New audiobook release: The Phantom Public, by Walter Lippmann

Today The Phantom Public is now available, much to my surprise.

https://librivox.org/phantom-public-by-walter-lippmann/

I actually own a hard-copy of this book, one of the early printings from the 20s. I could never make time for it but when I purchased this there were no available PDF online anywhere(it was still under copyright) and I had planned to scan all the pages and read it myself from my own uploaded scans once it went public domain. So among other things, this release saves me a ton of time. It's a solo recording as well, which is wonderful.

In The Phantom Public, Lippmann takes a very sour look at the world and becomes much more rigidly in favor of rule by experts. He captures a moment when the progressives had been so defeated after the 1920 election, these people didn't even want to be called progressives anymore it was that bad! Little did he know. In less than a decade from this progressives would re-brand themselves as "liberals".

The Phantom Public is a sort of follow up to his earlier book Public Opinion, which I did the recording all by myself.

New audiobook release: Propaganda, by Edward Bernays

Today we have a new audio book release, this time from Edward Bernays with his 1928 work "Propaganda". Download the audio here.

There is a lot to learn about progressivism in this book. Among other things (prior post on this) Bernays believed the following items which were captions on a newer reprint cover:

As civilization has become more complex, and as the need for invisible government has been increasingly demonstrated, the technical means have been invented and developed by which opinion may be regimented(Page 39)

Nowadays the successors of the rulers, those whose position or ability gives them power, can no longer do what they want without the approval of the masses, they find in propaganda a tool which is increasingly powerful in gaining that approval(Page 54)

Democracy is administered by the intelligent minority who know how to regiment and guide the masses(Page 127)

Democracy is administered by the intelligent minority. The "experts". That's the arrogance of progressivism. They can't just leave us alone. Ok, then we need to study these moonbats so we can defend ourselves against their machinations. My guiding principle since day one, this has never changed going all the way back to 2010:

If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle - Sun Tzu (Art of War, Chapter 3)

New audiobook release: Great Events in the History of North and South America by Charles A. Goodrich

Today I would like to highlight the release of a book written by Charles A. Goodrich: Great Events in the History of North and South America

https://librivox.org/great-events-in-the-history-of-north-and-south-america-by-charles-goodrich/

This book ought to be highly useful for home schoolers, it is nearly 90 sections of audio covering a much more generalized education than a deep-dive into one single person or historical event. Many of the audio sections are short in length in the 5-10 minute range, and while the book mentions both North America and South America, 75%~ of the book is North America and almost half of it is the American Revolution and the later Revolutionary War.

Goodrich was a good historian whose name I've come across before, I'm happy someone got to one of his books before I did.

I did not request nor contribute in any way to this book. I simply mention it because I know this will have a benefit and value for someone.

New audiobook release: Biographical Sketches of the Signers of the Declaration of American Independence

What an important release this one is. Today, Benson Lossing's "Biographical Sketches of the Signers of the Declaration of American Independence" is ready for a listen.

This book has some really important sections in it which are not biographies at all, but a 1-by-1 explanation of what each grievance in the Declaration is in reference to. That makes this audio book surely one of a kind in that regard.

As for the biographies, most as audio are inbetween 5 to 10 minutes, giving a brief overview of all of these wonderful people. Some Founding Fathers never received a major biographical work until somewhat more recently, such as George Wythe. I will be dead before those ever reach copyright expiration so I'll never be able to have brought through LibriVox. That means for many Founders, this short biography you will hear is the only you will ever hear until someone else takes the time to have those created.

New audiobook release: John Hancock: The Picturesque Patriot

I feel like we're actually leading a sort of a revival here. There comes a time when a vision is seen, and then only later on can that vision be shown to others because it has materialized in some meaningful way.

Today I'm very happy to announce that Lorenzo Sears' biography of Founding Father John Hancock has been released for general use!

