Obroni and the Chocolate Factory
An Unlikely Story of Globalization and Ghana's First Chocolate Bar
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 $20.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Tom Parks
-
By:
-
Steven Wallace
About this listen
What country makes the best chocolate? Most people would answer "Switzerland," or, if they're discerning, "Belgium" or "France." But, how many cocoa trees grow in Zurich? Lyon? Antwerp? Shouldn't the country known for growing the best cocoa beans be the one that makes the best chocolate? So, captivated by theories of international trade but with precious little knowledge of cocoa or chocolate, Steven Wallace set out to build the Omanhene Cocoa Bean Company in Ghana - a country renowned for its cocoa and where Wallace spent part of his youth - in a quest to produce the world's first export-ready, single-origin chocolate bar. What followed would be the true story of an obroni - white person - from Wisconsin taking on the ultimate entrepreneurial challenge.
Written with sensitivity and devastating self-awareness, Obroni and the Chocolate Factory is Steven's chaotic, fascinating, and bemusing journey to create a successful international business that aspired do a bit of good in the world. This book is at once a penetrating business memoir and a story about imagining globalism done right. Wallace's picaresque journey takes him to Ghana's residence for the head of state, to the Amsterdam offices of a secretive international cocoa conglomerate, and face-to-face with key figures in the sharp-elbowed world of global trade and geopolitics. Along the way he'll be forced to deal with bureaucratic roadblocks, a legacy of colonialism, corporate intrigue, inscrutable international politics, a Bond-esque villain nemesis, and constant uncertainty about whether he'll actually pull it off. This rollicking love letter to both Ghana and the world of business is a rare glimpse into the mind of an unusually literate and articulate entrepreneur.
©2017 Steven Wallace (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Secondhand
- Travels in the New Global Garage Sale
- By: Adam Minter
- Narrated by: Daniel Henning
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Secondhand, Adam Minter delves into the vast, multibillion-dollar industry that resells used stuff around the world. He follows the trail of unwanted objects from the closets, garages, and storage units of Middle America to epic used-goods markets in Canada, Mexico, Japan, Ghana, India, Malaysia, and beyond. Secondhand takes us through the often painful and heartbreaking process of cleaning out a lifetime’s worth of possessions and shows that used stuff still has a place in a world that values the new and shiny.
-
-
Minimalism vs. business opportunity?
- By buyer on 02-24-20
By: Adam Minter
-
Shoe Dog
- A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
- By: Phil Knight
- Narrated by: Norbert Leo Butz, Phil Knight - introduction
- Length: 13 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this candid and riveting memoir, for the first time ever, Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight shares the inside story of the company's early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world's most iconic, game-changing, and profitable brands.
-
-
Just read it. (or listen, whatever)
- By Dan D on 07-07-16
By: Phil Knight
-
Poorly Made in China
- An Insider's Account of the Tactics Behind China's Production Game
- By: Paul Midler
- Narrated by: Paul Midler
- Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this entertaining behind-the-scenes account, Paul Midler tells us all that is wrong with our effort to shift manufacturing to China. Now updated and expanded, Poorly Made in China reveals industry secrets, including the dangerous practice of quality fade - the deliberate and secret habit of Chinese manufacturers to widen profit margins through the reduction of quality inputs.
-
-
Accurate story. But poorly read.
- By Philly Buster on 11-02-20
By: Paul Midler
-
The Snowball
- Warren Buffett and the Business of Life
- By: Alice Schroeder
- Narrated by: Kirsten Potter
- Length: 36 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Here is THE book recounting the life and times of one of the most respected men in the world, Warren Buffett. The legendary Omaha investor has never written a memoir, but now he has allowed one writer, Alice Schroeder, unprecedented access to explore directly with him and with those closest to him his work, opinions, struggles, triumphs, follies, and wisdom. The result is the personally revealing and complete biography of the man known everywhere as "The Oracle of Omaha."
-
-
2,220 well-invested minutes!
