The Bright List

The Man Who Brought the Armed Services Out of the Closet: Allan Berubé

Coming Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War II, by Allan Bérubé, Estelle Freedman, and John D'Emilio

Allan’s classic gay history expose is the book that took the Gay/Military debate out of the twilight zone and right into the White House and Pentagon.

It is impossible to imagine “don’t ask, don’t tell” — or all the struggles that followed — without Allan’s pioneering work. His interviews with gay and lesbian vets of WWII will have you crying, laughing, and screaming at their audacity in the face of brutal discrimination.

Allan was one of my best friends and teachers in the early gay liberation movement— I learned everything about “gay family” from him, in so many different ways. When I came to work at Audible as an Editor, his book was one of the first I pursued. I’m honored to produce this edition in his memory.

Narrated by Victor Bevine,  a terrific actor who also narrated "And The Band Played On."

—Susie Bright

Chaos, Not the Earthquake, Destroyed San Francisco— Sound Familiar? Listen to the Story!

The Great Earthquake and Firestorms of 1906: How San Francisco Nearly Destroyed Itself, by Philip L. Fradkin

This is the thrilling account of the 1906 Earthquake in San Francisco that literally set the whole town on fire. Author Philip Fradkin argues that most of the damage was done by “people in chaos,” not by the earthquake itself. This book uncovers all the things I didn't learn in 4th grade.

Told in a "you're there as it happens" narration, the stories of the depraved things people did to each other wouldn't seem out of place on AMC's The Walking Dead.

Narrated by Arthur Morey.

—Aretha Bright

Ralph Waldo Emerson's Brightly Burning Fire -- On Audio, at Last!

Emerson: The Mind on Fire, by Robert D. Richardson, Jr.

A masterpiece. Emerson is a benchmark in American biographies.

Devour the vulnerable and era-changing details about the man who was the leading voice of intellectual culture in the U.S.  

As an essayist and poet, Emerson spearheaded the Transcendentalist movement, spoke for the rights of the individual (including opposing slavery), and famously mentored Henry David Thoreau, who wrote Walden while living on Emerson’s land. He was the most influential writer of 19th-century America, and Richardson’s critically-acclaimed biography more lives up to that legacy. A tour de force.

Narrated by audiobook legend Michael McConnohie, who many of you know and love from his narration for Barry Eisler and Stuart Kaminsky's books.

—Aretha Bright and Chris Hall

Joseph Kittinger and His Legendary 19.5-Mile Fall Into Fame

Come Up and Get Me: An Autobiography of Colonel Joseph Kittinger, by Joseph Kittinger

They don't make adventurers like Joe Kittinger any more: a man whose ultimate goal was to fly around the entire globe in a balloon by himself.

Welcome to the rootin'- tootin'—and unexpectedly poignant— story of a Vietnam POW who went from ballooning to free-falling in outer space to making records every time he opened a hatch.

Kittinger was the guy that the military would use as a test pilot to see "what would happen" in extreme and emergency situations, miles above the ground.

Balls of steel? Check.

His proudest achievement is a terrifying parachute drop from 19-and-a-half miles above the earth in 1960, where he reached a speed of 614 mph.

Military history and adventure story fans will love this guy.  Kittinger is humble, funny, and someone you'd definitely want to have by your side in a tight situation! There needs to be a sequel to Snakes on a Plane—with Kittinger in a starring role.

-Aretha Bright

Note from our colleague, Chris Hall:

Kittinger's record leap from 19.5 miles in Project Excelsior still stands today.

Just this month, October 2012, a guy named Felix Baumgartner tried to break it, but aborted. He did this not only with Kittinger's blessing, but assistance. See Video and Story for more at Gizmodo and the Atlantic.

The Murder Stables of Harlem

 

Gangsters of Harlem: The Gritty Underworld of New York’s Most Famous Neighborhood, by Ron Chepesiuk

 I fell in love with the mobsters in Gangsters of Harlem just as many people have with the characters in The Wire or The Sopranos.

There’s a long literary tradition about the Harlem underworld—most notably Chester Himes's novels about policemen Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson—but it's been neglected by modern popular culture.

As Chepesiuk shows in this book, the organized crime bosses in Harlem were every bit as powerful and compelling as those who have become modern pop icons, like Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, or Carlo Gambino.

Despite their shady business, it was easy—disturbingly so—to become invested in these mobsters. One detail that's going to stick with me for a long time is Chepesiuk's description of the "Murder Stables," owned by Ignazio Lupo of the Morello Gang, where hundreds of his rivals were tortured and murdered  in the early 1900s.

True crime fans are going to eat this up with a spoon. Listening to jazz in the nightclub, witnessing  a brutal murder—it's so intimate that you can almost feel complicit.

In a Wire-esque finale, Chepesiuk looks at the involvement of the NYPD with organized crime. If your cup of tea includes a dash of lethal bathtub gin, this is your hot toddy.

--Aretha Bright

What do Birds, Slave Rebellions, and Marriage Have in Common? — The University of North Carolina Press!

