Birth of a Caribbean Tax Haven
The Untold Story
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.
Birth of a Caribbean Tax Haven
Buy for $6.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Douglas Wilkin
About this listen
I was an eager young novice with a boat load of dreams when I started out with the accounting firm of Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. After I successfully completed the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam, Alan Brooks, who was a partner in the firm, took a moment to pull me aside privately. He looked squarely into my eyes and simply said: “It’s all about relationships George.” I didn’t know it at the time, but Alan had spoken the key that could unlock the door to success in all aspects of my life.
In Birth of A Caribbean Tax Haven: The Untold Story, I weave together fact and fiction alongside personal experiences to contrast long-term success with irrecoverable failure. Many years ago, as a young man growing up in the Cayman Islands, I would occasionally hear the name "James MacDonald’" come up in conversations. These conversations were about the early days of economic development in Grand Cayman. I was curious because I never heard about this man in formal circles or in the classroom. No government recognition or any special accolade was ever awarded to him publicly, yet he clearly made a significant contribution to the formation and establishment of the Cayman Islands as a premier offshore financial center. I had to know why this man was “intentionally” sidelined. After many hours of research and conversations with those who knew him personally, I was finally able to form my own conclusion as to why his story has remained untold for so long. Here is my conclusion: its all about relationships.
©2021 George Samuels, CPA (P)2022 George Samuels, CPAListeners also enjoyed...
-
Hoodwinked
- An Economic Hit Man Reveals Why the Global Economy IMPLODED - and How to Fix It
- By: John Perkins
- Narrated by: David Ackroyd
- Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 169
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 107
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 106
John Perkins has seen the signs of today's economic meltdown before. The subprime mortgage fiascos, the banking industry collapse, the rising tide of unemployment, the shuttering of small businesses across the landscape are all too familiar symptoms of a far greater disease.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Concise world view by very problematic author
- By BruceK on 02-20-12
By: John Perkins
-
Laptop from Hell
- Hunter Biden, Big Tech, and the Dirty Secrets the President Tried to Hide
- By: Miranda Devine
- Narrated by: Richard Cefalos
- Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 3,194
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,779
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 2,766
When a drug-addled Hunter Biden abandoned his waterlogged computer at a Mac repair shop in Delaware in the spring of 2019, just six days before his father announced his candidacy for the United States presidency, it became the ticking time bomb in the shadows of Joe Biden’s campaign.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
I knew the laptop was bad, but wow!
- By brewcitydep on 12-04-21
By: Miranda Devine
-
Why Should White Guys Have All the Fun?
- How Reginald Lewis Created a Billion-Dollar Business Empire
- By: Reginald F. Lewis, Blair S. Walker
- Narrated by: JD Jackson, Christina Lewis
- Length: 13 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,029
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 914
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 907
When six-year-old Reginald Lewis overheard his grandparents discussing employment discrimination against African Americans, he asked, “Why should white guys have all the fun?" This self-assured child would grow up to become the CEO of Beatrice International and one of the most successful entrepreneurs ever. At the time of his death in 1993, his personal fortune was estimated in excess of $400 million and his vast commercial empire spanned four continents.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Outstanding- inspiring and instructional
- By Gavin S on 09-15-20
By: Reginald F. Lewis, and others
-
Sons of Wichita
- How the Koch Brothers Became America's Most Powerful and Private Dynasty
- By: Daniel Schulman
- Narrated by: Allen O'Reilly
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 845
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 724
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 719
Like the Rockefellers and the Kennedys, the Kochs are one of the most influential dynasties of the modern age, but they have never been the subject of a major biography... until now. Not long after the death of his father, Charles Koch, then in his early 30s, discovered a letter the family patriarch had written to his sons. "You will receive what now seems to be a large sum of money," Fred Koch cautioned. "It may either be a blessing or a curse."
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting family
- By Jean on 05-28-14
By: Daniel Schulman
-
The Last Kings of Shanghai
- The Rival Jewish Dynasties That Helped Create Modern China
- By: Jonathan Kaufman
- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 620
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 525
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 523
Jonathan Kaufman tells the remarkable history of how two rival families participated in an economic boom that opened China to the world, but remained blind to the country's deep inequality and to the political turmoil at their doorsteps. In a story stretching from Baghdad to Hong Kong to Shanghai to London, Kaufman enters the lives and minds of these ambitious men and women to forge a tale of opium smuggling, family rivalry, political intrigue, and survival.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Great story with careless flaws
- By pjdusa on 10-20-20
By: Jonathan Kaufman
-
Red Roulette
- An Insider's Story of Wealth, Power, Corruption, and Vengeance in Today's China
- By: Desmond Shum
- Narrated by: Tim Chiou
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,045
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 900
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 893
As Desmond Shum was growing up impoverished in China, he vowed his life would be different. Through hard work and sheer tenacity he earned an American college degree and returned to his native country to establish himself in business. There, he met his future wife, the highly intelligent and equally ambitious Whitney Duan who was determined to make her mark within China’s male-dominated society. Whitney and Desmond formed an effective team and, aided by relationships they formed with top members of China’s Communist Party, the so-called red aristocracy.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Desmond Shum is not a rube! He knows about wine, ok?
- By Peter L Hansen on 10-06-21
By: Desmond Shum
-
Hoodwinked
- An Economic Hit Man Reveals Why the Global Economy IMPLODED - and How to Fix It
- By: John Perkins
- Narrated by: David Ackroyd
- Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 169
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 107
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 106
John Perkins has seen the signs of today's economic meltdown before. The subprime mortgage fiascos, the banking industry collapse, the rising tide of unemployment, the shuttering of small businesses across the landscape are all too familiar symptoms of a far greater disease.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Concise world view by very problematic author
- By BruceK on 02-20-12
By: John Perkins
-
Laptop from Hell
- Hunter Biden, Big Tech, and the Dirty Secrets the President Tried to Hide
- By: Miranda Devine
- Narrated by: Richard Cefalos
- Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 3,194
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,779
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 2,766
When a drug-addled Hunter Biden abandoned his waterlogged computer at a Mac repair shop in Delaware in the spring of 2019, just six days before his father announced his candidacy for the United States presidency, it became the ticking time bomb in the shadows of Joe Biden’s campaign.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
I knew the laptop was bad, but wow!
- By brewcitydep on 12-04-21
By: Miranda Devine
-
Why Should White Guys Have All the Fun?
- How Reginald Lewis Created a Billion-Dollar Business Empire
- By: Reginald F. Lewis, Blair S. Walker
- Narrated by: JD Jackson, Christina Lewis
- Length: 13 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,029
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 914
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 907
When six-year-old Reginald Lewis overheard his grandparents discussing employment discrimination against African Americans, he asked, “Why should white guys have all the fun?" This self-assured child would grow up to become the CEO of Beatrice International and one of the most successful entrepreneurs ever. At the time of his death in 1993, his personal fortune was estimated in excess of $400 million and his vast commercial empire spanned four continents.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Outstanding- inspiring and instructional
- By Gavin S on 09-15-20
By: Reginald F. Lewis, and others
-
Sons of Wichita
- How the Koch Brothers Became America's Most Powerful and Private Dynasty
- By: Daniel Schulman
- Narrated by: Allen O'Reilly
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 845
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 724
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 719
Like the Rockefellers and the Kennedys, the Kochs are one of the most influential dynasties of the modern age, but they have never been the subject of a major biography... until now. Not long after the death of his father, Charles Koch, then in his early 30s, discovered a letter the family patriarch had written to his sons. "You will receive what now seems to be a large sum of money," Fred Koch cautioned. "It may either be a blessing or a curse."
