-
It's All Relative
- Adventures Up and Down the World's Family Tree
- Narrated by: A. J. Jacobs
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $18.74
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
New York Times best-selling author of The Know-It-All and The Year of Living Biblically A. J. Jacobs undergoes a hilarious, heartfelt quest to understand what constitutes family - where it begins and how far it goes - and attempts to untangle the true meaning of the "family of humankind".
A. J. Jacobs has received some strange emails over the years, but this note was perhaps the strangest: "You don't know me, but I'm your eighth cousin. And we have over 80,000 relatives of yours in our database."
That's enough family members to fill Madison Square Garden four times over. Who are these people, A. J. wondered, and how do I find them? So began Jacobs' three-year adventure to help build the biggest family tree in history.
Jacobs' journey would take him to all seven continents. He drank beer with a US president, found himself singing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and unearthed genetic links to Hollywood actresses and real-life scoundrels. After all, we can choose our friends but not our family.
Now Jacobs upends, in ways both meaningful and hilarious, our understanding of genetics and genealogy, tradition and tribalism, identity and connection. It's All Relative is a fascinating look at the bonds that connect us all.
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Thanks a Thousand
- A Gratitude Journey
- By: A. J. Jacobs
- Narrated by: A. J. Jacobs
- Length: 3 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Author A.J. Jacobs discovers that his coffee - and every other item in our lives - would not be possible without hundreds of people we usually take for granted: farmers, chemists, artists, presidents, truckers, mechanics, biologists, miners, smugglers, and goatherds. By thanking these people face-to-face, Jacobs finds some much-needed brightness in his life. Gratitude does not come naturally to Jacobs, but he sets off on the journey on a dare from his son. And by the end, it’s clear to him that scientific research on gratitude is true. Gratitude’s benefits are legion.
-
-
Become more grateful
- By Robert I. Maccuspie on 11-26-18
By: A. J. Jacobs
-
The Year of Living Biblically
- One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible
- By: A. J. Jacobs
- Narrated by: A. J. Jacobs
- Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Our fearless author, A. J. Jacobs, tackles a new intellectual adventure, an exploration of the most influential book in the world: the Bible. He determined that the best way to explore the Bible was to live it, as literally as possible. For one year.
-
-
Excellent... But tongue in cheek
- By Jonathan on 12-04-07
By: A. J. Jacobs
-
The Puzzler
- One Man's Quest to Solve the Most Baffling Puzzles Ever, from Crosswords to Jigsaws to the Meaning of Life
- By: A.J. Jacobs, Greg Pliska
- Narrated by: A.J. Jacobs
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The New York Times best-selling author of The Year of Living Biblically goes on a journey to understand the enduring power of puzzles: why we love them, what they do to our brains, and how they can improve our world.
-
-
Welcome to the Nerd Parade
- By Despair at the State of the Republic on 07-16-22
By: A.J. Jacobs, and others
-
Drop Dead Healthy
- One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection
- By: A. J. Jacobs
- Narrated by: A. J. Jacobs
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A. J. Jacobs tackles his most challenging experiment yet: a yearlong mission to radically improve every element of his body and mind - from his brain to his fingertips to his abs. First, he had to tackle a complicated web of diet and exercise advice, most which is nonsensical, unproven, and contradictory. Second, he had to consult a team of medical advisers. And finally, he had to subject himself, over the course of two years, to a grueling regimen of exercises and a range of diets and nutritional plans.
-
-
A comic tries a little of everything
- By Niall on 04-14-12
By: A. J. Jacobs
-
The Guinea Pig Diaries
- My Life as an Experiment
- By: A. J. Jacobs
- Narrated by: A. J. Jacobs
- Length: 6 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Best-selling author and human guinea pig A. J. Jacobs puts his life to the test and reports on the surprising and entertaining results. He goes undercover as a woman, lives by George Washington’s moral code, and impersonates a movie star. He practices "radical honesty", brushes his teeth with the world’s most rational toothpaste, and outsources every part of his life to India—including reading bedtime stories to his kids.
-
-
Entertaining but hard to listen to.
- By Rikki on 09-12-12
By: A. J. Jacobs
-
The Garden of Angels
- By: David Hewson
- Narrated by: Richard Armitage
- Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Palazzo Colombina is home to the Uccello family: three generations of men, trapped together in the dusty palace on Venice's Grand Canal. Awkward 15-year-old Nico. His distant, business-focused father. And his beloved grandfather, Paolo. Paolo is dying. But before he passes, he has secrets he's waited his whole life to share.
-
-
Excellent Story, Expert Narration, A Winning Combo!
- By U. Campanella on 01-30-21
By: David Hewson
-
Thanks a Thousand
- A Gratitude Journey
- By: A. J. Jacobs
- Narrated by: A. J. Jacobs
- Length: 3 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Author A.J. Jacobs discovers that his coffee - and every other item in our lives - would not be possible without hundreds of people we usually take for granted: farmers, chemists, artists, presidents, truckers, mechanics, biologists, miners, smugglers, and goatherds. By thanking these people face-to-face, Jacobs finds some much-needed brightness in his life. Gratitude does not come naturally to Jacobs, but he sets off on the journey on a dare from his son. And by the end, it’s clear to him that scientific research on gratitude is true. Gratitude’s benefits are legion.
