Discover Most Popular Audiobooks in Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: My Struggle, Book 4

Author: Karl Ove Knausgaard, Don Bartlett - translator

Narrator: Edoardo Ballerini

Format: Unabridged

Length: 16 hrs and 12 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-29-15

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 128 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Eighteen years old and fresh out of high school, Karl Ove Knausgaard moves to a tiny fisherman's village far north of the polar circle to work as a schoolteacher. He has no interest in the job itself - or in any other job for that matter. His intention is to save up enough money to travel while finding the space and time to start his writing career. Initially everything looks fine: He writes his first few short stories, finds himself accepted by the hospitable locals, and receives flattering attention from several beautiful local girls. But then, as the darkness of the long polar nights start to cover the beautiful landscape, Karl Ove's life also takes a darker turn.

The stories he writes tend to repeat themselves, his drinking escalates and causes some disturbing blackouts, his repeated attempts at losing his virginity end in humiliation and shame, and to his own distress he also develops romantic feelings toward one of his 13-year-old students. Along the way there are flashbacks to his high school years and the roots of his current problems. And then there is the shadow of his father, whose sharply increasing alcohol consumption serves as an ominous backdrop to Karl Ove's own lifestyle.

Members Reviews:

The Tormented Teen Male Mind

Press Release for Immediate Publication, June 2, 2017

Committee for Understanding Priapism In Development (CUPID)

Re: Award of 2017 Prize to Norwegian writer Karl Ove Knausgaard

The Committee for Understanding Priapism In Development ("CUPID") takes much pleasure in announcing that our 2017 Award will be presented to Karl Ove Knausgaard for his contributions to a better public understanding of the Chronic Hell of Uncontrollable Bulges that all men suffer in their formative years (CUPID's CHUB Award).

We selected Karl Ove for the first five volumes of his most upstanding My Struggle, recently published in the United States, primarily for his semi-autobiographical novel, My Struggle, Book 4: Dancing in the Dark, in which he accurately and brilliantly portrays the tormented mind of the male in his late teen years. In the novel, Mr. Knausgaard describes his year as a nineteen-year-old teacher on the northern coast of Norway during which his mind was chronically cluttered with carnal cacoethes, so much so that he developed a crush on one of his female students and allowed his virginity to be taken by a wanton woman a year his senior.

The Committee believes such truthful depictions of the male developing into manhood are much needed for females of the western world to gain a more complete understanding of the male's brain it matures under an ominous terror brought upon him by the constant conflict between his moral compass and chivalric aspirations on the one hand and, on the other, the involuntary demonic thoughts arising within him and the uncontrollable reaction of his body. As Sir William Osler, father of modern medicine, so veriloquently stated, "The natural man has only two primal passions -- to get and beget."

Dancing in the Dark" or "Drunk, Cold & Unsatisfied

"But there was something about the darkness. There was something about this small, enclosed place. There was something about seeing the same faces every day. My class. My colleagues. The assistant at the shop. The occasional mother, the occasional father. Now and then the young fishermen.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Egg and I

Author: Betty MacDonald

Narrator: Heather Henderson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs

Language: English

Release date: 05-28-15

Publisher: Post Hypnotic Press Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 82 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

When Betty MacDonald married a marine and moved to a small chicken farm on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, she was largely unprepared for the rigors of life in the wild. With no running water, no electricity, a house in need of constant repair, and days that ran from four in the morning to nine at night, the MacDonalds had barely a moment to put their feet up and relax. And then came the children. Yet through every trial and pitfall - through chaos and catastrophe - this indomitable family somehow, mercifully, never lost its sense of humor.

A beloved literary treasure for more than half a century, Betty MacDonald's The Egg and I is a heartwarming and uproarious account of adventure and survival on the American frontier.

Members Reviews:

This brings back memories.

I listened to the audiobook version of THE EGG AND I and found it as delightful as the movie and print version. By way of disclaimer, I and most of my forbears grew up on a farm in the Midwest. Betty MacDonald is about the same age as my grandparents. My parents, who also farmed, as well as some of my other relatives, raised chickens, as well as hogs, steers, sheep and milk cows. They gardened, canned, sewed, tatted and worried about running out of supplies before they could make it to town again. My relatives' stories about farming before electricity, running water and tractors became standard are similar in substance, but not as wittily told, as Betty's stories of living and working on a farm. Listening to this audiobook took me back in time to my childhood and to memories of my parents and grandparents talking about "the good old days".

