Dirty Feet
How the Great Unwashed Created the Tour De France
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
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $19.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
David L. Stanley
-
By:
-
Les Woodland
About this listen
Dirty Feet is a fresh look at the now more than 100-year-old Tour de France. Les Woodland goes back to the blue-collar origins of the race when the father of the Tour, Henri Desgrange, was so bothered by the hygiene of his tough, beloved racers that at the end of each stage he would publish the names of the riders who did not wash after a day of racing on France’s mostly dirt and often muddy roads.
The sports paper Desgrange edited was going to go out of business unless some way could be found to increase circulation. That way was a giant sales promotion called the Tour de France, first run in 1903. Dirty Feet tells anew the story of the Tour’s origins - at a time when the average life expectancy of a Frenchman was just 30 - and how it came to be modern spectacle it is today. The Tour is now a technological marvel where the riders shift gears electronically and the race is watched in real time around the world. Yet, despite all this change, the race is much the way Desgrange left it, a bicycle race around France where each day’s elapsed time is added up with the rider with the lowest time winning.
As Les tells the story, starting with the invention of the bicycle, he gives many of the myths that have cluttered cycling history merciful deaths. As a lifetime scholar of cycling history, he is able to sprinkle his tale with an endless stream of fascinating stories and little-known facts, bringing to life the men of the past century who have devoted themselves to the sport.
Come along for the ride as Henri Desgrange creates the greatest sporting event in the world, The Tour de France.
©2021 Les Woodland (P)2021 Bill McGannListeners also enjoyed...
-
Chased by Pandas
- My Life in the Mysterious World of Cycling
- By: Dan Martin
- Narrated by: Matthew Biddulph
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Known, thanks to his racing style and attitude, for being one of road cycling's last romantics, Dan has always shied away from revealing too much about himself and his story. Now, having retired at the end of the 2021 season aged 35 and no longer bound by the constraints of the racing circuit, Dan feels the time is right to tell his story in the same forthright and honest manner that he rode his bike. This audiobook reflects Dan's generous and outspoken spirit, his resilience to pain, crashes, bad luck and, finally, his acceptance of destiny.
-
-
Pandas
- By Soren on 11-13-24
By: Dan Martin
-
One Summer
- America, 1927
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the most admired nonfiction writers of our time retells the story of one truly fabulous year in the life of his native country - a fascinating and gripping narrative featuring such outsized American heroes as Charles Lindbergh, Babe Ruth, and yes Herbert Hoover, and a gallery of criminals (Al Capone), eccentrics (Shipwreck Kelly), and close-mouthed politicians (Calvin Coolidge). It was the year Americans attempted and accomplished outsized things and came of age in a big, brawling manner. What a country. What a summer. And what a writer to bring it all so vividly alive.
-
-
Why 1927?
- By Mark on 10-18-13
By: Bill Bryson
-
The Escape Artist
- The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World
- By: Jonathan Freedland
- Narrated by: Jonathan Freedland
- Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In April 1944, Rudolf Vrba became one of the very first Jews to escape from Auschwitz and make his way to freedom—among only a tiny handful who ever pulled off that near-impossible feat. He did it to reveal the truth of the death camp to the world—and to warn the last Jews of Europe what fate awaited them. Against all odds, Vrba and his fellow escapee, Fred Wetzler, climbed mountains, crossed rivers, and narrowly missed German bullets until they had smuggled out the first full account of Auschwitz the world had ever seen.
-
-
Good
- By Matt on 11-10-22
-
Oil!
- By: Upton Sinclair
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 19 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As he did so masterfully in The Jungle, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Upton Sinclair interweaves social criticism with human tragedy to create an unforgettable portrait of Southern California's early oil industry. Enraged by the oil scandals of the Harding administration in the 1920s, Sinclair tells a gripping tale of avarice, corruption, and class warfare, featuring a cavalcade of characters, including senators, oil magnates, Hollywood film starlets, and a crusading evangelist.
