American Ruin
Life and Death on the Streets of Detroit - America's Deadliest City
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American Ruin
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Narrated by:
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Richard Spector
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By:
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Michael Matthews
About this listen
When Michael Matthews first visited Detroit, he was grimly fascinated by the place. The sheer scale of the crime and desolation was unlike anything he had seen before. He was hooked, and returned whenever he could. Over dozens of visits, he got to know the people - cops, reporters, and gang members as well as ordinary Detroiters trying to live their lives in peace - and formed deep bonds with them, which led him into places and situations no writer has ever seen before. American Ruin is the story of Michael’s journey into the soul of this broken city - a shocking, violent, and heartbreaking portrayal of a modern tragedy.
Detroit was once the richest city in America, celebrated around the world for its prolific car production and flourishing music scene - the American dream come true. Then came its fall. Detroit became the deadliest place in America, with more murders per capita than any other major city in the country. With drugs and guns rife on the streets, and its administration riddled with corruption, the city was dying, and anyone who could, was getting out.
American Ruin is an explosive portrait of a city trying desperately to get back on its feet and the people prepared to give everything for their home. For fans of The Wire and readers/listeners of Don Winslow, Edward Conlon, David Baldacci, and James Ellroy.
©2019 Michael Matthews (P)2019 Michael MatthewsListeners also enjoyed...
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- By: Ralph Friedman, Patrick Picciarelli
- Narrated by: Chris Andrew Ciulla
- Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 146
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 131
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Story5 out of 5 stars 133
Two thousand arrests. One hundred off-duty arrests. Six thousand assists. Fifteen shootings. Eight shot. Four kills. These are not the performance statistics of an entire NYPD unit. They are the record that makes Detective 2nd Grade Ralph Friedman a legend.
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5 out of 5 stars
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My favorite so far
- By Scott Armstrong on 09-01-20
By: Ralph Friedman, and others
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Once a Cop
- The Street, the Law, Two Worlds, One Man
- By: Corey Pegues
- Narrated by: Corey Pegues
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 389
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 355
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 357
New Jack City meets Serpico in this provocative memoir of a crack dealer-turned-decorated NYPD officer - a timely reflection on the complex relationship between the police and the communities they are meant to protect.
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3 out of 5 stars
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A POSSIBLE GOOD BOOK RUINED BY NARRATION
- By The Louligan on 05-29-16
By: Corey Pegues
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Killer Triggers
- By: Joe Kenda
- Narrated by: Joe Kenda
- Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,540
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,359
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Story5 out of 5 stars 1,355
The most common triggers for homicide are fear, rage, revenge, money, lust, and, more rarely, sheer madness. This isn’t an exact science, of course. Any given murder can have multiple triggers. Sex and revenge seem to be common partners in crime. This book offers my memories of homicide cases that I investigated or oversaw. In each case, I examine the trigger that led to death. I chose this theme for the book because even though the why of a murder case may not be critical in an investigation, it can sometimes lead us to the killer.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Joe Kenda is always fun.
- By Jackson Theofore Keys on 03-10-21
By: Joe Kenda
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400 Things Cops Know: Street-Smart Lessons From a Veteran Patrolman
- By: Adam Plantinga
- Narrated by: Mark Boyett
- Length: 7 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,035
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,704
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,703
400 Things Cops Know shows police work on the inside, from the viewpoint of the regular cop on the beat - a profession that can range from rewarding to bizarre to terrifying, all within the course of an eight-hour shift. Written by veteran police sergeant Adam Plantinga, 400 Things Cops Know brings the listener into life the way cops experience it - a life of danger, frustration, occasional triumph, and plenty of grindingly hard routine work.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Between Good and Evil is Where I Walk
- By Cynthia on 05-26-16
By: Adam Plantinga
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Trejo
- My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood
- By: Danny Trejo, Donal Logue
- Narrated by: Danny Trejo, Donal Logue
- Length: 13 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 2,478
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,245
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Story5 out of 5 stars 2,247
On screen, Danny Trejo the actor is a baddie who has been killed at least a hundred times. He’s been shot, stabbed, hanged, chopped up, squished by an elevator, and once, was even melted into a bloody goo. Off screen, he’s a hero beloved by recovery communities and obsessed fans alike. But the real Danny Trejo is much more complicated than the legend.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The best book ever!