-
-
Become more grateful
- By Robert I. Maccuspie on 11-26-18
By: A. J. Jacobs
-
The Year of Living Biblically
- One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible
- By: A. J. Jacobs
- Narrated by: A. J. Jacobs
- Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Our fearless author, A. J. Jacobs, tackles a new intellectual adventure, an exploration of the most influential book in the world: the Bible. He determined that the best way to explore the Bible was to live it, as literally as possible. For one year.
-
-
Excellent... But tongue in cheek
- By Jonathan on 12-04-07
By: A. J. Jacobs
-
The Puzzler
- One Man's Quest to Solve the Most Baffling Puzzles Ever, from Crosswords to Jigsaws to the Meaning of Life
- By: A.J. Jacobs, Greg Pliska
- Narrated by: A.J. Jacobs
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The New York Times best-selling author of The Year of Living Biblically goes on a journey to understand the enduring power of puzzles: why we love them, what they do to our brains, and how they can improve our world.
-
-
Welcome to the Nerd Parade
- By Despair at the State of the Republic on 07-16-22
By: A.J. Jacobs, and others
-
Drop Dead Healthy
- One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection
- By: A. J. Jacobs
- Narrated by: A. J. Jacobs
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A. J. Jacobs tackles his most challenging experiment yet: a yearlong mission to radically improve every element of his body and mind - from his brain to his fingertips to his abs. First, he had to tackle a complicated web of diet and exercise advice, most which is nonsensical, unproven, and contradictory. Second, he had to consult a team of medical advisers. And finally, he had to subject himself, over the course of two years, to a grueling regimen of exercises and a range of diets and nutritional plans.
-
-
A comic tries a little of everything
- By Niall on 04-14-12
By: A. J. Jacobs
-
The Guinea Pig Diaries
- My Life as an Experiment
- By: A. J. Jacobs
- Narrated by: A. J. Jacobs
- Length: 6 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Best-selling author and human guinea pig A. J. Jacobs puts his life to the test and reports on the surprising and entertaining results. He goes undercover as a woman, lives by George Washington’s moral code, and impersonates a movie star. He practices "radical honesty", brushes his teeth with the world’s most rational toothpaste, and outsources every part of his life to India—including reading bedtime stories to his kids.
-
-
Entertaining but hard to listen to.
- By Rikki on 09-12-12
By: A. J. Jacobs
-
The Garden of Angels
- By: David Hewson
- Narrated by: Richard Armitage
- Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Palazzo Colombina is home to the Uccello family: three generations of men, trapped together in the dusty palace on Venice's Grand Canal. Awkward 15-year-old Nico. His distant, business-focused father. And his beloved grandfather, Paolo. Paolo is dying. But before he passes, he has secrets he's waited his whole life to share.
-
-
Excellent Story, Expert Narration, A Winning Combo!
- By U. Campanella on 01-30-21
By: David Hewson
-
The Body
- A Guide for Occupants
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bill Bryson once again proves himself to be an incomparable companion as he guides us through the human body - how it functions, its remarkable ability to heal itself, and (unfortunately) the ways it can fail. Full of extraordinary facts (your body made a million red blood cells since you started reading this) and irresistible Bryson-esque anecdotes, The Body will lead you to a deeper understanding of the miracle that is life in general and you in particular. As Bill Bryson writes, "We pass our existence within this wobble of flesh and yet take it almost entirely for granted."
-
-
Must Read for the Sheer Fun of It
- By J.B. on 10-16-19
By: Bill Bryson
-
An Immense World
- How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us
- By: Ed Yong
- Narrated by: Ed Yong
- Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Earth teems with sights and textures, sounds and vibrations, smells and tastes, electric and magnetic fields. But every kind of animal, including humans, is enclosed within its own unique sensory bubble, perceiving but a tiny sliver of our immense world. In An Immense World, Ed Yong coaxes us beyond the confines of our own senses, allowing us to perceive the skeins of scent, waves of electromagnetism, and pulses of pressure that surround us.
-
-
If you’ve never read about the wonder of animal sensory capabilities this is for you
- By MediaBaron on 06-27-22
By: Ed Yong
-
Money
- The True Story of a Made-Up Thing
- By: Jacob Goldstein
- Narrated by: Jacob Goldstein
- Length: 5 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The cohost of the popular NPR podcast Planet Money provides a well-researched, entertaining, somewhat irreverent look at how money is a made-up thing that has evolved over time to suit humanity's changing needs.
-
-
well researched and written but,
- By C&S on 09-29-20
By: Jacob Goldstein
-
The Paris Library
- A Novel
- By: Janet Skeslien Charles
- Narrated by: Nicky Diss, Sarah Feathers, Esther Wane, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Paris, 1939: Young and ambitious Odile Souchet seems to have the perfect life with her handsome police officer beau and a dream job at the American Library in Paris. When the Nazis march into the city, Odile stands to lose everything she holds dear, including her beloved library. Together with her fellow librarians, Odile joins the Resistance with the best weapons she has: books.
