What It Takes
The Way to the White House
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 $34.39
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Keith Sellon-Wright
About this listen
An American Iliad in the guise of contemporary political reportage, What It Takes penetrates the mystery at the heart of all presidential campaigns: How do presumably ordinary people acquire that mixture of ambition, stamina, and pure shamelessness that makes a true candidate?
As he recounts the frenzied course of the 1988 presidential race - and scours the psyches of contenders from George Bush and Robert Dole to Michael Dukakis and Gary Hart - Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Richard Ben Cramer comes up with the answers, in a book that is vast, exhaustively researched, exhilarating, and sometimes appalling in its revelations.
©1992 Richard Ben Cramer (P)2020 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
-
Enough
- By: Cassidy Hutchinson
- Narrated by: Cassidy Hutchinson
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ever since a childhood visit to Washington, DC, Cassidy Hutchinson aspired to serve her country in government. Raised in a working-class family with a military background, she was the first in her immediate family to graduate from college. Despite having no ties to Washington, Hutchinson landed a vital position at the center of the Trump White House.
-
-
Painful
- By Melissa C. on 09-28-23
-
Romney
- A Reckoning
- By: McKay Coppins
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, McKay Coppins
- Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Few figures in American politics have seen more and said less than Mitt Romney. An outspoken dissident in Donald Trump’s GOP, he has made headlines in recent years for standing alone against the forces he believes are poisoning the party he once led. Romney was the first senator in history to vote to remove from office a president of his own party. When that president’s supporters went on to storm the US Capitol, Romney delivered a thundering speech from the Senate floor accusing his fellow Republicans of stoking insurrection.
-
-
Political and intellectual biography at its best!
- By Amazon Customer on 10-25-23
By: McKay Coppins
-
Going Infinite
- The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon
- By: Michael Lewis
- Narrated by: Michael Lewis
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Michael Lewis first met him, Sam Bankman-Fried was the world’s youngest billionaire and crypto’s Gatsby. CEOs, celebrities, and leaders of small countries all vied for his time and cash after he catapulted, practically overnight, onto the Forbes billionaire list. Who was this rumpled guy in cargo shorts and limp white socks, whose eyes twitched across Zoom meetings as he played video games on the side?
-
-
really expected more rigor from Michael Lewis
- By Wowhello on 10-04-23
By: Michael Lewis
-
Tired of Winning
- Donald Trump and the End of the Grand Old Party
- By: Jonathan Karl
- Narrated by: Jonathan Karl
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Packed with new reporting, Tired of Winning: Donald Trump and the End of the Grand Old Party tracks Trump’s improbable journey from disgraced and defeated former president to the dominant force, yet again, in the Republican Party. From his exile in Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump has become more extreme, vengeful, and divorced from reality than he was on January 6, 2021. His meddling damaged the GOP’s electoral prospects and his legal troubles were mounting. Yet he re-emerged as the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, and the president-elect.
-
-
Compelling and Terrifying
- By Shaz on 11-15-23
By: Jonathan Karl
-
An Ordinary Man
- The Surprising Life and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford
- By: Richard Norton Smith
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 36 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the preeminent presidential scholar and acclaimed biographer of historical figures including George Washington, Herbert Hoover, and Nelson Rockefeller comes this eye-opening life of Gerald R. Ford, whose presidency arguably set the course for post-liberal America and a post-Cold War world.
-
-
Must-read Polemic
- By allison h eid on 10-17-23
-
Game Change
- Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime
- By: John Heilemann, Mark Halperin
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 14 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Based on hundreds of interviews with the people who lived the story, Game Change is a reportorial tour de force that reads like a fast-paced novel. Character driven and dialogue rich, replete with extravagantly detailed scenes, this is the occasion-ally shocking, often hilarious, ultimately definitive account of the campaign of a lifetime.
-
-
Compelling & frank
- By Michael on 01-15-10
By: John Heilemann, and others
-
Enough
- By: Cassidy Hutchinson
- Narrated by: Cassidy Hutchinson
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ever since a childhood visit to Washington, DC, Cassidy Hutchinson aspired to serve her country in government. Raised in a working-class family with a military background, she was the first in her immediate family to graduate from college. Despite having no ties to Washington, Hutchinson landed a vital position at the center of the Trump White House.
-
-
Painful
- By Melissa C. on 09-28-23
-
Romney
- A Reckoning
- By: McKay Coppins
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, McKay Coppins
- Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Few figures in American politics have seen more and said less than Mitt Romney. An outspoken dissident in Donald Trump’s GOP, he has made headlines in recent years for standing alone against the forces he believes are poisoning the party he once led. Romney was the first senator in history to vote to remove from office a president of his own party. When that president’s supporters went on to storm the US Capitol, Romney delivered a thundering speech from the Senate floor accusing his fellow Republicans of stoking insurrection.
-
-
Political and intellectual biography at its best!
- By Amazon Customer on 10-25-23
By: McKay Coppins
-
Going Infinite
- The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon
- By: Michael Lewis
- Narrated by: Michael Lewis
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Michael Lewis first met him, Sam Bankman-Fried was the world’s youngest billionaire and crypto’s Gatsby. CEOs, celebrities, and leaders of small countries all vied for his time and cash after he catapulted, practically overnight, onto the Forbes billionaire list. Who was this rumpled guy in cargo shorts and limp white socks, whose eyes twitched across Zoom meetings as he played video games on the side?
-
-
really expected more rigor from Michael Lewis
- By Wowhello on 10-04-23
By: Michael Lewis
-
Tired of Winning
- Donald Trump and the End of the Grand Old Party
- By: Jonathan Karl
- Narrated by: Jonathan Karl
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Packed with new reporting, Tired of Winning: Donald Trump and the End of the Grand Old Party tracks Trump’s improbable journey from disgraced and defeated former president to the dominant force, yet again, in the Republican Party. From his exile in Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump has become more extreme, vengeful, and divorced from reality than he was on January 6, 2021. His meddling damaged the GOP’s electoral prospects and his legal troubles were mounting. Yet he re-emerged as the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, and the president-elect.
