Listen to Best Sellers Audiobooks in History, 21st Century

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Title: Vegas and the Mob

Author: Al W. Moe

Narrator: Jason Sullivan

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-26-13

Publisher: Al W. Moe

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 41 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Las Vegas was the Mob's greatest venture and most spectacular success, and through 40 years of frenzy, murder, deceit, scams, and skimming, the FBI listened on phone taps and did virtually nothing to stop the fun. This is the truth about the Mob's control of the casinos in Vegas like you've never heard it before, from start to finish.

Two of the nation's most powerful crime family bosses went to prison in the 1930s: Al Capone, and Lucky Luciano. Frank Nitti took over the Chicago Outfit, while Frank Costello ran things for the Luciano Family. Both men were influenced by their bosses from prison, and both sent enough gangsters into the streets to influence loan sharking, extortion, union control, and drug sales. Bugsy Siegel worked for both groups, handling a string of murders and opening up gaming on the west coast, and that included Las Vegas, an oasis of sin in the middle of the desert - and it was legal. Most of it. The FBI watched as the Mob took control of casino after casino, killed off the competition, and stole enough money to bribe their way to respectability back home.

By the 1950s, nearly every major crime family had a stake in a Las Vegas casino. Some did better than others. Casino owners watched-over their profits while competing crime families eyed each other's success like jealous lovers. Murder often followed.

Members Reviews:

From Bugsy to Binion

Would you try another book from Al W. Moe and/or Jason Sullivan?

Sure, but Jason Sullivan has to do research when he reads a book the subject of which he knows nothing about. There have to be conservatively 12 documentaries about organized crime and Las Vegas he could watch to get the right pronunciation of proper names.

Mr. Moe could eliminate all his sarcasm with benefit. It is not especially amusing to the reader and serves mainly to undermine the journalistic integrity of his prose. I would also like to see a source bibliography. For example Al Moe appears to take it for granted that the urban legend that Joseph Kennedy was a "bootlegger" has substance. Kennedy passed the senate Republicans vetting exam twice when he became Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and again when he became Ambassador to Great Britain. There is no way those Republicans would have signed off on him had there been even a suggestion that he was involved in the manufacturing or distribution of illegal alcohol during prohibition. Where does Mr. Moe verify his statements and how does he think Kennedy got around those Republican senators? THAT would be a story!

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

I learned a lot about the history of Ben Binion and his criminal associates. This is also the first time I learned how ineffective Howard Hughes was in rebuilding Las Vegas.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Jason Sullivan?

Mr. Sullivan has a pleasant enough voice and is a good reader. Unfortunately he apparently believes he can get away with guessing at the pronunciations. Kefauver is pronounced KEEF-offer, NOT kifever. Meyer Lansky's first name is pronounced MY-yor NOT Mayor. Raymond Patriarca's last name is pronounced Pat-ri-AR-ka, NOT Patricka. The mispronunciation of Kefauver made me cringe every time he did it and he did it a lot.

Do you think Vegas and the Mob needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Hopefully it does not. Only time can tell us this.

Any additional comments?

Overall I enjoyed the book.

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Title: The Center Holds

Subtitle: Obama and His Enemies

Author: Jonathan Alter

Narrator: Jonathan Alter

Format: Unabridged

Length: 18 hrs and 45 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-04-13

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 140 votes

Genres: History, 21st Century

Publisher's Summary:

A narrative thriller about the battle royale surrounding Barack Obama's quest for a second term amid widespread joblessness and one of the most poisonous political climates in American history.

The election of 2012 will be remembered as a hinge of history. With huge victories in the 2010 midterm elections, the Republican Party had blocked President Obama at every turn and made plans to wrench the country sharply to the right. The 2012 contest offered the GOP a clear shot at controlling all three branches of government and repealing much of the social contract that dated back to the New Deal. Facing free-spending billionaires, Fox News, and a concerted effort in 19 states to rig the election by suppressing Democratic votes, Obama repelled the assault and navigated the nation back toward the center.

In The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies, Jonathan Alter uses his unmatched access and deep knowledge of politics and history to produce the first full account of America at the crossroads. He pierces the bubble of the White House and of the presidential campaigns with exclusive reporting and rare historical insight. More than a campaign book, this is the epic story of an embattled president facing a historic moment he considered more pivotal than 2008.

