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Wild and Crazy Guys
- How the Comedy Mavericks of the '80s Changed Hollywood Forever
- Narrated by: Curtis Armstrong
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
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Publisher's summary
The behind-the-scenes story of the iconic funnymen who ruled '80s Hollywood - Bill Murray, Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and Eddie Murphy - and the beloved films that made them stars, including Animal House, Caddyshack, and Ghostbusters
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NEW YORK
“An enjoyable romp that vividly captures the manic ups and downs of the remarkable group of funny folk who gave us a golden age of small and big screen comedy, from SNL to Groundhog Day.” (Peter Biskind, author of Easy Riders, Raging Bulls)
Wild and Crazy Guys opens in 1978 with Chevy Chase and Bill Murray taking bad-tempered swings at each other backstage at Saturday Night Live, and closes 21 years later with the two doing a skit in the same venue, poking fun at each other, their illustrious careers, triumphs and prat falls. In between, Nick de Semlyen takes us on a trip through the tumultuous '80s, delving behind the scenes of movies such as National Lampoon's Vacation, Beverly Hills Cop, The Blues Brothers, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and dozens more. Chronicling the off-screen, larger-than-life antics of Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, John Belushi, John Candy, and Rick Moranis, it's got drugs, sex, punch-ups, webbed toes, and Bill Murray being pushed into a swimming pool by Hunter S. Thompson while tied to a lawn chair. What's not to like?
Based on candid interviews from many of the stars themselves, as well as those in their immediate orbit, including directors John Landis, Carl Reiner, and Amy Heckerling, Wild and Crazy Guys is a fantastic insider account of the friendships, feuds, triumphs, and disasters experienced by these beloved comedians. Hilarious and revealing, it is both a hidden history of the most fertile period ever for screen comedy and a celebration of some of the most popular films of all time.
Praise for Wild and Crazy Guys
“Eminently readable . . . Children of the 1980s, take note: this is a fond, engrossing look back at the making of movies that became cultural touchstones.” (Booklist, starred review)
“Nick de Semlyen smartly charts the pinballing career paths of the stars of this new comic wave. . . . His punchy, nonstop narrative . . . tells a [story] where art and commerce smash hard against each other, sometimes causing destruction, but sometimes making sparks fly.” (The Sunday Times (UK))
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Wow, that sucked......
- By Just W on 10-11-18
By: David Peisner
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Talking to Canadians
- A Memoir
- By: Rick Mercer
- Narrated by: Rick Mercer
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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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.
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Mercer Killed and He Will Kill Again
- By Quinn M on 11-28-22
By: Rick Mercer
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Baby, Don't Hurt Me
- Stories and Scars from Saturday Night Live
- By: Chris Kattan
- Narrated by: Chris Kattan
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Chris Kattan has defied comparison, expectations, and sometimes gravity with his inimitable style of physical comedy. By creating some of the most memorable Saturday Night Live characters, as well as his many roles in film and television, Kattan has remained one of the most fearless and versatile comedians in the world. Now, for the first time, Kattan opens up about eight seasons on SNL, performing alongside friends and future legends including Will Ferrell, Jimmy Fallon, and Tina Fey, and guest hosts from Charlize Theron to Tom Hanks to David Bowie.
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Funny and complex.
- By Anna Jennings on 05-15-19
By: Chris Kattan
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Stories I Only Tell My Friends
- An Autobiography
- By: Rob Lowe
- Narrated by: Rob Lowe
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
A teen idol at 15, an international icon and founder of the Brat Pack at 20, and one of Hollywood's top stars to this day, Rob Lowe chronicles his experiences. Never mean-spirited or salacious, Lowe delivers unexpected glimpses into his successes, disappointments, relationships, and one-of-a-kind encounters with people who shaped our world over the last 25 years. These stories are as entertaining as they are unforgettable.
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Great Book and Great Story
- By Natalie J. Belle MD on 04-30-11
By: Rob Lowe
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Robert Altman
- The Oral Biography
- By: Mitchell Zuckoff
- Narrated by: Robert Altman, Warren Beatty, Cher, and others
- Length: 18 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Robert Altman - visionary director, hard-partying hedonist, eccentric family man, Hollywood legend - comes roaring to life in this rollicking cinematic biography, told in a chorus of voices that can only be called Altmanesque.
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Enthralling!
