Backstabbing for Beginners
My Crash Course in International Diplomacy
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Backstabbing for Beginners
Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Maxwell Hamilton
-
By:
-
Michael Soussan
About this listen
Soon to be a major motion picture starring Ben Kingsley and Theo James, the gripping true story of a young program coordinator at the United Nations who stumbles upon a conspiracy involving Iraq's oil reserves. "What made this episode in our collective history possible was not so much the lies we told one another, but the lies we told ourselves".
A recent Brown University graduate, Michael Soussan was elated when he landed a position as a program coordinator for the United Nations' Iraq Program. Little did he know that he would end up a whistleblower in what PBS NewsHour described as the "largest financial scandal in UN history". Breaking a conspiracy of silence that had prevailed for years, Soussan sparked an unprecedented corruption probe into the Oil-for-Food program that exposed a worldwide system of bribes, kickbacks, and blackmail involving ruthless power-players from around the globe. At the crossroads of pressing humanitarian concerns, crisis diplomacy, and multibillion-dollar business interests, Soussan's story highlights core flaws of our international system and exposes the frightening, corrupting power of the black elixir that fuels our world's economy.
©2016 Michael Soussan (P)2016 Hachette AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
Romney
- A Reckoning
- By: McKay Coppins
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, McKay Coppins
- Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,016
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 931
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 931
Few figures in American politics have seen more and said less than Mitt Romney. An outspoken dissident in Donald Trump’s GOP, he has made headlines in recent years for standing alone against the forces he believes are poisoning the party he once led. Romney was the first senator in history to vote to remove from office a president of his own party. When that president’s supporters went on to storm the US Capitol, Romney delivered a thundering speech from the Senate floor accusing his fellow Republicans of stoking insurrection.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Political and intellectual biography at its best!
- By Amazon Customer on 10-25-23
By: McKay Coppins
-
Billion Dollar Whale
- By: Bradley Hope, Tom Wright
- Narrated by: Will Collyer
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7,598
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6,531
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6,518
Now a number-one international best seller, Billion Dollar Whale is "an epic tale of white-collar crime on a global scale" (Publishers Weekly), revealing how a young social climber from Malaysia pulled off one of the biggest heists in history. In 2009, a chubby, mild-mannered graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business named Jho Low set in motion a fraud of unprecedented gall and magnitude—one that would come to symbolize the next great threat to the global financial system.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Couldn’t stop listening!
- By N Lane on 10-05-18
By: Bradley Hope, and others
-
Going Infinite
- The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon
- By: Michael Lewis
- Narrated by: Michael Lewis
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,052
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,843
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,841
When Michael Lewis first met him, Sam Bankman-Fried was the world’s youngest billionaire and crypto’s Gatsby. CEOs, celebrities, and leaders of small countries all vied for his time and cash after he catapulted, practically overnight, onto the Forbes billionaire list. Who was this rumpled guy in cargo shorts and limp white socks, whose eyes twitched across Zoom meetings as he played video games on the side?
