26 Best Science & Technology, Biography & Autobiography Books
Science & Technology, Biography & Autobiography is a popular category for many book lovers. Our team at Speechify has curated a list of the top Science & Technology, Biography & Autobiography audiobooks everyone must read.
See the top 26 Science & Technology, Biography & Autobiography audiobooks below.
-
The Man Who Hacked the World
- By: Alex Cody Foster
- Narrator: Buck Groat
- Length: 17 hours 16 minutes
- Publisher: Dreamscape Media
- Publish date: January 12, 2023
- Language: English
-
4.75(4 ratings)
4.75(4 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0024.99 USDAfter parting ways with the eponymous McAfee Antivirus software company in 1994, John McAfee embarked on innumerable business, political, and criminal enterprises. From investing in cybersecurity and cryptocurrency to accusations of murdering hisAfter parting ways with the eponymous McAfee Antivirus software company in 1994, John McAfee embarked on innumerable business, political, and criminal enterprises. From investing in cybersecurity and cryptocurrency to accusations of murdering his neighbor in Belize to making two unsuccessful bids for President of the United States–the latter attempt done in exile following a federal indictment–this larger-than-life man nurtured a rakish public profile while evading law enforcement for his involvement with drugs, weapons, and murder. For six months, Alex Cody Foster–hired as McAfee’s ghostwriter–traveled with McAfee across America and Europe, occasionally going on the run to evade purported killers and kidnappers. Foster tells the incomparable tale of how the two of them met, where their adventures took them, and what precipitated McAfee’s death.
... Read more -
The Code Breaker
- By: Walter Isaacson
- Narrator: Kathe Mazur
- Length: 32 hours 9 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2021
- Language: English
-
4.5(2 ratings)
4.5(2 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0029.99 USDA 2022 Audie Award FinalistA Best Book of 2021 by Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Time, and The Washington Post The bestselling author of Leonardo da Vinci and Steve Jobs returns with a “compelling” (The Washington Post) account of how NobelA 2022 Audie Award Finalist
... Read more
A Best Book of 2021 by Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Time, and The Washington Post
The bestselling author of Leonardo da Vinci and Steve Jobs returns with a “compelling” (The Washington Post) account of how Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna and her colleagues launched a revolution that will allow us to cure diseases, fend off viruses, and have healthier babies.
When Jennifer Doudna was in sixth grade, she came home one day to find that her dad had left a paperback titled The Double Helix on her bed. She put it aside, thinking it was one of those detective tales she loved. When she read it on a rainy Saturday, she discovered she was right, in a way. As she sped through the pages, she became enthralled by the intense drama behind the competition to discover the code of life. Even though her high school counselor told her girls didn’t become scientists, she decided she would.
Driven by a passion to understand how nature works and to turn discoveries into inventions, she would help to make what the book’s author, James Watson, told her was the most important biological advance since his codiscovery of the structure of DNA. She and her collaborators turned a curiosity of nature into an invention that will transform the human race: an easy-to-use tool that can edit DNA. Known as CRISPR, it opened a brave new world of medical miracles and moral questions.
The development of CRISPR and the race to create vaccines for coronavirus will hasten our transition to the next great innovation revolution. The past half-century has been a digital age, based on the microchip, computer, and internet. Now we are entering a life-science revolution. Children who study digital coding will be joined by those who study genetic code.
Should we use our new evolution-hacking powers to make us less susceptible to viruses? What a wonderful boon that would be! And what about preventing depression? Hmmm…Should we allow parents, if they can afford it, to enhance the height or muscles or IQ of their kids?
After helping to discover CRISPR, Doudna became a leader in wrestling with these moral issues and, with her collaborator Emmanuelle Charpentier, won the Nobel Prize in 2020. Her story is an “enthralling detective story” (Oprah Daily) that involves the most profound wonders of nature, from the origins of life to the future of our species. -
Written in Bone
- By: Sue Black
- Narrator: Sue Black
- Length: 11 hours 41 minutes
- Publisher: Dreamscape Media
- Publish date: July 20, 2021
- Language: English
-
4.34(2691 ratings)
4.34(2691 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0017.99 USDIn her memoir All That Remains, internationally renowned forensic anthropologist and human anatomist Dame Sue Black recounted her life lived eye to eye with the Grim Reaper. During the course of it, she offered a primer on the basics of identifyingIn her memoir All That Remains, internationally renowned forensic anthropologist and human anatomist Dame Sue Black recounted her life lived eye to eye with the Grim Reaper. During the course of it, she offered a primer on the basics of identifying human remains, plenty of insights into the fascinating processes of death, and a sober, compassionate understanding of its inescapable presence in our existence, all leavened with her wicked sense of humor. Now in this book, Black builds on that memoir, taking us on a guided tour of the human skeleton and explaining how each person’s life history is revealed in their bones, which she calls the last sentinels of our mortal life to bear witness to the way we lived it. Her narrative follows the skeleton from the top of the skull to the small bones in the foot. Each step of the journey includes an explanation of the biology–how the bone is formed in a person’s development, how it changes as we age, the secrets it may hold–and is illustrated with anecdotes from the author’s career helping solve crimes and identifying human remains, whether recent or historical. Full of entertaining stories that read like scenes from a true-life CSI drama, Written in Bone is infused with humor and no-nonsense practicality about the realities of corpses and death.
... Read more -
“Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!”