- By Nicolas Rocha on 07-08-21
By: Danny Trejo, and others
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The Westies
- Inside New York's Irish Mob
- By: T. J. English
- Narrated by: James Anderson Foster
- Length: 13 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 813
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 702
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 702
It's men like Jimmy Coonan and Mickey Featherstone who gave Hell's Kitchen its name. In the mid-1970s, these two longtime friends take the reins of New York's Irish mob, using brute force to give it hitherto unthinkable power. Jimmy, a charismatic sociopath, is the leader. Mickey, whose memories of Vietnam torture him daily, is his enforcer. Together they make brutality their trademark, butchering bodies or hurling them out the window.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great book
- By Julio on 06-28-18
By: T. J. English
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My Infamous Life
- The Autobiography of Mobb Deep's Prodigy
- By: Albert "Prodigy" Johnson, Laura Checkoway
- Narrated by: Albert "Prodigy" Johnson
- Length: 13 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 631
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 532
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Story5 out of 5 stars 532
In this often violent but always introspective memoir, Mobb Deep’s Prodigy tells his much anticipated story of struggle, survival, and hope down the mean streets of New York City. For the first time, he gives an intimate look at his family background, his battles with drugs, his life of crime, his relentless suffering with sickle-cell anemia, and much more.
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5 out of 5 stars
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"P" is forever...
- By Anonymous User on 09-22-19
By: Albert "Prodigy" Johnson, and others
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A Hard Ticket Home
- By: David Housewright
- Narrated by: Brent Hinkle
- Length: 7 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 55
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 48
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Story4 out of 5 stars 47
Ex-St. Paul cop Rushmore McKenzie has more time, and more money, than he knows what to do with. In fact, when he’s willing to admit it to himself (and he usually isn’t), Mac is downright bored. Until he decides to do a favor for a friend facing a family tragedy: Nine-year-old Stacy Carlson has been diagnosed with leukemia, and the only one with the matching bone marrow that can save her is her older sister, Jamie. Trouble is, Jamie ran away from home years ago.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Finally on Audible...
- By shelley on 03-14-20
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Suicide Hill
- By: James Ellroy
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 213
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 176
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Story4 out of 5 stars 176
In disgrace after a badly handled arrest in New Orleans, Sergeant Lloyd Hopkins is assigned as a liaison officer to an FBI investigation of a series of diabolical and clever bank robberies. Three men have done their homework: they choose bank managers who are having affairs, kidnap their girlfriends, and force the managers to open the banks early.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Try this title for a change of pace
- By Robert on 04-19-16
By: James Ellroy
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Storming Las Vegas
- How a Cuban-Born, Soviet-Trained Commando Took Down the Strip to the Tune of Five World-Class Hotels, Three Armored Cars, and Millions of Dollars
- By: John Huddy
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 305
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 157
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Story4 out of 5 stars 161
On September 20, 1998, a Cuban-born former Red Army lieutenant named Jose Vigoa launched a series of raids on the Las Vegas Strip. During a 16-month spree, Vigoa robbed five world-class hotels, three armored cars, and one department store. The casinos hit were the MGM; the Desert Inn; the New York, New York; the Mandalay Bay; and the Bellagio. Lieutenant John Alamshaw, a 23-year-old veteran in charge of robbery detectives, was ordered to stop the robberies at all costs. He knew he was up against a mastermind. What he didn't know was that he was running out of time.
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5 out of 5 stars
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I loved it..
- By Ed Robertson on 03-31-08
By: John Huddy
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Detroit
- An American Autopsy
- By: Charlie LeDuff
- Narrated by: Eric Martin
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,329
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,177
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,171
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.
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3 out of 5 stars
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WOW
- By Avid Reader and Listener on 07-09-13
By: Charlie LeDuff
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S Street Rising
- Crack, Murder, and Redemption in D.C.
- By: Ruben Castaneda
- Narrated by: Stephen Bel Davies
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 62
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 57
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 58
During the height of the crack epidemic that decimated the streets of D.C., Ruben Castaneda covered the crime beat for the Washington Post. The first in his family to graduate from college, he had landed a job at one of the country’s premier newspapers. But his apparent success masked a devastating secret: he was a crack addict. Even as he covered the drug-fueled violence that was destroying the city, he was prowling S Street, a 24/7 open-air crack market, during his off hours, looking for his next fix.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Some good DC history & time travel
- By Marie on 07-12-16
By: Ruben Castaneda
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The Case of the Vanishing Blonde
- And Other True Crime Stories
- By: Mark Bowden
- Narrated by: Patrick Garrett
- Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 49
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
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Story4 out of 5 stars 40
The number-one best-selling “master of narrative journalism” (New York Times) and author of Black Hawk Down presents a compelling collection of true crime stories.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent!