I noticed, in some of the other reviews, that people were concerned about the way that Betty characterized the local American Indian population. I was surprised at this. For one thing, her characterizations of the American Indians were not entirely negative. She obviously was impressed with Indians that she was familiar with in her youth and the Indians in Washington appeared not to measure up to the high standards of her childhood memories. In any case, Betty's description of these Indians were gentle and kind next to her characterization of her Anglo Saxon neighbors, especially the Kettles. What I love about Betty's writing was that she treated everyone with equal amounts of wit, satire, soliloquy and sarcasm. I rolled on the floor laughing.

The listener who is not familiar with country living or who cannot imagine life before cellphones may not find this book as enjoyable and funny as I did. But anyone who has raised chickens, even 3 or 4 in your backyard, who has lived near colorful and eccentric neighbors, who has struggled to learn the skills necessary to survive in a new environment, or who just appreciates a well turned word will enjoy this audiobook immensely.

My hats off to Heather Henderson for a well done narration of this book. She made Betty and her family and neighbors come to life.

1 like

Oh, I remember those August canning days.

I remember in 1946 my mother reading The egg and I to my sister and I. I remember enjoying the book and when I saw it released in audio format I decided to read it again.

The book was released in October of 1945 and it was a quirky, semi-autobiographical book about a young woman in the Pacific Northwest during the early decades of the twentieth century.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Do the KIND Thing

Subtitle: Think Boundlessly, Work Purposefully, Live Passionately

Author: Daniel Lubetzky

Narrator: Daniel Lubetzky

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-31-15

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 119 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

For the socially conscious listener of Blake Mycoskie's Start Something That Matters, Tony Hsieh's Delivering Happiness, and Howard Schultz's Onward comes an inspiring handbook for success in business, life, and the all-important task of building a more compassionate world - by the visionary CEO of KIND Healthy Snacks.

When Daniel Lubetzky started KIND Healthy Snacks in 2004, he aimed to defy the conventional wisdom that snack bars could never be both tasty and healthy, convenient and wholesome. A decade later the transformative power of the company's "AND" philosophy has resulted in an astonishing record of achievement. KIND has become the fastest-growing purveyor of healthy snacks in the country. Meanwhile the KIND movement - the company's social mission to make the world a little kinder - has sparked more than a million good deeds worldwide.

In Do the KIND Thing, Lubetzky shares the revolutionary principles that have shaped KIND's business model and led to its success while offering an unfiltered and intensely personal look into the mind of a pioneering social entrepreneur. Inspired by his father, who survived the Holocaust thanks to the courageous kindness of strangers, Lubetzky began his career handselling a sun-dried tomato spread made collaboratively by Arabs and Jews in the war-torn Middle East. Despite early setbacks, he never lost his faith in his vision of a "not-only-for-profit" business - one that sold great products and helped make the world a better place.

While other companies let circumstances force them into choosing between two seemingly incompatible options, people at KIND say "AND". At its core this idea is about challenging assumptions and false compromises. It is about not settling for less and being willing to take greater risks, often financial.

Critic Reviews:

"

Do the KIND Thing isn't just a behind-the-scenes tour of one company's staggering growth. It's the story of one entrepreneur's belief that success can be built on a foundation of empathy and, yes, kindness. By sharing the 10 tenets that helped KIND grow, Daniel Lubetzky has given entrepreneurs a road map to success that includes both passion and purpose." (Arianna Huffington, president and editor in chief,

Huffington Post Media Group)

"Lubetzky uses the power of kindness to build purpose into his business and his community. He's a role model for future leaders." (Mehmet Oz, MD, professor of surgery, Columbia University)

"I've always been a fan of the KIND brand. This engaging and inspirational book shows how coupling a social mission with creativity can spark change and empower a generation." (Bobbi Brown, founder and CCO, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics)

Members Reviews:

Daniel Lubetsky has a story everyone should hear

What did you love best about Do the KIND Thing?

