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Worst Ideas Ever  By  cover art

Worst Ideas Ever

By: Daniel Kline, Jason Tomaszewski
Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
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Editorial reviews

Listeners smarting from a recent humiliation can take solace in Worst Ideas Ever: A Celebration of Embarrassment, a compendium of the biggest blunders in recent history. Some of the wretched ideas listed here will live forever in infamy for their negative example - say, New Coke or Bernie Madoff. Others are rescued from obscurity by authors Daniel Kline and Jason Tomaszewski, like the idea to put record players in Chevy cars, or Cop Rock, the (thankfully) forgotten musical police procedural by the creator of NYPD Blue. Narrator Patrick Lawlor's droll, winking descriptions of the worst that sports, entertainment, and pop culture have to offer is an antidote to a bad day. Those prone to noisy laughter might want to listen to this one in private.

Publisher's summary

Mistakes so big they seem like fodder for The Onion - but they really happened!

From memorable disasters such as New Coke, the XFL, and Tiger Woods’ marriage to less-remembered failures such as Yugo, Cop Rock, and Microsoft’s BOB, Worst Ideas Ever revisits history’s biggest blunders. Whether it’s a pop culture failure the likes of Dennis Miller’s disastrous run on Monday Night Football, a political one such as John Edwards’ odd decision to run for president while cheating on his cancer-stricken wife, or a technological misstep such as Apple’s Newton OS, Worst Ideas Ever uncovers the ridiculous stories behind mistakes so huge, you’ll have to constantly remind yourself that they actually happened.

Moving from Mariah Carey’s “performance” in Glitter to the Minnesota Vikings decision to trade away their future for an aging Herschel Walker, Worst Ideas Ever offers the real stories behind some of the dumbest things ever done. Whether it was ego (Michael Jordan leaving basketball for baseball), greed (nobody questioning their impossibly high returns when investing with Bernie Madoff) or simple stupidity (Jay Leno moving to 10 p.m.), Worst Ideas Ever brings it all back in hilarious detail.

©2011 Daniel B. Kline and Jason Tomaszewski (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Worst Ideas Ever

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Worth a listen...

Not much "meat" here, but a fun listen nonetheless. I thought the authors got a little too focused on the sports ideas. There is such a breadth of potential, and this book just didn't live up to what I expected it to be. Started off well, but I lost interest when the authors got so pigeon-holed into the sports ideas...and I love sports! I did finish the book, because it clipped along at a quick pace, but I more than likely will not listen again.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A Fun Easy Book

A light read. I found this book a nice tonic to some of my Heavy books. This book laughs at stuff in pop-culture from the past decades. You probably know about many already like New Coke. The book is written in two voices: the pop-culture part and the sports part. It's fun to hear about other people messing up. 'Makes ya feel not so dumb after all.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

This book really is not worth the credits.

What disappointed you about Worst Ideas Ever?

Really felt like this book was a waste of my audible credits. nothing more than a series of random short blurbs that provided the reader with only a minor understanding of what lead to the bad decision. Really nothing more than "bathroom reader" blurbs.
Very disappointed.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Not sure, will decide in the next ten minutes.

What about Patrick Lawlor’s performance did you like?

great!

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

easy to listen too.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

One of the worst ideas ever

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I would change the narrator first. His tone seemed too angry or cynical. If the book is supposed to be funny or lighthearted, his performance never allowed that to come through.

What was most disappointing about Daniel Kline and Jason Tomaszewski ’s story?

Seemed like they were grasping at straws to fill space. One or two worst ideas in each category would have been fine and then include more categories.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Patrick Lawlor?

Absolutely not - unless it was a book that is supposed to be cynical or angry.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No

Any additional comments?

I'm glad it was only a buck as Deal of the Day.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

An entertaining book

What made the experience of listening to Worst Ideas Ever the most enjoyable?

Very shorts sections dealing with such disasters as the Yugo, perhaps the worst car ever made, the disastrous introduction of New Coke" and other marketing mistakes. Nicely written, a lot of humor.

Any additional comments?

Very entertaining.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting & fun to remember

I remember many of these crazy "worst ideas ever" when they happened and remember no one thinking they were a good idea and thought the companies paying people big money to come up with these in the big cooperate think tanks had wasted a lot a money! So it was a fun trip down memory lane for me. Patrick Lawler did an excellent job as narrator. I prefer him reading non fiction books like this more than as a character narrator.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Just A Really a Long List

It's minimal background or context, just a long ass list of things/choices. Did not like

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Full of opinions and not a lot of research.

Seems like it was a book about opinions and didn’t have much substance. Some nostalgic memories made it ok(ish).

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Restated facts

Most of the worst ideas are just stated with little to no detail. I had hoped for more of the thinking that went into them. Fun to be reminded of a lot of the past failures.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Basically a list of Bad Decisions

It would have been more interesting if there was more "story" to what is basically a list of Bad Decisions.

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