- By BogKid on 01-07-09
By: Alice Schroeder
-
Console Wars
- Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle That Defined a Generation
- By: Blake J. Harris
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 20 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A mesmerizing, behind-the-scenes business thriller that chronicles how Sega, a small, scrappy gaming company led by an unlikely visionary and a team of rebels, took on the juggernaut Nintendo and revolutionized the video-game industry. In 1990, Nintendo had a virtual monopoly on the video-game industry. Sega, on the other hand, was just a faltering arcade company with big aspirations and even bigger personalities. But all that would change with the arrival of Tom Kalinske, a former Mattel executive who knew nothing about video games and everything about fighting uphill battles.
-
-
Was hoping for so much more...
- By Rob G. on 11-17-14
By: Blake J. Harris
-
Barbarians at the Gate
- The Fall of RJR Nabisco
- By: Bryan Burrough, John Helyar
- Narrated by: Bryan Burrough, John Helyar
- Length: 3 hrs and 2 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Barbarians at the Gate has been called one of the most influential business books of all time, the definitive account of the largest takeover in Wall Street history. Bryan Burrough's and John Helyer's account of the frenzy that overtook Wall Street in October and November of 1988 gives us not only a detailed look at financial operations at the highest levels but a richly textured social history of wealth in the twilight of the Reagan era.
-
-
Abridged and Poorly Read
- By Jake on 01-24-13
By: Bryan Burrough, and others
-
Secondhand
- Travels in the New Global Garage Sale
- By: Adam Minter
- Narrated by: Daniel Henning
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Secondhand, Adam Minter delves into the vast, multibillion-dollar industry that resells used stuff around the world. He follows the trail of unwanted objects from the closets, garages, and storage units of Middle America to epic used-goods markets in Canada, Mexico, Japan, Ghana, India, Malaysia, and beyond. Secondhand takes us through the often painful and heartbreaking process of cleaning out a lifetime’s worth of possessions and shows that used stuff still has a place in a world that values the new and shiny.
-
-
Minimalism vs. business opportunity?
- By buyer on 02-24-20
By: Adam Minter
-
Shoe Dog
- A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
- By: Phil Knight
- Narrated by: Norbert Leo Butz, Phil Knight - introduction
- Length: 13 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this candid and riveting memoir, for the first time ever, Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight shares the inside story of the company's early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world's most iconic, game-changing, and profitable brands.
-
-
Just read it. (or listen, whatever)
- By Dan D on 07-07-16
By: Phil Knight
-
Poorly Made in China
- An Insider's Account of the Tactics Behind China's Production Game
- By: Paul Midler
- Narrated by: Paul Midler
- Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this entertaining behind-the-scenes account, Paul Midler tells us all that is wrong with our effort to shift manufacturing to China. Now updated and expanded, Poorly Made in China reveals industry secrets, including the dangerous practice of quality fade - the deliberate and secret habit of Chinese manufacturers to widen profit margins through the reduction of quality inputs.
-
-
Accurate story. But poorly read.
- By Philly Buster on 11-02-20
By: Paul Midler
-
The Snowball
- Warren Buffett and the Business of Life
- By: Alice Schroeder
- Narrated by: Kirsten Potter
- Length: 36 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Here is THE book recounting the life and times of one of the most respected men in the world, Warren Buffett. The legendary Omaha investor has never written a memoir, but now he has allowed one writer, Alice Schroeder, unprecedented access to explore directly with him and with those closest to him his work, opinions, struggles, triumphs, follies, and wisdom. The result is the personally revealing and complete biography of the man known everywhere as "The Oracle of Omaha."
-
-
2,220 well-invested minutes!
- By BogKid on 01-07-09
By: Alice Schroeder
-
Console Wars
- Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle That Defined a Generation
- By: Blake J. Harris
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 20 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A mesmerizing, behind-the-scenes business thriller that chronicles how Sega, a small, scrappy gaming company led by an unlikely visionary and a team of rebels, took on the juggernaut Nintendo and revolutionized the video-game industry. In 1990, Nintendo had a virtual monopoly on the video-game industry. Sega, on the other hand, was just a faltering arcade company with big aspirations and even bigger personalities. But all that would change with the arrival of Tom Kalinske, a former Mattel executive who knew nothing about video games and everything about fighting uphill battles.
