-
Mint Condition
- How Baseball Cards Became an American Obsession
- Narrated by: Kevin Young
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
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
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Mint Condition
Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Cardboard Gods
- An All-American Tale Told through Baseball Cards
- By: Josh Wilker
- Narrated by: Jim Meskimen
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 42
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 34
Cardboard Gods is the memoir of Josh Wilker, a brilliant writer who has marked the stages of his life through the baseball cards he collected as a child. It also captures the experience of growing up obsessed with baseball cards and explores what it means to be a fan of the game. Along the way, as we get to know Josh, his family, and his friends, we also get Josh’s classic observations about the central artifacts from his life - the baseball cards themselves.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Relatable, funny, and inspiring.
- By Scott J. Krason on 10-27-20
By: Josh Wilker
-
The Baseball 100
- By: Joe Posnanski
- Narrated by: Cary Hite
- Length: 30 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 462
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 400
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 399
Longer than Moby-Dick and nearly as ambitious,The Baseball 100 is a one-of-a-kind work by award-winning sportswriter and lifelong student of the game Joe Posnanski that tells the story of the sport through the remarkable lives of its 100 greatest players. In the book’s introduction, Pulitzer Prize-winning commentator George F. Will marvels, “Posnanski must already have lived more than 200 years. How else could he have acquired such a stock of illuminating facts and entertaining stories about the rich history of this endlessly fascinating sport?”
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Just OK. Too Tangential & Distracting
- By Matthew R. on 01-21-23
By: Joe Posnanski
-
Sports Card Collector 101
- The Simplified Newbie’s Guide to Start Collecting and Investing in Sports Cards in Less Than 7 Days
- By: Beto Salinas
- Narrated by: Jared Zak
- Length: 4 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 12
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 12
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 12
Sports Card Collector 101 is jam-packed full of all of the content you could possibly desire to kick-start your collection on the right foot. As with collecting any types of cards, it is essential that you understand which cards carry the most value, and which ones are the rarest to find. This book will show you how to make sure your cards remain at the highest value possible, giving you the best chance of your investment paying off.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent resource/guide for the novice
- By T M CASH on 07-28-21
By: Beto Salinas
-
Ball Four
- The Final Pitch
- By: Jim Bouton
- Narrated by: Jim Bouton
- Length: 18 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,833
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,602
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,598
When Ball Four was published in 1970, it created a firestorm. Bouton was called a Judas, a Benedict Arnold and a “social leper” for having violated the “sanctity of the clubhouse.” Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn tried to force Bouton to sign a statement saying the book wasn’t true. Ballplayers, most of whom hadn’t read it, denounced the book. It was even banned by a few libraries. Almost everyone else, however, loved Ball Four.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Three Ten Year Updates Give Bouton a 5th Star
- By Byron on 08-09-12
By: Jim Bouton
-
Baseball
- By: Geoffrey C. Ward, Ken Burns
- Narrated by: Ken Burns
- Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 146
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 121
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 123
The authors of the acclaimed and best-selling The Civil War, Jazz, and The War turn to another uniquely American phenomenon: baseball. Geoffrey C. Ward's and Ken Burns’s moving and fascinating history of the game goes beyond stolen bases, double plays, and home runs to demonstrate how baseball has been influenced by, and has in turn influenced, American life.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Abridged
- By David Munoz on 02-15-16
By: Geoffrey C. Ward, and others
-
Devil Take the Hindmost
- A History of Financial Speculation
- By: Edward Chancellor
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 328
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 266
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 265
Devil Take the Hindmost is a lively, original, and challenging history of stock market speculation from the 17th century to the present day. Edward Chancellor traces the origins of the speculative spirit back to ancient Rome and chronicles its revival in the modern world.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Well-picked scenes span tulips up to 20 years ago
- By Philo on 03-07-19
-
Cardboard Gods
- An All-American Tale Told through Baseball Cards
- By: Josh Wilker
- Narrated by: Jim Meskimen
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 42
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 34
Cardboard Gods is the memoir of Josh Wilker, a brilliant writer who has marked the stages of his life through the baseball cards he collected as a child. It also captures the experience of growing up obsessed with baseball cards and explores what it means to be a fan of the game. Along the way, as we get to know Josh, his family, and his friends, we also get Josh’s classic observations about the central artifacts from his life - the baseball cards themselves.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Relatable, funny, and inspiring.
