Gandolfini
Jim, Tony, and the Life of a Legend
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
3 months free
Gandolfini
Buy for $21.49
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Edoardo Ballerini
-
By:
-
Jason Bailey
About this listen
A deeply reported, perceptive, and celebratory biography of beloved actor James Gandolfini from a prominent critic and film historian.
Named one of the most anticipated books of the year by the AV Club
Based on extensive research and original reporting, including interviews with friends and collaborators, Gandolfini is a detailed and nuanced appraisal of an enduring artist.
More than a decade after his sudden passing, James Gandolfini still exerts a powerful pull on television and film enthusiasts around the world. His charismatic portrayal of complex, flawed, but always human men illuminated the contradictions in all of us, as well as our potential for grace, and the power of love and family.
In Gandolfini, critic and historian Jason Bailey traces the twinned stories of the man and the unforgettable roles he played. Gandolfini’s roots were working class, raised in northern New Jersey as the son of Italian immigrants, and acting was something he loved for a long time before he could see it as a career. It wasn’t until he was well into his bohemian twenties that he dedicated himself to a life on the stage and screen.
Bailey traces his rise, from bit parts to character roles he enlivened with menace and vulnerability, to Tony Soprano, the breakout role that would make him a legend, and onto a post-Sopranos career in which he continued to challenge himself and his audience.
"Jason Bailey’s richly reported biography of actor James Gandolfini is both entertaining and poignant, perceptive and vibrant. Best of all, it gives us the thing we’ve all been missing most: more time with the brilliant actor. You want to savor every anecdote, every insight and cherished memory shared by his friends, colleagues, and the entire Sopranos family. A true gift."—Megan Abbott, New York Times bestselling author of The Turnout and Beware the Woman
©2025 Jason Bailey (P)2025 Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Golden Hour
- A Story of Family and Power in Hollywood
- By: Matthew Specktor
- Narrated by: Matthew Specktor
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 9
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 7
Now, with The Golden Hour, Specktor blends memoir, cultural criticism, and narrative history to tell the story of the modern motion picture industry—illuminating the conflict between art and business that has played out over the last seventy-five years in Hollywood. Braiding his own story with that of his father, mother (a talented screenwriter whose career was cut short), and figures ranging from Jack Nicholson to CAA’s Michael Ovitz, Specktor reveals how Hollywood became a laboratory for the eternal struggle between art, labor, and capital.
By: Matthew Specktor
-
Baddest Man
- The Making of Mike Tyson
- By: Mark Kriegel
- Narrated by: Mark Kriegel
- Length: 13 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 10
On an evening that defined the "greed is good" 1980s, Donald Trump hosted a raft of celebrities and high rollers in a carnival town on the Jersey Shore to bask in the glow created by a twenty-one-year-old heavyweight champion. Mike Tyson knocked out Michael Spinks that night and in ninety-one frenzied seconds earned more than the annual payrolls of the Los Angeles Lakers' and Boston Celtics' players combined.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
She was who I thought she was
- By Michael D. Taylor on 06-19-25
By: Mark Kriegel
-
John & Paul
- A Love Story in Songs
- By: Ian Leslie
- Narrated by: Chris Addison
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 127
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 121
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 121
The Beatles shook the world to its core in the 1960’s and, to this day, new generations continue to fall in love with their songs and their story. At the heart of this phenomenon lies the dynamic between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Few other musical partnerships have been rooted in such a deep, intense and complicated personal relationship.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Stunned
- By BellevueMike on 04-16-25
By: Ian Leslie
-
The Gunfighters
- How Texas Made the West Wild
- By: Bryan Burrough
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3
The “Wild West” gunfighter is such a stock figure in our popular culture that some dismiss it all as a corny myth, more a product of dime novels and B movies than a genuinely important American history. In fact, as Bryan Burrough shows us in his dazzling and fast-paced new book, there’s much more below the surface. For three decades at the end of the 1800s, a big swath of the American West was a crucible of change, with the highest murder rate per capita in American history. The reasons behind this boil down to one word: Texas.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Hits the target
