In Pursuit of Silence
Listening for Meaning in a World of Noise
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Narrated by:
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Don Hagen
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By:
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George Prochnik
About this listen
More than money, power, and even happiness, silence has become the most precious and dwindling commodity of our modern world.
Between iPods, music-blasting restaurants, earsplitting sports stadiums, and endless air and road traffic, the place for quiet in our lives grows smaller by the day. In Pursuit of Silence gives context to our increasingly desperate sense that noise pollution is, in a very real way, an environmental catastrophe.
Listening to doctors, neuroscientists, acoustical engineers, monks, activists, educators, marketers, and aggrieved citizens, George Prochnikexamines why we began to be so loud as a society, and what it is that gets lost when we can no longer find quiet. He shows us the benefits of decluttering our sonic world.
As Prochnik travels across the United States and overseas, we meet a rich cast of characters: an idealistic architect who is pioneering a new kind of silent architecture in collaboration with the Deaf community at Gallaudet University; a special operations soldier in Afghanistan (and former guitarist with Nirvana) who places silence at the heart of survival in war; a sound designer for shopping malls who ensures that the stores we visit never stop their auditory seductions; and a group of commuters who successfully revolted against piped-in music in Grand Central Station.
A brilliant, far-reaching exploration of the frontiers of noise and silence, and the growing war between them, In Pursuit of Silence is an important book that will appeal to fans of Michael Pollan and Daniel Gilbert.
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- A Search for the World's Most Creative Places from Ancient Athens to Silicon Valley
- By: Eric Weiner
- Narrated by: Eric Weiner
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Geography of Genius, acclaimed travel writer Weiner sets out to examine the connection between our surroundings and our most innovative ideas. He explores the history of places, like Vienna of 1900, Renaissance Florence, ancient Athens, Song Dynasty Hangzhou, and Silicon Valley, to show how certain urban settings are conducive to ingenuity.
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Very, very disappointing
- By Tamara Greer on 06-08-16
By: Eric Weiner
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Finding Your Way in a Wild New World
- Reclaim Your True Nature to Create the Life You Want
- By: Martha Beck
- Narrated by: Heather Henderson
- Length: 12 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Many people feel called to help others and change the world, but they just don’t know how to fulfill their potential. They have the creativity and passion, but often get lost, not knowing how to direct their energies. Now, popular life coach Martha Beck shows how readers can find their calling in service and healing - while realizing their destiny. With a sparkling, compassionate, and often irreverent style, Beck draws from a combination of ancient wisdom and modern science to help readers consciously embrace vital skills that may be embedded in our DNA and are now made accessible again.
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Wow! This is a fun book!
- By m on 08-25-12
By: Martha Beck
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The Ascension Mysteries
- Revealing the Cosmic Battle Between Good and Evil
- By: David Wilcock
- Narrated by: David Wilcock
- Length: 20 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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David Wilcock's previous New York Times best sellers, The Source Field Investigations and The Synchronicity Key, used cutting-edge alternative science to reveal oft-hidden truths about our universe. In The Ascension Mysteries, David takes us on a gripping personal journey that describes the secret cosmic battle between positive and negative happening every day, hidden in both the traumas of our own lives and the world's headlines.
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mentally agonizing, embarrassing, awkward, tedious
- By Diana on 09-01-16
By: David Wilcock
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The Chaos Imperative
- How Chance and Disruption Increase Innovation, Effectiveness, and Success
- By: Ori Brafman, Judah Pollack
- Narrated by: Drew Birdseye
- Length: 4 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Ori Brafman and management consultant Judah Pollack dramatically demonstrate how even the best and most efficient organizations - from Fortune 500 companies to today's US Army - can become more innovative by allowing a little unstructured space and "contained chaos" into their planning and decision-making. Through their consulting work, they realized that while structure and hierarchy are essential both in large corporations and small groups, too much of either can stifle creativity.
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a must read!!
- By Kelly Pavich on 05-26-19
By: Ori Brafman, and others
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White Noise
- By: Don DeLillo
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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When an industrial accident unleashes an "airborne toxic event", a lethal black chemical cloud floats over the Gladneys' lives. The menacing cloud is a more urgent and visible version of the "white noise" engulfing the Gladneys - radio transmissions, sirens, microwaves, ultrasonic appliances, and TV murmurings - pulsing with life yet suggesting something ominous.