- By: Richard P. Feynman
- Narrator: Raymond Todd
- Length: 11 hours 31 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 1997
- Language: English
-
4.27(62655 ratings)
4.27(62655 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0020.95 USDOne of the most famous science books of our time, the phenomenal national bestseller that “buzzes with energy, anecdote and life. It almost makes you want to become a physicist” (Science Digest). Richard Feynman, one of the world’sOne of the most famous science books of our time, the phenomenal national bestseller that “buzzes with energy, anecdote and life. It almost makes you want to become a physicist” (Science Digest).
Richard Feynman, one of the world’s greatest theoretical physicists, thrived on adventure. His outrageous exploits once shocked a Princeton dean’s wife to exclaim: “Surely you’re joking, Mr. Feynman!”
In this phenomenal national bestseller, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist recounts in his inimitable voice his experiences trading ideas on atomic physics with Einstein and Bohr and ideas on gambling with Nick the Greek, painting a naked female toreador, accompanying a ballet on his bongo drums, and much else of an eyebrow-raising and hilarious nature. Woven together with his views on science, Feynman’s life story is a combustible mixture of high intelligence, unlimited curiosity, eternal skepticism, and raging chutzpah.
... Read more -
Man of the Hour
- By: Jennet Conant
- Narrator: Fred Sanders
- Length: 24 hours 3 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2017
- Language: English
-
4.23(73 ratings)
4.23(73 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0029.99 USD“Gripping…an outstanding portrait” (The Wall Street Journal) of one of the most influential men of the greatest generation, James B. Conant–a savvy architect of the nuclear age and the Cold War–told by his“Gripping…an outstanding portrait” (The Wall Street Journal) of one of the most influential men of the greatest generation, James B. Conant–a savvy architect of the nuclear age and the Cold War–told by his granddaughter, New York Times bestselling author Jennet Conant.
... Read more
James Bryant Conant was a towering figure. He was at the center of the mammoth threats and challenges of the twentieth century. As a young eminent chemist, he supervised the production of poison gas in World War I. As a controversial president of Harvard University, he was a champion of meritocracy and open admissions. As an advisor to FDR, he led the interventionist cause for US entrance in World War II. During that war, Conant oversaw the development of the atomic bomb and argued that it be used against the industrial city of Hiroshima in Japan. Later, he urged the Atomic Energy Commission to reject the hydrogen bomb and devoted the rest of his life to campaigning for international control of atomic weapons. As Eisenhower’s high commissioner to Germany, he helped to plan German recovery and was an architect of the United States’ Cold War policy.
Now New York Times bestselling author Jennet Conant recreates the cataclysmic events of the twentieth century as her grandfather James experienced them. She describes the guilt, fears, and sometimes regret of those who invented and deployed the bombs and the personal toll it took. “A masterly account…a perceptive portrayal of a major player in world events throughout the mid-twentieth century” (Publishers Weekly), Man of the Hour is based on hundreds of documents and diaries, interviews with Manhattan Projects scientists, Harvard colleagues, and Conant’s friends and family, including her father, James B. Conant’s son. This is “a most serious work, well written and evocative of an era when the American foreign establishment exuded gravitas…[a] new, relentless, and personally invested account” (The New York Times Book Review). -
Defying Limits
- By: Dave Williams
- Narrator: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 6 hours 46 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2018
- Language: English
-
4.22(291 ratings)
4.22(291 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0017.99 USDA Simon & Schuster audiobook. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every listener. -
Defying Limits
- By: Dave Williams
- Narrator: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 13 hours 32 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster
- Publish date: January 01, 2018
- Language: English
-
4.22(291 ratings)
4.22(291 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0017.99 USDAn inspirational, uplifting, and life-affirming memoir about passion, resilience, and living life to the fullest, from Dr. Dave Williams, one of Canada’s most accomplished astronauts. I had dreamt about becoming an astronaut from the time IAn inspirational, uplifting, and life-affirming memoir about passion, resilience, and living life to the fullest, from Dr. Dave Williams, one of Canada’s most accomplished astronauts.
... Read more
I had dreamt about becoming an astronaut from the time I watched Alan Shepard launch on the first American sub-orbital flight on May 5, 1961. Eleven days before my seventh birthday, I committed to a new goal: one day, I would fly in outer space.
Dr. Dave has led the sort of life that most people only dream of. He has set records for spacewalking. He has lived undersea for weeks at a time. He has saved lives as an emergency doctor, launched into the stratosphere twice, and performed surgery in zero gravity.
But if you ask him how he became so accomplished, he’ll say: “I’m just a curious kid from Saskatchewan.” Curious indeed.
Dr. Dave never lost his desire to explore nor his fascination with the world. Whether he was exploring the woods behind his childhood home or floating in space at the end of the Canadarm, Dave tried to see every moment of his life as filled with beauty and meaning. He learned to scuba dive at only twelve years old, became a doctor despite academic struggles as an undergraduate, and overcame stiff odds and fierce competition to join the ranks of the astronauts he had idolized as a child.
There were setbacks and challenges along the way–the loss of friends in the Columbia disaster, a cancer diagnosis that nearly prevented him from returning to space–but through it all, Dave never lost sight of his goal. And when he finally had the chance to fly among the stars, he came to realize that although the destination can be spectacular, it’s the journey that truly matters.
