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Cyberwar, Chicken Farms, & the Social History of LSD | Audio in Advance March 2016 | Nonfiction
Amundsen, Lucie B. Locally Laid: How We Built a Plucky, Industry-Changing Egg Farm—From Scratch. Blackstone. ISBN 9781504685825. Reader TBA. When the Amundsens decided to start a commercial-scale pasture-raised egg farm, their entire agricultural experience consisted of raising five backyard hens, none of whom had yet laid a single egg. But with a heavy dose of humor, they learned to negotiate the no-man’s-land known as middle agriculture. Amundsen sees firsthand—and here shares with readers—how these mid-sized farms, situated between small-scale operations and mammoth factory farms, are vital to rebuilding America’s local food systems. Anner, Zach. If at Birth You Don't Succeed: My Adventures with Disaster and Destiny. Macmillan Audio. ISBN 9781427268037. Read by the author. Comedian Anner opens with an admission: he botched his own birth. Two months early, underweight and underprepared for life, he entered the world with cerebral palsy and an uncertain future. So how did he blossom into an online sensation who's hosted two travel shows, impressed Oprah, driven the Mars Rover, and inspired a John Mayer song? Whether recounting a valiant childhood attempt to woo Cindy Crawford, encounters with zealous faith healers, or the time he crapped his pants mere feet from Dr. Phil, Anner shares his fumbles with honesty and charm. Burroughs, Augusten. Lust & Wonder. Macmillan Audio. ISBN 9781427270689. Read by the author. In chronicling the development and demise of the different relationships he's had while living in New York, Burroughs examines what it means to be in love, what it means to be in lust, and what it means to be figuring it all out. Cohen, Adam. Imbeciles: The Supreme Court, American Eugenics, and the Sterilization of Carrie Buck. Books on Tape. ISBN 9780399565953. Read by Dan Woren. Cohen here tells the story of one of the darkest moments in the American legal tradition: the Supreme Court’s decision to champion eugenic sterilization. In 1927, the justices allowed Virginia to sterilize Carrie Buck, a perfectly normal young woman, for being an “imbecile.” It is a story with many villains, but the most troubling actors of all were the eight Supreme Court justices who were in the majority, including former president William Howard Taft, legendary progressive Louis Brandeis, and Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., America’s most esteemed justice, who wrote the decision urging the nation to embark on a program of mass eugenic sterilization, which led to the sterilization of 70,000 Americans. Duhigg, Charles. Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business. Books on Tape. ISBN 9780449806500. Read by Mike Chamberlain. Productivity relies on making certain choices—the way we frame our daily decisions; the big ambitions we embrace and the easy goals we ignore; the cultures we establish as leaders to drive innovation; the way we interact with data: These are the things that separate the merely busy from the genuinely productive. Here the author of The Power of Habit establishes eight key concepts—from motivation and goal setting to focus and decision making—that explain why some people and companies get so much done. Drawing on the latest findings in neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral economics—as well as the experiences of CEOs, educational reformers, four-star generals, FBI agents, airplane pilots, and Broadway songwriters—this work explains that the most productive people, companies, and organizations don’t merely act differently: they view the world, and their choices, in profoundly different ways. 
Egan, Timothy. The Immortal Irishman: The Irish Revolutionary Who Became an American Hero. Brilliance. ISBN 9781480562745. Read by Gerard Doyle. A dashing young orator during the Great Famine of the 1840s, in which a million of his Irish countrymen died, Thomas Francis Meagher led a failed uprising against British rule, for which he was banished to a Tasmanian prison colony. He escaped and six months later, he was in New York. Meagher’s rebirth in America included his leading the newly formed Irish Brigade from New York in many of the fiercest battles of the Civil War—Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg. Twice shot from his horse while leading charges, left for dead in the Virginia mud, Meagher’s dream was that Irish American troops, seasoned by war, would return to Ireland and liberate their homeland from British rule. The hero's last chapter, as territorial governor of Montana, was a romantic quest for a true home in the far frontier. Feinstein, John. The Legends Club: Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Valvano, and an Epic College Basketball Rivalry. Books on Tape. ISBN 9780399565670. Read by the author. The inside story of college basketball's fiercest rivalry among three coaching legends—University of North Carolina's Dean Smith, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, and North Carolina State's Jim Valvano—an era in American sports and culture, documenting a decade of incredible competition. Feinstein pulls back the curtain on the recruiting wars, the intensely personal competition that wasn't always friendly, the enormous pressure and national stakes, and the battle for the very soul of college basketball allegiance in a hotbed area. Garrels, Anne. Putin Country: A Journey into the Real Russia. HighBridge. ISBN 