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Escaping Gravity
- My Quest to Transform NASA and Launch a New Space Age
- Narrated by: Lori Garver
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
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Publisher's summary
The inside look at how the battle of the space billionaires began and why it matters, Escaping Gravity is former NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver’s firsthand account of how a handful of revolutionaries outmaneuvered the system of political patronage and bureaucracy that threatened the space agency. The success of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin, Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, and countless other commercial space efforts were preceded by decades of work by a group of people Garver calls “space pirates.”
As the head of the NASA transition team for President-elect Barack Obama and second-in-command of the agency, Garver drove policies and funding that enabled commercial competition just as the capabilities and resources of the private sector began to mature. She was determined to deliver more valuable programs, which required breaking the self-interested cycle controlled by Congress, the aerospace industry, entrenched bureaucrats, and hero-astronauts trying to protect their own profits and mythology.
Garver reveals how—like the military—the space industrial establishment preferred to spend billions of taxpayer dollars on programs aimed to sustain jobs and contracts in key congressional districts over those that were more efficient and could deliver greater progress. Garver details how her quest to transform NASA put her in the crosshairs of these established, powerful interests who viewed her as a threat to the system that has centralized and controlled power since the 1950s.
Including insider NASA conversations and insights on the epic battles that transitioned space access to private resources for a fraction of the cost, Escaping Gravity offers a blueprint for how to drive productive and meaningful government change.
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By the time she became US Ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch had seen her share of corruption, instability, and tragedy in developing countries. But it came as a shock when, in early 2019, she was recalled from her post after a smear campaign by President Trump’s personal attorney and his associates—men operating outside of normal governmental channels, and apparently motivated by personal gain. Her courageous participation in the subsequent impeachment inquiry earned Yovanovitch the nation’s respect, and her dignified response to the president’s attacks won our hearts.
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Heroic patriot's amazing story
- By Victoria Eriksson on 03-19-22
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The Accidental Admiral
- A Sailor Takes Command at NATO
- By: ADM. James Stavridis USN - Ret.
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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After he was selected to be NATO's 16th Supreme Allied Commander, the New York Times described Jim Stavridis as a "Renaissance admiral." A US Naval Academy graduate with a master's degree and doctorate from Tufts University, conversant in both French and Spanish, this author of numerous books and articles impressed the Navy's leaders and senior Pentagon civilians. The Accidental Admiral offers an intimate look at the challenges of directing NATO operations in Afghanistan, military intervention in Libya, and preparation for possible war in Syria.
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Insider View on Complexity in Nato
- By Theo Horesh on 05-16-22
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Dealing with China
- An Insider Unmasks the New Economic Superpower
- By: Henry M. Paulson
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 18 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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When Hu Jintao, China's then vice president, came to visit the New York Stock Exchange and Ground Zero in 2002, he asked Hank Paulson to be his guide. It was a testament to the pivotal role that Goldman Sachs played in helping China experiment with private enterprise. In Dealing with China, the best-selling author of On the Brink draws on his unprecedented access to both the political and business leaders of modern China to answer several key questions.
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A Valuable Book on China
- By Michael Moore on 09-04-15
By: Henry M. Paulson
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Private Empire
- ExxonMobil and American Power
- By: Steve Coll
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 24 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Steve Coll investigates the largest and most powerful private corporation in the United States, revealing the true extent of its power. ExxonMobil’s annual revenues are larger than the economic activity in the great majority of countries. In many of the countries where it conducts business, ExxonMobil’s sway over politics and security is greater than that of the United States embassy. In Washington, ExxonMobil spends more money lobbying Congress and the White House than almost any other corporation. Yet despite its outsized influence, it is a black box.
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Please no more accents!
