Get Your Free Audiobook
-
The Second Sex
- Narrated by: Ellen Archer, Judith Thurman
- Length: 39 hrs and 9 mins
- Categories: Politics & Social Sciences, Social Sciences
Non-member price: $73.14
People who bought this also bought...
-
The Ethics of Ambiguity
- By: Simone de Beauvoir
- Narrated by: Adriel Brandt
- Length: 4 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Ethics of Ambiguity was Simone de Beauvoir's second major work of non-fiction. It consists of three parts and a short conclusion.
-
Gender Trouble
- Feminism and the Subversion of Identity
- By: Judith Butler
- Narrated by: Emily Beresford
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the most talked-about scholarly works of the past 50 years, Judith Butler's Gender Trouble is as celebrated as it is controversial. Arguing that traditional feminism is wrong to look to a natural, "essential" notion of the female, or indeed of sex or gender, Butler starts by questioning the category "woman" and continues in this vein with examinations of "the masculine" and "the feminine." Best known however, but also most often misinterpreted, is Butler's concept of gender as a reiterated social performance rather than the expression of a prior reality.
-
The Year of Magical Thinking
- By: Joan Didion
- Narrated by: Vanessa Redgrave
- Length: 1 hr and 28 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When celebrated writer Joan Didion’s life was altered forever, she wrote a new chapter. In this adaptation of her iconic memoir, Didion transforms the story of the shattering loss of her husband and their daughter into a one-woman play performed by Tony Award winner Vanessa Redgrave, who originated the role on Broadway in 2007.
-
Men Who Hate Women
- From Incels to Pickup Artists, the Truth About Extreme Misogyny and How It Affects Us All
- By: Laura Bates
- Narrated by: Laura Bates
- Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this ground-breaking investigation, Laura traces the roots of misogyny across a complex spiders web of groups extending from men's rights activists and pick-up artists to Men Going Their Own Way, trolls and the Incel movement, in the name of which some men have committed terrorist acts. Drawing parallels with other extremist movements around the world, Bates seeks to understand what attracts men to the movement, how it grooms and radicalises boys, how it operates and what can be done to stop it.
-
-
one of the most important books of our time
- By Jodie Richards on 11-01-2021
-
Simone de Beauvoir
- By: Ladelle McWhorter
- Narrated by: Lynn Redgrave
- Length: 2 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Simone de Beauvoir stands as a towering figure in the 20th century's flowering of thought among women. There are probably more women philosophers alive today than in all of prior history, and their perspective brings new ideas and fresh approaches to old problems. We are just now beginning to understand women's unique contribution to philosophical thought.
-
Ain't I a Woman
- Black Women and Feminism (2nd Edition)
- By: bell hooks
- Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A classic work of feminist scholarship, Ain't I a Woman has become a must for all those interested in the nature of Black womanhood. Examining the impact of sexism on Black women during slavery, the devaluation of black womanhood, black male sexism, racism among feminists, and the black woman's involvement with feminism, hooks attempts to move us beyond racist and sexist assumptions. The result is nothing short of groundbreaking, giving this work a critical place in every feminist scholar's library.
-
The Ethics of Ambiguity
- By: Simone de Beauvoir
- Narrated by: Adriel Brandt
- Length: 4 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Ethics of Ambiguity was Simone de Beauvoir's second major work of non-fiction. It consists of three parts and a short conclusion.
-
Gender Trouble
- Feminism and the Subversion of Identity
- By: Judith Butler
- Narrated by: Emily Beresford
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the most talked-about scholarly works of the past 50 years, Judith Butler's Gender Trouble is as celebrated as it is controversial. Arguing that traditional feminism is wrong to look to a natural, "essential" notion of the female, or indeed of sex or gender, Butler starts by questioning the category "woman" and continues in this vein with examinations of "the masculine" and "the feminine." Best known however, but also most often misinterpreted, is Butler's concept of gender as a reiterated social performance rather than the expression of a prior reality.