-
-
an outstanding book
- By Gregory on 05-18-08
By: Upton Sinclair
-
The Book of Charlie
- By: David Von Drehle
- Narrated by: David Von Drehle
- Length: 7 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When a veteran Washington journalist moved to Kansas, he met a new neighbor who was more than a century old. Little did he know that he was beginning a long friendship—and a profound lesson in the meaning of life. Charlie White was no ordinary neighbor. Born before radio, Charlie lived long enough to use a smartphone. When a shocking tragedy interrupted his idyllic boyhood, Charlie mastered survival strategies that reflect thousands of years of human wisdom.
-
-
Loved it
- By Josee on 06-09-23
By: David Von Drehle
-
I Invented the Modern Age
- The Rise of Henry Ford and the Most Important Car Ever Made
- By: Richard Snow
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In many ways, Henry Ford's story is well-known; in many more ways, it is not. Richard Snow masterfully weaves together a fascinating narrative of Ford's rise to fame through his greatest invention, the Model T. A highly pleasurable listen, filled with scenes and incidents from Ford's life, I Invented the Modern Age shows Richard Snow at the height of his powers as a popular historian and reclaims from history Henry Ford, the remarkable man who, indeed, invented the modern world as we know it.
-
-
A Complicated Man
- By Jean on 11-23-13
By: Richard Snow
-
Chased by Pandas
- My Life in the Mysterious World of Cycling
- By: Dan Martin
- Narrated by: Matthew Biddulph
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Known, thanks to his racing style and attitude, for being one of road cycling's last romantics, Dan has always shied away from revealing too much about himself and his story. Now, having retired at the end of the 2021 season aged 35 and no longer bound by the constraints of the racing circuit, Dan feels the time is right to tell his story in the same forthright and honest manner that he rode his bike. This audiobook reflects Dan's generous and outspoken spirit, his resilience to pain, crashes, bad luck and, finally, his acceptance of destiny.
-
-
Pandas
- By Soren on 11-13-24
By: Dan Martin
-
One Summer
- America, 1927
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the most admired nonfiction writers of our time retells the story of one truly fabulous year in the life of his native country - a fascinating and gripping narrative featuring such outsized American heroes as Charles Lindbergh, Babe Ruth, and yes Herbert Hoover, and a gallery of criminals (Al Capone), eccentrics (Shipwreck Kelly), and close-mouthed politicians (Calvin Coolidge). It was the year Americans attempted and accomplished outsized things and came of age in a big, brawling manner. What a country. What a summer. And what a writer to bring it all so vividly alive.
-
-
Why 1927?
- By Mark on 10-18-13
By: Bill Bryson
-
The Escape Artist
- The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World
- By: Jonathan Freedland
- Narrated by: Jonathan Freedland
- Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In April 1944, Rudolf Vrba became one of the very first Jews to escape from Auschwitz and make his way to freedom—among only a tiny handful who ever pulled off that near-impossible feat. He did it to reveal the truth of the death camp to the world—and to warn the last Jews of Europe what fate awaited them. Against all odds, Vrba and his fellow escapee, Fred Wetzler, climbed mountains, crossed rivers, and narrowly missed German bullets until they had smuggled out the first full account of Auschwitz the world had ever seen.
-
-
Good
- By Matt on 11-10-22
-
Oil!
- By: Upton Sinclair
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 19 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As he did so masterfully in The Jungle, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Upton Sinclair interweaves social criticism with human tragedy to create an unforgettable portrait of Southern California's early oil industry. Enraged by the oil scandals of the Harding administration in the 1920s, Sinclair tells a gripping tale of avarice, corruption, and class warfare, featuring a cavalcade of characters, including senators, oil magnates, Hollywood film starlets, and a crusading evangelist.
-
-
an outstanding book
- By Gregory on 05-18-08
By: Upton Sinclair
-
The Book of Charlie
- By: David Von Drehle
- Narrated by: David Von Drehle
- Length: 7 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When a veteran Washington journalist moved to Kansas, he met a new neighbor who was more than a century old. Little did he know that he was beginning a long friendship—and a profound lesson in the meaning of life. Charlie White was no ordinary neighbor. Born before radio, Charlie lived long enough to use a smartphone. When a shocking tragedy interrupted his idyllic boyhood, Charlie mastered survival strategies that reflect thousands of years of human wisdom.