- By Wise & Careful Shopper on 10-17-10
By: Mitchell Zuckoff
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Singular Sensation
- The Triumph of Broadway
- By: Michael Riedel
- Narrated by: Shaun Taylor-Corbett
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The 1990s was a decade of profound change on Broadway. At the dawn of the '90s, the British invasion of Broadway was in full swing, as musical spectacles like Les Miserables, Cats, and The Phantom of the Opera dominated the box office. But Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard soon spelled the end of this era and ushered in a new wave of American musicals, beginning with the ascendance of an unlikely show by a struggling writer who reimagined Puccini’s opera La Bohème as the smash Broadway show Rent
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Why Didn’t Michael Riedel Read This Himself?
- By Tallulah on 01-17-22
By: Michael Riedel
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You Couldn't Ignore Me If You Tried
- The Brat Pack, John Hughes, and Their Impact on a Generation
- By: Susannah Gora
- Narrated by: Kelli Tager
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The landscape that the Brat Pack memorialized is rich with cultural themes and significance, and has influenced an entire generation who still believe that life always turns out like an '80s movie. You Couldn't Ignore Me If You Tried takes us back to that era, through Susannah Gora's interviews with key players such as Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Andrew McCarthy, and John Cusack, and mines all the material from the movies to the music to the way the films were made to show how they helped shape our visions for romance, friendship, society, and success.
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Brings me back to my teenage years! Fantastic Narration! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- By Amazmama on 06-24-22
By: Susannah Gora
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I Only Know Who I Am When I Am Somebody Else
- My Life on the Street, on the Stage, and in the Movies
- By: Danny Aiello, Gil Reavill
- Narrated by: Danny Aiello
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Beloved stage and screen actor Danny Aiello’s big-hearted memoir reveals a man of passion, integrity, and guts - and lays bare one of the most unlikely success stories ever told. Danny Aiello admits that he backed into his acting career by mistake. That’s easy to see when you begin at the beginning: Raised by his loving and fiercely resilient mother in the tenements of Manhattan and the South Bronx, and forever haunted by the death of his infant brother, Danny struggled early on to define who he was and who he could be.
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I want to give Danny Aiello a big hug.
- By Mari K. on 01-22-15
By: Danny Aiello, and others
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Seinfeldia
- How a Show About Nothing Changed Everything
- By: Jennifer Keishin Armstrong
- Narrated by: Christina Delaine
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Comedians Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld never thought anyone would watch their silly little sitcom about a New York comedian sitting around talking to his friends. NBC executives didn't think anyone would watch either, but they bought it anyway, hiding it away in the TV dead zone of summer. But against all odds, viewers began to watch, first a few and then many, until nine years later nearly 40 million Americans were tuning in weekly.
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This bad narration is making me thirsty...
- By Audio Gra Gra on 10-06-16
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Steve McQueen
- A Biography
- By: Marc Eliot
- Narrated by: Marc Eliot
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
One of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and '70s with now-classics such as The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, The Thomas Crown Affair, and Bullit, Steve McQueen is renowned as one of the most exciting actors ever to come out of Hollywood. Now, in Steve McQueen: A Biography, best-selling author Marc Eliot gives unique insight into McQueen's life, from his films to his three marriages, many affairs, and struggles with addictions.
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Snooze
- By Cill on 10-27-11
By: Marc Eliot
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You Might Remember Me
- The Life and Times of Phil Hartman
- By: Mike Thomas
- Narrated by: Corey Snow
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Both joyous tribute and serious biography, Mike Thomas' You Might Remember Me is a celebration of Phil Hartman's multi-faceted career and an exhaustively reported, warts-and-all examination of his often intriguing and sometimes complicated life - a powerful, humor-filled and disquieting portrait of a man who was loved by many, admired by millions and taken from them far too early.
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I Will Remember You Phil Hartman
- By Roxanna on 12-19-14
By: Mike Thomas
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Pictures at a Revolution
- Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood
- By: Mark Harris
- Narrated by: Lloyd James
- Length: 17 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Here is the epic human drama behind the making of the five movies nominated for Best Picture in 1967 - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, The Graduate, In the Heat of the Night, Doctor Dolittle, and Bonnie and Clyde - and through them, the larger story of the cultural revolution that transformed Hollywood and America forever.
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Would It Be Too Much To Ask?
