Anonymous
- 72
- reviews
- 27
- helpful votes
- 74
- ratings
-
Invisible Women
- Data Bias in a World Designed for Men
- By: Caroline Criado Perez
- Narrated by: Caroline Criado Perez
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Data is fundamental to the modern world. From economic development, to healthcare, to education and public policy, we rely on numbers to allocate resources and make crucial decisions. But because so much data fails to take into account gender, treating men as the default and women as atypical, bias and discrimination are baked into our systems. And women pay tremendous costs for this bias in time, money, and often with their lives. Celebrated feminist advocate Caroline Criado Perez investigates the shocking root cause of gender inequality and research in Invisible Women.
-
-
A statistical fire hose
- By B. Andresen on 09-11-19
- Invisible Women
- Data Bias in a World Designed for Men
- By: Caroline Criado Perez
- Narrated by: Caroline Criado Perez
Mostly informative; Disheartening & Overwrought
Reviewed: 10-04-24
After taking a series of classes based on meeting the needs of female consumers, this book was one of the recommended titles. It seemed to be most challenging and interesting. I would say this book fit that assessment.
The author reads the audiobook so she is very familiar with the research and the themes. She has a good voice, and therefore has all the right inflection points. I normally listen at a higher speed, but had to slow it down because the way she was sharing the information and her voice was making listening to it unbearable as she was just coming off as shrill and unrelenting.
Once I slowed down the reading speed so I could focus on the material and not on her voice, the book improved. So I would think the written version of this would be worth the time spent.
Ultimately, she is able to point out numerous instances of how the world is built for men and not for women. And how this is problematic for women. I am married and have two daughters so I recognize many of these things (especially safety concerns), but certainly didn’t recognize all of them. Or hadn’t put much thought into them. She obviously has very very very -and I mean VERY- passionate about this subject. But at a certain point, this begins to work against her as the book drags on. Everywhere she looks there is something that’s wrong and that men are to blame for this. That may be entirely true. But then again it may not be entirely true.
A couple of instances of things that I thought were undercutting her message and research were complaining that the construction industry was biased towards men. In particular, the size of bricks are too big for women to hold in their hand. And therefore we should make the size of bricks much smaller to accommodate female construction workers and masons. Since she is bitingly sarcastic throughout the book I will return the childish behavior and say “yes we should completely change the size of bricks by making them 2/3 their current size so that less than 5000 women worldwide can’t participate in the construction industry. Because of course there will be no cost to retooling machinery and no additional expense to needing twice as many bricks to complete a project. This of course has no impact on “the environment” (which she also weaves into her examples about how the climate is more terrible for women than it is for men).”
Another example which might be even more ridiculous as her explanation of the US tax code and how it is only favorable to men and not to women. She takes a very circuitous route to prove her point. And because it arrives later in the book it began to erode my empathy for what she was writing. A good editor would have corrected these errors or shorten the book by one chapter. This is just a bad take on economics and tax policy from somebody who should know better as an academic researcher.
Ultimately, I think this is a book worth reading or listening to. And I agree with the premise that men like myself, be aware of the problems and limitations women face in their everyday lives. And perhaps it’s because I’m a man that I think this way, but I see no reason to completely remake Society to accommodate outliers. This is a especially important because the author relishes heckling Western Civilization throughout the book for not embracing and adapting to women and their every need and wish, but she does not go to any great lengths to admonish Islam or the Middle East or the Far East for patriarchal and sexist views of women and their ownership as property. Yes, she does touch on some during the book but Western Civilization continues to get a rap from people like this. People who love to complain about their lot in life and have difficulty reconciling that things have changed for the better overtime at least in this culture. And since she’s British, she’s likely going to need to move to America soon because of their lax immigration policy is modifying the country where she is going to have less ability to speak out and lobby for improvements or even bring attention to the wrongs she believes needs to be righted. Sharia Law, nor Socialism is kind to women.
