After the housing bubble burst and the giant banking bailouts began, a number of world economies hung—and still hang—in the balance. Dylan Baker uses a friendly, folksy delivery to examine the fascinating, frightening, and mind-boggling ways that the cultures of Iceland, Greece, Ireland, Germany, and, yes, California handled the pursuit of wealth. Icelandic fishermen stopped fishing and became currency traders. The Irish saw themselves as land barons. Californians paid too much for everything. And they all ended up being left on the hook for hundreds of billions of dollars—and still are. Baker’s voice reflects Michael Lewis’s bemused realization that many of these cultures and individuals had no idea of the manipulative power of the global financial industry. If you didn’t laugh, you’d cry.
Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2011
Duration: 7 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781442341265
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
The readers can't compensate for the unbearably pompous prose style of this extended parable about corporate politics and strategy.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Henslee’s warm, unhurried narration makes listeners feel like the next success story could be theirs.
Barbara Henslee narrates with an intimate, upbeat delivery and a sunny Southern warmth that feels like being personally recruited to the Mary Kay empire. Her voice suits the material perfectly, drawing listeners into a bygone era when women built empires through gatherings around kitchen tables and on front porches, long before they could open their own bank accounts. Henslee never oversells, just gently persuades, mirroring the company’s own quiet pitch to millions of women that economic independence and personal transformation were within reach. The balanced treatment of the realities of multilevel marketing, alongside the truly inspirational story of founder Mary Kay Ash, make this a compelling listen for anyone curious about the often mocked world of direct sales.
Henslee’s warm, unhurried narration makes listeners feel like the next success story could be theirs.Pub Date: April 28, 2026
Duration: 14 hrs, 24 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217281879
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: June 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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