-
-
Was hoping for so much more...
- By Rob G. on 11-17-14
By: Blake J. Harris
-
Barbarians at the Gate
- The Fall of RJR Nabisco
- By: Bryan Burrough, John Helyar
- Narrated by: Bryan Burrough, John Helyar
- Length: 3 hrs and 2 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Barbarians at the Gate has been called one of the most influential business books of all time, the definitive account of the largest takeover in Wall Street history. Bryan Burrough's and John Helyer's account of the frenzy that overtook Wall Street in October and November of 1988 gives us not only a detailed look at financial operations at the highest levels but a richly textured social history of wealth in the twilight of the Reagan era.
-
-
Abridged and Poorly Read
- By Jake on 01-24-13
By: Bryan Burrough, and others
-
Beating the Odds
- Eddie Brown's Investing and Life Strategies
- By: Eddie Brown, Blair S. Walker
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beating the Odds is the improbable, inspiring autobiography of financial guru Eddie C. Brown, one of the nation's top stock pickers and money managers. It details how Brown skillfully kept Brown Capital Management afloat through the dot-com bust, 9/11, and the Great Recession. Born to a 13-year-old unwed mother in the rural South, this African-American investment whiz created a Baltimore-based financial firm that amassed more than $6 billion under management.
-
-
Inspiring story
- By ryan sims on 02-18-23
By: Eddie Brown, and others
-
Pour Your Heart into It
- How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time
- By: Howard Schultz, Dori Jones Yang
- Narrated by: Eric Conger
- Length: 2 hrs and 55 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The success of Starbucks is one of the most remarkable business stories in decades. Since 1987, the coffee merchant has grown from a single retail store on Seattle's waterfront to a company with more than 1,000 stores nationwide and a new one opening somewhere every business day. According to Fortune magazine, Starbucks "has changed everything...from our tastes to our language to the face of Main Street."
-
-
wish it wasn't
- By Melissa on 12-27-08
By: Howard Schultz, and others
-
High-Hanging Fruit
- Build Something Great by Going Where No One Else WIll
- By: Mark Rampolla
- Narrated by: Mark Rampolla
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Mark Rampolla filled a notebook with potential start-up ideas, his wife asked him some tough questions. What about this idea is exciting, beyond the possibility of a profit? How will it fit into a life that makes you and your family happy? How will it change the world? Eventually Mark found his great idea: coconut water. He had seen the developing world use coconut water, but this valuable resource was being discarded in the US. While taking on the beverage industry was a big goal - high-hanging fruit - it was worth the risk.
-
-
10 Chapter Infomercial
- By KIM WILLIAMSON on 02-16-20
By: Mark Rampolla
-
Quench Your Own Thirst
- Business Lessons Learned over a Beer or Two
- By: Jim Koch
- Narrated by: Jim Koch
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Founder of The Boston Beer Company, brewer of Samuel Adams Boston Lager, and a key catalyst of the American craft beer revolution, Jim Koch offers his unique perspective when it comes to business, beer, and turning your passion into a successful company or career.
-
-
Great Story!
- By Mary K on 05-20-16
By: Jim Koch
-
Grinding It Out
- The Making of McDonald's
- By: Ray Kroc, Robert Anderson
- Narrated by: Stephen Bel Davies
- Length: 6 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Few entrepreneurs can claim to have radically changed the way we live, and Ray Kroc is one of them. His revolutions in food-service automation, franchising, shared national training, and advertising have earned him a place beside the men and women who have founded not only businesses, but entire empires. But even more interesting than Ray Kroc the business man is Ray Kroc the man. Not your typical self-made tycoon, Kroc was 52 years old when he opened his first franchise.