Alter relates the untold story behind Obama's highs and lows, from his daring decision to raid Osama bin Laden's compound to the frustration of the debt ceiling fiasco to his run-ins with black and Latino activists he expected to be his firm allies. There are fresh details about the Koch brothers, Grover Norquist, Roger Ailes, and the online haters who suffer from "Obama Derangement Syndrome". Alter takes us inside the GOP "clown car" primaries as well as Obama's disastrous preparation for the first debate. We meet Obama's analytics geeks working out of "The Cave" and the man who secretly videotaped Mitt Romney's infamous comments on the "47 percent".

The Center Holds, which follows Alter's acclaimed The Promise, will deepen our understanding of Obama's presidency, the 2012 election stakes, and the future of his second term.

Members Reviews:

The Best Telling of the 2012 Campaign So Far

Would you consider the audio edition of The Center Holds to be better than the print version?

By way of full disclosure, I was head writer for the Committee on Arrangements for the 2012 GOP Convention in Tampa (no, I did *NOT* write for Clint Eastwood -- or for the chair!) and have been a GOP communications operative for over two decades. I've met and spoken to Jonathan Alter several times over the years, so my opinions here might be influenced by that.Politics aside, I've always enjoyed Alter's writing in Newsweek and now Bloomberg and his frequent NBC appearances. He's thorough and has always treated me and my clients fairly. As an audio book addict, I usually prefer the spoken version, and Jonathan does an excellent job on this one.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Alter's book is a panorama of the famous and not-so-famous names of the 2012 campaign, some of whom I've been privileged to know personally.

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Title: With Amusement for All

Subtitle: A History of American Popular Culture since 1830

Author: LeRoy Ashby

Narrator: Kevin Pierce

Format: Unabridged

Length: 33 hrs and 44 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-03-13

Publisher: University Press Audiobooks

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 58 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Popular culture is a central part of everyday life to many Americans. Personalities such as Elvis Presley, Oprah Winfrey, and Michael Jordan are more recognizable to many people than are most elected officials. With Amusement for All is the first comprehensive history of two centuries of mass entertainment in the United States, covering everything from the penny press to Playboy, the NBA to NASCAR, big band to hip hop, and other topics including film, comics, television, sports, dance, and music. Paying careful attention to matters of race, gender, class, technology, economics, and politics, LeRoy Ashby emphasizes the complex ways in which popular culture simultaneously reflects and transforms American culture, revealing that the world of entertainment constantly evolves as it tries to meet the demands of a diverse audience.

Trends in popular entertainment often reveal the tensions between competing ideologies, appetites, and values in American society. For example, in the late 19th century, Americans embraced "self-made men" such as John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie; the celebrities of the day were circus tycoons P.T. Barnum and James A. Bailey, Wild West star "Buffalo Bill" Cody, professional baseball organizer Albert Spalding, and prizefighter John L. Sullivan. At the same time, however, several female performers challenged traditional notions of weak, frail Victorian women. Adah Isaacs Menken astonished crowds by wearing tights that made her appear nude while performing dangerous stunts on horseback, and the shows of the voluptuous burlesque group British Blondes often centered on provocative images of female sexual power and dominance.

Ashby describes how history and politics frequently influence mainstream entertainment. When Native Americans, blacks, and other non-whites appeared in the 19th-century circuses and Wild West shows, it was often to perpetuate demeaning racial stereotypes - crowds jeered Sitting Bull at Cody's shows. By the early 20th century, however, black minstrel acts reveled in racial tensions, reinforcing stereotypes while at the same time satirizing them and mocking racist attitudes before a predominantly white audience. Decades later, Red Foxx and Richard Pryor's profane comedy routines changed American entertainment. The raw ethnic material of Pryor's short-lived television show led to a series of African-American sitcoms in the 1980s that presented common American experiences - from family life to college life - with black casts.

Mainstream entertainment has often co-opted and sanitized fringe amusements in an ongoing process of redefining the cultural center and its boundaries. Social control and respectability vied with the bold, erotic, sensational, and surprising, as entrepreneurs sought to manipulate the vagaries of the market, control shifting public appetites, and capitalize on campaigns to protect public morals. Rock 'n Roll was one such fringe culture; in the 1950s, Elvis blurred gender norms with his androgynous style and challenged conventions of public decency with his sexually-charged performances. By the end of the 1960s, Bob Dylan introduced the social consciousness of folk music into the rock scene, and The Beatles embraced hippie counter-culture.