In a world where CEO's and business seem to do the wrong thing, this book demonstrates how doing the right thing can be both profitable and kind. Daniel Lubetsky's drive really comes through in his narration (don't let the Mexican accent scare you!).From the very beginning we are told about the struggles of owning a start up business. It will be difficult for most people to imagine having such focus and determination.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Reason

Subtitle: How I Discovered a Life Worth Living

Author: Lacey Sturm

Narrator: Tavia Gilbert

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 51 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-30-14

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 108 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

The day Lacey Sturm planned to kill herself was the day her grandmother forced her to go to church, a place Lacey thought was filled with hypocrites, fakers, and simpletons. The screaming match she had with her grandmother was the reason she went to church. What she found there was the reason she is alive today.

With raw vulnerability, this hard-rock princess tells her own story of physical abuse, drug use, suicide attempts, and her ultimate salvation. She asks the hard questions so many young people are asking - Why am I here? Why am I empty? Why should I go on living? - showing us that beyond the temporary highs and the soul-crushing lows, there is a reason they exist and a purpose for their lives. She not only gives listeners a peek down the rocky path that led her to become a vocalist in a popular hardcore band, but she shows them that the same God is guiding their steps today.

Members Reviews:

Great Story

Lacey thanks for sharing your beautiful story. It's very inspiring and I admire your talent and song writing and words of wisdom.

inspirational!

Her story is beautiful and inspirational. I highly recommend to anyone who is struggling to find a reason they're here.

Wow!

I highly recommend this book to any fan of Lacey, Flyleaf or Christian. Lacey's story is not only inspiring but is one so many of us can relate to. Filled with doubt, pain, loss as well as inspiration. After listening to this book, Flyleaf's music has new meaning to me. Check it out!

Beautiful story

Lacey's story is beautiful and encouraging. I thought it was well narrated as well.

a good and simple biography

I enjoyed this book being a long-time fan of Lacey Strum and Flyleaf. This book is very intimate into the thoughts feelings and motivations behind the creation of Lacey's beloved work and for that expose I am grateful to have the chance to read.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Stonewalled

Subtitle: My Fight for Truth Against the Forces of Obstruction, Intimidation, and Harassment in Obama's Washington

Author: Sharyl Attkisson

Narrator: Laural Merlington

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 hrs and 19 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-23-14

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 378 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Seasoned CBS reporter Sharyl Attkisson reveals how she has been electronically surveilled while digging deep into the Obama Administration and its scandals, and offers an incisive critique of her industry and the shrinking role of investigative journalism in today's media.

Americans are at the mercy of powerful figures in business and government who are virtually unaccountable. The Obama Administration in particular has broken new ground in its monitoring of journalists, intimidation and harassment of opposition groups, and surveillance of private citizens.

Sharyl Attkisson has been a journalist for more than thirty years. During that time she has exposed scandals and covered controversies under both Republican and Democratic administrations. She has also seen the opponents of transparency go to ever greater lengths to discourage and obstruct legitimate reporting.

Attkisson herself has been subjected to "opposition research" efforts and spin campaigns. These tactics increased their intensity as she relentlessly pursued stories that the Obama Administration dismissed. Stonewalled is the story of how her news reports were met with a barrage of PR warfare tactics, including online criticism, as well as emails and phone calls up the network chain of command in an effort to intimidate and discourage the next story. In Stonewalled, Attkisson recounts her personal tale, setting it against the larger story of the decline of investigative journalism and unbiased truth-telling in America today.

Members Reviews:

Great Reporting

If you could sum up Stonewalled in three words, what would they be?

clear, concise, scary

What was one of the most memorable moments of Stonewalled?

As I listen to this book, I can't help but think I am listening to a story about North Korea or some other third world country controlled by a dictator instead of the United States, a supposed free and democratic society. Clearly the administration believes that the ends justifies the means even if it means breaking the law, lying, and stonewalling an interested competent reporter that just wants the truth. I am reminded of Jack Nicholsons role in A Few Good Men, when he says "YOU CAN"T HANDLE THE TRUTH!" so we aren't going to share it with you.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

There are so many documented facts and the details so shocking, I have had to rewind many times to make sure I actually heard the audacity of our government and the complicit media that enables the fraud.

Any additional comments?