-
-
Compelling and Terrifying
- By Shaz on 11-15-23
By: Jonathan Karl
-
An Ordinary Man
- The Surprising Life and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford
- By: Richard Norton Smith
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 36 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the preeminent presidential scholar and acclaimed biographer of historical figures including George Washington, Herbert Hoover, and Nelson Rockefeller comes this eye-opening life of Gerald R. Ford, whose presidency arguably set the course for post-liberal America and a post-Cold War world.
-
-
Must-read Polemic
- By allison h eid on 10-17-23
-
Game Change
- Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime
- By: John Heilemann, Mark Halperin
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 14 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Based on hundreds of interviews with the people who lived the story, Game Change is a reportorial tour de force that reads like a fast-paced novel. Character driven and dialogue rich, replete with extravagantly detailed scenes, this is the occasion-ally shocking, often hilarious, ultimately definitive account of the campaign of a lifetime.
-
-
Compelling & frank
- By Michael on 01-15-10
By: John Heilemann, and others
-
The Fall
- The End of Fox News and the Murdoch Dynasty
- By: Michael Wolff
- Narrated by: Michael Wolff - introduction, Holter Graham
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For almost three decades, Fox News has not only made political careers (see: President Donald J. Trump) but also fundamentally altered the political landscape of the United States. It is a truism: as Fox goes, so goes the nation—into further divisiveness and awash in fake news, a gleefully polarizing company. But just as Fox has pushed America apart, now it too is coming apart. As is the family dynasty behind it.
-
-
Terrific rundown of Fox
- By Iread on 10-05-23
By: Michael Wolff
-
The Man Who Ran Washington
- The Life and Times of James A. Baker III
- By: Peter Baker, Susan Glasser
- Narrated by: Michael Quinlan
- Length: 26 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For a quarter-century, from the end of Watergate to the aftermath of the Cold War, no Republican won the presidency without his help or ran the White House without his advice. James Addison Baker III was the indispensable man for four presidents because he understood better than anyone how to make Washington work at a time when America was shaping events around the world. The Man Who Ran Washington is a pause-resisting portrait of a power broker who influenced America's destiny for generations.
-
-
We Need Baker Now More Than Ever
- By @Gazi2a on 01-08-21
By: Peter Baker, and others
-
Party of the People
- Inside the Multiracial Populist Coalition Remaking the GOP
- By: Patrick Ruffini
- Narrated by: Stephen Graybill
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential election shocked the world. Yet his defeat in 2020 may have been even more surprising: he received 12 million more votes in 2020 than in 2016 and his unexpectedly diverse coalition included millions of nonwhite voters, a rarity for the modern Republican party. In 2020, Trump defied expectations and few journalists, strategists, or politicians could explain why Trump had nearly won reelection. Patrick Ruffini, a Republican pollster and one of the country’s leading experts on political targeting, technology, and demography, has the answers.
-
-
In light of 2024
- By dell992 on 11-13-24
By: Patrick Ruffini
-
The Invisible Bridge
- The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of Reagan
- By: Rick Perlstein
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 39 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In January of 1973 Richard Nixon announced the end of the Vietnam War and prepared for a triumphant second term - until televised Watergate hearings revealed his White House as little better than a mafia den. The next president declared upon Nixon’s resignation “our long national nightmare is over” - but then congressional investigators exposed the CIA for assassinating foreign leaders. The collapse of the South Vietnamese government rendered moot the sacrifice of some 58,000 American lives.
-
-
Brilliant
- By Tad Davis on 10-03-14
By: Rick Perlstein
-
Any Given Tuesday
- A Political Love Story
- By: Lis Smith
- Narrated by: Jean Ann Douglass
- Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lis Smith isn’t your average political strategist and Any Given Tuesday isn’t your typical political memoir. At once a revealing look at human nature at the highest levels of power and an intimate portrayal of a sometimes rocky personal journey, it breaks all the rules. Smith doesn’t pretend to be perfect—she owns the controversial choices that landed her in the tabloids, as well as the unorthodox ones that have paid off and defined her successful career.
-
-
Very good but nits to pick
- By Ruth O'Sullivan on 07-26-22
By: Lis Smith
-
The Big Break
- The Gamblers, Party Animals, and True Believers Trying to Win in Washington While America Loses Its Mind
- By: Ben Terris
- Narrated by: Tim Andrés Pabon
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Big Break investigates how Washington works, and how different kinds of people try to make it work for them. Ben Terris presents an inside history of this crucial moment in Washington, reporting from exclusive parties, poker nights, fundraisers, secluded farms outside town and the halls of Congress; among the oddballs and opportunists and true believers. This book is about the people who see this moment as an opportunity to bet big—on their country or maybe just on themselves.
-
-
A sad expose
- By HENRY D. MALANOWSKI on 08-16-23
By: Ben Terris
-
The Year That Broke Politics
- Collusion and Chaos in the Presidential Election of 1968
- By: Luke A. Nichter
- Narrated by: Kent Klineman
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 1968 presidential race was a contentious battle between Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Republican Richard Nixon, and former Alabama governor George Wallace. The United States was reeling from the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy and was bitterly divided on the Vietnam War and domestic issues, including civil rights and rising crime. Drawing on previously unexamined archives and numerous interviews, Luke A. Nichter upends the conventional understanding of the campaign.
-
-
Stilted and sibilant
- By K. W. on 08-05-24
By: Luke A. Nichter
-
This Will Not Pass
- Trump, Biden and the Battle for American Democracy
- By: Jonathan Martin, Alexander Burns
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 17 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the authoritative, “deeply reported” (The Wall Street Journal) account of an eighteen-month crisis in American democracy that will be seared into the country’s political memory for decades to come. With stunning, in-the-room detail, New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns show how both our political parties confronted a series of national traumas, including the coronavirus pandemic, the January 6 attack on the Capitol, and the political brinksmanship of President Biden’s first year in the White House.