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
really expected more rigor from Michael Lewis
- By Wowhello on 10-04-23
By: Michael Lewis
-
The Fourth Man
- The Hunt for a KGB Spy at the Top of the CIA and the Rise of Putin's Russia
- By: Robert Baer
- Narrated by: Robert Baer, Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 256
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 221
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 222
In the aftermath of the Cold War, American intelligence caught three high-profile Russian spies: Aldrich Ames, Edward Lee Howard, and Robert Hanssen. However, rumors have long swirled of another mole, one perhaps more damaging than all the others combined. Perhaps the greatest traitor in American history, perhaps a Russian ruse to tear the CIA apart, or perhaps nothing more than a bogeyman, he is often referred to as the Fourth Man.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
A Who Done it without The Who Did it
- By Amazon Customer on 05-25-22
By: Robert Baer
-
Number Go Up
- Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall
- By: Zeke Faux
- Narrated by: Dan Bittner
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 536
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 460
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 460
In 2021 cryptocurrency went mainstream. Giant investment funds were buying it, celebrities like Tom Brady endorsed it, and TV ads hailed it as the future of money. Hardly anyone knew how it worked—but why bother with the particulars when everyone was making a fortune from Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, or some other bizarrely named “digital asset”? As he observed this frenzy, investigative reporter Zeke Faux had a nagging question: Was it all just a confidence game of epic proportions? What started as curiosity—with a dash of FOMO—would morph into a two-year globe-spanning quest.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Phenomenal story
- By Michael on 10-05-23
By: Zeke Faux
-
Cobalt Red
- How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives
- By: Siddharth Kara
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 507
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 432
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 432
Cobalt Red is the searing first-ever exposé of the immense toll taken on the people and environment of the Democratic Republic of the Congo by cobalt mining, as told through the testimonies of the Congolese people themselves. Activist and researcher Siddharth Kara has traveled deep into cobalt territory to document the testimonies of the people living, working, and dying for cobalt.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A must read
- By Anonymous User on 02-01-23
By: Siddharth Kara
-
Romney
- A Reckoning
- By: McKay Coppins
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, McKay Coppins
- Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,016
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 931
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 931
Few figures in American politics have seen more and said less than Mitt Romney. An outspoken dissident in Donald Trump’s GOP, he has made headlines in recent years for standing alone against the forces he believes are poisoning the party he once led. Romney was the first senator in history to vote to remove from office a president of his own party. When that president’s supporters went on to storm the US Capitol, Romney delivered a thundering speech from the Senate floor accusing his fellow Republicans of stoking insurrection.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Political and intellectual biography at its best!
- By Amazon Customer on 10-25-23
By: McKay Coppins
-
Billion Dollar Whale
- By: Bradley Hope, Tom Wright
- Narrated by: Will Collyer
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7,598
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6,531
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6,518
Now a number-one international best seller, Billion Dollar Whale is "an epic tale of white-collar crime on a global scale" (Publishers Weekly), revealing how a young social climber from Malaysia pulled off one of the biggest heists in history. In 2009, a chubby, mild-mannered graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business named Jho Low set in motion a fraud of unprecedented gall and magnitude—one that would come to symbolize the next great threat to the global financial system.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Couldn’t stop listening!
- By N Lane on 10-05-18
By: Bradley Hope, and others
-
Going Infinite
- The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon
- By: Michael Lewis
- Narrated by: Michael Lewis
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,052
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,843
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,841
When Michael Lewis first met him, Sam Bankman-Fried was the world’s youngest billionaire and crypto’s Gatsby. CEOs, celebrities, and leaders of small countries all vied for his time and cash after he catapulted, practically overnight, onto the Forbes billionaire list. Who was this rumpled guy in cargo shorts and limp white socks, whose eyes twitched across Zoom meetings as he played video games on the side?
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
really expected more rigor from Michael Lewis
- By Wowhello on 10-04-23
By: Michael Lewis
-
The Fourth Man
- The Hunt for a KGB Spy at the Top of the CIA and the Rise of Putin's Russia
- By: Robert Baer
- Narrated by: Robert Baer, Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 256
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 221
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 222
In the aftermath of the Cold War, American intelligence caught three high-profile Russian spies: Aldrich Ames, Edward Lee Howard, and Robert Hanssen. However, rumors have long swirled of another mole, one perhaps more damaging than all the others combined. Perhaps the greatest traitor in American history, perhaps a Russian ruse to tear the CIA apart, or perhaps nothing more than a bogeyman, he is often referred to as the Fourth Man.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
A Who Done it without The Who Did it
- By Amazon Customer on 05-25-22
By: Robert Baer
-
Number Go Up
- Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall
- By: Zeke Faux
- Narrated by: Dan Bittner
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 536
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 460