-
-
Calling all lovers of libraries around the world
- By MelSA on 02-15-21
-
The Salt Path
- A Memoir
- By: Raynor Winn
- Narrated by: Raynor Winn
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Just days after Raynor Winn learns that Moth, her husband of 32 years, is terminally ill, their house and farm are taken away, along with their livelihood. With nothing left and little time, they make the brave and impulsive decision to walk the 630 miles of the sea-swept South West Coast Path, from Somerset to Dorset, through Devon and Cornwall. Carrying only the essentials for survival on their backs, they live wild in the ancient, weathered landscape of cliffs, sea, and sky.
-
-
Not happy…..
- By Debbie Frizzell on 09-12-21
By: Raynor Winn
-
Fuzz
- When Nature Breaks the Law
- By: Mary Roach
- Narrated by: Mary Roach
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What’s to be done about a jaywalking moose? A bear caught breaking and entering? A murderous tree? Three hundred years ago, animals that broke the law would be assigned legal representation and put on trial. These days, as New York Times best-selling author Mary Roach discovers, the answers are best found not in jurisprudence but in science: the curious science of human-wildlife conflict, a discipline at the crossroads of human behavior and wildlife biology.
-
-
The footnotes
- By Alex on 09-24-21
By: Mary Roach
-
Packing for Mars
- The Curious Science of Life in the Void
- By: Mary Roach
- Narrated by: Sandra Burr
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Space is a world devoid of the things we need to live and thrive: air, gravity, hot showers, fresh produce, privacy, beer. Space exploration is in some ways an exploration of what it means to be human. How much can a person give up? How much weirdness can they take? What happens to you when you can’t walk for a year? Have sex? Smell flowers? What happens if you vomit in your helmet during a space walk? Is it possible for the human body to survive a bailout at 17,000 miles per hour?
-
-
Everything You Always Wanted to Know - and More
- By Roy on 09-22-10
By: Mary Roach
-
Stiff
- The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
- By: Mary Roach
- Narrated by: Shelly Frasier
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For two thousand years, cadavers have been involved in science's boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. They've tested France's first guillotines, ridden the NASA Space Shuttle, been crucified in a Parisian laboratory to test the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, and helped solve the mystery of TWA Flight 800. For every new surgical procedure, from heart transplants to gender reassignment surgery, cadavers have been there alongside surgeons, making history in their quiet way.
-
-
I worked with cadavers for years, but....
- By POQA on 11-11-12
By: Mary Roach
-
This Is What It Sounds Like
- What the Music You Love Says About You
- By: Ogi Ogas, Susan Rogers
- Narrated by: Susan Rogers
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When you listen to music, do you prefer lyrics or melody? Intricate harmonies or driving rhythm? The “real” sounds of acoustic instruments or those of computerized synthesizers? Drawing from her successful career as a music producer (engineering hits like Prince’s “Purple Rain”), professor of cognitive neuroscience Susan Rogers reveals why your favorite songs move you. She explains that we each possess a unique “listener profile” based on our brain’s reaction to seven key dimensions of any record: authenticity, realism, novelty, melody, lyrics, rhythm, and timbre.
-
-
Needed to include the music
- By Sarah on 01-18-23
By: Ogi Ogas, and others
-
Why Buddhism Is True
- The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment
- By: Robert Wright
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From one of America's greatest minds, a journey through psychology, philosophy, and lots of meditation to show how Buddhism holds the key to moral clarity and enduring happiness. In Why Buddhism Is True, Wright leads listeners on a journey through psychology, philosophy, and a great many silent retreats to show how and why meditation can serve as the foundation for a spiritual life in a secular age.
-
-
Clear Explanation of How the Mind Works
- By George on 08-10-17
By: Robert Wright
-
Your Table Is Ready
- Tales of a New York City Maître D'
- By: Michael Cecchi-Azzolina
- Narrated by: Michael Cecchi-Azzolina
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the glamorous to the entitled, from royalty to the financially ruined, everyone who wanted to be seen—or just to gawk—at the hottest restaurants in New York City came to places Michael Cecchi-Azzolina helped run. His phone number was passed around among those who wanted to curry favor, during the decades when restaurants replaced clubs and theater as, well, theater in the most visible, vibrant city in the world. Besides dropping us back into a vanished time, Your Table Is Ready takes us places we’d never be able to get into on our own.
-
-
Accurately crass and heart felt
- By Amazon Customer on 01-10-23
-
The Postcard
- By: Anne Berest, Tina Kover - translator
- Narrated by: Barrie Kealoha
- Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
January, 2003. Together with the usual holiday cards, an anonymous postcard is delivered to the Berest family home. On the front, a photo of the Opéra Garnier in Paris. On the back, the names of Anne Berest’s maternal great-grandparents, Ephraïm and Emma, and their children, Noémie and Jacques—all killed at Auschwitz. Fifteen years after the postcard is delivered, Anne, the heroine of this novel, is moved to discover who sent it and why.