-
-
Ammerca's Futura does Not included Trump
- By K. Lilja-King on 05-12-22
By: Jonathan Martin, and others
-
Speaking for Myself
- Faith, Freedom, and the Fight of Our Lives Inside the Trump White House
- By: Sarah Huckabee Sanders
- Narrated by: Sarah Huckabee Sanders
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sarah Huckabee Sanders served as White House press secretary for President Donald J. Trump from 2017 to 2019. A trusted confidante of the president, Sanders advised him on everything from press and communications strategy to personnel and policy. She was at the president's side for two and a half years, battling with the media, working with lawmakers and CEOs, and accompanying the president on every international trip, including dozens of meetings with foreign leaders - all while unfailingly exhibiting grace under pressure.
-
-
ABSOLUTELY AMAZING
- By Albert Ross on 09-08-20
-
The Long Slide
- Thirty Years in American Journalism
- By: Tucker Carlson
- Narrated by: Tucker Carlson
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thirty years ago, Tucker Carlson got his first job out of college fact-checking for a quarterly magazine, and he went on to write for many other publications before becoming the primetime Fox News host he is today. In The Long Slide, Tucker delivers a few of his favorite pieces - annotated with new commentary and insight - to memorialize the tolerance and diversity of thought that the media used to celebrate instead of punish.
-
-
Tucker does it again
- By JOE SWOLE on 08-10-21
By: Tucker Carlson
-
The Fight of His Life
- Inside Joe Biden's White House
- By: Chris Whipple
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Now prizewinning journalist Chris Whipple takes us inside the Oval Office as the critical decisions of Biden’s presidency are being made. With remarkable access to both President Biden and his inner circle—including Chief of Staff Ron Klain, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and CIA Director William Burns—Whipple pulls back the curtain on the internal power struggles and back-room compromises.
-
-
A "Fair and Balanced" look at the first two years
- By Kristin V. Johnson on 04-20-23
By: Chris Whipple
-
The Victory Lab
- The Secret Science of Winning Campaigns
- By: Sasha Issenberg
- Narrated by: Michael Goldstrom
- Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Renegade thinkers are crashing the gates of a venerable American institution, shoving aside its so-called wise men and replacing them with a radical new data-driven order. We’ve seen it in sports, and now in The Victory Lab, journalist Sasha Issenberg tells the hidden story of the analytical revolution upending the way political campaigns are run in the 21st century.
-
-
Good historical perspective ~10 years out of date
- By Anonymous User on 07-02-21
By: Sasha Issenberg
Related to this topic
-
Primary Colors
- By: Anonymous
- Narrated by: Peter Francis James
- Length: 16 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Primary Colors offers a richly detailed look at life on the political stump. As former congressional aide Henry Burton is dazzled and lured into presidential hopeful Jack Stanton's fledgling campaign, he becomes a cog in Stanton's unstoppable political machine. Burton illuminates, through his actions and observations, the sometimes seamy, sometimes steamy and sometimes surprisingly noble ascent to the presidency.
-
-
N
- By Laurie on 10-15-08
By: Anonymous
-
Lyndon
- An Oral Biography
- By: Merle Miller
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 32 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Best-selling presidential biographer Merle Miller has crafted a candid portrait of one of the most complex, fascinating, difficult, and colorful figures in American history. From his birth in 1908 to his death in 1973, the story of Lyndon B. Johnson is told with no sparing his personal excesses and contentious public image - while also highlighting the strength of his greatest accomplishments in Washington.
-
-
Flawless
- By Jeffrey on 01-04-21
By: Merle Miller
-
November 22, 1963
- Reflections on the Life, Assassination, and Legacy of John F. Kennedy
- By: Dean R. Owen, Helen Thomas - foreword
- Narrated by: Arnell Powell, Kimberly Farr, Arthur Morey, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As the fiftieth anniversary of President Kennedy's assassination draws near, the events of that fateful day will undoubtedly be on the minds of many throughout the world. Here Dean Owen curates a fascinating collection of interviews and thought-provoking commentaries from notable men and women connected to that notorious Friday afternoon. Those who worked closely with the president, civil rights leaders, celebrities, prominent journalists, and political allies are among the nearly one hundred voices asked to share their reflections on the significance of that day and the legacy left behind by John F. Kennedy.
-
-
Disappointed in the content
- By ScoobyDo on 03-04-21
By: Dean R. Owen, and others
-
Better than Sex
- By: Hunter S. Thompson
- Narrated by: Scott Sowers
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A pioneer of the New Journalism movement, Hunter S. Thompson wrote with a fire that captured the attention of millions. Here Thompson delivers a mind-bending view of the 1992 presidential race, packed with all the horror, sacrifice, lust, and glory that made this campaign so utterly fascinating.
-
-
A Classic for One Chapter
- By Michael Friedman on 12-08-12
-
Fletch
- By: Gregory Mcdonald
- Narrated by: Dan John Miller
- Length: 5 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The acidly funny first book starring the subversive sleuth in one of the most successful mystery series of all time. Fletch is an investigative reporter whose methods are a little unorthodox. Currently he's living on the beach. He's taking more than a little flak from his editor. She doesn't appreciate his style. Or the expense account items he's racking up. Or his definition of the word "deadline". Or the divorce lawyers who keep showing up at the office. So when multimillionaire Alan Stanwyk offers Fletch the job of a lifetime, which could be worth a fortune, he's intrigued.