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 460
In 2021 cryptocurrency went mainstream. Giant investment funds were buying it, celebrities like Tom Brady endorsed it, and TV ads hailed it as the future of money. Hardly anyone knew how it worked—but why bother with the particulars when everyone was making a fortune from Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, or some other bizarrely named “digital asset”? As he observed this frenzy, investigative reporter Zeke Faux had a nagging question: Was it all just a confidence game of epic proportions? What started as curiosity—with a dash of FOMO—would morph into a two-year globe-spanning quest.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Phenomenal story
- By Michael on 10-05-23
By: Zeke Faux
-
Cobalt Red
- How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives
- By: Siddharth Kara
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 507
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 432
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 432
Cobalt Red is the searing first-ever exposé of the immense toll taken on the people and environment of the Democratic Republic of the Congo by cobalt mining, as told through the testimonies of the Congolese people themselves. Activist and researcher Siddharth Kara has traveled deep into cobalt territory to document the testimonies of the people living, working, and dying for cobalt.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A must read
- By Anonymous User on 02-01-23
By: Siddharth Kara
-
King Leopold's Ghost
- A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa
- By: Adam Hochschild
- Narrated by: Geoffrey Howard
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,942
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,617
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,618
In the late 1890s, Edmund Dene Morel, a young British shipping company agent, noticed something strange about the cargoes of his company's ships as they arrived from and departed for the Congo. Incoming ships were crammed with valuable ivory and rubber. Outbound ships carried little more than soldiers and firearms. Correctly concluding that only slave labor could account for these cargoes, Morel almost singlehandedly made this slave-labor regime the premier human rights story in the world.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fascinating
- By Edith on 01-20-11
By: Adam Hochschild
-
Recoding America
- Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better
- By: Jennifer Pahlka
- Narrated by: Jennifer Pahlka
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 153
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 132
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 132
A bold call to reexamine how our government operates—and sometimes fails to—from President Obama’s former deputy chief technology officer and the founder of Code for America.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Very good, minimally partisan.
- By Samuel Mebane on 11-25-23
By: Jennifer Pahlka
-
Rogue Heroes
- The History of the SAS, Britain's Secret Special Forces Unit That Sabotaged the Nazis and Changed the Nature of War
- By: Ben Macintyre
- Narrated by: Ben Macintyre
- Length: 13 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,371
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,057
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,052
Britain's Special Air Service - or SAS - was the brainchild of David Stirling, a young, gadabout aristocrat whose aimlessness in early life belied a remarkable strategic mind. Where most of his colleagues looked at a battlefield map of World War II's African theater and saw a protracted struggle with Rommel's desert forces, Stirling saw an opportunity: Given a small number of elite, well-trained men, he could parachute behind enemy lines and sabotage their airplanes and war matériel.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Those Who Dared, Won!
- By Matthew on 10-07-16
By: Ben Macintyre
-
Bully Market
- My Story of Money and Misogyny at Goldman Sachs
- By: Jamie Fiore Higgins
- Narrated by: Jamie Fiore Higgins
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 299
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 268
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 266
Jamie Fiore Higgins became one of the few women at the highest ranks of Goldman Sachs. Spurred on by the obligation she felt to her working-class immigrant family, she rose through the ranks and saw it all: out-of-control, lavish parties flowing with never-ending drinks; affairs flouted in the office; rampant drug use; and most pervasively, a discriminatory culture that seemed designed to hold back the few women and people of color employed at the company.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Introspective and illuminating
- By Anonymous User on 09-13-22
-
A Higher Loyalty
- Truth, Lies, and Leadership
- By: James Comey
- Narrated by: James Comey
- Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 26,999
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 24,458
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 24,353
In his audiobook, A Higher Loyalty, former FBI director James Comey shares his never-before-told experiences from some of the highest stakes situations of his career in the past two decades of American government, exploring what good, ethical leadership looks like and how it drives sound decisions. His journey provides an unprecedented entry into the corridors of powe, and a remarkable lesson in what makes an effective leader.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
More Than Trump: All Comey's Life/Working Years--
- By Gillian on 04-17-18
By: James Comey
-
Fear
- Trump in the White House
- By: Bob Woodward
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 23,633
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 20,790
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 20,661
With authoritative reporting honed through eight presidencies from Nixon to Obama, author Bob Woodward reveals in unprecedented detail the harrowing life inside President Donald Trump’s White House and precisely how he makes decisions on major foreign and domestic policies. Woodward draws from hundreds of hours of interviews with firsthand sources, meeting notes, personal diaries, files, and documents. The focus is on the explosive debates and the decision-making in the Oval Office, the Situation Room, Air Force One, and the White House residence.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Extremely Depressing...
