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Rogues

True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks

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Rogues

By: Patrick Radden Keefe
Narrated by: Patrick Radden Keefe
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About this listen

The New York Times Bestseller

From the prize-winning, bestselling author of Say Nothing (soon to be streaming on Disney+) and Empire of Pain, twelve enthralling stories of skulduggery and intrigue by one of the most decorated journalists of our time.

'Eminently bingeable, religiously fact-checked and seductively globetrotting' -
The Observer

This audio edition is read by the author, Patrick Radden Keefe.

Patrick Radden Keefe’s work has been recognized by prizes ranging from the National Magazine Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award in the US to the Orwell Prize and the Baillie Gifford in the UK, for his meticulously reported, hypnotically engaging work on the many ways people behave badly. Rogues brings together a dozen of his most celebrated articles from the New Yorker. As Keefe observes in his preface: ‘They reflect on some of my abiding preoccupations: crime and corruption, secrets and lies, the permeable membrane separating licit and illicit worlds, the bonds of family, the power of denial.’

Keefe explores the intricacies of forging $150,000 vintage wines; examines whether a whistleblower who dared to expose money laundering at a Swiss bank is a hero or a fabulist; spends time in Vietnam with Anthony Bourdain; chronicles the quest to bring down a cheerful international black-market arms merchant; and profiles a passionate death-penalty attorney who represents the ‘worst of the worst’, among other bravura works of literary journalism.

The appearance of his byline in the New Yorker is always an event; collected here for the first time listeners can hear how his work forms an always enthralling yet also deeply human portrait of criminals and rascals, as well as those who stand up to them.

Con Artists, Hoaxes & Deceptions Organised Crime True Crime Words, Language & Grammar Writing & Publishing Inspiring

Critic Reviews

Eminently bingeable, religiously fact-checked and seductively globetrotting . . . A preternaturally attentive reporter at work.
A new book by Keefe means drop everything and close the blinds; you’ll be turning pages for hours . . . Highly entertaining
Keefe follows his award-winning opus with a collection of 12 pen portraits . . . that are no less compelling for being sketched on a smaller canvas.
Reflects the collective preoccupations of the unsettling era in which we now live: mass shootings and terrorism, mental health issues, and the many flavors of financial corruption . . . Keefe is a virtuoso storyteller, able to create suspense with his descriptions of how these crimes unfolded.
Each [piece] could be a book in its own right . . . [Keefe] has an eye for the smallest detail that reveals something big.
A wonderful book, not only because Keefe's prose is masterful, but because he has a preternatural gift for reading people.
Extraordinary
One of the finest non-fiction writers of his generation
A king of contemporary nonfiction
Iconic . . . Keefe delivers masterpieces
I read everything he writes. Every time he writes a book, I read it. Every time he writes an article, I read it . . . he’s a national treasure. (Rachel Maddow)
All stars
Most relevant
Interesting and varied ,keeps you engaged with the many cases of rogues would recommend a good listen

Good listen

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I didn’t know what to expect from this book, as the trailer wasn’t great.
It well and truly exceeded my expectations.
Some really interesting and well researched stories on topics I knew nothing about.
Certainly worth a listen.
The narration was fine.

Great yarns and well produced

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The title for me is a bit misleading but the chapters never disappointed . Well researched and beautifully read by the author, it’s an audible equivalent to a page turner. I’ve listened to the Anthony Bourdain chapter several times and it’s as revealing of the subject as it is of the writer.

Intriguing collection

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Loved everything about this book the voice over from the author is sublime excellent collection of stories

Straight up banger

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Keefe’s writing is so wooden, and so exceedingly dull that it borders on incoherence. Keefe belongs to a small group of “successful” writers, who come from very wealthy, influential families with powerful political connections. And so his writing reads like a characterless bore, who has never known hardship, grown to adulthood insulated against failure, and had lifelong privilege..because he has. I challenge anybody to read his books and be slightly, infinitesimally moved or interested. After trying to read ‘Rpuges’, the second book of Keefes I have purchased because I obviously didn’t learn from the first dreary, wet blanket purchase that is “Say nothing”, I can only believe that his Uber wealthy family have bought tens of thousands of ghost copies of his books to make him a marginal literary success. Don’t buy this crap.

Keefe is a successful writer, but not because he can write, because he can’t.

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