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Banned in Boston
- The Watch and Ward Society’s Crusade Against Books, Burlesque, and the Social Evil
- Narrated by: Peter Johnson
- Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins
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Publisher's summary
A lively history of the Watch and Ward Society - New England's notorious literary censor for over eighty years. Banned in Boston is the first-ever history of the Watch and Ward Society - once Boston's unofficial moral guardian. An influential watchdog organization, bankrolled by society's upper crust, it actively suppressed vices like gambling and prostitution, and oversaw the mass censorship of books and plays. A spectacular romp through the Puritan City, here Neil Miller relates the scintillating story of how a powerful band of Brahmin moral crusaders helped make Boston the most straitlaced city in America, forever linked with the infamous catchphrase "banned in Boston."
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- By Jean on 09-23-13
By: Thomas Healy
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L.A. Noir
- The Struggle for the Soul of America's Most Seductive City
- By: John Buntin
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 17 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 188
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 168
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Story4 out of 5 stars 167
Midcentury Los Angeles: A city sold to the world as "the white spot of America", a land of sunshine and orange groves, Midwestern values, and Hollywood stars, protected by the world's most famous police force, the Dragnet-era LAPD. Behind this public image lies a hidden world of "pleasure girls" and crooked cops, ruthless newspaper tycoons, corrupt politicians, and East Coast gangsters on the make. Into this underworld came two men - one L.A.'s most notorious gangster, the other its most famous police chief - each prepared to battle the other for the soul of the city.
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3 out of 5 stars
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A good (but a little corny) history of LA
- By Jimmy on 10-23-12
By: John Buntin
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The Ten-Cent Plague
- The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America
- By: David Hajdu
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 875
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 669
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 668
In the years between World War II and the emergence of television as a mass medium, American popular culture as we know it was first created in the bold, pulpy pages of comic books. The Ten-Cent Plague explores this cultural emergence and its fierce backlash while challenging common notions of the divide between "high" and "low" art.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Very frightening
- By Paul on 09-24-08
By: David Hajdu
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Satan's Circus
- Murder, Vice, Police Corruption, and New York's Trial of the Century
- By: Mike Dash
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 12 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 132
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 60
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Story4 out of 5 stars 63
They called it Satan's Circus, a square mile of Midtown Manhattan where vice ruled, sin flourished, and depravity danced in every doorway. At the turn of the 20th century, murder was so common in the vice district that few people were surprised when the loudmouthed owner of a shabby casino was gunned down on the steps of its best hotel.
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4 out of 5 stars
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New York, N.Y
- By Robert on 07-11-07
By: Mike Dash
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Prince of Darkness
- The Untold Story of Jeremiah G. Hamilton, Wall Street's First Black Millionaire
- By: Shane White
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 155
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 134
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 135
In Prince of Darkness, a groundbreaking and vivid account, eminent historian Shane White reveals the larger-than-life story of a man who defied every convention of his time. He wheeled and dealed in the lily-white business world, he married a White woman, he bought a mansion in rural New Jersey, he owned railroad stock on trains he was not legally allowed to ride, and generally he set his White contemporaries' teeth on edge when he wasn't just plain outsmarting them.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Not A Nice Man, But A Smart One!