- By Scott J. Krason on 10-27-20
By: Josh Wilker
-
The Baseball 100
- By: Joe Posnanski
- Narrated by: Cary Hite
- Length: 30 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 462
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 400
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 399
Longer than Moby-Dick and nearly as ambitious,The Baseball 100 is a one-of-a-kind work by award-winning sportswriter and lifelong student of the game Joe Posnanski that tells the story of the sport through the remarkable lives of its 100 greatest players. In the book’s introduction, Pulitzer Prize-winning commentator George F. Will marvels, “Posnanski must already have lived more than 200 years. How else could he have acquired such a stock of illuminating facts and entertaining stories about the rich history of this endlessly fascinating sport?”
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Just OK. Too Tangential & Distracting
- By Matthew R. on 01-21-23
By: Joe Posnanski
-
Sports Card Collector 101
- The Simplified Newbie’s Guide to Start Collecting and Investing in Sports Cards in Less Than 7 Days
- By: Beto Salinas
- Narrated by: Jared Zak
- Length: 4 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 12
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 12
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 12
Sports Card Collector 101 is jam-packed full of all of the content you could possibly desire to kick-start your collection on the right foot. As with collecting any types of cards, it is essential that you understand which cards carry the most value, and which ones are the rarest to find. This book will show you how to make sure your cards remain at the highest value possible, giving you the best chance of your investment paying off.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent resource/guide for the novice
- By T M CASH on 07-28-21
By: Beto Salinas
-
Ball Four
- The Final Pitch
- By: Jim Bouton
- Narrated by: Jim Bouton
- Length: 18 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,833
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,602
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,598
When Ball Four was published in 1970, it created a firestorm. Bouton was called a Judas, a Benedict Arnold and a “social leper” for having violated the “sanctity of the clubhouse.” Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn tried to force Bouton to sign a statement saying the book wasn’t true. Ballplayers, most of whom hadn’t read it, denounced the book. It was even banned by a few libraries. Almost everyone else, however, loved Ball Four.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Three Ten Year Updates Give Bouton a 5th Star
- By Byron on 08-09-12
By: Jim Bouton
-
Baseball
- By: Geoffrey C. Ward, Ken Burns
- Narrated by: Ken Burns
- Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 146
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 121
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 123
The authors of the acclaimed and best-selling The Civil War, Jazz, and The War turn to another uniquely American phenomenon: baseball. Geoffrey C. Ward's and Ken Burns’s moving and fascinating history of the game goes beyond stolen bases, double plays, and home runs to demonstrate how baseball has been influenced by, and has in turn influenced, American life.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Abridged
- By David Munoz on 02-15-16
By: Geoffrey C. Ward, and others
-
Devil Take the Hindmost
- A History of Financial Speculation
- By: Edward Chancellor
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 328
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 266
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 265
Devil Take the Hindmost is a lively, original, and challenging history of stock market speculation from the 17th century to the present day. Edward Chancellor traces the origins of the speculative spirit back to ancient Rome and chronicles its revival in the modern world.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Well-picked scenes span tulips up to 20 years ago
- By Philo on 03-07-19
-
Moneyball
- The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
- By: Michael Lewis
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,898
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5,113
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5,112
Moneyball reveals a quest for something as elusive as the Holy Grail, something that money apparently can't buy: the secret of success in baseball. The logical places to look would be the giant offices of major league teams and the dugouts. But the real jackpot is a cache of numbers collected over the years by a strange brotherhood of amateur baseball enthusiasts: software engineers, statisticians, Wall Street analysts, lawyers, and physics professors.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent Book, Outstanding Narration, Sloppy Edit
- By Dirk Turgid on 03-05-12
By: Michael Lewis
-
Why We Love Baseball
- A History in 50 Moments
- By: Joe Posnanski
- Narrated by: Joe Posnanski, Ellen Adair
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 111
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 101
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 101
Posnanski writes of major moments that created legends, and of forgotten moments almost lost to time. It's Willie Mays’s catch, Babe Ruth’s called shot, and Kirk Gibson’s limping home run; the slickest steals; the biggest bombs; and the most triumphant no-hitters. But these are also moments raw with the humanity of the game, the unheralded heroes, the mesmerizing mistakes drenched in pine tar, and every story, from the immortal to the obscure, is told from a unique perspective.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
wonderful story, mediocre narration
- By D. Bhansali on 03-21-24
By: Joe Posnanski
-
The Grandest Stage
- A History of the World Series
- By: Tyler Kepner
- Narrated by: Tyler Kepner
- Length: 10 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 31
The World Series is the most enduring showcase in American team sports. It’s the place where legends are made, where celebration and devastation can hinge on a fly ball off a foul pole or a grounder beneath a first baseman’s glove. And there’s no one better to bring this rich history to life than New York Times national baseball columnist Tyler Kepner, whose bestselling book about pitching, K, was lauded as “Michelangelo explaining the brush strokes on the Sistine Chapel” by Newsday.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A wonderful book, filled with tidbits of great information. Essential reading for any fan of baseball history!