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Title: The Roberts Court

Subtitle: The Struggle for the Constitution

Author: Marcia Coyle

Narrator: Bernadette Dunne

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 53 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-07-13

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 29 votes

Genres: History, 21st Century

Publisher's Summary:

Seven minutes after President Obama put his signature to a landmark national health care insurance program, a lawyer in the office of Florida GOP attorney general Bill McCollum hit a computer key, sparking a legal challenge to the new law that would eventually reach the nations highest court. Health care is only the most visible and recent front in a battle over the meaning and scope of the U.S. Constitution. The battleground is the Supreme Court, and one of the most skilled, insightful, and trenchant of its observers takes us close up to watch it in action.

The Roberts court, seven years old, is at the center of a constitutional maelstrom. Four landmark decisions - concerning health care, money in elections, guns at home, and race in schools - reveal the fault lines in a conservative-dominated court, led by Chief Justice John Roberts, Jr.

Marcia Coyles brilliant inside account of the high court captures how those cases began - the personalities and conflicts that catapulted them onto the national scene - and how they ultimately exposed the great divides among the justices, such as the originalists versus the pragmatists on guns and the Second Amendment, and corporate speech versus human speech in the controversial Citizens United campaign case. Most dramatically, her analysis shows how dedicated conservative lawyers and groups are strategizing to find cases and crafting them to bring up the judicial road to the Supreme Court with an eye on a receptive conservative majority.The Roberts Courtoffers a ringside seat at the struggle to lay down the law of the land.

Critic Reviews:

"Marcia Coyle has written the go-to book for anyone who wants to understand the most conservative Supreme Court that most Americans alive today can remember. Her acute focus on key 5-4 cases not only shows us the Roberts court in action but also explains how conservative social movements have made their voices heard at the court on issues that matter to us all." (Linda Greenhouse, Pulitzer Prize-winningauthor ofBecoming Justice Blackmun)

"One of the best Supreme Court books in years; a wise and deeply reported inside look at the court, its struggles, and the justices themselves." (Bob Woodward, Pulitzer Prize-winning author ofThe Brethren)

"In this fast-paced narrative, Marcia Coyle brings alive the four recent cases that illuminate the emerging agenda of the Roberts court. Everyone gets a voice in Coyles story: litigants, lawyers, clerks on the court, even the justices themselves. In an understated but powerful voice, she also implies that the conservative majority on the Roberts Court is pursuing an agenda as broad and active as any Court in our history. Coyle concisely captures the complexities of constitutional jurisprudence." (Jack Rakove, Pulitzer Prize-winning author ofOriginal Meanings)

Members Reviews:

How the Court has changed

Marcia Coyle is the national law Journals long time Chief Washington correspondent. She is an attorney and brings 25 years of reporting on the high court to her book. The great strength of Coyles book is the depth and balance of her reporting. She interviewed several justices on background and one Antonin Scalia on the record. She also interviewed the lawyers and litigants on both sides of the four highest profiled cases, of enormous consequence of 5-4 decisions, of the Roberts court from 2007 to 2009.

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Title: The Democracy Project

Subtitle: A History, a Crisis, a Movement

Author: David Graeber

Narrator: Grover Gardner

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-09-13

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 117 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

A bold rethinking of the most powerful political idea in the world - democracy - as seen through the lens of the most transformative political movements of our time and the story of how radical democracy can yet transform America.

Democracy has been the American religion since before the Revolution - from New England town halls to the multicultural democracy of Atlantic pirate ships. But can our current political system, one that seems responsive only to the wealthiest among us and leaves most Americans feeling disengaged, voiceless, and disenfranchised, really be called democratic? And if the tools of our democracy are not working to solve the rising crises we face, how can we - average citizens - make change happen?

David Graeber, one of the most influential scholars and activists of his generation, takes listeners on a journey through the idea of democracy, provocatively reorienting our understanding of pivotal historical moments, and extracts their lessons for today - from the birth of Athenian democracy and the founding of the United States of America to the global revolutions of the 20th century and the rise of a new generation of activists. Underlying it all is a bracing argument that in the face of increasingly concentrated wealth and power in this country, a reenergized, reconceived democracy - one based on consensus, equality, and broad participation - can yet provide us with the just, free, and fair society we want.

