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The Butler
- A Witness to History
- Narrated by: Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, David Oyelowo, Lee Daniels
- Length: 2 hrs and 32 mins
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Publisher's summary
The story that inspired the major motion picture...read by its stars David Oyelowo, Forest Whitaker, and Oprah Winfrey
When acclaimed Washington Post writer Wil Haygood had an early hunch that Obama would win the 2008 election, he thought he'd highlight the singular moment by exploring the life of someone who had come of age when segregation was so embedded in the culture as to make the very thought of a black president inconceivable. He struck gold when he tracked down Eugene Allen, a butler who had served eight presidents, from Harry Truman to Ronald Reagan.
Forest Whitaker narrates the story of this remarkable man who, while serving tea and supervising buffets, was also a witness to history as decisions about America's most momentous events were being made.
With a foreword by the Academy Award-nominated director Lee Daniels, The Butler also includes Wil Haygood's essay exploring the history of black images on celluloid and in Hollywood, read here by David Oyelowo and Oprah Winfrey.
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Riveted for 1591 miles
- By Kaysi12 on 04-11-16
By: Tracy Daugherty
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Sidney Poitier
- Man, Actor, Icon
- By: Aram Goudsouzian
- Narrated by: J. D. Jackson
- Length: 20 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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In the first full biography of actor Sidney Poitier, Aram Goudsouzian analyzes the life and career of a Hollywood legend, from his childhood in the Bahamas to his 2002 Oscar for lifetime achievement. Poitier is a gifted actor, a great American success story, an intriguing personality, and a political symbol; his life and career illuminate America's racial history.
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The Man, the Star, the Lightning Rod
- By Susie on 01-28-13
By: Aram Goudsouzian
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Lady Bird
- A Biography of Mrs. Johnson
- By: Jan Jarboe Russell
- Narrated by: Andrea Gallo
- Length: 16 hrs
- Unabridged
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A revealing biography of Lady Bird Johnson with startling new insights into her marriage to Lyndon Baines Johnson and her unexpectedly strong impact on his presidency. Long obscured by her husband's shadow, Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson emerges in this first comprehensive biography as a figure of surprising influence and the centering force for LBJ, a man who suffered from extreme mood swings and desperately needed someone to help control his darker impulses.
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Do not waste an audible credit
- By Sandra B. on 10-15-23
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The Black Calhouns
- From Civil War to Civil Rights with One African American Family
- By: Gail Lumet Buckley
- Narrated by: Allyson Johnson
- Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Black Calhouns, Gail Lumet Buckley - daughter of actress Lena Horne - delves deep into her family history, detailing the experiences of an extraordinary African American family from Civil War to civil rights. Beginning with her great-great-grandfather, Moses Calhoun, a house slave who used the rare advantage of his education to become a successful businessman in postwar Atlanta, Buckley follows her family's two branches: one that stayed in the South and the other that settled in Brooklyn.
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The Black Calhouns
- By Marva on 10-15-24
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Wrapped in the Flag
- A Personal History of America’s Radical Right
- By: Claire Conner
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Evans
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
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Wrapped in the Flag chronicles the radical right-wing world of the 1960s, when conspiracy ruled and the John Birch Society made national headlines. The daughter of a John Birch Society leader, Claire Connor introduces us to the extreme ideas of a powerful political fringe group dispensing radical solutions to America's problems. Following in the footsteps of its hero, Senator Joseph McCarthy, the John Birch Society believed that an international Communist conspiracy was on the verge of taking over the government of the United States.
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Where the Tea Party got their crazy ideas
- By James Dew on 08-23-14
By: Claire Conner
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The Song and the Silence
- A Story About Family, Race, and What Was Revealed in a Small Town in the Mississippi Delta While Searching for Booker Wright
- By: Yvette Johnson
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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"Have to keep that smile", said Booker Wright in the 1966 NBC documentary Mississippi: A Self-Portrait. At the time Wright was a waiter in a Whites-only restaurant and a local business owner who would become an unwitting icon of the civil rights movement. For he did the unthinkable: Before a national audience, he described what life was truly like for the Black people of Greenwood, Mississippi.