- By Shawn Kaufman on 01-23-24
By: Tyler Kepner
-
Rickey
- The Life and Legend of an American Original
- By: Howard Bryant
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 18 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 231
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 214
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 213
Few names in the history of baseball evoke the excellence and dynamism that Rickey Henderson’s does. He holds the record for the most stolen bases in a single game, and he’s scored more runs than any player ever. “If you cut Rickey Henderson in half, you’d have two Hall of Famers,” the baseball historian Bill James once said. But perhaps even more than his prowess on the field, Rickey Henderson’s is a story of Oakland, California, the town that gave rise to so many legendary athletes like him.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An All Time Grewt
- By Anonymous User on 10-09-23
By: Howard Bryant
-
The Whalebone Theatre
- A Read with Jenna Pick
- By: Joanna Quinn
- Narrated by: Olivia Vinall
- Length: 18 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 531
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 463
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 460
One blustery night in 1928, a whale washes up on the shores of the English Channel. By law, it belongs to the King, but twelve-year-old orphan Cristabel Seagrave has other plans. She and the rest of the household—her sister, Flossie; her brother, Digby, long-awaited heir to Chilcombe manor; Maudie Kitcat, kitchen maid; Taras, visiting artist—build a theatre from the beast’s skeletal rib cage. Within the Whalebone Theatre, Cristabel can escape her feckless stepparents and brisk governesses, and her imagination comes to life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Unbelievable Debut Novel!
- By NTexHiker on 10-13-22
By: Joanna Quinn
-
The Last Folk Hero
- The Life and Myth of Bo Jackson
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 22 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 374
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 337
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 337
From the mid-1980s into the early 1990s, the greatest athlete of all time streaked across American sports and popular culture. Stadiums struggled to contain him. Clocks failed to capture his speed. His strength was legendary. His power unmatched. Video game makers turned him into an invincible character—and they were dead-on. He climbed (and walked across) walls, splintered baseball bats over his knee, turned oncoming tacklers into ground meat.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
If you are a sports fan and over 35 years old, you have to listen/read this. Awesome!
