Worst Ideas Ever

A Celebration of Embarrassment

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.