Listen to New Releases Audiobooks in Nonfiction, Social Sciences

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Shallow Grave

Subtitle: A Horrific Story of a Child Abused

Author: J. G. Porter

Narrator: Glenn Langohr

Format: Unabridged

Length: 46 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-29-13

Publisher: Kimberley Lynn Reese

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: Nonfiction, Social Sciences

Publisher's Summary:

Child abuse causes many problems both physical and mental to these future American voters and possible leaders. As the youth goes, so goes the country!

All books that are published from J. G. Porter are from serial killers, death row inmates. and prisoners in their own words. Some are memoirs, some are autobiographies, and some books are what they wanted to write about. They are all true crime.

Fifty percent of the audiobook sales will be donated to help victims of abuse. My goal is to help pay for sessions of counseling. Thank you for your support!

Members Reviews:

dont bother

I was surprised when this book landed in my mailbox..at first I thought the package was empty because the book was so thin...I thought..this must be a joke...no where does it say its only about 40 pages long....was looking for an all day reader...instead I finished in about 20 minutes...was waste of my money....I do however feel for Austin...the writing quality was terrible...and it went by so fast mentioning all these different names my head was spinning as to who was who in this book...even though it was more like a chapter then a story they must have mentioned at least 20 characters....wish I would have read reviews before purchasing

This a story of a family - warts and all.

This book tells the visual story of a family, warts and all, set in backwoods USA in the 1950's - 1960's. The author tells the story through a relative of Austin's in the manner and ways of everyday life as it was for her. Eg: "My momma was a brute. She was known in town as a brawler. Not even my daddy messed with her." This she says of her own mother who incidentally was one of the good guys in the story! Another eg: "I whipped Chuck's butt good that day. Hanging his younger cousin like that could have killed him, I explained to him." The saddest part was Austin's words as a fourteen year old: "I wish I had died that day."

This book is a true look into a culture and way of life that could never be understood unless written exactly as it is, told by someone who lived it. The beauty of the story is not that it is perfectly written, but that it isn't! I can really see Maryanne and her family and her life, exactly how she portrays it. They tried and failed poor Austin who was terribly neglected at a time when it was rude to interfere. As Maryanne says at the end: "I wish I could have done more". Hindsight is a wonderful thing. This story is another case of the abused becoming the abuser. We need to stop the genetic cycle of abuse. Read the story. Don't expect perfection, but do expect insight into a very real family and a boy's life that was terrible from beginning to end. Read it and allow his story to be heard, so that something good may come of it.

Sad

Everything about this is sad. Someone else commented on how poorly it was written, but not everyone is Hemingway. The point was to tell Austin's story. The author completed that task. I would have liked to have known more. More about the boy, more about his sister and what, if any, justice was had for his death.

OMG

The names I want to call the thing that gave birth to this precious child Austin. Far too often they (the incubator) are allowed to have child after child that is tortured, neglected and abused, while childless ladies, of that time especially, who were lower middle-class were denied adoption.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Sincerity

Subtitle: How a Moral Ideal Born Five Hundred Years Ago Inspired Religious Wars, Modern Art, Hipster Chic, and the Curious Notion that We All Have Something to Say (No Matter How Dull)

Author: R. Jay Magill Jr.

Narrator: Michael Butler Murray

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-29-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Nonfiction, Social Sciences

Publisher's Summary:

A Wall Street Journal Top-Ten Nonfiction Book of 2012 and a New York Times Editors' Choice.

A cultural and intellectual history of sincerity, from its emergence during the Protestant Reformation to its present incarnations and adversaries. People have long been duped by "straight-talking" politicians, confessional talk-show hosts, and falsely earnest advertisers. As sincerity has become suspect, the upright and honest have taken refuge in irony. Yet our struggle for authenticity in back-to-the-woods movements, folksy songwriting, and a craving for plainspoken presidential candidates betrays our longing for the holy grail of sincerity.