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Exceeded every expectation
- By ZeeJ84 on 05-23-21
By: Yvette Johnson
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Nevertheless
- A Memoir
- By: Alec Baldwin
- Narrated by: Alec Baldwin
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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One of the most accomplished and outspoken actors today chronicles the highs and lows of his life in this beautifully written, candid memoir.
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Embarrassingly petty
- By Stacey Robinson on 09-20-18
By: Alec Baldwin
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The Mayor of Castro Street
- The Life and Times of Harvey Milk
- By: Randy Shilts
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor
- Length: 16 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Known as The Mayor of Castro Street even before he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Harvey Milk's personal life, public career, and final assassination reflect the dramatic emergence of the gay community as a political power in America. It is a story full of personal tragedies and political intrigues, assassinations at City Hall, massive riots in the streets, the miscarriage of justice, and the consolidation of gay power and gay hope.
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Excellent historical perspective of an activist.
- By Chris on 04-14-15
By: Randy Shilts
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Killing Jesus
- A History
- By: Bill O'Reilly, Martin Dugard
- Narrated by: Bill O'Reilly
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Millions of people have thrilled to best-selling authors Bill O'Reilly and historian Martin Dugard's Killing Kennedy and Killing Lincoln, works of nonfiction that have changed the way we view history. Now the anchor of The O'Reilly Factor details the events leading up to the murder of the most influential man in history: Jesus of Nazareth. Nearly 2,000 years after this beloved and controversial young revolutionary was brutally killed by Roman soldiers, more than 2.2 billion human beings attempt to follow his teachings and believe he is God.
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The Jesus story in context
- By Kimberly on 10-01-13
By: Bill O'Reilly, and others
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The President's House
- A First Daughter Shares the History and Secrets of the World's Most Famous Home
- By: Margaret Truman
- Narrated by: Sandra Burr
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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As Margaret Truman knows from firsthand experience, living in the White House can be exhilarating and maddening, alarming and exhausting, but it is certainly never dull. Part private residence, part goldfish bowl, and part national shrine, the White House is both the most important address in America and the most intensely scrutinized.
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Awesome History!
- By LisaB on 02-18-20
By: Margaret Truman
What listeners say about The Butler
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- J. Guarini
- 09-04-17
Great book!
Good book. The movie was even better. We felt like our lives flashed before our eyes, from the Eisenhower to Obama eras.
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- Cynthia
- 08-01-13
Well Served by this Book
On November 4, 2008, Barack Obama was elected to his first term as President. Three days later, I read a nice piece in the Washington Post by Wil Haygood. "A Butler Well Served by this Election" was the too brief story of Eugene Allen, a Black butler who served eight presidents, retiring during the Reagan administration. Later, watching the inaugural on television, the camera panned to Allen, and a commentator mentioned he was there as a special guest of the President's. Allen must have had interesting stories, but he was discrete and I thought they had died with him in 2010.
I was thrilled to find "The Butler: A Witness to History" (2013) at the top of the Audible crawl. "Wow," I thought. "A story I always wanted to hear more of, and one of the narrators is Forest Whitaker!" I like his voice so much I'd listen to him reading a refrigerator repair manual. It was the fastest Audible purchase I've made, and I don't regret it.
I thought I would be listening to a lengthier biography of Allen, or perhaps a novelization of the movie, but "The Butler" book is really a companion to the movie. According to this book, the movie "The Butler" is partially fictionalized, and a dramatic conflict was created between Allen and a radicalized son. This book first discusses how Haygood came up with the original story idea, and his lovely interviews with Allen and his wife, Helene. The book discusses Allen's relationships with the presidents he served, but briefly -it's a short book. It also discusses the tragedy Allen honored to vote for Obama, and then his physical struggle to attend the inauguration.
