01-11

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 16 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

The riveting story of a dramatic confrontation between Native Americans and white settlers, a compelling conflict that unfolded in the newly created Washington Territory from 1853 to 1857.

When appointed Washington's first governor, Isaac Ingalls Stevens, an ambitious military man turned politician, had one goal: to persuade (peacefully if possible) the Indians of the Puget Sound region to turn over their ancestral lands to the federal government. In return, they were to be consigned to reservations unsuitable for hunting, fishing, or grazing, their traditional means of sustaining life. The result was an outbreak of violence and rebellion, a tragic episode of frontier oppression and injustice.

With his trademark empathy and scholarly acuity, Pulitzer Prize-winner Richard Kluger recounts the impact of Stevens's program on the Nisqually tribe, whose chief, Leschi, sparked the native resistance movement. Stevens was determined to succeed at any cost: his hasty treaty negotiations with the Indians, marked by deceit, threat, and misrepresentation, inflamed his opponents. Leschi, resolved to save more than a few patches of his people's lush homelands, unwittingly turned his tribe and, most of all, himself into victims of the governor's relentless wrath. The conflict between these two complicated and driven men and their supporters, explosively and enormously at odds with each other, was to have echoes far into the future.

Closely considered and eloquently written, The Bitter Waters of Medicine Creek is a bold and long-overdue clarification of the historical record of an American tragedy, presenting, through the experiences of one tribe, the history of Native American suffering and injustice.

Members Reviews:

Brutal, essential history

A very important account of the dirty dealing that has come to represent this particular part of American history. While it doesn't have the grand scale of The Trail of Tears or the bigger than life accounts of the battles of of the likes of Crazy Horse, it has a more subdued, sinister quality. It's more about the machinations of a government hell-bent on having its way, and not caring what decks it has to stack to get it, or whom has to be crushed. It's important American history, and sadly not all that unique.

excellent account

This is the first time I learned about medicine creek. very good book. I hope things better in the future for all indigenous peoples.

Captivating

This was a fabulous account of the history of the Nisqually tribe, told through the prism of Leschi. The history was sensitive, complicated, and a great story. The narrator has a low, soothing, gravelly voice - A+ for early mornings or falling asleep to. Highly recommended to all, and basically required reading for Washingtonians.

buy it

I know there are many books about this subject. this is a great book. as with the cover you see it threw different eyes.

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Title: Civil War of 1812

Subtitle: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, & Indian Allies

Author: Alan Taylor

Narrator: Andrew Garman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 20 hrs and 41 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-27-10

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 144 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Alan Taylor tells the riveting story of a war that redefined North America. In a world of double identities, slippery allegiances, and porous borders, the leaders of the American Republic and the British Empire struggled to control their own diverse peoples. Taylors vivid narrative of an often brutalsometimes farcicalwar reveals much about the tangled origins of the United States and Canada.

Members Reviews:

A proper history of an obscure epoch

The only things missing in this book are an in-depth treatment of the burning of Washington DC, the "rockets' red glare" in Baltimore harbor, the shelling of Stonington, CT, and the Battle of New Orleans. But most of these things were minor sideshows to the real war, and of course New Orleans happened after the war had officially ended.

Otherwise I can't praise this enough as a compelling and informative history. Its thesis is that the American Revolution did not really end in 1781 or 1783; that certain British interests saw the USA as a temporary aberration, and sought to exploit its disorganization and economic slump during the 1780s-90s.

The real origins of the War of 1812 were not the usual background causes we are told about--impressment of seamen, trade with France--but rather the British government's basic failure to comply with its undertakings in the Treaty of Paris (they did not actually give up the western and Great Lakes forts they were supposed to evacuate) and their persistent harassment of American settlers on the western frontier. Added to this was the British attempt to siphon off thousands of Americans into Upper Canada by offering 200 free acres to anyone who wanted it.

This is where most of the early 19th century Ontario settlers came from, by the way: they were Americans from New England and Upstate New York who took the free-land offer. They were not Brits and they were not exiled Tories. (Very few Revolutionary War Tories went to Canada in any event; Tories had mainly gone to the Acadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, which were not part of Canada.)

Most of the War of 1812 was about the Americans' attempt to take over Upper Canada, or Ontario, which then as now thrust itself like an arm into the north-central USA. The Americans had a very good case. Most of the inhabitants were actually Americans, the British had no clear claim on the land, and in fact the only real interest the British had in the region was to use it as a staging area for taking America back.

So what happened? Why was Ontario not taken? The answer is that the American forces were poorly prepared and slightly provisioned, no match for the seasoned Redcoats at Detroit and York and Niagara. That's really all it was. But this loss paid off big dividends in the development of the American forces.

