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Rivals! Frenemies Who Changed the World
- Narrated by: Prentice Onayemi, Samantha Turret, Khristine Hvam, Gabriel Vaughan, Josh Hurley
- Series: Rivals!
- Length: 2 hrs and 55 mins
- Categories: Children's Audiobooks, Biographies
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Publisher's Summary
Exclusively on Audible, hilarious history for ages eight and up
Did you know that most of our dinosaur fossils were discovered because two grown men absolutely hated each other? It’s true!
Rivals! Frenemies Who Changed the World is a riotous audio exclusive, like if Monty Python taught your history class. Each volume of four 30-minute histories will dig into the petty name-calling and grumbling grudges that led to many of the world’s greatest advancements, all delivered with a cheeky sense of humor.
Choose sides: Cope or Marsh, the jerks who discovered so many dinosaurs; Hamilton or Burr, whose rivalry fueled American politics; Queen Elizabeth or Mary Queen of Scots, who fought to rule England; Adidas or Puma, whose rivalry changed the world of sports and fashion.
Kidnappings, rock fights, duels, and explosions, Rivals! shows world leaders at their absolute best and their worst, often at the same time.
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Our favorite moments from Rivals! Frenemies Who Changed the World
"A great book! It tells the stories of four rivalries in history. It is funny and historically accurate. If you have a sense of humor and are interested in history, this is the book for you!"
—Janet L., Audible Listener
About the Creator
When he’s not flustering emus or stymying mambas, Scott McCormick enjoys annoying his children until they tell their mother. He also writes. He writes all kinds of stuff. Some of it is good. He wrote the Mr. Pants series of graphic novels. Those were good. You should totally check them out. So are the books he writes for Audible, including Rivals! Frenemies Who Changed the World, and its sequel, Rivals 2. He’s got a hilarious book about pirates coming out soon, and he’s also excited about his first novel, The Dragon Squisher, which is just as funny and squishy as it sounds. Scott lives on the western edge of the easternmost part of southern North Carolina, right smack in the middle of it all.

About the Performer
Prentice Onayemi’s lyrical style and selective narration choices have quickly set him apart as a major talent in the audiobook world. Among his best loved performances are all of author Paul Beatty’s audiobooks, including The Sellout, which won a Man Booker Prize and earned Onayemi recognition as an Audie Award finalist for Best Fiction narrator. Before he started performing audiobooks, Prentice Onayemi first found voice-over work narrating English language learning programs. He holds a BFA in Drama from NYU and has also become known for his performances in downtown NYC passion projects and Broadway mainstays and his appearance in the hit television series House of Cards.

About the Performer
Khristine Hvam is an award-winning audiobook narrator, producer, and director. Some of her works include TV/radio commercials, video games, animated series, and most notably, more than 300 audiobook titles. Khristine has been honored with four Audio Publishers Association Audie Awards. AudioFile magazine has awarded her seven of its Earphone Awards, as well as Best Voices of the Year 2015 and 2017. She currently lives in NJ with her husband and two children.

About the Performer
Samantha Turret is an actor, comedian, and voice artist. She has always loved voice acting and specializes in character voices. Samantha graduated with honors from Muhlenberg College's Theater program. As a voice artist, she has had the pleasure to work on audiobooks, animation, and commercials with Nickelodeon, Dirtbag Productions, RLF Communication, and more. She has had the pleasure of narrating a number of audiobooks including Keto Diet: A Ketogenic Diet to Die For by Jennifer Ramos, The Behesians by Isaiyan Morrison, and a character voice in Seth Andrew's Ghost Stories: Original Tales & Ghostly Urban Legends.

About the Performer
Gabriel Vaughan is an Audie Award-winning narrator and classically trained actor with more than 100 audiobooks recorded. He grew up without television as a kid around New England and listened to a lot of "books on tape," so narrating audiobooks is like coming full circle. He is a founding member of the Tennessee Shakespeare Company and co-owner of Little Town Studios together with his wife and fellow narrator, Piper Goodeve. He has a BA from Sarah Lawrence College and studied acting in London at the British American Drama Academy.

About the Performer
Josh Hurley’s love of storytelling started at an early age—listening to audiobooks in the car on family road-trips. Since narrating his first title with Audible in 2011, Hurley has given voice to many YA, kids, sci-fi, and fantasy books and series, as well as other fiction and non-fiction genres. He has received several Earphone Awards and was recognized in AudioFile Magazine’s Best of the Year (2016). Hurley received an acting/directing degree from Idaho State University. He has a background in improv and sketch comedy, performing regularly at multiple theaters in New York City. Additional acting credits include various film, television, theater, web series, and commercial work.

