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Game of Shadows
- Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroids Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins
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Game of Shadows
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Publisher's summary
The complete inside story of the shocking steroids scandal that turned the sports world upside down
For years, in the shadowy reaches of the world of sports, there were rumors that some of our nation’s greatest athletes were using steroids, human growth hormone, and other drugs to run faster, jump higher, and hit harder. But as track stars blazed their way to Olympic medals and sluggers brought fans back to baseball, sports officials, the media, and fans looked past the rumors and cheered on the athletes to ever-higher levels of performance. Then, in December 2004, San Francisco Chronicle reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams broke the story of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, a tiny nutritional supplement company that, according to sworn testimony, was supplying elite athletes with banned drugs. The stories shocked the nation and the exposés led to congressional hearings on baseball's drug problems and a revived effort to purge the US Olympic movement of drug cheats.
Now, in Game of Shadows, Fainaru-Wada and Williams tell the complete story of BALCO and the investigation that has shaken the foundations of the sporting world. And at the center of the story is the biggest star of them all, Barry Bonds, the muscle-bound MVP outfielder for the San Francisco Giants whose suspicious late-career renaissance has him threatening Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record.
Shocking, revelatory, and riveting, Game of Shadows casts light into the shadows of American sports to reveal the dark truths at the heart of the game today.
Critic reviews
"A sober, skillful and utterly damning account of not just the Bonds fiasco but the pervasive influence of steroids in sports." (Los Angeles Times)
"Devastating. . . . groundbreaking. . . . Necessary reading for anyone concerned with the steroids era in baseball and track and field and its fallout on sports history." (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times)
"A compelling portrait of conspiracy. . . . Fascinating." (The Boston Globe)
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- The Glory and Scandal of Big-Time College Football
- By: Jeff Benedict, Armen Keteyian
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 17 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 503
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 437
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 439
College football has never been more popular - or more chaotic. Millions fill 100,000-seat stadiums every Saturday; tens of millions more watch on television every weekend. The 2013 Discover BCS National Championship game between Notre Dame and Alabama had a viewership of 26.4 million people, second only to the Super Bowl. Billions of dollars from television deals now flow into the game; the average budget for a top-ten team is $80 million; top coaches make more than $3 million a year; the highest paid, more than $5 million.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Gripping Inside Look at an Industry to Itself
- By W Perry Hall on 01-23-14
By: Jeff Benedict, and others
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Wheelmen
- Lance Armstrong, the Tour de France, and the Greatest Sports Conspiracy Ever
- By: Reed Albergotti, Vanessa O'Connell
- Narrated by: Santino Fontana
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 930
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 831
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 827
The first in-depth look at Lance Armstrong's doping scandal, the phenomenal business success built on the back of fraud, and the greatest conspiracy in the history of sports. Lance Armstrong won a record-smashing seven Tours de France after staring down cancer, and in the process became an international symbol of resilience and courage. In a sport constantly dogged by blood-doping scandals, he seemed above the fray. Then, in January 2013, the legend imploded. He admitted doping during the Tours and, in an interview with Oprah, described his "mythic, perfect story" as "one big lie."
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4 out of 5 stars
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Detailed and balanced account
- By Gabriel on 11-19-13
By: Reed Albergotti, and others
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Cycle of Lies
- The Fall of Lance Armstrong
- By: Juliet Macur
- Narrated by: Carrington MacDuffie
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 309
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 280
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 277
The definitive account of Lance Armstrong's spectacular rise and fall. In June 2013, when Lance Armstrong fled his palatial home in Texas, downsizing in the face of multimillion-dollar lawsuits, Juliet Macur was there - talking to his girlfriend and children and listening to Armstrong's version of the truth. She was one of the few media members aside from Oprah Winfrey to be granted extended one-on-one access to the most famous pariah in sports. At the center of Cycle of Lies is Armstrong himself, revealed through face-to-face interviews.
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5 out of 5 stars
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...Pants on Fire
- By Mel on 03-25-14
By: Juliet Macur
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League of Denial
- The NFL, Concussions and the Battle for Truth
- By: Mark Fainaru-Wada, Steve Fainaru
- Narrated by: David H. Lawrence XVII
- Length: 14 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 325
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 298
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 296
Everyone knows that football is violent and dangerous. But what the players who built the NFL into a $10 billion industry didn’t know—and what the league sought to shield from them—is that no amount of padding could protect the human brain from the force generated by modern football.
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4 out of 5 stars
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How to Kill Friends and Influence People
- By Cynthia on 10-18-13
By: Mark Fainaru-Wada, and others
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The Betrayal
- The 1919 World Series and the Birth of Modern Baseball
- By: Charles Fountain
- Narrated by: Bob Reed
- Length: 11 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 156
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 148
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 148
In the most famous scandal of sports history, eight Chicago White Sox players - including Shoeless Joe Jackson - agreed to throw the 1919 World Series to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for the promise of $20,000 each from gamblers reportedly working for New York mobster Arnold Rothstein. Heavily favored, Chicago lost the Series five games to three. Although rumors of a fix flew while the series was being played, they were largely disregarded by players and the public at large.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Very Disappointing!