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting family
- By Jean on 05-28-14
By: Daniel Schulman
-
The Last Kings of Shanghai
- The Rival Jewish Dynasties That Helped Create Modern China
- By: Jonathan Kaufman
- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 620
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 525
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 523
Jonathan Kaufman tells the remarkable history of how two rival families participated in an economic boom that opened China to the world, but remained blind to the country's deep inequality and to the political turmoil at their doorsteps. In a story stretching from Baghdad to Hong Kong to Shanghai to London, Kaufman enters the lives and minds of these ambitious men and women to forge a tale of opium smuggling, family rivalry, political intrigue, and survival.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Great story with careless flaws
- By pjdusa on 10-20-20
By: Jonathan Kaufman
-
Red Roulette
- An Insider's Story of Wealth, Power, Corruption, and Vengeance in Today's China
- By: Desmond Shum
- Narrated by: Tim Chiou
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,045
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 900
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 893
As Desmond Shum was growing up impoverished in China, he vowed his life would be different. Through hard work and sheer tenacity he earned an American college degree and returned to his native country to establish himself in business. There, he met his future wife, the highly intelligent and equally ambitious Whitney Duan who was determined to make her mark within China’s male-dominated society. Whitney and Desmond formed an effective team and, aided by relationships they formed with top members of China’s Communist Party, the so-called red aristocracy.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Desmond Shum is not a rube! He knows about wine, ok?
- By Peter L Hansen on 10-06-21
By: Desmond Shum
-
Moneyland
- The Inside Story of the Crooks and Kleptocrats Who Rule the World
- By: Oliver Bullough
- Narrated by: Oliver Bullough
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 534
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 462
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 453
An investigative journalist's deep dive into the corrupt workings of the world's kleptocrats. Learn how the institutions of Europe and the US have become money-laundering operations, attacking the foundations of many of the world's most stable countries. Meet the kleptocrats. Meet their awful children. And find out how heroic activists around the world are fighting back.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best book I've read (listened to) this year
- By Linda Copeland on 06-26-19
By: Oliver Bullough
-
Last Call
- The Rise and Fall of Prohibition
- By: Daniel Okrent
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 17 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 484
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 422
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 424
A brilliant, authoritative, and fascinating history of America’s most puzzling era, the years 1920 to 1933, when the U.S. Constitution was amended to restrict one of America’s favorite pastimes: drinking alcoholic beverages. Okrent reveals how Prohibition marked a confluence of diverse forces, including the growing political power of the women’s suffrage movement and the fear of small-town, native-stock Protestants that they were losing control of their country to the immigrants of the large cities.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Very Thorough Historical Review
- By Pierre on 11-12-12
By: Daniel Okrent
-
The Making of Donald Trump
- By: David Cay Johnston
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,342
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,163
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,163
The culmination of nearly 30 years of reporting on Donald Trump, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter David Cay Johnston takes a revealingly close look at the mogul's rise to power and prominence. Covering the long arc of Trump's career, Johnston tells the full story of how a boy from a quiet section of Queens, New York, would become an entirely new and complex breed of public figure. Trump is a man of great media savvy, entrepreneurial spirit, and political clout. Yet, his career has been plagued by legal troubles and mounting controversy
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A horrifying must read for every voter
- By Tim on 08-15-16
-
Kleptopia
- How Dirty Money Is Conquering the World
- By: Tom Burgis
- Narrated by: Tom Burgis
- Length: 10 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 305
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 268
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 268
In this real-life thriller packed with jaw-dropping revelations, award-winning investigative journalist Tom Burgis weaves together stories that reveal a terrifying global web of corruption. Glimpses of this shadowy world have emerged over the years. In Kleptopia, Burgis connects the dots. He follows the dirty money that is flooding the global economy, emboldening dictators, and poisoning democracies. From the Kremlin to Beijing, Harare to Riyadh, Paris to the White House, the trail shows something even more sinister: the thieves are uniting. And the human cost will be great.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Lazy Journalism in long narrative form
- By Jeremy on 02-14-21
By: Tom Burgis
-
Bubble in the Sun
- The Florida Boom of the 1920s and How It Brought on the Great Depression
- By: Christopher Knowlton
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 290
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 252
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 251
In Bubble in the Sun Christopher Knowlton shows us the grand artistic and entrepreneurial visions behind Coral Gables, Boca Raton, Mar-a-Lago, Miami Beach, and other storied sites. It was a time when the nightlife raged more raucously than anywhere else in America; workers, mostly black, who built and maintained the boom endured grievous abuses; and the pure beauty of the Everglades suffered wanton ruination. Knowlton also breathes dynamic life into the four forces that made and/or broke Florida in the time.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
One irritating point...