-
-
great book annoying narration
- By Brandon on 12-20-18
By: Ray Kroc, and others
-
Ahead of the Curve
- Two Years at Harvard Business School
- By: Philip Delves Broughton
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2004 Philip Delves Broughton abandoned a post as Paris bureau chief of the London Daily Telegraph to join 900 other would-be tycoons on the Harvard Business School's plush campus. With acute and often uproarious candor, he assesses the school's success at teaching the traits it extols as most important in business: leadership, decisiveness, ethical behavior, and work/life balance.
-
-
On one breath.
- By Atkins on 05-17-22
-
Napa
- By: James Conaway
- Narrated by: John Morgan
- Length: 20 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
James Conaway's remarkable bestseller delves into the heart of California's lush and verdant Napa Valley, also known as America's Eden. Long the source of succulent grapes and singular wines, this region is also the setting for the remarkable true saga of the personalities behind the winemaking empires. This is the story of Gallos and Mondavis, of fortunes made and lost, of dynasties and destinies.
-
-
Excellent But Marred by Non-Stop Mispronunciations
- By Robert R. on 08-15-13
By: James Conaway
-
Hershey
- Milton S. Hershey's Extraordinary Life of Wealth, Empire, and Utopian Dreams
- By: Michael D'Antonio
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this compelling biography, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael D'Antonio gives us the real-life rags-to-riches story of Milton S. Hershey, a largely uneducated businessman whose idealistic sense of purpose created an immense financial empire, a town, and a legacy that lasts to this day.
-
-
The Benchmark for Chartiable, Rich Men
- By Boyd Tschaggeny on 01-30-19
-
Seoul Man
- A Memoir of Cars, Culture, Crisis, and Unexpected Hilarity Inside a Korean Corporate Titan
- By: Frank Ahrens
- Narrated by: Frank Ahrens
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Frank Ahrens, a middle-aged bachelor and 18-year veteran at the Washington Post, fell in love with a diplomat, his life changed dramatically. Following his new bride to her first appointment in Seoul, South Korea, Frank traded the newsroom for a corporate suite, becoming director of global communications at Hyundai Motors. In a land whose population is 97 percent Korean, he was one of fewer than 10 non-Koreans in a company of 5,000 employees.
-
-
Must read for anyone working Korea!
- By Jim In Texas! on 10-03-16
By: Frank Ahrens
-
The Blue Sweater
- Bridging the Gap between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World
- By: Jacqueline Novogratz
- Narrated by: Jacqueline Novogratz
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Blue Sweater is the inspiring story of a woman who left a career in international banking to spend her life on a quest to understand global poverty. It all started back home in Virginia, with the blue sweater, a gift that quickly became her prized possession - until the day she outgrew it and gave it away to Goodwill. Eleven years later in Africa, she spotted a young boy wearing that very sweater, with her name still on the tag inside.
-
-
A Heartfelt Testament
- By Gallantly Rabbit! on 01-23-11
-
Scramble: How Agile Strategy Can Build Epic Brands in Record Time
- By: Marty Neumeier
- Narrated by: Marty Neumeier
- Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Marty Neumeier, author of The Brand Gap and other business best-sellers, has written an audiobook that leaps right into your pounding heart. One rainy night in December, young CEO David Stone is inexplicably called back to the office. The company’s chairman tells him that the board members have reached the end of their patience. If David can’t produce a viable turnaround plan in five weeks, he’s out of a job. The problem is, he’s already used every trick in the book and nothing has worked. His only hope is to try something new. But what?
-
-
Great until introducing politics
- By Lindsay on 03-10-20
By: Marty Neumeier
-
The Rebel Allocator
- By: Jacob Taylor
- Narrated by: Barrett Leddy
- Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Good capital allocation is the secret sauce of business success and investment returns. How could what you spend money on inside a business not be of utmost importance? I looked for a business person's guide to effective capital allocation for years. I thought, "What a nice gift to send to the CEOs of my portfolio companies!" as visions of outsized returns danced in my head. To my dismay, the search came up dry. I decided I'd have to write my own. I started at the individual customer transaction level and built all the way up to M&A, share buybacks, and beyond.