- By AlTonya on 07-28-17
By: Shane White
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The Bettencourt Affair
- The World's Richest Woman and the Scandal That Rocked Paris
- By: Tom Sancton
- Narrated by: Amanda Carlin
- Length: 13 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 360
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 324
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Story4 out of 5 stars 325
Heiress to the nearly 40-billion-dollar L’Oréal fortune, Liliane Bettencourt was the world’s richest woman and the 14th wealthiest person. But her gilded life took a dark yet fascinating turn in the past decade. At 94, she was embroiled in what has been called the Bettencourt Affair, a scandal that dominated the headlines in France. Why? It’s a tangled web of hidden secrets, divided loyalties, frayed relationships, and fractured families, set in the most romantic city - and involving the most glamorous industry - in the world.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A Juicy Chronicle
- By Jean on 10-24-17
By: Tom Sancton
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The Race Beat
- The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation
- By: Gene Roberts, Hank Klibanoff
- Narrated by: Richard Allen
- Length: 21 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 170
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 121
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 120
Drawing on private correspondence, notes from secret meetings, unpublished articles, and interviews, veteran journalists Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff go behind the headlines and datelines to show how a dedicated cadre of newsmen - first black reporters, then liberal Southern editors, then reporters and photographers from the national press and the broadcast media - revealed to a nation its most shameful shortcomings and propelled its citizens to act.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A fascinating inside look at history
- By Ron on 09-22-09
By: Gene Roberts, and others
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The Defender
- How the Legendary Black Newspaper Changed America; from the Age of the Pullman Porters to the Age of Obama
- By: Ethan Michaeli
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 22 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
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Story5 out of 5 stars 37
Giving voice to the voiceless, the Chicago Defender condemned Jim Crow, catalyzed the Great Migration, and focused the electoral power of black America. Robert S. Abbott founded the Defender in 1905, smuggled hundreds of thousands of copies into the most isolated communities in the segregated South, and was dubbed a "Modern Moses", becoming one of the first black millionaires in the process.
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5 out of 5 stars
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There's an unexpected genius here
- By Porter on 01-19-19
By: Ethan Michaeli
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Emmett Till
- The Murder That Shocked the World and Propelled the Civil Rights Movement
- By: Devery S. Anderson
- Narrated by: Brandon Church
- Length: 21 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 103
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 90
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Story5 out of 5 stars 91
Emmett Till offers the first truly comprehensive account of the 1955 murder and its aftermath. It tells the story of Emmett Till, the 14-year-old African American boy from Chicago brutally lynched for a harmless flirtation at a country store in the Mississippi Delta. His death and the acquittal of his killers by an all-white jury set off a firestorm of protests that reverberated all over the world and spurred on the civil rights movement.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An important story narrated with power and warmth
- By R. Nance on 10-04-16
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The Secret History of Wonder Woman
- By: Jill Lepore
- Narrated by: Jill Lepore
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 792
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 699
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 699
Like every other superhero, Wonder Woman has a secret identity. Unlike every other superhero, she has also has a secret history. Harvard historian and New Yorker staff writer Jill Lepore has uncovered an astonishing trove of documents, including the never-before-seen private papers of William Moulton Marston, Wonder Woman's creator.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Narration ruined it for me
- By Julia on 11-09-14
By: Jill Lepore
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Last Word
- My Indictment of the CIA in the Murder of JFK
- By: Mark Lane
- Narrated by: Mark Boyett
- Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 539
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 474
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 472
Mark Lane tried the only US court case in which the jurors concluded that the CIA plotted the murder of President Kennedy, but there was always a missing piece: How did the CIA control cops and secret service agents on the ground in Dealey Plaza? How did federal authorities prevent the House Select Committee on Assassinations from discovering the truth about the complicity of the CIA? Now, Mark Lane tells all in this explosive new book.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Bold, Direct and Controversial, As Always
- By Peter on 06-09-12
By: Mark Lane
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Freedom's Detective
- The Secret Service, the Ku Klux Klan and the Man Who Masterminded America's First War on Terror
- By: Charles Lane
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 126
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 112
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Story4 out of 5 stars 113
Freedom’s Detective reveals the untold story of the Reconstruction-era US Secret Service and their battle against the Ku Klux Klan, through the career of its controversial chief, Hiram C. Whitle.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Evan Review
- By Evan on 06-23-19
By: Charles Lane
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Malcolm X
- A Life of Reinvention
- By: Manning Marable
- Narrated by: G. Valmont Thomas
- Length: 22 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,405
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,181
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,181
Of the great figure in 20th-century American history perhaps none is more complex and controversial than Malcolm X. Constantly rewriting his own story, he became a criminal, a minister, a leader, and an icon, all before being felled by assassins' bullets at age 39. Through his tireless work and countless speeches he empowered hundreds of thousands of black Americans to create better lives and stronger communities while establishing the template for the self-actualized, independent African American man.
