A Chance to Win
Boyhood, Baseball, and the Struggle for Redemption in the Inner City
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A Chance to Win
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Narrated by:
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L. J. Ganser
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By:
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Jonathan Schuppe
About this listen
A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist follows an embattled Little League team in inner-city Newark, revealing the complex realities of life in one of America's most dangerous cities.
When Rodney Mason, an ex-con drug dealer from Newark's rough South Ward, was shot and paralyzed, he vowed to turn his life around. A former high-school pitching ace with a 93-mph fastball, Mason decided to form a Little League team to help boys avoid the street life that had claimed his youth and mobility.
Predictably, the players struggle - they endure poverty, unstable family lives with few positive male role models, failing schools, and dangerous neighborhoods - but through the fists and tears, lopsided losses and rare victories, this bunch of misfits becomes a team, and in doing so gives the community something to root for.
With in-depth reporting, fascinating characters, and vivid prose, Jonathan Schuppe's book is both a penetrating, true-to-life portrait of what's at stake for kids growing up poor in America's inner cities and a portrait of Newark itself, a struggling city that has recently known great hope as well as failure.
©2013 Jonathan Schuppe (P)2014 Audible Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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- An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference
- By: Warren St. John
- Narrated by: Lincoln Hoppe
- Length: 13 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 210
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 162
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 164
Set against the backdrop of an American town that without its consent had become a vast social experiment, Outcasts United follows a pivotal season in the life of the Fugees and their charismatic coach. Warren St. John documents the lives of a diverse group of young people as they miraculously coalesce into a band of brothers, while also drawing a fascinating portrait of a fading American town struggling to accommodate its new arrivals.
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3 out of 5 stars
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great story, lackluster narration
- By CRE on 02-19-13
By: Warren St. John
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The Chicken Runs at Midnight
- A Daughter’s Message from Heaven That Changed a Father’s Heart and Won a World Series
- By: Tom Friend, Tim Kurkjian - foreword
- Narrated by: Ben Holland - foreword, Mark Schlicher
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 150
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 132
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Story5 out of 5 stars 132
Weaving baseball history with personal memoir, this book is one that will make you thrill to victory, believe in hope, stand up to cheer for what is good in peoples' lives. It's a powerful story of redemption and faith that reminds us that God can work in our lives even when we think it's too late to change - and sometimes he sends us signs from heaven if we only have eyes to see.
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5 out of 5 stars
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not really a sport's fan
- By virginia loranger on 09-24-20
By: Tom Friend, and others
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The Cost of These Dreams
- Sports Stories and Other Serious Business
- By: Wright Thompson
- Narrated by: Wright Thompson
- Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 464
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 407
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Story5 out of 5 stars 405
There is only one Wright Thompson. He is, as they say, famous if you know who he is: his work includes the most-read articles in the history of ESPN (and it's not even close) and has been anthologized in the Best American Sports Writing series ten times, and he counts John Grisham and Richard Ford among his ardent admirers. But to say his pieces are about sports, while true as far as it goes, is like saying Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove is a book about a cattle drive.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Just great
- By ACK on 06-02-19
By: Wright Thompson
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Playing Through the Whistle
- Steel, Football, and an American Town
- By: S. L. Price
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 15 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 66
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 63
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Story4 out of 5 stars 64
Aliquippa, Pennsylvania is famous for two things: the Jones and Laughlin Steel mill, an industrial behemoth that helped win World War II; and football, with a high school team that has produced numerous NFL stars, including Mike Ditka and Darrelle Revis. But the mill, once the fourth largest producer in America, closed for good in 2000. What happens to a town when a dream dies? Does it just disappear?
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5 out of 5 stars
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This is not a football book
- By radchick on 04-19-17
By: S. L. Price
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The Pursuit of Happyness (Abridged)
- By: Chris Gardner
- Narrated by: Andre Blake
- Length: 5 hrs and 42 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 422
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 260
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 260
At the age of 20, Chris Gardner arrived in San Francisco to pursue a promising career in medicine. However, he surprised everyone and himself by setting his sights on the competitive world of high finance. Yet no sooner had he landed an entry-level position at a prestigious firm, Gardner found himself caught in a web of incredibly challenging circumstances that left him part of the city's working homeless with his toddler son.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Very Good Story!