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What listeners say about Rivals! Frenemies Who Changed the World
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- JJ🌈
- 10-08-19
Amazing Historical Insights
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to these stories. It peaked my interest in these historical figures. I recommend picking it up.
11 people found this helpful
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- Miamigrrl
- 05-26-19
Sorry I waited so long to listen to this
I put this in my Wish List quite a while ago but every time I reviewed my list I couldn't get excited about listening to it. Finally, when nothing else appealed to me I bought it. What luck for me because it was so entertaining and educational. Possible spoilers coming up! There are 4 "cases" - the first one I had never heard of - Cope v. Marsh, 19th century paleontologists. Sounds boring, right? Far from it. I think the next was Queen Elizabeth v. Mary Queen of Scots. I was quite familiar with this one but it was till entertaining and I got a few new nuggets. Puma v. Adidas was new to me and fascinating. Burr v. Hamilton we all know but I for one did not now the exact details. My only complaint about this is that it is only 3 hours - I WANT MORE! Hoping for a sequel.
132 people found this helpful
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- Jetjaguar15
- 07-08-19
Warning for parents...
This selection was marketed to children. It is very entertaining and educational, and my kids have enjoyed it. However, if I had known about the cursing, I probably would not have let my kids listen to it.
185 people found this helpful
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- Jenny W.
- 02-17-19
We want more!
Bought this on a whim knowing I had some drive time for the holidays with my 8 year old son. This has been an amazing listen for all of us! We have learned some new things and been thoroughly entertained at the same time. Our kids are asking if there are more - and we certainly would love to see this become a series!
54 people found this helpful
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- R. L. Ortinez
- 07-18-18
Great Listen with Kids
Such a fantastic book to listen to with all of my children aged 5 to 12. I learned lots and it piqued my interest to read some of their biographies!
55 people found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 06-07-18
Good for all ages
The author has done a wonderful job of turning chunks of history into great stories good for all ages.
59 people found this helpful
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- Carolina Casas
- 07-10-20
entertaining way of retelling history
I did like it a lot but my only nitpick is that the dramatizations were over the top at times. Overall, it is a quick read and audio to get through, and get those who are new to these stories interested in these historical figures and those who already are to renew their interest and refresh their knowledge.
3 people found this helpful
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- Holly
- 04-24-20
Delightful!
I wish I had had a teacher like this in high school or college. I learned a lot while being entertained! This would be great for almost any age.
3 people found this helpful
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- Loan man
- 07-12-19
The extra sound effects are distracting
The story is interesting and well done with some good humor but the extra effects of voices and sounds got old in the first story. Overall it’s a solid free original just lose the extra sounds and voices. I almost didn’t finish it when I kept hearing “Jersey” shouted in a stupid fake accent each time the state was mentioned.
41 people found this helpful
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- michelle miller
- 07-11-19
Things I never knew I would like to know
I picked this freebie because it looked more interesting than the others. Truly, to my pleasant surprise I found myself VERY much entertained by this history lesson. Had this been the format for the history classes required during university studies I may have been convinced to switch to a history major. Listen to this offering, it will make you smile, teach you some scarcely known facts and fully entertain you for several pleasant hours!
14 people found this helpful
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- Lucy Parsons
- 06-04-20
Very good
It went into good detail about interesting rivalries. It was easy to understand but a bit weird if you arent american
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- K. J. Noyes
- 12-08-18
Full of information, silly asides add interest
Almost a 'Horrible Histories' but for the ear. Only available on Audible, I believe, and the sound effects and narrative asides will probably amuse the children listening (I found them a little annoying). The stories, though, were great. While I knew the history of Queens Elizabeth and Mary, I hadn't heard the stories of the Adidas/Puma rivalry, or that of the paleontologists and American politicians covered here. My favourite was the Adidas/Puma story, but each showed a fascinating insight into how feuding can lead to innovation and advances (though not always positive ones). Each story gives background and complete history of the feud (certainly important when historical - the Elizabeth/Mary segment had fun with Mary/merry/marry wordplay). Each was also accessible enough for a 10 year old to follow. Only 3 hours in total, I was certainly keen to learn more about some of these stories when finishing, and I believe young people may feel the same too. There are duels here, details about elections, royalty, dinosaurs, a wealth of topics to spark an interest in the true stories of history. Personally, the silly noises ("Jersey!") didn't add to the listening experience for me, but I'm really not the listener the producers were considering when putting this together. The narrator is clear and speaks with enthusiasm, which is the most important aspect, as there is no written material for a reader to refer back to. Short but enticing Terry Deary-esque look at historical arguments that made their mark - for ages 9-13. With thanks to Nudge Books for providing a sample Audible copy.