Listen to Best Sellers Audiobooks in History, 21st Century

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Title: The Age of American Unreason

Author: Susan Jacoby

Narrator: Cassandra Campbell

Format: Unabridged

Length: 14 hrs and 56 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-01-08

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 204 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Disdain for logic and evidence defines a pervasive malaise fostered by the mass media, triumphalist religious fundamentalism, mediocre public education, a dearth of fair-minded public intellectuals on the right and the left, and, above all, a lazy and credulous public.

Jacoby offers an unsparing indictment of the American addiction to infotainment - from television to the Web - and cites this toxic dependency as the major element distinguishing our current age of unreason from earlier outbreaks of American anti-intellectualism and antirationalism.

With reading on the decline and scientific and historical illiteracy on the rise, an increasingly ignorant public square is dominated by debased media-driven language and received opinion.

At this critical political juncture, nothing could be more important than recognizing the "overarching crisis of memory and knowledge" described in this impassioned, tough-minded book, which challenges Americans to face the painful truth about what the flights from reason has cost us as individuals and as a nation.

Critic Reviews:

"Smart, well researched, and frequently cogent." (The New York Times)

"Electric with fearless interpretation and fueled by passionate concern...brilliant, incendiary, and, one hopes, corrective." (Booklist)

Members Reviews:

Interesting, but explanation by redescription

So, what did I learn from this book?

1) A lot of facts about stuff that has happened in America. Interesting enough.

2) I have heard a defense of middle-brow morals from the late 50s and early 60s which was pretty compelling (although, it is not coincidental these are the morals with which Jacoby was raised).

3) That the Beatles aren't as good as Chopin (for which there is never a cogent argument besides that "it's obvious" or "Paul Simon doesn't think he's a poet").

4) And that TV is evil and has ruined our society (maybe to some extent, but is that really explaining anything? The question is why has it made us anti-intellectual vs. the Europeans).

I would have to say the anti-Beatles argument really sums up the weak points of this book. While its strengths are in its recitation of the intellectual history of America, its weaknesses are that it usually just hinges on, "well, come on, the Beatles are pop music, not as good as classical, come on!" It's not particularly moving as an argument, frankly.

That Jacoby can never separate her own personal tastes for the intellectual life (NPR, Russian Literature and wine and cheese) from her story about why America has been dumbed down to an almost comical level is a true shame. Because even though the topic could be a fascinating explanation of what's gone wrong with American minds, the book reads more like a personal indictment of things Jacoby doesn't like. Right-wing neocons? Yup she doesn't like 'em. Academic politics? She doesn't like 'em (and boy does she go on about it!). Pop culture? She doesn't like it.

In sum, it's very well read and very interesting, but never goes beneath a surface level of vitriol against the intellectual life to which Jacoby clearly aspires.

A very bad match!

Susan Jacoby's book is intelligent, thought-provoking, and worthy of anyone's time.

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Title: Sundown Towns

Subtitle: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism

Author: James Loewen

Narrator: Norman Dietz

Format: Unabridged

Length: 26 hrs and 21 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-27-08

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 96 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Professor emeritus at the University of Vermont, James W. Loewen won the National Book Award for his New York Times best seller Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong.

Critic Reviews:

"Deserves to become an instant classic in the fields of American race relations, urban studies and cultural geography." (Washington Post Book World)

"Sure to become a landmark in several fields and a sure bet among Loewen's many fans." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

A required audiobook.

This book was a meticulous study into how blacks were treated in the north after about the 1890's when much of the gains made after emancipation began to reverse themselves and blacks, although free, found themselves in encreasinly hostile territory as a result of white backlash. Primary documents along with first hand accounts of whites living during the time solidify the authors claims. It would be better to listen to this along with the actual book inorder that one may refer to the extensive notes that are not in the audio version.

This book is inportant in that it helps us remember exactly how racist we were and may still be. Many people have a cartoonish view of what racism is, that it must be overt and blatant to qualify. However, although racism was quite overt in the period covered in this book, one can see how racism became more covert and subtle in recent times and how it hides in the structural and institutional realities today.

A book not for the faint of heart.