-
-
Fletch is Literally a Psychopath
- By Kindle Customer on 02-09-21
By: Gregory Mcdonald
-
Rick Mercer Final Report
- By: Rick Mercer
- Narrated by: Rick Mercer
- Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rick Mercer can always be relied on to provoke a strong reaction - but what he said one fall day in 2017 truly shocked Canada. In a rant posted on social media, the great Canadian satirist announced loud and clear that the 15th season of the Rick Mercer Report - the nation's best-watched and best-loved comedy show - would be the last. This volume brings together never-before-published rants from the last five seasons of the show, plus a selection of the very best rants from earlier years.
-
-
Mercer Hits It Out Of The Ballpark
- By Wade Lancaster on 11-11-19
By: Rick Mercer
-
Primary Colors
- By: Anonymous
- Narrated by: Peter Francis James
- Length: 16 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Primary Colors offers a richly detailed look at life on the political stump. As former congressional aide Henry Burton is dazzled and lured into presidential hopeful Jack Stanton's fledgling campaign, he becomes a cog in Stanton's unstoppable political machine. Burton illuminates, through his actions and observations, the sometimes seamy, sometimes steamy and sometimes surprisingly noble ascent to the presidency.
-
-
N
- By Laurie on 10-15-08
By: Anonymous
-
Lyndon
- An Oral Biography
- By: Merle Miller
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 32 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Best-selling presidential biographer Merle Miller has crafted a candid portrait of one of the most complex, fascinating, difficult, and colorful figures in American history. From his birth in 1908 to his death in 1973, the story of Lyndon B. Johnson is told with no sparing his personal excesses and contentious public image - while also highlighting the strength of his greatest accomplishments in Washington.
-
-
Flawless
- By Jeffrey on 01-04-21
By: Merle Miller
-
November 22, 1963
- Reflections on the Life, Assassination, and Legacy of John F. Kennedy
- By: Dean R. Owen, Helen Thomas - foreword
- Narrated by: Arnell Powell, Kimberly Farr, Arthur Morey, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As the fiftieth anniversary of President Kennedy's assassination draws near, the events of that fateful day will undoubtedly be on the minds of many throughout the world. Here Dean Owen curates a fascinating collection of interviews and thought-provoking commentaries from notable men and women connected to that notorious Friday afternoon. Those who worked closely with the president, civil rights leaders, celebrities, prominent journalists, and political allies are among the nearly one hundred voices asked to share their reflections on the significance of that day and the legacy left behind by John F. Kennedy.
-
-
Disappointed in the content
- By ScoobyDo on 03-04-21
By: Dean R. Owen, and others
-
Better than Sex
- By: Hunter S. Thompson
- Narrated by: Scott Sowers
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A pioneer of the New Journalism movement, Hunter S. Thompson wrote with a fire that captured the attention of millions. Here Thompson delivers a mind-bending view of the 1992 presidential race, packed with all the horror, sacrifice, lust, and glory that made this campaign so utterly fascinating.
-
-
A Classic for One Chapter
- By Michael Friedman on 12-08-12
-
Fletch
- By: Gregory Mcdonald
- Narrated by: Dan John Miller
- Length: 5 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The acidly funny first book starring the subversive sleuth in one of the most successful mystery series of all time. Fletch is an investigative reporter whose methods are a little unorthodox. Currently he's living on the beach. He's taking more than a little flak from his editor. She doesn't appreciate his style. Or the expense account items he's racking up. Or his definition of the word "deadline". Or the divorce lawyers who keep showing up at the office. So when multimillionaire Alan Stanwyk offers Fletch the job of a lifetime, which could be worth a fortune, he's intrigued.
-
-
Fletch is Literally a Psychopath
- By Kindle Customer on 02-09-21
By: Gregory Mcdonald
-
Rick Mercer Final Report
- By: Rick Mercer
- Narrated by: Rick Mercer
- Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rick Mercer can always be relied on to provoke a strong reaction - but what he said one fall day in 2017 truly shocked Canada. In a rant posted on social media, the great Canadian satirist announced loud and clear that the 15th season of the Rick Mercer Report - the nation's best-watched and best-loved comedy show - would be the last. This volume brings together never-before-published rants from the last five seasons of the show, plus a selection of the very best rants from earlier years.
-
-
Mercer Hits It Out Of The Ballpark
- By Wade Lancaster on 11-11-19
By: Rick Mercer
-
The Book of Joe
- The Life, Wit, and (Sometimes Accidental) Wisdom of Joe Biden
- By: Jeff Wilser
- Narrated by: Johnathan McClain
- Length: 5 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The aviators. The Amtrak. The ice cream cones. The memes. Few politicians are as iconic, or as beloved, as Joe Biden. Now, in The Book of Joe, Biden fans will finally have the definitive look at America's favorite vice president - and what he can teach us. Structured around key moments in Biden's life and career - and filled with Biden-isms like "That's a bunch of malarkey" and "I may be Irish, but I'm not stupid" - this blend of biography, advice, and humor will reveal the experiences that forged Joe Biden, and the lessons we can use in our own lives.
-
-
I LOVED it!!!
- By Leslie on 11-19-20
By: Jeff Wilser
-
Grounded
- A Senator’s Lessons on Winning Back Rural America
- By: Jon Tester
- Narrated by: Jon Tester
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Senator Jon Tester is a rare voice in Congress. He is the only United States senator who manages a full-time job outside of the Senate - as a farmer. But what has really come to distinguish Tester in the Senate is his commitment to accountability, his ability to stand up to Donald Trump, and his success in, time and again, winning red state voters back to the Democratic Party.
-
-
Great job, Jon!
- By Montana on 12-10-20
By: Jon Tester
-
Chiefs
- By: Stuart Woods
- Narrated by: Mark Hammer
- Length: 17 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1919, Delano, Georgia, appoints its first chief of police. Honest and hardworking, the new chief is puzzled when young men start to disappear. But his investigation is ended by the fatal blast from a shotgun. Delano's second chief-of-police is no hero, yet he is also disturbed by what he sees in the missing-persons bulletins. In 1969, when Delano's third chief takes over, the unsolved disappearances still haunt the police files.