In Defying Limits, Dave shares the events that have defined his life, showing us that whether we’re gravity-defying astronauts or earth-bound terrestrials, we can all live an infinite, fulfilled life by relishing the value and importance of each moment. The greatest fear that we all face is not the fear of dying, but the fear of never having lived. Each of us is greater than we believe. And, together, we can exceed our limits to soar farther and higher than we ever imagined. -
Leonardo da Vinci
- By: Walter Isaacson
- Narrator: Alfred Molina
- Length: 34 hours 2 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2017
- Language: English
-
4.19(85275 ratings)
4.19(85275 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0029.99 USDThe #1 New York Times bestseller from Walter Isaacson brings Leonardo da Vinci to life in this exciting new biography that is “a study in creativity: how to define it, how to achieve it…Most important, it is a powerful story of anThe #1 New York Times bestseller from Walter Isaacson brings Leonardo da Vinci to life in this exciting new biography that is “a study in creativity: how to define it, how to achieve it…Most important, it is a powerful story of an exhilarating mind and life” (The New Yorker).
... Read more
Based on thousands of pages from Leonardo da Vinci’s astonishing notebooks and new discoveries about his life and work, Walter Isaacson “deftly reveals an intimate Leonardo” (San Francisco Chronicle) in a narrative that connects his art to his science. He shows how Leonardo’s genius was based on skills we can improve in ourselves, such as passionate curiosity, careful observation, and an imagination so playful that it flirted with fantasy.
He produced the two most famous paintings in history, The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa. With a passion that sometimes became obsessive, he pursued innovative studies of anatomy, fossils, birds, the heart, flying machines, botany, geology, and weaponry. He explored the math of optics, showed how light rays strike the cornea, and produced illusions of changing perspectives in The Last Supper. His ability to stand at the crossroads of the humanities and the sciences, made iconic by his drawing of Vitruvian Man, made him history’s most creative genius.
In the “luminous” (Daily Beast) Leonardo da Vinci, Isaacson describes how Leonardo’s delight at combining diverse passions remains the ultimate recipe for creativity. So, too, does his ease at being a bit of a misfit: illegitimate, gay, vegetarian, left-handed, easily distracted, and at times heretical. His life should remind us of the importance to be imaginative and, like talented rebels in any era, to think different. Here, da Vinci “comes to life in all his remarkable brilliance and oddity in Walter Isaacson’s ambitious new biography…a vigorous, insightful portrait” (The Washington Post). -
Leonardo da Vinci
- By: Walter Isaacson
- Narrator: Alfred Molina
- Length: 9 hours 12 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2017
- Language: English
-
4.19(85275 ratings)
4.19(85275 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0017.99 USDThe #1 New York Times bestseller from Walter Isaacson brings Leonardo da Vinci to life in this exciting new biography that is “a study in creativity: how to define it, how to achieve it…Most important, it is a powerful story of anThe #1 New York Times bestseller from Walter Isaacson brings Leonardo da Vinci to life in this exciting new biography that is “a study in creativity: how to define it, how to achieve it…Most important, it is a powerful story of an exhilarating mind and life” (The New Yorker).
... Read more
Based on thousands of pages from Leonardo da Vinci’s astonishing notebooks and new discoveries about his life and work, Walter Isaacson “deftly reveals an intimate Leonardo” (San Francisco Chronicle) in a narrative that connects his art to his science. He shows how Leonardo’s genius was based on skills we can improve in ourselves, such as passionate curiosity, careful observation, and an imagination so playful that it flirted with fantasy.
He produced the two most famous paintings in history, The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa. With a passion that sometimes became obsessive, he pursued innovative studies of anatomy, fossils, birds, the heart, flying machines, botany, geology, and weaponry. He explored the math of optics, showed how light rays strike the cornea, and produced illusions of changing perspectives in The Last Supper. His ability to stand at the crossroads of the humanities and the sciences, made iconic by his drawing of Vitruvian Man, made him history’s most creative genius.
In the “luminous” (Daily Beast) Leonardo da Vinci, Isaacson describes how Leonardo’s delight at combining diverse passions remains the ultimate recipe for creativity. So, too, does his ease at being a bit of a misfit: illegitimate, gay, vegetarian, left-handed, easily distracted, and at times heretical. His life should remind us of the importance to be imaginative and, like talented rebels in any era, to think different. Here, da Vinci “comes to life in all his remarkable brilliance and oddity in Walter Isaacson’s ambitious new biography…a vigorous, insightful portrait” (The Washington Post). -
The Queens of Animation
- By: Nathalia Holt
- Narrator: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 11 hours 37 minutes
- Publisher: Hachette Audio
- Publish date: October 22, 2019
- Language: English
-
4.17(1352 ratings)
4.17(1352 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0025.98 USDFrom the bestselling author of Rise of the Rocket Girls, the untold, “richly detailed” story of the women of Walt Disney Studios, who shaped the iconic films that have enthralled generations (Margot Lee Shetterly, New York Times... Read moreFrom the bestselling author of Rise of the Rocket Girls, the untold, “richly detailed” story of the women of Walt Disney Studios, who shaped the iconic films that have enthralled generations (Margot Lee Shetterly, New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Figures).
From Snow White to Moana, from Pinocchio to Frozen, the animated films of Walt Disney Studios have moved and entertained millions. But few fans know that behind these groundbreaking features was an incredibly influential group of women who fought for respect in an often ruthless male-dominated industry and who have slipped under the radar for decades.