There's also a section on the difficulty bringing "The Butler" to the screen. Oprah Winfrey discusses the history of Blacks in film, as actors, directors and producers. I am familiar with all of the actors she mentioned, but the directors in the 1920's and 30's were new to me.
I'm giving the book a story rating of "3" because, as an Audible, it wandered. I wasn't always sure what point was being raised.
[If you found this review helpful, please let me know by clicking 'helpful'.]
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63 people found this helpful
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- Azucena Leanos
- 09-25-20
Great listen
Although it’s based on the movie, it goes into other facets of that time period. Great narrations.
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- Cartman18
- 12-05-13
Commercial
I was expecting more of the story similar to the movie. What I got instead was a commercial like a "Making of...". It was interesting to listen to how the movie came together, how much of a struggle it was to get financed but it was really more of a commercial to entice me to go watch the movie. I should not have had to pay $8 in order to be cajoled into going to a movie. Skip the audio book, go see the movie.
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- Cris
- 08-05-13
Not what I was expecting
What would have made The Butler better?
If it was the story of Eugene and not the ad lib from the other narrators.
Would you be willing to try another book from Wil Haygood? Why or why not?
Maybe. I just didn't like the end.
What didn’t you like about the narrators’s performance?
I was expecting a story about Eugene and his experiences, not all the added after the fact.
You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?
I loved hearing about Eugene and his wife.
Any additional comments?
Could have been a little more about Eugene and his experiences rather than about how we now have a black president and look where we are now. Not that I'm against the "look where we are now", it's just that I wanted to hear about events that took place during his time working in the White House. Maybe because I saw the advertisement for the movie, my expectations of the book were higher. It was this advertisement that got me interested in the book.
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27 people found this helpful
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- Ronald
- 08-05-13
The most deceiving book I've bought
Would you try another book from Wil Haygood and/or the narrators?
This is just a commercial for the movie. Nothing to this audiobook. Don't waste your money!
Would you ever listen to anything by Wil Haygood again?
NO!
Would you be willing to try another one of the narrators’s performances?
NO!
You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?
Yeah, I will like the movie, but not this commercial.
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22 people found this helpful
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- BossAlways
- 01-27-15
Movie documentary, not a novel
Boring, had so much promise. seeking a refund. Very disappointed, took the time to review.
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1 person found this helpful
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- T. Arcangel
- 08-06-13
NOT as Advertised
This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?
Someone who is interested in the history of African Americans in cinema.
What could Wil Haygood have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?
Told more of the story of Eugene Allen.
Did the narrators do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?
I did like the narration in the first hour of the book.
What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?
I was very disappointed. I imagined that the film, "The Butler" would be based on this book, so I wanted to hear the book first. In truth, the book is only an advertisement for the film! I have purchased other books from Audible that I wasn't crazy about, but this is the first time that I've ever felt ripped off.
Any additional comments?
I expected this book to be a biography of Eugene Allen, butler in the White House. The first hour of the book is about the author's attempt to find and interview Mr. Allen, and does include a few stories about Mr. Allen and his wife. A little over one half of the book has nothing to do with Mr. Allen. It is all about the history of African Americans in movie-making history. I did not buy this book to hear about Denzel Washington being nominated for an Oscar, I bought it to hear about the butler, Eugene Allen.
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31 people found this helpful
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- KT Lou
- 08-08-13
Don't buy it !
What would have made The Butler better?
I was really looking forward to getting an insight into the daily life at the White House. I would have liked it better if they had focused on behind scenes events of one president.
What do you think your next listen will be?
I loved Listening to Chasing Fireflies by Charles Martin. I look forward to hearing another book by him.
What three words best describe the narrators’s voice?
pleasant, easy to understand.
If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Butler?
The best scene in the book was when the writer was allowed to visit the basement in the butler's home.
Any additional comments?
Don't waste your money on this one.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Melody
- 01-01-14
Supplement only
I can only advise this as a supplement to the movie. It was informative but it is NOT the story of the butler's life. It is a story about the movie. Did I get this for free? I hope so -- I would not waste a credit on this.
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