- By Zak on 07-24-12
By: Steve Coll
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Hard Choices
- By: Hillary Rodham Clinton
- Narrated by: Kathleen Chalfant, Hillary Rodham Clinton
- Length: 26 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Hillary Rodham Clinton's inside account of the crises, choices, and challenges she faced during her four years as America's 67th Secretary of State, and how those experiences drive her view of the future. In the aftermath of her 2008 presidential run, she expected to return to representing New York in the United States Senate. To her surprise, her former rival for the Democratic Party nomination, newly elected President Barack Obama, asked her to serve in his administration as Secretary of State. This memoir is the story of the four extraordinary and historic years that followed.
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Senior Stateswoman in need of Editor
- By Cynthia on 07-20-14
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Rising to the Challenge
- My Leadership Journey
- By: Carly Fiorina
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 5 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Fiorina shares the lessons she's learned from both her difficulties and triumphs. Drawing on her experience as a pioneering business and nonprofit leader, a politically active citizen, and a parent, she diagnoses the largest problem facing our country today: untapped potential. Too often American men and women are held back by systems that prevent them from working and flourishing. Too many people lose hope for themselves.
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A must share book!
- By Teresa Holman on 08-20-16
By: Carly Fiorina
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American Icon
- Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company
- By: Bryce G. Hoffman
- Narrated by: Pete Larkin
- Length: 14 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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At the end of 2008, Ford Motor Company was just months away from running out of cash. With the auto industry careening toward ruin, Congress offered all three Detroit automakers a bailout. General Motors and Chrysler grabbed the taxpayer lifeline, but Ford decided to save itself. Under the leadership of charismatic CEO Alan Mulally, Ford had already put together a bold plan to unify its divided global operations, transform its lackluster product lineup, and overcome a dysfunctional culture of infighting, backstabbing, and excuses.
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The best business book I ever read
- By Michael on 10-07-12
By: Bryce G. Hoffman
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The Promise
- President Obama, Year One
- By: Jonathan Alter
- Narrated by: Jonathan Alter
- Length: 20 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Barack Obama’s inauguration as president on January 20, 2009, inspired the world. But the great promise of “Change We Can Believe In” was immediately tested by the threat of another Great Depression, a worsening war in Afghanistan, and an entrenched and deeply partisan system of business as usual in Washington. Despite all the coverage, the backstory of Obama’s historic first year in office has until now remained a mystery.
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Tiresome
- By Matthew on 05-21-10
By: Jonathan Alter
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Duty
- Memoirs of a Secretary at War
- By: Robert M. Gates
- Narrated by: George Newbern, Robert M. Gates
- Length: 25 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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From the former secretary of defense, a strikingly candid, vivid account of serving Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. When Robert M. Gates received a call from the White House, he thought he'd long left Washington politics behind: After working for six presidents in both the CIA and the National Security Council, he was happily serving as president of Texas A&M University. But when he was asked to help a nation mired in two wars and to aid the troops doing the fighting, he answered what he felt was the call of duty.
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The Fighting Season
- By Cynthia on 01-28-14
By: Robert M. Gates
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Saudi, Inc.
- The Arabian Kingdom's Pursuit of Profit and Power
- By: Ellen R. Wald PhD
- Narrated by: Paul Ansdell
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Over more than a century, fed by ambition and oil wealth, al Saud (as the royal family is known) has come from having next to nothing to ruling as absolute monarchs. Their story starts with Saudi Arabia's founder, the lowly refugee Abdul Aziz, embarking on a daring gambit to reconquer his family's ancestral home: the mud-walled city of Riyadh. And it ends with al Saud's most ambitious move yet: taking Aramco, the multinational business that has made them the wealthiest family in the world, public.
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Excellent modern history of Saudi Arabia
- By Rob Hafen on 05-31-18
What listeners say about Escaping Gravity
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Laser Engineer
- 01-16-24
Outstanding Review of the Manned Space Program
I learned a lot about the politics of the US space program, and the difficulties in making progress in the face of entrenched interests.
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- William J. Pomerantz
- 06-17-22
NASA boldest changes and biggest battles explained
This book is a must read for any fan of NASA, any student of innovation, or any policy junkie curious about how change actually happens in large organizations full of both brilliant people and entrenched interests.