-
-
Loved it
- By Josee on 06-09-23
By: David Von Drehle
-
I Invented the Modern Age
- The Rise of Henry Ford and the Most Important Car Ever Made
- By: Richard Snow
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In many ways, Henry Ford's story is well-known; in many more ways, it is not. Richard Snow masterfully weaves together a fascinating narrative of Ford's rise to fame through his greatest invention, the Model T. A highly pleasurable listen, filled with scenes and incidents from Ford's life, I Invented the Modern Age shows Richard Snow at the height of his powers as a popular historian and reclaims from history Henry Ford, the remarkable man who, indeed, invented the modern world as we know it.
-
-
A Complicated Man
- By Jean on 11-23-13
By: Richard Snow
-
One-Way Ticket
- Nine Lives on Two Wheels
- By: Jonathan Vaughters, Jeremy Whittle - contributor
- Narrated by: Jonathan Vaughters
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jonathan Vaughters' story is the story of modern cycling. From his early years as a keen cyclist in his hometown in Colorado to his unflinching rite of passage as a professional rider with US Postal to his elevation as one of cycling's most resilient, ethical, and intelligent team bosses, the highs and lows of his career have mirrored those of the sport itself.
-
-
Excruciating Listen
- By Brian I. on 09-15-19
By: Jonathan Vaughters, and others
-
The Life of a Country Vet
- By: Graham Lord
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 3 hrs and 9 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Are you a sucker for all things animal? You won't want to miss this heartwarming biography of James Herriot - one of the most famous and deeply-loved vets the world has ever known. Herriot is remembered as the modest Scotsman who wrote books that became worldwide best sellers, films, audiobooks, and a much-loved television show. But no one has ever seen him as distinguished writer Graham Lord portrays him here.
-
-
Alot of detail but not a 'pleasant' book
- By Elizabeth on 04-19-05
By: Graham Lord
-
The Patient Assassin
- A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge, and India's Quest for Independence
- By: Anita Anand
- Narrated by: Anita Anand
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The “compelling [and] vivid” (The New York Times Book Review) true story of a man who claimed to be a survivor of a 1919 British massacre in India, his elaborate 20-year plan for revenge, and the mix of truth and legend that made him a hero to hundreds of millions.
-
-
more interesting history
- By Autodidact on 09-07-19
By: Anita Anand
-
Barnum
- An American Life
- By: Robert Wilson
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Robert Wilson, editor of The American Scholar, tells a gripping story in Barnum, one that’s imbued with the same buoyant spirit as the man himself. Wilson adeptly makes the case for P. T. Barnum’s place among the icons of American history, as a figure who represented, and indeed created, a distinctly American sense of optimism, industriousness, humor, and relentless energy.
-
-
Good, but not as much fun as the autobiography
- By D. Frrazier on 11-10-22
By: Robert Wilson
-
Evel
- The High-Flying Life of Evel Knievel: American Showman, Daredevil, and Legend
- By: Leigh Montville
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 17 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From New York Times bestselling author Leigh Montville, this riveting and definitive new biography pulls back the red, white, and blue cape on a cultural icon—and reveals the unknown, complex, and controversial man known to millions around the world as Evel Knievel.
-
-
Evel
- By Blake on 09-03-11
By: Leigh Montville
-
Rome 1960
- The Olympics that Changed the World
- By: David Maraniss
- Narrated by: David Maraniss
- Length: 5 hrs and 41 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The athletes competing in the 1960 Rome Olympics included some of the most honored in Olympic history: decathlete Rafer Johnson, sprinter Wilma Rudolph, Ethiopian marathoner Abebe Bikila, and Louisville boxer Cassius Clay, who at 18 seized the world stage for the first time, four years before he became Muhammad Ali.