In The Queens of Animation, bestselling author Nathalia Holt tells their dramatic stories for the first time, showing how these women infiltrated the boys’ club of Disney’s story and animation departments and used early technologies to create the rich artwork and unforgettable narratives that have become part of the American canon. As the influence of Walt Disney Studios grew — and while battling sexism, domestic abuse, and workplace intimidation — these women also fought to transform the way female characters are depicted to young audiences.
With gripping storytelling, and based on extensive interviews and exclusive access to archival and personal documents, The Queens of Animation reveals the vital contributions these women made to Disney’s Golden Age and their continued impact on animated filmmaking, culminating in the record-shattering Frozen, Disney’s first female-directed full-length feature film.
A Best Book of 2019: Library Journal, Christian Science Monitor, and Financial Times -
The Science of James Smithson
- By: Steven Turner
- Length: 12 hours 14 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: November 03, 2020
- Language: English
-
4.14(6 ratings)
4.14(6 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0024.99 USDAccessible exploration of the noteworthy scientific career of James Smithson, who left his fortune to establish the Smithsonian Institution. James Smithson is best known as the founder of the Smithsonian Institution, but few people know his fullAccessible exploration of the noteworthy scientific career of James Smithson, who left his fortune to establish the Smithsonian Institution.
James Smithson is best known as the founder of the Smithsonian Institution, but few people know his full and fascinating story. He was a widely respected chemist and mineralogist and a member of the Royal Society, but in 1865, his letters, collection of 10,000 minerals, and more than 200 unpublished papers were lost to a fire in the Smithsonian Castle. His scientific legacy was further written off as insignificant in an 1879 essay published through the Smithsonian fifty years after his death–a claim that author Steven Turner demonstrates is far from the truth.
By providing scientific and intellectual context to his work, The Science of James Smithson is a comprehensive tribute to Smithson’s contributions to his fields, including chemistry, mineralogy, and more. This detailed narrative illuminates Smithson and his quest for knowledge at a time when chemists still debated thing as basic as the nature of fire, and struggled to maintain their networks amid the ever-changing conditions of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars.
... Read more -
A Beautiful Mind
- By: Sylvia Nasar
- Narrator: Anna Fields
- Length: 18 hours 12 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2000
- Language: English
-
4.13(126846 ratings)
4.13(126846 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0024.95 USDThis is the powerful, dramatic biography of math genius John Nash, who overcame serious mental illness and schizophrenia to win the Nobel Prize. This book is the inspiration for the Academy Award-winning film starring Russell Crowe and JenniferThis is the powerful, dramatic biography of math genius John Nash, who overcame serious mental illness and schizophrenia to win the Nobel Prize. This book is the inspiration for the Academy Award-winning film starring Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly and directed by Ron Howard.
“How could you, a mathematician, believe that extraterrestrials were sending you messages?” the visitor from Harvard asked the West Virginian with the movie-star looks and Olympian manner. “Because the ideas I had about supernatural beings came to me the same way my mathematical ideas did,” came the answer. “So I took them seriously.”Thus begins the true story of John Nash, the mathematical genius, who was already a legend by age thirty, when he slipped into madness, and who–thanks to the selflessness of a beautiful woman and the loyalty of the mathematics community–emerged after decades of ghostlike existence to win a Nobel Prize for triggering the game theory revolution.
The inspiration for an Academy Award-winning movie, Sylvia Nasar’s now-classic biography is a drama about the mystery of the human mind, triumph over adversity, and the healing power of love.
... Read more -
The Compleated Autobiography
- By: Benjamin Franklin
- Narrator: Richard Ferrone
- Length: 13 hours 48 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2006
- Language: English
-
4.09(32 ratings)
4.09(32 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0024.95 USDBenjamin Franklin’s celebrated autobiography, published after his death, is one of the greatest autobiographies of all time—but it was incomplete. Franklin ended his life’s story in 1757, when he was only fifty-one. He livedBenjamin Franklin’s celebrated autobiography, published after his death, is one of the greatest autobiographies of all time—but it was incomplete. Franklin ended his life’s story in 1757, when he was only fifty-one. He lived another thirty-three full, eventful, and dramatic years, some of the most dramatic years in American history—years in which Franklin was America’s advocate in London, represented Pennsylvania in the Continental Congress, and was America’s wartime ambassador to France. During these years Franklin also helped write our nation’s Constitution and planned an American Empire that would displace the British Empire.
Franklin is one of the most fascinating of the Founding Fathers—a polymath like Jefferson, a practical statesman like Washington, and a cynic and wit beyond parallel. Now, at last, in The Compleated Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin, we finally get the rest of the story, in Franklin’s own words.
Faithfully compiled and edited from Franklin’s papers by Dr. Mark Skousen—Franklin’s descendant, acting as his devoted secretary—this is the closest we will ever get to Franklin sitting down in his study in Philadelphia, dipping quill into ink, and finishing his autobiography.
... Read more -
American Prometheus
- By: Kai Bird
- Narrator: Jeff Cummings
- Length: 26 hours 30 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2006
- Language: English
-
4.09(15168 ratings)
4.09(15168 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0034.95 USDPULITZER PRIZE WINNER – The definitive biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, one of the iconic figures of the twentieth century, a brilliant physicist who led the effort to build the atomic bomb for his country in a time of war, and who laterPULITZER PRIZE WINNER – The definitive biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, one of the iconic figures of the twentieth century, a brilliant physicist who led the effort to build the atomic bomb for his country in a time of war, and who later found himself confronting the moral consequences of scientific progress.THE INSPIRATION FOR THE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE OPPENHEIMERJ. Robert Oppenheimer is one of the iconic figures of the twentieth century, a brilliant physicist who led the effort to build the atomic bomb for his country in a time of war and who later found himself confronting the moral consequences of scientific progress.