Bringing deep historical perspective and a brilliant contemporary spin to Lionel Trilling's 1972 Sincerity and Authenticity, R. Jay Magill Jr. argues that we can't shake sincerity's deep theological past, emotional resonance, and the sense of conscience it has carved in the Western soul. From Protestant theology to paintings by crazy people, from French satire to the anti-hipster movement, Magill navigates history, religion, art, and politics to create a portrait of an ideal that, despite its abuse, remains a strange magnetic north in our secular moral compass.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume

Author: Jennifer O'Connell (editor)

Narrator: Eve Bianco, Allison McLemore, Therese Plummer, Julia Motyka, Daniella Rabbani, Alicia Harding, Carol Monda, Lauren Fortgang

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-14-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: Nonfiction, Social Sciences

Publisher's Summary:

"I wonder if Judy Blume really knows how many girls' lives she affected. I wonder if she knows that at least one of her books made a grown woman finally feel like she'd been a normal girl all along...."

Whether laughing to tears reading Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great or clamoring for more unmistakable "me too!" moments in Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, girls all over the world have been touched by Judy Blume's poignant coming-of-age stories. Now, in this anthology of essays, 24 notable female authors write straight from the heart about the unforgettable novels that left an indelible mark on their childhoods and still influence them today. After growing up from Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing into Smart Women, these writers pay tribute, through their reflections and most cherished memories, to one of the most beloved authors of all time.

Editorial Reviews:

To say Judy Blume has helped a few girls through adolescence is a gross understatement. The 24 essays collected here, from some of todays more celebrated female authors, reaffirm just how important Blume has been in the lives of girls. And that the team of narrators assembled for Everything I Needed to Know about Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume is spot-on - deploying sarcasm, mischief, and enthusiasm at just the right moments - should come as no surprise given the reach of Blumes influence. Whether its a serious issue like divorce or just sneaking under the covers to read Forever, listeners will enjoy hearing these essays on one of our most celebrated young-adult authors.

Members Reviews:

Stupid little snips

This book wasnt for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I have no clue.

Has Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume turned you off from other books in this genre?

It has turned me off from listening to books that share other people's stories on how books have changed their lives.

What didnt you like about the narratorss performance?

The narrators were all far to dramatic about how Blume's books affected them. My goodness, I was certainly in love with Blume books as a young girl, but come on they really weren't life altering or changing in such a major way as these narrators were depicting.

You didnt love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

None that I couldn't have gotten by looking up the titles of Blume's book online.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Mission Adulthood

Subtitle: How the 20-Somethings of Today Are Rewriting the Playbook on Work, Love, and Life

Author: Hannah Seligson

Narrator: Mia Chiaromonte

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-10-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: Nonfiction, Social Sciences

Publisher's Summary:

Gen Y has been picked apart by analysts, statistics, and trend reports, which often portray 20-somethings in negative, one-dimensional terms like "entitled" and "whiners". In this thought-provoking new book that aims to dispel these stereotypes, journalist and contributor to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Forbes, Hannah Seligson chronicles the lives of seven individuals who embody this generation, exploring their challenges and ambitions in vivid detail and sketching a picture, through their eyes, of what life is actually like for young adults. Through these first-hand stories, listeners will discover the transformational effect this enterprising, open-minded, innovative, and diverse generation is having on society.

Members Reviews:

Bad

Awful book. Interviewed millennials with horrible personalities using bad rhetoric to convince older people that millennials are not that bad.

Refreshing glimpse from a better perspective

As Ms. Seligson notes, most of the stories written about those in early adulthood are written by those that are far removed from not only the culture, but also the experience of coming of age in these years. Her in depth report profiles several very interesting young people and then allows the reader to make their own judgement. Sure her selections are well-cast and there is no way to write the profiles without highlighting certain qualities, it is refreshing to see the younger generation explained from the inside. This generation has a lot to offer that previous ones did not and the recession has hit them the hardest, but left them fighting to make a difference in the world and their own lives, and it is touching to see the character of Millennial so beautifully explained. I would recommend this book for the younger generation, but even moreso for the previous generations looking to harness and wield the powerful population base that is available and looking for jobs. It is a quick read, but the depth comes from the several different perspectives providing a fuller picture, which is a nice way to keep from generalizing. Highly recommended!

