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Ava's Man
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All Over But the Shoutin'
- By: Rick Bragg
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- Length: 2 hrs and 41 mins
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 418
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 365
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 364
This haunting, harrowing, gloriously moving recollection of a life on the American margin is the story of Rick Bragg, who grew up dirt-poor in northeastern Alabama, seemingly destined for either the cotton mills or the penitentiary, and instead became a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The New York Times. It is the story of Bragg's father, a hard-drinking man with a murderous temper and the habit of running out on the people who needed him most.
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2 out of 5 stars
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ABRIDGED
- By Amazon Customer on 03-17-16
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The Prince of Frogtown
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 123
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 86
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 89
Rick Bragg closes his circle of family stories with an unforgettable tale about fathers and sons inspired by his own relationship with his 10-year-old stepson.
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5 out of 5 stars
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one of my very favorite authors
- By Suzn F on 07-02-09
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The Best Cook in the World
- Tales from My Momma's Table
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 19 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 134
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 122
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Story5 out of 5 stars 120
From the beloved, best-selling author of All over but the Shoutin', a delectable, rollicking food memoir, cookbook, and loving tribute to a region, a vanishing history, a family, and, especially, his mother. In The Best Cook in the World, Rick Bragg finally preserves his heritage by telling the stories that framed his mother's cooking and education, from childhood into old age. Because good food always has a good story.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Delicious Tales
- By Noreen on 05-08-18
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My Southern Journey
- True Stories from the Heart of the South
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 483
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 437
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 429
From celebrated New York Times best-selling author and winner of the Pulitzer Prize Rick Bragg comes a poignant and wryly funny collection of essays on life in the South. Keenly observed and written with his insightful and deadpan sense of humor, Bragg explores enduring Southern truths about home, place, spirit, table, and the regions' varied geographies, including his native Alabama, Cajun country, and the Gulf Coast.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The Incomparable Rick Bragg
- By Karen Kinnison on 10-01-15
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The Most They Ever Had
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 4 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 108
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 85
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 87
In 2001, a community of people in the Appalachian foothills had come to the edge of all they had ever been. Across the South, padlocks and chains bound the doors of silent mills, and it seemed a miracle to blue-collar people in Jacksonville, Alabama, that their mill still bit, shook, and roared. The mill had become almost a living thing, and they served it even as it filled their lungs with lint and shortened their lives. In return, it let them live in stiff-necked dignity in the hills of their fathers.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Now I Understand
- By Barbara A. Witte on 05-28-15
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Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 15 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 142
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 129
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 129
A monumental figure on the American landscape, Jerry Lee Lewis spent his childhood raising hell in Ferriday, Louisiana, and Natchez, Mississippi; galvanized the world with hit records like "Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On" and "Great Balls of Fire", that gave rock and roll its devil’s edge; caused riots and boycotts with his incendiary performances; nearly scuttled his career by marrying his 13-year-old second cousin - his third wife of seven - and ran a decades-long marathon of drugs, drinking, and women.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An Unsparing Portrait of a Southern Kinsman
- By Patrick on 11-01-14
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All Over But the Shoutin'
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 2 hrs and 41 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 418
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 365
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 364
This haunting, harrowing, gloriously moving recollection of a life on the American margin is the story of Rick Bragg, who grew up dirt-poor in northeastern Alabama, seemingly destined for either the cotton mills or the penitentiary, and instead became a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The New York Times. It is the story of Bragg's father, a hard-drinking man with a murderous temper and the habit of running out on the people who needed him most.