- By Casey Keller on 12-31-08
By: Mark Harris
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Chasing the Light
- Writing, Directing, and Surviving Platoon, Midnight Express, Scarface, Salvador, and the Movie Game
- By: Oliver Stone
- Narrated by: Oliver Stone
- Length: 14 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
An intimate memoir by the controversial, Oscar-winning director and screenwriter about his rarefied New York childhood, volunteering for combat, and his struggles and triumphs making such films as Platoon, Midnight Express, and Scarface.
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Impressive
- By Merle O. Tanner on 10-07-20
By: Oliver Stone
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Confessions of a Puppetmaster
- A Hollywood Memoir of Ghouls, Guts, and Gonzo Filmmaking
- By: Charles Band, Adam Felber
- Narrated by: Charles Band, Sean Patrick Hopkins
- Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Zombies, aliens, a little skin, lots of gore - and even more laughs - the cinematic universe of Charles Band is legendary. From the toilet-invading creatures of Ghoulies to the time-travelling bounty hunter in Trancers to the pandemic-crashed Corona Zombies, Band has spent four decades giving B-movie lovers exactly what they love. In Confessions of a Puppetmaster, this congenial master of Grindhouse cinema tells his own story, uncut.
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Great story and narration
- By Jerry on 08-21-23
By: Charles Band, and others
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The View from the Bridge
- Memories of Star Trek and a Life in Hollywood
- By: Nicholas Meyer
- Narrated by: Nicholas Meyer
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
When Nicholas Meyer was asked to direct the troubled second Star Trek film, he was something less than a true believer. A best-selling author and successful director, he had never been a fan of the TV series. But as he began to ponder the appeal of Kirk, Spock, et al., he realized that their story was a classical nautical adventure yarn transplanted into space and - armed with that insight - set out on his mission: to revitalize Trek.
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Mostly good
- By David W Braddock on 06-07-21
By: Nicholas Meyer
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Since World War II, the American public has become fully aware of the exploits of the 101st Airborne Division, the paratroopers who led the Allied invasions into Nazi-held Europe. But within the ranks of the 101st, a sub-unit attained legendary status at the time, its reputation persisting among veterans over the decades. Primarily products of the Dustbowl and the Depression, the Filthy13 grew notorious, even within the ranks of the elite 101st. Never ones to salute an officer, or take a bath, this squad became singular within the Screaming Eagles.
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I thought it was supposed to be funny, kind of weak, overall.
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The favorite book of William Burroughs. A journey into the hobo underworld, freight hopping around the still Wild West, becoming a highwayman and member of the yegg (criminal) brotherhood, getting hooked on opium, doing stints in jail or escaping, often with the assistance of crooked cops or judges. Our lost history revived. With an introduction by Burroughs. A BookSense 77 selection.
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Hobo Jack
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This America of Ours
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In late-1940s America, few writers commanded attention like Bernard DeVoto. Alongside his brilliant wife and editor, Avis, DeVoto was a firebrand of American liberty, free speech, and perhaps our greatest national treasure: public lands. But when a corrupt band of lawmakers, led by Senator Pat McCarran, sought to quietly cede millions of acres of national parks and other western lands to logging, mining, and private industry, the DeVotos entered the fight of their lives.
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Fascinating history of a great conservationist
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Sold Out
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Today, your favorite products are missing from store shelves, caught in supply chain limbo somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. But what does this supply chain disruption look like six months, or even three years, from now? While we hope that post-pandemic recovery will absolve these issues, the reality is that digital currency, meme stonks, and social media can’t solve the age-old problem of producing and moving physical goods across oceans and continents. Jim Rickards argues that consumer frustration is only the tip of a large, menacing iceberg that threatens global economic collapse.
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Hard to like this. Book is really Dull.
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Steve Reich is a living legend in the world of contemporary classical music. As a leader of the minimalist movement in the 1960s, his works have become central to the musical landscape worldwide, influencing generations of younger musicians, choreographers and visual artists. He has explored non-Western music and American vernacular music from jazz to rock, as well as groundbreaking music and video pieces. He toured the world with his own ensemble and his compositions are performed internationally by major orchestras and ensembles.
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Stunningly thoughtful!
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One for the Road
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Swept off to live in Sydney by his Australian bride, American writer Tony Horwitz longs to explore the exotic reaches of his adopted land. So one day, armed only with a backpack and fantasies of the open road, he hitchhikes off into the awesome emptiness of Australia's outback. What follows is a hilarious, hair-raising ride into the hot red center of a continent so desolate that civilization dwindles to a gas pump and a pub. While the outback's terrain is inhospitable, its scattered inhabitants are anything but.