-
-
In my 'Top Ten' books of all time!
- By karen on 09-17-13
By: Stuart Woods
-
Oil!
- By: Upton Sinclair
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 19 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As he did so masterfully in The Jungle, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Upton Sinclair interweaves social criticism with human tragedy to create an unforgettable portrait of Southern California's early oil industry. Enraged by the oil scandals of the Harding administration in the 1920s, Sinclair tells a gripping tale of avarice, corruption, and class warfare, featuring a cavalcade of characters, including senators, oil magnates, Hollywood film starlets, and a crusading evangelist.
-
-
an outstanding book
- By Gregory on 05-18-08
By: Upton Sinclair
-
Talking to Canadians
- A Memoir
- By: Rick Mercer
- Narrated by: Rick Mercer
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What is Rick Mercer going to do now? That was the question on everyone's lips when the beloved comedian retired his hugely successful TV show after 15 seasons - and at the peak of its popularity. The answer came not long after, when he roared back in a new role as stand-up-comedian, playing to sold-out houses wherever he appeared. And then COVID-19 struck. And his legions of fans began asking again: What is Rick Mercer going to do now? Well, for one thing, he's been writing a comic masterpiece.
-
-
Mercer Killed and He Will Kill Again
- By Quinn M on 11-28-22
By: Rick Mercer
-
Lady Bird Johnson
- An Oral History
- By: Michael L. Gillette
- Narrated by: Corinna May
- Length: 17 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over a span of 18 years, Lady Bird Johnson recorded 47 oral history interviews with Michael Gillette and his colleagues. These conversations, just released in 2011, form the heart of Lady Bird Johnson: An Oral History, an intimate story of a shy young country girl's transformation into one of America's most effective and admired First Ladies.
-
-
Fantastic
- By Syd Young on 06-01-19
-
The Politician
- An Insider's Account of John Edwards's Pursuit of the Presidency and the Scandal that Brought Him Down
- By: Andrew Young
- Narrated by: Kevin Foley
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Like a nonfiction version of All the King's Men, The Politician offers a truly disturbing, even shocking, perspective on the risks taken and tactics employed by a man determined to rule the most powerful nation on earth.
-
-
Politician Phony. A must listen!!!
- By Sherman on 02-09-10
By: Andrew Young
-
They Said This Day Would Never Come
- Chasing the Dream on Obama's Improbable Campaign
- By: Chris Liddell-Westefeld
- Narrated by: Chris Liddell-Westefeld, Dion Graham, Graham Halstead, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the year leading up to the Iowa caucuses, few thought a freshman senator named Barack Hussein Obama would be able to win the Democratic nomination - not to mention become the most popular leader in the world. But something was stirring. Hundreds of young people from all over the country began assembling first in Iowa. These "kids" became the foundation of one of the most improbable presidential campaigns of the modern era. Chris Liddell-Westefeld was one of those kids. He and thousands of other staff and volunteers dedicated their time, intelligence, and resources to help elect Barack Obama.
-
-
2008 re-lived
- By Miss Effie on 07-01-20
-
Finale
- A Novel of the Reagan Years
- By: Thomas Mallon
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 17 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the author of the acclaimed novel Watergate comes a galvanizing new novel about the tumultuous administration of the most consequential and enigmatic president of modern times - Ronald Reagan. Finale takes listeners to the political gridiron of Washington in 1986, the wealthiest enclaves of Southern California, and the volcanic landscape of Iceland, where the president engages in two almost apocalyptic days of negotiation with Mikhail Gorbachev.
-
-
Gore Vidal for the 21st Century
- By philip on 10-31-15
By: Thomas Mallon
-
Plain Speaking
- An Oral Biography of Harry S. Truman
- By: Merle Miller
- Narrated by: Chris Andrew Ciulla
- Length: 15 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Plain Speaking is a book based on conversations between Merle Miller and the thirty-third President of the United States, Harry S. Truman. From these interviews, as well as others who knew him over the years, Miller transcribes Truman’s feisty takes on everything from his personal life, military service, and political career to the challenges he faced in taking the office during the final days of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War.
-
-
One of my favorites, so far!
- By johnsoneliza on 07-23-20
By: Merle Miller
-
The Kennedys
- An American Drama
- By: Peter Collier, David Horowitz
- Narrated by: Christopher Hurt
- Length: 20 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Who are the Kennedys? Are they the brilliant, heroic, extraordinary people their admirers believe them to be? Or are they arrogant, competitive, self-absorbed children of a willful and immensely rich patriarch, as their detractors claim? In fact, they are all of these things, and more.
-
-
Well-written (and narrated) Kennedy history.
- By SBG on 09-17-19
By: Peter Collier, and others
-
My Grandfather's Son
- A Memoir
- By: Clarence Thomas
- Narrated by: Clarence Thomas
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Provocative, inspiring, and unflinchingly honest, My Grandfather's Son is the story of one of America's most remarkable and controversial leaders, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, told in his own words.
-
-
Wonderful read
- By Amazon Customer on 10-17-21
By: Clarence Thomas
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Managerial Revolution
- What Is Happening in the World
- By: James Burnham
- Narrated by: Keith Hahn
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Written in 1941, this is the book that theorized how the world was moving into the hands of the "managers". Burnham explains how capitalism had virtually lost its control, and would be displaced not by labour, nor by socialism, but by the rule of administrators in business and in government.
-
-
Horrendous narrator
- By Trick009 on 04-30-22
By: James Burnham
-
The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democracy
- By: Christopher Lasch
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this challenging work, Christopher Lasch makes an accessible critique of what is wrong with the values and beliefs of America's professional and managerial elites. The distinguished historian argues that democracy today is threatened not by the masses, as Jose Ortega y Gasset ( The Revolt of the Masses) had said, but by the elites. These elites - mobile and increasingly global in outlook - refuse to accept limits or ties to nation and place.