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children

Subtitle: The Global Quest to Eradicate the Use of Child Soldiers

Author: Romeo Dallaire

Narrator: Barnabas Dee

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-07-13

Publisher: Audible Studios for Bloomsbury

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Nonfiction, Social Sciences

Publisher's Summary:

As the leader of the ill-fated United Nations peacekeeping force in Rwanda, Lieutenant-General Romo Dallaire came face-to-face with the horrifying reality of child soldiers during the genocide of 1994. Since then the incidence of child soldiers has proliferated in conflicts around the world: they are cheap, plentiful, expendable, with an incredible capacity, once drugged and brainwashed, for both loyalty and barbarism.

The dilemma of the adult soldier who faces them is poignantly expressed in this book's title: when children are shooting at you, they are soldiers, but as soon as they are wounded or killed, they are children once again. Believing that not one of us should tolerate a child being used in this fashion, Dallaire has made it his mission to end the use of child soldiers. Where Ishmael Beah's A Long Way Gone gave us wrenching testimony of the devastating experience of being a child soldier, Dallaire offers intellectually daring and enlightened approaches to the child soldier phenomenon, and insightful, empowering solutions to eradicate it.

Members Reviews:

Dallaire has been there

I empathize with some of the three-star reviewers. Dallaire's book shifts focus several times: from his experiences, to an (imaginary) child's point of view, to a clear-eyed look at the problem, to some of his work to fight the problem -- which is open-ended because nobody has come close to solving the problem of child soldiers. Specifically, it's a bit confusing whether the part told from a child's view is a real history of a specific person; or a composite history; or a gedanken story.

Nevertheless, I'm giving this book five stars. A book is about something. This book is about child soldiers in the Great Lakes section of Central Africa and other African countries. Dallaire has served in UN forces in this area and has experiences with child soldiers on and off the battlefield.

So, even though the style falls short in my eyes, there is plenty of substance -- easily worth one's time and attention.

Thought Provoking and Confronting

LTGEN (Ret'd) Romeo Dallaire has written a thought provoking and confronting book on the subject of the use of child soldiers by many non-state actors around the world. This book explores the widespread use of child soldiers, their recruitment, exploitation and the myriad of legal, moral and psychological consequences of that exploitation.

In the beginning, the author examines his own youth and transition from boyhood to adolescent through to his cadet ship and graduation into the Canadian military as an example of his moral and psychological development and experiences in life. To contrast that transition through life, he then visits the experiences of boys and girls who are often forcibly taken from their families to become child soldiers and the distortion of their childhood into a horrific journey through drug induced rituals and murder to being trained to become a killing machine. Dallaire uses the term 'weapons system' to describe these children when they emerge to undertake their work.

In his book he examines how children are 'recruited' or more correctly, forced, into becoming a child soldier; their training and their experiences as a child soldier.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Wild Duck Chase

Subtitle: Inside the Strange and Wonderful World of the Federal Duck Stamp Contest

Author: Martin J. Smith

Narrator: David Pevsner

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-01-13

Publisher: Audible Studios for Bloomsbury

Genres: Nonfiction, Social Sciences

Publisher's Summary:

The Wild Duck Chase takes listeners into the peculiar world of competitive duck painting as it played out during the 2010 Federal Duck Stamp Contest - the only juried art competition run by the U.S. government. Since 1934, the duck stamp, which is bought annually by hunters to certify their hunting license, has generated more than $750 million, and 98 cents of each collected dollar has been used to help purchase or lease 5.3 million acres of waterfowl habitat in the U.S. - the core of the National Wildlife Refuge System.