-
The Year of Magical Thinking
- By: Joan Didion
- Narrated by: Vanessa Redgrave
- Length: 1 hr and 28 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When celebrated writer Joan Didion’s life was altered forever, she wrote a new chapter. In this adaptation of her iconic memoir, Didion transforms the story of the shattering loss of her husband and their daughter into a one-woman play performed by Tony Award winner Vanessa Redgrave, who originated the role on Broadway in 2007.
-
Men Who Hate Women
- From Incels to Pickup Artists, the Truth About Extreme Misogyny and How It Affects Us All
- By: Laura Bates
- Narrated by: Laura Bates
- Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this ground-breaking investigation, Laura traces the roots of misogyny across a complex spiders web of groups extending from men's rights activists and pick-up artists to Men Going Their Own Way, trolls and the Incel movement, in the name of which some men have committed terrorist acts. Drawing parallels with other extremist movements around the world, Bates seeks to understand what attracts men to the movement, how it grooms and radicalises boys, how it operates and what can be done to stop it.
-
-
one of the most important books of our time
- By Jodie Richards on 11-01-2021
-
Simone de Beauvoir
- By: Ladelle McWhorter
- Narrated by: Lynn Redgrave
- Length: 2 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Simone de Beauvoir stands as a towering figure in the 20th century's flowering of thought among women. There are probably more women philosophers alive today than in all of prior history, and their perspective brings new ideas and fresh approaches to old problems. We are just now beginning to understand women's unique contribution to philosophical thought.
-
Ain't I a Woman
- Black Women and Feminism (2nd Edition)
- By: bell hooks
- Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A classic work of feminist scholarship, Ain't I a Woman has become a must for all those interested in the nature of Black womanhood. Examining the impact of sexism on Black women during slavery, the devaluation of black womanhood, black male sexism, racism among feminists, and the black woman's involvement with feminism, hooks attempts to move us beyond racist and sexist assumptions. The result is nothing short of groundbreaking, giving this work a critical place in every feminist scholar's library.
-
Cynical Theories
- How Activist Scholarship Made Everything About Race, Gender, and Identity - and Why This Harms Everybody
- By: Helen Pluckrose, James Lindsay
- Narrated by: Helen Pluckrose
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Have you heard that language is violence and that science is sexist? Have you read that certain people shouldn't practice yoga? Or been told that being obese is healthy, that there is no such thing as biological sex, or that only White people can be racist? Are you confused by these ideas, and do you wonder how they have managed to challenge the logic of Western society? In this probing volume, Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay document the evolution of the dogma that informs these ideas, from its coarse origins in French postmodernism to its refinement within activist academic fields.
-
-
A must read in 2020
- By Cris on 03-12-2020
-
Freedom Is a Constant Struggle
- Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement
- By: Angela Y. Davis
- Narrated by: Angela Davis, Coleen Marlo
- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In these newly collected essays, interviews, and speeches, world-renowned activist and scholar Angela Y. Davis illuminates the connections between struggles against state violence and oppression throughout history and around the world. Reflecting on the importance of Black feminism, intersectionality, and prison abolitionism for today's struggles, Davis discusses the legacies of previous liberation struggles - from the Black freedom movement to the South African antiapartheid movement.
-
-
Brilliant! A must read for everybody!
- By Alison on 18-05-2020
-
Swann's Way
- By: Marcel Proust
- Narrated by: Neville Jason
- Length: 21 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Swann’s Way is the first of seven volumes in Remembrance of Things Past. It sets the scene with the narrator’s memories being famously provoked by the taste of that little cake, the madeleine, accompanied by a cup of lime-flowered tea. It is an unmatched portrait of fin-de-siècle France.