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Good travel book.
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Major Labels
- A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres
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Pure Pleasure Cultural History
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Unreliable Narrator
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Aparna Nancherla is a superstar comedian on the rise—a darling of Netflix and Comedy Central’s comedy special lineups, a headliner at comedy shows and music festivals, a frequenter of late night television and the subject of numerous profiles. She’s also a successful actor who has written a barrage of thoughtful essays published by the likes of the New York Times. If you ask her, though, she’s a total fraud. She’d hate to admit it, but no one does impostor syndrome quite like Aparna Nancherla.
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So much valuable insight, please read
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Power Failure
- The Rise and Fall of an American Icon
- By: William D. Cohan
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Story
No company embodied American ingenuity, innovation, and industrial power more spectacularly and more consistently than the General Electric Company. GE once developed and manufactured many of the inventions we take for granted today, nearly everything from the lightbulb to the jet engine. GE also built a cult of financial and leadership success envied across the globe and became the world’s most valuable and most admired company. But even at the height of its prestige and influence, cracks were forming in its formidable foundation.
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Much better than other GE books
- By Brannon Crawford on 12-26-22
By: William D. Cohan
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The Last Battle
- By: Cornelius Ryan
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Overall
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Performance
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The Battle for Berlin was the culminating struggle of World War II in the European theater. The last offensive against Hitler’s Third Reich, it devastated one of Europe’s historic capitals and marked the final defeat of Nazi Germany. It was also one of the war’s bloodiest and most pivotal battles, whose outcome would shape international politics for decades to come.
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Thanks to Dan Carlin of Hardcore History podcasts.
- By GB on 06-30-12
By: Cornelius Ryan
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Led Zeppelin
- The Biography
- By: Bob Spitz
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
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From the author of the definitive New York Times best-selling history of the Beatles comes the authoritative account of the group many call the greatest rock band of all time, arguably the most successful, and certainly one of the most notorious.
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Sex & Drugs & Rock-n-Roll.... in that order.
- By Joe on 01-03-22
By: Bob Spitz
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Leave Only Footprints
- My Acadia-to-Zion Journey Through Every National Park
- By: Conor Knighton
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When Conor Knighton set off to explore America's "best idea", he worried the whole thing could end up being his worst idea. A broken engagement and a broken heart had left him longing for a change of scenery, but the plan he'd cooked up in response had gone a bit overboard in that department: Over the course of a single year, Knighton would visit every national park in the country, from Acadia to Zion.
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25% National Parks, 75% Author’s history
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How to Survive History
- How to Outrun a Tyrannosaurus, Escape Pompeii, Get Off the Titanic, and Survive the Rest of History's Deadliest Catastrophes
- By: Cody Cassidy
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 5 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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History is the most dangerous place on earth. From dinosaurs the size of locomotives to meteors big enough to sterilize the planet, from famines to pandemics, from tornadoes to the Chicxulub asteroid, the odds of human survival are slim but not zero—at least, not if you know where to go and what to do. In each chapter of How to Survive History, Cody Cassidy explores how to survive one of history’s greatest threats: getting eaten by dinosaurs, being destroyed by the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs, succumbing to the lava flows of Pompeii, being devoured by the Donner Party, and more.
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A fun, light romp
- By Ron on 03-11-24
By: Cody Cassidy
What listeners say about Wild and Crazy Guys
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- PictureGuy
- 07-20-19
Good but with continuity issues.
The stories are great. The writing is great. The premise is great. The performance is great. The jumping around in the time line is maddening.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Deanna
- 02-26-23
Author clearly loved the topic!
As a self proclaimed SNL/SCTV/80's comedy expert - I naively thought I knew everything there was to know about some of my favorite comics from one of my favorite eras. Well - needless to say there were so many tidbits of info I was unaware of! If you're a comedy fan - there are tons of anecdotes you didn't know and will be thrilled to learn. There are familiar tales, like Belushi's drug fueled nights and stories I never knew, like Aykroyd accidentally borrowing ET's bicycle and riding it around the Ghostbusters set. Curtis Armstrong (Booger from Revenge of The Nerds) is the PERFECT narrator for this book. It almost seems as if unknowningly throws in some impersonations of Chase, Moranis, etc. and I was truly hanging on his every word. It's hard for me to imagine that Armstrong actually DIDN'T write the book - he is SO invested in this narration. The author's writing is so fluid and immersive - he truly knows his facts and has collected tons of quotes, stories, and adventures from some of my idols. I would love to read something else in the comedian realm from Nick - there are so many more people and eras to touch on - and without a doubt we need a follow up on the female comediennes of the 80s! This is now my all-time favorite book, I never wanted it to end. It's pure perfection.