- By S. S. Felzenberg on 06-09-25
By: Bryan Burrough
-
Desi Arnaz
- The Man Who Invented Television
- By: Todd S Purdum
- Narrated by: Todd S Purdum
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 20
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 20
Despite being underestimated due to his accent and origins, Desi Arnaz’s legacy is monumental. Purdum’s biography, enriched with unpublished materials and interviews, reveals the man behind the legend and highlights his enduring contributions to pop culture and television. This book is a must-hear biography about innovation, resilience, and the relentless drive of a man who changed TV forever.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Yawn
- By 80s Kid on 06-22-25
By: Todd S Purdum
-
Fight
- Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House
- By: Jonathan Allen, Amie Parnes
- Narrated by: Joe Knezevich
- Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 710
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 678
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 678
Fight is the backstage story of bloodsport politics in its rawest form—the clawing, backstabbing, and rabble-rousing that drove Donald Trump into the White House and Democrats into the wilderness. At every turn, the combatants went for the jugular, whether they were facing down rivals in the other party or their own.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Comprehensive overview of Democrat failures in '24
- By Robert Tapia on 04-07-25
By: Jonathan Allen, and others
-
The Golden Hour
- A Story of Family and Power in Hollywood
- By: Matthew Specktor
- Narrated by: Matthew Specktor
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 9
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 7
Now, with The Golden Hour, Specktor blends memoir, cultural criticism, and narrative history to tell the story of the modern motion picture industry—illuminating the conflict between art and business that has played out over the last seventy-five years in Hollywood. Braiding his own story with that of his father, mother (a talented screenwriter whose career was cut short), and figures ranging from Jack Nicholson to CAA’s Michael Ovitz, Specktor reveals how Hollywood became a laboratory for the eternal struggle between art, labor, and capital.
By: Matthew Specktor
-
Baddest Man
- The Making of Mike Tyson
- By: Mark Kriegel
- Narrated by: Mark Kriegel
- Length: 13 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 10
On an evening that defined the "greed is good" 1980s, Donald Trump hosted a raft of celebrities and high rollers in a carnival town on the Jersey Shore to bask in the glow created by a twenty-one-year-old heavyweight champion. Mike Tyson knocked out Michael Spinks that night and in ninety-one frenzied seconds earned more than the annual payrolls of the Los Angeles Lakers' and Boston Celtics' players combined.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
She was who I thought she was
- By Michael D. Taylor on 06-19-25
By: Mark Kriegel
-
John & Paul
- A Love Story in Songs
- By: Ian Leslie
- Narrated by: Chris Addison
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 127
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 121
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 121
The Beatles shook the world to its core in the 1960’s and, to this day, new generations continue to fall in love with their songs and their story. At the heart of this phenomenon lies the dynamic between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Few other musical partnerships have been rooted in such a deep, intense and complicated personal relationship.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Stunned
- By BellevueMike on 04-16-25
By: Ian Leslie
-
The Gunfighters
- How Texas Made the West Wild
- By: Bryan Burrough
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3
The “Wild West” gunfighter is such a stock figure in our popular culture that some dismiss it all as a corny myth, more a product of dime novels and B movies than a genuinely important American history. In fact, as Bryan Burrough shows us in his dazzling and fast-paced new book, there’s much more below the surface. For three decades at the end of the 1800s, a big swath of the American West was a crucible of change, with the highest murder rate per capita in American history. The reasons behind this boil down to one word: Texas.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Hits the target
- By S. S. Felzenberg on 06-09-25
By: Bryan Burrough
-
Desi Arnaz
- The Man Who Invented Television