-
-
The last twenty years proves the author right
- By Del Lewis-Chia on 08-08-20
-
The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution: 1763-1789
- By: Robert Middlekauff
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 26 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first book to appear in the illustrious Oxford History of the United States, this critically-acclaimed volume - a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize - offers an unsurpassed history of the Revolutionary War and the birth of the American republic.
-
-
Strong History Rich With Behind The Scenes Details
- By John on 10-06-11
-
Bush
- By: Jean Edward Smith
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 25 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Bush, Jean Edward Smith demonstrates that it was not Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, or Condoleezza Rice, but President Bush himself who took personal control of foreign policy. Bush drew on his deep religious conviction that important foreign-policy decisions were simply a matter of good versus evil. Domestically, he overreacted to 9/11 and endangered Americans' civil liberties.
-
-
Delusions of Competence
- By Rick on 11-18-16
-
Why England Slept
- By: John F. Kennedy, Henry R. Luce
- Narrated by: AJ Crozby
- Length: 4 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1938, British statesman and soon-to-be Prime Minister Winston Churchill published his book Arms and the Covenant. It was published three months later in the US under the title While England Slept. In 1940, future President John F. Kennedy, who was a senior at Harvard University, wrote his dissertation, criticizing Churchill’s harsh blame of England’s leaders, even drawing comparisons between England and the United States for its own similar lack of preparedness against the totalitarian Nazi regime. Responding to Churchill's title, Kennedy named his book, Why England Slept.
By: John F. Kennedy, and others
-
Melting Pot or Civil War?
- A Son of Immigrants Makes the Case Against Open Borders
- By: Reihan Salam
- Narrated by: Reihan Salam
- Length: 4 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For too long, liberals have suggested that only cruel, racist, or nativist bigots would want to restrict immigration. Anyone motivated by compassion and egalitarianism would choose open, or nearly-open, borders. Now, Reihan Salam, the son of Bangladeshi immigrants, turns this argument on its head. In this deeply researched but also deeply personal book, Salam shows why uncontrolled immigration is bad for everyone, including people like his family.
-
-
A wonderful ideas based conversation
- By Carolyn on 10-16-18
By: Reihan Salam
-
The Managerial Revolution
- What Is Happening in the World
- By: James Burnham
- Narrated by: Keith Hahn
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Written in 1941, this is the book that theorized how the world was moving into the hands of the "managers". Burnham explains how capitalism had virtually lost its control, and would be displaced not by labour, nor by socialism, but by the rule of administrators in business and in government.
-
-
Horrendous narrator
- By Trick009 on 04-30-22
By: James Burnham
-
The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democracy
- By: Christopher Lasch
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this challenging work, Christopher Lasch makes an accessible critique of what is wrong with the values and beliefs of America's professional and managerial elites. The distinguished historian argues that democracy today is threatened not by the masses, as Jose Ortega y Gasset ( The Revolt of the Masses) had said, but by the elites. These elites - mobile and increasingly global in outlook - refuse to accept limits or ties to nation and place.
-
-
The last twenty years proves the author right
- By Del Lewis-Chia on 08-08-20
-
The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution: 1763-1789
- By: Robert Middlekauff
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 26 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first book to appear in the illustrious Oxford History of the United States, this critically-acclaimed volume - a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize - offers an unsurpassed history of the Revolutionary War and the birth of the American republic.
-
-
Strong History Rich With Behind The Scenes Details
- By John on 10-06-11
-
Bush
- By: Jean Edward Smith
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 25 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Bush, Jean Edward Smith demonstrates that it was not Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, or Condoleezza Rice, but President Bush himself who took personal control of foreign policy. Bush drew on his deep religious conviction that important foreign-policy decisions were simply a matter of good versus evil. Domestically, he overreacted to 9/11 and endangered Americans' civil liberties.
-
-
Delusions of Competence
- By Rick on 11-18-16
-
Why England Slept
- By: John F. Kennedy, Henry R. Luce
- Narrated by: AJ Crozby
- Length: 4 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1938, British statesman and soon-to-be Prime Minister Winston Churchill published his book Arms and the Covenant. It was published three months later in the US under the title While England Slept. In 1940, future President John F. Kennedy, who was a senior at Harvard University, wrote his dissertation, criticizing Churchill’s harsh blame of England’s leaders, even drawing comparisons between England and the United States for its own similar lack of preparedness against the totalitarian Nazi regime. Responding to Churchill's title, Kennedy named his book, Why England Slept.
By: John F. Kennedy, and others
-
Melting Pot or Civil War?
- A Son of Immigrants Makes the Case Against Open Borders
- By: Reihan Salam
- Narrated by: Reihan Salam
- Length: 4 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For too long, liberals have suggested that only cruel, racist, or nativist bigots would want to restrict immigration. Anyone motivated by compassion and egalitarianism would choose open, or nearly-open, borders. Now, Reihan Salam, the son of Bangladeshi immigrants, turns this argument on its head. In this deeply researched but also deeply personal book, Salam shows why uncontrolled immigration is bad for everyone, including people like his family.
-
-
A wonderful ideas based conversation
- By Carolyn on 10-16-18
By: Reihan Salam
-
Born Fighting
- How the Scots-Irish Shaped America
- By: Jim Webb
- Narrated by: Allan Robertson
- Length: 13 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Scots-Irish were 40 percent of the Revolutionary War army; they included the pioneers Daniel Boone, Lewis and Clark, Davy Crockett, and Sam Houston; they were the writers Edgar Allan Poe and Mark Twain; and they have given America numerous great military leaders, including Stonewall Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant, Audie Murphy, and George S. Patton, as well as most of the soldiers of the Confederacy (only five percent of whom owned slaves, and who fought against what they viewed as an invading army).