-
-
This book is a poor place to allocate your capital
- By Amazon Customer on 07-30-19
By: Jacob Taylor
Related to this topic
-
High-Hanging Fruit
- Build Something Great by Going Where No One Else WIll
- By: Mark Rampolla
- Narrated by: Mark Rampolla
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Mark Rampolla filled a notebook with potential start-up ideas, his wife asked him some tough questions. What about this idea is exciting, beyond the possibility of a profit? How will it fit into a life that makes you and your family happy? How will it change the world? Eventually Mark found his great idea: coconut water. He had seen the developing world use coconut water, but this valuable resource was being discarded in the US. While taking on the beverage industry was a big goal - high-hanging fruit - it was worth the risk.
-
-
10 Chapter Infomercial
- By KIM WILLIAMSON on 02-16-20
By: Mark Rampolla
-
Ahead of the Curve
- Two Years at Harvard Business School
- By: Philip Delves Broughton
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2004 Philip Delves Broughton abandoned a post as Paris bureau chief of the London Daily Telegraph to join 900 other would-be tycoons on the Harvard Business School's plush campus. With acute and often uproarious candor, he assesses the school's success at teaching the traits it extols as most important in business: leadership, decisiveness, ethical behavior, and work/life balance.
-
-
On one breath.
- By Atkins on 05-17-22
-
Napa
- By: James Conaway
- Narrated by: John Morgan
- Length: 20 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
James Conaway's remarkable bestseller delves into the heart of California's lush and verdant Napa Valley, also known as America's Eden. Long the source of succulent grapes and singular wines, this region is also the setting for the remarkable true saga of the personalities behind the winemaking empires. This is the story of Gallos and Mondavis, of fortunes made and lost, of dynasties and destinies.
-
-
Excellent But Marred by Non-Stop Mispronunciations
- By Robert R. on 08-15-13
By: James Conaway
-
Hershey
- Milton S. Hershey's Extraordinary Life of Wealth, Empire, and Utopian Dreams
- By: Michael D'Antonio
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this compelling biography, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael D'Antonio gives us the real-life rags-to-riches story of Milton S. Hershey, a largely uneducated businessman whose idealistic sense of purpose created an immense financial empire, a town, and a legacy that lasts to this day.
-
-
The Benchmark for Chartiable, Rich Men
- By Boyd Tschaggeny on 01-30-19
-
The Blue Sweater
- Bridging the Gap between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World
- By: Jacqueline Novogratz
- Narrated by: Jacqueline Novogratz
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Blue Sweater is the inspiring story of a woman who left a career in international banking to spend her life on a quest to understand global poverty. It all started back home in Virginia, with the blue sweater, a gift that quickly became her prized possession - until the day she outgrew it and gave it away to Goodwill. Eleven years later in Africa, she spotted a young boy wearing that very sweater, with her name still on the tag inside.
-
-
A Heartfelt Testament
- By Gallantly Rabbit! on 01-23-11
-
Icons and Idiots
- Straight Talk on Leadership
- By: Bob Lutz
- Narrated by: Wes Talbot
- Length: 5 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lutz is revealing the leaders - good, bad, and ugly - who made the strongest impression on him throughout his career. Icons and Idiots is a collection of shocking and often hilarious true stories and the lessons Lutz drew from them. From enduring the sadism of a Marine Corps drill instructor, to working with a washed-up alcoholic, to taking over the reins from a convicted felon, he reflects on the complexities of all-too-human leaders.
-
-
We’ve all known people like these
- By Ron on 05-04-21
By: Bob Lutz
-
High-Hanging Fruit
- Build Something Great by Going Where No One Else WIll
- By: Mark Rampolla
- Narrated by: Mark Rampolla
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Mark Rampolla filled a notebook with potential start-up ideas, his wife asked him some tough questions. What about this idea is exciting, beyond the possibility of a profit? How will it fit into a life that makes you and your family happy? How will it change the world? Eventually Mark found his great idea: coconut water. He had seen the developing world use coconut water, but this valuable resource was being discarded in the US. While taking on the beverage industry was a big goal - high-hanging fruit - it was worth the risk.