- By betty sammons on 06-29-23
By: Jeff Pearlman
-
Smart Baseball
- The Story Behind the Old Stats That Are Ruining the Game, the New Ones That Are Running It, and the Right Way to Think About Baseball
- By: Keith Law
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 480
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 427
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 424
Predictably Irrational meets Moneyball in ESPN veteran writer and statistical analyst Keith Law's iconoclastic look at the numbers game of baseball, proving why some of the most trusted stats are surprisingly wrong, explaining what numbers actually work, and exploring what the rise of Big Data means for the future of the sport.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
If you sorta like baseball--save your money
- By david ortega on 05-11-17
By: Keith Law
-
The Great Beanie Baby Bubble
- Mass Delusion and the Dark Side of Cute
- By: Zac Bissonnette
- Narrated by: P.J. Ochlan
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 334
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 288
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 285
There has never been a craze like Beanie Babies. The $5 beanbag animals with names like Seaweed the Otter and Gigi the Poodle drove millions of Americans into a greed-fueled frenzy as they chased the rarest Beanie Babies, whose values escalated weekly in the late 1990s. A single Beanie Baby sold for $10,000, and on eBay the animals comprised 10 percent of all sales.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
King of Crushed Dreams
- By Carole T. on 03-06-15
By: Zac Bissonnette
-
The Cubs Way
- The Zen of Building the Best Team in Baseball and Breaking the Curse
- By: Tom Verducci
- Narrated by: Tom Verducci
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 759
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 693
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 695
With inside access and reporting, Sports Illustrated senior baseball writer and FOX Sports analyst Tom Verducci reveals how Theo Epstein and Joe Maddon built, led, and inspired the Chicago Cubs team that broke the longest championship drought in sports, chronicling their epic journey to become World Series champions.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The best baseball book I’ve ever read
- By Michael Klotz on 04-15-17
By: Tom Verducci
-
How to Know the Birds
- The Art and Adventure of Birding
- By: Ted Floyd
- Narrated by: Graham Winton
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 43
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 35
Become a better birder with brief profiles of 200 top North American birds. This friendly, relatable audiobook is a celebration of the art, science, and delights of bird-watching. How to Know the Birds introduces a new, holistic approach to bird-watching, by noting how behaviors, settings, and seasonal cycles connect with shape, song, color, gender, age distinctions, and other features traditionally used to identify species. With short essays on 200 observable species, expert author Ted Floyd guides us through a year of becoming a better birder.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Great book but poorly indexed
- By Chris Nabel on 10-09-19
By: Ted Floyd
-
The Henchmen Chronicles Collection, Books 1-5
- By: Craig Halloran
- Narrated by: Alexander Cendese
- Length: 39 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 128
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 114
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 114
Contains the complete Henchmen Chronicles series.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
for a credit, why not
- By Daniel on 06-24-23
By: Craig Halloran
-
The Gates of Azyr: Age of Sigmar
- Realmgate Wars, Book 1
- By: Chris Wraight
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 3 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 545
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 494
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 494
The war is over, and the Mortal Realms have all but fallen to Chaos.... Korghos Khul rampages across the fiery Realm of Aqshy, hunting down mortal kind to slaughter or subjugate to Khorne. His Goretide have crushed all resistance...until the storm. From the heavens hurtle paladins clad in gold. Sent by Sigmar, the Stormcast Eternals have come to liberate all the realms from the yoke of Chaos.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A Short Intro into Age of Sigmar
- By Bryan N on 08-06-18
By: Chris Wraight
Publisher's summary
When award-winning journalist Dave Jamieson's parents sold his childhood home a few years ago, he rediscovered a prized boyhood possession: his baseball card collection. Now was the time to cash in on the investments of his youth. But all the card shops had closed, and cards were selling for next to nothing online. What had happened?
In Mint Condition, his fascinating, eye-opening, endlessly entertaining book, Jamieson finds the answer by tracing the complete story of this beloved piece of American childhood. Picture cards had long been used for advertising, but after the Civil War, tobacco companies started slipping them into cigarette packs as collector's items. Before long the cards were wagging the cigarettes. In the 1930s cards helped gum and candy makers survive the Great Depression. In the 1960s royalties from cards helped transform the baseball players' association into one of the country's most powerful unions, dramatically altering the game. In the '80s and '90s, cards went through a spectacular bubble, becoming a billion-dollar-a-year industry before all but disappearing, surviving today as the rarified preserve of adult collectors. Mint Condition is charming original history brimming with colorful characters, sure to delight baseball fans and collectors.
Featured Article: The Best Baseball Audiobooks of All Time
Ask any baseball fan and they'll tell you: some of their favorite sounds can only be heard at the ballpark—the smooth, satisfying pop of a catcher’s glove as a pitch hits its mark; the crack of a bat as it tears into a fastball, explosive and hopeful, drawing the crowd to their feet. Our list, a roundup of outstanding baseball audiobooks, offers a glimmer of that same ballpark magic with just a few of the greatest stories from our national pastime.
More from the same
Related to this topic
-
Comic Shop
- The Retail Mavericks Who Gave Us a New Geek Culture
- By: Dan Gearino
- Narrated by: Douglas R. Pratt
- Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 43
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 37
The early 1970s saw the birth of the modern comic book shop. Its rise was due in large part to a dynamic entrepreneur, Phil Seuling. His direct market model allowed shops to get comics straight from the publishers, bypassing middlemen. Stores could better customize their offerings and independent publishers could now access national distribution. In this way, shops opened up a space for quirky ideas to gain an audience and helped transform small-press series, from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to Bone, into media giants.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A good listen.