Honest Reportage on American Racial's Shame

This is perhaps the best oral account and history of American racial shame. From former presidents to the American businesses, Loewen exposed the U.S. for atonement. This audiotape will make modern day racists look more like holocaust denials. Throughtout this audiotape, Loewen used facts, not assumption to buttress his objective point of views.

Sundown Towns is a must read for anyone--both Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and Native Americans who are seeking self-liberation.

This tape will make you cry, and proud at the same time. We (as Americans) have a long way to go.

Loewen, thank you!

Powerful

I read a lot (thanks Audible!) and I have many books I have recommended because they were informative and surprising, many because they were simply entertaining, but I have rarely called a book "important". This one is.

FIrst, I studied history in school and yet I had never heard of this pervasive and systemic history of racism in America. The thousands of towns and whole counties that Mr. Loewen uncovers and discusses is staggering. I never thought of the overwhelmingly white towns and suburbs I have traveled through in my life as having a history of being "all white on purpose", but I have been to some of the places he discusses. On top of that, his research is impeccable and the stories of violence, arson, lynchings and non-violent attempts to drive whole groups of people from whole areas of our country is staggering. To this day we live in a world shaped by the policies of these Sundown Towns. And we don't even know it.

Secondly, he does not just make a case for the history of these events and he doesn't just examine how they existed and spread throughout mostly the NORTH of our country, he also strongly links this history of racism to effects in our daily lives TODAY.

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Title: 3 Para

Author: Patrick Bishop

Narrator: Christian Rodska

Format: Abridged

Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-10-07

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 8 votes

Genres: History, 21st Century

Publisher's Summary:

Around parched, dusty outposts reliant on a limited number of helicopters for food and ammunition re-supply, troops were subjected to relentless Taliban attacks, as well as energy-sapping 50 degree heat and Spartan conditions. At the end of the tour, the Taliban offensive aimed at driving the British and Afghan Government troops out of Helmand had been tactically defeated. But 3 Para paid a high price: 14 soldiers and one interpreter were killed, and 46 wounded.

3 Para tells the stories of the men and women who took part in this extraordinary and largely unreported saga. Best-selling author Patrick Bishop was given exclusive access to the soldiers whose tales of courage and endurance provide an unforgettable portrait of one of the world's finest and most fascinating fighting regiments, and a remarkable band of warriors. Their bravery was reflected in the array of gallantry medals that were bestowed on their return, including the Victoria Cross awarded to Corporal Bryan Budd and the George Cross won by Corporal Mark Wright, both of whom were killed winning their awards. 3 Para's saga of comradeship, courage, and fortitude is set to become a classic.

Critic Reviews:

"Wonderfully compelling...a fast-paced story of incredible bravery that at times reads like a thriller." (Sunday Times)

"Bishop gives a gripping insight into deployment in Afghanistan last year of 3 Para...written with the fluent, rich and engaging fashion typical of the author's as a journalist." (Times)

"Patrick Bishop's riveting account of 3 Para's bitter little war is based on extensive interviews...he presents an inspiring story of courage, discipline and¿selfless comradeship...the frenzy of close¿quarters combat...is captured particularly vividly¿fast¿paced and absorbing." (Daily Mail)

Members Reviews:

Gripping Thriller

No one would have believed what 3 Para were about to get involved in. Nothing could have prepared them for the battle of Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The descriptions of the battle group plans and the individual accounts make this a gripping and taut thriller which keeps you hooked throughout. The various language and voices used just adds to the authenticity of the stories told. I have much respect for our troops as an vetran myself, but this story tells of the true hell from the 'skull cinema' of the troops on the ground. Respect!

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Title: The Nuclear Jihadist

Author: Douglas Frantz, Catherine Collins

Narrator: Bob Craig

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 hrs and 28 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-03-07

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 26 votes

Genres: History, 21st Century

Publisher's Summary:

Khan's loose-knit organization was and still may be a nuclear Wal-Mart, selling weapons blueprints, parts, and the expertise to assemble the works into a do-it-yourself bomb kit. Amazingly, American authorities could have halted his operation, but they chose instead to watch and wait. Khan proved that the international safeguards the world relied on no longer worked.

Journalists Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins tell this alarming tale of international intrigue through the eyes of the European and American officials who suspected Khan, tracked him, and ultimately shut him down, but only after the nuclear genie was long out of the bottle.