-
-
10 Chapter Infomercial
- By KIM WILLIAMSON on 02-16-20
By: Mark Rampolla
-
Ahead of the Curve
- Two Years at Harvard Business School
- By: Philip Delves Broughton
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2004 Philip Delves Broughton abandoned a post as Paris bureau chief of the London Daily Telegraph to join 900 other would-be tycoons on the Harvard Business School's plush campus. With acute and often uproarious candor, he assesses the school's success at teaching the traits it extols as most important in business: leadership, decisiveness, ethical behavior, and work/life balance.
-
-
On one breath.
- By Atkins on 05-17-22
-
Napa
- By: James Conaway
- Narrated by: John Morgan
- Length: 20 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
James Conaway's remarkable bestseller delves into the heart of California's lush and verdant Napa Valley, also known as America's Eden. Long the source of succulent grapes and singular wines, this region is also the setting for the remarkable true saga of the personalities behind the winemaking empires. This is the story of Gallos and Mondavis, of fortunes made and lost, of dynasties and destinies.
-
-
Excellent But Marred by Non-Stop Mispronunciations
- By Robert R. on 08-15-13
By: James Conaway
-
Hershey
- Milton S. Hershey's Extraordinary Life of Wealth, Empire, and Utopian Dreams
- By: Michael D'Antonio
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this compelling biography, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael D'Antonio gives us the real-life rags-to-riches story of Milton S. Hershey, a largely uneducated businessman whose idealistic sense of purpose created an immense financial empire, a town, and a legacy that lasts to this day.
-
-
The Benchmark for Chartiable, Rich Men
- By Boyd Tschaggeny on 01-30-19
-
The Blue Sweater
- Bridging the Gap between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World
- By: Jacqueline Novogratz
- Narrated by: Jacqueline Novogratz
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Blue Sweater is the inspiring story of a woman who left a career in international banking to spend her life on a quest to understand global poverty. It all started back home in Virginia, with the blue sweater, a gift that quickly became her prized possession - until the day she outgrew it and gave it away to Goodwill. Eleven years later in Africa, she spotted a young boy wearing that very sweater, with her name still on the tag inside.
-
-
A Heartfelt Testament
- By Gallantly Rabbit! on 01-23-11
-
Icons and Idiots
- Straight Talk on Leadership
- By: Bob Lutz
- Narrated by: Wes Talbot
- Length: 5 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lutz is revealing the leaders - good, bad, and ugly - who made the strongest impression on him throughout his career. Icons and Idiots is a collection of shocking and often hilarious true stories and the lessons Lutz drew from them. From enduring the sadism of a Marine Corps drill instructor, to working with a washed-up alcoholic, to taking over the reins from a convicted felon, he reflects on the complexities of all-too-human leaders.
-
-
We’ve all known people like these
- By Ron on 05-04-21
By: Bob Lutz
-
A Man and His Mountain
- The Everyman Who Created Kendall-Jackson and Became America's Greatest Wine Entrepreneur
- By: Edward Humes
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist tells the story of the self-made billionaire who built the Kendall-Jackson empire from nothing into the biggest-selling brand of premium wines in the U.S. Jess Stonestreet Jackson was one of a small band of pioneering entrepreneurs who put California's wine country on the map. His life story is a compelling slice of history, daring, innovation, feuds, intrigue, talent, mystique, contrarianism, and luck, offering a unique window on the elegant, adventurous, and cut-throat worlds of Jackson's two passions: wine and horseracing.