-
-
The author’s words deserve a better narrator
- By TK on 05-22-23
By: Anne Berest, and others
Related to this topic
-
Shanda
- A Memoir of Shame and Secrecy
- By: Letty Cottin Pogrebin
- Narrated by: Dina Pearlman
- Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The word "shanda" is defined as shame or disgrace in Yiddish. This book, Shanda, tells the story of three generations of complicated, intense twentieth-century Jews for whom the desire to fit in and the fear of public humiliation either drove their aspirations or crushed their spirit. In her deeply engaging, astonishingly candid memoir, author and activist Letty Cottin Pogrebin exposes the fiercely-guarded lies and intricate cover-ups woven by dozens of members of her extended family.
-
-
Beautifully Written!
- By Adele Aron Greenspun on 01-12-23
-
Americanized
- Rebel Without a Green Card
- By: Sara Saedi
- Narrated by: Lameece Issaq
- Length: 5 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At 13, bright-eyed straight-A student Sara Saedi uncovered a terrible family secret: She was breaking the law simply by living in the United States. Only two years old when her parents fled Iran, she didn't learn of her undocumented status until her older sister wanted to apply for an after-school job but couldn't because she didn't have a Social Security number. Fear of deportation kept Sara up at night, but it didn't keep her from being a teenager.
-
-
Corny Cheesy
- By Mina00 on 09-06-18
By: Sara Saedi
-
Crossing Over
- By: John Edward
- Narrated by: John Edward
- Length: 4 hrs and 45 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Crossing Over, John brings his listeners with him on the extraordinary journey that has been his life since his New York Times best seller One Last Time was published in 1998. In the style of his TV show and personal appearances (poignant, funny, and remarkably candid) John deals head-on with the controversial issues he has confronted on his voyage as a psychic medium. Listeners might be surprised to learn that it hasn't always been smooth sailing.
-
-
Intriguing and entertaining
- By Betty on 05-10-09
By: John Edward
-
The Partly Cloudy Patriot
- By: Sarah Vowell
- Narrated by: Sarah Vowell, Conan O'Brien, Seth Green, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sarah Vowell travels through the American past and investigates the dusty, bumpy roads of her own life. Her essays confront a wide range of subjects, icons, and historical moments: Ike, Teddy Roosevelt, and Bill Clinton; Canadian Mounties and German Filmmakers; Tom Cruise and Buffy the Vampire Slayer; twins and nerds; the Gettysburg Address, the State of the Union, and George W. Bush's inauguration. The result is an engrossing audiobook, capturing Vowell's memorable wit and her keen social commentary.
-
-
One of the best surprises on AUDIBLE.COM!!
- By Doggy Bird on 04-14-04
By: Sarah Vowell
-
Normal Gets You Nowhere
- By: Kelly Cutrone
- Narrated by: Kelly Cutrone
- Length: 3 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With Normal Gets You Nowhere, Kelly Cutrone invites us to get our freak on. History is full of successful, world-changing people who did not fit in. Think Nelson Mandela, Joan of Arc, Eleanor Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, John Lennon, and Rosa Parks. Instead of changing themselves to accommodate the status quo or what others thought they should be, these people hung a light on their differences - and changed humanity in the process. “I know you don’t feel normal, so why are you trying to act it and prove to everyone you are?” Cutrone says.
-
-
For open minds and hearts.
- By Kelly on 01-06-12
By: Kelly Cutrone
-
The Unspeakable
- And Other Subjects of Discussion
- By: Meghan Daum
- Narrated by: Meghan Daum
- Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's a report tempered by hard times. In "Matricide", Daum unflinchingly describes a parent's death and the uncomfortable emotions it provokes; and in "Diary of a Coma" she relates her own journey to the twilight of the mind. But Daum also operates in a comic register. With perfect precision, she reveals the absurdities of the marriage-industrial complex, of the New Age dating market, and of the peculiar habits of the young and digital.
-
-
Complaining about her dead mom.
- By Erik Hermansen on 11-23-14
By: Meghan Daum
-
Shanda
- A Memoir of Shame and Secrecy
- By: Letty Cottin Pogrebin
- Narrated by: Dina Pearlman
- Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The word "shanda" is defined as shame or disgrace in Yiddish. This book, Shanda, tells the story of three generations of complicated, intense twentieth-century Jews for whom the desire to fit in and the fear of public humiliation either drove their aspirations or crushed their spirit. In her deeply engaging, astonishingly candid memoir, author and activist Letty Cottin Pogrebin exposes the fiercely-guarded lies and intricate cover-ups woven by dozens of members of her extended family.
-
-
Beautifully Written!
- By Adele Aron Greenspun on 01-12-23
-
Americanized
- Rebel Without a Green Card
- By: Sara Saedi
- Narrated by: Lameece Issaq
- Length: 5 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At 13, bright-eyed straight-A student Sara Saedi uncovered a terrible family secret: She was breaking the law simply by living in the United States. Only two years old when her parents fled Iran, she didn't learn of her undocumented status until her older sister wanted to apply for an after-school job but couldn't because she didn't have a Social Security number. Fear of deportation kept Sara up at night, but it didn't keep her from being a teenager.
