With comfortable Southern charm, narrator George Newbern, a Little Rock native, delivers this decades-spanning account of Hot Springs, Arkansas, when it was the uncontested gambling and sin capital of North America. From the 1870s through the 1960s, bookies, mobsters, hookers, and card sharks flocked to the home of the "healing waters" to chase their fortunes. The audiobook concentrates on locals like Dane Harris, a bootlegger's son who worked his way up to "boss gambler" and built The Vapors, the most elaborate and successful gambling joint on the strip. Newbern reflects the author's easy humor when mentioning the likes of Babe Ruth, mobster Frank Costello, the Andrews Sisters, and even a young Bill Clinton as occasional visitors and performers. A wonderful slice of Americana.
Pub Date: July 7, 2020
Duration: 9 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781713500599
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Carol Matthau epitomizes a glamour and lifestyle not associated with the 1990's. Here is a life of privilege, tragedy and worry about what friends would think of her new frock or lover. Matthau possesses a voice and delivery that simply could not be improved on. In her coy whisper, she tells compelling stories involving everyone from William Saroyan (husband #1) and Truman Capote to Carson McCullers, Gloria Vanderbilt, and Walter Matthau (husband #2). This excellent audio presentation will leave you wanting to read the entire book to discover what juicy tidbits were left out.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: The Publishing Mills
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
A perfect marriage of text and delivery.
Women are routinely missing from American history texts. This audiobook seeks to remedy that. Journalist O’Donnell’s TV-honed voice carries the stories in compelling fashion. Dozens of overlooked heroines are profiled, such as Elizabeth Freeman, an enslaved woman who filed a lawsuit to obtain her freedom, or Emily Warren Roebling, an engineer who saved the Brooklyn Bridge when her husband fell ill. The writing style is straightforward and narrative-based, making it easy for listeners to follow. O’Donnell varies her tone to suit the material, reflecting intensity, disbelief, humor, and admiration. The sketches are generally short, making this a perfect audiobook for people with short windows of opportunity for listening.
A perfect marriage of text and delivery.Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2026
Duration: 10 hrs, 37 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217176236
Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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