The Democracy Project tells the story of the resilience of the democratic spirit and the adaptability of the democratic idea. It offers a fresh take on vital history and an impassioned argument that radical democracy is, more than ever, our best hope.

Members Reviews:

Must-read: such insight, an awakening!

What did you love best about The Democracy Project?

This is one of the handful of gems that make you think in profoundly-different ways.

I heard excellent reviews of Mr. Graeber's book "Debt: the First 5000 Years", but I thought I'd like a more general book to start with and this was perfect.

Explores our assumptions of "democracy", and how Corporate and Government bureaucracy are top-down hierarchies which are quite simply contrary to real democracy.

I've often assumed "anarchism" was somehow extreme or unrealistic, but this book made a very compelling case for how horizontal decision-making is desirable and even practical, featuring numerous real-life examples along with common sense analogies.

This book also tackles the morality of debt and the morality of work head-on, most relevant and fascinating!

What did you like best about this story?

Only special books manage to shake one from one's stupor, or present clear explanations for those nagging ideas that were never understood. This is a lot to ask for, but this book delivers!

Also recommended is Matt Taibbi's book "Griftopia"

Which scene was your favorite?

On top of everything, this book is surprisingly uplifting. Revolutions and revolutionary ideas do indeed cascade into society and our collective consciousness, often seemingly against all odds.

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

These book connected so many dots and opened up a new world of ideas and possibilities.

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Title: Out of Order

Subtitle: Stories from the History of the Supreme Court

Author: Sandra Day O'Connor

Narrator: Sandra Day O'Connor

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-05-13

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 129 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

From Justice Sandra Day OConnor, the first woman to sit on the United States Supreme Court, comes this fascinating book about the history and evolution of the highest court in the land.

Out of Order sheds light on the centuries of change and upheaval that transformed the Supreme Court from its uncertain beginnings into the remarkable institution that thrives and endures today. From the early days of circuit-riding, when justices who also served as trial judges traveled thousands of miles per year on horseback to hear cases, to the changes in civil rights ushered in by Earl Warren and Thurgood Marshall; from foundational decisions such as Marbury vs. Madison to modern-day cases such as Hamdi vs. Rumsfeld, Justice OConnor weaves together stories and lessons from the history of the Court, charting turning points and pivotal moments that have helped define our nations progress.

With unparalleled insight and her unique perspective as a history-making figure, Justice OConnor takes us on a personal exploration, painting vivid pictures of Justices in history, including Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., one of the greatest jurists of all time; Thurgood Marshall, whose understated and succinct style would come to transform oral argument; William O. Douglas, called "The Lone Ranger" because of his impassioned and frequent dissents; and John Roberts, whom Justice OConnor considers to be the finest practitioner of oral argument she has ever witnessed in Court. We get a rare glimpse into the Supreme Courts inner workings: how cases are chosen for hearing; the personal relationships that exist among the Justices; and the customs and traditions, both public and private, that bind one generation of jurists to the next - from the seating arrangements at Court lunches to the fiercely competitive basketball games played in the Court Buildings top-floor gymnasium, the so-called "highest court in the land".

Wise, candid, and assured, Out of Order is a rich offering of inspiring stories of one of our countrys most important institutions, from one of our countrys most respected pioneers.

Critic Reviews:

In this delightful collection of tales, Sandra Day OConnor shows us the personal side of the Supreme Court while reminding us of the critical role the Court plays. Its a lovely book - and a valuable treasure for all Americans. (Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs)

A maker of history, Sandra Day OConnor proves herself an engaging historian in this fine book, taking us inside perhaps the most important and least understood institution in American life: the Supreme Court. With her characteristic clear-eyed common sense and a natural talent for storytelling, Justice OConnor has given us a valuable and entertaining gift.(Jon Meacham, author of Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power)

We have always known that Sandra Day OConnor was a wise and thoughtful Justice of the Supreme Court. But we havent always appreciated what a talented storyteller and historian she is as well. This, her most recent book, contains succinct and readable stories from the history of the Supreme Court, and it nicely demonstrates that remarkable talent. (Gordon S. Wood, author of The Idea of America)

Members Reviews:

A Historical Account of the Supreme Court

Right up Front, Justice OConnor informs you that her book is a celebration of the Supreme Court and its history.