- By Dan Pinkston on 02-07-20
-
The Plaza
- The Secret Life of America's Most Famous Hotel
- By: Julie Satow
- Narrated by: Jefferson Mays
- Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 291
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 256
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 256
The Plaza is the account of one vaunted New York City address that has become synonymous with wealth and scandal, opportunity and tragedy. With glamour on the surface and strife behind the scenes, it is the story of how one hotel became a mirror reflecting New York's place at the center of the country's cultural narrative for over a century.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Don't need your politics, Julie
- By Debra Noe on 03-29-20
By: Julie Satow
-
Hoover
- An Extraordinary Life in Extraordinary Times
- By: Kenneth Whyte
- Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
- Length: 27 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 457
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 409
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 408
The definitive biography of Herbert Hoover, one of the most remarkable Americans of the 20th century - a revisionist account that will forever change the way Americans understand the man, his presidency, and his battle against the Great Depression. A poor orphan who built a fortune, a great humanitarian, a president elected in a landslide and then routed in the next election, arguably the father of both New Deal liberalism and modern conservatism - Herbert Hoover is also one of our least understood presidents.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
What a fascinating story!
- By Dan Ryan on 11-18-17
By: Kenneth Whyte
-
Mellon
- An American Life
- By: David Cannadine
- Narrated by: John H. Mayer
- Length: 35 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 286
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 216
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 219
A landmark work from one of the preeminent historians of our time: the first published biography of Andrew W. Mellon, the American colossus who bestrode the worlds of industry, government, and philanthropy, leaving his transformative stamp on each. Following a boyhood in 19th-century Pittsburgh, during which he learned from his Scotch-Irish immigrant father the lessons of self-sufficiency and wealth accumulation, Andrew Mellon overcame painful shyness to become one of America's greatest financiers.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fascinating and Detailed Biography
- By Nostromo on 04-17-07
By: David Cannadine
-
Black Titan
- A.G. Gaston and the Making of a Black American Millionaire
- By: Carol Jenkins
- Narrated by: Susan Spain
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 460
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 395
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 395
A.G. Gaston, the poor grandson of slaves, was born in the Deep South in 1892. Over the course of his extraordinary life, he amassed a fortune of over $130 million and a vast business empire. The story of his remarkable life is written with eloquence and grace by his niece, an Emmy¿ Award-winning journalist and her daughter, who holds degrees from Yale and Harvard.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Black Gold = Standing Ovation
- By 2Fresh on 01-20-16
By: Carol Jenkins
-
At the Sands
- The Casino That Shaped Classic Las Vegas, Brought the Rat Pack Together, and Went Out with a Bang
- By: David G. Schwartz
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 62
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 50
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 49
The lights are coming down. Frank, Dean, and Sammy are about to take the stage. This is the moment we remember, when Las Vegas became classic. And it was at the Sands. Built in 1952 over the ashes of Hollywood Reporter publisher Billy Wilkerson’s last chance in Las Vegas, the Sands was a collective effort. Underworld figures like Meyer Lansky, Doc Stacher, and Frank Costello provided the cash.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
At the Sands
- By Deedra on 10-14-21
-
Business Biographies and Memoirs - Titans of Industry: Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford, Cornelius Vanderbilt
- By: J.R. MacGregor
- Narrated by: Kevin Kollins
- Length: 14 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 111
