Detroit

An American Autopsy

By: Charlie LeDuff

Narrated by: Eric Martin

Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

In the heart of America, a metropolis is quietly destroying itself. Detroit, once the richest city in the nation, is now its poorest. Once the vanguard of America’s machine age - mass production, automobiles, and blue-collar jobs - Detroit is now America’s capital for unemployment, illiteracy, foreclosure, and dropouts.

With the steel-eyed reportage that has become his trademark and the righteous indignation that only a native son can possess, journalist Charlie LeDuff sets out to uncover what has brought low this once-vibrant city, his city. In doing so, he uncovers the deeply human drama of a city filled with some of the strongest and strangest people our country has to offer.

©2013 Charlie LeDuff (P)2013 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

"Full of both literary grace and hard-won world-weariness...Iggy Pop meets Jim Carroll and Charles Bukowski." ( Kirkus)

Not A Autopsy/Cause of Death

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

One conducts an autopsy to discover or to confirm the cause of death. Unfortunately Mr. LeDuff discusses some, but by no means all, of the diseases that Detroit was exposed to but does not promote a cause of death.

I chose to listen to "Detroit: An American Autopsy" as I was hoping to learn about the interplay between unions, corporate America, and race relations in causing Detroit's downfall with a particular look into the economics. Unfortunately I knew in the preface when he said that his autopsy was rather memoir of Detroit that Mr. LeDuff's subtitle has misled me.

As a memoir of Detroit, Mr. Leduff's story is four or five stars. As the titled autopsy
Detroit: An American Autopsy struggles to be a three.

As titled, I would not recommend it to a friend. As titled, I would like to get a refund on my purchase.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Thank gahd I am done listening to LeDuff's vendetta and whining.

dragged through reality, gently

well performed, it showed a new light on something that I thought had happened, and wove vignettes into a carpet ride through the declining fall of a once great city. Bravo, Mr. LeDuff.

Great Listen!

If you could sum up Detroit in three words, what would they be?

Hard to believe

What does Eric Martin bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Brings the people of Detroit to life.

Any additional comments?

Hard to believe this is being allowed to go on in the U. S. Charlie LeDuff tells the story of this sad city and it's people in a way that makes it hard to stop listening.

comical black voice

the narrator has a very comical black voice he does while trying to impersonate people quoted in the stories sometimes his translations make serious moments comical.

Difficult subject to write about and make interest

I lived in hamtranick for six months as a young 14 year old, then my parents moved to suburbs. My father worked in Chrysler. The demise of the inner city of Detroit being in news every once in a while, all this sparked an interest in wishing to find out what's really going on. Charlie has made the subject interesting by making it a personal story we can have compassion with the gory realities that happen to real people, husbands, wives, daughters, etc.
the story jumps around a lot and can be difficult to follow, characters are not really develop and they don't interact and cause stuff, it was almost a long drawn eulogy for the dying city and the dead.
Although the whole book is a tirade of his anger at city officials and others, and what's happening, in the end we learn what will help to change the situation. I endured the tirades, but the message should spur one to go and do something!
The narrator had this urgency about him, reading as if he had an appointment to keep and was rushin. It was clear and intonation even, so at least I understood every word said. I would listen to this narrator again.

Revealing, sad, and hopeful...

Charlie LeDuff's revealing look at the corruption and devastation that Detroit has faced left me sad, and worried for the future of some of our big cities. This book provides clarity into how some bad choices and self absorbed politicians can single handedly destroy a once thriving American city.

Although the book at times wasn't as cohesive as I wanted it to be, it's about content. The reader does a wonderful job of bringing the grime and frustration that Charlie was feeling through with his narration. Worth a listen overall.

A true telling

If you live in our around Detroit this book finds true to what Detroiters are

Great stories told well

great writing ,good narration. The stories are topical so they are relatively fresh and easy to understand the story lines. easy to sit back and enjoy. better than a netflix tv series...

Quality tale of Detroit's agony a bit melodramatic

Well written and read, although a pretty big downer. The writing and performance take on almost a film noir style.

Brilliant

Before Audible I didn't know who Charlie LeDuff was. I also didn't know just how broken Detroit really was. Completely shattered. This book is a piece of brilliance! The revelation of this decaying city, which was once great as Charlie LeDuff details, is a beautiful heartbreaker.

I reside in North East, MD and know nothing personally of the cold, hard, life in Detroit. After listening to this brilliant artwork I feel I have some small piece of understanding of what it means to survive the wilds of Detroit.

Charlie LeDuff and Eric Martin were brilliant.