-
-
Corny Cheesy
- By Mina00 on 09-06-18
By: Sara Saedi
-
Crossing Over
- By: John Edward
- Narrated by: John Edward
- Length: 4 hrs and 45 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Crossing Over, John brings his listeners with him on the extraordinary journey that has been his life since his New York Times best seller One Last Time was published in 1998. In the style of his TV show and personal appearances (poignant, funny, and remarkably candid) John deals head-on with the controversial issues he has confronted on his voyage as a psychic medium. Listeners might be surprised to learn that it hasn't always been smooth sailing.
-
-
Intriguing and entertaining
- By Betty on 05-10-09
By: John Edward
-
The Partly Cloudy Patriot
- By: Sarah Vowell
- Narrated by: Sarah Vowell, Conan O'Brien, Seth Green, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sarah Vowell travels through the American past and investigates the dusty, bumpy roads of her own life. Her essays confront a wide range of subjects, icons, and historical moments: Ike, Teddy Roosevelt, and Bill Clinton; Canadian Mounties and German Filmmakers; Tom Cruise and Buffy the Vampire Slayer; twins and nerds; the Gettysburg Address, the State of the Union, and George W. Bush's inauguration. The result is an engrossing audiobook, capturing Vowell's memorable wit and her keen social commentary.
-
-
One of the best surprises on AUDIBLE.COM!!
- By Doggy Bird on 04-14-04
By: Sarah Vowell
-
Normal Gets You Nowhere
- By: Kelly Cutrone
- Narrated by: Kelly Cutrone
- Length: 3 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With Normal Gets You Nowhere, Kelly Cutrone invites us to get our freak on. History is full of successful, world-changing people who did not fit in. Think Nelson Mandela, Joan of Arc, Eleanor Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, John Lennon, and Rosa Parks. Instead of changing themselves to accommodate the status quo or what others thought they should be, these people hung a light on their differences - and changed humanity in the process. “I know you don’t feel normal, so why are you trying to act it and prove to everyone you are?” Cutrone says.
-
-
For open minds and hearts.
- By Kelly on 01-06-12
By: Kelly Cutrone
-
The Unspeakable
- And Other Subjects of Discussion
- By: Meghan Daum
- Narrated by: Meghan Daum
- Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's a report tempered by hard times. In "Matricide", Daum unflinchingly describes a parent's death and the uncomfortable emotions it provokes; and in "Diary of a Coma" she relates her own journey to the twilight of the mind. But Daum also operates in a comic register. With perfect precision, she reveals the absurdities of the marriage-industrial complex, of the New Age dating market, and of the peculiar habits of the young and digital.
-
-
Complaining about her dead mom.
- By Erik Hermansen on 11-23-14
By: Meghan Daum
-
The Wrong End of the Table
- A Mostly Comic Memoir of a Muslim Arab American Woman Just Trying to Fit In
- By: Ayser Salman, Reza Aslan - foreword
- Narrated by: Ayser Salman, Assaf Cohen
- Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Part memoir and part how-not-to guide, The Wrong End of the Table is everything you wanted to know about Arabs but were afraid to ask, with chapters such as “Tattoos and Other National Security Risks,” “You Can’t Blame Everything on Your Period; Sometimes You’re Going to Be a Crazy Bitch: and Other Advice from Mom,” and even an open letter to Trump. This is the story of every American outsider on a path to find themselves in a country of beautiful diversity.
-
-
Not what I was looking for
- By Amazon Customer on 09-01-22
By: Ayser Salman, and others
-
Committed
- A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage
- By: Elizabeth Gilbert
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Gilbert
- Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the end of her best-selling memoir Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert fell in love with Felipe, a Brazilian-born man of Australian citizenship who'd been living in Indonesia when they met. Resettling in America, the couple swore eternal fidelity to each other, but also swore to never, ever, under any circumstances get legally married. But providence intervened one day in the form of the United States government....
-
-
Perfect timing
- By Nancy on 01-15-10
-
Laughing Without an Accent
- Adventures of an Iranian American, at Home and Abroad
- By: Firoozeh Dumas
- Narrated by: Firoozeh Dumas
- Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the best-selling memoir Funny in Farsi, Firoozeh Dumas recounted her adventures growing up Iranian American in Southern California. Now she again mines her rich Persian heritage in Laughing Without an Accent, sharing stories both tender and humorous on being a citizen of the world, on her well-meaning family, and on amusing cultural conundrums, all told with insights into the universality of the human condition. (Hint: It may have to do with brushing and flossing daily.)
-
-
Sigh
- By Sara on 01-29-14
By: Firoozeh Dumas
-
The Secrets of Happy Families
- Surprising New Ideas to Bring More Togetherness, Less Chaos, and Greater Joy
- By: Bruce Feiler
- Narrated by: Bruce Feiler
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Best-selling author and New York Times family columnist Bruce Feiler found himself squeezed between caring for aging parents and raising his children. So he set out on a three-year journey to find the smartest solutions and the most cutting-edge research about families. Instead of the usual family "experts", he sought out the most creative minds - from Silicon Valley to the set of Modern Family, from the country's top negotiators to the Green Berets - and asked them what team-building exercises and problem-solving techniques they use with their families.