-
-
Required listening for any wine maker
- By Michael Carr on 01-10-15
By: Edward Humes
-
The Money Culture
- By: Michael Lewis
- Narrated by: Alexander Cendese
- Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 1980s was the most outrageous and turbulent era in the financial market since the crash of ’29, not only on Wall Street but around the world. Michael Lewis, as a trainee at Salomon Brothers in New York and as an investment banker and later financial journalist, was uniquely positioned to chronicle the ambition and folly that fueled the decade. In these trenchant, often hilarious true tales we meet the colorful movers and shakers who commanded the headlines and rewrote the rules.
-
-
Not the normal great Michael Lewis
- By Me on 05-12-12
By: Michael Lewis
-
The International Bank of Bob
- Connecting Our World One $25 Kiva Loan at a Time
- By: Bob Harris
- Narrated by: Bob Harris
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hired by ForbesTraveler.com to review some of the most luxurious accommodations on Earth, and then inspired by a chance encounter in Dubai with the impoverished workers whose backbreaking jobs create such opulence, Bob Harris had an epiphany: He would turn his own good fortune into an effort to make lives like theirs better.
-
-
Wonderfully entertaining and accessible book
- By Tim on 01-15-14
By: Bob Harris
-
The Wizard of Ads
- Turning Words into Magic and Dreamers into Millionaires
- By: Roy H. Williams
- Length: 4 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With the knowledge of a seasoned business consultant and the warmth and wit of a natural storyteller, the Wizard will help you to multiply the effectiveness of your advertising, understand the tug-of-war between intellect and emotion, and more.
-
-
If you have a hard time hearing don't waste your time
- By Michelle J on 01-09-17
By: Roy H. Williams
-
The House of Mondavi
- The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty
- By: Julia Flynn Siler
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 17 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set in California's lush Napa Valley and spanning four generations of a talented and visionary family, The House of Mondavi is a tale of genius, sibling rivalry, and betrayal. From 1906, when Italian immigrant Cesare Mondavi passed through Ellis Island, to the Robert Mondavi Corporation's 21st-century battle over a billion-dollar fortune, award-winning journalist Julia Flynn Siler brings to life both the place and the people in this riveting family drama.
-
-
LESS EXCITING THAN WATCHING GRAPES GROW
- By The Louligan on 11-27-09
-
This Is Cuba
- An American Journalist Under Castro's Shadow
- By: David Ariosto
- Narrated by: David Ariosto
- Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is Cuba is a true story that begins in the summer of 2009 when a young American photo-journalist is offered the chance of a lifetime - a two-year assignment in Havana. For David Ariosto, the island is an intriguing new world, unmoored from the one he left behind. From neighboring military coups, suspected honey traps, salty spooks, and desperate migrants to dissidents, doctors, and Havana’s empty shelves, Ariosto uncovers the island’s subtle absurdities, its Cold War mystique, and the hopes of a people in the throes of transition.
-
-
You're really none the wiser
- By Buretto on 01-10-19
By: David Ariosto
-
Shadows in the Vineyard
- The True Story of the Plot to Poison the World's Greatest Wine
- By: Maximillian Potter
- Narrated by: Donald Corren
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Journalist Maximillian Potter uncovers a fascinating plot to destroy the vines of La Romance-Conti, Burgundy's finest and most expensive wine. In January 2010, Aubert de Villaine, the famed proprietor of the Domaine de la Romance-Conti, the tiny, storied vineyard that produces the most expensive, exquisite wines in the world, received an anonymous note threatening the destruction of his priceless vines by poison - a crime that in the world of high-end wine is akin to murder - unless he paid a one million euro ransom.
-
-
Eet waz eenteresteeng
- By J. Cadow on 04-25-16
-
How Chuck Feeney Made and Gave Away a Fortune
- The Billionaire Who Wasn't
- By: Conor O'Clery
- Narrated by: Erik Synnestvedt
- Length: 16 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1988 Forbes magazine hailed Chuck Feeney as the 23rd richest American alive. No one knew until then that he was extremely wealthy. Or was he? Born during the Depression in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Feeney had made a fortune as co-founder of Duty Free Shoppers, the world's largest duty-free retail chain. How he did it is one of the great untold retail stories of modern times. The greater untold story is that Feeney had in fact given away his fortune, in its totality, to endow Atlantic Philanthropies - one of the most generous and secretive philanthropic funds in the world.