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Designed to be analyzed by an English class
- By RI in Canada on 10-15-16
By: Don DeLillo
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10:04
- By: Ben Lerner
- Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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In the last year, the narrator of 10:04 has enjoyed unexpected literary success, has been diagnosed with a potentially fatal heart condition, and has been asked by his best friend to help her conceive a child, despite his dating a rising star in the visual arts. In a New York of increasingly frequent super storms and political unrest, he must reckon with his biological mortality, the possibility of a literary afterlife, and the prospect of (unconventional) fatherhood in a city that might soon be under water.
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A novel worth reading
- By Bradley Paul Valentine on 01-29-15
By: Ben Lerner
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Fooling Houdini
- Magicians, Mentalists, Math Geeks, and the Hidden Powers of the Mind
- By: Alex Stone
- Narrated by: Alex Stone
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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When Alex Stone was five years old, his father bought him a magic kit - a gift that would spark a lifelong love. Years later, while living in New York City, he discovered a vibrant underground magic scene exploding with creativity and innovation and populated by a fascinating cast of characters: from his gruff mentor, who holds court in the back of a rundown pizza shop, to one of the world's greatest card cheats, who also happens to be blind. Captivated, he plunged headlong into this mysterious world.
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I suppose the author thinks he's clever
- By Joe on 11-01-12
By: Alex Stone
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Sum
- Tales from the Afterlives
- By: David Eagleman
- Narrated by: Gillian Anderson, Emily Blunt, Nick Cave, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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In one afterlife you may find that God is the size of a microbe and is unaware of your existence. In another, your creators are a species of dim-witted creatures who built us to figure out what they could not. In a different version of the afterlife you work as a background character in other people’s dreams. Or you may find that the afterlife contains only people whom you remember, or that the hereafter includes the thousands of previous gods who no longer attract followers.
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Surprisingly profound, if you get past whimsy
- By Ryan on 10-16-11
By: David Eagleman
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Chasing Ghosts, Texas Style
- On the Road with Everyday Paranormal
- By: Barry Klinge, Brad Klinge
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 6 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Brad and Barry Klinge have been investigating paranormal occurrences for the last 20 years, and in Chasing Ghosts, Texas Style, they divulge some of their most exciting ghost encounters and analyze the science behind their paranormal hunts. Each chapter of this fascinating book focuses on the Klinge brothers' investigations into the creepiest of places and explains how they have been able to capture both audio and video of paranormal occurrences using their high-tech tools and a healthy dose of common sense.
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A great book for people with paranormal interests
- By Meagan vR on 02-01-12
By: Barry Klinge, and others
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The Soul of the Matter
- A Novel
- By: Bruce Buff
- Narrated by: Scott Aiello
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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A scientist's claim that he's found the secrets of the universe's origin encoded in DNA sparks a race against time to uncover the truth in this fast-paced thriller of science and faith, power and murder, loss and redemption.
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good unique story. Narrator was not great
- By Demetri on 09-25-16
By: Bruce Buff
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Natural Meditation
- A Guide to Effortless Meditative Practice
- By: Dean Sluyter
- Narrated by: Dean Sluyter
- Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Whether you're a complete novice or you've "tried it before," veteran meditation teacher Dean Sluyter's relaxed, down-to-earth approach will help you test-drive a variety of meditative techniques, such as breath, sound, the senses, the sky, and the simple sense of "I" and discover which ones fit you best. You'll discover that the key to meditation is effortlessness and find all the practical tips you need for adapting these methods to your own life,as you live it, even for a few minutes a day.
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A voice as soothing as the text!
- By Bix Gomez on 05-05-15
By: Dean Sluyter
What listeners say about In Pursuit of Silence
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- MD
- 10-20-12
An important subject and a well intentioned work.
Worth reading and very enjoyable in places, simply longer and more verbose than necessary. The author needs an editor that encourages him to be less flowery with his words. That a book on silence has a high noise to signal ratio is ironic.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Neryl
- 07-04-11
Bring it on! A quieter world
Interesting book.
Why does a search for silence so often mean an investigation of noise?
Touched on topics I had never heard of before.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Jennifer Michelle
- 08-08-17
Discovered Unexpected Thoughts on Silence
I too find noise unusually annoying and painful. Mr. Prochnik's research is interesting and uncovers some of the difficulties in reducing noise. His findings were surprising, discouraging, and inspiring in turn. He relays his research with an appealing sense of humor.
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2 people found this helpful