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5 out of 5 stars
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invites further reading on Malcolm X
- By connie on 05-14-11
By: Manning Marable
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The Teapot Dome Scandal
- How Big Oil Bought the Harding White House
- By: Laton McCartney
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 132
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 86
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 88
The Teapot Dome scandal of the early 1920s was all about oil - hundreds of millions of dollars� worth of petroleum. When the scandal finally broke, the consequences were tremendous. President Harding's legacy was forever tarnished, while �Oil Cabinet� member Albert Fall was forced to resign and was imprisoned for a year. Others implicated in the affair suffered prison terms, commitment to mental hospitals, suicide, and even murder.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Harding's return to normalcy: corruption
- By Paul on 03-05-08
By: Laton McCartney
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Death in the Haymarket
- A Story of Chicago, the First Labor Movement and the Bombing That Divided Gilded Age America
- By: James Green
- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 57
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 45
On May 4, 1886, a bomb exploded at a Chicago labor rally, wounding dozens of policemen, seven of whom eventually died. A wave of mass hysteria swept the country, leading to a sensational trial that culminated in four controversial executions and dealt a blow to the labor movement from which it would take decades to recover. Historian James Green recounts the rise of the first great labor movement in the wake of the Civil War and brings to life an epic 20-year struggle for the eight-hour workday.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A must for anyone who enjoys labor history
- By Taurus on 01-10-22
By: James Green
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Out of Mao's Shadow
- The Struggle for the Soul of a New China
- By: Philip P. Pan
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 144
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 61
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Story4 out of 5 stars 61
Prize-winning journalist Philip P. Pan offers an unprecedented inside look at the momentous battle underway for China's future. On one side is the entrenched party elite determined to preserve its authoritarian grip on power. On the other is a collection of lawyers, journalists, entrepreneurs, activists, hustlers, and dreamers striving to build a more tolerant, open, and democratic China.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great insight into changes in China
- By Paul on 04-14-09
By: Philip P. Pan
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City of Scoundrels
- The 12 Days of Disaster That Gave Birth to Modern Chicago
- By: Gary Krist
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 137
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 114
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 113
When 1919 began, the city of Chicago seemed on the verge of transformation. Modernizers had an audacious, expensive plan to turn the city from a brawling, unglamorous place into "the Metropolis of the World". But just as the dream seemed within reach, pandemonium broke loose and the city’s highest ambitions were suddenly under attack by the same unbridled energies that had given birth to them in the first place.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great History of a Great City
- By Cookie on 08-30-12
By: Gary Krist
What listeners say about Banned in Boston
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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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Susie
- 11-28-12
The Watch and Ward's Influence on U.S. Morality
Neil Miller is one of my favorite history writers— a gifted poet on the history of sexual liberation and suppression.
Miller's fascinating history of the New England Watch and Ward Society depicts their efforts to keep Boston free of lasciviousness and “vice.” Neil is a wizard of juicy anecdotes, period details, and the sort of narrative that puts the story in history.
The pre-curser to today's religious hypcorites were Boston's notorious "Watch and Ward." They excelled at kink while they were trying to "protect" Boston from prostitutes and "fantasies of urination."
Miller looks at the warring dogmas of free speech and puritanism that set precedence for legal and culture wars that we see unfolding today. If you want to know why Americans became famous for their absurd prudery, this is your map and compass.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Derek
- 07-23-13
A little on the tedious side
What disappointed you about Banned in Boston?
This one just seems to go on and on and on and yet never really goes anywhere.
What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)
Relief.
What didn’t you like about Peter Johnson’s performance?
Too dry.
You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?
It was no doubt well and passionately researched.
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