- By Pattisguilfordgardenct on 09-11-18
By: Bob Woodward
-
Breaking History
- A White House Memoir
- By: Jared Kushner
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt, Jared Kushner
- Length: 17 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,623
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,457
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,457
Jared Kushner was one of the most consequential presidential advisers in modern history. For the first time, he recounts what happened behind closed doors during the Trump presidency. Few White House advisors have had such an expansive portfolio or constant access to the president. From his office next to Trump, senior adviser Jared Kushner operated quietly behind the scenes, preferring to leave the turf wars and television sparring to others.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Proud Conservative female
- By Their Best Day Ever on 08-25-22
By: Jared Kushner
-
Lessons from the Edge
- A Memoir
- By: Marie Yovanovitch
- Narrated by: Marie Yovanovitch
- Length: 17 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,220
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,096
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,081
By the time she became US Ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch had seen her share of corruption, instability, and tragedy in developing countries. But it came as a shock when, in early 2019, she was recalled from her post after a smear campaign by President Trump’s personal attorney and his associates—men operating outside of normal governmental channels, and apparently motivated by personal gain. Her courageous participation in the subsequent impeachment inquiry earned Yovanovitch the nation’s respect, and her dignified response to the president’s attacks won our hearts.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Heroic patriot's amazing story
- By Victoria Eriksson on 03-19-22
-
Charlie Wilson's War
- The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History
- By: George Crile
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 20 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,267
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,908
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,927
Charlie Wilson's War is the untold story behind the last battle of the Cold War and how it fueled the rise of militant Islam. George Crile tells how Charlie Wilson, a maverick congressman from east Texas, conspired with a rogue CIA operative to launch the biggest, meanest, and most successful covert operation in the agency's history.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The REAL Story of the Middle East and the CIA
- By Dale on 08-24-04
By: George Crile
-
War on Peace
- The End of Diplomacy and the Decline of American Influence
- By: Ronan Farrow
- Narrated by: Ronan Farrow
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,449
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,139
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,127
American diplomacy is under siege. Offices across the State Department sit empty while abroad, the military-industrial complex has assumed the work once undertaken by peacemakers. We're becoming a nation that shoots first and asks questions later. In an astonishing account ranging from Washington, DC, to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and North Korea in the years since 9/11, acclaimed journalist and former diplomat Ronan Farrow illuminates one of the most consequential and poorly understood changes in American history.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Well Timed and Authoritative:
- By JC on 04-24-18
By: Ronan Farrow
-
Death of a Dissident
- The Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and the Return of the KGB
- By: Alex Goldfarb, Marina Litvinenko
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 71
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 41
The November 2006 assassination of former Russian intelligence officer Alexander "Sasha" Litvinenko, who was poisoned by the rare radioactive element polonium, caused an international sensation. Within a few short weeks, the fit 43-year-old lay gaunt, bald, and dying in a hospital, the victim of a "tiny nuclear bomb". Suspicions swirled around Russia's FSB, the successor to the KGB, and the Putin regime.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Very interesting and scary...
- By A. M. on 03-21-15
By: Alex Goldfarb, and others
-
The World as It Is
- A Memoir of the Obama White House
- By: Ben Rhodes
- Narrated by: Ben Rhodes, Mark Deakins
- Length: 15 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,610
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,321
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,316
For nearly 10 years, Ben Rhodes saw almost everything that happened at the center of the Obama administration - first as a speechwriter, then as deputy national security advisor, and finally as a multipurpose aide and close collaborator. He started every morning in the Oval Office with the President’s Daily Brief, traveled the world with Obama, and was at the center of some of the most consequential and controversial moments of the presidency. Now, he tells the full story of his partnership with a man who also happened to be a historic president of the United States.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An immersive read; a thoughtful book; a tribute to
- By Jonathan Callies on 06-06-18
By: Ben Rhodes
Related to this topic
-
Death of a Dissident
- The Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and the Return of the KGB
- By: Alex Goldfarb, Marina Litvinenko
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 71
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 41
The November 2006 assassination of former Russian intelligence officer Alexander "Sasha" Litvinenko, who was poisoned by the rare radioactive element polonium, caused an international sensation. Within a few short weeks, the fit 43-year-old lay gaunt, bald, and dying in a hospital, the victim of a "tiny nuclear bomb". Suspicions swirled around Russia's FSB, the successor to the KGB, and the Putin regime.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Very interesting and scary...