In closing, I do want to give the author full credit for researching the data. She points to it throughout the book and I think that is a very important aspect of bolstering her criticisms of a male dominated world. It also helps to soften some of the sarcasm and shrillness in which she presents some of her findings. I can’t blame her for being frustrated or mad, but as she went to great length to explain in the book “men don’t like uppity women”. So it would be a lot easier for her to get men to see things her way if she didn’t act so petulantly. Using her data and a winsome tone with me would improve her odds of success. Is that a double standard? Absolutely! But that is reality. And if she wants to change reality, she may have to change the way she presents her ideas to get people like me who are standing in the way of her Utopia to come around to her way of thinking.
All and all a worthwhile endeavor to read or listen to it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Welcome to Your Teenager's Brain
- By: Abigail Baird
- Narrated by: Abigail Baird
- Length: 4 hrs and 37 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Teenagers are a breed of their own. They speak their own language, they abide by their own rules, and they seem to exist to drive adults crazy. But adolescence is a typical stage of human development that is the essential preparation for success in the adult world. The more you understand about your teen’s brain, the better prepared you will be to handle this turbulent time. Professor Abigail Baird has devoted the majority of her career to studying adolescence, and in this Audible Original, she shares the latest perspectives on this amazing time of cognitive and behavioral growth.
-
-
Excellent Lecture Series
- By David Korb on 05-01-21
- Welcome to Your Teenager's Brain
- By: Abigail Baird
- Narrated by: Abigail Baird
Interesting but not as helpful as hoped
Reviewed: 07-09-24
This topic is of interest to me because I had three teenagers at the time of getting this audiobook. Two of which are girls.
It’s a Great Courses lecture series which I enjoy. I think I would have enjoyed this much more had I been able to hear this author lecture in person. Unfortunately, she was still the one to read the lectures. Which sounds weird. It is.
But why? I did not like recording due to the breathy and lispy way the author speaks. It got to me right away and I was only able to listen to about half of the lectures and then took it pretty significant break. Mainly because I found myself being annoyed while she was speaking instead of listening to the material more closely. So I could very well miss some important points due to my inability to focus on much else.
I would not use this review as your final choice as to whether or not to listen to the lectures. As they are interesting, but not quite as impactful or insightful as I thought they might be for me. If there is a way to read this instead of listening to it, I would choose that instead.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
The 1% Rule
- How to Fall in Love with the Process and Achieve Your Wildest Dreams
- By: Tommy Baker
- Narrated by: Tommy Baker
- Length: 4 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 1% Rule is a daily system designed to help you close the gap without the crushing pressure that leads most people less inspired and more stuck.
-
-
Gets to the point with no fluff
- By Amazon Customer on 09-04-18
- The 1% Rule
- How to Fall in Love with the Process and Achieve Your Wildest Dreams
- By: Tommy Baker
- Narrated by: Tommy Baker
Great premise, but lacked a great editor to trim this down to a TED talk
Reviewed: 06-18-24
The author read the book. Bad choice. Breathe. Tommy Boy Jackhammers away thru the material so the sentences run-on in ways that distracted me from the jump. He also has some odd, random mispronunciations of words for a book he wrote himself.
There are some good take-aways here and there, but they are few and far between. Everything requires passion, and rigor, and tears, and relentless pursuit, and other hyperbolic phrases that are comical and exhausting.
I congratulate him on writing the book and being a passionate coach, but this book is too long, overwrought and full of lists of words in lieu of complete thoughts. An editor with a relentless pursuit of brevity would been a great asset to the author and to the reader.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
The Simple Path to Wealth
- Your Road Map to Financial Independence and a Rich, Free Life
- By: JL Collins
- Narrated by: JL Collins, Peter Adeney
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This book grew out of a series of letters to my daughter concerning various things - mostly about money and investing - she was not yet quite ready to hear. Since money is the single most powerful tool we have for navigating this complex world we've created, understanding it is critical.