- By: Todd S Purdum
- Narrated by: Todd S Purdum
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 20
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 20
Despite being underestimated due to his accent and origins, Desi Arnaz’s legacy is monumental. Purdum’s biography, enriched with unpublished materials and interviews, reveals the man behind the legend and highlights his enduring contributions to pop culture and television. This book is a must-hear biography about innovation, resilience, and the relentless drive of a man who changed TV forever.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Yawn
- By 80s Kid on 06-22-25
By: Todd S Purdum
-
Fight
- Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House
- By: Jonathan Allen, Amie Parnes
- Narrated by: Joe Knezevich
- Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 710
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 678
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 678
Fight is the backstage story of bloodsport politics in its rawest form—the clawing, backstabbing, and rabble-rousing that drove Donald Trump into the White House and Democrats into the wilderness. At every turn, the combatants went for the jugular, whether they were facing down rivals in the other party or their own.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Comprehensive overview of Democrat failures in '24
- By Robert Tapia on 04-07-25
By: Jonathan Allen, and others
-
Martin Scorsese
- A Journey
- By: Mary Pat Kelly, Leonardo DiCaprio, Steven Spielberg
- Narrated by: Nancy Linari, P.J. Ochlan
- Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
Few filmmakers, if any, make the kind of impact that Martin Scorsese has made on American cinema. The winner of every prestigious film award, including the Oscar, Scorsese is a living legend. Bestselling author and award-winning filmmaker Mary Pat Kelly’s groundbreaking biography reveals how this working-class boy from Manhattan’s Little Italy became one of our most acclaimed, celebrated, and influential filmmakers. Martin Scorsese: A Journey maps Scorsese’s personal and artistic evolution.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Good behind the scenes of early Scorsese films
- By Boxing Fan on 12-04-23
By: Mary Pat Kelly, and others
-
Warhol's Muses
- The Artists, Misfits, and Superstars Destroyed by the Factory Fame Machine
- By: Laurence Leamer
- Narrated by: Isuri Wijesundara
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 2
From the New York Times bestselling author of Capote’s Women comes an astonishing account of the revolutionary artist Andy Warhol and his scandalous relationships with the ten women he deemed his “Superstars”.
By: Laurence Leamer
-
The Haves and Have-Yachts
- By: Evan Osnos
- Narrated by: Evan Osnos
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 27
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 27
The ultrarich hold more of America’s wealth than they did in the heyday of the Carnegies and Rockefellers. Here, Evan Osnos’s incisive reportage yields an unforgettable portrait of the tactics and obsessions driving this new Gilded Age, in which superyachts, luxury bunkers, elite tax dodges, and a torrent of political donations bespeak staggering disparities of wealth and power. With deft storytelling and meticulous reporting, this is a book about the indulgences, incentives, and psychological distortions that define our economic age.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
I will be refunding
- By Roger on 06-22-25
By: Evan Osnos
-
Notorious
- Portraits of Stars from Hollywood, Culture, Fashion, and Tech
- By: Maureen Dowd
- Narrated by: Maureen Dowd
- Length: 16 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 41
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 38
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 38
Shining a white-hot spotlight on America’s famous, from Hollywood legends to Broadway stars to media moguls, Notorious is a captivating assortment of columnist Maureen Dowd’s most compelling style features and profiles. Using her signature wit and incisive commentary as a scalpel, Dowd dissects influential cultural elite.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The honesty of the subjects
- By rumdok on 03-22-25
By: Maureen Dowd
-
My Next Breath
- A Memoir
- By: Jeremy Renner
- Narrated by: Jeremy Renner
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,939
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,899
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,899
Two-time Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner was the second-most-googled person in 2023—and not for his impressive filmography. His searing portrayals on film ranged from an Iraq-based army bomb technician in The Hurt Locker and a Boston bank robber in The Town to a crooked Camden mayor in American Hustle before he became heir to the Jason Bourne franchise (The Bourne Legacy). Amongst other iconic roles, he also captured hearts as fan-favorite comic book marksman Hawkeye in seven Marvel films.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Live this way
- By Jim on 05-06-25
By: Jeremy Renner
-
Actress of a Certain Age
- My Twenty-Year Trail to Overnight Success
- By: Jeff Hiller
- Narrated by: Jeff Hiller
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 72
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 69
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 69
While struggling to find success as an actor and pay the bills, something accidentally happened to Jeff Hiller: he aged. And while it’s one thing to get older and rest on the laurels of success from the blood, sweat, and tears of your youth, it’s quite another to be old and have no laurels. At forty, stuck in a temp job making spreadsheets, the dream of becoming a star seemed out of reach. But after twenty-five years of guest roles on TV and performing improv in a grocery store basement, he finally struck gold with a breakout role on HBO’s Somebody Somewhere, playing Joel.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
I love Jeff Hiller! Entertaining and gave me all the feels
- By Amanda on 06-15-25
By: Jeff Hiller
-
James Gandolfini
- The Real Life of the Man Who Made Tony Soprano
- By: Dan Bischoff
- Narrated by: John Ventimiglia
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 222
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 196
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 194
James Gandolfini: The Real Life of the Man Who Made Tony Soprano is the first biography of the actor, who died in June 2013 at age 51, widely recognized as one of the best - and most defining - actors of his generation. The audiobook, as performed by Gandolfini's Sopranos co-star John Ventimiglia (Artie Bucco), is informed by fresh interviews with Sopranos actors, HBO executives, the star’s acting teachers and coaches, his childhood friends, buddies from his days as a nightclub bouncer, and Hollywood figures including the directors of his posthumously released films.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The Moving Story of a Man Who Touched Our Lives
- By Susie on 04-14-14
By: Dan Bischoff
-
Black Is the New White
- By: Paul Mooney, Dave Chappelle - foreword
- Narrated by: Tony Isabella
- Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 266
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 244
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 243
For more than 40 years—whether writing for Richard Pryor and Saturday Night Live or performing stand-up to sold-out crowds around the country—Paul Mooney has been provocative, incisive...and absolutely hilarious. His comedy has always been indisputably real and raw, reflecting race issues in America, and this fascinating, fearless new memoir continues that unapologetically candid tradition.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Master Piece!! I loved every moment.
- By Amazon Customer on 04-27-21
By: Paul Mooney, and others
-
Theater Kid
- By: Jeffrey Seller
- Narrated by: Jeffrey Seller, Annaleigh Ashford, Kyle Beltran, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
Before he was producing the musical hits of our generation, Jeffrey was just a kid coming to terms with his adoption, trying to understand his sexuality, and determined to escape his dysfunctional household in a poor neighborhood just outside Detroit. We see him find his voice through musical theater and move to New York, where he is determined to shed his past and make a name for himself on Broadway. But moving to the big city is never easy—especially not at the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis—and Jeffrey learns to survive and thrive in the colorful and cutthroat world of commercial theatre.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Good Pride month read
- By Paul on 06-21-25
By: Jeffrey Seller
-
Saul Goodman v. Jimmy McGill
- The Complete Critical Companion to Better Call Saul
- By: Alan Sepinwall
- Narrated by: Brian P. Craig
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 6
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 6
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 6
Saul Goodman v. Jimmy McGill: The Better Call Saul Critical Companion collects chief TV critic at Rolling Stone Alan Sepinwall's critical essays on every episode of the Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated series. Sepinwall covered Better Call Saul from start to finish, and conducted exhaustive interviews with creator Vince Gilligan and stars Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seahorn, reproduced here alongside new interviews with series cocreator Peter Gould.