-
-
A very long masterpiece
- By David on 19-03-2018
-
War and Peace (AmazonClassics Edition)
- By: Leo Tolstoy, Louise Maude - translator, Aylmer Maude - translator
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 55 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In early nineteenth-century Russia, the threat of Napoleon’s invasion looms, and the lives of millions are about to be changed forever. This includes Pierre Bezúkhov, illegitimate son of an aristocrat; Andrew Bolkónski, ambitious military scion; and Natásha Rostóva, compassionate daughter of a nobleman. All of them are unprepared for what lies ahead. Alongside their fellow compatriots - a catalog of enduring literary characters - Pierre, Andrew, and Natásha will be irrevocably torn between fate and free will.
-
-
It exceeds its reputation and my expectations.
- By Nicola Hill on 27-08-2020
-
The Bell Jar
- By: Sylvia Plath
- Narrated by: Maggie Gyllenhaal
- Length: 7 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Read by the critically acclaimed actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. When Esther Greenwood wins an internship at a New York fashion magazine in 1953, she is elated, believing she will finally realise her dream to become a writer. But in between the cocktail parties and piles of manuscripts, Esther's life begins to slide out of control. She finds herself spiralling into depression and eventually a suicide attempt as she grapples with difficult relationships and a society which refuses to take women's aspirations seriously.
-
-
Sylvia Plath Rocked
- By Colette on 01-06-2017
-
We Should All Be Feminists
- By: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Narrated by: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Length: 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
'I would like to ask that we begin to dream about and plan for a different world. A fairer world. A world of happier men and happier women who are truer to themselves. And this is how to start: we must raise our daughters differently. We must also raise our sons differently....' What does feminism mean today? In this personal, eloquently argued essay - adapted from her much-admired TEDx talk of the same name - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie offers listeners a unique definition of feminism for the 21st century, one rooted in inclusion and awareness.
-
-
Enlightening and gentle
- By Anonymous User on 31-05-2020
-
Against Interpretation and Other Essays
- By: Susan Sontag
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Originally published in 1966, Susan Sontag's first collection of essays is a modern classic and includes the famous essays "Notes on Camp" and "Against Interpretation", as well as, her impassioned discussions of Sartre, Camus, Simone Weil, Godard, Beckett, Levi-Strauss, science-fiction movies, psychoanalysis, and contemporary religious thought.
-
A Room of One's Own
- Penguin Classics
- By: Virginia Woolf
- Narrated by: Natalie Dormer
- Length: 4 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Room of One's Own, based on a lecture given at Girton College Cambridge, is one of the great feminist polemics. Woolf's blazing writing on female creativity, the role of the writer, and the silent fate of Shakespeare's imaginary sister remains a powerful reminder of a woman's need for financial independence and intellectual freedom.
-
Ninth Street Women
- Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler: Five Painters and the Movement That Changed Modern Art
- By: Mary Gabriel
- Narrated by: Lisa Stathoplos
- Length: 39 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Five women revolutionize the modern art world in postwar America in this "gratifying, generous, and lush" true story from a National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize finalist (Jennifer Szalai, New York Times). Set amid the most turbulent social and political period of modern times, Ninth Street Women is the impassioned, wild, sometimes tragic, always exhilarating chronicle of five women who dared to enter the male-dominated world of 20th-century abstract painting - not as muses but as artists.
-
-
Not just a woman’s world
- By Kristine on 13-06-2019
-
So You Want to Talk About Race
- By: Ijeoma Oluo
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In So You Want to Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo offers a contemporary, accessible take on the racial landscape in America, addressing head-on such issues as privilege, police brutality, intersectionality, micro-aggressions, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the "N" word. Perfectly positioned to bridge the gap between people of color and white Americans struggling with race complexities, Oluo answers the questions listeners don't dare ask and explains the concepts that continue to elude everyday Americans.