-
-
Misleading, heavily biased
- By Cody Peralta on 07-19-19
- The Simple Path to Wealth
- Your Road Map to Financial Independence and a Rich, Free Life
- By: JL Collins
- Narrated by: JL Collins, Peter Adeney
Good DIY book
Reviewed: 02-25-24
The author doesn’t really break any new ground here. But I enjoy people that speak their mind and are confident in their way of thinking and abilities. This author does a nice job of laying out why people don’t need financial advisors to help them save for retirement.
As a financial advisor myself, I hear this from time to time. Which personally I don’t mind. I don’t think what I do is rocket science, per se. But there’s quite a bit of psychology and attention to detail involved in helping people and getting them to do what they need to do to have a secure retirement,. And unfortunately not everybody can help themselves.
And even though the author doesn’t like it, 80% or more, the financial advisors actually do good things for their clients and deserve to be paid. And when somebody’s paying a financial advisor, of course that means there’s less money for them to have invested. But the same is true when you pay a fee or commission to a real estate agent or pay a commission to a car salesman or pay a commission to somebody to buy clothes or any number of things. Some of those commissions are, easy to see and right out in front and others are built into the price already. I really don’t see what all the fuss is about but it does make for a good storyline or a strawman to rail against.
There are a couple of notable errors in the book, but nothing that would keep the average person from reading it, enjoying it, and potentially putting the recommendations into practice. I just think it’s funny that somebody that’s detail oriented and brags up the number of hours that he spent studying this subject that he has some basic errors that either he should’ve caught or his editors or proofreaders. Again, nothing to keep you from enjoying the book and deciding for yourself if you should do it yourself or hire an advisor.
Overall, the author does a good job of hitting the high points necessary to save money, and retire, early and comfortably. He does gloss over some important points related to insurances. And how they protect you when you don’t have any money. Until somebody has millions of dollars it’s pretty hard to insure against catastrophic losses. But he does deserve credit for touching on having the appropriate property and casualty insurance as well as an umbrella policy. So many people don’t do this. And if they are getting advice from the author, then hopefully this is one of several things they will take away, and put into action for their own protection.
Not sure if the author recorded the book or if it was a voice person. Either way, I really enjoyed their voice and they’re reading intonations. It made for a very enjoyable listen.
Many people are capable of following advice in this book and being successful. However, based on my own personal experience, a lot of those people shouldn’t do it alone. Even the ones who are disciplined in their savings and investing and don’t get too emotional, still need advice over the years. Hopefully they’re not too stubborn to seek it out when it’s time to ask for help. And for the advisors out there I hope they’re ready to help in an honest caring way. The rest of us are counting on you to do the right thing just like your clients are. Don’t feed into the narrative. This author is promoting that all financial advisors are bad and offer. No value. There’s a reason these books resonate with people and that’s because there are a bunch of bad financial advisors. Sales people masquerading as advisors who don’t really offer the guidance or solutions Needed for the situation. There’s not a lot of them there’s just enough of them to make it seem like it’s everybody.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Chasing the Demon
- A Secret History of the Quest for the Sound Barrier, and the Band of American Aces Who Conquered It
- By: Dan Hampton
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the aftermath of World War II, the United States accelerated the development of technologies that would give it an advantage over the Soviet Union. Airpower, combined with nuclear weapons, offered a formidable check on Soviet aggression. In 1947, the United States Air Force was established. Meanwhile, scientists and engineers were pioneering a revolutionary new type of aircraft which could do what no other machine had ever done: reach mach 1 - a speed faster than the movement of sound - which pilots called "the demon."
-
-
Not at all what it purports to be
- By John A Stevenson on 11-20-18
- Chasing the Demon
- A Secret History of the Quest for the Sound Barrier, and the Band of American Aces Who Conquered It
- By: Dan Hampton
- Narrated by: John Pruden
Fun flight thru history
Reviewed: 12-03-23
Great narrator. Love this guy!