Critic Reviews:

"Thorough research and brisk prose propel a terrifying tale of greed, weaponry and geopolitics." (Kirkus Reviews)

Members Reviews:

Worth Reading for the Knowledge

This book won't sweep you along with breathless plot or great characterization, but it is worth it for the information contained. If the U.S. is ever nuked by Al Qaeda, you can bet that this book describes the origins of the attack. Those who have read Legacy of Ashes won't be surprised by the willingness of the CIA to cater to the political whims of the moment, and to present a skewed version of the facts, well, outright lie, to please the administration. The narrator, Bob Craig, has an easy-to-listen-to voice, but I was annoyed by the larger than normal number of mispronunciations. He really should know how to pronounce hyperbolic, dais, cadre, Reza Pahlavi, and at least half a dozen more in the first half of the book alone. I realize that not all persons are familiar enough with foreign languages to correctly pronounce names, but it's irritating for a professional narrator to mangle German names so badly.

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Title: Curveball

Subtitle: Spies, Lies, and the Con Man Who Caused a War

Author: Bob Drogin

Narrator: Erik Singer

Format: Abridged

Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-25-07

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 42 votes

Genres: History, 21st Century

Publisher's Summary:

In 1999 a mysterious Iraqi applies for political asylum in Munich. The young chemical engineer offers compelling testimony of Saddam Hussein's secret program to build weapons of mass destruction. He claims that the dictator has constructed germ factories on trucks, creating a deadly hell on wheels. His grateful German hosts pass his account to their CIA counterparts but deny the Americans access to their superstar informant. The Americans nevertheless give the defector his unforgettable code name: Curveball.

Curveball reads like an investigative spy thriller. Fast-paced and engrossing, it is an inside story of intrigue and incompetence at the highest levels of government. At a time when Americans demand answers, this authoritative audiobook provides them with clarity and conviction.

Members Reviews:

George W. Bush lied...

... So often the claim by partisans who are more interested in their party than the nation. Mr. Drogin's inimitable research encapsulates the failures that led to the US invasion in Iraq. While the Bush administration is not innocent, Drogin's narrative really clears the air on where the fault should be... the ego-centric culture of the CIA.

Being someone in the know, I'm disgusted by the entire thing, but empathetic to how it happened. I think the community has addressed many of the 9-11 and Iraq war Intelligence errors, but only time will tell.

This account is a non-partisan examination of all the key players. Liberals should read this so they don't sound so stupid and partisan when they try to smear W. Conservatives should read this to realize that W's administration created the culture in which the intel was allowed to fail. In short everyone can learn something from this, if only they get beyond their preconceptions and biases... the very lesson of the book.

Curveball

Great book... This is one of those books that makes you go "Hummm....." I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know the "truth" as this author puts it.

Its amazing to me (maybe not to others) how messed up the whole hunt for WMD's was and how gung ho people in the CIA and other foreign intelligence agencies were.

Great Book!

Interesting read on what could have been an otherwise boring topic. I read it for research purposes to add context to many things that were going on in the intelligence field at the time.

scary what a prideful person can do

amazing book, it is quite te horror story on human pride and inability to accept a mistake and defeat

Fascinating story - But really worrying!

What made the experience of listening to Curveball the most enjoyable?

Bob Drogin tells the story well - not even letting the 'Good Guys' entirely off the hook! The facts have been meticulously researched and carefully laid out for the reader, layer by layer, so that you see how the dreadful truth became clear to all - even those who blinded themselves to the truth.

What about Erik Singers performance did you like?

Erik read very well - He had clearly studied the material and his pronunciation of the plethora of difficult names was excellent and clear (even to us English!).

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Title: Dave Barry's History of the Millenium (So Far)

Author: Dave Barry

Narrator: Patrick Frederic

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 29 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-20-07

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 139 votes

Genres: History, 21st Century

Publisher's Summary:

In November 2000, the skies darken over Florida as hundreds of thousands of lawyers parachute into the state from bombers, while in 2002, the federal budget surplus mysteriously disappears ("Everybody looks high and low for it, but the darned thing is gone!"). In April 2003, no WMD have been found, but investigators do discover three barrels of lard, described by U.S. intelligence analysts as "a heart attack waiting to happen", while in 2004, an already troubled nation receives an even greater blow: the sight of Janet Jackson's exposed nipple. In 2005, Katrina, Cindy, Harriet, Martha, Valerie, Paris, Michael Jackson,(women just got crazy that year) while in November 2006... well, something happened; it'll come back to us.

