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It Began with a Dream
- Narrated by: Jo Sands
- Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins
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Publisher's summary
It Began with a Dream is the story of Dr. Gladys B. West, who played an integral role in the development of the Global Positioning System (GPS) as a mathematician with navy. Born in 1930, in the poor farming community of Sutherland, Virginia, she rose from poverty despite segregation, The Great Depression, and Jim Crow laws to become one of the first professional black women hired at the Dahlgren Naval Proving Grounds in Virginia (now Dahlgren Surface Naval Warfare Center). Dr. West, an HBCU graduate from Virginia State University and PhD scholar from Virginia Tech, takes us on her incredible life journey in this heartwarming and unforgettable memoir.
Though previously not recognized for her groundbreaking work in STEM, her contribution to GPS impacts almost everyone throughout the world. Recently, she was the first black female inducted into the Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame, and continues to be an example for others to follow. A wife of 63 years, and mother of three, she is clearly a legend, an inspiration, and a true American "shero".
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Shyima Hall was born in Egypt on September 29, 1989, the seventh child of desperately poor parents. When she was eight, her parents sold her into slavery. Shyima then moved two hours away to Egypt's capitol city of Cairo to live with a wealthy family and serve them eighteen hours a day, seven days a week. When she was ten, her captors moved to Orange County, California, and smuggled Shyima with them. Two years later, an anonymous call from a neighbor brought about the end of Shyima's servitude - but her journey to true freedom was far from over.
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story
- By Don on 09-26-14
By: Shyima Hall, and others
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My Grandfather's Son
- A Memoir
- By: Clarence Thomas
- Narrated by: Clarence Thomas
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Provocative, inspiring, and unflinchingly honest, My Grandfather's Son is the story of one of America's most remarkable and controversial leaders, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, told in his own words.
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Wonderful read
- By Amazon Customer on 10-17-21
By: Clarence Thomas
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Sweet Tea
- Black Gay Men of the South
- By: E. Patrick Johnson
- Narrated by: E. Patrick Johnson
- Length: 26 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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A pioneer of LGBTQ studies dares to suggest that gayness is a way of being that gay men must learn from one another to become who they are. The genius of gay culture resides in some of its most despised stereotypes - aestheticism, snobbery, melodrama, glamour, caricatures of women, and obsession with mothers - and in the social meaning of style.
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Very insightful book.
- By Greg on 11-18-18
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My Vanishing Country
- A Memoir
- By: Bakari Sellers
- Narrated by: Bakari Sellers
- Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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What J. D. Vance did for Appalachia with Hillbilly Elegy, CNN analyst and one of the youngest state representatives in South Carolina history Bakari Sellers does for the rural South, in this important book that illuminates the lives of America’s forgotten Black working-class men and women. Part memoir, part historical and cultural analysis, My Vanishing Country is an eye-opening journey through the South's past, present, and future.
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What America Needs NOW!!!
- By Unknown on 05-22-20
By: Bakari Sellers
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Let's Roll!
- By: Lisa Beamer, Ken Abraham - contributor
- Narrated by: Lisa Helm
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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On September 11, 2001, Lisa Beamer was thrust into the national spotlight after her husband, Todd, became an American hero by preventing terrorist hijackers from almost certainly flying United Flight 93 into the White House or the United States Capitol. Instead, Todd led a group of passengers to resist the hijackers, forcing the plane to crash into a Pennsylvania field. Todd and the other heroes of Flight 93 gave their lives so that untold others would be spared. Nothing could be more heroic. Lisa is now telling that story, and much more.
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Inspiring book. I couldn't put it down.
- By Sam on 09-13-03
By: Lisa Beamer, and others
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Where You Are Is Not Who You Are
- A Memoir
- By: Ursula Burns
- Narrated by: Ursula Burns
- Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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The first Black female CEO of a Fortune 500 company looks back at her life and her career at Xerox, sharing unique insights on American business and corporate life, the workers she has always valued, racial and economic justice, how greed is threatening democracy, and the obstacles she’s conquered being Black and a woman.
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Relatable story, flaws and all
- By Anonymous User on 01-06-22
By: Ursula Burns
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Lady Bird Johnson
- An Oral History
- By: Michael L. Gillette
- Narrated by: Corinna May
- Length: 17 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Over a span of 18 years, Lady Bird Johnson recorded 47 oral history interviews with Michael Gillette and his colleagues. These conversations, just released in 2011, form the heart of Lady Bird Johnson: An Oral History, an intimate story of a shy young country girl's transformation into one of America's most effective and admired First Ladies.
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Fantastic
- By Syd Young on 06-01-19
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If My Heart Had Wings
- A World War II Love Story
- By: Nadine Taylor
- Narrated by: Nadine Taylor
- Length: 5 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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At the height of WW2, 22-year-old Nina Raff learns that her beloved pilot husband has been killed in plane crash. To escape her grief, she upends her life, moves across country, and plunges into another marriage far too soon. For the next 20 years, she buries her sadness and ignores the past to appease her jealous alcoholic second husband. But when her teenage daughter discovers a long-hidden wedding photo, an unforgettable story of love, heartbreaking loss, oppression, and family secrets tumbles out, compounded by a mystery the daughter is determined to solve.
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Beautifully done!
- By Cdg on 07-10-20
By: Nadine Taylor
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Uprising
- Who the Hell Said You Can't Ditch and Switch? - The Awakening of Diamond and Silk
- By: Diamond and Silk
- Narrated by: Diamond and Silk
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Who are Diamond and Silk? Donald Trump’s biggest fans. A national treasure. A force of nature. A political awakening that can’t be stopped. And a natural antidepressant. Diamond and Silk are all that and more. The very sight and sound of these insightful and ebullient ladies lifts spirits and opens minds. Diamond and Silk are a unique phenomenon impossible to pigeonhole - or to control. And now they tell their own story for the first time.
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Great American Story! ** GET THIS BOOK**
- By kathy on 11-06-20
By: Diamond and Silk
What listeners say about It Began with a Dream
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- farstar
- 06-17-24
Extraordinary woman
I love Dr. West and her husband Ira. I met them while attending Chapel on Dahlgren base. This book was so motivating. I wish that I had met her in my youth. I wish that someone would have mentored me. I will gift this book to all 10 of my grandchildren. Her life and experiences were/ phenomenal.
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- C. N
- 07-23-22
Very enriching and enjoyable biography.
If you're curious about a slice of life, a biography of a rather contemporary mathematician, or have a trip to see some of their unique and particular life chronicles then this book is a must-read. It is different in the sense that each person's life chronicles are unique but it is written with almost the same laid-back classical prose of scientists speaking of their academic life and glorifying their academic achievements and Christian life in this case; which can be very inspiring enjoyable light read depending on what you value, but very enriching for your curiosity anyways.
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- Johnny K
- 05-01-24
Beautiful Reminder of Things that Matter in Life
A humble and inspiring story of a person who overcame some much though consistent and relatable values.
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