The Armchair Birder: Discovering the Secret Lives of Familiar Birds, by John Yow

The Armchair Birder is about a niche topic that is written so well, and with such charm and wit,  it would captivate the most bird-indifferent imagination. For birders, especially the casual and recreational, Yow is the bee's knees. 

The great thing about Yow’s book is that it’s all about familiar birds—what we see and hear about everyday, not the exotic: Bluejays, woodpeckers, mourning doves, eagles, wild turkeys, owls. 

The anecdotes alone make for a memoir not soon forgotten. Yow talks about bird feelings and behaviors— you'll recognize some personalities from your own human family! It was as if the birds themselves were talking to Yow and sharing all their secrets. 

 

The Armchair Birder Goes Coastal: The Secret Lives of Birds of the Southeastern Shore, by John Yow

The sequel to The Armchair Birder, The Armchair Birder Goes Coastal  is an example of the "sequel that outdoes itself." Yow's great wit and dry humor strikes again! 

I will NEVER judge seagulls the same way again— I feel like I’ve been much too hard on them. Yow wrote such a sympathetic chapter on seagulls, it made me feel... like a bad person. 

Aren't you curious, now? 

Narrated by Kevin Young.

 

Game, Set, Match: Billie Jean King and the Revolution in Women’s Sports, by Susan Ware 

This is one of those books about a legend— the whole time you’re reading it you’re thinking, “Wow, Billie Jean is AWESOME.”

Game, Set, Match is a biography about Billie Jean King, the woman who "made" women’s tennis, and helped bring the world’s attention to women’s sports. 

She was also a closeted lesbian for a long time, and then later came out, before it was the least bit fashionable. Balls! 

A great under-dog story, fantastic build up, with a satisfying ending. 

Narrated by Donna Postel, who voices another of my favorite books, The Ultimate Guide to Sex and Disability.

 

Border War: Fighting Over Slavery Before the Civil War, by Stanley Harrold

If you’ve ever seen a popular film or TV series about the Civil War, this book is catnip. 

Border War delves into how the border southern states had the highest slave runaway rates, so they came up with the most bizarre laws to stop it, and the ensuing struggles and debates were ferocious. 

There's plenty of action, and the "back-in-the-day" atrocities are rivetting, if you have the stomach for it. 

Narrated by Brian Holsopple.

 

Making Marriage Work: A History of Marriage and Divorce in the 20th-Century United States, by Kristin Celello

The book that blows the lid off of the whole divorce “crisis.” 

Remember Laura Kipnis’ Love Polemic?  It was a diatribe of romance and monogamy. But Making Marriage Work  is a great balance— tremendous research and investigation, but it’s not out there to judge you. 

It has a wealth of information that will make you think about how the idea of marriage has evolved and been changed by political, environmental, religious, and cultural influences. This is a book that will be nodded to, for a long time to come. 

Work is about how marriage has been defined not nearly so much by romance as by labor… a wonderfully provocative idea.

Narrated by Tamara Marston. 

The Price of Defiance: James Meredith and the Integration of Ole Miss, by Charles W. Eagles

This book is like the “college version” of Remember the Titans with Denzel Washington.  

The Price of Defiance sets the scene of the white college life in Mississippi during the early 1960s: beauty queens, sororities & fraternities, keg parties, football, etc.

Might sound familiar to a lot of colleges today? Except only white students were allowed to enroll at the University of Mississippi, or as they called it, "Ole Miss." 

Everything hit the fan with the integration push in 1962 to allow African Americans to enroll at Ole Miss— a total page turner with unforgettable heroes to cheer for! 

James Meredith was the first African American to enroll, and the day before the first day of school was so explosive, fatal riots ensued. 

The children and grandchildren of alumni during those years can recount their stories in complete detail. It  impacted the community, for generations, right up to today. 

Author Charles Eagles, a Mississippi historian, writes Defiance like a screenplay— great plots, characters, action. Is there a movie deal yet? 

Not to be missed! 

Narrated by Kyle Munley.

 

Music From the True Vine: Mike Seeger’s Life and Musical Journey, by Bill C. Malone

An audiobook for music-lovers. Mike Seeger, founding member of the influential folk revival band New Lost City Ramblers, along with his brother Pete Seeger transformed American music, from the grass roots up. 

From the Introduction: 

Who is Mike Seeger? 

I was asked that question far too often after mentioning that I was writing his biography. And a second question frequently followed: "Is he related to Pete Seeger?" Trying not to show my irritation, I generally responded with, "Yes, he's his half brother, but he's a much more talented musican than Pete." 

It is difficult to provide an adequate conversational, sound-bite assessment of Mike, though, when most people are very aware of the almost iconic status that his brother Pete occupies in American popular culture. Mike, on the other hand, always went about his work quietly and mostly below the radar of public recognition. 

There’s not ONE American folk or country music fan, there’s not one American rock or pop critic, who hasn’t paid homage to this man or fallen in love with his many songs and musicial discoveries. 

Finally, we have a biography that has all the humor, warmth, and campfire-style storytelling that captures everything Mike Seeger has brought to the table of American culture. 

Narrated by Joe Geoffrey.

 

--Aretha Bright