As Martin J. Smith chronicles in his revealing narrative, within the microcosm of the duck stamp contest are intense ideological and cultural clashes between the mostly rural hunters who buy the stamps and the mostly suburban and urban birders and conservationists who decry the hunting of waterfowl. At issue is preserving the habitat of ducks and other waterfowl for all to enjoy: If the number of hunters continues to decrease - and unless nature lovers support the duck stamp program - this landmark conservation effort faces possible extinction.

The competition also fuels dynamic tensions between competitors and judges, and among the invariably ambitious, sometimes obsessive, and often eccentric artists - including Minnesotas three fabled Hautman brothers, the "New York Yankees" of competitive duck painting. Martin Smith takes readers down an arcane and uniquely American rabbit hole into a wonderland of talent, ego, art, controversy, scandal, big money, and migratory waterfowl.

Members Reviews:

Government on a shoe-string budget and is trusted to handle millions of dollars for this purpose is amazing. No money is wasted

If you are a Duck Stamp collector, duck hunter or into wildlife conservation you should read this book! Since 1934, the Federal Duck Stamp program has done more than any government program in history to reclaim and rebuild lost or damaged habitat not only for ducks but for other wildlife. The sheer fact that this program is run by the U.S. Government on a shoe-string budget and is trusted to handle millions of dollars for this purpose is amazing. No money is wasted, it all goes to where it is supposed to go. Social Security and any other big government program should be run like this program! The book is a great read and takes you behind the scenes of the Federal Duck Stamp, "Million Dollar Duck" painting competition. The winner will have his or her painting reduced in size and made into a duck stamp for the following year. The author did a real nice job of incorporating his interviews with the Duck Stamp artists into the many chapters of this book. You will not be disappointed!

The big theme of the book is for future generations of hunters, stamp collectors and environmentalists is to buy duck stamps and continue to support this fine program and I would be remiss if I did not say, hey go out and not only purchase this book but also purchase a Federal Duck Stamp for yourself and also a Junior Duck Stamp and continue to help fund a very successful program!

They loved it. Great read

Bought for my parents. They loved it. Great read. Book was as promised. Thanks!

Quack! Quack!

This a nicely presented history of the Federal duck stamp program, written for a general audience, not just hunters - who support this program. The politics of the early initiation were fascinating. J.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Welcome to the Urban Revolution

Subtitle: How Cities Are Changing the World

Author: Jeb Brugmann

Narrator: Eric Martin

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-27-13

Publisher: Audible Studios for Bloomsbury

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: Nonfiction, Social Sciences

Publisher's Summary:

The revolutions that have taken place around the world during the last 50 years - the ousting of Marcos and the Shah of Iran; the fall of communist regimes in Eastern Europe; the end of Apartheid in South Africa; and, indeed, the civil rights revolution in America - were fundamentally urban revolutions. They were the revolutions of Manila, Teheran, Gdansk, Leipzig, Berlin, Johannesburg, and Detroit, muscular assertions of new classes of city-dwellers intent on ending their marginalization as they struggled to build their new livelihoods, freedoms, and communities in cities.

In Welcome to the Urban Revolution, Jeb Brugmann argues that the city itself had become our era's medium for revolutionary change: not only political, but technological as well. Though we think of them as a hotbed for poverty and crime, cities are not just a source of problems and conflict. They can also be a source of solutions to the major problems of our day: poverty, social inequality, and environmental sustainability. Brugmann here explains what is unique and important about cities and how they grow, the ways global issues are being solved in individual cities, and how real people are living with urban migration, day in and day out.

Members Reviews:

He is really on to something

I think Jeb Brugmann has some interesting ideas that are very important to the future vitality of our way of life. His ideas and observations about what does and doesn't work in cities and neighborhoods around the world should be required reading for anyone in the urban planning/public policy field. This is a great book on the city based view of globalization. It is also well written and a pleasure to read.

Moving on to a New Era in Urbanism

Jeb Brugmann does an excellent job introducing the paradox of urbanization (concentration of population in cities) and globalization (expansion of civilization around the world) working together. Brugmann has ample experience through many years of studying urbanization around the world so his examples are more than anecdotic they are based on a deep analysis of data. This is an excellent treaty for use as text in any Urban Studies program.