-
-
Well worth reading, even if you can't do it all!
- By Amazon Customer on 02-28-13
By: Bruce Feiler
-
Let There Be Laughter
- A Treasury of Great Jewish Humor and What It All Means
- By: Michael Krasny
- Narrated by: Michael Krasny
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Michael Krasny has been telling Jewish jokes since his bar mitzvah, and it's been said that he knows more of them than anyone on the planet. He certainly states his case in this wise, enlightening, and hilarious book that not only collects the best of Jewish humor passed down from generation to generation but explains the cultural expressions and anxieties behind the laughs.
-
-
It's great and I don't like joke books Highly recommend for you. Just hilarious
- By michael gort on 06-15-17
By: Michael Krasny
-
To Obama
- A Diary of a Nation
- By: Jeanne Marie Laskas
- Narrated by: Jeanne Marie Laskas, Sullivan Jones, MacLeod Andrews, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Every evening for eight years, at his request, President Obama was given 10 handpicked letters written by ordinary American citizens - the unfiltered voice of a nation - from his Office of Presidential Correspondence. He was the first president to interact daily with constituent mail and to archive it in its entirety. In To Obama, Jeanne Marie Laskas interviews President Obama, the letter writers themselves, and the White House staff who sifted through the powerful, moving, and incredibly intimate narrative of America during the Obama years:
-
-
a must have audible book or print, it will amaze u
- By 1mercedeb8 on 11-08-18
-
Under Red Skies
- Three Generations of Life, Loss, and Hope in China
- By: Karoline Kan
- Narrated by: Allison Hiroto
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A deeply personal and shocking look at how China is coming to terms with its conflicted past as it emerges into a modern, cutting-edge superpower.
-
-
An intimate view of real life in China
- By Lonnie G. Hardy, Jr. on 08-15-19
By: Karoline Kan
-
The Fire This Time
- A New Generation Speaks About Race
- By: Jesmyn Ward
- Narrated by: Cherise Boothe, Michael Early, Kevin R. Free, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward takes James Baldwin's 1963 examination of race in America, The Fire Next Time, as a jumping-off point for this groundbreaking collection of essays and poems about race from the most important voices of her generation and our time.
-
-
Delusion shattering
- By Matthew A. Burnett on 06-12-20
By: Jesmyn Ward
-
My Two Moms
- Lessons of Love, Strength, and What Makes a Family
- By: Zach Wahls, Bruce Littlefield
- Narrated by: Kris Koscheski
- Length: 6 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On January 31, 2011, Zach Wahls addressed the Iowa House Judiciary Committee in a public forum regarding civil unions. The 19-year-old son of a same-sex couple, Wahls proudly proclaimed, "The sexual orientation of my parents has had zero effect on the content of my character." Hours later, his speech was posted on YouTube, where it went viral, quickly receiving more than two million views. By the end of the week, everyone knew his name and wanted to hear more from the boy with two moms.
-
-
You will not regret listening to this.
- By V. Brown on 06-07-12
By: Zach Wahls, and others
-
I Can't Complain
- (All Too) Personal Essays
- By: Elinor Lipman
- Narrated by: Elinor Lipman
- Length: 3 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Elinor Lipman has populated her fictional universe with characters so utterly real that we feel like they're old friends. Now she shares an even more intimate world with us - her own - in essays that offer a candid, charming take on modern life. Looking back and forging ahead, she considers the subjects that matter most: childhood and condiments, long marriage and solo living, career and politics. Here you'll find the lighthearted: a celebration of four decades of All My Children, a reflection on being Jewish in heavily Irish-Catholic Lowell on St. Patrick's Day, a hilariously unflinching account of her tiptoe into online dating.
-
-
Fabulous!
- By Louise on 09-15-19
By: Elinor Lipman
-
Identical Strangers
- A Memoir of Twins Separated and Reunited
- By: Elyse Schein, Paula Bernstein
- Narrated by: Alma Cuervo, Effie Johnson
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the astonishing true story of Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein, who shared a personal history for more than three decades - and didn't know it. In her mid-30s, Schein finally decided to call an adoption agency to learn about her biological mother. Not expecting much, she instead got the surprise of her life. Her identical twin sister, Bernstein, lived just minutes away.
-
-
What if you are a twin and don't know it?
- By Joanne on 07-15-08
By: Elyse Schein, and others
-
Prisoner
- My 544 Days in an Iranian Prison—Solitary Confinement, a Sham Trial, High-Stakes Diplomacy, and the Extraordinary Efforts It Took to Get Me Out
- By: Jason Rezaian
- Narrated by: Jason Rezaian
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The dramatic memoir of the journalist who was held hostage in a high-security prison in Tehran for 18 months and whose release - which almost didn’t happen - became a part of the Iran nuclear deal.
