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A Flame of Pure Fire
- Jack Dempsey and the Roaring '20s
- Narrated by: Kevin Yon
- Length: 17 hrs and 6 mins
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A Flame of Pure Fire
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Publisher's summary
In A Flame of Pure Fire, renowned sports writer Roger Kahn not only chronicles the thrilling, brutal bouts of the Manassa Mauler, but also illustrates how the tumultuous 1920s shaped Dempsey - and how the champ, in turn, left an indelible mark on sports and American history.
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 145
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 128
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 127
"I can lick any son of a bitch in the world." So boasted John L. Sullivan, the first modern heavyweight boxing champion of the world, a man who was the gold standard of American sports for more than a decade and the first athlete to earn more than a million dollars. He had a big ego, a big mouth, and even bigger appetites. His womanizing, drunken escapades, and chronic police-blotter presence were godsends to a burgeoning newspaper industry.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent
- By John Wood on 07-06-22
-
The Murder of Sonny Liston
- Las Vegas, Heroin, and Heavyweights
- By: Shaun Assael
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 102
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 90
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 90
On January 5, 1971, Sonny Liston was found dead in his home - of an apparent heroin overdose. But no one close to Liston believed that his death was accidental. Digging deep into a life that Liston tried hard to hide, Shaun Assael treats the boxer's death as a cold case. The result is a riveting whodunit that evokes a glorious and grimy era of Las Vegas.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great read
- By Diane Dodge on 09-14-19
By: Shaun Assael
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The Masters
- Golf, Money, and Power in Augusta, Georgia
- By: Curt Sampson
- Narrated by: Barrett Whitener
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 234
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 171
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 167
The Masters golf tournament weaves a hypnotic spell. It is the toughest ticket in sports, with black-market tickets selling for $10,000 and more. Success at Augusta National breeds legends, while failure can overshadow even the most brilliant of careers. But as Curt Sampson reveals in The Masters, a cold heart beats behind the warm antebellum facade of this famous Augusta course.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Okay Listen, but
- By Scott D. Loeffler on 05-02-08
By: Curt Sampson
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The Sweet Science
- By: A. J. Liebling
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 167
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 139
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 137
This collection of A.J. Liebling's classic New Yorker pieces on the "sweet science of bruising" brings vividly to life the boxing world as it once was. It depicts the great events of boxing's American heyday: Sugar Ray Robinson's dramatic comeback, Rocky Marciano's rise to prominence, Joe Louis' unfortunate decline. Liebling never fails to find the human story behind the fight, and he evokes the atmosphere in the arena as distinctly as he does the goings-on in the ring.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Liebling is a master wordsmith, Gardner an incredible narrator
- By Josh on 03-29-16
By: A. J. Liebling
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A Bright and Guilty Place
- Murder, Corruption, and L.A.'s Scandalous Coming of Age
- By: Richard Rayner
- Narrated by: Brett Barry
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 42
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
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Story4 out of 5 stars 37
In A Bright and Guilty Place, an exhilarating tale of murder in L.A., Richard Rayner finds the source of the city's darkness in real-life events that unfolded in the 1920s, when the booming early years of L.A. started to shade into the Depression, and the city of sunshine revealed the hidden darkness and corruption at its heart.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Didn't hold my interest
- By Hopesurvives on 11-03-17
By: Richard Rayner
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Terror in the City of Champions
- Murder, Baseball, and the Secret Society That Shocked Depression-Era Detroit
- By: Tom Stanton
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 44
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 41
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Story4 out of 5 stars 41
Detroit, mid-1930s: In a city abuzz over its unrivaled sports success, gun-loving baseball fan Dayton Dean became ensnared in the nefarious and deadly Black Legion. The secretive, Klan-like group was executing a wicked plan of terror, murdering enemies, flogging associates, and contemplating armed rebellion. The Legion boasted tens of thousands of members across the Midwest, among them politicians and prominent citizens - even, possibly, a beloved athlete.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Interesting stories but oversold
- By Theron Schultz on 09-15-18
By: Tom Stanton
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Smoketown
- By: Mark Whitaker
- Narrated by: Prentice Onayemi
- Length: 13 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 88
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 78
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Story5 out of 5 stars 78
Mark Whitaker's Smoketown is a captivating portrait of this unsung community and a vital addition to the story of black America. It depicts how ambitious Southern migrants were drawn to a steel-making city on a strategic river junction; how they were shaped by its schools and a spirit of commerce with roots in the Gilded Age; and how their world was eventually destroyed by industrial decline and urban renewal. Whitaker takes listeners on a rousing, revelatory journey - and offers a timely reminder that Black History is not all bleak.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Hopes for Pittsburgh aka "Up South"
- By Dr. Pepper on 05-01-18
By: Mark Whitaker
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Wonder Girl
- The Magnificent Sporting Life of Babe Didrikson Zaharias
- By: Don Van Natta Jr.
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 38
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 31
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 31
Texas girl Babe Didrikson never tried a sport too tough and never met a hurdle too high. Despite attempts to keep women from competing, Babe achieved All-American status in basketball and won gold medals in track and field at the 1932 Olympics. Then, Babe attempted to conquer golf. One of the founders of the LPGA, Babe won more consecutive tournaments than any golfer in history. But at the height of her fame, she was diagnosed with cancer. Babe would then take her most daring step of all....