9781681680682. Reader TBA. More than 20 years ago, NPR correspondent Garrels began to visit the region of Chelyabinsk, an aging military-industrial center 1,000 miles east of Moscow that is home to the Russian nuclear program. Her goal was to chart the social and political aftershocks of the USSR's collapse. On her trips to an area once closed to the West, Garrels discovered a populace for whom the new democratic freedoms were as traumatic as they were delightful. The region suffered a severe economic crisis in the early 1990s, and the next 20 years would only bring more turmoil as well as a growing identity crisis and antagonism toward foreigners. The city of Chelyabinsk became richer and more cosmopolitan, even as corruption and intolerance grew more entrenched. Here Garrels crafts a necessary portrait of the nation's heartland, explaining why Vladimir Putin commands the loyalty of so many Russians, even those who decry the abuses of power they encounter from day to day. Hagerty, Barbara Hadley. Life Reimagined: The Science, Art, and Opportunity of Midlife. Books on Tape. ISBN 9780399566714. Read by the author. New scientific research explodes the fable that midlife is a time when things start to go downhill for everybody. In fact, midlife can be a great new adventure, when you can embrace fresh possibilities, purposes, and pleasures. Hagerty explains that midlife is about renewal: It’s the time to renegotiate your purpose, refocus your relationships, and transform the way you think about the world and yourself. Drawing from emerging information in neurology, psychology, biology, genetics, and sociology—as well as her own story of midlife transformation—Hagerty redraws the map for people in midlife and plots a new course forward in understanding our health, our relationships, even our futures. Heaney, Katie. Never Have I Ever: My Life (So Far) Without a Date. Hachette Audio. ISBN 9781478911104. Reader TBA. By age 25, equipped with a college degree, plenty of friends, and a happy family life, Heaney still has never had a boyfriend—and she's barely even been on a second date. In this work, listeners will meet her loyal group of girlfriends, including the outgoing Rylee, the wild child to Heaney's shrinking violet, as well as a whole roster of Heaney's ill-fated crushes. And they will get to know the author herself—a smart, modern heroine for anyone who has ever struggled to find love. 
Kaplan, Fred. Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War. Blackstone. ISBN 9781504694285. Read by Malcolm Hillgartner. Kaplan probes the inner corridors of the National Security Agency, the beyond-top-secret cyber units in the Pentagon, the “information warfare” squads of the military services, and the national security debates in the White House to tell this never-before-told story of the officers, policymakers, scientists, and spies who devised this new form of warfare and who have been planning—and, more often than people know, fighting—these wars for decades. From the 1991 Gulf War to conflicts in Haiti, Serbia, Syria, the former Soviet republics, Iraq, and Iran, where cyber warfare played a significant role, Dark Territory chronicles a little-known past that shines an unsettling light on our future. Lee, Martin A. & Bruce Shlain. Acid Dreams: The Complete Social History of LSD—The CIA, the Sixties, and Beyond. Brilliance. ISBN 9781511383547. Read by Oliver Wyman. Few events have had a more profound impact on the social and cultural upheavals of the Sixties than the psychedelic revolution spawned by the spread of LSD. This audiobook tells the full story—part of it hidden till now in secret government files—of the role the mind-altering drug played in our recent turbulent history and the continuing influence it has on our time. Armed with new information obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, the authors reveal how the CIA became obsessed with LSD during the Cold War, fearing the Soviets had designs on it as well. What follows is one of the more bizarre episodes in the covert history of US intelligence. MacLeod, D. Peter. Northern Armageddon: The Battle of the Plains of Abraham and the Making of the American Revolution. HighBridge. ISBN 9781681680507. Reader TBA. The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, the clash between British general James Wolfe and French general Louis-Joseph de Montcalm on September 13, 1759, led to the British victory in the Seven Years' War in North America, which in turn led to the creation of Canada and the United States as we know them today. Northern Armageddon immerses listeners in the campaign, battle, and siege through the eyes of dozens of participants, such as British sailor William Hunter, four Quebec residents enduring the bombing of their city, and a teenage Huron warrior. Malcolm, Ellen & Craig Unger. When Women Win: EMILY's List and the Rise of Women in American Politics. Brilliance. ISBN 9781511375306. Read by Cassandra Campbell. In 1985, aware of the near-total absence of women in Congress, Malcolm launched EMILY’s List, a powerhouse political organization that seeks to ignite change by getting women elected to office. The rest is riveting history: Between 1986—when there were only 12 Democratic women in the House and none in the Senate—and now, EMILY’s List has helped elect 19 women senators, 11 governors, and 110 Democratic women to the House. When Women Win delivers stories of some of the toughest political contests of the past three decades, and includes Malcolm's own story. 