I highly recommend this book if you want the truth instead of the spin. Just be prepared to be angry, but not angry at Mrs. Attkinsson and her excellent work. I am a fan.

Frightening

Where does Stonewalled rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

Frightening. Considering the credibility Attkisson has, this is a devastating account of tyrannical fraud.

MSM = Liberal Propganda

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narration was a little annoying. No offense, but the tone was a bit accusatory--sounding a bit like an ex-wife.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Tales of a Female Nomad

Subtitle: Living at Large in the World

Author: Rita Golden Gelman

Narrator: Rita Golden Gelman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-09-14

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 258 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Tales of a Female Nomad is the story of Rita Golden Gelman, an ordinary woman who is living an extraordinary existence. At the age of 48, on the verge of a divorce, Rita left an elegant life in Los Angeles to follow her dream of connecting with people in cultures all over the world. In 1986, she sold her possessions and became a nomad, living in a Zapotec village in Mexico, sleeping with sea lions on the Galapagos Islands, and residing everywhere from thatched huts to regal palaces. She has observed orangutans in the rain forest of Borneo, visited trance healers and dens of black magic, and cooked with women on fires all over the world. Rita's example encourages us all to dust off our dreams and rediscover the joy, the exuberance, and the hidden spirit that so many of us bury when we become adults.

Critic Reviews:

"An idiosyncratic but exuberant homage to wanderlust." (Kirkus)

Members Reviews:

Tales of Human Nature

What did you love best about Tales of a Female Nomad?

I love how this story shows us that people are just people, no matter where you go. Rita puts a lot of work into her relationships with people and she gets a lot out that.

What did you like best about this story?

Tales of a Female Nomad goes beyond a travel book in that it's not about getting somewhere, it's about being somewhere with your whole self. She inserts her mind and soul into a place and tries to explain what it feels like to be an outsider learning about a culture. Sometimes she succeeds and sometimes she struggles. In the end the triumph is in the attempt...the will to try and not give up.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I have experienced this moment with many travel based books and it's this realization, the world is not as scary and dangerous as we are led to believe and if you are kind and put the work in to get to know people as they are and accept them they will likely accept you in return.

Any additional comments?

There are moments in this book where Rita takes an anthropological approach to situations that she doesn't want to interfere in personally that can be upsetting to some readers that can not emotionally distance themselves. Keep in mind that she is just one person and she does do a lot of good with her life, so if in the book you find she isn't acting when you would remember that we are each our own person and try to enjoy the book for what it is.

Hesitated, but LOVED it!

So many travel/nomad books I've read fall flat of expectations, but this was a pleasant surprise! Her tales entwined with her life as a mother back in the states really hit home. I laughed, and I'll admit cried, with the wonderful story telling. I can't recommend this book enough!

there are good things

I just couldn't keep interested . there are good moments that are nice to witness , but for some reason this is one account of a personal adventure I didn't really get addicted to .

Wonderful book

I loved how I became a part of her journeys right along with her! Thank you Rita for sharing.

wonderful read!!!!

absolutely wonderful! Makes me miss traveling and it speaks so much truth. thank you much!!

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Stickeen

Author: John Muir

Narrator: Andre Stojka

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 4 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-02-14

Publisher: Listen 2 Read, LLC.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 90 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

"Stickeen.... pushed his head past my shoulders, looked down and across, then looked me in the face and began to mutter and whine; saying as plainly as if speaking with words, "Surely, you are not going into that awful place. "As the darkness of a freezing night approaches, an experienced American naturalist and a dog are trapped on an Alaskan Glacier. This is a true story, written by one of the United States' most famous naturalists and explorers.

Members Reviews:

Good introduction to John Muir

Conservationist storyteller Muir recounts a brush with death in the cold wilds with a small, black dog, whose appearance belies a strong will and great fortitude.

Mirrored Soul

What made the experience of listening to Stickeen the most enjoyable?

The narration was light and smooth earthy in tone like the Author.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The Wilderness. It is so, because the vast wild is ever changing and had always been the challenge for Muir and his companions; not to conquer it but to be one within it.

What about Andre Stojkas performance did you like?