- By A. M. on 03-21-15
By: Alex Goldfarb, and others
-
War on Peace
- The End of Diplomacy and the Decline of American Influence
- By: Ronan Farrow
- Narrated by: Ronan Farrow
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,449
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,139
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,127
American diplomacy is under siege. Offices across the State Department sit empty while abroad, the military-industrial complex has assumed the work once undertaken by peacemakers. We're becoming a nation that shoots first and asks questions later. In an astonishing account ranging from Washington, DC, to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and North Korea in the years since 9/11, acclaimed journalist and former diplomat Ronan Farrow illuminates one of the most consequential and poorly understood changes in American history.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Well Timed and Authoritative:
- By JC on 04-24-18
By: Ronan Farrow
-
Outpost
- Life on the Frontlines of American Diplomacy: A Memoir
- By: Christopher R. Hill
- Narrated by: Stephen Bowlby
- Length: 14 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 118
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 103
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 104
An "inside the room" memoir from one of our most distinguished ambassadors who - in a career of service to the country - was sent to some of the most dangerous outposts of American diplomacy. From the wars in the Balkans to the brutality of North Korea to the endless war in Iraq, this is the real life of an American diplomat. Hill was on the front lines in the Balkans at the breakup of Yugoslavia.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Fascinating
- By David on 01-26-15
-
The Main Enemy
- The Inside Story of the CIA's Final Showdown with the KGB
- By: Milton Bearden, James Risen
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 19 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 835
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 746
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 736
A landmark collaboration between a thirty-year veteran of the CIA and a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, The Main Enemy is the inside story of the CIA-KGB spy wars, told through the actions of the men who fought them. Based on hundreds of interviews with operatives from both sides, The Main Enemy puts us inside the heads of CIA officers as they dodge surveillance and walk into violent ambushes in Moscow. This is the story of the generation of spies who came of age in the shadow of the Cuban missile crisis and rose to run the CIA and KGB in the last days of the Cold War.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A masterpiece of espionage history
- By kucherv on 08-21-18
By: Milton Bearden, and others
-
Debriefing the President
- The Interrogation of Saddam Hussein
- By: John Nixon
- Narrated by: John Nixon
- Length: 5 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 288
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 255
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 256
In December 2003, after one of the largest, most aggressive manhunts in history, US military forces captured Iraqi president Saddam Hussein near his hometown of Tikrit. Beset by body-double rumors and false alarms during a nine-month search, the Bush administration needed positive identification of the prisoner before it could make the announcement that would rocket around the world. At the time John Nixon was a senior CIA leadership analyst who had spent years studying the Iraqi dictator.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Not What You Think It Is
- By Doug on 01-10-17
By: John Nixon
-
The Last of the President's Men
- By: Bob Woodward
- Narrated by: Campbell Scott
- Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 509
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 454
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 443
Bob Woodward exposes one of the final pieces of the Richard Nixon puzzle in his new book, The Last of the President's Men. Woodward reveals the untold story of Alexander Butterfield, the Nixon aide who disclosed the secret White House taping system that changed history and led to Nixon's resignation.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Disturbing portrayal of Nixon
- By Jean on 11-17-15
By: Bob Woodward
-
Death of a Dissident
- The Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and the Return of the KGB
- By: Alex Goldfarb, Marina Litvinenko
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 71
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 41
The November 2006 assassination of former Russian intelligence officer Alexander "Sasha" Litvinenko, who was poisoned by the rare radioactive element polonium, caused an international sensation. Within a few short weeks, the fit 43-year-old lay gaunt, bald, and dying in a hospital, the victim of a "tiny nuclear bomb". Suspicions swirled around Russia's FSB, the successor to the KGB, and the Putin regime.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Very interesting and scary...