-
-
Horizons I never knew were there!
- By DTU_Garza on 08-13-17
By: Conor O'Clery
-
Barbarians at the Gate
- The Fall of RJR Nabisco
- By: Bryan Burrough, John Helyar
- Narrated by: Bryan Burrough, John Helyar
- Length: 3 hrs and 2 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Barbarians at the Gate has been called one of the most influential business books of all time, the definitive account of the largest takeover in Wall Street history. Bryan Burrough's and John Helyer's account of the frenzy that overtook Wall Street in October and November of 1988 gives us not only a detailed look at financial operations at the highest levels but a richly textured social history of wealth in the twilight of the Reagan era.
-
-
Abridged and Poorly Read
- By Jake on 01-24-13
By: Bryan Burrough, and others
-
Exposure
- Inside the Olympus Scandal: How I Went from CEO to Whistleblower
- By: Michael Woodford
- Narrated by: Michael Woodford
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Michael Woodford was made president of Olympus - the company to which he had dedicated thirty years of his career - he became the first Westerner ever to climb the ranks of one of Japan’s corporate giants. Some wondered at the appointment - how could a gaijin who didn’t even speak Japanese understand how to run a Japanese company? But within months Woodford had gained the confidence of most of his colleagues and shareholders.
-
-
Starts off great, then gets stupid
- By Happy Mountain on 10-21-21
By: Michael Woodford
-
Country Driving
- A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory
- By: Peter Hessler
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 16 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the summer of 2001, Peter Hessler, the longtime Beijing correspondent for The New Yorker, acquired his Chinese driver's license. For the next seven years, he traveled the country, tracking how the automobile and improved roads were transforming China.
-
-
Pass the white rice please
- By Nick on 02-18-10
By: Peter Hessler
-
China's Second Continent
- How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa
- By: Howard W. French
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An exciting, hugely revealing account of China’s burgeoning presence in Africa - a developing empire already shaping, and reshaping, the future of millions of people. A prizewinning foreign correspondent and former New York Times bureau chief in Shanghai and in West and Central Africa, Howard French is uniquely positioned to tell the story of China in Africa. Through meticulous on-the-ground reporting, French crafts a layered investigation of astonishing depth and breadth.
-
-
He knows Both Africa and China
- By Malick Tchakpedeou on 12-01-16
By: Howard W. French
What listeners say about Obroni and the Chocolate Factory
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- desert storm
- 12-16-22
Very informative and educational.
Will definitely change my way I see the world and what it means to work hard and be patient. This has given a history of Ghana from a different perspective.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jean
- 12-11-17
Engaging
This is a memoir of Steven Wallace’s business life while doing business in Ghana. Ghana and Cote d’Lvoire are the two biggest cocoa growers. Coco grows on trees in tropical areas primarily West Africa. Wallace is an attorney who decided to make a gourmet chocolate bar and hot chocolate drink after his family business closed. He had been an exchange student to Ghana when he was in high school. He built the Omanhene Cocoa Bean Company in Ghana. Wallace lives in Wisconsin; now that’s a long commute.
The book is well written and is written in a relaxed style as if the two of us were just sitting and talking about business experiences. Wallace explains the problems of doing business in West Africa from culture, language to infrastructure. I found the section about the World Bank forcing Ghana’s government to sell off its state owned business to obtain a loan and that effect on the chocolate business most interesting. I found the global business information captivating. I also found the section about how to determine the quality of chocolate fascinating. After reading this book I wanted to go out and try a Obroni chocolate bar.
The book was almost seven hours. Tom Parks did an excellent job narrating the book. Tom Parks got his start narrating audiobooks thirty years ago narrating for the Kansas Audio Reader Network. He has been nominated for an Audie. I have listened to Parks over the years and have enjoyed his pleasant voice and reading style.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
6 people found this helpful