- By Amazon Customer on 08-30-20
By: Dan Gearino
-
Slugfest
- Inside the Epic, 50-Year Battle Between Marvel and DC
- By: Reed Tucker
- Narrated by: Will Collyer
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 716
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 637
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 633
The first in-depth, behind-the-scenes audiobook treatment of the rivalry between the two comic book giants. They are the two titans of the comic book industry - the Coke and Pepsi of superheroes - and for more than 50 years, Marvel and DC have been locked in an epic battle for spandex supremacy. At stake is not just sales, but cultural relevancy and the hearts of millions of fans. To many partisans, Marvel is now on top. But for much of the early 20th century, it was DC that was the undisputed leader.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Loved it, but...
- By Smitty on 05-02-18
By: Reed Tucker
-
The Zeroes
- My Misadventures in the Decade Wall Street Went Insane
- By: Randall Lane
- Narrated by: Randall Lane
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 74
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 53
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 52
Magazine entrepreneur Randall Lane had a prime seat at Wall Street's biggest greed fest. The Zeroes is a memoir about the excesses and bad behavior of an outsider who got pulled into a crazy, self-contained world.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A very entertaining tale
- By andy on 11-03-13
By: Randall Lane
-
The Club
- How the English Premier League Became the Wildest, Richest, Most Disruptive Force in Sports
- By: Joshua Robinson, Jonathan Clegg
- Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 502
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 444
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 440
No one knew it when their experiment began, but without any particular genius or acumen, the motley cast of billionaires and hucksters behind the modern Premier League struck gold. Pretty soon, everyone wanted to try their luck, from Russian oligarchs to Emirati sheikhs, American tycoons, and Asian Tiger titans. Some succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. Some lost everything. Today, players are sold for tens of millions, clubs are valued in the billions, and games are beamed out to nearly 200 countries, all while the league struggles to preserve its English soul.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Read don't listen
- By JR3 on 01-23-19
By: Joshua Robinson, and others
-
The Map Thief
- The Gripping Story of an Esteemed Rare-Map Dealer Who Made Millions Stealing Priceless Maps
- By: Michael Blanding
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 702
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 617
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 622
Maps have long exerted a special fascination on viewers - both as beautiful works of art and as practical tools to navigate the world. But to those who collect them, the map trade can be a cutthroat business, inhabited by quirky and sometimes disreputable characters in search of a finite number of extremely rare objects.
Once considered a respectable antiquarian map dealer, E. Forbes Smiley spent years doubling as a map thief - until he was finally arrested slipping maps out of books in the Yale University library.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A Study of the Strangeness of People
- By Carole T. on 12-10-14
By: Michael Blanding
-
Empire State of Mind
- How Jay-Z Went from Street Corner to Corner Office
- By: Zack O'Malley Greenburg
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 673
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 560
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 558
Some people think Jay-Z is just another rapper. Others see him as just another celebrity/mega-star. The reality is, no matter what you think Jay-Z is, he is first and foremost a business. And as much as Martha Stewart or Oprah, he has turned himself into a lifestyle. This audiobook explains just how Jay-Z propelled himself from the bleak streets of Brooklyn to the heights of the business world.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
It was ok
- By Michelle M. on 01-03-17
-
Comic Shop
- The Retail Mavericks Who Gave Us a New Geek Culture
- By: Dan Gearino
- Narrated by: Douglas R. Pratt
- Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 43
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 37
The early 1970s saw the birth of the modern comic book shop. Its rise was due in large part to a dynamic entrepreneur, Phil Seuling. His direct market model allowed shops to get comics straight from the publishers, bypassing middlemen. Stores could better customize their offerings and independent publishers could now access national distribution. In this way, shops opened up a space for quirky ideas to gain an audience and helped transform small-press series, from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to Bone, into media giants.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A good listen.