- By Lito Da Critic on 06-02-06
By: Chris Gardner
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Born Bright
- A Young Girl's Journey from Nothing to Something in America
- By: C. Nicole Mason
- Narrated by: Robin Eller
- Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 68
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 60
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 60
Born Bright, C. Nicole Mason's powerful memoir, is a story of reconciliation, constrained choices, and life on the other side of the tracks. Born in the 1970s in Los Angeles, California, Mason was raised by a beautiful but volatile 16-year-old single mother. Early on, she learned to navigate between an unpredictable home life and school, where she excelled. By high school, Mason was seamlessly straddling two worlds.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Solid Book
- By Daryl on 11-06-16
By: C. Nicole Mason
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Solo
- A Memoir of Hope
- By: Hope Solo
- Narrated by: Christina Delaine
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 114
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 92
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 93
Hope Solo is the face of the modern female athlete. She is fearless, outspoken, and the best in the world at what she does: protecting the goal of the U.S. women's soccer team. Her outsized talent has led her to the pinnacle of her sport - the Olympics and the World Cup - and made her into an international celebrity who is just as likely to appear on ABC's Dancing with the Stars as she is on the covers of Sports Illustrated, ESPN The Magazine, and Vogue.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Not your normal memoir
- By Rory on 02-14-15
By: Hope Solo
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The Soloist
- A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music
- By: Steve Lopez
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 741
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 494
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 494
When journalist Steve Lopez sees Nathaniel Ayers playing his heart out on a two-string violin on Los Angeles' skid row, he finds it impossible to walk away. More than 30 years ago, Ayers was a promising classical bass student at Juilliard - ambitious, charming, and also one of the few African-Americans there - until he gradually lost his ability to function, overcome by schizophrenia.
Over time, the two men form a bond and Lopez imagines that he might be able to change Ayers' life. The Soloist is a beautifully told story of devotion in the face of seemingly unbeatable challenges.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fantastic Audiobook
- By reggie p on 06-26-08
By: Steve Lopez
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Dr. J Unabridged
- The Autobiography
- By: Julius Erving, Karl Taro Greenfeld
- Narrated by: Julius Erving
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 133
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 120
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 120
With his flights of improvisation around the basket and his towering afro, Julius Erving became one of the most charismatic (and revolutionary) players basketball has ever known. But while the public has long revered this cultural icon, few have ever known of the double life of Julius Erving. Dr. J traces the inner lives of the nearly perfect player and the imperfect man - and how he has come to terms with both.
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5 out of 5 stars
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I may overrate it, but I’m a hoops junkie!
- By @JWTheBlueprint on 01-29-14
By: Julius Erving, and others
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Undocumented
- A Dominican Boy’s Odyssey from a Homeless Shelter to the Ivy League
- By: Dan-el Padilla Peralta
- Narrated by: Dan-el Padilla Peralta
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 431
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 389
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 388
Dan-el Padilla Peralta has lived the American dream. As a boy he came here legally with his family. Together they left Santo Domingo behind, but life in New York City was harder than they imagined. Their visas lapsed, and Dan-el's father returned home. But Dan-el's courageous mother was determined to make a better life for her bright sons. Undocumented is a classic story of the triumph of the human spirit. It also is the perfect cri de coeur for the debate on comprehensive immigration reform.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A must read, but
- By Louise de Marillac on 10-10-15
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Play Their Hearts Out
- A Coach, His Star Recruit, and the Youth Basketball Machine
- By: George Dohrmann
- Narrated by: Emily Rose Speer
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 73
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 59
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 59
The NBA has returned to prominence on the backs of phenoms like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Garnett. The media promotes them, the shoe companies pay them, and America applauds. But how exactly do such players reach the pros? What do they give up to get there? And what happens to those who fall short?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing book, fantastic narration.