When he proposed international controls over atomic materials, opposed the development of the hydrogen bomb, and criticized plans for a nuclear war, his ideas were anathema to powerful advocates of a massive nuclear buildup during the anti-Communist hysteria of the early 1950s. They declared that Oppenheimer could not be trusted with America’s nuclear secrets.
In this magisterial biography twenty-five years in the making, which won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for biography, the authors capture Oppenheimer’s life and times, from his early career to his central role in the Cold War.
... Read more -
Delia Akeley and the Monkey
- By: Iain McCalman
- Narrator: Daniel Moore
- Length: 6 hours 21 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2022
- Language: English
-
4(3 ratings)
4(3 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0016.95 USDOn an East African hunting expedition in 1909, Delia Akeley, a forty-year-old American woman, casually captured a baby female monkey, never dreaming this act would overturn both their lives. Delia’s life was isolated and often lonely in anOn an East African hunting expedition in 1909, Delia Akeley, a forty-year-old American woman, casually captured a baby female monkey, never dreaming this act would overturn both their lives. Delia’s life was isolated and often lonely in an overpoweringly masculine world. She decided to name the monkey JT Jr and study her interactions with humans; a long-frustrated desire to adopt a child led her to also lose her heart to this lovable animal.
This relationship with a feisty, intelligent Vervet unlocked Delia’s latent talents of research and observation, anticipating both Jane Goodall’s chimpanzee writings and Margaret Mead’s Samoan ethnographies. It illuminates much about human-animal relations and the tyranny of gender inequality by reinstating an obscured story of a dedicated amateur primatologist.
Iain McCalman uses records, official and informal, to build a story of passionate love and hate among women, men, animals, and museums that predates our times but speaks to our present.
... Read more -
The Snake Charmer
- By: Jamie James
- Narrator: William Hughes
- Length: 8 hours 18 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2008
- Language: English
-
3.96(409 ratings)
3.96(409 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0016.95 USDOne of the most brilliant biologists of our time and a charismatic daredevil, Dr. Joe Slowinski had been obsessed with venomous snakes since his youth. In 2001, Slowinski led a team of young scientists deep into the wilds of Burma on a final tragicOne of the most brilliant biologists of our time and a charismatic daredevil, Dr. Joe Slowinski had been obsessed with venomous snakes since his youth. In 2001, Slowinski led a team of young scientists deep into the wilds of Burma on a final tragic expedition. Immediately after being bitten by the many-banded krait, the deadliest serpent in Asia, Joe knew his life was in grave and imminent peril. Thus began one of the most remarkable wilderness rescue attempts of modern times, as Joe’s teammates kept him alive for thirty hours by mouth-to-mouth respiration.
The Snake Charmer is at once a brilliant biography, a pulse-pounding adventure story, an exotic travel book, and a fascinating introduction to the bizarre world of snake science.
... Read more -
First Man
- By: James R. Hansen
- Narrator: Jeremy Bobb
- Length: 16 hours 26 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2018
- Language: English
-
3.89(4298 ratings)
3.89(4298 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0029.99 USDSoon to be a major motion picture, this is the first–and only–definitive authorized account of Neil Armstrong, the man whose “one small step” changed history.When Apollo 11 touched down on the Moon’s surface in 1969,Soon to be a major motion picture, this is the first–and only–definitive authorized account of Neil Armstrong, the man whose “one small step” changed history.
... Read more
When Apollo 11 touched down on the Moon’s surface in 1969, the first man on the Moon became a legend. In First Man, author James R. Hansen explores the life of Neil Armstrong. Based on over fifty hours of interviews with the intensely private Armstrong, who also gave Hansen exclusive access to private documents and family sources, this “magnificent panorama of the second half of the American twentieth century” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) is an unparalleled biography of an American icon.
In this “compelling and nuanced portrait” (Chicago Tribune) filled with revelations, Hansen vividly recreates Armstrong’s career in flying, from his seventy-eight combat missions as a naval aviator flying over North Korea to his formative trans-atmospheric flights in the rocket-powered X-15 to his piloting Gemini VIII to the first-ever docking in space. For a pilot who cared more about flying to the Moon than he did about walking on it, Hansen asserts, Armstrong’s storied vocation exacted a dear personal toll, paid in kind by his wife and children. For the near-fifty years since the Moon landing, rumors have swirled around Armstrong concerning his dreams of space travel, his religious beliefs, and his private life.
A penetrating exploration of American hero worship, Hansen addresses the complex legacy of the First Man, as an astronaut and as an individual. “First Man burrows deep into Armstrong’s past and present…What emerges is an earnest and brave man” (Houston Chronicle) who will forever be known as history’s most famous space traveler. -
First Man
- By: James R. Hansen
- Narrator: Boyd Gaines
- Length: 9 hours 10 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2005
- Language: English
-
3.89(4298 ratings)
3.89(4298 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0021.95 USDSoon to be a major motion picture, this is the first—and only—definitive authorized account of Neil Armstrong, the man whose “one small step” changed history.When Apollo 11 touched down on the Moon’s surface in 1969,Soon to be a major motion picture, this is the first—and only—definitive authorized account of Neil Armstrong, the man whose “one small step” changed history.