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2 out of 5 stars
-
ABRIDGED
- By Amazon Customer on 03-17-16
-
The Prince of Frogtown
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 123
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 86
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 89
Rick Bragg closes his circle of family stories with an unforgettable tale about fathers and sons inspired by his own relationship with his 10-year-old stepson.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
one of my very favorite authors
- By Suzn F on 07-02-09
-
The Best Cook in the World
- Tales from My Momma's Table
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 19 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 134
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 122
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 120
From the beloved, best-selling author of All over but the Shoutin', a delectable, rollicking food memoir, cookbook, and loving tribute to a region, a vanishing history, a family, and, especially, his mother. In The Best Cook in the World, Rick Bragg finally preserves his heritage by telling the stories that framed his mother's cooking and education, from childhood into old age. Because good food always has a good story.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Delicious Tales
- By Noreen on 05-08-18
-
My Southern Journey
- True Stories from the Heart of the South
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 483
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 437
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 429
From celebrated New York Times best-selling author and winner of the Pulitzer Prize Rick Bragg comes a poignant and wryly funny collection of essays on life in the South. Keenly observed and written with his insightful and deadpan sense of humor, Bragg explores enduring Southern truths about home, place, spirit, table, and the regions' varied geographies, including his native Alabama, Cajun country, and the Gulf Coast.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The Incomparable Rick Bragg
- By Karen Kinnison on 10-01-15
-
The Most They Ever Had
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 4 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 108
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 85
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 87
In 2001, a community of people in the Appalachian foothills had come to the edge of all they had ever been. Across the South, padlocks and chains bound the doors of silent mills, and it seemed a miracle to blue-collar people in Jacksonville, Alabama, that their mill still bit, shook, and roared. The mill had become almost a living thing, and they served it even as it filled their lungs with lint and shortened their lives. In return, it let them live in stiff-necked dignity in the hills of their fathers.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Now I Understand
- By Barbara A. Witte on 05-28-15
-
Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 15 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 142
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 129
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 129
A monumental figure on the American landscape, Jerry Lee Lewis spent his childhood raising hell in Ferriday, Louisiana, and Natchez, Mississippi; galvanized the world with hit records like "Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On" and "Great Balls of Fire", that gave rock and roll its devil’s edge; caused riots and boycotts with his incendiary performances; nearly scuttled his career by marrying his 13-year-old second cousin - his third wife of seven - and ran a decades-long marathon of drugs, drinking, and women.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An Unsparing Portrait of a Southern Kinsman
- By Patrick on 11-01-14
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The Poet of Tolstoy Park
- By: Sonny Brewer
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 22
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 20
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Story4 out of 5 stars 19
This book is based on the true life of Henry Stuart. When the 67-year-old former professor finds out he is dying of tuberculosis, he vows to “learn in solitude how to save myself.” He sets off for Fairhope, Alabama, with only the writings of his beloved Tolstoy for company. There, the barefoot poet builds himself a small hut and slowly becomes an inspiration for the rest of the utopian town. When his last few months become his last few years, Henry’s attempt to understand death becomes a lesson on life.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great read
- By Jimmy Oaks on 03-23-15
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The Victory Garden
- By: Rhys Bowen
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 75
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 72
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 72
As the Great War continues to take its toll, headstrong 21-year-old Emily Bryce is determined to contribute to the war effort. She is convinced by a cheeky and handsome Australian pilot that she can do more, and it is not long before she falls in love with him and accepts his proposal of marriage. When he is sent back to the front, Emily volunteers as a “land girl,” tending to the neglected grounds of a large Devonshire estate. It’s here that Emily discovers the long-forgotten journals of a medicine woman who devoted her life to her herbal garden.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Lovely WW1 Story
- By alyssa on 02-17-19
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Assassination Vacation
- By: Sarah Vowell
- Narrated by: Conan O'Brien, Stephen King, Dave Eggers, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 3,180
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,573
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,559
Sarah Vowell exposes the glorious conundrums of American history and culture with wit, probity, and an irreverent sense of humor. With Assassination Vacation, she takes us on a road trip like no other, a journey to the pit stops of American political murder and through the myriad ways they have been used for fun and profit, for political and cultural advantage.
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4 out of 5 stars
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extremely entertaining and informative
- By Rachel on 08-17-05
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Once Upon a Farm
- By: Rory Feek
- Narrated by: Rory Feek
- Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 165
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 149
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Story5 out of 5 stars 150
Now raising their four-year-old daughter, Indiana, alone, after Joey’s passing, Rory Feek digs deeper into the soil of his life and the unusual choices he and his wife, Joey, made together and the ones he’s making now to lead his family into the future. When Feek and his older daughters moved into a run-down farmhouse almost 20 years ago, he had no idea of the almost fairy-tale love story that was going to unfold on that small piece of Tennessee land. He takes listeners on his incredible journey from heartbreak to hope and, ultimately, the kind of healing that comes only through faith.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Truly inspiring
- By Ken Sayers on 06-20-18
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I Am a Soldier, Too
- The Jessica Lynch Story
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 3 hrs and 32 mins
- Abridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 54
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 28
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Story4 out of 5 stars 28
On March 23, 2003, Private First Class Jessica Lynch was crossing the Iraqi desert with the 507th Maintenance Company when the convoy she was traveling in was ambushed, caught in enemy crossfire. All four soldiers traveling with her died in the attack. Lynch was taken prisoner and held captive in an Iraqi hospital for nine days. Her rescue galvanized the nation; she became a symbol of victory, of innocence and courage, of heroism; and then, just as quickly, of deceit and manipulation.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Couldn't put it down
- By David on 09-10-07
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South Toward Home
- Adventures and Misadventures in My Native Land
- By: Julia Reed, Jon Meecham - foreword
- Narrated by: Julia Reed, Dan Bittner - introduction
- Length: 5 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 21
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 18
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Story5 out of 5 stars 18
In thinking about her native land, Julia Reed quotes another Southern writer, Willie Morris, who said, “It’s the juxtapositions that get you down here.” These juxtapositions are, for Julia Reed, the soul of the South and in her warmhearted and funny new audiobook, South Toward Home, she chronicles her adventures through the highs and the lows of Southern life - the Delta hot tamale festival, a masked ball, a rollicking party in a boat on a sand bar, scary Christian billboards, and the southern affection for the lowly possum.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Stories of a brassy Southern Belle
- By Florida Mom on 08-06-18
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Running on Red Dog Road
- And Other Perils of an Appalachian Childhood
- By: Drema Hall Berkheimer
- Narrated by: Bailey Carr
- Length: 6 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 33
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 29
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Story4 out of 5 stars 29
Gypsies, faith-healers, moonshiners, and snake handlers weave through Drema's childhood in 1940s Appalachia after her father is killed in the coal mines, her mother goes off to work as a Rosie the Riveter, and she is left in the care of devout Pentecostal grandparents. What follows is a spitfire of a memoir that feels like a novel with intrigue, sweeping emotion, and indisputable charm. Drema's coming of age is colored by tent revivals with Grandpa, poetry-writing hobos, and traveling carnivals, and through it all, she serves witness to a multi-generational family.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Sweet story
- By brooksie on 03-05-18
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The Holiday I'll Never Forget
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Chris Sorensen
- Length: 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 6
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Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 6
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Story4 out of 5 stars 6
A few days after Christmas and still disappointed, the nine-year-old boy saw a box with his name on it under his aunt's tree. His spirits improved almost immediately, and his excitement was difficult to contain. The gift had been wrapped in thin paper, thin enough to see through.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Not sure that Joy and Inspiration suits this Book
- By Cindyann on 05-17-17
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The Potlikker Papers
- A Food History of the Modern South
- By: John T. Edge
- Narrated by: John T. Edge
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 107
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 101
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 100
The Potlikker Papers tells the story of food and politics in the South over the last half century. Beginning with the pivotal role of cooks in the civil rights movement, noted authority John T. Edge narrates the South's journey from racist backwater to a hotbed of American immigration. In so doing, he traces how the food of the poorest Southerners has become the signature trend of modern American haute cuisine. This is a people's history of the modern South told through the lens of food.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Best book of the year!
- By Philip J. Dempsey on 06-12-17
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Prairie Fires
- The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder
- By: Caroline Fraser
- Narrated by: Christina Moore
- Length: 21 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 610
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 560
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 560
Millions of fans of Little House on the Prairie believe they know Laura Ingalls - the pioneer girl who survived blizzards and near-starvation on the Great Plains, and the woman who wrote the famous autobiographical books. But the true story of her life has never been fully told. Now, drawing on unpublished manuscripts, letters, diaries, and land and financial records, Caroline Fraser masterfully fills in the gaps in Wilder's biography.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Spoiler Alert: Do Not Read If You Don’t Want Your Childhood Memories Destroyed
- By Leslie on 03-05-18
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The Housekeeper's Tale
- The Women Who Really Ran the English Country House
- By: Tessa Boase
- Narrated by: Tessa Boase
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 126
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 118
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Story4 out of 5 stars 117
The Housekeeper's Tale reveals the personal sacrifices, bitter disputes and driving ambition that shaped these women's careers. Using secret diaries, unpublished letters, and the neglected service archives of our stately homes, Tessa Boase tells the extraordinary stories of five working women who ran some of Britain's most prominent households.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Utterly intriguing
- By Pamela Jane on 09-14-17
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Blood at the Root
- A Racial Cleansing in America
- By: Patrick Phillips
- Narrated by: Patrick Phillips
- Length: 7 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 195
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 174
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Story5 out of 5 stars 174
National Book Award finalist Patrick Phillips tells Forsyth's tragic story in vivid detail and traces its long history of racial violence all the way back to antebellum Georgia. Recalling his own childhood in the 1970s and '80s, Phillips sheds light on the communal crimes of his hometown and the violent means by which locals kept Forsyth all white well into the 1990s.
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5 out of 5 stars
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when is white history month?
- By Bailey on 03-06-18
Publisher's Summary
In the decade of the Great Depression, Charlie moved his family 21 times, keeping seven children one step ahead of the poverty and starvation that threatened them from every side. He worked at the steel mill when the steel was rolling, or for a side of bacon or a bushel of peaches when it wasn't. He paid the doctor who delivered his fourth daughter, Margaret - the author's mother - with a jar of whiskey. He understood the finer points of the law as it applied to poor people and drinking men; he was a banjo player and a buck dancer who worked off fines when life got a little sideways, and he sang when he was drunk, where other men fought or cussed. He had a talent for living. His children revered him. When he died, cars lined the blacktop for more than a mile.
Rick Bragg has built a soaring monument to the grandfather he never knew - a father who stood by his family in hard times and left a backwoods legend behind - in an audiobook that blazes withi his love for his family, and for a particular stretch of dirt road along the Alabama-Georgia border. A powerfully intimate piece of American history as it was experienced by the working people of the deep South, a glorious record of a life of character, tenacity and indomitable joy, and an unforgettable tribute to a vanishing culture, Ava's Man is Rick Bragg at his stunning best.
Critic Reviews
- Audie Award Winner, Best Narration by Author or Authors
"A soulful, poignant portrait." (Publishers Weekly)
"No one writes about the South like Bragg...[his] empathy and humanity shine throughout." (Library Journal)
More from the same
What members say
Average Customer Ratings
Overall
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4.5 out of 5 stars
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5 Stars287
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4 Stars68
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3 Stars25
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2 Stars11
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5 out of 5 stars
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5 Stars187
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4 Stars24
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3 Stars4
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5 out of 5 stars
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5 Stars180
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4 Stars29
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Kate
- Boone, NC United States
- 08-12-03
Deeply moving
I saw Rick Bragg on a Sunday morning interview show and immediately downloaded his book. This book is simultaneously amusing, humbling, deeply moving, and inspiring. Mr. Bragg's engaging narration contributes significantly to the overall experience. I am eagerly awaiting access to his other novels.
9 of 9 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Bobbie-Jo
- 09-17-03
Powerful Story of Family
I found the beginning of the book a bit disjointed and hard to follow, but once it settled in, I found myself enthralled in the story. Its the story of a simple man who did the best he could, and the people who loved him. Rick Bragg has a wonderful gift of telling a story.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Martha
- rapid city, SD, USA
- 04-03-03
i liked it
a historical look at one families history - along with the way the economics and history of the era and area affected them - It was also interesting to hear the musings of the author relating his relatives experiences in the past to his own current activities.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
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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
- Hilary
- 06-18-12
Bragg reading his own work = great big treat
Rick Bragg delves into his family history, mostly to find out about his maternal grandfather, Charlie Bundrum, who he never met and no one in the family would talk much about. Bragg interviewed family members and then interlaced their memories to make Ava's Man. You actually learn much more about the Bundrum side of Bragg's family than you did in All Over But the Shoutin', which is about the author's mother (although it is substantially about the author's career in journalism). Great familial and regional lore. Sentence-to-sentence, Bragg just gets better with each book. And it is so marvelous to have Bragg read. When books have a Southern setting, the readers are generally not Southerners and feel they must try on a "Southern accent," which always ends up sounding like Foghorn Leghorn. Very distasteful. Great writing and fantastic reading.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
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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
- Pam
- FAYETTEVILLE, AR, United States
- 05-04-12
Love the author and his grandfather too!
If you have ever loved a rascal, particularly a Southern rascal, then you will love this book. If you are a Daddy's girl, then you will love this book. It is a biography of Rick Bragg's grandfather, a most extraordinary man, and it is written by an extraordinary author whose bloodline runs true. Thank you, Mr. Bragg, for sharing Charlie with us... I loved him too.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Retired Reader Gal
- 04-27-12
A Great Listen!
Great story and great read by a wonderful author/narrator. A tribute to his maternal grandfather who helped make him into the man he ultimately became. If you were a fan of The Glass Castle or Angela's Ashes's, you may want to give this a listen.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- David
- 11-17-03
Great Writer
If you appreciate the southern voice, Rick Bragg is the guy for you. He has the knack of writing in a voice that many can speak but few can capture on paper. Great book. His previous book "All Over But The Shouting" is exceptional
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
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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
- tweety09
- 07-07-18
So Enjoyable!
As with all of Rick Braggs books that I have listened to, this one is just as wonderful! Words alone can't describe the pure joy I get from listening to his books.
Rick Bragg has a clear and pleasant voice with a southern drawl.
I highly recommend this book.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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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
- russelar
- 05-27-18
My favorite auditable book.
To have one of the best story tellers read one of his best books....doesn't get any better than this. Thank you, Rick.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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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
- Crystal McCormick
- 05-18-18
Movie Worthy
I’m kicking myself for not reading this sooner. I have the signed paperback, but listening on Audible is the next best thing because the author himself is the narrator. I finished it yesterday, but it was so good I’m listening to it again today. This seriously should be made into a movie. Thank you, Rick Bragg, for telling our story.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful