A Personal Odyssey
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A Personal Odyssey
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Narrated by:
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Jeff Riggenbach
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By:
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Thomas Sowell
About this listen
The vignettes of the people and places that made impressions on Sowell at various stages of his life range from the poor and powerless to the mighty and the wealthy, from a home for homeless boys to the White House. More than an account of Sowell's life, this is also the story of the people who gave him their help, their support, and their loyalty, as well as those who demonized him and knifed him in the back. It is a study not just of one life, but also of life itself, with all its exhilaration, pain, constant striving, and deserved success.
©2000 Thomas Sowell (P)2001 Blackstone Audio Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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5 out of 5 stars
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5 out of 5 stars
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Look at the long term...it's important!
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5 out of 5 stars
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Critic reviews
"Offered a job simply because he was a black man, he turned it down and said why. Despite this righteousness, he has retained a sense of humor....Sowell admits to having had plenty of enemies, but enough friends to save him. This memoir should multiply the latter. Jeff Riggenbach...renders the narrative vividly." (AudioFile)
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- Narrated by: Cokie Roberts
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 74
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 53
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Story5 out of 5 stars 54
In this 10th anniversary edition, renowned political commentator Cokie Roberts once again examines the nature of women's roles. From mother to mechanic, sister to soldier, Roberts reveals how much progress has now been made and how much further we have to go. Updated and expanded to include a diverse new cast of women, including Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, Billie Jean King, and others, this collection of essays offers tremendous insight into the opportunities and challenges that women encounter today.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A must read or “listen” for all women and girls!!
- By monica on 09-30-19
By: Cokie Roberts
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And So It Goes
- Kurt Vonnegut: A Life
- By: Charles J. Shields
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 83
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 77
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 79
New York Times best-selling author and biographer Charles J. Shields crafts this fascinating portrait of literary icon Kurt Vonnegut. The first authorized biography of the influential American writer, And So It Goes examines Vonnegut’s life, from his childhood to his death in 2007, and explores how the author changed the conversation of American literature.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Probably only for die hard Vonnegut fans
- By Watery M on 12-22-12
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Shortest Way Home
- One Mayor's Challenge and a Model for America's Future
- By: Pete Buttigieg
- Narrated by: Pete Buttigieg
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 5,118
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 4,597
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,574
Once described by The Washington Post as "the most interesting mayor you've never heard of", Pete Buttigieg, the 36-year-old Democratic mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has improbably emerged as one of the nation's most visionary politicians. First elected in 2011, Buttigieg left a successful business career to move back to his hometown, previously tagged by Newsweek as a "dying city", and transformed it into a shining model of urban reinvention.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Reveals a Person Wise & Experienced & Literate
- By dbbks3 on 03-17-19
By: Pete Buttigieg
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Just Like Us
- The True Story of Four Mexican Girls Coming of Age in America
- By: Helen Thorpe
- Narrated by: Paula Christensen
- Length: 15 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 77
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 62
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Story4 out of 5 stars 61
Just Like Us tells the story of four high school students whose parents entered this country illegally from Mexico. All four of the girls have grown up in the United States, and all four want to live the American dream, but only two have documents. As the girls attempt to make it into college, they discover that only the legal pair see a clear path forward. A coming-of-age story about girlhood and friendship, as well as the resilience required to transcend poverty, Just Like Us is also a book about identity.
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1 out of 5 stars
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I wanted to listen but...
- By PurpleSage on 03-22-14
By: Helen Thorpe
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Whatever It Takes
- Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America
- By: Paul Tough
- Narrated by: Ax Norman
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 159
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 119
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 116
What would it take?That was the question that Geoffrey Canada found himself asking. What would it take to change the lives of poor children, not one by one, through heroic interventions and occasional miracles, but in big numbers, and in a way that could be replicated nationwide? The question led him to create the Harlem Children's Zone, a 97-block laboratory in central Harlem where he is testing new and sometimes controversial ideas about poverty in America.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Aboslutely terrific!
- By Anthony on 09-21-10
By: Paul Tough
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Created Equal
- Clarence Thomas in His Own Words
- By: Michael Pack, Mark Paoletta
- Narrated by: Charles Constant, Shamaan Casey, Pamela Klein
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 229
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 205
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Story5 out of 5 stars 204
Born into dire poverty in the segregated South and abandoned by his father as a child, Justice Clarence Thomas triumphed over seemingly insurmountable odds to become one of the most influential justices on the Supreme Court. Yet after three decades of honorable service, few know him beyond his contentious confirmation and the surrounding media firestorm. Who is Justice Clarence Thomas, in his own words? Created Equal builds on dozens of hours of groundbreaking one-on-one interviews with Thomas to share a new, expanded account of his powerful story for the first time.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Justice Thomas, the epitome of a “Real American Man”!