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 98
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 99
The five Titans of Industry discussed in this series are, without a doubt, the most influential and impactful men in American history. Without any one of them, the entire landscape of the US would be different. They are the founders of the American economy.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Loved this book
- By Ruby Sanderson on 09-14-19
By: J.R. MacGregor
-
"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
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 32
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.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Book 3 of 3
- By Etoile NEOhio on 11-15-22
Related to this topic
-
Tokyo Underworld
- The Fast Times and Hard Life of an American Gangster in Japan
- By: Robert Whiting
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 77
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 64
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 64
In the ashes of postwar Japan lay a gold mine for certain opportunistic, expatriate Americans. Addicted to the volatile energy of Tokyo's freewheeling underworld, they formed ever-shifting but ever-profitable alliances with warring Japanese and Korean gangsters. At the center of this world was Nick Zappetti, an ex-marine from New York City who arrived in Tokyo in 1945 and whose restaurant soon became the rage throughout the city and the chief watering hole for celebrities, diplomats, sports figures, and mobsters.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Man with a fork in a world of soup
- By Kindle Customer on 09-01-20
By: Robert Whiting
-
Boardwalk Empire
- The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City
- By: Nelson Johnson
- Narrated by: Joe Mantegna, Terence Winter (foreword)
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 688
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 439
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 445
From its inception, Atlantic City has always been a town dedicated to the fast buck, and this wide-reachinghistory offers a riveting account of its past 100 year, from the city's heyday as a Prohibition-era mecca of lawlessness to its rebirth as a legitimate casino resort in the modern era.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
The Unmasked History of Atlantic City
- By Steven Schuster on 08-07-10
By: Nelson Johnson
-
How Chuck Feeney Made and Gave Away a Fortune
- The Billionaire Who Wasn't
- By: Conor O'Clery
- Narrated by: Erik Synnestvedt
- Length: 16 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 222
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 172
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 172
In 1988 Forbes magazine hailed Chuck Feeney as the 23rd richest American alive. No one knew until then that he was extremely wealthy. Or was he? Born during the Depression in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Feeney had made a fortune as co-founder of Duty Free Shoppers, the world's largest duty-free retail chain. How he did it is one of the great untold retail stories of modern times. The greater untold story is that Feeney had in fact given away his fortune, in its totality, to endow Atlantic Philanthropies - one of the most generous and secretive philanthropic funds in the world.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Horizons I never knew were there!
- By DTU_Garza on 08-13-17
By: Conor O'Clery
-
Red Roulette
- An Insider's Story of Wealth, Power, Corruption, and Vengeance in Today's China
- By: Desmond Shum
- Narrated by: Tim Chiou
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,045
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 900
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 893
As Desmond Shum was growing up impoverished in China, he vowed his life would be different. Through hard work and sheer tenacity he earned an American college degree and returned to his native country to establish himself in business. There, he met his future wife, the highly intelligent and equally ambitious Whitney Duan who was determined to make her mark within China’s male-dominated society. Whitney and Desmond formed an effective team and, aided by relationships they formed with top members of China’s Communist Party, the so-called red aristocracy.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Desmond Shum is not a rube! He knows about wine, ok?