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Title: Six Flags Over Texas : 50 Years Of Entertainment

Author: Clint Skinner

Narrator: E. Roy Worley

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 53 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-20-13

Publisher: Clint Skinner

Genres: History, 21st Century

Publisher's Summary:

Six Flags Over Texas : 50 Years Of Entertainment is the ONLY book that tells the whole story of the Arlington park. It starts with the founder of Six Flags, continues with the park's construction, takes a tour of the original park, and covers all 50 years of the park's existence.

Members Reviews:

Was disappointed.

Not enough pictures in book. Was disappointed.

The complete history of 6 Flags over Texas

The only thing I did not like is that there are hardly any photos of the park included in this book.

An eye opener

Full of fun facts. I do wish there were a few more pictures of the long gone items (such as the lumber jack animations) that used to grace the log flume. Other than that, the book was full to the brim with "juicy" facts about the park and its many owners. A must have for the amusement park enthusiast.

Historical document that entertains.

What a great book that has all the Six Flags information you could ever want and then some. Also this book has pictures of the original park in its beginning.

Please edit books before publishing them!!!

This book is written like a bad high-school essay. It does not appear that any editing was done. Starting right away with improper spelling, to sentences simply missing words. The only reason I give it any stars at all is learning the history of this great theme park. Aside from that terrible! I cannot get over the number of errors and boring tone it reads in.

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Title: America in the Sixties

Subtitle: America in the Twentieth Century

Author: John Robert Greene

Narrator: Chris Munson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-20-13

Publisher: University Press Audiobooks

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: History, 21st Century

Publisher's Summary:

Sandwiched between the placid fifties and the flamboyant seventies, the sixties, a decade of tumultuous change and stunning paradoxes, is often reduced to a series of slogans, symbols, and media images. In America in the Sixties, Greene goes beyond the cliches and synthesizes thirty years of research, writing, and teaching on one of the most turbulent decades of the twentieth century.

Greene sketches the well-known players of the period - John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Betty Friedan-bringing each to life with subtle detail. He introduces the reader to lesser-known incidents of the decade and offers fresh and persuasive insights on many of its watershed events. Greene argues that the civil rights movement began in 1955 following the death of Emmett Till; that many accomplishments credited to Kennedy were based upon myth, not historical fact, and that his presidency was far from successful; that each of the movements of the period-civil rights, students, antiwar, ethnic nationalism-were started by young intellectuals and eventually driven to failure by activists who had different goals in mind; and that the "counterculture", which has been glorified in today's media as a band of rock-singing hippies, had its roots in some of the most provocative social thinking of the postwar period.

Greene chronicles the decade in a thematic manner, devoting individual chapters to such subjects as the legacy of the fifties, the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, the civil rights movements, and the war in Vietnam. Combining an engrossing narrative with intelligent analysis, America in the Sixties enriches our understanding of that pivotal era.

The book is published by Syracuse University Press.

Critic Reviews:

"A page-turning narrative of student unrest, feminism, constitutional rights, and the Vietnam War, interwoven with analyses of class stratification, emerging social ideology, and the shifting media culture. Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" nearly whispers into the readers' ears. (Publishers Weekly)

"Perceptive, judicious, and written with an engaging flair, master historian John Robert Greene's America in the Sixties vividly brings to life arguably the most important and complex decade of the twentieth century." (Melvin Small, author of The Presidency of Richard Nixon)

Members Reviews:

Deep look into a pivotal era of American history.

Narration is consistent through out giving the work a pleasurable life.

The work also declines to superficially skim the decade but delves into a more through explanation of the times and events. It also gives a setting for what happened making sure to mention the totality of the populous rather than only focus on the notable people and movements typical covered in works about the 1960's.

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Title: Rwanda, Inc.

Subtitle: How a Devastated Nation Became an Economic Model for the Developing World

Author: Andrea Redmond, Patricia Crisafulli

Narrator: Hillary Huber

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-24-12

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 26 votes

Genres: History, 21st Century

Publisher's Summary:

Eighteen years after the genocide that made Rwanda international news, yet left it all but abandoned by the West, the country has achieved a miraculous turnaround. Rising out of the complete devastation of a failed state, Rwanda has emerged on the world stage yet again - this time with a unique model for governance and economic development under the leadership of its strong and decisive president, Paul Kagame.