Very interesting story and except for technical aspects. Weird to narrate the glossary and have it come after a somewhat anti-climactic finish after a long, slow build. Would like to have either heard that first to help with vocabulary for the book or should have read the book instead is listened.
I really like this narrator. Book is a 3 or 4 as it gets bogged down in flipping back and forth with war and world history and relating it to the person or topic at hand.
A little too much aviation technology descriptions for my taste but still interesting.
For a fan of “The Right Stuff” this is a great primer or filler to close out some biographies or flesh out who characters are in the book and in the movie. Especially Pancho Barnes.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
The Obstacle Is the Way
- The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph
- By: Ryan Holiday
- Narrated by: Ryan Holiday
- Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We are stuck, stymied, frustrated. But it needn't be this way. There is a formula for success that's been followed by the icons of history - from John D. Rockefeller to Amelia Earhart to Ulysses S. Grant to Steve Jobs - a formula that let them turn obstacles into opportunities. Faced with impossible situations, they found the astounding triumphs we all seek.
-
-
Great book I wish I had 25 years ago
- By Jason DeFillippo on 05-08-14
- The Obstacle Is the Way
- The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph
- By: Ryan Holiday
- Narrated by: Ryan Holiday
Entry to Stoicism.
Reviewed: 11-10-23
I know several people who are avid readers that are big fans of Ryan Holliday in his work. So I decided to check out the audio version of the book, even though I had bought a box set of his three years ago. And, of course have not dug into any of them.
I don’t know that much about Stoicism and I’m not 100% sure I know a lot more about it after listening this book. I do wonder if reading it would help me internalize the message a little bit better than what I’m coming away with today.
I probably enjoyed the bonus interview at the end of this audiobook as much or more than I did listening to it. If nothing else to hear the author discuss his disappointment in the sound of his voice. I think authors should read their work on these audiobooks when possible. This is one of those times I think they should’ve gotten a professional voice person. For somebody who should know the material thoroughly, his reading was often times choppy to listen to, hence my low performance score. And I don’t care for the sound of his voice for a project like this.
Unfortunately, I just didn’t take very much away from this book like I’d hoped to.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Last Word
- My Indictment of the CIA in the Murder of JFK
- By: Mark Lane
- Narrated by: Mark Boyett
- Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mark Lane tried the only US court case in which the jurors concluded that the CIA plotted the murder of President Kennedy, but there was always a missing piece: How did the CIA control cops and secret service agents on the ground in Dealey Plaza? How did federal authorities prevent the House Select Committee on Assassinations from discovering the truth about the complicity of the CIA? Now, Mark Lane tells all in this explosive new book.
-
-
Bold, Direct and Controversial, As Always
- By Peter on 06-09-12
- Last Word
- My Indictment of the CIA in the Murder of JFK
- By: Mark Lane
- Narrated by: Mark Boyett
Compelling Evidence the CIA is More Evil Than We Think
Reviewed: 11-03-23
This book covers a lot of territory. For whatever reason I thought it was going to be focused solely on the CIA involvement in the Kennedy assassination. But the author goes off in multiple different directions showing where the CIA came from where it’s been and where he thinks it’s going.
Last 20 or 30% of the book is a little long just for the simple fact that it’s deep into the weeds on what the CIA has been up to for the last few years prior to the Book’s publication. And because of the wide ranging storyline, the book becomes repetitive.
I think my main surprise was based on how detailed the author was in his various legal and investigative work that he is still a devoted Democrat. It doesn’t necessarily mean that he should be a devoted Republican instead. It’s just that this book seems to expose both parties as being very complicit in investigating the Kennedy assassination, as well as allowing the CIA to maintain, sustain, and grow beyond its original scope. A lot of that blame lays at the feed of Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson. And we’ve obviously had several Democratic presidents since then including two that served two terms. And yet the CIA continues to grow out of control and beyond control of elected officials, and the citizens of the United States.