- By Peter L Hansen on 10-06-21
By: Desmond Shum
-
The Hour of Fate
- Theodore Roosevelt, J.P. Morgan, and the Battle to Transform American Capitalism
- By: Susan Berfield
- Narrated by: Jennifer Woodward
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 72
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 56
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 56
A riveting narrative of Wall Street buccaneering, political intrigue and two of American history’s most colossal characters, struggling for mastery in an era of social upheaval and rampant inequality. Today, as the country again asks whether saving democracy means taming capital, the lessons of Roosevelt and Morgan’s time are more urgent than ever.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Engaging
- By Jean on 06-08-20
By: Susan Berfield
-
Fulfillment
- Winning and Losing in One-Click America
- By: Alec MacGillis
- Narrated by: Danny Gavigan
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 205
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 172
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 172
Alec MacGillis’ Fulfillment is not another inside account or exposé of our most conspicuously dominant company. Rather, it is a literary investigation of the America that falls within that company’s growing shadow. As MacGillis shows, Amazon’s sprawling network of delivery hubs, data centers, and corporate campuses epitomizes a land where winner and loser cities and regions are drifting steadily apart, the civic fabric is unraveling, and work has become increasingly rudimentary and isolated.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Missing some important angles
- By D. Zimmerle on 08-19-21
By: Alec MacGillis
-
Tokyo Underworld
- The Fast Times and Hard Life of an American Gangster in Japan
- By: Robert Whiting
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 77
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 64
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 64
In the ashes of postwar Japan lay a gold mine for certain opportunistic, expatriate Americans. Addicted to the volatile energy of Tokyo's freewheeling underworld, they formed ever-shifting but ever-profitable alliances with warring Japanese and Korean gangsters. At the center of this world was Nick Zappetti, an ex-marine from New York City who arrived in Tokyo in 1945 and whose restaurant soon became the rage throughout the city and the chief watering hole for celebrities, diplomats, sports figures, and mobsters.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Man with a fork in a world of soup
- By Kindle Customer on 09-01-20
By: Robert Whiting
-
Boardwalk Empire
- The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City
- By: Nelson Johnson
- Narrated by: Joe Mantegna, Terence Winter (foreword)
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 688
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 439
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 445
From its inception, Atlantic City has always been a town dedicated to the fast buck, and this wide-reachinghistory offers a riveting account of its past 100 year, from the city's heyday as a Prohibition-era mecca of lawlessness to its rebirth as a legitimate casino resort in the modern era.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
The Unmasked History of Atlantic City
- By Steven Schuster on 08-07-10
By: Nelson Johnson
-
How Chuck Feeney Made and Gave Away a Fortune
- The Billionaire Who Wasn't
- By: Conor O'Clery
- Narrated by: Erik Synnestvedt
- Length: 16 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 222
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 172
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 172
In 1988 Forbes magazine hailed Chuck Feeney as the 23rd richest American alive. No one knew until then that he was extremely wealthy. Or was he? Born during the Depression in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Feeney had made a fortune as co-founder of Duty Free Shoppers, the world's largest duty-free retail chain. How he did it is one of the great untold retail stories of modern times. The greater untold story is that Feeney had in fact given away his fortune, in its totality, to endow Atlantic Philanthropies - one of the most generous and secretive philanthropic funds in the world.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Horizons I never knew were there!
- By DTU_Garza on 08-13-17
By: Conor O'Clery
-
Red Roulette
- An Insider's Story of Wealth, Power, Corruption, and Vengeance in Today's China
- By: Desmond Shum
- Narrated by: Tim Chiou
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,045
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 900
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 893
As Desmond Shum was growing up impoverished in China, he vowed his life would be different. Through hard work and sheer tenacity he earned an American college degree and returned to his native country to establish himself in business. There, he met his future wife, the highly intelligent and equally ambitious Whitney Duan who was determined to make her mark within China’s male-dominated society. Whitney and Desmond formed an effective team and, aided by relationships they formed with top members of China’s Communist Party, the so-called red aristocracy.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Desmond Shum is not a rube! He knows about wine, ok?