John Hancock: The Picturesque Patriot

Now be honest, how many of you actually know much at all about John Hancock, other than that he's that one guy who lived somewhere in a northern state and his autograph on the Declaration was the easiest one to see because its the largest? Seriously, very few people know much at all about John Hancock. But that can change, and for many it surely will change. That includes me, I'll raise my hand right now. I don't know much about Hancock myself.

We have a huge problem in this country, and we need to face it face on. Americans do not know their own Founding Fathers.

This is half because schools stopped teaching it generations ago. The other half is because of inconvenience - Why would anybody pick up a book written over a century ago to learn about John Hancock when they can read a compelling novel? Maybe Jurassic Park? Why would anybody buy a new book written about John Hancock (There are precious few, I'll get to this in a second) when they could go watch a football game? Or even beyond that, how many people prioritize family time most of all, or time put aside for spiritual pursuits and going to church?

There are hundreds of ways that the Founding Fathers get shoved out of our lives, even for some of the most noble of priorities. We have got to stop shoving the Founders out. It's killing us.

Convenience is king.

Most of you aren't going to take as much time as you should to read the Founders or read biographies about the Founders, so then it will be actively read to you and you only need to listen. Now the Founding Fathers can fit into your busy day, now you can learn while you are on a business flight between cities, now you can learn while you jog for an hour in the morning, or during the long commute. Maybe you listen to audio books or podcasts at night while you wind down for the day. Maybe you work solo all day in a warehouse. There are nearly endless possibilities.

A big target for me is home schoolers. The end-run-around that home schoolers commit against the school system is fantastic. But the problem is, it's expensive and its loaded with gatekeepers. Going to a discussion of one single book isn't saving one person all that much. $5, $10 maybe? But we now have more of a pile of books we can point to. So when budgets are tight and we have a good dozen or so books in audio format (which also highlights their written aspect) which can be offered, now you have something compelling that any home schooler would want at least some part of. Due to their age and sometimes rarity, many of these books are not cheap or can't be had altogether.

Now, as to shoving the Founding Fathers out. Yeah, this is happening a lot. The markets themselves are proof of this, go to the book store. There are not a constant flow of new written works about the Founding Fathers very often and why is this? On the one hand, most people who are interested only really focus on one or two Founders and the rest kind of don't exist. There are new books written about Jefferson or Washington or Franklin from time to time. But the rest of the Founders? Nah. There just isn't a big interest level. It's true. No customers means no new books, no interest means no customers. That is where we are actually at in this country, and it needs to change. And I'll tell you what, it isn't going to change because person A shoved a brand new book into person B's face for the cool new price of $39.95. That may get a dozen people, but a free audio book that makes people's lives more convenient will go quite a bit further. And since there are no customers anyways, a free open source audio book is the perfect fit.

Finally, let's not forget that this book about John Hancock is free and open source in the public domain. So, what of the gatekeepers? Let's talk about that a little bit. Have you ever attempted to buy a new book and look up the footnote, only to find that you had to go through another footnote which only meant another footnote? Historians do this "footnote maze-ing" on purpose as a way to protect their fiefdoms. If you cannot get out of their maze then you are captive and they have guarded their gate. Conversely, are you spending $10 a month for an Audible subscription for nonsense entertainment titles or are you getting solid audio books about the Founding Fathers for absolutely free? Yes, among other things, this is a jab (however small) at big tech. Specifically, Amazon. There may be some solid audio books you can get with that subscription. However, now a new and free audio alternative is being developed.

Why give money to big tech when you do not have to.

Robert's Rules of Order (free audio book)

Recently I discovered totally by accident that Robert's Rules of Order was completed at LibriVox. I know many of you will appreciate having this alternate way of accessing this material. Here's the summary:

"Originally written in 1876 by Major Henry M. Robert of the US Army Corps of Engineers, Robert's Rules of Order is the most widely used authority in the United States today for "parliamentary law, based...upon the rules and practice of Congress" for "organizing and conducting the business of societies, conventions, and other deliberative assemblies.""

Enjoy!

https://librivox.org/roberts-rules-of-order-by-henry-m-robert/#