- By Randy on 11-03-10
By: George Dohrmann
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The Keeper
- A Life of Saving Goals and Achieving Them
- By: Ali Benjamin, Tim Howard
- Narrated by: J.D. Jackson
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 133
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 122
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 121
In the summer of 2014, Tim Howard became an overnight sensation after more than 10 years as one of America's leading professional soccer players. His record-breaking 15 saves for the United States national team against Belgium in the World Cup electrified a nation that had only recently woken up to the Beautiful Game after decades of hibernation. In this inspiring and candid memoir, the beloved US and Everton goalkeeper finally allows himself to do something that he would never do on the field: He drops his guard.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Tim Howard Saves more then Goals!
- By Ron on 12-16-14
By: Ali Benjamin, and others
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Molina
- The Story of the Father Who Raised an Unlikely Baseball Dynasty
- By: Bengie Molina, Joan Ryan
- Narrated by: Henry Leyva
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 92
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 86
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Story5 out of 5 stars 87
A baseball rules book. A tape measure. A lottery ticket. These were in the pocket of Bengie Molina's father when he died of a heart attack on the rutted Little League field in his Puerto Rican barrio. The items serve as thematic guideposts in Molina's beautiful memoir about his father, who, through baseball, taught his three sons about loyalty, humility, courage, and the true meaning of success.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A book about life
- By P. Griswold on 06-11-15
By: Bengie Molina, and others
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By the Grace of the Game
- The Holocaust, a Basketball Legacy, and an Unprecedented American Dream
- By: Dan Grunfeld
- Narrated by: Chris Lutkin
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 76
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 67
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Story5 out of 5 stars 68
When Lily and Alex entered a packed gymnasium in Queens, New York, in 1972, they barely recognized their son. The boy who escaped to America with them, who was bullied as he struggled to learn English and cope with family tragedy, was now a young man who had discovered and secretly honed his basketball talent on the outdoor courts of New York City. That young man was Ernie Grunfeld, who would go on to win an Olympic gold medal and reach previously unimaginable heights as an NBA player and executive.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Exceptional
- By Patrick Messing on 04-07-22
By: Dan Grunfeld
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In the Country We Love
- My Family Divided
- By: Diane Guerrero, Michelle Burford
- Narrated by: Diane Guerrero
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,306
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,020
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,009
Diane Guerrero, the television actress from the megahit Orange Is the New Black and Jane the Virgin, was just 14 years old on the day her parents were detained and deported while she was at school. Born in the US, Guerrero was able to remain in the country and continue her education, depending on the kindness of family friends who took her in and helped her build a life and a successful acting career for herself, without the support system of her family.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Moves very slowly
- By Laura S. on 07-23-16
By: Diane Guerrero, and others
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Basketball Junkie
- A Memoir
- By: Chris Herren, Bill Reynolds
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 6 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 104
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 92
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Story5 out of 5 stars 93
At basketball-crazy Durfee High School in Fall River, Massachusetts, junior guard Chris Herren carried his family’s and the city’s dreams on his skinny frame. His grandfather, father, and older brother had created their own sports legends in a declining city; he was the last, best hope for a career beyond the shuttered mills and factories. Herren was heavily recruited by major universities, chosen as a McDonald’s All-American, featured in a Sports Illustrated cover story, and at just seventeen years old became the central figure in Fall River Dreams, an acclaimed book about the 1994 Durfee team’s quest for the state championship.
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5 out of 5 stars
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most powerful recovery story I've ever heard
- By Brian Swasey on 03-23-22
By: Chris Herren, and others
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Sweetness
- The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 18 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 285
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 247
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 247
At five feet ten inches tall, running back Walter Payton was not the largest player in the NFL, but he developed a larger-than-life reputation for his strength, speed, and grit. Nicknamed “Sweetness” during his college football days, he became the NFL’s all-time leader in rushing and all-purpose yards, capturing the hearts of fans in his adopted Chicago.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Honest Accounting Of A Fascinating Life
- By RevInTampa on 08-19-15
By: Jeff Pearlman