-
-
Very Good Book
- By Jay on 07-30-08
By: David Maraniss
-
Billy Connolly's Route 66
- The Big Yin on the Ultimate American Road Trip
- By: Billy Connolly
- Narrated by: James McPherson
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Billy Connolly, music-lover, biker, and scourge of the beige and bland the world over, has dreamed about taking a trip on the legendary Route 66 since he first heard Chuck Berry belting out one of the greatest rock 'n' roll records of all time. And now he's finally had the chance to do it, heading out on his custom-made trike in search of the real America that can still be found beyond the nation's freeways.
-
-
Unbearably Liberal. Billy will ruin 66 for you.
- By Joeblow on 12-27-17
By: Billy Connolly
-
Appetite for America
- Fred Harvey and the Business of Civilizing the Wild West - One Meal at a Time
- By: Stephen Fried
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 18 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Appetite for America is the incredible real-life story of Fred Harvey - told in depth for the first time ever. As a young immigrant, Fred Harvey worked his way up from dishwasher to household name. With the verve and passion of Fred Harvey himself, Stephen Fried tells the story of how this visionary built his business from a single lunch counter into a family empire whose marketing and innovations we still encounter in myriad ways. Inspiring, instructive, and hugely entertaining, Appetite for America is historical biography that is as richly rewarding.
-
-
I loved listening to this fabulous story!
- By A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. on 01-27-20
By: Stephen Fried
-
Erdogan Rising
- The Battle for the Soul of Turkey
- By: Hannah Lucinda Smith
- Narrated by: Hannah Lucinda Smith
- Length: 14 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Everyone has heard of Erdogan: Turkey’s bullish, mercurial president is the original postmodern populist. Around the world, other strongmen are now following the path that he has blazed. For the first time, Erdogan Rising tells the inside story of how a democracy on the fringe of Europe has succumbed to dictatorship. Hannah Lucinda Smith, Turkey correspondent with The Times of London, has witnessed all that has befallen Turkey and the wider region since the onset of the Arab Spring.
-
-
Overall fascinating profile of Erdogan’s Turkey
- By Saul M on 09-18-20
-
Strange Stones
- By: Peter Hessler
- Narrated by: George Backman
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Full of unforgettable figures and an unrelenting spirit of adventure, Strange Stones is a far-ranging, thought-provoking collection of Peter Hessler’s best reportage - a dazzling display of the powerful storytelling, shrewd cultural insight, and warm sense of humor that are the trademarks of his work. Over the last decade, as a staff writer for The New Yorker and the author of three books, Peter Hessler has lived in Asia and the United States, writing as both native and knowledgeable outsider in these two very different regions.
-
-
funny, entertaining
- By Katherine on 08-02-13
By: Peter Hessler
-
"The Rest of Us"
- The Rise of America's Eastern European Jews
- By: Stephen Birmingham
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 18 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The wave of Eastern European Jewish immigrants who swept into New York in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by way of Ellis Island were not welcomed by the Jews who had arrived decades before. These refugees from czarist Russia and the Polish shtetls who came to America to escape pogroms and persecution were considered barbaric, uneducated, and too steeped in the traditions of the "old country" to be accepted by the more refined and already well-established German-Jewish community. But the new arrivals were tough, passionate, and determined.
-
-
Book 3 of 3
- By Etoile NEOhio on 11-15-22
-
Mad at the World
- A Life of John Steinbeck
- By: William Souder
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first full-length biography of the Nobel laureate to appear in a quarter century, Mad at the World illuminates what has made the work of John Steinbeck an enduring part of the literary canon: his capacity for empathy. Angered by the plight of the Dust Bowl migrants who were starving even as they toiled to harvest California's limitless bounty and appalled by the country's refusal to recognize the humanity common to all of its citizens, Steinbeck took a stand against social injustice - paradoxically given his inherent misanthropy.