- By A. M. on 03-21-15
By: Alex Goldfarb, and others
-
War on Peace
- The End of Diplomacy and the Decline of American Influence
- By: Ronan Farrow
- Narrated by: Ronan Farrow
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,449
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,139
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,127
American diplomacy is under siege. Offices across the State Department sit empty while abroad, the military-industrial complex has assumed the work once undertaken by peacemakers. We're becoming a nation that shoots first and asks questions later. In an astonishing account ranging from Washington, DC, to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and North Korea in the years since 9/11, acclaimed journalist and former diplomat Ronan Farrow illuminates one of the most consequential and poorly understood changes in American history.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Well Timed and Authoritative:
- By JC on 04-24-18
By: Ronan Farrow
-
Outpost
- Life on the Frontlines of American Diplomacy: A Memoir
- By: Christopher R. Hill
- Narrated by: Stephen Bowlby
- Length: 14 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 118
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 103
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 104
An "inside the room" memoir from one of our most distinguished ambassadors who - in a career of service to the country - was sent to some of the most dangerous outposts of American diplomacy. From the wars in the Balkans to the brutality of North Korea to the endless war in Iraq, this is the real life of an American diplomat. Hill was on the front lines in the Balkans at the breakup of Yugoslavia.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Fascinating
- By David on 01-26-15
-
The Main Enemy
- The Inside Story of the CIA's Final Showdown with the KGB
- By: Milton Bearden, James Risen
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 19 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 835
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 746
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 736
A landmark collaboration between a thirty-year veteran of the CIA and a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, The Main Enemy is the inside story of the CIA-KGB spy wars, told through the actions of the men who fought them. Based on hundreds of interviews with operatives from both sides, The Main Enemy puts us inside the heads of CIA officers as they dodge surveillance and walk into violent ambushes in Moscow. This is the story of the generation of spies who came of age in the shadow of the Cuban missile crisis and rose to run the CIA and KGB in the last days of the Cold War.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A masterpiece of espionage history
- By kucherv on 08-21-18
By: Milton Bearden, and others
-
Debriefing the President
- The Interrogation of Saddam Hussein
- By: John Nixon
- Narrated by: John Nixon
- Length: 5 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 288
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 255
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 256
In December 2003, after one of the largest, most aggressive manhunts in history, US military forces captured Iraqi president Saddam Hussein near his hometown of Tikrit. Beset by body-double rumors and false alarms during a nine-month search, the Bush administration needed positive identification of the prisoner before it could make the announcement that would rocket around the world. At the time John Nixon was a senior CIA leadership analyst who had spent years studying the Iraqi dictator.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Not What You Think It Is
- By Doug on 01-10-17
By: John Nixon
-
The Last of the President's Men
- By: Bob Woodward
- Narrated by: Campbell Scott
- Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 509
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 454
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 443
Bob Woodward exposes one of the final pieces of the Richard Nixon puzzle in his new book, The Last of the President's Men. Woodward reveals the untold story of Alexander Butterfield, the Nixon aide who disclosed the secret White House taping system that changed history and led to Nixon's resignation.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Disturbing portrayal of Nixon
- By Jean on 11-17-15
By: Bob Woodward
-
Charlie Wilson's War
- The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History
- By: George Crile
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 20 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,267
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,908
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,927
Charlie Wilson's War is the untold story behind the last battle of the Cold War and how it fueled the rise of militant Islam. George Crile tells how Charlie Wilson, a maverick congressman from east Texas, conspired with a rogue CIA operative to launch the biggest, meanest, and most successful covert operation in the agency's history.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The REAL Story of the Middle East and the CIA
- By Dale on 08-24-04
By: George Crile
-
King's Counsel
- A Memoir of War, Espionage, and Diplomacy in the Middle East
- By: Jack O'Connell
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 64
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 55
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 53
A CIA station chief, later Jordan's lawyer in Washington, reveals the secret history of a lost peace.