-
-
Should have been much better given subject matter
- By Sample Sloth on 04-17-19
By: Jason Rezaian
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Year of Living Constitutionally
- One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution's Original Meaning
- By: A.J. Jacobs
- Narrated by: A.J. Jacobs
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Is the Constitution a living document that needs to evolve with the times? Or should we try to divine the original meaning that our Founding Fathers intended, and hew to that as strictly as possible, as present-day originalists suggest? In The Year of Living Constitutionally, A.J. Jacobs tries to get inside the minds of the Founding Fathers by living as closely as possible to the original meaning of the Constitution.
-
-
Delightful!
- By BranWick on 07-14-24
By: A.J. Jacobs
-
The Puzzler
- One Man's Quest to Solve the Most Baffling Puzzles Ever, from Crosswords to Jigsaws to the Meaning of Life
- By: A.J. Jacobs, Greg Pliska
- Narrated by: A.J. Jacobs
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The New York Times best-selling author of The Year of Living Biblically goes on a journey to understand the enduring power of puzzles: why we love them, what they do to our brains, and how they can improve our world.
-
-
Welcome to the Nerd Parade
- By Despair at the State of the Republic on 07-16-22
By: A.J. Jacobs, and others
-
The Guinea Pig Diaries
- My Life as an Experiment
- By: A. J. Jacobs
- Narrated by: A. J. Jacobs
- Length: 6 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Best-selling author and human guinea pig A. J. Jacobs puts his life to the test and reports on the surprising and entertaining results. He goes undercover as a woman, lives by George Washington’s moral code, and impersonates a movie star. He practices "radical honesty", brushes his teeth with the world’s most rational toothpaste, and outsources every part of his life to India—including reading bedtime stories to his kids.
-
-
Entertaining but hard to listen to.
- By Rikki on 09-12-12
By: A. J. Jacobs
-
Drop Dead Healthy
- One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection
- By: A. J. Jacobs
- Narrated by: A. J. Jacobs
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A. J. Jacobs tackles his most challenging experiment yet: a yearlong mission to radically improve every element of his body and mind - from his brain to his fingertips to his abs. First, he had to tackle a complicated web of diet and exercise advice, most which is nonsensical, unproven, and contradictory. Second, he had to consult a team of medical advisers. And finally, he had to subject himself, over the course of two years, to a grueling regimen of exercises and a range of diets and nutritional plans.
-
-
A comic tries a little of everything
- By Niall on 04-14-12
By: A. J. Jacobs
-
The Year of Living Biblically
- One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible
- By: A. J. Jacobs
- Narrated by: A. J. Jacobs
- Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Our fearless author, A. J. Jacobs, tackles a new intellectual adventure, an exploration of the most influential book in the world: the Bible. He determined that the best way to explore the Bible was to live it, as literally as possible. For one year.
-
-
Excellent... But tongue in cheek
- By Jonathan on 12-04-07
By: A. J. Jacobs
-
The Know-It-All
- One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World
- By: A. J. Jacobs
- Narrated by: Geoffrey Cantor
- Length: 15 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Early in his career, A.J. Jacobs put his Ivy League education to work at Entertainment Weekly. He emerged five years later knowing which stars have fake boobs, which stars have toupees, which have both, and not much else. This realization led Jacobs on a life-changing quest: to read the entire contents of the Encyclopedia Britannica, all 33,000 pages, all 44 million words.
-
-
Fun, and even informative
- By James on 10-22-04
By: A. J. Jacobs
-
The Year of Living Constitutionally
- One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution's Original Meaning
- By: A.J. Jacobs
- Narrated by: A.J. Jacobs
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Is the Constitution a living document that needs to evolve with the times? Or should we try to divine the original meaning that our Founding Fathers intended, and hew to that as strictly as possible, as present-day originalists suggest? In The Year of Living Constitutionally, A.J. Jacobs tries to get inside the minds of the Founding Fathers by living as closely as possible to the original meaning of the Constitution.
-
-
Delightful!
- By BranWick on 07-14-24
By: A.J. Jacobs
-
The Puzzler
- One Man's Quest to Solve the Most Baffling Puzzles Ever, from Crosswords to Jigsaws to the Meaning of Life
- By: A.J. Jacobs, Greg Pliska
- Narrated by: A.J. Jacobs
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The New York Times best-selling author of The Year of Living Biblically goes on a journey to understand the enduring power of puzzles: why we love them, what they do to our brains, and how they can improve our world.
-
-
Welcome to the Nerd Parade
- By Despair at the State of the Republic on 07-16-22
By: A.J. Jacobs, and others
-
The Guinea Pig Diaries
- My Life as an Experiment
- By: A. J. Jacobs
- Narrated by: A. J. Jacobs
- Length: 6 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Best-selling author and human guinea pig A. J. Jacobs puts his life to the test and reports on the surprising and entertaining results. He goes undercover as a woman, lives by George Washington’s moral code, and impersonates a movie star. He practices "radical honesty", brushes his teeth with the world’s most rational toothpaste, and outsources every part of his life to India—including reading bedtime stories to his kids.