By: Alan Sepinwall
-
The Art of Winning
- Lessons from My Life in Football
- By: Bill Belichick
- Narrated by: Bill Belichick
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 72
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 71
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 71
No one embodies winning more than Bill Belichick, the greatest football coach of all time. Over the past fifty years, Belichick has been a man of notoriously few words, believing that a coach should keep a low profile. After he left the Patriots in 2024, he briefly became a coach without a team. He spent that year writing down the principles he learned from his father, Navy football, and from his forty-nine-year coaching career. Belichick’s philosophy goes far beyond football.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Great insight into a life of success
- By Amazon Customer on 06-17-25
By: Bill Belichick
-
Stupid TV, Be More Funny
- How the Golden Era of The Simpsons Changed Television—and America—Forever
- By: Alan Siegel
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 8
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 8
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 8
This comprehensive account of the meteoric rise of The Simpsons combines incisive pop culture criticism and interviews with the show’s creative team that take listeners inside the making of an American phenomenon during its most influential decade, the 1990s.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
So informative
- By Amazon Customer on 06-15-25
By: Alan Siegel
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
James Gandolfini
- The Real Life of the Man Who Made Tony Soprano
- By: Dan Bischoff
- Narrated by: John Ventimiglia
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 222
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 196
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 194
James Gandolfini: The Real Life of the Man Who Made Tony Soprano is the first biography of the actor, who died in June 2013 at age 51, widely recognized as one of the best - and most defining - actors of his generation. The audiobook, as performed by Gandolfini's Sopranos co-star John Ventimiglia (Artie Bucco), is informed by fresh interviews with Sopranos actors, HBO executives, the star’s acting teachers and coaches, his childhood friends, buddies from his days as a nightclub bouncer, and Hollywood figures including the directors of his posthumously released films.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The Moving Story of a Man Who Touched Our Lives
- By Susie on 04-14-14
By: Dan Bischoff
-
Woke Up This Morning
- The Definitive Oral History of The Sopranos
- By: Michael Imperioli, Steve Schirripa
- Narrated by: Michael Imperioli, Steve Schirripa, full cast
- Length: 13 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 445
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 397
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 397
Who made the phone call that got HBO to launch The Sopranos? What’s the significance of all those eggs? And, what the hell ever happened to the Russian? Michael Imperioli, Steve Schirripa, and the entire cast and crew of The Sopranos have all the answers - and they’re revealing where all the bodies are buried.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Really frustrating if you’ve listened to the podcast
- By ereviewer on 11-04-21
By: Michael Imperioli, and others
-
My Friend Norm
- By: Fred Stoller
- Narrated by: Fred Stoller
- Length: 1 hr and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 17
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 17
My Seinfeld Year, and Five Minutes to Kill author Fred Stoller returns describing his complicated friendship with the comedy legend, Norm Macdonald. When comic actor, Fred Stoller appeared on Norm Macdonald’s video podcast, Norm MacDonald Live, many commented that Norm seemed to care about Fred, and had quite a fondness for him. And some noted Norm seemed like he was being a bully. Both those assessments may have been correct at different times. That’s what made their friendship so complicated.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Love Norm Macdonald? Buy this audiobook!
- By edthesoundman on 05-02-25
By: Fred Stoller
-
Namath
- A Biography
- By: Mark Kriegel
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 21 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 107
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 70
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 69
In between Babe Ruth and Michael Jordan there was Joe Namath, one of the very few sports heroes who transcended their game. The son of a Hungarian immigrant, Namath left the steel country of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, for the Deep South, where he played quarterback for Bear Bryant at the University of Alabama. Almost four years later, he signed a $427,000 contract with the New York Jets that changed football forever, transforming a crude, violent game into show business.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Joe Namath #1
- By M on 09-22-10
By: Mark Kriegel
-
Tacky
- Love Letters to the Worst Culture We Have to Offer
- By: Rax King
- Narrated by: Rax King
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 103
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 86
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 86
Tacky is about the power of pop culture - like any art - to imprint itself on our lives and shape our experiences, no matter one's commitment to "good" taste. These 14 essays are a nostalgia-soaked antidote to the millennial generation's obsession with irony, putting the aesthetics we hate to love - snakeskin pants, Sex and the City, Cheesecake Factory's gargantuan menu - into kinder and sharper perspective.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Good, no perfect - in the best possible way
- By Tom on 01-26-24
By: Rax King
-
The Sopranos Sessions
- By: Matt Zoller Seitz, Alan Sepinwall, David Chase, and others
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 18 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 141
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 125
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 124