Jack O'Connell possessed an uncanny ability to be at the center of things. On his arrival in Jordan in 1958, he unraveled a coup aimed at the young King Hussein, who would become America's most reliable Middle East ally. Over time, their bond of trust and friendship deepened. His narrative contains secrets that will revise our understanding of the Middle East.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fantastic Memoir - Decent ME Analysis
- By AB on 05-01-15
By: Jack O'Connell
-
State of Denial
- Bush at War, Part III
- By: Bob Woodward
- Narrated by: Boyd Gaines
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 623
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 99
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 101
Bob Woodward examines how the Bush administration avoided telling the truth about Iraq to the public, to the Congress, and often to themselves in State of Denial. Woodward's third book on President Bush is a sweeping narrative from the first days George W. Bush thought seriously about running for president, through the recruitment of his national security team, the war in Afghanistan, the invasion and occupation of Iraq, and the struggle for political survival in the second term.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Concerning and hard to put down
- By Chris on 12-10-06
By: Bob Woodward
-
The Secretary
- A Journey with Hillary Clinton from Beirut to the Heart of American Power
- By: Kim Ghattas
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 15 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 62
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 54
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 53
In November 2008, Hillary Clinton agreed to work for her former rival. As President Barack Obama's secretary of state, she set out to repair America's image around the world - and her own. For the following four years, BBC foreign correspondent Kim Ghattas had unparalleled access to Clinton and her entourage, and she weaves a fast-paced, gripping account of life on the road with Clinton in The Secretary.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Never got to the heart...
- By Mel on 04-17-13
By: Kim Ghattas
-
The One Percent Doctrine
- Deep Inside America's Pursuit of Its Enemies Since 9/11
- By: Ron Suskind
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
- Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 262
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 55
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 54
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and best-selling author Ron Suskind takes you deep inside America's real battles with violent, unrelenting terrorists, a game of kill-or-be-killed, from the Oval Office to the streets of Karachi.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
The Agenda is Clear
- By Penny on 09-28-11
By: Ron Suskind
-
500 Days
- Secrets and Lies in the Terror Wars
- By: Kurt Eichenwald
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 22 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 219
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 195
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 193
In 500 Days, master chronicler Kurt Eichenwald lays bare the harrowing decisions, deceptions, and delusions of the eighteen months that changed the world forever, as leaders raced to protect their citizens in the wake of 9/11. Eichenwald's gripping, immediate style and true-to-life dialogue puts readers at the heart of these historic events, from the Oval Office to Number 10 Downing Street, from Guantanamo Bay to the depths of CIA headquarters, from the al Qaeda training camps to the torture chambers of Egypt and Syria.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Gory Details of Torture, Not An Unbiased History
- By Graham on 09-27-12
By: Kurt Eichenwald
-
The Art of Betrayal
- The Secret History of MI6 - Life and Death in the British Secret Service
- By: Gordon Corera
- Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 17 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 69
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 65
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 64
From Berlin to the Congo, from Moscow to the back streets of London, these are the stories of the agents on the front lines of British intelligence. And the truth is often more remarkable than fiction.