Difficult Concepts Too Important to Ignore

Full Disclosure: My Uncle is the author of this book. That being said, I think this book is remarkable. I found myself deeply caring about the real world issues presented in this book, and Iâm thinking of buying this book for my boss as we embark on a major building project. While I previously thought very little on urban design and planning, I now think the topic of utmost importance for communities seeking to benefit its members: real-life people. My only critique is that I wish the book and its concepts were more approachable for everyone as I find the insights in this book worth exploring and discussing by anyone.

A Champion of Urbanism

Jeb was part of a discussion panel along with Richard Florida, Roger Martin and David Miller (The Mayor of Toronto). I was impressed by his experience and clarity - even when compared against these other high calibre communicators.

Jeb's book is new territory for me. I have not read any others on city planning and urbanism and regard myself as a granola-crunching anti-urbanite. Yet it made me realize just how urban I am - along with over half the population of the world.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Race Manners

Subtitle: Navigating the Minefield Between Black and White Americans

Author: Bruce A. Jacobs

Narrator: Kevin Kenerly

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-05-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: Nonfiction, Social Sciences

Publisher's Summary:

Talking about race relations is never easy. Bruce A. Jacobs has written a book that shows us how we can begin - not with lofty abstractions or policy arguments, but with practicality and directness. Completely revised and updated, this is a candid assessment of, and guide to, improving race relations, a book Kirkus Reviews called "shocking" and Publishers Weekly termed "a frank, intelligent guide".

Editorial Reviews:

In Race Manners: Navigating the Minefield Between Black and White Americans, Bruce A. Jacobs critically examines racial biases in modern America. While some people may shy away from talking openly about race, Jacobs strives to be fearless and honest. Kevin Kenerly's performance is extremely engaging. Deep and whispery, his voice is quite beautiful. At the same time, his pacing and volume are varied, which keeps listeners hanging on his every sentence. This audiobook is a crucial and intellectual look at important race issues facing us today in America.

Members Reviews:

The best book I've read on racial justice (and lack thereof)!

This book is a "must read" for anyone seeking deeper insight into matters of racial justice in our country. Author Bruce Jacobs provides clear, practical recommendations for improving race relations in our society, as well as astute observations on the sad state of media coverage in the U.S. This would be a perfect book for guided group discussion and should be required reading for all high school students. It's an informative and rewarding read.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Meeting at Grand Central

Subtitle: Understanding the Social and Evolutionary Roots of Cooperation

Author: Lee Cronk, Beth L. Leech.

Narrator: Claire Christie

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 1 min

Language: English

Release date: 12-17-12

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: Nonfiction, Social Sciences

Publisher's Summary:

From the family to the workplace to the marketplace, every facet of our lives is shaped by cooperative interactions. Yet everywhere we look, we are confronted by proof of how difficult cooperation can be - snarled traffic, polarized politics, overexploited resources, social problems that go ignored. The benefits to oneself of a free ride on the efforts of others mean that collective goals often are not met. But compared to most other species, people actually cooperate a great deal. Why is this?

Meeting at Grand Central brings together insights from evolutionary biology, political science, economics, anthropology, and other fields to explain how the interactions between our evolved selves and the institutional structures we have created make cooperation possible. The book begins with a look at the ideas of Mancur Olson and George Williams, who shifted the question of why cooperation happens from an emphasis on group benefits to individual costs. It then explores how these ideas have influenced our thinking about cooperation, coordination, and collective action. The book persuasively argues that cooperation and its failures are best explained by evolutionary and social theories working together. Selection sometimes favors cooperative tendencies, while institutions, norms, and incentives encourage and make possible actual cooperation.

Meeting at Grand Central will inspire researchers from different disciplines and intellectual traditions to share ideas and advance our understanding of cooperative behavior in a world that is more complex than ever before.