-
-
Well Researched, Good for Die Hard Steinbeck Fans
- By aaron on 11-22-20
By: William Souder
Related to this topic
-
The Beast, the Emperor and the Milkman
- A Bone-Shaking Tour Through Cycling’s Flemish Heartlands
- By: Harry Pearson
- Narrated by: Harry Pearson
- Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Committed Belgophile and road cycling obsessive Harry Pearson takes you on a journey across Flanders - through the lumpy horizontal rain, up the elbow-juddering cobbled inclines, past the fans dressed as chickens and the shop window displays of constipation medicines as he follows races big, small and even smaller, through one glorious, muddy spring. Ranging over 500 years of Flemish and European history, Pearson examines the characters, the myths and the rivalries that make Flanders a place where cycling is a religion and the riders its Lycra-clad priests.
-
-
Once A Year….
- By Ryan Shadrin on 05-02-23
By: Harry Pearson
-
The World's Fastest Man
- The Extraordinary Life of Cyclist Major Taylor, America's First Black Sports Hero
- By: Michael Kranish
- Narrated by: David Sadzin
- Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the tradition of The Boys in the Boat and Seabiscuit, a fascinating portrait of a groundbreaking but forgotten figure - the remarkable Major Taylor, the Black man who broke racial barriers by becoming the world’s fastest and most famous bicyclist at the height of the Jim Crow era.
-
-
before there was Jesse Owens and Jackie Robinson
- By Leo on 07-29-19
By: Michael Kranish
-
Three Weeks, Eight Seconds
- Greg Lemond, Laurent Fignon, and the Epic Tour de France of 1989
- By: Nige Tassell
- Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For a race as long as the mighty Tour (three weeks of testing the limits of human endurance), to have the ultimate victory decided by a margin of just eight seconds almost boggles the mind. But that's exactly what happened between American legend Greg LeMond and Laurent Fignon. After more than 2,000 miles in the saddle, it remains the smallest margin of victory in the Tour's 100-plus-year history.
-
-
LOVED IT!
- By Ashley Green on 07-03-23
By: Nige Tassell
-
Sprinting Through No Man's Land
- Endurance, Tragedy, and Rebirth in the 1919 Tour de France
- By: Adin Dobkin
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On June 29, 1919, one day after the Treaty of Versailles brought about the end of World War I, nearly seventy cyclists embarked on the thirteenth Tour de France. From Paris, the war-weary men rode down the western coast on a race that would trace the country’s border, through seaside towns and mountains to the ghostly western front. Traversing a cratered postwar landscape, the cyclists faced near-impossible odds and the psychological scars of war. Most of the athletes had arrived straight from the front, where so many fellow countrymen had suffered or died.
-
-
Encyclopedia, Anyone?
- By Sheryl on 08-24-21
By: Adin Dobkin
-
Road to Valor
- A True Story of World War II Italy, the Nazis, and the Cyclist Who Inspired a Nation
- By: Aili McConnon, Andres McConnon
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Based on nearly 10 years of research in Italy, France, and Israel, including interviews with Gino Bartali's family, former teammates, a Holocaust survivor Bartali saved, and many others, Road to Valor is the first book ever written about the Italian cycling legend in English and the only book written in any language to fully explore the scope of Bartali's wartime work. An epic tale of courage, comeback, and redemption, it is the untold story of one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century.
-
-
Hollywood .... look this story !!!
- By Fabiano on 04-03-19
By: Aili McConnon, and others
-
The First Tour de France
- Sixty Cyclists and Nineteen Days of Daring on the Road to Paris
- By: Peter Cossins
- Narrated by: Joseph Kloska
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From its inception, the 1903 Tour de France was a colorful affair. Full of adventure, mishaps, and audacious attempts at cheating, it was a race to be remembered. Cyclists of the time weren't enthusiastic about participating in this "heroic" race on roads more suited to hooves than wheels, with bikes weighing up to 35 pounds, on a single fixed gear, for three full weeks. Assembling enough riders for the race meant paying unemployed amateurs from the suburbs of Paris, including a butcher, a chimney sweep, and a circus acrobat.