- By Peter L Hansen on 10-06-21
By: Desmond Shum
-
The Hour of Fate
- Theodore Roosevelt, J.P. Morgan, and the Battle to Transform American Capitalism
- By: Susan Berfield
- Narrated by: Jennifer Woodward
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 72
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 56
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 56
A riveting narrative of Wall Street buccaneering, political intrigue and two of American history’s most colossal characters, struggling for mastery in an era of social upheaval and rampant inequality. Today, as the country again asks whether saving democracy means taming capital, the lessons of Roosevelt and Morgan’s time are more urgent than ever.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Engaging
- By Jean on 06-08-20
By: Susan Berfield
-
Fulfillment
- Winning and Losing in One-Click America
- By: Alec MacGillis
- Narrated by: Danny Gavigan
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 205
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 172
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 172
Alec MacGillis’ Fulfillment is not another inside account or exposé of our most conspicuously dominant company. Rather, it is a literary investigation of the America that falls within that company’s growing shadow. As MacGillis shows, Amazon’s sprawling network of delivery hubs, data centers, and corporate campuses epitomizes a land where winner and loser cities and regions are drifting steadily apart, the civic fabric is unraveling, and work has become increasingly rudimentary and isolated.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Missing some important angles
- By D. Zimmerle on 08-19-21
By: Alec MacGillis
-
Last Call
- The Rise and Fall of Prohibition
- By: Daniel Okrent
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 17 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 484
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 422
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 424
A brilliant, authoritative, and fascinating history of America’s most puzzling era, the years 1920 to 1933, when the U.S. Constitution was amended to restrict one of America’s favorite pastimes: drinking alcoholic beverages. Okrent reveals how Prohibition marked a confluence of diverse forces, including the growing political power of the women’s suffrage movement and the fear of small-town, native-stock Protestants that they were losing control of their country to the immigrants of the large cities.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Very Thorough Historical Review
- By Pierre on 11-12-12
By: Daniel Okrent
-
White House, Inc.
- How Donald Trump Turned the Presidency into a Business
- By: Dan Alexander
- Narrated by: Noah Michael Levine
- Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 73
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 61
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 61
White House, Inc. is a newsmaking exposé that details President Trump’s efforts to make money off of politics, taking us inside his exclusive clubs, luxury hotels, overseas partnerships, commercial properties, and personal mansions. Alexander tracks hundreds of millions of dollars flowing freely between big businesses and President Trump. He explains, in plain language, how Trump tried to translate power into profit, from the 2016 campaign to the ramp-up to the 2020 campaign.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Required reading for all Americans
- By Gregor on 10-11-20
By: Dan Alexander
-
The Plaza
- The Secret Life of America's Most Famous Hotel
- By: Julie Satow
- Narrated by: Jefferson Mays
- Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 291
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 256
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 256
The Plaza is the account of one vaunted New York City address that has become synonymous with wealth and scandal, opportunity and tragedy. With glamour on the surface and strife behind the scenes, it is the story of how one hotel became a mirror reflecting New York's place at the center of the country's cultural narrative for over a century.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Don't need your politics, Julie
- By Debra Noe on 03-29-20
By: Julie Satow
-
Norway - Culture Smart!
- The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture
- By: Linda March
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 3 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 36
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 36
Norway - Culture Smart! provides essential information, ensuring that you arrive at your destination aware of basic manners, common courtesies, and sensitive issues. This concise guide tells you what to expect, how to behave, and how to establish a rapport with your hosts. This inside knowledge will enable you to steer clear of embarrassing gaffes and mistakes, feel confident in unfamiliar situations, and develop trust, friendships, and successful business relationships.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Interresting, but too old
- By Anonymous User on 03-09-20
By: Linda March
-
"Our Crowd"
- The Great Jewish Families of New York
- By: Stephen Birmingham
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 19 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 304
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 261
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 260
They immigrated to America from Germany in the nineteenth century with names like Loeb, Sachs, Seligman, Lehman, Guggenheim, and Goldman. From tenements on the Lower East Side to Park Avenue mansions, this handful of Jewish families turned small businesses into imposing enterprises and amassed spectacular fortunes. But despite possessing breathtaking wealth that rivaled the Astors and Rockefellers, they were barred by the gentile establishment from the lofty realm of "the 400," a register of New York's most elite, because of their religion and humble backgrounds.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Finance heavy
- By Shayla on 03-28-21
-
Richistan
- A Journey Through the American Wealth Boom and the Lives of the New Rich
- By: Robert Frank
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 207
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 89
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 89
The rich have always been different from you and me, but this revealing and funny journey through Richistan entertainingly shows that they are more different than ever. Richistanis have 400-foot-yachts, 30,000-square-foot homes, house staffs of more than 100, and their own "arborists". They're also different from Old Money, and have torn down blue-blood institutions to build their own shining empire.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Ho Hum....being rich is work!
