The Run of His Life

The People v. O.J. Simpson

By: Jeffrey Toobin

Narrated by: Stephen Bel Davies

This New York Times best seller was the inspiration for the first season of American Crime Story on FX, starring Cuba Gooding, Jr.; John Travolta; David Schwimmer; and Connie Britton.

The definitive account of the O. J. Simpson trial, The Run of His Life is a prodigious feat of reporting that could have been written only by the foremost legal journalist of our time. First published less than a year after the infamous verdict, Jeffrey Toobin's nonfiction masterpiece tells the whole story, from the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman to the ruthless gamesmanship behind the scenes of "the trial of the century". Rich in character, as propulsive as a legal thriller, this enduring narrative continues to shock and fascinate with its candid depiction of the human drama that upended American life.

Please note: This audiobook is a recording of the original 1996 edition of The Run of His Life. It does not include an Afterword added to the 2013 reissued edition.

©1996 Jeffrey Toobin (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"This is the book to read." (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times)

"This book stands out as a gripping and colorful account of the crime and trial that captured the world's attention." ( Boston Sunday Globe)

"A real page-turner.... Strips away the months of circuslike televised proceedings and the sordid tell-all books and lays out a simple, but devastating, synopsis of the case." ( Entertainment Weekly)

Great Book, Awful Narration Choices

Would you listen to The Run of His Life again? Why?

This is a fantastic book, not simply about the Simpson trial, but about America at the second half of the twentieth century. It covers, in fascinating depth, not just the events of the trial - which are interesting enough in their own right - but also the social influences, the historical context, and the individual motivations of all the parties involved, and the story broadens out into a tale of all of our world.

However, the narrator chosen for this project is absolutely wrong for it. He reads clearly, but his general style and his choices are both a very bad fit. His style and phrasing would be much better for a light comedy-mystery, a humor book, or a kids book. As just one example of narrative choices that are inappropriate for this book, he inserts an upward inflection - like he's asking a question? - into many, many sentences when the narrative in no way calls for it. That's just one example.

Overall, I still recommend The Run Of His Life because it is such a great book and story.

Any additional comments?

I love Audible Audiobooks, and get new ones several times a month. This is the first one I have found where the narration was completely wrong for the book. I am surprised that no one working on this project who read the book and liked it noticed that the narrative style didn't fit the book at all - but because I love Audible audiobooks overall, I'll give them this miss.

Compelling narritive - awful narration

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Entire delivery kept taking me out of the flow. It was that annoying.

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

The book is full of them - and I followed the events in detail at the time.

Any additional comments?

Get another narrator, please.

Great book, Poor narrator

This is the definitive book on the O Simpson trial. Its too bad they picked this narrator. He almost ruined it. If you can ignore the naatative style, its a great book. Audible seems to use him a lot on their own productions.

Strongly disliked narrator.

I loved the book but hated the narrator. It was painful to listen to him overdramatize and mangle legal topics.

Good read

I remember this well, remember the chase, watching the trial on TV and ultimately the verdict. It gives much insight on the case. The narrator is very good as well.

Do I detect a drop of snark?

First off, I'm a straight-up, dgaf, forever devoted, OG Atlanta CNN fangirl. I'm not going to dislike anything by Jeff Toobin, it's just not in my genetic makeup. Great book. Great reporting. Great storytelling.

This is, however, my first encounter with this narrator.

And I'm smitten. I may very well be reading far too much into this performance... But honestly.... To tell a story of one of the most heinous incidences of the ultimate in toxic masculinity with this sneaky little lilt of almost camp? Am I wrong? I hope not. Because it feels like just the tiniest little wink-smirk-sneer-kick right at OJ's pathetic, um... pigskins. Horrifying though it all is, on oh-so-many levels, it is still always going to stand as one of the most OTT, OOC celebrity stories of all time. And this is just a perfect reading of it. I couldn't have stomached this being read by some sports reporter dudebro, exuding the same attitude of thoughtless, entitled misogyny as the perpetrator(s). Don't get me wrong; there's no indications of this being made light of. It's a sensitive reading. But it's got a little edge that feels to me like a consciously defiant middle finger held up to the sort of culture that rewards even abusive, murderous men like Simpson just for being "manly."

Really great book

I enjoyed this book a lot. Many things mentioned by other books or shows are discussed in better detail here.

Other reviewers say they don’t like the narrator, but I enjoyed his reading.

If you like to learn about the Simpson case, I highly suggest this book.

Well done

This book has so much more information than the FX mini series, Gives much more understanding to the whole story. If you have seen the series read this book. It will open your eyes even more.

Perfect Overview

This book is perfect for anyone interested in the O.J. case or just true crime in general. This case was America's first reality show, and this book shows every moment of that. I love this book. (And if you don't want to listen to an 18-hour book there is an amazing FX series on Hulu of the same name that is based on the book)

What I thought as a child, shattered by logic

If you could sum up The Run of His Life in three words, what would they be?

The O.J. trial that you didn't see.

What did you like best about this story?

The detail

What aspect of Stephen Bel Davies’s performance would you have changed?

Not much

If you could give The Run of His Life a new subtitle, what would it be?

More than just O.J. are responsible for his guilt.

Any additional comments?

I remember once thinking that O.J. was innocent. After reading If I did It, I was convinced otherwise. This book also helps me realize that if it weren't for the poor performance of the prosecution, the blatant race baiting of Johnny Cochran, The past of the LAPD, and the behavior of Mark Furman, O.J. wold have been convicted and there would be no one regardless of color would have felt sorry for him, or remained unconvinced of his guilt.