-
-
Great rendition of the tour then and now.
- By Amazon Customer on 03-17-19
By: Peter Cossins
-
The Beast, the Emperor and the Milkman
- A Bone-Shaking Tour Through Cycling’s Flemish Heartlands
- By: Harry Pearson
- Narrated by: Harry Pearson
- Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Committed Belgophile and road cycling obsessive Harry Pearson takes you on a journey across Flanders - through the lumpy horizontal rain, up the elbow-juddering cobbled inclines, past the fans dressed as chickens and the shop window displays of constipation medicines as he follows races big, small and even smaller, through one glorious, muddy spring. Ranging over 500 years of Flemish and European history, Pearson examines the characters, the myths and the rivalries that make Flanders a place where cycling is a religion and the riders its Lycra-clad priests.
-
-
Once A Year….
- By Ryan Shadrin on 05-02-23
By: Harry Pearson
-
The World's Fastest Man
- The Extraordinary Life of Cyclist Major Taylor, America's First Black Sports Hero
- By: Michael Kranish
- Narrated by: David Sadzin
- Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the tradition of The Boys in the Boat and Seabiscuit, a fascinating portrait of a groundbreaking but forgotten figure - the remarkable Major Taylor, the Black man who broke racial barriers by becoming the world’s fastest and most famous bicyclist at the height of the Jim Crow era.
-
-
before there was Jesse Owens and Jackie Robinson
- By Leo on 07-29-19
By: Michael Kranish
-
Three Weeks, Eight Seconds
- Greg Lemond, Laurent Fignon, and the Epic Tour de France of 1989
- By: Nige Tassell
- Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For a race as long as the mighty Tour (three weeks of testing the limits of human endurance), to have the ultimate victory decided by a margin of just eight seconds almost boggles the mind. But that's exactly what happened between American legend Greg LeMond and Laurent Fignon. After more than 2,000 miles in the saddle, it remains the smallest margin of victory in the Tour's 100-plus-year history.
-
-
LOVED IT!
- By Ashley Green on 07-03-23
By: Nige Tassell
-
Sprinting Through No Man's Land
- Endurance, Tragedy, and Rebirth in the 1919 Tour de France
- By: Adin Dobkin
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On June 29, 1919, one day after the Treaty of Versailles brought about the end of World War I, nearly seventy cyclists embarked on the thirteenth Tour de France. From Paris, the war-weary men rode down the western coast on a race that would trace the country’s border, through seaside towns and mountains to the ghostly western front. Traversing a cratered postwar landscape, the cyclists faced near-impossible odds and the psychological scars of war. Most of the athletes had arrived straight from the front, where so many fellow countrymen had suffered or died.
-
-
Encyclopedia, Anyone?
- By Sheryl on 08-24-21
By: Adin Dobkin
-
Road to Valor
- A True Story of World War II Italy, the Nazis, and the Cyclist Who Inspired a Nation
- By: Aili McConnon, Andres McConnon
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Based on nearly 10 years of research in Italy, France, and Israel, including interviews with Gino Bartali's family, former teammates, a Holocaust survivor Bartali saved, and many others, Road to Valor is the first book ever written about the Italian cycling legend in English and the only book written in any language to fully explore the scope of Bartali's wartime work. An epic tale of courage, comeback, and redemption, it is the untold story of one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century.
-
-
Hollywood .... look this story !!!
- By Fabiano on 04-03-19
By: Aili McConnon, and others
-
The First Tour de France
- Sixty Cyclists and Nineteen Days of Daring on the Road to Paris
- By: Peter Cossins
- Narrated by: Joseph Kloska
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From its inception, the 1903 Tour de France was a colorful affair. Full of adventure, mishaps, and audacious attempts at cheating, it was a race to be remembered. Cyclists of the time weren't enthusiastic about participating in this "heroic" race on roads more suited to hooves than wheels, with bikes weighing up to 35 pounds, on a single fixed gear, for three full weeks. Assembling enough riders for the race meant paying unemployed amateurs from the suburbs of Paris, including a butcher, a chimney sweep, and a circus acrobat.