Here, Patricia Crisafulli and Andrea Redmond look at Kagames leadership, his drive for excellence and execution that draws comparisons to American CEOs and emphasizes the development of a sophisticated and competitive workforce that leverages human capital. In Rwanda, the ultimate turnaround, strong and effective leadership has made a measurable and meaningful difference. Rwandas progress offers an example for other developing nations to lift themselves out of poverty without heavy reliance on foreign aid through decentralization, accountability, self-determination, and self-sufficiency. The authors also explore Rwandas journey toward its goal of becoming a middle-income nation with a technology-based economy and its progress in encouraging private sector development and fostering entrepreneurship while also making gains in education, health care, and food security - and all with a strong underpinning of reconciliation and unification.

As so many nations stand on the brink of political and economic revolution, this is a timely and fascinating look at the implications of Rwandas success for the rest of the continent - and the world.

Critic Reviews:

"InRwanda, Inc., Crisafulli and Redmond recount the rise of an unyielding people and their chief executive, President Paul Kagame. An exceptional blueprint for other developing countries." (Bill Clinton)

"A fascinating portrait of a nation and a president at a pivotal moment in history." (

Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Rwanda's growth

What made the experience of listening to Rwanda, Inc. the most enjoyable?

I read this book a while ago and subsequently I visited the country for the first time earlier this year. Then I bought the audio version for "revision" purposes. The story is still fascinating and this book captures the essence of this miracle.

Who was your favorite character and why?

It has to be Paul Kagame and his leadership of this beautiful nation

Which scene was your favorite?

The " yes, we can" attitude.

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

The genocide would make anyone sad. Why did they world just turn a blind eye?

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Title: The End of the Line: Romney vs. Obama (POLITICO Inside Election 2012)

Author: Glenn Thrush, Jonathan Martin

Narrator: Mike Chamberlain

Format: Unabridged

Length: 2 hrs and 39 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-17-12

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 22 votes

Genres: History, 21st Century

Publisher's Summary:

Thirty-four days that decided the election.

The fourth and final installment in POLITICOs Playbook 2012 series once again provides an unprecedented minute-by-minute account of the race for the presidency. The End of the Line follows President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney as their campaign teams go all-in to win in the critical final weeks of the 2012 election.

From Mitt Romneys 47 percent video to Clint Eastwoods speech to an empty chair, the 2012 presidential campaign did not lack for memorable moments. In The End of the Line, POLITICO senior White House reporter Glenn Thrush and senior political reporter Jonathan Martin chronicle every hairpin turn in a race that defied the predictions of pundits and prognosticators.

While some political observers considered Barack Obamas reelection far from a sure thing, the president and his team remained resolute in their belief that they would prevail. In Boston, Mitt Romneys advisers were just as confident that their man was headed for a smashing victory. In the end, only one of those views would be validated by events. The outcome of this election was never foreordained, however, and would ultimately be determined by two candidates, three debates, and a thousand small but critical strategic decisions.

With an eye toward writing a first draft of history, Thrush and Martin report on the intense internal debates over ad strategy that defined the parameters of the fall campaign - including a crucial late-May decision by the Obama campaign that may have tipped the scales in the presidents favor. They provide a behind-the-scenes look at the candidates debate preparation sessions, and they reveal why Romneys campaign was so confident they were going to win.

The action climaxes on election night, as the opposing camps huddle nervously in their hotel suites to await the verdict of the voters. The End of the Line reveals for the first time what the Obama brain trust really thought about the agonizingly long wait for Romneys official concession - and what happened after Obama put the telephone to his ear and heard the words Hello, Mr. President, its Mitt Romney.

No one could have predicted all the twists and turns of the 2012 election - and no one was better equipped to chronicle them than the POLITICO team. The End of the Line is frontline campaign reporting at its finest, meticulously reported and compulsively listenable.

Members Reviews:

Short, Sweet and Informative

What made the experience of listening to The End of the Line: Romney vs. Obama (POLITICO Inside Election 2012) the most enjoyable?

This was just a fun read to listen to. Very short and sweet (maybe too short) but I liked how the story was narrated and I felt like I was being told something confidential. It was just something fun to listen to after the election was complete.

What did you like best about this story?

How I felt like I was a "fly on the wall."

Which character as performed by Mike Chamberlain was your favorite?

The campaign staff

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The end when all hell was breaking loose.

Great insight

What made the experience of listening to The End of the Line: Romney vs.