-
-
For Champions of Equality & Justice
- By Anonymous User on 06-12-2019
-
Group
- How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life
- By: Christie Tate
- Narrated by: Christie Tate
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Christie Tate has just been named the top student in her law school class and seems to finally have got her eating disorder under control. So why is she driving through Chicago fantasising about her own death? Desperate, she joins Dr Rosen’s psychotherapy group, and through his unconventional methods, he challenges everything she thought she knew, about herself and others. In group, secrets are not allowed.
-
-
Heartwrenchingly Relatable
- By MrsBoaden on 10-01-2021
-
Intimations
- Six Essays
- By: Zadie Smith
- Narrated by: Zadie Smith
- Length: 1 hr and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Deeply personal and powerfully moving, a short and timely series of essays on the experience of lockdown, by one of the most clear-sighted and essential writers of our time. Crafted with the sharp intelligence, wit and style that have won Zadie Smith millions of fans and suffused with a profound intimacy and tenderness in response to these unprecedented times, Intimations is a vital work of art, a gesture of connection and an act of love - an essential book in extraordinary times.
Publisher's Summary
Unabridged and available on audio for the first time
Simone de Beauvoir’s essential masterwork is a powerful analysis of the Western notion of "woman", and a revolutionary exploration of inequality and otherness. This unabridged edition of the text reinstates significant portions of the original French text that were cut in the first English translation, and is now available on audio for the very first time. Vital and groundbreaking, Beauvoir’s pioneering and impressive text remains as pertinent today as when it was first published, and will continue to provoke and inspire generations of men and women to come.
Critic Reviews
"[A] masterpiece.... Restores essential passages that have been missing for 60 years." (The Times)
"Groundbreaking.... A fresh, much expanded, more intelligible book which repays re-reading by adherents of the old version, and cries out for attention from young women who have not been exposed to this most powerful of feminist thinkers. The Second Sex [is] the foundation text of second-wave feminism. It is probably the most important and influential philosophical treatise of the 20th century." (The Irish Times)
"The Second Sex is an inquiry into a subject with profound implications for the entire human race, and its ideas are as fresh and inspiring as they were when [Beauvoir] began work.... Now Beauvoir’s great work is available in a full English translation for the first time.... It is a fine piece of work, a lucid translation." (The Independent)
What listeners say about The Second Sex
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Anonymous User
- 13-05-2020
Amazing
Enlightening experience, a must listen for both sexes. Great to question our own standing in the world.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Anonymous User
- 21-07-2020
a must read for everyone
I truly loved this book! I truly shook me to my core. there were a lot of points in t his book that I will never forget!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Emily Meyers
- 12-06-2020
Work of Art
Absolutely incredible book. Worthwhile investment of time. Brilliant, nuanced, deep. Truly work of art. Bravo!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Anne Infeld
- 30-10-2020
Great book, performance lacking
Seminal work on feminism, doesn't shy away from any topic. In love with Simone for her intelligence and forthrightness. But the reader was too perky and her French accent was not very good.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Oliver
- 09-03-2020
Brilliant
Quiet simply the best book I've ever had the pleasure of consuming. Fantastic narration - seriously, clear to any listeners will be the passion on display. Aside from Jim Norton's reading of Ulysses, the best I've encountered. Content a point of eternal majesty with numerous moments of clarity and epiphany that create a cerebral shiver, almost as if the content was always known but buried deep below societal prejudices and stereotypes. The last book which evoked such feelings to this extent was Orientalism by Edward Said. Perhaps the best aspect, and the greatest signal of virtue in any work, a good handful of other works have been thrust onto my reading list! Many hours, but each one well spent... and so many bookmarks!!! :)
6 people found this helpful
20 Best Fantasy Audiobooks
This genre is so full of talent, it can be difficult to know what to listen to next — so look no further than this list to get you started.



20 Best Nonfiction Audiobooks
From the entire history of humanity to astrophysics, to our gut and mental health, dig into this list and learn something new.



Best Australian Podcasts on Audible
Audible Original Podcasts are free for Audible members. Check out this list of home-grown content, from binge-worthy true crime to self-help.