- By Kevin on 09-30-16
By: Charles Fountain
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Illegal Procedure
- A Sports Agent Comes Clean on the Dirty Business of College Football
- By: Josh Luchs, James Dale
- Narrated by: David Ledoux
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 62
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 58
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Story4 out of 5 stars 59
For 15 years, sports agent Josh Luchs made illegal deals with numerous college athletes, from top-tier, nationally recognized phenoms to late-round draft picks. Then, in October 2010, Luchs wrote a confessional article in Sports Illustrated, telling the truth about what he did and didn't do. Since then, he has taken on a new role: whistle-blowing, truth-telling reformer. In telling his own story, Luchs here pulls back the curtain on the real economy - and the broken system - of college football.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Very cool!
- By Phil on 01-24-13
By: Josh Luchs, and others
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The System
- The Glory and Scandal of Big-Time College Football
- By: Jeff Benedict, Armen Keteyian
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 17 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 503
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 437
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 439
College football has never been more popular - or more chaotic. Millions fill 100,000-seat stadiums every Saturday; tens of millions more watch on television every weekend. The 2013 Discover BCS National Championship game between Notre Dame and Alabama had a viewership of 26.4 million people, second only to the Super Bowl. Billions of dollars from television deals now flow into the game; the average budget for a top-ten team is $80 million; top coaches make more than $3 million a year; the highest paid, more than $5 million.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Gripping Inside Look at an Industry to Itself
- By W Perry Hall on 01-23-14
By: Jeff Benedict, and others
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The Dirtiest Race in History
- Ben Johnson, Carl Lewis and the 1988 Olympic 100M Final
- By: Richard Moore
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 61
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 51
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 51
The 1988 Seoul Olympics played host to what has been described by some as the dirtiest race of all time, by others as the greatest. The final of the men's 100 metres at those Olympics is certainly the most infamous in the history of athletics, and more indelibly etched into the consciousness of the sport, the Olympics, and a global audience of millions, than any other athletics event before or since.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great story
- By sosnows8 on 07-08-20
By: Richard Moore
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Indentured
- The Inside Story of the Rebellion Against the NCAA
- By: Joe Nocera, Ben Strauss
- Narrated by: Dominic Hoffman
- Length: 15 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 60
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 52
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 54
The National Collegiate Athletic Association has come under fire. Fans have begun to realize that the athletes involved in the two biggest college sports, men's basketball and football, are little more than indentured servants. Millions of teenagers accept scholarships to chase their dreams of fame and fortune - at the price of absolute submission to the whims of an organization that puts their interests dead last.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An Armament agnst NCAA: Enlightening, Infuriating
- By W Perry Hall on 03-15-16
By: Joe Nocera, and others
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Game Over
- Jerry Sandusky, Penn State, and the Culture of Silence
- By: Bill Moushey, Robert Dvorchak
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 60
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 46
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Story4 out of 5 stars 47
It's a scandal that began in a place called Happy Valley. But it's not as happy as it once was, as the child-sex-abuse charges against a longtime coach and the conspiracy of silence surrounding the allegations have rocked America and Division 1 college sports. In Game Over, journalists Bill Moushey and Bob Dvorchak investigate claims of a startling cover-up within the Penn State hierarchy that attempted to protect its football legacy, quite possibly at the expense of disenfranchised children.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Heartbreaking
- By Claire on 04-24-12
By: Bill Moushey, and others
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Football for a Buck
- The Crazy Rise and Crazier Demise of the USFL
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 481
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 417
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 415
The United States Football League was the last football league to not merely challenge the mighty NFL but also to cause it to collectively shudder. It spanned three seasons, featured as many as 18 teams, secured multiple television deals, drew millions of fans, and launched the careers of legends - but then it died beneath the weight of a particularly egotistical and bombastic owner, a New York businessman named Donald Trump. Jeff Pearlman draws on more than 400 interviews to unearth all the salty, untold stories of one of the craziest sports entities to have ever captivated America.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Ahhh the USFL
- By Film Lover on 10-11-18
By: Jeff Pearlman
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It's Not About the Truth
- The Duke Lacrosse Case and the Lives It Shattered
- By: Don Yaeger, Mike Pressler
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 154
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 96
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 95
What began as an off-campus team party with two hired strippers accelerated into a rape investigation - one that exposed prosecutorial misconduct, shoddy police work, an administration's rush to judgment, and the media's disregard for the facts. In It's Not About the Truth, Mike Pressler, the former Duke University lacrosse team's coach, and best-selling author Don Yaeger expose vivid details, including the day Pressler was fired.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Highly Recommended
- By Dave on 08-08-07
By: Don Yaeger, and others
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Tangled Webs
- How False Statements are Undermining America: From Martha Stewart to Bernie Madoff
- By: James B. Stewart
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 19 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 74
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 63
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Story4 out of 5 stars 63
In Tangled Webs, James B. Stewart reveals in vivid detail the consequences of the perjury epidemic that has swept our country, undermining the very foundation of our courts.With many prosecutors, investigators, and participants speaking for the first time, Tangled Webs goes behind the scene of the trials of media and homemaking entrepreneur Martha Stewart; top White House political adviser Lewis "Scooter" Libby; home-run king Barry Bonds; and Wall Street money manager Bernard Madoff. Tangled Webs reaffirms the importance of truth.