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the show's debut, Sepinwall and Seitz have reunited to produce The Sopranos Sessions, a collection of recaps, conversations, and critical essays covering every episode. Featuring a series of new long-form interviews with series creator David Chase, as well as selections from the authors' archival writing on the series, The Sopranos Sessions explores the show's artistry, themes, and legacy, examining its portrayal of Italian Americans, its graphic depictions of violence, and its deep connections to cinematic and television classics.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A must-have for Sopranos fans
- By brian on 04-18-20
By: Matt Zoller Seitz, and others
-
James Gandolfini
- The Real Life of the Man Who Made Tony Soprano
- By: Dan Bischoff
- Narrated by: John Ventimiglia
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 222
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 196
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 194
James Gandolfini: The Real Life of the Man Who Made Tony Soprano is the first biography of the actor, who died in June 2013 at age 51, widely recognized as one of the best - and most defining - actors of his generation. The audiobook, as performed by Gandolfini's Sopranos co-star John Ventimiglia (Artie Bucco), is informed by fresh interviews with Sopranos actors, HBO executives, the star’s acting teachers and coaches, his childhood friends, buddies from his days as a nightclub bouncer, and Hollywood figures including the directors of his posthumously released films.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The Moving Story of a Man Who Touched Our Lives
- By Susie on 04-14-14
By: Dan Bischoff
-
Woke Up This Morning
- The Definitive Oral History of The Sopranos
- By: Michael Imperioli, Steve Schirripa
- Narrated by: Michael Imperioli, Steve Schirripa, full cast
- Length: 13 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 445
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 397
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 397
Who made the phone call that got HBO to launch The Sopranos? What’s the significance of all those eggs? And, what the hell ever happened to the Russian? Michael Imperioli, Steve Schirripa, and the entire cast and crew of The Sopranos have all the answers - and they’re revealing where all the bodies are buried.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Really frustrating if you’ve listened to the podcast
- By ereviewer on 11-04-21
By: Michael Imperioli, and others
-
My Friend Norm
- By: Fred Stoller
- Narrated by: Fred Stoller
- Length: 1 hr and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 17
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 17
My Seinfeld Year, and Five Minutes to Kill author Fred Stoller returns describing his complicated friendship with the comedy legend, Norm Macdonald. When comic actor, Fred Stoller appeared on Norm Macdonald’s video podcast, Norm MacDonald Live, many commented that Norm seemed to care about Fred, and had quite a fondness for him. And some noted Norm seemed like he was being a bully. Both those assessments may have been correct at different times. That’s what made their friendship so complicated.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Love Norm Macdonald? Buy this audiobook!
- By edthesoundman on 05-02-25
By: Fred Stoller
-
Namath
- A Biography
- By: Mark Kriegel
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 21 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 107
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 70
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 69
In between Babe Ruth and Michael Jordan there was Joe Namath, one of the very few sports heroes who transcended their game. The son of a Hungarian immigrant, Namath left the steel country of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, for the Deep South, where he played quarterback for Bear Bryant at the University of Alabama. Almost four years later, he signed a $427,000 contract with the New York Jets that changed football forever, transforming a crude, violent game into show business.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Joe Namath #1
- By M on 09-22-10
By: Mark Kriegel
-
Tacky
- Love Letters to the Worst Culture We Have to Offer
- By: Rax King
- Narrated by: Rax King
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 103
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 86
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 86
Tacky is about the power of pop culture - like any art - to imprint itself on our lives and shape our experiences, no matter one's commitment to "good" taste. These 14 essays are a nostalgia-soaked antidote to the millennial generation's obsession with irony, putting the aesthetics we hate to love - snakeskin pants, Sex and the City, Cheesecake Factory's gargantuan menu - into kinder and sharper perspective.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Good, no perfect - in the best possible way
- By Tom on 01-26-24
By: Rax King
-
The Sopranos Sessions
- By: Matt Zoller Seitz, Alan Sepinwall, David Chase, and others
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 18 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 141
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 125
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 124
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the show's debut, Sepinwall and Seitz have reunited to produce The Sopranos Sessions, a collection of recaps, conversations, and critical essays covering every episode. Featuring a series of new long-form interviews with series creator David Chase, as well as selections from the authors' archival writing on the series, The Sopranos Sessions explores the show's artistry, themes, and legacy, examining its portrayal of Italian Americans, its graphic depictions of violence, and its deep connections to cinematic and television classics.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A must-have for Sopranos fans
- By brian on 04-18-20
By: Matt Zoller Seitz, and others
-
The Golden Hour
- A Story of Family and Power in Hollywood
- By: Matthew Specktor
- Narrated by: Matthew Specktor
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 9
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 7
Now, with The Golden Hour, Specktor blends memoir, cultural criticism, and narrative history to tell the story of the modern motion picture industry—illuminating the conflict between art and business that has played out over the last seventy-five years in Hollywood. Braiding his own story with that of his father, mother (a talented screenwriter whose career was cut short), and figures ranging from Jack Nicholson to CAA’s Michael Ovitz, Specktor reveals how Hollywood became a laboratory for the eternal struggle between art, labor, and capital.