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great read
- By Jajam on 01-07-18
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One Summer
- America, 1927
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,551
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,016
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,998
One of the most admired nonfiction writers of our time retells the story of one truly fabulous year in the life of his native country - a fascinating and gripping narrative featuring such outsized American heroes as Charles Lindbergh, Babe Ruth, and yes Herbert Hoover, and a gallery of criminals (Al Capone), eccentrics (Shipwreck Kelly), and close-mouthed politicians (Calvin Coolidge). It was the year Americans attempted and accomplished outsized things and came of age in a big, brawling manner. What a country. What a summer. And what a writer to bring it all so vividly alive.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Why 1927?
- By Mark on 10-18-13
By: Bill Bryson
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Charlatan
- America's Most Dangerous Huckster, the Man Who Pursued Him and the Age of Flimflam
- By: Pope Brock
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 249
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 134
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 138
This is the enormously entertaining story of how a fraudulent surgeon made a fortune by inserting goats' testes into impotent American men. "Doctor" John Brinkley became a world renowned authority on sexual rejuvenation in the 1920s, with famous politicians and even royalty asking for his services.
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3 out of 5 stars
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nix the narrator
- By susan nenadic on 02-08-09
By: Pope Brock
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Tinseltown
- Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood
- By: William J. Mann
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 15 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,109
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,892
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Story4 out of 5 stars 1,900
By 1920, the movies had suddenly become America's new favorite pastime and one of the nation's largest industries. Never before had a medium possessed such power to influence; yet Hollywood's glittering ascendancy was threatened by a string of headline-grabbing tragedies - including the murder of William Desmond Taylor, the popular president of the Motion Picture Directors Association, a legendary crime that has remained unsolved until now.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Everybody's a dreamer...
- By Steven on 01-08-15
By: William J. Mann
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Gangster Squad
- Covert Cops, the Mob, and the Battle for Los Angeles
- By: Paul Lieberman
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 13 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 93
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 87
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 86
Gangster Squad chronicles the true story of the secretive police unit that waged an anything-goes war to drive Mickey Cohen and other hoodlums from Los Angeles after WWII. In 1946, the LAPD launched the Gangster Squad with eight men who met covertly on street corners and slept with Tommy guns under their beds. But for two cops, all that mattered was nailing the strutting gangster Mickey Cohen. Sgt. Jack O’Mara was a square-jawed church usher, Sgt. Jerry Wooters a cynical maverick....
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3 out of 5 stars
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Nothing Like the movie
- By KEITH on 02-21-13
By: Paul Lieberman
-
Major Taylor
- The Inspiring Story of a Black Cyclist and the Men Who Helped Him Achieve Worldwide Fame
- By: Conrad Kerber, Terry Kerber
- Narrated by: Barrie Buckner
- Length: 15 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 66
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 61
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 62
In the wake of the Tour de France’s fallen heroes, the story of one of history’s most legendary cyclists provides a much-needed antidote. In 1907 the world’s most popular athlete was not Cy Young or Ty Cobb. Rather, he was a black bicycle racer named "Major” Taylor. In his day, Taylor became a spiritual and athletic idol. He was the fastest man in America and a champion who prevailed over unspeakable cruelty. The men who aided him were among the most colorful to emerge from the era.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Great book terrible narrator
- By B. P. H. on 10-31-18
By: Conrad Kerber, and others
-
The Big Bam
- The Life and Times of Babe Ruth
- By: Leigh Montville
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 15 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 219
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 170
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 170
Babe Ruth was more than baseball's original superstar. For 85 years, he has remained the sport's reigning titan. He has been named Athlete of the Century...more than once. But who was this large, loud, enigmatic man? In The Big Bam, Leigh Montville brings his trademark touch to this groundbreaking, revelatory portrait of the Babe.
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2 out of 5 stars
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The Big Bam
- By Alan on 06-13-06
By: Leigh Montville
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What listeners say about A Flame of Pure Fire
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Peter Pizzo jr
- 11-01-23
“Jack retired the word Champ”
Great story of a great champion, who was a “gentleman and a gentle man”. An American hero…
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Lisa R.
- 01-24-23
Narrator is horrible
The narrator makes this unlistenable, I was so excited for this title but the reader fails the writer.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Keith
- 10-02-19
Ambitious but poorly executed
Roger Kahn attempts to use Jack Dempsey as the centerpiece of a sprawling history of the 1920s and meditation on memory. The book is clearly coming from a deep place of personal reflection and meaning. Unfortunately, it just never comes together. It feels like segments of a dozen books have been placed into a blender at times, wildly bouncing around chronologically and abruptly shifting to outside context that is only tenuously, if at all, connected to Dempsey. This strikes me as a prime example of a great writer (and Kahn at his best is just that) who reaches a level of esteem where an editor is either too intimidated or trusting to demand changes to a manuscript. This is an often rewarding listen, but structurally it is a mess. It also features too many self-absorbed personal asides from Kahn, as if Dempsey's value is only how he impacted the life of one writer. For example, to explain the psychology of boxers heading into a match, Kahn tells a long anecdote about his own pugilistic turn at summer camp as a child. This section, like much of the book, reads as a conversational journey through Kahn's memory rather than a functional biography of a great heavyweight.
A note on the narrator: The tone and delivery are largely good, but he has an embarrassing number of mispronunciations. It's listenable, but prepare to wince.
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3 people found this helpful