-
-
Great rendition of the tour then and now.
- By Amazon Customer on 03-17-19
By: Peter Cossins
-
Disney's Land
- Walt Disney and the Invention of the Amusement Park That Changed the World
- By: Richard Snow
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is a spectacular story of error and innovation, a wild ride from a vision to the realization of an iconic cultural landscape. It reflects the park’s uniqueness, but just as strongly that of the man who built it with a watchmaker’s precision, an artist’s conviction, and the desperate, high-hearted recklessness of a riverboat gambler.
-
-
Okay, but better books on the subject
- By J.D. on 12-07-19
By: Richard Snow
-
Stealing Home
- Los Angeles, the Dodgers, and the Lives Caught in Between
- By: Eric Nusbaum
- Narrated by: David Owen Nelson
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dodger Stadium is an American icon. But the story of how it came to be goes far beyond baseball. The hills that cradle the stadium were once home to three vibrant Mexican American communities. In the early 1950s, those communities were condemned to make way for a utopian public housing project. Then, in a remarkable turn, public housing in the city was defeated amidst a Red Scare conspiracy.
-
-
Once Upon a Time at Dodger Stadium
- By James Gamble on 03-06-21
By: Eric Nusbaum
-
Light and Shadow
- Memoirs of a Spy's Son
- By: Mark Colvin
- Narrated by: Mark Colvin
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mark Colvin is a broadcasting legend. He is the voice of ABC Radio’s leading current affairs program PM; he was a founding broadcaster for the groundbreaking youth station Double J; he initiated The World Today program; and he’s one of the most popular and influential journalists in the twittersphere. Mark has been covering local and global events for more than four decades. He has reported on wars, royal weddings and everything in between. In the midst of all this he discovered that his father was an MI6 spy.
-
-
Probably of most interest to Australian readers
- By Robyn on 04-12-17
By: Mark Colvin
-
Two Hours
- The Quest to Run the Impossible Marathon
- By: Ed Caesar
- Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi
- Length: 7 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two hours to cover 26 miles and 385 yards. Its running's Everest, a feat once seen as impossible for the human body. Now we can glimpse the mountaintop. The sub-two-hour marathon requires an exceptional feat of speed, mental strength, and endurance. The pioneer will have to endure more, live braver, plan better, and be luckier than any who has run before. Ed Caesar takes us into the world of elite runners: the greatest marathoners on Earth.
-
-
I liked it!
- By Amazon Customer on 05-07-16
By: Ed Caesar
-
Faster
- How a Jewish Driver, an American Heiress, and a Legendary Car Beat Hitler's Best
- By: Neal Bascomb
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As Nazi Germany launched its campaign of racial terror and pushed the world toward war, three misfits banded together to challenge Hitler’s dominance at the apex of motorsport: the Grand Prix. Their quest for redemption culminated in a remarkable race that is still talked about in racing circles to this day - but which, soon after it ended, Hitler attempted to completely erase from history.
-
-
Almost perfect, but lousy sound cuts and splicing
- By F. on 06-08-20
By: Neal Bascomb
-
Fall
- The Mysterious Life and Death of Robert Maxwell, Britain's Most Notorious Media Baron
- By: John Preston
- Narrated by: Simon Bubb
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In February 1991, Robert Maxwell triumphantly sailed into Manhattan harbor on his yacht, the Lady Ghislaine, to buy the ailing New York Daily News. Taxi drivers stopped their cabs to shake his hand, children asked for his autograph, and patrons of the hottest restaurant in Manhattan gave him a standing ovation while he dined. Ten months later, Maxwell disappeared off that same yacht in the middle of the night and was later found dead in the water. As John Preston reveals in this revealing biography, Maxwell’s death was as mysterious as his remarkable life.