By: Matthew Specktor
-
Theater Kid
- By: Jeffrey Seller
- Narrated by: Jeffrey Seller, Annaleigh Ashford, Kyle Beltran, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
Before he was producing the musical hits of our generation, Jeffrey was just a kid coming to terms with his adoption, trying to understand his sexuality, and determined to escape his dysfunctional household in a poor neighborhood just outside Detroit. We see him find his voice through musical theater and move to New York, where he is determined to shed his past and make a name for himself on Broadway. But moving to the big city is never easy—especially not at the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis—and Jeffrey learns to survive and thrive in the colorful and cutthroat world of commercial theatre.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Good Pride month read
- By Paul on 06-21-25
By: Jeffrey Seller
-
Robert Shaw
- An Actor's Life on the Set of JAWS and Beyond
- By: Christopher Shaw Myers
- Narrated by: Christopher Shaw Myers, Daniel Thomas May
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
Robert Shaw unforgettably commanded attention as the weathered seaman Captain Quint in the blockbuster sensation, Jaws. But what came before and after that landmark film is as dramatic as the hunt for the great white shark itself. Capturing the many facets of the vibrant, generous, and sometimes polarizing man is his nephew, Christopher, who explores the forces that shaped a dynamic personality—including Robert's indomitable mother, his deeply troubled father, and his activist sister, Joanna, with whom Robert shared an unbreakable bond.
-
Justice for Marcus Garvey
- Look for Me in the Whirlwind
- By: Ta-Nehisi Coates - foreword, Julius Garvey - editor
- Narrated by: James Fouhey, Adenrele Ojo
- Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 2
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 2
Marcus Garvey (1887-1940) was a Black political activist, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator who founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League, which had a following of more than six million African descended people worldwide. Despite his massive popularity, this Jamaican born international leader was wrongfully sentenced to prison by the U.S. government on trumped-up mail-fraud charges.
By: Ta-Nehisi Coates - foreword, and others
-
Cop Cop
- Breaking the Fixed System of American Policing
- By: Mac Muir, Greg Finch
- Narrated by: Phil Morris
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 2
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 2
When you think about the police, who do you think of: Do you think of one officer, or the police as an institution? From movies and TV to the real world, a police presence looms over most conflict. But if there was a defining feature of the 2020 protests over the murder of George Floyd, it was the collective confusion about how America got to this point. Despite fragmented media coverage about police unions, militarization, and systemic racism, the average citizen’s knowledge remained hazy on what exactly police officers had been doing all along. It’s probably different than you would expect.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent book! This book holds within its pages both the problems with and some possible solutions to modern day Police work.