He is a masterful story teller he had a good tempo and inflection in his reading.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Their were several. Muir describes the views with such depth of feeling you see what he saw rise up before you. It transforms you to a place next to him in his journey. It is a true gift.

Great story!

Would you listen to Stickeen again? Why?

I listened to this story twice the day I downloaded it.

Any additional comments?

This was a great story by John Muir, and the narrator did great job bringing me as a listener right into the middle of it all.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Drunk Mom

Subtitle: A Memoir

Author: Jowita Bydlowska

Narrator: Meredith Mitchell

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-05-14

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 223 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

A best seller in its native Canada, Drunk Mom is a gripping, brutally honest memoir of motherhood in the shadow of alcoholism.

Three years after giving up drinking, Jowita Bydlowska found herself throwing back a glass of champagne like it was ginger ale. It was a special occasion: a party celebrating the birth of her first child. It also marked Bydlowska's immediate, full-blown return to crippling alcoholism.

In the gritty and sometimes grimly comic tradition of the best-selling memoirs Lit by Mary Karr and Smashed by Koren Zailckas, Drunk Mom is Bydlowska's account of the ways substance abuse took control of her life - the binges and blackouts, the humiliations, the extraordinary risk-taking - as well as her fight toward recovery as a young mother. This courageous memoir brilliantly shines a light on the twisted logic of an addicted mind and the powerful, transformative love of one's child. Ultimately, it gives hope, especially to those struggling in the same way.

Members Reviews:

A not very lovely story that I love anyway.

Jowita Bydlowska has crafted a heart-wrenching, up close, and personal portrait of the ugliness and helplessness of addiction. I related so closely to her struggles and self-loathing... why, I do not know. Maybe because her book reflects so vividly on the human condition and all its frailties and inconsistencies. Perhaps one doesn't need to be in the personal throes of addiction to still respect it and it's curiosities.

I am upset by negative reviews of Drunk Mom because I can't understand how anyone could read this book and not feel compassion for and celebrate the raw difficult truthfulness that Jowita successfully captured and shared with us. The book is not only a beautiful and bravely written memoire, but also a sober cautionary tale of how easy it is to sink. Thank you, Jowita, for your book.

Riveting

What made the experience of listening to Drunk Mom the most enjoyable?

Like watching a train wreck. It was obvious that she was heading for disaster but I had to watch it unfold.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The heroine and author. She is brutally honest about her shortcomings and, ultimately, her comeback.

Which character as performed by Meredith Mitchell was your favorite?

The author and her baby.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

A train wreck.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this listen.

Loved This Book!

If you could sum up Drunk Mom in three words, what would they be?

Buy This Book! For anyone who has ever fought an addiction, loved someone who is an alcoholic/addict or if you've just ever wondered what the heck makes someone drink to the point where they have destroyed their lives, you have to read this book. The story is of a young, nursing mother whose alcoholism slowly progresses, as most addictions inevitably do until her life has become unmanageable. She is not a lover of AA and is quite opinionated about her attempts at recovery and the lengths she will go through to hide her disease. She prides herself on her ability to function and believes herself to be a good mom. A must read for anyone who works in this field, especially CPS. Well written and well narrated.

Realistic. No useless fluff.

Any additional comments?

I struggled while listening as it brought me closer to understanding the stops and starts of my own family members. Struggled, but necessarily so.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: A Backpack, a Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka: A Memoir

Author: Lev Golinkin

Narrator: Daniel Gamburg

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-04-14

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 74 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

A compelling story of two intertwined journeys: a Jewish refugee family fleeing persecution and a young man seeking to reclaim a shattered past.

In the twilight of the Cold War, nine-year-old Lev Golinkin and his family cross the Soviet border with only ten suitcases, $600, and the vague promise of help awaiting in Vienna. Years later, Lev, now an American adult, sets out to retrace his family's long trek, locate the strangers who fought for his freedom, and in the process, gain a future by understanding his past.

Lev Golinkin's memoir is the vivid, darkly comic, and poignant story of a young boy in the confusing and often chilling final decade of the Soviet Union. It's also the story of Lev Golinkin, the American man who finally confronts his buried past by returning to Austria and Eastern Europe to track down the strangers who made his escape possible. and thank them.