- By the walton's on 06-23-22
By: Michael Pack, and others
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Letters to a Young Teacher
- By: Jonathan Kozol
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 5 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 25
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 26
In these affectionate letters to Francesca, a first-grade teacher at an inner-city school in Boston, Jonathan Kozol vividly describes his repeated visits to her classroom while, under Francesca's likably irreverent questioning, also revealing his own most personal stories of the years that he has spent in public schools.
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3 out of 5 stars
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A must read for new teachers
- By Santiago on 03-31-10
By: Jonathan Kozol
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First
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- By: Evan Thomas
- Narrated by: Kirsten Potter
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 479
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 428
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 426
She was born in 1930 in El Paso and grew up on a cattle ranch in Arizona. At a time when women were expected to be homemakers, she set her sights on Stanford University. When she graduated near the top of her law school class in 1952, no firm would even interview her. But Sandra Day O’Connor’s story is that of a woman who repeatedly shattered glass ceilings - doing so with a blend of grace, wisdom, humor, understatement, and cowgirl toughness.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Remarkable woman, well served in this book.
- By KathrynVB on 04-05-19
By: Evan Thomas
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Street Gang
- The Complete History of Sesame Street
- By: Michael Davis
- Narrated by: Caroll Spinney
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 182
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 112
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 114
When the first episode aired on Nov. 10, 1969, Sesame Street revolutionized the way education was presented to children on television. It has since become the longest-running children's show in history, and today reaches 8 million pre-schoolers on 350 PBS stations and airs in 120 countries. Street Gang is the compelling and often comical story of the creation and history of this media masterpiece and pop culture landmark.
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3 out of 5 stars
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An important subject, but hardly gripping
- By Scott T. Hards on 09-24-10
By: Michael Davis
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A Mighty Long Way
- My Journey to Justice at Little Rock Central High School
- By: Carlotta Walls LaNier, Lisa Frazier Page, Bill Clinton - foreword
- Narrated by: Carlotta Walls LaNier
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 38
When 14-year-old Carlotta Walls walked up the stairs of Little Rock Central High School on September 25, 1957, she and eight other Black students only wanted to make it to class. But the journey of the “Little Rock Nine”, as they came to be known, would lead the nation on an even longer and much more turbulent path, one that would challenge prevailing attitudes, break down barriers, and forever change the landscape of America.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Disappointing
- By SWF in Minneapolis on 04-27-24
By: Carlotta Walls LaNier, and others
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Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right
- Opinionated Columns on American Life
- By: Michael Smerconish
- Narrated by: Michael Smerconish
- Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 207
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 181
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 181
Opinionated talk show host and columnist Michael Smerconish has been chronicling local, state, and national events for the Philadelphia Daily News and the Philadelphia Inquirer for more than 15 years. He has sounded off on topics as diverse as the hunt for Osama bin Laden and what the color of your Christmas lights says about you. In this collection of 100 of his most memorable columns, Smerconish reflects on American political life with his characteristic feistiness.
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1 out of 5 stars
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All about Smerc and who cares about the victims
- By Mark J. Rosen on 12-10-20
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Common Ground: Exclusive Edition
- By: Justin Trudeau
- Narrated by: Justin Trudeau, Colm Feore
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 66
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 64
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 64
Justin Trudeau has spent his life in the public eye. From the moment he was born, the first son of an iconic prime minister and his young wife, Canadians have witnessed the highs and the lows, sharing in his successes and mourning with him during tragic times. But few beyond Justin's closest circle have heard his side of his unique journey. Now, in Common Ground, Justin Trudeau reveals how the events of his life have influenced him and formed the ideals that drive him today.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Mesmerizing
- By emilia on 05-04-18
By: Justin Trudeau
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Tim Gunn: The Natty Professor
- A Master Class on Mentoring, Motivating and Making It Work!
- By: Tim Gunn, Ada Calhoun
- Narrated by: Tim Gunn
- Length: 5 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 420
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 386
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 382
Tim Gunn, America's favorite reality TV cohost, is known for his kind but firm approach in providing wisdom, guidance, and support to the scores of design hopefuls on Project Runway. Having begun his fashion career as a teacher at Parsons The New School for Design, Tim knows more than a thing or two about mentorship and how to convey invaluable pearls of wisdom in an approachable, accessible manner.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Life lessons for All
- By Trendy on 03-11-16
By: Tim Gunn, and others
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The Woman Behind the New Deal
- The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR'S Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience
- By: Kirstin Downey
- Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
- Length: 19 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 206
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 181
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Story5 out of 5 stars 181
Frances Perkins is no longer a household name, yet she was one of the most influential women of the 20th century. Based on extensive archival materials, new documents, and exclusive access to Perkins' family members and friends, this biography is the first complete portrait of a devoted public servant with a passionate personal life, a mother who changed the landscape of American business and society.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An Absorbing Biography
- By Jean on 08-16-17
By: Kirstin Downey