Plus, an extra added bonus: Dave Barry's complete history of the millennium so recently (and unlamentedly) gone: Crusaders! Vikings! Peter Minuit's purchase of Manhattan for $24, plus $167,000 a month in maintenance fees! The invention of pizza by Leonardo da Vinci and of the computer by Charles Babbage (who died in 1871 still waiting to talk to somebody from Technical Support)!

Filled with facts and commentary that will amaze your friends and confound your enemies (yes, we mean you, Osama!), this is the book that will finally earn Dave Barry his second Pulitzer Prize. And about darned time, too.

Critic Reviews:

"Breezy and entertaining." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Monotonous

This book has the same writing pattern over and over. A paragraph about a topic and then a humorous sentence at the end. It would have been great if it was a newspaper article in length. But its just too much to listen too for a whole book's worth of this type of thing.

Disappointing retreads of his year's end columns

Would you try another book from Dave Barry and/or Patrick Frederic?

I used to love Dave Barry's work - to the point that I'd be laughing out loud while other people were looking at my strangely. Unfortunately this latest work is just tired. It's the same old, same old. It would have to be another format for me to consider buying another of his books.

What do you think your next listen will be?

I'm listening to The Godfather now.I never got the chance to read it years ago.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The wry observations just got old. It just wasn't that funny and that's why I buy Dave Barry books - I want to laugh.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

disappointment

A Great Listen

A great performance of Barry's classic humor. Don't listen at night, or you'll keep waking your spouse, laughing.

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Title: In Defense of Our America

Subtitle: The Fight for Civil Liberties in the Age of Terror

Author: Anthony D. Romero, Dina Temple-Raston

Narrator: Michael Prichard

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-30-07

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 11 votes

Genres: History, 21st Century

Publisher's Summary:

In a narrative that allows the "characters" to tell the story, In Defense of Our America offers the first inside look at the Lindh family as they saw their son and brother, John Walker Lindh, emerge as a symbol of America's battle against Islamic fundamentalism. It follows Joshua Dratel, a defense attorney at the center of many legal battles over the rights of individuals suspected of terrorism, and tells the story of a modern-day Scopes trial in Dover, Pennsylvania. The audiobook also tracks the case of Matthew Limon, a gay teenager sentenced to 17 years for having consensual oral sex with a younger teenage boy in Kansas, and looks behind the reports of a broken judicial system in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

In Defense of Our America chronicles the stories of an array of colorful characters to illustrate the state of play in today's fight for civil liberties, including Cecelia Fire Thunder, the Sioux president who wanted to open an abortion clinic on her South Dakota reservation, and high-school science teacher Bertha Spahr, who defied a school board dominated by fundamentalist Christians by taking a stand against "intelligent design".

Members Reviews:

Very timely subject considering Ferguson etc!

Great book on the fight for our civil liberties! It was hard to read in some places (for the subject matter), but a MUST considering the racism that obviously still exists in our America today!

You should read this book.

I watched Anthony Romero on CSPAN2 BookTV pitching this book at a book show in Chicago. He recommended it as a book you might give someone who rolls his eyes at you when you say you support the ACLU.

The book is a good consolidation of how civil liberties have become victims in the war on terror. I'm a politically moderate, active duty military officer and didn't start reading this book until I was convinced that I could do it with an open mind. By that I mean that I sought to eliminate most prejudicial skepticism, since I don't believe any human being can eliminate all of it.

The book hops back and forth a bit, sometimes making it hard to follow. But knowing that the book is designed to be a fairly concise synopsis for a skeptical audience makes me understand why he did it this way. If you dwell on the same subject to long and the reader disagrees with the author, perhaps you can keep the reader engaged by mixing the stories.

The one annoying thing that Mr. Romero does in his book pertains to the abortion argument. He seemingly laments when an abortionist is referred to as a "baby-killer", but in turn summarizes anyone who opposes abortion as "anti-choice" and "the Jerry Falwells." In my opinion, intelligent discussion precludes the use of loaded language, as it only serves to get an emotional rise out of people. I am disgusted by Pro-Lifers who call Pro-Choicers murderers just as I am disgusted by Pro-Choicers who call Pro-Lifers crusaders or fascists. My personal jury is still out on the abortion issue, and when I listen to so many people with an inability to argue without exchanging barbs, I remember why.

