• Detroit

  • An American Autopsy
  • By: Charlie LeDuff
  • Narrated by: Eric Martin
  • Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (1,320 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Detroit  By  cover art

Detroit

By: Charlie LeDuff
Narrated by: Eric Martin
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $18.03

Buy for $18.03

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

In the heart of America, a metropolis is quietly destroying itself. Detroit, once the richest city in the nation, is now its poorest. Once the vanguard of America’s machine age - mass production, automobiles, and blue-collar jobs - Detroit is now America’s capital for unemployment, illiteracy, foreclosure, and dropouts.

With the steel-eyed reportage that has become his trademark and the righteous indignation that only a native son can possess, journalist Charlie LeDuff sets out to uncover what has brought low this once-vibrant city, his city. In doing so, he uncovers the deeply human drama of a city filled with some of the strongest and strangest people our country has to offer.

©2013 Charlie LeDuff (P)2013 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

"Full of both literary grace and hard-won world-weariness...Iggy Pop meets Jim Carroll and Charles Bukowski." ( Kirkus)

More from the same

Author

What listeners say about Detroit

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    711
  • 4 Stars
    382
  • 3 Stars
    160
  • 2 Stars
    41
  • 1 Stars
    26
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    716
  • 4 Stars
    307
  • 3 Stars
    104
  • 2 Stars
    27
  • 1 Stars
    16
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    651
  • 4 Stars
    295
  • 3 Stars
    148
  • 2 Stars
    48
  • 1 Stars
    22

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Disorganized Stream of Thoughts

I did not like this book at all. I was interested in learning about the plight of the city of Detroit, but the author writes it in a style that comes across as fiction and not fact. The book presents situations in a rather scattered fashion jumping from one occurrence to another so that you have the feeling that you’ve fallen asleep and just woken up in the middle of another story. It’s so disorganized in its presentation that I did not care to continue listening.

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
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Accurate depiction, blunt story

Great story line but could do with less vulgarity
. I grew up in Detroit so could picture what was being discussed.

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
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Horror of Bad Politics

Detroit went from an amazing success story to a completely dangerous disaster over a short period of time. Charlie is a good storyteller, making me see the people and feel their hopelessness. Hopefully, the city will turn around and learn how to make the most of its potential and opportunities.

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
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Tough

This is a tough story to hear. I grew up in Detroit in the 50s, and absolutely loved my life. Then moving to segregated Miami I learned about the differences of black-and-white. It was very sad and opened my eyes in so many ways. This is a hard story to hear, but very very necessary. I pray for Detroit and the good people that live there. A great read

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
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wow! Honest and Important

Everyone should read this book. It is an eye opening tale of an overlooked city.

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
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Detrioter gives 4 stars.

Thought it was a good story. Would've appreciated more of the city's history of the good years. Perhaps if we knew more about the tilling and planting of this Great city ..everyone would feel the horror of its rape and terrible struggle to come back from its depression. I will love Detroit forever!!!

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
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting Look at Detroit

This book was eye opening and well researched. I found the political landscape of Detroit downright scary at times, in terms of the amount of waste and scandal. The author paints a vivid picture of Detroit, using his own personal experience to illustrate his points. I found myself shaking my head at some spots, finding it hard to believe that people can get away with this stuff in government. I would have thought that the citizens of Detroit would have put their collective feet down and said "enough."

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
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Autopsy Indeed!

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

Gripping, Sad, Insightful

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

Both

Any additional comments?

Some say it is only about his family but they are just a part of the bigger picture, please give this book a try you will be surprised. I found myself looking at other media to find the people he was talking about, to see the whole story, what a crazy town.

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
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Yup, this pretty much sums up much of the D.

Would you listen to Detroit again? Why?

Would I listen to it again? Probably not. It was definitely a worthy book to listen to, don't get me wrong. I just lived though much of the Coleman Young, Kwame, Emergency Manager time and had heard much of what happened on the local news. Charlie's book though, brought a new perspective to what happened and although I enjoyed it a lot, I doubt that I'd listen to it again...but I don't listen or read many books more than once.

What other book might you compare Detroit to and why?

No idea, but if you know of any like Detroit that cover different times in the city's history that are a good read/listen, I'd definitely be open to listening to those as well!

Have you listened to any of Eric Martin’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, I haven't, but I thought he did a good job narrating. The various voices that he used for the different characters led to easily being able to picture them. Knowing who many of the players in Detroit were, I thought they were spot on. I'd listen to more of hos work without hesitation.

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

Yes and no (mostly yes). Yes because it was interesting getting more of an insiders view of many of the more recent going ons in Detroit. It was also nice learning about the history of Detroit. Charlie's own family story was interwoven into the book as well and offered another side to the book. No because-WOW! It's so damn depressing how messed up everything has gotten to be in Detroit. Being from the D though, overall, I really enjoyed listening and could have easily and happily listened to it in one day.

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
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Less about Detroit; more about the author

Any additional comments?

This is less an autopsy of Detroit and more an autobiography of the author, Charlie LeDuff. It's an interesting and usually saddening series of vignettes about Detroit and the extreme poverty and corruption that are destroying it, strung together by stories about LeDuff and his family and written in an almost Raymond Chandler style, painting LeDuff as some long-suffering, hard edged guy hero with a heart of gold singlehandedly trying to fight for the city and its inhabitants.

The whole book is really about LeDuff, but Detroit gives him an interesting backdrop to look good against. That said, he still tells an interesting story and paints a vivid picture of a suffering city. Don't expect to really learn much about Detroit from the book though, just little glimpses and fragments framed as unconnected personal interest pieces.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful