Sample

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.

Boardwalk Empire

By: Nelson Johnson
Narrated by: Joe Mantegna, Terence Winter (foreword)
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $24.95

Buy for $24.95

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.

Editorial reviews

The choice of opening music for this recording of Nelson Johnson’s Boardwalk Empire is telling: though the book charts the rise and fall of Atlantic City from its beginnings as a shyster health resort in the late 19th century through the Donald Trump years to the beginning of the new millennium, the Jazz-age ragtime announces the real crux of this sprawling epic — the age of prohibition, gambling, and mob protection. These transgressive themes are woven throughout the city's history as well as (the author tacitly implies) the recent history of the United States. Johnson shows how Atlantic City was one of the cradles of the American mafia as it served as an entry point to those wanting to get around prohibition (including a young Al Capone), and played host to a cast of Damon Runyon-esque characters.

Overseeing it all was the archetypal character of Enoch "Nucky" Johnson: half politician, half underworld boss, his career "personifies the greed, corruption, and high times that were of Atlantic City in its days of glory". His ties with the Republican Party and invites to the White House are a case study in official corruption, and his personality is nailed down here to memorable effect: he was "a master at holding the hand of a widow and whispering gently what a fine man her husband was".

Many will be drawn to this book on the basis of the Scorsese-produced HBO series, though they should be forewarned that Boardwalk Empire can be exhaustive in its cataloging of each step of the myriad legal processes that variously built up and tore down the antiheroes of Atlantic City; the author was professionally involved for several decades in the city's politics, and it shows on more than one occasion. But luckily for the listener, Joe Mantegna's voice immediately and effortlessly invests each word with sly insinuation and more than a hint of malevolence. He's particularly good at hinting at the self-serving and dishonest motivations behind acts of public munificence, as his voice becomes a knowing wink, a secret handshake turned into sound. His narration makes an offer you can't refuse, and at its considerable best the result is along the lines of Citizen Kane as narrated by The Simpsons’ Fat Tony (another Mantegna performance). —DafyddPhillips

Publisher's summary

Earphones Award Winner (AudioFile Magazine)

From its inception, Atlantic City has always been a town dedicated to the fast buck, and this wide-reaching history offers a riveting account of its past 100 years, from the city's heyday as a Prohibition-era mecca of lawlessness to its rebirth as a legitimate casino resort in the modern era.

A colorful cast of characters, led by Enoch "Nucky" Johnson, populates this stranger-than-fiction account of corrupt politics and the toxic power structure that grew out of guile, finesse, and extortion. Atlantic City's shadowy past through its rise, fall, and rebirth is given new light in this revealing, and often appalling, study of legislative abuse and organized crime.

This audiobook, narrated by Joe Mantegna, is the true story that inspired the upcoming HBO series of the same name. It includes a foreword written and narrated by Terence Winter.

©2009 Nelson Johnson (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Joe Mantegna's steady, unaffected reading of Johnson's history of Atlantic City is a model of good audiobook narration. Mantegna seems the perfect choice for this title, a solid professional whose voice is tuned to both the drama of individual moments and the rising and falling arcs of the narrative as a whole." (AudioFile)

Featured Article: Dream Big—Meet the All-Star Cast of The Sandman: Act II


Immerse yourself in the world of The Sandman right now with an unforgettable audio experience. The star power alone is worth the price of admission—the cumulative amount of awards that have been won by the cast over the course of their careers is simply staggering. The cast features some of the most talented and esteemed actors working today. So let's dive right into the who's who of The Sandman: Act II.

What listeners say about Boardwalk Empire

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    223
  • 4 Stars
    212
  • 3 Stars
    164
  • 2 Stars
    58
  • 1 Stars
    31
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    200
  • 4 Stars
    146
  • 3 Stars
    65
  • 2 Stars
    22
  • 1 Stars
    6
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    171
  • 4 Stars
    134
  • 3 Stars
    95
  • 2 Stars
    32
  • 1 Stars
    13

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

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

A good and thorough storybook

A good and thorough storybook that should be found in every NJ middle school library. Listening to this book, I learned a lot, that I didn't know before. Nevertheless, the book is a far cry from the HBO series. Many listeners will feel disappointed by the absolute lack of action scenes. Thanks to Joe Mantegna, the whole thing is somewhat salvaged from boredom.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Horrible book nothing like the movie

Misguided opinionated information throughout the book! Boring dull and nothing at all like the movie! Total waste of time and money buying this audio book!

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Sychophantic apologia for New Jersey politics,

Don't get this book hoping for some of Nucky Thompson a la Steve Buscemi. Sure, a good part of the book is about this era and those bracketing it, but the rest of the book, and its a lot, concerns New Jersey and particularly Atlantic County politics. If someone told me the chairman of the Republican party of NJ had commissioned this book I'd believe it.
Towards the end the justifications and obsequiousness becomes really noticeable.
In my opinion the bad parts did not make up for the good and time would be better spent on something else. I ditched the book with 10 minutes to go, just could not listen anymore.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Watch the Series

I could not finish this book. Joe Mantegna is a great actor but he reads this in a mono tone- like manner. It's not a droning narration but Mr Mantegna keeps the exact same level of intensity in his voice reading every line of this book. At first I thought "great, It's Joe Mantegna reading this". As the book progressed I just couldn't stand it anymore. It's very detailed as to the beginnings of Atlantic City, non of which the series conveys, but I kept waiting to get that lift, that pull into the story but the narration is like a wall keeping me out. I think it coulda been a champ but no. Maybe it's me.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

How I finally learned to sample before buying

An outline of the effect of polical machines on American cities Atlantic City in particular, from the Civil War to present times. Atlantic City is an excellent case study since the original Sin City was created on a desolate barrier island off the coast of New Jersey starting in the 1870s. Amidst some historical details, the author indulges in several treatises about american life: vice, corruption, political machines' exploitation of minorities and the working class, etc...
The only connection between this book and the HBO series of the same title is just that. This book's thin outline is the frail structure on which HBO drapes imagined events and characters. By itself the book might be interesting but it is undermined by an atrocious reading. They apparently recorded the narrator's first encounter with the book and the misplaced emphasis, swallowed words and general sense of confusion are blatant. The producer and director have failed the listener. Listen to the sample.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Boardwalk Empire:TheBirthHighTimesandCorruption

Should have read the reviews. PETE from Canada nailed it. Complete waste of your monthly credit for this book.

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

Not much about The HBO Show

so I really enjoyed the show. it took almost 4 hours to get to the time period the show was shot in then they left that time period 40 min later. It was hard to follow I assume in the book there are pictures of the dozens and dozens of people the book references without it I had trouble keeping all the characters straight

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

No history here

About 3-4 hours in and I've found several lies and a ton of misinformation. Beware this author's agenda.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Mind numbing.

I've never been so bored by a nonfiction. The Wikipedia page on Atlantic city is more entertaining than this book. At least there I can link to the pages of the people involved and learn something more about them than the barest facts. That's all this book is. Fact, fact, fact, fact, fact. There's hardly a narrative. When compared to other nonfiction books I've read recently, like In Cold Blood, Go Down Together and even A People's History of the United States, the "characters" in Boardwalk Empire are largely two dimensional. Even the most fascinating figures are practically reduced to chronological lists of accomplishments and failures. I promise, that's barely an exaggeration.

There's interesting information here, especially in the first half of the book, but it's presented in the driest possible manner and neglects the more interesting realities. How does one write a book about gangsters and spend the entire time listing financial statistics and explaining the inner workings of the New Jersey state senate? Oh my God. I knew it wouldn't be anything like the HBO show. That was a fictionalized drama. This is a history. But come on! The most sensational crimes described in this book are decades of constant election fraud. Okay, they do mention prostitution, drinking and gambling, but are we to believe that three generations of racketeering never shed a drop of blood? No one even got their nose smashed for protection money? Where's the grit? I get that these weren't Capone style gangsters, but I expected at least a few stories of darker crimes than construction contract bribery.

The last quarter of the book is the worst. If you decide to read this book, prepare yourself. *Most Boring Spoiler Alert Ever:* After the gangsters lose control, the most interesting things the author can find to talk about are several decades (several hours of audio) worth of real estate deals and casino gaming licensing. It's awful! Worse, it's followed by thirty minutes of the author personally lecturing Atlantic City on how they should be running things now but aren't.

I don't know how (or why) I finished this book. By the end, I had the speed cranked to 1.5x just to get it over with. I should have quit after six hours. I could be well into a much better book right now.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Montegna was fine. I'm definitely a fan. I think he's great. There just wasn't anything interesting for him to work with here. I might not have made it through without him though.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful