In God We Trust

All Others Pay Cash

By: Jean Shepherd

Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins

A collection of humorous and nostalgic Americana stories—the beloved, bestselling classics that inspired the movie A Christmas Story

Before Garrison Keillor and Spalding Gray there was Jean Shepherd: a master monologist and writer who spun the materials of his all-American childhood into immensely resonant—and utterly hilarious—works of comic art. In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash represents one of the peaks of his achievement, a compound of irony, affection, and perfect detail that speaks across generations.

In God We Trust, Shepherd's wildly witty reunion with his Indiana hometown, disproves the adage “You can never go back.” Bending the ear of Flick, his childhood-buddy-turned-bartender, Shepherd recalls passionately his genuine Red Ryder BB gun, confesses adolescent failure in the arms of Junie Jo Prewitt, and relives a story of man against fish that not even Hemingway could rival. From pop art to the World's Fair, Shepherd's subjects speak with a universal irony and are deeply and unabashedly grounded in American Midwestern life, together rendering a wonderfully nostalgic impression of a more innocent era when life was good, fun was clean, and station wagons roamed the earth.

A comic genius who bridged the gap between James Thurber and David Sedaris, Shepherd may have accomplished for Holden, Indiana, what Mark Twain did for Hannibal, Missouri.

This audiobook is expertly read by Sean Patrick Hopkins, with audio engineering by Blake Rook. It was produced and published by Echo Point Books & Media, an independent bookseller in Brattleboro, Vermont.

©1966 Jean Shepherd (P)2024 Echo Point Books & Media, LLC

King shepherd’s imagination

As a kid living in the New York area, used to listen to Shep every night on WOR. Somewhere in my pile of stuff I have a dog eared copy of this book, but God knows where it’s at. It was a pleasure hearing the stories again, although the narrator didn’t quite have the pizzazz that Shep had when he read some these stories on the air, There were still as funny as ever, and I really enjoyed coming back to this. Flick Lives!

What More Is There to Say?

The book of short stories, nostalgiac recollections linked by bar room chats with child hood best friend, Flick. This collection includes the famous “Christmas Story” and contains more than that book. The reader, though not Jean Shepherd,, was excellent.

He’s no Mark Twain

The summary suggested these stories would put this 1966 book and its author within the esteemed company of Mark Twain. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. It’s merely a collection of droll ruminations. Egads, that was mind numbing.

Nothing, that’s the point!

Terrible book - poorly written and poor audio. Very disappointing book club read - could not finish!