-
-
Don't make men like this anymore
- By Sylvia on 04-06-21
By: John Preston
-
Olympic Pride, American Prejudice
- The Untold Story of 18 African Americans Who Defied Jim Crow and Adolf Hitler to Compete in the 1936 Berlin Olympics
- By: Deborah Riley Draper, Blair Underwood, Travis Thrasher
- Narrated by: Leon Nixon
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From burning crosses set on the Robinsons’s lawn to a Pennsylvania small town on fire with praise and parades when the athletes return from Berlin, Olympic Pride, American Prejudice is full of emotion, grit, political upheaval, and the American dream. Capturing a powerful and untold chapter of history, the narrative is also a celebration of the courage, commitment, and accomplishments of these talented athletes and their impact on race, sports and inclusion around the world.
-
-
History I never knew...
- By Malcolm Drewery on 10-01-21
By: Deborah Riley Draper, and others
-
One Summer
- America, 1927
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the most admired nonfiction writers of our time retells the story of one truly fabulous year in the life of his native country - a fascinating and gripping narrative featuring such outsized American heroes as Charles Lindbergh, Babe Ruth, and yes Herbert Hoover, and a gallery of criminals (Al Capone), eccentrics (Shipwreck Kelly), and close-mouthed politicians (Calvin Coolidge). It was the year Americans attempted and accomplished outsized things and came of age in a big, brawling manner. What a country. What a summer. And what a writer to bring it all so vividly alive.
-
-
Why 1927?
- By Mark on 10-18-13
By: Bill Bryson
-
Beautiful Jim Key
- The Lost History of the World’s Smartest Horse
- By: Mim Eichler Rivas
- Narrated by: Mim E. Rivas
- Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The horse Jim was known as Beautiful Jim Key from the moment he stepped into the American spotlight in 1897 at age eight until his death in 1912. This horse was beloved for his remarkable intelligence, cultivated by human kindness and patience. No less extraordinary was the man who trained Jim, Dr. William Key of Shelbyville, Tennessee, a former slave who in his life had seen horrific cruelty toward humans and animals. Bill Key was a self-schooled veterinarian and Black entrepreneur who refused to use force in any guise while breaking and training horses.
-
-
Interesting subject, but horrible narration
- By Ken M. on 10-05-21
-
The Comeback
- Greg LeMond, the True King of American Cycling, and a Legendary Tour de France
- By: Daniel de Vise
- Narrated by: Pete Cross
- Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Greg LeMond stunned the sporting world by becoming the first American to win the Tour de France in 1986, defeating French cycling legend Bernard Hinault. Nine months later, LeMond lay in a hospital bed, his career as a bicycle racer seemingly over. And yet, barely two years after this crisis, LeMond mounted a comeback. In 1989, he once again won the Tour - by a narrow margin of eight seconds. It remains the closest Tour de France in history. The Comeback chronicles the life of this great American athlete, from his roots in Nevada and California to the heights of global fame.
-
-
Good book. Flawed reading.
- By david savage on 07-23-18
By: Daniel de Vise
-
The Patient Assassin
- A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge, and India's Quest for Independence
- By: Anita Anand
- Narrated by: Anita Anand
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The “compelling [and] vivid” (The New York Times Book Review) true story of a man who claimed to be a survivor of a 1919 British massacre in India, his elaborate 20-year plan for revenge, and the mix of truth and legend that made him a hero to hundreds of millions.
-
-
more interesting history
- By Autodidact on 09-07-19
By: Anita Anand
-
Battle for the Big Top
- P.T. Barnum, James Bailey, John Ringling, and the Death-Defying Saga of the American Circus
- By: Les Standiford
- Narrated by: B.J. Harrison
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Millions have sat under the “big top,” watching as trapeze artists glide and clowns entertain, but few know the captivating stories behind the men whose creativity, ingenuity, and determination created one of our country’s most beloved pastimes. In Battle for the Big Top, New York Times best-selling author Les Standiford brings to life a remarkable era when three circus kings - James Bailey, P. T. Barnum, and John Ringling - all vied for control of the vastly profitable and influential American Circus.
-
-
Fantastic!
- By IsleWait on 09-30-22
By: Les Standiford