- By Matt on 05-03-25
By: Mac Muir, and others
-
Uptown Girl
- A Memoir
- By: Christie Brinkley
- Narrated by: Christie Brinkley
- Length: 14 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 232
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 227
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 227
In 1974, a twenty-year-old Christie Brinkley was “discovered” outside a Paris phone booth, which set off a meteoric modeling career that would land her on the covers of hundreds of magazines and cement her legacy as an All-American icon. Although she’s lived more than fifty years in the public eye, the full story of her roller-coaster life has never been told. Now, for the first time, Christie shares what life has been like, both in front of and behind the cameras
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Empowering Passionate Romanticizing Beauty
- By Christine on 05-04-25
-
Convoluted
- The 1972 Durham Family Triple Homicide
- By: Terry L. Harmon
- Narrated by: Evan Peter Smith
- Length: 19 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2
For fifty years, the 1972 murders of Bryce and Virginia Durham and their teenage son Bobby on a bitter winter's night in Boone, North Carolina were unsolved, but in 2022, the Watauga County Sheriff's Office announced that their killers had finally been identified. Based on information from Georgia, four men associated with the Dixie Mafia (including the infamous Billy Sunday Birt, whose notoriety was explored by the popular "In The Red Clay" podcast) were proclaimed with certainty to be the guilty parties who strangled the Durhams and placed them headfirst into a water-filled bathtub.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Detailed Look at a Lesser Known Unsolved Murder
- By steve thomas on 05-14-25
By: Terry L. Harmon
-
Final Thoughts: Jerry Springer
- By: Leon Neyfakh
- Narrated by: Leon Neyfakh
- Length: 5 hrs and 23 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 239
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 232
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 232
Final Thoughts: Jerry Springer tells the fascinating story of a Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany who became the beloved mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio before morphing into a symbol of cultural decline. Through dozens of intimate and revealing interviews with those who knew Springer best—from his big sister to his early political aides to the producers who shaped his show—listeners will be transported into the world of this singular figure’s rise to notoriety, and his fascinating struggle to reconcile his status as “the king of trash TV” with his lifelong dream of returning to politics.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Unbelievably interesting
- By Mirza on 05-20-25
By: Leon Neyfakh
-
We Did Ok, Kid
- A Memoir
- By: Sir Anthony Hopkins
- Narrated by: Sir Anthony Hopkins
- Length: 13 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
Born and raised in Port Talbot—a small Welsh steelworks town—amid war and depression, Sir Anthony Hopkins grew up around men who were tough, to say the least, and eschewed all forms of emotional vulnerability in favor of alcoholism and brutality. A struggling student in school, he was deemed by his peers, his parents, and other adults as a failure with no future ahead of him. But, on a fateful Saturday night, the disregarded Welsh boy watched the 1948 adaptation of Hamlet, sparking a passion for acting that would lead him on a path that no one could have predicted.
-
Desi Arnaz
- The Man Who Invented Television
- By: Todd S Purdum
- Narrated by: Todd S Purdum
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 20
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 20
Despite being underestimated due to his accent and origins, Desi Arnaz’s legacy is monumental. Purdum’s biography, enriched with unpublished materials and interviews, reveals the man behind the legend and highlights his enduring contributions to pop culture and television. This book is a must-hear biography about innovation, resilience, and the relentless drive of a man who changed TV forever.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Yawn
- By 80s Kid on 06-22-25
By: Todd S Purdum
-
See How They Fall
- By: Rachel Paris
- Narrated by: Arianwen Parkes-Lockwood, Eva Seymour
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 5
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 5
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 5
When Skye married into the wealthy Turner family, she thought she was entering paradise. But now, several years later, she remains uneasy amid the opulence of her husband's world, struggling with her own secrets and working to maintain a normal life for their young daughter, Tilly. Skye's delicate balance is undone when the family patriarch, Sir Campbell Turner, dies suddenly and an illegitimate heir comes forward to stake his claim in the luxury goods empire the old man leaves behind.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Everything about this book was compelling & interesting
- By Anonymous User on 05-12-25
By: Rachel Paris
-
It Happened!
- A Uniquely Lucky Life in Sports Television
- By: Art Chansky, Jim Lampley
- Narrated by: Jim Lampley
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 12
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 12
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 12
From Jim Lampley, HBO’s ringside face and voice of boxing, comes a first-person, blow-by-blow account of the evolution of sports television chock full of famous names, history-making events, and never-before-told stories from the world of sports.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
nothing
- By Dawanna Lopez on 04-28-25
By: Art Chansky, and others
A feast
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Excellent book about the best actor!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
James’s Story
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.