- By Scarlett on 06-16-07
By: Robert Frank
-
Roll The Bones: The History of Gambling (Casino Edition)
- By: David G. Schwartz
- Narrated by: Eric Martin
- Length: 16 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 31
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 31
Roll the Bones tells the story of gambling: where it came from, how it has changed, and where it is now. This is the new Casino Edition, which updates and expands the global history of gambling to include a greater focus on casinos, from their development in European spas to their growth in Reno and Las Vegas. New material chronicles in greater depth the development of casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip and their spread throughout the United States.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Everything you ever wanted to know about Gambling.
- By cosmitron on 03-28-18
-
Mitch, Please!
- How Mitch McConnell Sold Out Kentucky (and America Too)
- By: Matt Jones, Chris Tomlin - contributor
- Narrated by: Matt Jones, Chris Tomlin
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 370
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 339
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 335
They say all politics is local. In 2020, Mitch McConnell will have served five full terms as a US Senator. Thirty years. The Senate Majority leader's power is as undeniable as it is infuriating, and the people of Kentucky have had enough. Led by Matt Jones, they (and they alone) have the power to oust him from office. How did Jones, a local boy turned attorney turned sports radio host come to shine the brightest light on McConnell's ineptitude?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Amazing
- By Danielle Purcell on 04-10-20
By: Matt Jones, and others
-
Black Titan
- A.G. Gaston and the Making of a Black American Millionaire
- By: Carol Jenkins
- Narrated by: Susan Spain
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 460
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 395
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 395
A.G. Gaston, the poor grandson of slaves, was born in the Deep South in 1892. Over the course of his extraordinary life, he amassed a fortune of over $130 million and a vast business empire. The story of his remarkable life is written with eloquence and grace by his niece, an Emmy¿ Award-winning journalist and her daughter, who holds degrees from Yale and Harvard.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Black Gold = Standing Ovation
- By 2Fresh on 01-20-16
By: Carol Jenkins
-
Neither Snow nor Rain
- A History of the United States Postal Service
- By: Devin Leonard
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 67
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 58
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 58
Few institutions are as loved, as loathed, and as historically important as the United States Postal Service, the subject of this landmark century-spanning social, political, and economic history. The United States Postal Service is a wondrous American creation. Seven days a week, its army of 300,000 letter carriers delivers 513 million pieces of mail, 40 percent of the world's volume. It is far more efficient than any other mail service - more than twice as efficient as the Japanese and easily outpacing the Germans and British. And the USPS has a storied history.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Woa!, the post office's history is America
- By anon on 12-06-16
By: Devin Leonard
-
Soul City
- Race, Equality, and the Lost Dream of an American Utopia
- By: Thomas Healy
- Narrated by: Larry Herron
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 26
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 23
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 23
Author Thomas Healy resurrects a forgotten saga of race, capitalism, and the struggle for equality in this fascinating, forgotten story of the 1970s attempt to build a city dedicated to racial equality in the heart of “Klan Country”.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
awesome narrator
- By Arthur F. Jackson on 06-23-21
By: Thomas Healy
-
The Last Kings of Shanghai
- The Rival Jewish Dynasties That Helped Create Modern China
- By: Jonathan Kaufman
- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 620
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 525
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 523
Jonathan Kaufman tells the remarkable history of how two rival families participated in an economic boom that opened China to the world, but remained blind to the country's deep inequality and to the political turmoil at their doorsteps. In a story stretching from Baghdad to Hong Kong to Shanghai to London, Kaufman enters the lives and minds of these ambitious men and women to forge a tale of opium smuggling, family rivalry, political intrigue, and survival.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Great story with careless flaws
- By pjdusa on 10-20-20
By: Jonathan Kaufman