I have no reason not to think the information brought forward in this book is not factual. It certainly sheds new light on the Kennedy assassination for me. And the author does it in a way that makes it seem very matter of fact. Not some wild, unhinged conspiracy theory/crackpot take on things. However, I can see more clearly why there are so many theories and crackpots looking into this and not trusting government. This book really veers off into that place during the last 20 to 30% of the book. If the government is able to cover up this many things from all levels, as well as lie about what it is doing or not doing, what is the hope of actually closing this agency and stopping all the problems it’s creating both domestically and internationally?
The book ends with the letter from the author to then President Barack Obama. asking him to prosecute and shut down the CIA. And yet here we are involved in multiple battlefronts and with global Dee stabilization. The author is certainly made a very compelling case to me that what he saying is true.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Wizard
- The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla: Biography of a Genius
- By: Marc J. Seifer
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 22 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nikola Tesla (1856-1943), credited as the inspiration for radio, robots, and even radar, has been called the patron saint of modern electricity. Based on original material and previously unavailable documents, this acclaimed book is the definitive biography of the man considered by many to be the founding father of modern electrical technology.
-
-
Tesla was a hundred years ahead of his time
- By Jean on 01-28-12
- Wizard
- The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla: Biography of a Genius
- By: Marc J. Seifer
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
Detailed biographical account of a genius
Reviewed: 10-26-23
Tremendously detailed look into the life and times and mind of a true genius and future seeker/seer
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Electric City
- The Lost History of Ford and Edison's American Utopia
- By: Thomas Hager
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor
- Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
During the Roaring Twenties, two of the most revered and influential men in American business proposed to transform one of the country’s poorest regions into a dream technological metropolis, a shining paradise of small farms, giant factories, and sparkling laboratories. Henry Ford and Thomas Edison’s “Detroit of the South” would be 10 times the size of Manhattan, powered by renewable energy, and free of air pollution. And it would reshape American society.
-
-
Feels incomplete
- By M on 12-12-23
- Electric City
- The Lost History of Ford and Edison's American Utopia
- By: Thomas Hager
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor
An Excellent Micro History
Reviewed: 10-26-23
I’m glad I grabbed this audiobook. A quick listen. Moves quickly for those who may not like history.
I didn’t know the history of the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) nor the history of Henry Ford trying to start a city in the South. Unique part of US history.
My only complaint is at several points the author repeats himself. By memory it’s four times (maybe it was 3 or maybe 5). Not a big deal but just odd. Including the last chapter of the book.
Lots of interesting characters that this book explores throughout making multi-faceted.
Voice performer was very good as well.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Stalin's Secret Agents
- The Subversion of Roosevelt's Government
- By: M. Stanton Evans, Herbert Romerstein
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Most Americans have grown accustomed to accept the version of history that the Soviets were our noble allies and took the brunt of the casualties during World War II. But after decades of research by veteran journalist M. Stanton Evans and intelligence expert Herbert Romerstein, the truth has come to light and is now exposed in Stalin's Secret Agents. Evans and Romerstein focus on the role of secret Communist Alger Hiss at the crucial Yalta Conference of 1945, where vast U.S. concessions were made to Russia....
-
-
Stalin actually ran our war policy!
- By WSV1975 on 07-04-13
- Stalin's Secret Agents
- The Subversion of Roosevelt's Government
- By: M. Stanton Evans, Herbert Romerstein
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
Excellent Expose
Reviewed: 10-15-23
A sad tale of American exceptionalism in blind faith in themselves and those who despite words and deeds showing they want to destroy America… help those enemies do so.
A terrible image of FDR painted here. Not unlike the concerns around the Wilson and now Biden presidencies. Who is making decisions? An incapacitated, elected official or his know it all bureaucratic henchmen?
Impressive picture painted of the Russians playing us for fools and demonstrating how easy it has been all these years.
Well worth the listen, follow d by this authors book on Sen Joe McCarthy.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!