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3 out of 5 stars
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in great detail
- By Andy on 06-22-11
By: James B. Stewart
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12
- The Inside Story of Tom Brady's Fight for Redemption
- By: Casey Sherman, Dave Wedge
- Narrated by: Greg Baglia
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 94
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 80
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 81
12 is the propulsive story of this gritty comeback. It's a drama that unfolds in the locker room, the court room, and under the brightest lights in all of sports - the Super Bowl. Now for the first time, listeners will have an exclusive look into Tom Brady's experience and the NFL's shocking strangle-hold on their players. With unprecedented access to Brady himself, his teammates, and his lawyers, we will see just how a football legend went up against one of the largest corporations in the world to stage the greatest comeback in NFL history and emerge a god of the gridiron.
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5 out of 5 stars
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He didn't do it
- By Rigid on 08-03-18
By: Casey Sherman, and others
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Ty Cobb
- A Terrible Beauty
- By: Charles Leerhsen
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 15 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 818
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 745
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 743
Ty Cobb is baseball royalty, maybe even the greatest player who ever lived. His lifetime batting average is still the highest of all time, and when he retired in 1928, after twenty-one years with the Detroit Tigers and two with the Philadelphia Athletics, he held more than ninety records. But the numbers don't tell half of Cobb's tale. The Georgia Peach was by far the most thrilling player of the era: "Ty Cobb could cause more excitement with a base on balls than Babe Ruth could with a grand slam," one columnist wrote.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Two Cobb Books, One Review of a Maligned Legacy
- By Jonathan Love on 05-17-16
By: Charles Leerhsen
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Until It Hurts
- America’s Obsession with Youth Sports and How It Harms Our Kids
- By: Mark Hyman
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 5 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 34
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 28
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 28
Every year, more than 3.5 million children under age 15 require medical treatment for sports injuries, nearly half of which are the result of simple overuse. Journalist Mark Hyman investigates the evolution of youth sports from mere games to full-on quests to turn children into tomorrow's superstar athletes by pushing them beyond physical and emotional limits. Opening up a crucial discussion about the perils of youth-sports culture today, Hyman offers the solutions and answers we need.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Are We Pushing Young Athletes Too Far?
- By Susie on 01-04-13
By: Mark Hyman
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Bad City
- Peril and Power in the City of Angels
- By: Paul Pringle
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 380
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 339
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 340
On a cool, overcast afternoon in April 2016, a salacious tip arrived at the L.A. Times that reporter Paul Pringle thought should have taken, at most, a few weeks to check out: a drug overdose at a fancy hotel involving one of the University of Southern California’s shiniest stars—Dr. Carmen Puliafito, the head of the prestigious medical school. Pringle, who’d long done battle with USC and its almost impenetrable culture of silence, knew reporting the story wouldn’t be a walk in the park. USC is the largest private employer in the city of L.A., and it casts a long shadow.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wow.
- By Anna on 07-22-22
By: Paul Pringle
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Fall from Grace
- The Truth and Tragedy of "Shoeless Joe" Jackson
- By: Tim Hornbaker
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 121
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 107
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 105
Considered by Ty Cobb as the "finest natural hitter in the history of the game," "Shoeless Joe" Jackson is ranked with the greatest players to ever step onto a baseball diamond. With a career .356 batting average - which is still ranked third all-time - the man from Pickens County, South Carolina, was on his way to becoming one of the greatest players in the sport's history. That is until the "Black Sox" scandal of 1919, which shook baseball to its core.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Entertaining and Educational
- By Colorfinger on 06-14-19
By: Tim Hornbaker
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The Unbreakable Miss Lovely
- How the Church of Scientology Tried to Destroy Paulette Cooper
- By: Tony Ortega
- Narrated by: Tony Ortega
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 323
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 288
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 283
In 1971 Paulette Cooper wrote a scathing book about the Church of Scientology. Desperate to shut the book down, Scientology unleashed on her one of the most sinister personal campaigns the free world has ever known. The onslaught, which lasted years, ruined her life and drove her to the brink of suicide. The story of Paulette's terrifying ordeal is told in full for the first time in The Unbreakable Miss Lovely.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A "CHURCH" THAT IS DESTRUCTIVE. INSIDE SCIENTOLOGY
- By Count B on 09-29-16
By: Tony Ortega