... Read more
When Apollo 11 touched down on the Moon’s surface in 1969, the first man on the Moon became a legend. In First Man, author James R. Hansen explores the life of Neil Armstrong. Based on over fifty hours of interviews with the intensely private Armstrong, who also gave Hansen exclusive access to private documents and family sources, this “magnificent panorama of the second half of the American twentieth century” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) is an unparalleled biography of an American icon.
In this “compelling and nuanced portrait” (Chicago Tribune) filled with revelations, Hansen vividly recreates Armstrong’s career in flying, from his seventy-eight combat missions as a naval aviator flying over North Korea to his formative trans-atmospheric flights in the rocket-powered X-15 to his piloting Gemini VIII to the first-ever docking in space. For a pilot who cared more about flying to the Moon than he did about walking on it, Hansen asserts, Armstrong’s storied vocation exacted a dear personal toll, paid in kind by his wife and children. For the near-fifty years since the Moon landing, rumors have swirled around Armstrong concerning his dreams of space travel, his religious beliefs, and his private life.
A penetrating exploration of American hero worship, Hansen addresses the complex legacy of the First Man, as an astronaut and as an individual. “First Man burrows deep into Armstrong’s past and present…What emerges is an earnest and brave man” (Houston Chronicle) who will forever be known as history’s most famous space traveler. -
Rise of the Rocket Girls
- By: Nathalia Holt
- Narrator: Erin Bennett
- Length: 9 hours 45 minutes
- Publisher: Hachette Audio
- Publish date: April 05, 2016
- Language: English
-
3.88(2412 ratings)
3.88(2412 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0025.98 USDThe riveting true story of the women who launched America into space. In the 1940s and 50s, when the newly minted Jet Propulsion Laboratory needed quick-thinking mathematicians to calculate velocities and plot trajectories, they didn’t turnThe riveting true story of the women who launched America into space.... Read moreIn the 1940s and 50s, when the newly minted Jet Propulsion Laboratory needed quick-thinking mathematicians to calculate velocities and plot trajectories, they didn’t turn to male graduates. Rather, they recruited an elite group of young women who, with only pencil, paper, and mathematical prowess, transformed rocket design, helped bring about the first American satellites, and made the exploration of the solar system possible.
For the first time, Rise of the Rocket Girls tells the stories of these women — known as “human computers” — who broke the boundaries of both gender and science. Based on extensive research and interviews with all the living members of the team, Rise of the Rocket Girls offers a unique perspective on the role of women in science: both where we’ve been, and the far reaches of space to which we’re heading.
“If Hidden Figures has you itching to learn more about the women who worked in the space program, pick up Nathalia Holt’s lively, immensely readable history, Rise of the Rocket Girls.” — Entertainment Weekly
-
Quirky
- By: Melissa A Schilling
- Narrator: Erin Bennett
- Length: 10 hours 2 minutes
- Publisher: Hachette Audio
- Publish date: February 13, 2018
- Language: English
-
3.85(438 ratings)
3.85(438 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0025.98 USDThe science behind the traits and quirks that drive creative geniuses to make spectacular breakthroughs What really distinguishes the people who literally change the world — those creative geniuses who give us one breakthrough after another?The science behind the traits and quirks that drive creative geniuses to make spectacular breakthroughs
What really distinguishes the people who literally change the world — those creative geniuses who give us one breakthrough after another? What differentiates Marie Curie or Elon Musk from the merely creative, the many one-hit wonders among us?
Melissa Schilling, one of the world’s leading experts on innovation, invites us into the lives of eight people — Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Elon Musk, Dean Kamen, Nikola Tesla, Marie Curie, Thomas Edison, and Steve Jobs — to identify the traits and experiences that drove them to make spectacular breakthroughs, over and over again. While all innovators possess incredible intellect, intellect alone, she shows, does not create a breakthrough innovator. It was their personal, social, and emotional quirkiness that enabled true genius to break through–not just once but again and again.
Nearly all of the innovators, for example, exhibited high levels of social detachment that enabled them to break with norms, an almost maniacal faith in their ability to overcome obstacles, and a passionate idealism that pushed them to work with intensity even in the face of criticism or failure. While these individual traits would be unlikely to work in isolation — being unconventional without having high levels of confidence, effort, and goal directedness might, for example, result in rebellious behavior that does not lead to meaningful outcomes — together they can fuel both the ability and drive to pursue what others deem impossible.
Schilling shares the science behind the convergence of traits that increases the likelihood of success. And, as Schilling also reveals, there is much to learn about nurturing breakthrough innovation in our own lives — in, for example, the way we run organizations, manage people, and even how we raise our children.
... Read more -
Galileo
- By: Mario Livio
- Narrator: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 8 hours 47 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2020
- Language: English
-
3.79(417 ratings)
3.79(417 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0019.99 USDAn “intriguing and accessible” (Publishers Weekly) interpretation of the life of Galileo Galilei, one of history’s greatest and most fascinating scientists, that sheds new light on his discoveries and how he was challenged byAn “intriguing and accessible” (Publishers Weekly) interpretation of the life of Galileo Galilei, one of history’s greatest and most fascinating scientists, that sheds new light on his discoveries and how he was challenged by science deniers. “We really need this story now, because we’re living through the next chapter of science denial” (Bill McKibben).
... Read more
Galileo’s story may be more relevant today than ever before. At present, we face enormous crises–such as minimizing the dangers of climate change–because the science behind these threats is erroneously questioned or ignored. Galileo encountered this problem 400 years ago. His discoveries, based on careful observations and ingenious experiments, contradicted conventional wisdom and the teachings of the church at the time. Consequently, in a blatant assault on freedom of thought, his books were forbidden by church authorities.
Astrophysicist and bestselling author Mario Livio draws on his own scientific expertise and uses his “gifts as a great storyteller” (The Washington Post) to provide a “refreshing perspective” (Booklist) into how Galileo reached his bold new conclusions about the cosmos and the laws of nature. A freethinker who followed the evidence wherever it led him, Galileo was one of the most significant figures behind the scientific revolution. He believed that every educated person should know science as well as literature, and insisted on reaching the widest audience possible, publishing his books in Italian rather than Latin.
Galileo was put on trial with his life in the balance for refusing to renounce his scientific convictions. He remains a hero and inspiration to scientists and all of those who respect science–which, as Livio reminds us in this “admirably clear and concise” (The Times, London) book, remains threatened everyday. -
Tesla
- By: Margaret Cheney
- Narrator: Arthur Morey
- Length: 13 hours 34 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2014
- Language: English
-
3.69(5260 ratings)
3.69(5260 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0029.99 USDIn this “informative and delightful” (American Scientist) biography, Margaret Cheney explores the brilliant and prescient mind of Nikola Tesla, one of the twentieth century’s greatest scientists and inventors.In Tesla: Man Out ofIn this “informative and delightful” (American Scientist) biography, Margaret Cheney explores the brilliant and prescient mind of Nikola Tesla, one of the twentieth century’s greatest scientists and inventors.
... Read more
In Tesla: Man Out of Time, Margaret Cheney explores the brilliant and prescient mind of one of the twentieth century’s greatest scientists and inventors. Called a madman by his enemies, a genius by others, and an enigma by nearly everyone, Nikola Tesla was, without a doubt, a trailblazing inventor who created astonishing, sometimes world-transforming devices that were virtually without theoretical precedent. Tesla not only discovered the rotating magnetic field — the basis of most alternating-current machinery — but also introduced us to the fundamentals of robotics, computers, and missile science. Almost supernaturally gifted, unfailingly flamboyant and neurotic, Tesla was troubled by an array of compulsions and phobias and was fond of extravagant, visionary experimentations. He was also a popular man-about-town, admired by men as diverse as Mark Twain and George Westinghouse, and adored by scores of society beauties.
From Tesla’s childhood in Yugoslavia to his death in New York in the 1940s, Cheney paints a compelling human portrait and chronicles a lifetime of discoveries that radically altered — and continue to alter — the world in which we live. Tesla: Man Out of Time is an in-depth look at the seminal accomplishments of a scientific wizard and a thoughtful examination of the obsessions and eccentricities of the man behind the science. -
18 Tiny Deaths
- By: Bruce Goldfarb
- Length: 8 hours 35 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: February 04, 2020
- Language: English
-
3.69(1704 ratings)
3.69(1704 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0019.99 USDThe story of a woman whose ambition and accomplishments far exceeded the expectations of her time, 18 Tiny Deaths follows the transformation of a young, wealthy socialite into the mother of modern forensics… Frances Glessner Lee, born aThe story of a woman whose ambition and accomplishments far exceeded the expectations of her time, 18 Tiny Deaths follows the transformation of a young, wealthy socialite into the mother of modern forensics…
Frances Glessner Lee, born a socialite to a wealthy and influential Chicago family in the 1870s, was never meant to have a career, let alone one steeped in death and depravity.
Yet she developed a fascination with the investigation of violent crimes, and made it her life’s work. Best known for creating the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, a series of dollhouses that appear charming?until you notice the macabre little details: an overturned chair, or a blood-spattered comforter. And then, of course, there are the bodies?splayed out on the floor, draped over chairs?clothed in garments that Lee lovingly knit with sewing pins.
18 Tiny Deaths, by official biographer Bruce Goldfarb, delves into Lee’s journey from grandmother without a college degree to leading the scientific investigation of unexpected death out of the dark confines of centuries-old techniques and into the light of the modern day.
Lee developed a system that used the Nutshells dioramas to train law enforcement officers to investigate violent crimes, and her methods are still used today.
18 Tiny Deaths transports the reader back in time and tells the story of how one woman, who should never have even been allowed into the classrooms she ended up teaching in, changed the face of science forever.
... Read more -
Lavoisier in the Year One
- By: Madison Smartt Bell
- Narrator: Arthur Morey
- Length: 5 hours 48 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2022
- Language: English
-
3.53(99 ratings)
3.53(99 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0016.95 USDAntoine Lavoisier reinvented chemistry, overthrowing the long-established principles of alchemy and inventing an entirely new terminology, one still in use by chemists. Madison Smartt Bell’s enthralling narrative reads like a race to theAntoine Lavoisier reinvented chemistry, overthrowing the long-established principles of alchemy and inventing an entirely new terminology, one still in use by chemists.
Madison Smartt Bell’s enthralling narrative reads like a race to the finish line, as the very circumstances that enabled Lavoisier to secure his reputation as the father of modern chemistry–a considerable fortune and social connections with the likes of Benjamin Franklin–also caused his glory to be cut short by the French Revolution.
... Read more -
Galileo
- By: James Reston
- Narrator: Jeff Riggenbach
- Length: 12 hours 48 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2011
- Language: English
-
3(1 ratings)
3(1 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0022.95 USDFor the last four hundred years, Galileo has fascinated and inspired writers, theologians, playwrights, historians, and scientists. As the founder of modern science and the embodiment of the conflict between science and faith, Galileo remains theFor the last four hundred years, Galileo has fascinated and inspired writers, theologians, playwrights, historians, and scientists. As the founder of modern science and the embodiment of the conflict between science and faith, Galileo remains the most fascinating figure of his age. Here James Reston, Jr., presents a lively, dramatic portrait of Galileo, one that not only takes us to the heart of this passionate, embattled, prickly, vain, arrogant, and brilliant man but also paints a vivid picture of Renaissance Italy, of its unparalleled cultural richness and political and religious intrigues. At the center of the story, of course, is Galileo’s discovery of the telescope, which revolutionized astronomy but put Galileo into conflict with the Catholic Church until 1633, when the Inquisition denounced him, banishing him for the last nine years of his life.
... Read more -
Trailblazers
- By: Scientific American
- Narrator: Suzie Althens
- Length: 3 hours 51 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2021
- Language: English
Regular Price:Try for $0.0014.95 USDSally Ride, the first American woman to go to space, once said that she didn’t set out to be a role model, but after her first flight, she realized that she was one. Like her, the twelve women scientists in this collection became unintentionalSally Ride, the first American woman to go to space, once said that she didn’t set out to be a role model, but after her first flight, she realized that she was one. Like her, the twelve women scientists in this collection became unintentional heroes through perseverance and hard work, making great discoveries in all areas of science. From Vera Rubin’s examination of the internal dynamics of galaxies to Nobel Prize winner May-Britt Moser’s study of the brain’s GPS-like navigation system, Trailblazers highlights the achievements of women who became role models for us all.
... Read more
Cliff Weitzman
Cliff Weitzman is a dyslexia advocate and the CEO and founder of Speechify, the #1 text-to-speech app in the world, totaling over 100,000 5-star reviews and ranking first place in the App Store for the News & Magazines category. In 2017, Weitzman was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list for his work making the internet more accessible to people with learning disabilities. Cliff Weitzman has been featured in EdSurge, Inc., PC Mag, Entrepreneur, Mashable, among other leading outlets.
Recent Blogs
-
July 06, 2023
Which books are available on Spotify?
-
July 06, 2023
Are audiobooks free on Spotify with membership?
-
June 25, 2023
Top Destinations for Free eBooks and Audiobooks Online
-
June 25, 2023
Best Alternative to Barnes & Noble Online
-
June 25, 2023
The Best Places to Buy eBooks: Beyond the Kindle Ecosystem
-
June 25, 2023
What are the best places to find free ebooks?
-
June 25, 2023
Best Independent Companies to Buy eBooks from
-
April 19, 2023
How many Game of Thrones books are there?
-
April 19, 2023
Where to buy cheap books: A comprehensive guide
-
April 19, 2023
How many Jack Reacher books are there?
-
April 19, 2023
How many FNAF books are there?
-
April 19, 2023
How many Warrior Cats books are there?
-
April 19, 2023
How many Wheel of Time books are there?
-
April 19, 2023
The best Vampire Survivors powerups in order
-
April 19, 2023
How to read the Robert Galbraith books in order
-
April 19, 2023
How to read the Artemis Fowl books in order
-
April 19, 2023
How to read Craig Johnson’s books in order
-
April 19, 2023
How to read Cassandra Clare’s books in order
-
April 19, 2023
How to read Lee Child’s books in order
-
April 18, 2023
How to read the In Death book series in order
-
April 18, 2023
Best book quotes
-
April 18, 2023
A tale of two cities reviewed
-
April 18, 2023
All the President’s Men reviewed
-
April 18, 2023
Tintin reviewed
-
April 18, 2023
What are adult coloring books?
-
April 18, 2023
How to read the Percy Jackson books in order
-
April 11, 2023
How to find charities for the blind
-
April 11, 2023
What is the best Bible app
-
April 11, 2023
Where to find free audio Bible downloads
-
April 11, 2023
What is the best free Bible app
More in this series
- 12 Best Homelessness & Poverty, Juvenile Fiction Books
- 29 Best Boys & Men Books
- Best book subscription boxes
- 29 Best Visionary & Metaphysical Books
- 29 Best Friendship, Juvenile Fiction Books
- 13 Best West (AK, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, UT, WY), History Books
- 10 Best Humorous, Performing Arts Books
- 13 Best Action & Adventure, Juvenile Fiction Books
- 17 Best South (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV), History Books
- 21 Best Social Activists, Juvenile Nonfiction Books
- 18 Best Etiquette, Travel Books
- 14 Best Baseball & Softball Books
- 29 Best Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic , Fiction Books
- 29 Best Personal Growth Books
- 29 Best Human Resources & Personnel Management, Business & Economics Books
- 29 Best General, Religion Books
- 29 Best General, Education Books
- 17 Best Special Needs Books
- 29 Best Collections & Anthologies, Fiction Books
- 13 Best Nervous System (incl. Brain) Books
- 12 Best New Business Enterprises, Business & Economics Books
- 29 Best Amish & Mennonite, Fiction Books
- 29 Best Meditation Books
- 19 Best Social History, Social Science Books
- 23 Best 19th Century, Juvenile Nonfiction Books
- 29 Best Sports & Recreation Books
- 29 Best Women Authors Books
- 29 Best Weight Loss, Health & Fitness Books
- 21 Best Horses Books
- 29 Best Dystopian Books