The only other thing that I'd like to add is that Mr. Romero rightfully criticizes former Defense Secretary Rumsfeld for his role in justifying torture and inhumane treatment of detainees. But I do object to Mr.

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Title: Inhuman Bondage

Subtitle: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the New World

Author: David Brion Davis

Narrator: Raymond Todd

Format: Unabridged

Length: 16 hrs and 43 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-30-07

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 189 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

David Brion Davis is recognized as the leading authority on slavery in the Western world. His books have won such awards as the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.

Critic Reviews:

"A tour de force....explaining what has made slavery's consequences so much a part of contemporary American culture and politics." (New York Times Book Review)

"The broader perspective on American slavery, its social and economic impact on the growth of the U.S., forces readers to face the contradictions between our democratic ideals and economic impulses." (Booklist)

"Davis...succeeds heroically in wrestling a vast amount of material from diverse cultures. The result is a sinewy book that combines erudition and everyday detail into a gripping, often surprising, narrative." (Wall Street Journal)

Members Reviews:

Very Useful Contribution

This book will shock many who know little about the enslavement of Africans. Although the book addresses the enslavement of other peoples and also the system of indenture, it does so largely to give colour to its discussion about the enslavement of Africans and the creation and perpetuation of ant-Black racism. There is so much material about this period in history that I wish that Audible would make more material available. There is a slew of material on Audible about the Revolutionary War and the Civil War but most of it is told from the perspectives of great men or the battlefield. While it commences before the Revolutionary War, this book speaks to some of the most important social forces that gave rise to those wars and that indeed have given rise to modern America.

While some of the material in the book has been well covered elsewhere, some of it is rare and rarer yet have been attempts to bring to together a number of the disparate parts under this cover. The book is extremely well read.

A History That I Learned Nowhere Else

What did you love best about Inhuman Bondage?

This book taught me more about the history of slavery than I have learned in a lifetime. It's a fascinating story, with perspective about the story of slavery that I thoroughly enjoyed learning. Slavery has been interwoven in the human experience for thousands of years, but the evolution and development of race slavery was a special case. This book is one of the best and most interesting history books that I read or listened to.

What about Raymond Todds performance did you like?

Todd has a great reading voice. I enjoyed listening to him.

A historically rigorous portrait of slavery

This is a wonderful and fascinating book which paints a detailed portrait of the intellectual and economic history of slavery in the new world. For me, Davis' dry style adds force to his treatment of the repellant subject. This book is relatively sparse on details of slave's everyday lives, instead it focuses on the ways in which the forced labor of African slaves was essential for the profitability of New World colonies and their successors, especially the American South. I believe that this focus prevents the reader from viewing slavery as the aberrant work of a few slave owning sadists and forces her to grapple with its foundational importance to the U.S. and other New World nations.

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Title: Taking Charge

Subtitle: The Johnson White House Tapes, 1963-1964

Author: Michael R. Beschloss

Narrator: Michael R. Beschloss

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-07-07

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 122 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

Taking Charge brings you into the room with an American political legend, still hated and revered a quarter century after his death. We hear Lyndon Johnson as he schemes and blusters, rewards and punishes, and reveals a bedrock core of unshakable political beliefs.

The only president to record his private conversations from his first day in office, LBJ ordered these tapes locked in a vault until at least the year 2023. But now they have been unsealed, providing a close-up look at a president taking unprecedented power, from John F. Kennedy's murder in November 1963 to Johnson's campaign for a landslide victory.

Taking Charge is filled with revelations about the full-blooded Texan behind the public image. You will hear LBJ:

Taking Charge gives us an unprecedented look into a crucial presidency that continues to shape our lives today. In LBJ's own words, it is history "with the bark off".