Lori Garver was the pointy end of the spear on a massive transformation in the way the world’s largest civil space agency does business, and has both the accolades and the scars to show for it. In her new biography, Garver shares the compelling story of how she came to believe that the interests of NASA and the United States would be best served by going against the grain of several decades of NASA history and embracing a new and complementary set of ideas and technologies driven by outside innovators who were in equal measure brilliant and brash. From the Oval Office to the launch pad, and inspiring moments of technical triumph to tense stare downs with astronauts and power brokers, Garver takes the reader on a journey that explains so much of what is good and what is bad about NASA today. The book is inspiring in parts, enraging in others, and informative and entertaining the whole way through. I highly recommend the book, both in audio and written formats.
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- Gavril N. Houston
- 11-09-23
Fascinating and a must read for space enthusiasts
This was a fantastic look under the hood of what it's like working as a civil servant wanting change.
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- Amazon Customer
- 09-12-22
interesting look at the self-licking ice cream con
This book is NOT about NASA and its achievements. It's NOT about technology at all. Lori was one of the folks that headed the transformation of NASA ... trying to break what she has called the "self-licking ice cream cone" that is the interplay between politics (jobs), the military industrial complex (making easy money) and the entrenched NASA bureaucracy dominated by the cup boys (aka ex macho military).
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- Phil Kennedy
- 09-18-22
The struggle between entrenched ways and new ideas
Well read by the author and very engaging. The story of her career also covers the changes to how we get to space and her drive to see that happen. We'll worth the time.
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- R. Garbacz
- 07-24-22
interesting and informative
worth listening for any space enthusiast "behind the scenes" stories about NASA long and bumpy ride towards embracing private sector with pay per delivery contracts promising lowering the costs thus sustainability in space exploration
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- David R Floyd
- 08-13-22
Behind the curtain
Ms. Garver’s book pulled me into the offices and personnel of NASA as I have never encountered. The best and the worst of human behavior comes out in these pages, and it was quite illuminating.
The honest appraisal of her time at NASA includes her own accomplishments, and her own perceived failures, and is a moving portrayal of her time as second in command during a critical time in the history of NASA.
This book will appeal to anyone that likes a good non-fiction book, no space knowledge needed going in. However, for nerds like me who love space, I feel it is eye-opening and inspiring.
Lori Garver is a hero.
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- Sean Mahoney
- 09-06-22
Sunlight powers us upward
For current and aspiring leaders in the space field, this is required reading. Whether you agree with Lori or not, you need to grasp this view of the world you hope to lead.
Not only is sunlight a great disinfectant, it is also the source of all our energy. We need it in both uses, and this book taps into both.
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- The Texas Nel's
- 06-17-22
Savior of NASA and the US Space Industry
This is the story of how it takes more than a collection of very smart and very wealthy people who want to go to space to change an industry — it takes a selfless believer who navigated the back hallways of a male-dominated and staid bureaucracy to change how to do business in space and unleash the powerful innovative capability of the US’s best and brightest; all the time fighting the entrenched and monied interests of legacy mega-defense contractors and their army of lobbyists. Lori Garver’s story is one of living in the wilderness of “New Space,” climbing the rungs of a ladder as she built it with colleagues, and then entering the lion’s den of old-school NASA and the halls of power in Washington DC, and slowly but surely turning the huge aircraft carrier-like machine to embrace new technology, new business practices, and new companies in the pursuit of solutions that will save our planet and inspire the next ten generations! A must read / listen.
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- Tim Fellows
- 05-25-24
Great story, amateur narration
Garver tells a fascinating story about her role in the (ongoing) dismantling of the corrupt aerospace contracting industry. She comes across as spiteful and defensive at times, but it's understandable given how aggressively she was targeted while at NASA.
The one serious flaw of the book is that she's really not a good narrator. Her tone is patronizing and she stumbles through her delivery fairly often.
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