MI6 has been cloaked in secrecy and shrouded in myth since it was created a hundred years ago. Our understanding of what it is to be a spy has been largely defined by the fictional worlds of Ian Fleming and John le Carré. Gordon Corera provides a unique and unprecedented insight into this secret world and the reality that lies behind the fiction.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Good details but lacks thorough research
- By Unapologetic on 09-06-17
By: Gordon Corera
-
Days of Fire
- Bush and Cheney in the White House
- By: Peter Baker
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 29 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 507
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 438
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 437
Theirs was the most captivating American political partnership since Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger: a bold and untested president and his seasoned, relentless vice president. Confronted by one crisis after another, they struggled to protect the country, remake the world, and define their own relationship along the way. In Days of Fire, Peter Baker chronicles the history of the most consequential presidency in modern times through the prism of its two most compelling characters, capturing the elusive and shifting alliance of George Walker Bush and Richard Bruce Cheney as no historian has done before.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A balanced account of the W and Cheney White House
- By Scott on 11-15-13
By: Peter Baker
-
The Reluctant Spy
- My Secret Life in the CIA's War on Terror
- By: John Kiriakou, Michael Ruby
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 7 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 200
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 131
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 131
Long before the waterboarding controversy exploded in the media, one CIA agent had already gone public. In a groundbreaking 2007 interview with ABC News, John Kiriakou called waterboarding torture - but admitted that it probably worked. This book, at once a confessional, an adventure story, and a chronicle of Kiriakou's life in the CIA, stands as an important, eloquent piece of testimony from a committed American patriot.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Fascinating Read about the CIA
- By Nancy on 05-13-10
By: John Kiriakou, and others
-
Sleeping with the Devil
- How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude
- By: Robert Baer
- Narrated by: Robert O'Keefe
- Length: 5 hrs and 59 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 247
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 42
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 44
Former CIA operative Robert Baer examines the dangers behind America's collaboration with Saudi Arabia. Nominally based on a "harmony of interests" - the Saudis sold their oil to the American government very inexpensively - what we offered in exchange has damaged our position in the Middle East and left our country vulnerable to economic and terrorist threats. Baer goes behind the scenes to show how the US willingly overlooked the corruption of the Saudi royal family, its financing of violent Islamic fundamentalist groups, and its bribery of American officials.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Ouch. The truth hurts.
- By Kevin Christy on 07-28-03
By: Robert Baer
-
Good Hunting
- An American Spymaster's Story
- By: Jack Devine
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 12 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 354
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 307
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 308
Good Hunting: An American Spymaster's Story is the spellbinding memoir of Devine's time in the CIA, where he served for more than 30 years, rising to become the acting deputy director of operations, responsible for all of the agency's spying operations. This is a story of intrigue and high-stakes maneuvering - all the more gripping when the fate of our geopolitical order hangs in the balance. But this audiobook also sounds a warning to our nation's decision makers.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fascinating, An education on spying
- By Anthony on 12-13-15
By: Jack Devine
-
Moscow, December 25,1991
- The Last Day of the Soviet Union
- By: Conor O'Clery
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 80
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 67
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 66
The implosion of the Soviet Union was the culmination of a gripping game played out between two men who intensely disliked each other and had different concepts for the future. Mikhail Gorbachev, a sophisticated and urbane reformer, sought to modernize and preserve the USSR; Boris Yeltsin, a coarse and a hard drinking “bulldozer,” wished to destroy the union and create a capitalist Russia. The defeat of the August 1991 coup attempt, carried out by hardline communists, shook Gorbachev’s authority and was a triumph for Yeltsin.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Gorbachev is GOD!
- By Rodney on 03-07-19
By: Conor O'Clery
What listeners say about Backstabbing for Beginners
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Adriana P.
- 02-14-23
Glad others have the power to speak up in a corrupted system across the board.
I am so glad others have spoken up. But is so upsetting that there are so many crooks holding high positions who supposedly need to act on the highest integrity but they are the most corrupted. It’s very upsetting that Pasha and others got away from all these terrible scandals. They are criminals allowing chaos in the middle eastern countries, allowing the destruction of a an ancient civilization. I trust no one!!! And Pasha’s behavior from the very first start screamed he was corrupted. The Russians, Chinese, French and the rest of the nations that benefited should be held liable for the death of millions of people and the destruction of so many nations. The whole so called diplomatic arenas is dirty with blood. No exceptions!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Shelly Dee
- 12-20-16
Eye-opener history made entertaining
I read this book a few years back and am enjoying it just as much this time through on audio. The narrator is incredible. The Oil-For-Food program is in the dim past for me, and a great reminder of the greed, bureaucratic bungling and often very funny office politics and personalities behind the scenes. I just read online about the movie, but can't imagine it will be as good as the book, skeptic that I am.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- A. M.
- 04-07-17
Don't let the title fool you...
Any additional comments?
This is an intriguing inside tale of the United Nations' Iraqi "Oil for Food" program that is interesting enough but add to that a very well written story and superb narration and you have a great story...perfect for audio.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lola
- 03-23-21
Mandatory reading for any naïve person
Mandatory reading for any starry-eyed, naïve do-gooder, whether actual or aspiring staff, collaborator, donor or partner to the UN.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!