Written with biting, acerbic wit and emotional honesty in the vein of Gary Shteyngart, Jonathan Safran Foer, and David Bezmozgis, Golinkin's search for personal identity set against the relentless currents of history is more than a memoir: it's a portrait of a lost era. This is a thrilling tale of escape and survival, a deeply personal look at the life of a Jewish child caught in the last gasp of the Soviet Union, and a provocative investigation into the power of hatred and the search for belonging. Lev Golinkin achieves an amazing feat - and it marks the debut of a fiercely intelligent, defiant, and unforgettable new voice.

Members Reviews:

Touching, moving Memoir

Would you listen to A Backpack, a Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka: A Memoir again? Why?

Definitely! I loved both the author and the narrator! They were both engaging, poignant and humorous in the right spots. I loved it

What did you like best about this story?

The whole thing was a tgerrific read about identity, race, family, and perceptoin.

Have you listened to any of Daniel Gamburgs other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not. My quibble with his performance is less about his narration and more about the post-production. The narrator was very good, but switches in audio quality - even mid-sentence - became incredibly distracting to an audiophile with a good set of headphones...

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Both! I laughed out loud in some places, and cried at some moving moments.

Any additional comments?

This book is less about Lev's journey to find the people who assisted him as a child, and more about his experiences as a refugee, then an immigrant; as a Jew and an anti-Semite. While this was not a bad thing, the publisher's description talks more about his journey to locate the people who assisted him.

Terrific read, either way!

Enjoy... Enjoy...

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Street Freak

Subtitle: Money and Madness at Lehman Brothers

Author: Jared Dillian

Narrator: LJ Ganser

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-04-14

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 148 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

When Jared Dillian joined Lehman Brothers in 2001, he fulfilled a life-long dream to make it on Wall Street - but he had no idea how close to the edge the job would take him. Like Michael Lewis' classic Liar's Poker, Jared Dillian's Street Freak takes listeners behind the scenes of the legendary Lehman Brothers, exposing its outrageous and often hilarious corporate culture. In this ultracompetitive Ivy League world where men would flip over each others ties to check out the labels, Dillian was an outsider as an ex-military, working-class guy in a Men's Wearhouse suit. But he was scrappy and determined; in interviews he told potential managers that, "Nobody can work harder than me. Nobody is willing to put in the hours I will put in. I am insane." As it turned out, on Wall Street insanity is not an undesirable quality. Dillian rose from green associate, checking IDs at the entrance to the trading floor in the paranoid days following 9/11, to become an integral part of Lehman's culture in its final years as the firm's head Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) trader. More than $1 trillion in wealth passed through his hands, but at the cost of an untold number of smashed telephones and tape dispensers. Over time, the exhilarating and explosively stressful job took its toll on him. The extreme highs and lows of the trading floor masked and exacerbated the symptoms of Dillian's undiagnosed bipolar and obsessive compulsive disorders, leading to a downward spiral that eventually landed him in a psychiatric ward. Dillian put his life back together, returning to work healthier than ever before, but Lehman itself had seemingly gone mad, having made outrageous bets on commercial real estate, and was quickly headed for self-destruction. A raucous account of the final years of Lehman Brothers, from 9/11 at its World Financial Center offices through the firm's bankruptcy, including vivid portraits of trading-floor culture, the financial meltdown, and the company's ultimate collapse.

Members Reviews:

Not what I thought

I may have read the reviews and summary wrong but I thought this would be more about one person and the crash of a company and there tale of being involved with that crash. This book is about Wall Street traders cracking up.

Loved it!

I thoroughly enjoyed Street Freak. Great story, well written, informative and entertaining. Dillian does a great job bringing you into his world as he advances his trading career at Lehman. Excellent narration, especially the trading sequences.

Performance overwrought, drama swamps meaning

I enjoyed reading the print version some years back. Maybe it's me; as I grow older, and more wide and deep in understanding, things like action movies get boring in a hurry: little individuals chisel out little head-bashes, stalemates and advantages on tiny canvasses. Rinse and repeat. Yet another third down hoves into view and haven't I seen this thousands of times? Pull back a few feet and perceive hamsters on little wheels in the guts of a factory cursing and swearing and breaking small office implements in their by-now-tedious rehash of the stereotype old-fashioned trading floor arena.