Miller, Jen A. Running: A Love Story: 10 Years, 5 Marathons, and 1 Life-Changing Sport. HighBridge. ISBN 9781622318995. Reader TBA. Growing up, Miller hated running. It was never going to be done by choice and it was never going to be fun. Fast forward 15 years, though, and you can’t drag her off the road. As the 2008 recession hit, Miller quickly found herself with a newly purchased home, a fading freelance business, and an alcoholic boyfriend. To avoid slipping into an even deeper depression, she took to the streets. What started as a silly assignment (running and reporting on a 5k) soon became an obsession (running 50–plus miles a week training for marathons). Over the course of a few short years and hundreds of miles, Miller fell in love with running, and in doing so, found a way to fall out of love with the wrong kind of men and back in love with herself. Olson, Steve. Eruption: The Untold Story of Mount St. Helens. HighBridge. ISBN 9781681680187. Reader TBA. For months in early 1980, scientists, journalists, and ordinary people listened anxiously to rumblings in the long-dormant volcano Mount St. Helens. Still, when a massive explosion took the top off the mountain, no one was prepared. Fifty-seven people died, including newlywed logger John Killian (for years afterward, his father searched for him in the ash), scientist Dave Johnston, and celebrated local curmudgeon Harry Truman. The lives of many others were forever changed. Olson interweaves history, science, and vivid personal stories of the volcano’s victims and survivors to portray the disaster as a multifaceted turning point. Powerful economic, political, and historical forces influenced who died when the volcano erupted, and their deaths marked the end of an era in the Pacific Northwest. Pearl, David. Will There Be Donuts?: Start a Business Revolution One Meeting at a Time. Brilliance. ISBN 9781511383578. Reader TBA. Today, the very word "meeting" conjures up images of time wasted in badly lit, airless offices, people sitting around tables unsure why they are there and wishing they were somewhere else. In Pearl’s first book, he draws on his two decades of consulting experience to re-educate listeners on how to hold meetings and, crucially, how to make them great. Randall, David K. The King and Queen of Malibu: The True Story of the Battle for Paradise. HighBridge. ISBN 9781681680200. Reader TBA. Over a half-century, Malibu went from an untamed ranch in the middle of nowhere to a paradise seeded with movie stars. Behind its transformation is the love story of Frederick and May Rindge. He was a Harvard-trained confidant of presidents and she grew up on a hardscrabble Midwestern farm, yet their unlikely bond would shape history. The Rindges settled in Los Angeles, quickly amassing a fortune and ushering the frontier city into its modern form. After Frederick’s sudden death, May spent her life clashing with some of the most powerful men in the country to preserve Malibu as she saw fit. Her struggle culminated in a landmark Supreme Court decision that created the iconic Pacific Coast Highway. Robison, John Elder. Switched On: A Memoir of Brain Change and Emotional Awakening. Books on Tape. ISBN 9781101888872. Read by the author. Robison’s memoir Look Me in the Eye is one of the most widely read accounts of life with autism. Here he shares the second part of his journey, pushing the boundaries of scientific discovery as he undergoes an experimental brain therapy known as TMS, or transcranial magnetic stimulation. TMS drastically changes Robison’s life. After 40 years of feeling like a social misfit—either misreading other people’s emotions or missing them completely, and accepting this as his fate—Robison can suddenly sense a powerful range of emotion in others as a result of the treatments.The ability to connect emotionally with others for the first time brings him a kind of joy he has never known. And yet, Robison’s newfound insight has very real downsides. As the emotional ground shifts beneath his feet, he must find a way to move forward without losing sight of who he is, what he values, and all he has worked so hard for. 