-
-
Every politician should read this
- By Bette Grace on 02-08-19
By: Jim Webb
-
The Age of Acrimony
- How Americans Fought to Fix Their Democracy, 1865-1915
- By: Jon Grinspan
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Age of Acrimony charts the rise and fall of 19th-century America’s unruly politics through the lives of a remarkable father-daughter dynasty. The radical congressman William "Pig Iron" Kelley and his fiery, Progressive daughter Florence Kelley led lives packed with drama, intimately tied to their nation’s politics. Through their friendships and feuds, campaigns and crusades, Will and Florie trace the narrative of a democracy in crisis.
-
-
Fascinating revelations
- By cat glickman on 08-06-21
By: Jon Grinspan
-
Scott and Amundsen
- Their Race to the South Pole
- By: Roland Huntford
- Narrated by: Tim Piggott-Smith
- Length: 6 hrs and 34 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is a brilliant dual biography charting British Robert Scott's and Norwegian Roald Amundsen's race to the South Pole during 1911-12. Huntuford's is the accepted, definitive account of the race and a reassessment of the two men. Thoroughly researched, revealing the adventures and misfortunes that befell them both, he describes the driving ambitions of the era, and the complex, often deeply flawed individuals who were charged with carrying them out.
-
-
Good but could have been great
- By Pierre on 05-19-08
By: Roland Huntford
-
Being Nixon
- A Man Divided
- By: Evan Thomas
- Narrated by: Bob Walter
- Length: 20 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this revelatory biography, Evan Thomas delivers a radical, unique portrait of America’s 37th president, Richard Nixon, a contradictory figure who was both determinedly optimistic and tragically flawed. One of the principal architects of the modern Republican Party and its “silent majority” of disaffected whites and conservative ex-Dixiecrats, Nixon was also deemed a liberal in some quarters for his efforts to desegregate Southern schools, create the Environmental Protection Agency, and end the draft.
-
-
Sympathetic bio
- By Scott on 07-27-15
By: Evan Thomas
-
Stalin's War
- A New History of World War II
- By: Sean McMeekin
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 24 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
World War II endures in the popular imagination as a heroic struggle between good and evil, with villainous Hitler driving its events. But Hitler was not in power when the conflict erupted in Asia. His armies did not fight in multiple theaters, his empire did not span the Eurasian continent, and he did not inherit any of the spoils of war. That central role belonged to Joseph Stalin. Drawing on ambitious new research in Soviet, European, and US archives, Stalin’s War revolutionizes our understanding of this global conflict by moving its epicenter to the east.
-
-
Sean McMeekin Does It Again!
- By Stephen F (SPFJR) on 04-21-21
By: Sean McMeekin
-
The Age of Entitlement
- America Since the Sixties
- By: Christopher Caldwell
- Narrated by: Christopher Caldwell
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A major American intellectual makes the historical case that the reforms of the 1960s, reforms intended to make the nation more just and humane, instead left many Americans feeling alienated, despised, misled - and ready to put an adventurer in the White House. Christopher Caldwell has spent years studying the liberal uprising of the 1960s and its unforeseen consequences. Even the reforms that Americans love best have come with costs that are staggeringly high - in wealth, freedom, and social stability - and that have been spread unevenly among classes and generations.
-
-
Do laudable ends justify unconstitutional means?
- By LBJ on 02-08-20
-
The Unwinding
- An Inner History of the New America
- By: George Packer
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 18 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Unwinding, George Packer, author of The Assassins’ Gate: America in Iraq, tells the story of the United States over the past three decades in an utterly original way, with his characteristically sharp eye for detail and gift for weaving together complex narratives. The Unwinding portrays a superpower in danger of coming apart at the seams, its elites no longer elite, its institutions no longer working, its ordinary people left to improvise their own schemes for success and salvation.
-
-
Can't understand the low ratings!
- By Janet Pittman Henley on 05-27-13
By: George Packer
-
The Loudest Voice in the Room
- How the Brilliant, Bombastic Roger Ailes Built Fox News - and Divided a Country
- By: Gabriel Sherman
- Narrated by: Erik Singer
- Length: 17 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Rupert Murdoch enlisted Roger Ailes to launch a cable news network in 1996, American politics and media changed forever. With a remarkable level of detail and insight, Vanity Fair magazine reporter Gabriel Sherman puts Ailes’s unique genius on display, along with the outsize personalities - Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Megyn Kelly, Sarah Palin, Karl Rove, Glenn Beck, Mike Huckabee, Gretchen Carlson, Bill Shine, and others - who have helped Fox News play a defining role in the great social and political controversies of the past two decades.
-
-
A Monumental Achievement
- By L. Kerr on 01-28-14
By: Gabriel Sherman
-
Obama's Wars
- By: Bob Woodward
- Narrated by: Boyd Gaines
- Length: 15 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Working behind the scenes for 18 months, Bob Woodward has written the most intimate and sweeping portrait of President Obama making the critical decisions on the Afghanistan War, the secret war in Pakistan, and the worldwide fight against terrorism.
-
-
Woodward Does a Service
- By Roy on 10-01-10
By: Bob Woodward
-
The Origins of Woke
- Civil Rights Law, Corporate America, and the Triumph of Identity Politics
- By: Richard Hanania
- Narrated by: Timothy Andrés Pabon
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Richard Hanania has come out of nowhere to become one of the best-known writers in the nation in the last few years. In this book, he directs his attention to the culture war that has driven society apart and presents a stunning new theory about what is going on. In a nation nearly evenly split between conservatives and liberals, the left dominates nearly all major institutions, including universities, the government, and corporate America. Hanania argues that this is as much a legal requirement as it is an issue of one side triumphing in the marketplace of ideas.