- By Amazon Customer on 08-30-20
By: Dan Gearino
-
Slugfest
- Inside the Epic, 50-Year Battle Between Marvel and DC
- By: Reed Tucker
- Narrated by: Will Collyer
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 716
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 637
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 633
The first in-depth, behind-the-scenes audiobook treatment of the rivalry between the two comic book giants. They are the two titans of the comic book industry - the Coke and Pepsi of superheroes - and for more than 50 years, Marvel and DC have been locked in an epic battle for spandex supremacy. At stake is not just sales, but cultural relevancy and the hearts of millions of fans. To many partisans, Marvel is now on top. But for much of the early 20th century, it was DC that was the undisputed leader.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Loved it, but...
- By Smitty on 05-02-18
By: Reed Tucker
-
The Zeroes
- My Misadventures in the Decade Wall Street Went Insane
- By: Randall Lane
- Narrated by: Randall Lane
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 74
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 53
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 52
Magazine entrepreneur Randall Lane had a prime seat at Wall Street's biggest greed fest. The Zeroes is a memoir about the excesses and bad behavior of an outsider who got pulled into a crazy, self-contained world.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A very entertaining tale
- By andy on 11-03-13
By: Randall Lane
-
The Club
- How the English Premier League Became the Wildest, Richest, Most Disruptive Force in Sports
- By: Joshua Robinson, Jonathan Clegg
- Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 502
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 444
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 440
No one knew it when their experiment began, but without any particular genius or acumen, the motley cast of billionaires and hucksters behind the modern Premier League struck gold. Pretty soon, everyone wanted to try their luck, from Russian oligarchs to Emirati sheikhs, American tycoons, and Asian Tiger titans. Some succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. Some lost everything. Today, players are sold for tens of millions, clubs are valued in the billions, and games are beamed out to nearly 200 countries, all while the league struggles to preserve its English soul.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Read don't listen
- By JR3 on 01-23-19
By: Joshua Robinson, and others
-
The Map Thief
- The Gripping Story of an Esteemed Rare-Map Dealer Who Made Millions Stealing Priceless Maps
- By: Michael Blanding
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 702
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 617
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 622
Maps have long exerted a special fascination on viewers - both as beautiful works of art and as practical tools to navigate the world. But to those who collect them, the map trade can be a cutthroat business, inhabited by quirky and sometimes disreputable characters in search of a finite number of extremely rare objects.
Once considered a respectable antiquarian map dealer, E. Forbes Smiley spent years doubling as a map thief - until he was finally arrested slipping maps out of books in the Yale University library.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A Study of the Strangeness of People
- By Carole T. on 12-10-14
By: Michael Blanding
-
Empire State of Mind
- How Jay-Z Went from Street Corner to Corner Office
- By: Zack O'Malley Greenburg
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 673
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 560
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 558
Some people think Jay-Z is just another rapper. Others see him as just another celebrity/mega-star. The reality is, no matter what you think Jay-Z is, he is first and foremost a business. And as much as Martha Stewart or Oprah, he has turned himself into a lifestyle. This audiobook explains just how Jay-Z propelled himself from the bleak streets of Brooklyn to the heights of the business world.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
It was ok
- By Michelle M. on 01-03-17
-
A Nice Little Place on the North Side
- Wrigley Field at One Hundred
- By: George Will
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 95
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 81
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 81
In A Nice Little Place on the North Side, leading columnist George Will returns to baseball with a deeply personal look at his hapless Chicago Cubs and their often beatified home, Wrigley Field, as it enters its second century. Baseball, Will argues, is full of metaphors for life, religion, and happiness, and Wrigley is considered one of its sacred spaces. But what is its true, hyperbole-free history?
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
It's EEE-lia, not Ah-LEE-ah
- By Shawcago on 04-25-16
By: George Will
-
Bitter Brew
- The Rise and Fall of Anheuser-Busch and America's Kings of Beer
- By: William Knoedelseder
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 711
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 618
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 615
The engrossing, often scandalous saga of one of the wealthiest, longest-lasting, and most colorful family dynasties in the history of American commerce—a cautionary tale about prosperity, profligacy, hubris, and the blessings and dark consequences of success. This engrossing, vivid narrative captures the Busch saga through five generations. At the same time, it weaves a broader story of American progress and decline over the past 150 years. It's a cautionary tale of prosperity, hubris, and loss.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Couldn't stop listening...
- By Jeremy McGough on 11-09-12
-
Provenance
- How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art
- By: Laney Salisbury, Aly Sujo
- Narrated by: Marty Peterson
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 562
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 434
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 432
Here is a tautly paced investigation of one the 20th century's most audacious art frauds, which generated hundreds of forgeries - many of them still hanging in prominent museums and private collections today. Provenance is the extraordinary narrative of one of the most far-reaching and elaborate deceptions in art history.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
reads like a thriller
- By Andy on 04-26-10
By: Laney Salisbury, and others
-
Players
- The Story of Sports and Money - and the Visionaries Who Fought to Create a Revolution
- By: Matthew Futterman
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 47
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 43
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 43
For fans of Michael Lewis, the astounding untold story of how professional sports transformed, in the span of a single generation, from a cottage industry into a massive global business. In the cash-soaked world of contemporary sports, where every season brings news of higher salaries, endorsement deals, and television contracts, it is mind-boggling to remember that as recently as the 1970s elite athletes earned so little money that many were forced to work second jobs in the off-season to make ends meet.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Starts slow...
- By John on 08-09-16
-
The Asylum
- The Renegades Who Hijacked the World's Oil Market
- By: Leah McGrath Goodman
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 16 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 58
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 47
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 47
They were a band of outsiders unable to get jobs with New York's gilded financial establishment. They would go on to corner the world's multitrillion-dollar oil market, reaping unimaginable riches while bringing the economy to its knees. Meet the self-anointed kings of the New York Mercantile Exchange. In some ways, they are everything you would expect them to be: a secretive, members-only club of men and women who live lavish lifestyles; cavort with politicians, strippers, and celebrities; and blissfully jacked up oil prices to nearly $150 a barrel while profiting off the misery of the working class.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A far better book than its come-on implies
- By Philo on 01-05-14
-
Sam Walton
- Made in America
- By: John Huey, Sam Walton
- Narrated by: Henry Strozier
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 3,024
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,593
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 2,580
Meet a genuine American folk hero cut from the homespun cloth of America's heartland: Sam Walton, who parlayed a single dime store in a hardscrabble cotton town into Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the world. The undisputed merchant king of the late 20th century, Sam never lost the common touch. Here, finally, inimitable words. Genuinely modest, but always sure of his ambitions and achievements. Sam shares his thinking in a candid, straight-from-the-shoulder style. In a story rich with anecdotes and the "rules of the road" of both Main Street and Wall Street, Sam Walton chronicles the inspiration, heart, and optimism that propelled him to lasso the American Dream.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Capitalism Is The Way
- By Nathan Ruff on 04-14-19
By: John Huey, and others
-
Fins
- Harley Earl, the Rise of General Motors, and the Glory Days of Detroit
- By: William Knoedelseder
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 111
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 97
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 97
This audiobook chronicles the birth and rise to greatness of the American auto industry through the life of Harley Earl, an eccentric six-foot-five, stuttering visionary who dropped out of college and went on to invent the profession of automobile styling, thereby revolutionized the way cars were made, marketed, and even imagined. Harleys Earl’s story qualifies as a bona fide American family saga. It began in the Michigan pine forest in the years after the Civil War, traveled across the Great Plains on the wheels of a covered wagon, and eventually settled in Hollywood, California.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Great report of amazing history but could do without the WOKE lean..
- By joshua Shaw on 07-02-22
-
A Man and His Mountain
- The Everyman Who Created Kendall-Jackson and Became America's Greatest Wine Entrepreneur
- By: Edward Humes
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 83
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 72
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 73
A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist tells the story of the self-made billionaire who built the Kendall-Jackson empire from nothing into the biggest-selling brand of premium wines in the U.S. Jess Stonestreet Jackson was one of a small band of pioneering entrepreneurs who put California's wine country on the map. His life story is a compelling slice of history, daring, innovation, feuds, intrigue, talent, mystique, contrarianism, and luck, offering a unique window on the elegant, adventurous, and cut-throat worlds of Jackson's two passions: wine and horseracing.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Required listening for any wine maker
- By Michael Carr on 01-10-15
By: Edward Humes
-
The Billionaire's Vinegar
- The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine
- By: Benjamin Wallace
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 5 hrs and 49 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 577
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 465
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 464
It was the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold. In 1985, at a heated auction by Christie’s of London, a 1787 bottle of Château Lafite Bordeaux - one of a cache of bottles unearthed in a bricked-up Paris cellar and supposedly owned by Thomas Jefferson - went for $156,000 to a member of the Forbes family. The discoverer of the bottle was pop-band manager turned wine collector Hardy Rodenstock, who had a knack for finding extremely old and exquisite wines. But rumors about the bottle soon arose.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Not just for enophiles
- By Julie W. Capell on 06-03-09
By: Benjamin Wallace
-
Hershey
- Milton S. Hershey's Extraordinary Life of Wealth, Empire, and Utopian Dreams
- By: Michael D'Antonio
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 91
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 79
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 79
In this compelling biography, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael D'Antonio gives us the real-life rags-to-riches story of Milton S. Hershey, a largely uneducated businessman whose idealistic sense of purpose created an immense financial empire, a town, and a legacy that lasts to this day.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
The Benchmark for Chartiable, Rich Men
- By Boyd Tschaggeny on 01-30-19
-
The Money Culture
- By: Michael Lewis
- Narrated by: Alexander Cendese
- Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 298
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 230
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 232
The 1980s was the most outrageous and turbulent era in the financial market since the crash of ’29, not only on Wall Street but around the world. Michael Lewis, as a trainee at Salomon Brothers in New York and as an investment banker and later financial journalist, was uniquely positioned to chronicle the ambition and folly that fueled the decade. In these trenchant, often hilarious true tales we meet the colorful movers and shakers who commanded the headlines and rewrote the rules.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Not the normal great Michael Lewis
- By Me on 05-12-12
By: Michael Lewis
-
Appetite for Self-Destruction
- The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age
- By: Steve Knopper
- Narrated by: Dan John Miller
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 148
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 74
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 75
For the first time, Appetite for Self-Destruction recounts the story of the precipitous rise and fall of the recording industry over the past three decades, when the incredible success of the CD turned the music business into one of the most glamorous, high-profile industries in the world - and the advent of file sharing brought it to its knees.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Awesome Book
- By Todd on 08-15-09
By: Steve Knopper
What listeners say about Mint Condition
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- BT
- 05-06-20
great memories
awesome book. so glad I stumbled upon it. highly recommend to anyone that grew I with cards
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Elandrea
- 08-22-23
Learned Some Cardophile History
This was well written and performed. It touched on many aspects of the baseball trading card industry. Giving a diverse 10000 Ft view of the past ,future, good, and bads of baseball cards. Enjoyed it!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Peter Lutz
- 07-17-16
Great Book
I am almost finished with this book, and so far it has been great. Gives an accurate account of the history of Baseball cards, and as a new collector it is very interesting. I would definitely recommend it to a baseball fan or even just a regular sports fan.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- dominic escajeda
- 05-21-19
Really informative
Great story about baseball cards and their beginngs till what the hobby has become today.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Robert Pecor
- 08-10-21
Excellent history of card trading
Lots of detail and personal history of major players in the trading card industry. Fascinating
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- David J. Ham
- 09-05-20
Great memories
This brings back some great memories of my youth. Maybe a little too much depth on the fraud side though.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- bryan stevenson
- 05-21-21
Very thorough story of baseball card history!
I started collecting baseball cards in the early 80's. Somewhere along adolescence I grew out of the hobby but with the recent boom my interest have been rekindled. I loved this book. It tells the complete history of baseball and sport cards in general. As detailed as it is, it also refrains from becoming slow or boring as some statistical readings tend to do. The narrator was good and very easy to follow. My only hope is that with the current market popularity the author would revisit this and maybe add an additional chapter covering the current rise in popularity.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- S. O.
- 01-21-20
Perfect in every way!
This book absolutely caught my imagination. I highly tout this book every chance I get. From the history, the stories and the performer this couldn't be any better.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Michael
- 06-07-21
This book summed it all up!
This book summed it all up! Great history. Some lame, teetering on boring stories in the middle, but worth the listen.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- hairbear2012
- 05-25-21
cool book about sports cards
I love the story of how the sports card industry. it highlights passion of collector's like me.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!