Russell, Helen. The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country. Brilliance. ISBN 9781511383592. Read by Lucy Price-Lewis. When she was suddenly given the opportunity of a new life in rural Jutland, journalist and archetypal Londoner Russell discovered a startling statistic: the happiest place on earth isn't Disneyland but Denmark, a land often thought of by foreigners as consisting entirely of long, dark winters, cured herring, Lego, and pastries. Are happy Danes born or made? Russell decides there is only one way to find out: she will give herself a year to try to uncover the formula for Danish happiness. From child care, education, food and interior design to SAD, taxes, sexism, and an unfortunate predilection for burning witches, Russell shows listeners where the Danes get it right, where they get it wrong, and how we might just benefit from living a little more Danishly ourselves. Seddiqui, Daniel. 50 Jobs in 50 States: One Man's Journey of Discovery Across America. Brilliance. ISBN 9781511383356. Read by L.J. Ganser. Like lots of college grads, Seddiqui was having a hard time finding a job. But despite more than 40 rejections, he knew opportunities had to exist. So he set out on an extraordinary quest: 50 jobs in 50 states in 50 weeks. And not just any jobs; he chose professions that reflected the culture and economy of each state. Working as a cheesemaker in Wisconsin, a border patrol agent in Arizona, a meatpacker in Kansas, a lobsterman in Maine, a surfing instructor in Hawaii, and a football coach in Alabama, Seddiqui chronicles how he adapted to wildly differing people, cultures, and environments. Tackling challenge after challenge—overcoming anxiety about working four miles underground in a West Virginia coal mine, learning to walk on six–foot stilts (in a full Egyptian costume) at a Florida amusement park, racing the clock as a pit-crew member at an Indiana racetrack—Daniel completed his journey a changed man. Sedgwick, John. War of Two: Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and the Duel that Stunned the Nation. Recorded Books. ISBN 9781490698151. Read by P.J. Ochlan. Sedgwick explores the longstanding conflict between founding father Alexander Hamilton and Vice President Aaron Burr. A study in contrasts from birth, they had been compatriots, colleagues, and even friends. But above all they were rivals. Matching each other's ambition and skill as lawyers in New York, they later battled for power along political fault lines that would not only decide the future of the United States, but define it. A series of letters between Burr and Hamilton suggest the duel was fought over an unflattering comment made at a dinner party. But another letter, written by Hamilton the night before the event, provides critical insight into his true motivation. It was addressed to former Speaker of the House Theodore Sedgwick, a trusted friend of both men, and the author's own ancestor. John Sedgwick suggests that Hamilton saw Burr not merely as a personal rival but as a threat to the nation. Burr would prove that fear justified after Hamilton's death when, haunted by the legacy of his longtime adversary, he embarked on an imperial scheme to break the Union apart. Tattersall, Ian & Rob DeSalle. A Natural History of Wine. Brilliance. ISBN 9781490686554. Read by Kevin R. Free. An excellent bottle of wine can be the spark that inspires a brainstorming session. Such was the case for Tattersall and DeSalle, scientists who frequently collaborate on book and museum exhibition projects. When the conversation turned to wine one evening, it almost inevitably led the two—one a palaeoanthropologist, the other a molecular biologist—to begin exploring the many intersections between science and wine. This book presents their fascinating, freewheeling answers to the question, What can science tell us about wine? The book embraces almost every imaginable area of the sciences, from microbiology and ecology (for an understanding of what creates this complex beverage) to physiology and neurobiology (for insight into the effects of wine on the mind and body), drawing on physics, chemistry, biochemistry, evolution, and climatology, and the authors expand the discussion to include insights from anthropology, primatology, entomology, Neolithic archaeology, and classical history. 
van Agtmael, Antoine & Fred Bakker. The Smartest Places on Earth: Why Rustbelts Are the Emerging Hotspots of Global Innovation. Brilliance. ISBN 9781511394512. Read by Christopher Lane. van Agtmael and Bakker present a hopeful and inspiring investigation into the emerging sources of a new era of competitiveness for America and Europe that are coming from unlikely places—those cities and areas once known as "rustbelts" that have, from an economic perspective, been written off. Take, Akron, OH, with an economy that for decades was dependent on industries such as tire manufacturing, a product now made cheaply elsewhere. In Akron and other such communities, a combination of forces—including visionary thinkers, government initiatives, start-ups making real products, and even big corporations—have succeeded in creating what the authors call a "brainbelt." They are producing products and technologies transforming industries such as vehicles and transportation, farming and food production, medical devices and health care. Wood, Levison. Walking the Himalayas. Hachette Audio. ISBN 9781478911029. Reader TBA. Over the course of six months, Wood and his trusted guides trekked 1,700 grueling miles across the roof of the world. The author recounts the beauty and danger he found along the Silk Road route of Afghanistan, the Line of Control between Pakistan and India, the disputed territories of Kashmir, and the earthquake-ravaged lands of Nepal. Packed with action and emotion, this is the story of one man's travels in a world poised on the edge of tremendous change. Zahra, Tara. Great Departure: Mass Migration from Eastern Europe and the Making of the Free World. HighBridge. ISBN 9781681680163. Reader TBA. With a combination of historical analysis and careful attention to individual stories, Zahra deconstructs the myths surrounding emigration, escape, and deportation from Eastern Europe since the late 19th century. The Great Departure shows mass emigration from all sides, including individual stories of poverty and maltreatment, but also the positive changes emigration brought to women. This book is equally relevant for Americans, showing why and how many of their ancestors left their countries, and for Europeans, confronted with an unprecedented wave of immigrants today. 
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