-
-
New view of Civil Rights law
- By Customer on 11-04-23
By: Richard Hanania
-
The Triumph and Tragedy of Lyndon Johnson
- The White House Years
- By: Joseph A. Califano Jr.
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 17 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
President Lyndon Johnson was bigger than life - and no one who worked for him or was subjected to the "Johnson treatment" ever forgot it. As Johnson's "Deputy President of Domestic Affairs", Joseph A. Califano's unique relationship with the president greatly enriches our understanding of our 36th president. Califano shows listeners LBJ's commitment to economic and social revolution, and his willingness to do whatever it took to achieve his goals.
-
-
LBJ The Greatest President of 20th century
- By David W. Goldstein on 07-28-15
-
Barack Obama
- The Story
- By: David Maraniss
- Narrated by: David Maraniss
- Length: 24 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a groundbreaking work based on hundreds of interviews, including with President Obama, and a trove of letters, journals, and other documents, one of our pre-eminent journalists presents a richly textured account of Barack Obama and the forces that shaped him. This book begins in Kansas and Kenya, decades before Obama was born, and ends as he prepares for a political life. The listener gains a deeper insight into the first black president of the United States, revealing as never before the arc of his history.
-
-
Solid Work @ Debunking Fairy-Tales & Dark Fantasms
- By Darwin8u on 06-20-12
By: David Maraniss
What listeners say about What It Takes
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- RZ
- 08-11-20
Great book and an AMAZING performance.
Great book and an AMAZING performance. Truly a Herculean feat to manage this many characters and voices as ably as Sellon-Wright did.
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
- Sam
- 07-05-21
Political classic
This is a must read/listen for any political or historical enthusiast! A
Phenomenal deep dive into the 1988 presidential election.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Picasso Tucasso
- 10-01-23
Over the top narration
Because of the narration, I'm not sure if I liked the book all that much. 54 hours and the narration is SLOW! Worse than that, though, is how the narrator tries to imitate (badly) different speakers. Fake laughs, accents, gender tones, etc. Just read it straight, like we do in our heads, and the overall experience would be MUCH better. It takes someone with some very good acting chops to pull that sort of narration off (e.g. Ray Porter in Michael Herr's "Dispatches"). I've heard worse than this, but not much worse . . . especially for such a long book. I listened to the whole thing, and many times found it excruciating.
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
- Matt B
- 12-21-21
A world class political saga
What an epic undertaking. "What it Takes" is an unrivaled chronicle of the 1988 presidential election and the 6 prominent candidates that take part in it. You will learn the stories of every one of those men with excruciating detail from childhood through to the months following the general election. This text has unparalleled insight into the political machines each candidate wielded in their careers, before and during the 1988 cycle. Truly a massive undertaking executed with precision and care. I was sad to hear the end credits, so immersed in the storytelling I was. I hope you enjoy it too.
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
- Amazon Customer
- 05-22-24
The detail is insane
Robert Caro is the gold standard and RBC might have surpassed. One of, if not the, best political non-fiction I’ve ever read.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous
- 06-13-21
One of my absolute favorite books and readers
Truly a joy to listen to. Great insights into the candidates and process abound throughout.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Paula Lynch
- 10-03-23
Fascinating Read
Entertaining book about the 1988 primaries and development of 6 of the main contenders told at length
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Hebern
- 09-11-20
Great political book
It took more than a month, but I finally finished the longest book I’ve listened to thus far, clocking in at more than 54 hours. This was a detailed account of the primary season for the 1988 presidential election. It followed six candidates: George H. W. Bush, Bob Dole, Mike Dukakis, Gary Hart, Joe Biden and Richard Gephardt. The title of the book refers to two things. What it takes to BE President and what it takes to BECOME President. For the second, it is the good and bad of what it takes.
The author at the outset apologized/explained why Jesse Jackson was not one of the featured candidates. He said that Jackson simply wouldn’t slow down enough to grant him the access he needed. He didn’t want to write about these men from simply research. He wanted access so that he could present much of the material from the point of view of each. And in fact, that is a feature of the book. There isn’t really a political bias to the book. The bias is that it is subtly biased toward each man when the discussion is about that man. At least initially. In the extensive biographies of each man it shows that each had what it takes to be President. However, deeper into the book in showing why 5 of the 6 didn’t have what it takes to become President, flaws are explored.
It is a long book, but was of great interest to me. At the time of the events depicted, I was a political science major at NC State. I was fortunate enough by that major and being at a large university to have a small connection with many of the people in the book which made what others may see as excessive detail, interesting trivia to me. I met Dukakis on NC State’s campus during primary season and shook hands with him. That fall, one of my Political Science professors gave me his tickets to a filming of Firing Line. There I was able to see up close and in person: William F. Buckley, Gary Hart, Jesse Jackson, George McGovern, Jack Kemp and Judge Robert Bork. I’ve always been very thankful for that professor giving me those tickets. It’s doubtful I’ll ever have an opportunity to attend something like that again.
I really enjoyed the book. It was very well done. I only have two small complaints. First, given the detail of the coverage on the primary it was a shame to have just a two hour summary of the general election. Second, I think the book would have been better if Jackson was substituted for Gephardt since Jackson was ultimately in the final two on the Democratic side. Plus, Jackson was historic as the first black candidate to really contend in a Presidential election. However, the author did explain the why on that.
As for the audio, it was excellent. The reader was a very good one for the subject matter. His imitation of Dole was really good, but surprisingly his imitation of Reagan was not given everyone used to “do” Reagan. Overall, he did a very good job with the MANY voices in the book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Chris Corsini
- 05-20-21
Finally!
This was a notable absence for years from the audiobook catalogue. I am pleased to see the ivory tower eggheads finally came to their senses. A must listen for anyone who likes American politics.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- reviewer
- 08-31-21
A classic
Probably the best book about the process of running for president. Especially worth reading today, because there is a lot about Joe Biden, much of it heartrending.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!