Members Reviews:

Brilliant -- so many "aha" moments

I have been looking for this book for more than a year: a clear entry point, and survey, of a cluster of ideas within economics, dealing with motives and dynamics within any organization, family group or society, toward cooperation or cheating. This is, to me, the most central concern of society, the greatest burden of any family, company, society, legal system, or deal. It is the central unspoken topic of politics: who are the free riders gaming and thus threatening the system? The rich? The poor? Various terms relate to this: agency problems (the people you hire or trust have motives to cheat), information asymmetry (different players know different things and exploit this); game theory (with various situations illustrating choices to cooperate or defect, such as "the prisoner's dilemma" and "the tragedy of the commons"). This book provides a lucid, carefully assembled, entry point and survey of these kinds of topics. I love a book that maps out and gives names to things I experience every day, that gives me a higher and clearer view and understanding of these things. In my search for this book, I have assembled many more technical books (which quickly leave the plain English discussion for lots of math), and now at last I feel I can have the comprehension to move into these more advanced levels. But this book is fine in itself, for the popular audience. There is much basis for wisdom and better choices here.

Could have been much better

Good information, poor structure and bland writing style. This is essentially a college text book and reads like it. Skip the first and last chapter and it will probably be more enjoyable.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: On Settling

Author: Robert E. Goodin

Narrator: Mark Kincaid

Format: Unabridged

Length: 2 hrs and 56 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-14-12

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Nonfiction, Social Sciences

Publisher's Summary:

In a culture that worships ceaseless striving, "settling" seems like giving up. But is it? On Settling defends the positive value of settling, explaining why this disdained practice is not only more realistic but more useful than an excessive ideal of striving. In fact, the book makes the case that we'd all be lost without settling - and that even to strive, one must first settle.

We may admire strivers and love the ideal of striving, but who of us could get through a day without settling? Real people, confronted with a complex problem, simply make do, settling for some resolution that, while almost certainly not the best that one could find by devoting limitless time and attention to the problem, is nonetheless good enough. Robert Goodin explores the dynamics of this process. These involve taking as fixed, for now, things that we reserve the right to reopen later (nothing is fixed for good, although events might always overtake us). We settle on some things in order to concentrate better on others. At the same time we realize we may need to come back later and reconsider those decisions. From settling on and settling for, to settling down and settling in, On Settling explains why settling is useful for planning, creating trust, and strengthening the social fabric - and why settling is different from compromise and resignation.

So, the next time you're faced with a thorny problem, just settle. It's no failure.

Members Reviews:

On Settling

I ordered this book at the request of a friend and he was very pleased when I gave it to him.

Why settling makes sense

On Settling is a great little book. It gives us readers a standard philosophical analysis of a common term that we all use, settling. The book's main virtue is that Goodin is able to use conceptual analysis to show us (successfully, in my mind) that settling is much deeper than our common thoughts on it, and is something to aim for, not avoid. Settling may take a variety of forms (e.g. settling on vs. settling up), but it actually provides us with the freedom to pursue those things that are meaningful to us, particularly as we face too many commitments and too little time.

As he notes early on, settling is often considered a negative choice, something we're forced to do that isn't in our best interest. It's clearly not our top choice. But Goodin's definition is both functional and enlightening; to settle is to commit fully to a decision, but not permanently. Settling requires that we stay with a course of action, but leave open the option to reconsider and revise our choices after some extended period of time.

Goodin contrasts settling with striving, which can commit us to endlessly aiming for the best option. The quest to maximize our choices leaves many decisions reconsidered, and therefore unsettled. But there is freedom which comes with not burdening ourselves with additional information, and the added difficulty of reopening a decision we've made. At some point, we must commit to a choice. This freedom redirects our focus to things that deserve our attention, and is particularly valuable for longer-term commitments in our lives. In this way, his approach is very pragmatic; most of us are pluralists when it comes to what we care about, and without settling on at least some decisions, we face gridlock if we can't commit our attention to what's important.