-
-
Entertaining but hard to listen to.
- By Rikki on 09-12-12
By: A. J. Jacobs
-
Drop Dead Healthy
- One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection
- By: A. J. Jacobs
- Narrated by: A. J. Jacobs
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A. J. Jacobs tackles his most challenging experiment yet: a yearlong mission to radically improve every element of his body and mind - from his brain to his fingertips to his abs. First, he had to tackle a complicated web of diet and exercise advice, most which is nonsensical, unproven, and contradictory. Second, he had to consult a team of medical advisers. And finally, he had to subject himself, over the course of two years, to a grueling regimen of exercises and a range of diets and nutritional plans.
-
-
A comic tries a little of everything
- By Niall on 04-14-12
By: A. J. Jacobs
-
The Year of Living Biblically
- One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible
- By: A. J. Jacobs
- Narrated by: A. J. Jacobs
- Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Our fearless author, A. J. Jacobs, tackles a new intellectual adventure, an exploration of the most influential book in the world: the Bible. He determined that the best way to explore the Bible was to live it, as literally as possible. For one year.
-
-
Excellent... But tongue in cheek
- By Jonathan on 12-04-07
By: A. J. Jacobs
-
The Know-It-All
- One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World
- By: A. J. Jacobs
- Narrated by: Geoffrey Cantor
- Length: 15 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Early in his career, A.J. Jacobs put his Ivy League education to work at Entertainment Weekly. He emerged five years later knowing which stars have fake boobs, which stars have toupees, which have both, and not much else. This realization led Jacobs on a life-changing quest: to read the entire contents of the Encyclopedia Britannica, all 33,000 pages, all 44 million words.
-
-
Fun, and even informative
- By James on 10-22-04
By: A. J. Jacobs
What listeners say about It's All Relative
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Buretto
- 04-08-21
Doomed from the start
I can only fall back on the old chestnut: I wanted to like the book. But at its core is a flaw that the author himself recognizes and expresses numerous times in the book. Namely, that the enterprise is simultaneously naive, pointless and paradoxical. Naive in that racism can't be eradicated by biology. Deep down, we can see it's primarily cultural, despite the genetic rhetoric. Pointless in that, predictably, factions arise with their own agendas, religious, political, commercial, etc. rendering any altruistic motivation moot. And paradoxical since a family of all humanity renders the idea of family meaningless. Or worse, hypocritical, as the author can attest, as new structures of other-ness appear, replacing the word "family" in a neat semantic sleight of hand.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jennifer
- 01-03-18
Humorous, honest and upbeat
Humorous tale of a one year journey to break the Guinness World Record for a family reunion. I enjoyed the continual return to a concept that if we are all ultimately related, then why should we be so devicive? A true answer.
The book did get a bit long, as so often is the case. At times I felt manipulated that the grand scheme of this project was really to write a book and sell. Of course i then bought it. But I am not sure that fact was ever hidden. Humor usually pulled me out of feeling too taken on a ride as the author's latest con to sell a book. Clearly he took each step and the journey was honest and filled with tales.
I am almost always a fan of the author reading his own book. I love the proper punch and pause of an author's own narration. This was not one of those times. Ever have a face not match a voice? Or a picture not match a profile? This was a narrator not matching the script. As odd as that must sound. It threw me chapter after chapter.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mauriciovz
- 03-31-19
Not the best of A.J.
Although have some funny parts, the overall book is not as good another previous stories from the very entertaining A.J. Jacobs.
interesting passages about how humanity is link but unfortunately my expectations were higher than the reality of this book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Juan
- 12-05-17
Hilarious, Honest, and Heartfelt
As if being able to listen to this book wasn’t great enough, having the author read it gave that extra feeling that I was on this journey with him and his family. Incredibly relatable for anyone that has a passion for genealogy and their own family history. I found myself laughing while thinking I have felt many of those thoughts throughout my research as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if this book became the gateway of many others acquiring a new found love for genealogy. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that has any level of interest in genealogy but it is also far reaching in appeal past that.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Vegan Dancer
- 09-04-18
Fun Genealogy Read!
Loved this book, which I downloaded after reading a review in my Sunday newspaper. A.J. is quirky and most entertaining. So thankful he and his brain are around to encourage us to think about the big picture (who are we? what are we evolving into?) while sharing his insights into the small details of life. His concept that we are all related, and that we'll get along once we let that sink in, was just what I needed to read after the election of the divisive, negative government in 2016. Thanks, AJ!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Susan Terral
- 01-11-18
Fun book
I enjoyed seeing genealogy through his eyes. Listening to this book was a lot of fun.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- katie
- 12-18-17
ok book
AJ please get a professional narrator! I know it must be a pride thing but it would be for the better.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 01-30-23
Loved it!
What a fun, interesting book! I love the author’s honestly and integrity! We ARE all cousins! Let’s treat each other as such.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Donna Meagle
- 10-09-23
Another AJ
I’m a huge fan of AJ Jacobs. I have enjoyed all of his books including this one. Though this might be my least favorite one.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!