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- Angie
- 05-26-23
Comedy gold
If you love 80s comedians look no further and enjoy this good read. Did not go wrong choosing Curtis to narrate the book. A good story of behind the scenes and what the comedians were going through at different times of their lives.
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- Eirekitten
- 02-23-21
Side-Alley Stroll Down Memory Lane of SNL/SCTV Comedians
I saw this book listed as a recommendation on a website. It had me at “dives into 70s/80s comedy movies”. This is a book version of the shows that take a look at “the toys/commercials/movies that made us.” I grew up in the 70s and 80s so the subject matter is truly a stroll down memory lane...more like forays into the little side-alleys spoking off the lane. I love it. This really is about the major male comedians from SNL and SCTV. The book even mentions women on those shows didn’t get the big movie vehicles like their male counterparts did. You won’t hear much if anything about Gilda Radner, Jane Curtain, or Catherine O’Hara. Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis,John Belushi, Steve Martin, John Candy and Eddie Murphy are woven throughout as the book walks somewhat chronologically through their blockbusters and flops. Curtis Armstrong is a FANTASTIC narrator who reads naturally and delivers the funnier lines subtly and perfectly...Having him narrate was a master move. There is something surreal about hearing Booger Dawson talk about the movies of that era, with his signature sharply enunciated t’s.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Jimmy Keebs
- 08-20-19
Great Stories!
This was a very well written book and the narration by Curtis Armstrong was great!
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- S. Flinn
- 09-11-21
Fun and Funny from Start to End
This book grabbed my attention from the opening line and walked me up and down memory lane. WACGs tells the stories of the intertwined entertainers that I grew up watching. I was born in 1966, and with the exception of having to wait a couple of years before seeing Animal House, I saw every one of the hits and most of the flops as well.
The reverence for the them and their comedy never flagged. I enjoyed the stories of their interactions, both friendly and not. I had a blast guessing the movie Curtis Armstrong was leading up to. The only clunker lines on the book were in the epilogue on Aykroyd. Otherwise, it is a thoroughly enjoyable trip back to the best decade for movies, music, and comedy.
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- Judy L.
- 09-12-23
Enough content for a book. Could be a book per actor!
Can’t wait to read it if he writes bios of each. We just scratched the surface it seems. Got me jonesing for more candy and Murphy at least. And insight into moranis’ departure from limelight.
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- Dave Swingholm
- 09-09-19
You Never Want It To End
I grew up watching these icon movies and was obsessed with it's comedic geniuses. I've seen every John Candy movie, every Steve Martin Movie, and Dan Aykroyd is one of my personal heroes. Listening to this book was like taking a ride to a whole other world, filled with history, movie trivia, and an inside look into the lives and work of some of the greatest talent to grace our televisions. Though many stories are bitter sweet, I love the in depth look at not only the achievements of these actors, but their faults, trials, and tribulations as well - making these film gods seem more humanistic and closer to the average person like you and I. It's heartwarming, heartbreaking, interesting, funny, and sad all at the same time. I loved it. And a big thanks to Curtis Armstrong for a wonderful and perpetually magnetic narration of the book. So glad I purchased this and got to experience a side of history I've never heard before. 5 Stars all around.
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- Paul French
- 02-16-20
A History of the Movies you Love!
A great look at the story behind all of those great movies you grew up with. Everything from The Blues Brothers to Groundhog Day and many many more.
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- Erik Almodovar
- 08-05-21
A Great Book on the Great Icons of Comedy!!
What an incredible book! I couldn’t stop listening as Curtis (the perfect choice to read by the way!) rolls through story of these great comedy icons. It made me laugh out loud when hearing how the great 80s movies were made. It made me cry listening to the demise of the greats like Belushi and Candy. It’s an awesome ride. If you are a child of the 70s and 80s you will really love this! Don’t even hesitate.
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