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Title: Brute

Subtitle: The Life of Victor Krulak, U.S. Marine

Author: Robert Coram

Narrator: Patrick Lawlor

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-10-10

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 129 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

From the earliest days of his 34-year military career, Victor "Brute" Krulak displayed a remarkable facility for applying creative ways of fighting to the Marine Corps. He went on daring spy missions, was badly wounded, pioneered the use of amphibious vehicles, and masterminded the invasion of Okinawa. In Korea, he was a combat hero and invented the use of helicopters in warfare. In Vietnam, he developed a holistic strategy in stark contrast to the Army's "Search and Destroy" methods---but when he stood up to LBJ to protest, he was punished. And yet it can be argued that all of these accomplishments pale in comparison to what he did after World War II and again after Korea: Krulak almost single-handedly stopped the U.S. government from abolishing the Marine Corps.

Members Reviews:

Leaves a deep impression while also entertaining

This is the best biography I've read. Left a deep impression and also is very entertaining! Highly recommend this book

Great read!

My wife and I truly enjoyed listening to this book. Brute's contributions to the Marine Corps and the nation are immeasurable!!! This is a must read...especially for Marines. I'm an active duty SgtMaj with 22 years in service and I learned a whole lot from this book.

Fantastic

One of the most in-depth and interesting bios I have read/listened to. Highly recommended for any person interested in history/military or polarizing figures.

An outstanding story of the Krulak legacy

An outstanding listen. The Narrator made you feel as if The Brute was talking himself!

A not spoke about HERO!

This is a book that every Marine should read. This man was just as important to our history as those more often talked about!

Semper Fi

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Title: 48 Liberal Lies About American History

Subtitle: That You Probably Learned in School

Author: Larry Schweikart

Narrator: Sean Pratt

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-01-10

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 63 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

A conservative historian defends Americas past by debunking four dozen common liberal myths

In this follow-up to the best-selling A Patriots History of the United States, Professor Larry Schweikart once again challenges liberal historians and their shameful attempts to distort our countrys legacy. This time he takes on authors of popular textbooks who, in an effort to be politically correct, tarnish Americas image in the eyes of our high school and college students.

The problem isnt that liberal authors present their opinions or interpretations of history from an obvious left-wing bias. The problem is authors who actually distort facts and manipulate data in an effort to appear objective and unbiased while furthering their leftist objectives.

Students learn, for example, that the Founding Fathers were elitists who drafted the Constitution in order to protect their own economic interests; that Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation only because he needed black soldiers; That racist groups such as the KKK represented our society in the early twentieth century; that the failures of capitalism caused the Great Depression. All false, as readers will discover.

Members Reviews:

amazingly accurate...

I have done personal study using source material written at the time of some of these lies, and have lived through many of them, but thanks to common core, the liberally biased media the department of education, and the teachers union's Brent toward socialism/communism the truth can only be told one child at a time by parents who take it upon themselves to educate their children.

The truth is actually out there!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

You tell a lie over and over again and eventually it will be taken for the truth. The liberal slant is pervasive and this book tries to undo that spin. This should be mandatory reading for all Americans.

What did you like best about this story?

It takes the stories and accounts we are all aware of an shows how the liberal lies have be overlaid to twist them into negative light. Our education system predictable liberal twisted but the truth makes more sense.

Have you listened to any of Sean Pratts other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but I am reading "A Patriot's History Of The United State" after reading "48 Liberal Lies About The United States"

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The truth is emotional.

Any additional comments?

I read it twice to make sure I got the point.

Historically astute

This book is essential in order to bypass all the leftist myths regarding American history. It highlights how far most college textbooks go to rewrite the shining city on a hill. Must read.

Detailed expose of liberal lies

Would you listen to 48 Liberal Lies About American History again? Why?

I would definitely listen to it again because there are so many details that are worthy of hearing again for greater clarity and reinforcement.

What did you like best about this story?

The incredible detail and thoroughness by which liberal lies are exposed is really remarkable and compelling.

Have you listened to any of Sean Pratts other performances before? How does this one compare?

no

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Title: Fur, Fortune, and Empire

Subtitle: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America

Author: Eric Jay Dolin

Narrator: Tom Weiner

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-12-10

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 52 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

From the best-selling author of Leviathan comes this sweeping narrative of one of Americas most historically rich industries. Beginning his epic history in the early 1600s, Eric Jay Dolin traces the dramatic rise and fall of the American fur trade industry, from the first Dutch encounters with the Indians to the rise of the conservation movement in the late 19th century.

Dolin shows how the fur trade, driven by the demands of fashion, sparked controversy, fostered economic competition, and fueled wars among the European powers as North America became a battleground for colonization and imperial aspirations.

The trade in beaver, buffalo, sea otter, and other animal skins spurred the exploration and the settlement of the vast American continent, while it alternately enriched and gravely damaged the lives of Americas native peoples.