- By JBT3 on 08-24-20
By: Mark Bowden
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City of Fire
- A Novel (Lena Gamble, Book 1)
- By: Robert Ellis
- Narrated by: Renée Raudman
- Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 249
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 195
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Story4 out of 5 stars 197
When a vibrant young woman is found in bed by her hotshot businessman husband, carved from belly to throat with a very sharp knife, the elite Robbery-Homicide Division of the LAPD responds in full force. Best-case scenario for lead Detective Lena Gamble: Nikki Brant's husband killed her, case closed, and on to the next crime scene before the ravenous Hollywood media can get their lurid tabloid machinery up and running.
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5 out of 5 stars
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incredible
- By A. Koren on 01-29-09
By: Robert Ellis
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The Birthday Party
- A Memoir of Survival
- By: Stanley N. Alpert
- Narrated by: Richard Powers
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 43
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 36
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 36
On January 21, 1998, the night before his 38th birthday, federal prosecutor Stanley Alpert was kidnapped by a car full of gun-toting thugs. Hoping to make a large withdrawal with his ATM card, they took him, blindfolded, to a Brooklyn apartment, and improvised. All night, his captors alternately held guns to his head, threatened his family, engaged him in discussions of "gangsta" philosophy, sought his legal advice, and even offered him sexual favors from their prostitute girlfriends as a "birthday present."
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5 out of 5 stars
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Since there haven't been any SERIOUS...
- By Douglas on 04-30-15
-
You Can Go Home Now
- A Novel
- By: Michael Elias
- Narrated by: Sophie Amoss
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 46
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 38
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 38
Nina is a tough Queens detective with a series of cold-case homicides on her desk - men whose widows had the same alibi: They were living in Artemis, a battered women’s shelter, when their husbands were killed. Nina goes undercover into Artemis. Though she is playing the victim, she’s anything but. Nina knows about violence and the bullies who rely on it because she’s experienced it in her own life.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent Suspense!
- By shelley on 06-30-20
By: Michael Elias
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Tarantula
- A John Milton Short Story
- By: Mark Dawson
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 2 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 780
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 706
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 703
Meet John Milton. He considers himself an artisan. A craftsman. His trade is murder. Milton is the man the government sends after you when everything else has failed. Ruthless. Brilliant. Anonymous. Lethal. You wouldn't pick him out of a crowd but you wouldn't want to be on his list. In this second dip into his case files (see 1000 Yards for a further novella), Milton is sent to Italy to investigate the death of a colleague from Group 15.
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5 out of 5 stars
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John Milton tries to exit British intelligence
- By Wayne on 06-03-16
By: Mark Dawson
What listeners say about American Ruin
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Motownglassgirl
- 01-12-23
A truly interesting story.
A very good read. The author does a great job at getting to the heart of what happened in Detroit. This book was very entertaining and informative and even a bit funny. I wish the narrator could pronounce the streets correctly.The tone of the narration was bland as well. I did enjoy hearing how the police treated the local citizens and their dedication to the city.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Robert S.
- 08-11-22
horrible pronunciation.
the dude can't pronounce basic detroit street names. he says greyshit for Gratiot it's grashit. it drove me nuts he does that with all the French pronounced stuff. they should've had a detroiter narrate this.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sharon K
- 08-18-19
Awesome Listen
Great book and a great listen. Ive gained huge respect for the DPD and the people of Detroit.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Joel Ravas
- 07-13-19
Incredible listen
I’ve lived in Detroit for 43 years with the exception of 4 years of college and never really knew just how how hard DPD has it. Michael really wrote this so that the reader actually feels like they are there with him. This is a must listen and must read!! Wish we could give more than 5 stars. Awesome job Michael Matthews❤️
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Andi c
- 11-14-19
great book
great book. it covers both the history of Detroit as well as current events. very educational and eye opening. I learned a lot.
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