Critic Reviews:

"These secretly recorded conversations between President Lyndon Johnson and members of his family, his staff, and the troubled nation he was governing constitute one of the most exciting audio programs of the decade, invaluable to anyone who is interested in history, politics, or the workings of human nature." (Library Journal)

Members Reviews:

Great as an audiobook

I agree with another reviewer who said this was one book that works better as an audio book than in print - for anyone interested in this period of American history, the American presidency and/or LBJ this is well worth listening to. The original tapes are fascinating and Beschloss' commentary is generally good. I highly recommend this audiobook.

Great use of audiobook format and primary sources

Listening to this book is such a wonderful and unique experience I can't imagine what it is like to read it in print. Much of the power of the material would be lost. Taking Charge is made for the audiobook format. It is a great use of primary source historical materials. Beschloss sets up each snippet of LBJ's conversation and then you get to hear LBJ himself. Fascinating and fun. Great listening.

A Truly Original Experience

This is where Audible transcends regular books. There is a profound difference between reading history and actually hearing it from the mouths of those who uttered it when it was actually taking place. Hearing the tone of a person's voice alone can tell volumes about what's being said, and the atmosphere that accompanies it, and listening in on the conversations of Johnson in one of the most tumultuous periods in American history is spellbinding. I can't recommend this enough for history buffs.

Insightful look at LBJ

Interesting look at LBJ, both the man and president. Audio quality is sometimes difficult, but personal and professional perspectives are excellent. Look forward to successive volumes.

Michael Beschloss is one of our great authors.

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

Yes, the subject matter, the research, the superb writing - all excellent and hard to put down. Or in this case, turn off.

Who was your favorite character and why?

LBJ of course, for his political skills in getting some of the most important legislation in the history of the USA passed by Congress.

What does Michael R.

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Title: The Supreme Court

Subtitle: The Personalities and Rivalries That Defined America

Author: Jeffrey Rosen

Narrator: Alan Sklar

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-26-07

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 152 votes

Genres: History, American

Publisher's Summary:

The Supreme Court is the most mysterious branch of government, and yet the Court is at root a human institution, made up of very bright people with very strong egos, for whom political and judicial conflicts often become personal.

In this compelling work of character-driven history, Jeffrey Rosen recounts the history of the Court through the personal and philosophical rivalries on the bench that transformed the law - and by extension, our lives. The story begins with the great Chief Justice John Marshall and President Thomas Jefferson, cousins from the Virginia elite whose differing visions of America set the tone for the Court's first hundred years. The tale continues after the Civil War with Justices John Marshall Harlan and Oliver Wendell Holmes, who clashed over the limits of majority rule. Rosen then examines the Warren Court era through the lens of the liberal icons Hugo Black and William O. Douglas, for whom personality loomed larger than ideology. He concludes with a pairing from our own era, the conservatives William H. Rehnquist and Antonin Scalia, only one of whom was able to build majorities in support of his views.

Through these four rivalries, Rosen brings to life the perennial conflict that has animated the Court, between those justices guided by strong ideology and those who forge coalitions and adjust to new realities. He illuminates the relationship between judicial temperament and judicial success or failure. The stakes are nothing less than the future of American jurisprudence.

Members Reviews:

Excellent history

While not a comprehensive history of the Supreme Court, this book does illuminate key periods in the court's history by tying the judicial philosophies of justices such as Marshall and Warren to those of contemporary justices such as O'Connor and Scalia. The book is succinctly written and well-read, and while an academic work, it avoids being too dry. A must-read for anyone interested in legal philosophy or American history.

Supreme listen

You would not be reading this review if you were not interested in the subject. So I can highly recommend the book to you. It is well written with biographical outlines of the personalities involved and the case histories that exemplify the outcomes both at the time and in retrospect. Personal views of the author are evident but do not detract from the content.

Sklars narration makes the book. A lesser narrator could have made the authors lecture like presentation dry. I will look for more of his work.

A must for Court Watchers

Although Rosen's personal bias comes through at times, his perspective on the history of the United States Surpeme Court is interesting. If you are a "Court Watcher" you will find the last chapter on Rehnquist/Saclia and the epilogue with excerpts from an interview with the new CHief Justice particularly interesting. Historians will appreciate the earlier chapters.

A lot of fun.

No longer are these people just bobble heads on top of black robes. This is such a guilty pleasure. To discover that our justices are regular people with all of the quirks and brillance that make us human makes it so worth the download. Beware! If you are a Supreme Court geek like I am your just gonna want to know more.