Populated by a larger-than-life cast, including Dutch governor Peter Stuyvesant, President Thomas Jefferson, Americas first millionaire John Jacob Astor, and mountain man Kit Carson, Fur, Fortune, and Empire is the most comprehensive and compelling history of the American fur trade ever written.

Critic Reviews:

[An] absorbing storyDolin, author of the acclaimed Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America, offers another good history well told. (Publishers Weekly)

A delightful history, reminding readers that while noble ideals led to the settling of the United States, the fur trade paid the bills. (Kirkus Reviews)

Members Reviews:

a compilation of trivia

A compilation of trivia, in chronological order, does not make good history. You need context, you need to use your core story (in this case, the history of the fur trade) to say something about economic history or cultural history or social history, to write an excellent history book. Even (and perhaps especially) a popular history book. Dolin has failed to do this, I was very disappointed.

The narration is very good. It is not the narration that brings this work down.

Colonialism versus Commerce

Would you consider the audio edition of Fur, Fortune, and Empire to be better than the print version?

I consider the audio version more practical to my needs because I can listen to is while walking the dog, driving across town, and while I do tasks at home. I bought the print version so that I could go back and study parts that I wanted to make sure I understood. Plus I like having access to the visualsI

What did you like best about this story?

This book provides insights into the complexities of ethnicity, social strata, and how commerce expanded cultural exchange and respected the Native knowledge. I found the contrast between how the United States and Canada developed the fur trade thought provoking, in a way that explains the attitudes that continue to haunt us in the United States.

Have you listened to any of Tom Weiners other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the first time I've listened to one of his performances.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I have an occasional laugh. Mostly I was on the edge of my seat in fascination with the plethora of information that I had never learned. This book has added to much to my understanding of how the United States and Canada developed into world nations, each emerging from a different world view.

Any additional comments?

The chapter on horses was very informative.

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Title: The Most Powerful Idea in the World

Subtitle: A Story of Steam, Industry, and Invention

Author: William Rosen

Narrator: Michael Prichard

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-01-10

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 141 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

If all measures of human advancement in the last hundred centuries were plotted on a graph, they would show an almost perfectly flat line - until the eighteenth century, when the Industrial Revolution would cause the line to shoot straight up, beginning an almost uninterrupted march of progress.

In The Most Powerful Idea in the World, William Rosen tells the story of the men responsible for the Industrial Revolution and the machine that drove it - the steam engine. In the process, he tackles the question that has obsessed historians ever since: What made 18th-century Britain such fertile soil for inventors? Rosen's answer focuses on a simple notion that had become enshrined in British law the century before: that people had the right to own and profit from their ideas.

The result was a period of frantic innovation revolving particularly around the promise of steam power. Rosen traces the steam engine's history from its early days as a clumsy but sturdy machine, to its coming-of-age driving the wheels of mills and factories, to its maturity as a transporter for people and freight by rail and by sea. Along the way, we enter the minds of such inventors as Thomas Newcomen and James Watt; scientists, including Robert Boyle and Joseph Black; and philosophers John Locke and Adam Smith - all of whose insights, tenacity, and ideas transformed first a nation and then the world.

Rosen is a masterly storyteller with a keen eye for the "aha!" moments of invention and a gift for clear and entertaining explanations of science. The Most Powerful Idea in the World will appeal to anyone who is fascinated with history, science, and the hows and whys of innovation itself.

Editorial Reviews:

The story of Rocket an iconic steam locomotive designed by Robert Stevenson and now on display in Londons British Science Museum serves as the introduction and thrilling ending to The Most Powerful Idea in the World, William Rosens fascinating book about the Industrial Revolution.

Listening to Michael Prichard read Rosens thoroughly researched book feels like sitting in on a phenomenal college lecture. Prichards matter-of-fact intonation perfectly suits Rosens material and is reminiscent of a narrator you might hear on a History Channel documentary.

The book essentially explains how the Industrial Revolution evolved and explores the innovations that led to the creation of Rocket. Rosen examines steam power, pistons, heat, privacy laws, and some of the other famous early mechanized inventions, and reveals why many of these innovations occurred in England and Scotland and not elsewhere in Europe or the rest of the world. By themselves, the various topics can at first seem completely unrelated. But Rosen makes a persuasive argument and clearly illustrates how one small innovation after another led to the creation of the modern steam engine, which literally served as the driving force of the 19th-century Industrial Revolution.

Many historical books can be very dry and hard to comprehend, but Rosen delivers his descriptions about many of the worlds first modern machines in a way thats engaging and easy to understand. The Most Powerful Idea in the World will make you look at the world in a completely different way and give you a greater appreciation for the machines we so often take for granted in our modern society.