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The United States of Absurdity
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- By Anonymous User on 06-07-2017
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Failure Is an Option
- An Attempted Memoir
- By: H. Jon Benjamin
- Narrated by: H. Jon Benjamin
- Length: 4 hrs and 58 mins
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 85
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 74
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 74
While he's not quite a household name, most people would consider H. Jon Benjamin, the voice-actor star of Archer and Bob's Burgers (and a sentient can of mixed vegetables in 2015's Wet Hot American Summer) a comedy show business success. But he'd like to remind everyone that as great as success can be, failure is also an option. In a hilarious, self-deprecating memoir, Jon lays out some of his many failures in all areas of life, from Work ("wherein I'm unable to deliver a sizzling fajita") to Family ("wherein a trip to PF Chang's fractures a family").
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Evil Has a Name
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- Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 843
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 752
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Story5 out of 5 stars 750
For his victims, for their families and for the investigators tasked with finding him, the senselessness and brutality of the Golden State Killer's acts were matched only by the powerlessness they felt at failing to uncover his identity. Then, on April 24, 2018, authorities arrested 72-year-old Joseph James DeAngelo at his home in Citrus Heights, Calif., based on DNA evidence linked to the crimes. Amazingly, it seemed, evil finally had a name. Please note: This work contains descriptions of violent crime and sexual assault and may not be suitable for all listeners.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Captivating
- By Betty Mak on 09-01-2019
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Fascinating Footnotes from History
- By: Giles Milton
- Narrated by: Ric Jerrom
- Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 6
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 5
Fascinating Footnotes From History details 100 of the quirkiest historical nuggets - eye-stretching stories that sound like fiction but are 100 percent fact. There is Hiroo Onoda, the lone Japanese soldier still fighting the Second World War in 1974; Agatha Christie, who mysteriously disappeared for 11 days in 1926; and Werner Franz, a cabin boy on the Hindenburg who lived to tell the tale when it was engulfed in flames in 1937.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent
- By Nigel on 06-04-2018
Publisher's Summary
The creators of the podcast The Dollop present profiles of the weird, outrageous, NSFW, and downright absurd tales from American history that you weren't taught in school.
The United States of Absurdity presents short, informative, and hilarious stories of the most outlandish (but true) people, events, and more from United States history. Comedians Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds cover the weird stories you didn't learn in history class, such as 10-Cent Beer Night, the Jackson Cheese, and the Kentucky Meat Shower.
Critic Reviews
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What members say
Average Customer Ratings
Overall
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5 out of 5 stars
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5 Stars16
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4 Stars2
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4.5 out of 5 stars
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5 Stars14
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4 Stars2
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3 Stars1
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2 Stars1
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1 Stars0
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5 out of 5 stars
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5 Stars14
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4 Stars3
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1 Stars0
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- AshaMaria
- 07-02-2019
like an episode of the Dollop just longer
like an episode of the Dollop just longer
like an episode of the Dollop just longer
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- drew
- 22-08-2018
excellent introduction!
I've listened to the podcast and then hearing this and getting boiled down refresher course made me remember all the crazy shit that has happened. I'm now doing back to the podcast to re-listen to slot if these stories.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Blair
- 11-04-2018
A very short book
Very short book. Not sure that it was worth the credit to purchase it. But was quite humorous, if not interesting
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Keith
- 21-05-2017
Fun With Useless Facts
If you are a student of useless facts, this book is for you. I enjoy listening to the Dollop podcast, so thought I would check this out. The audiobook was well performed and the stories were the same brand of whacky you would expect from the Dollop, but missing the witty banter and back and forth of the show. The humor is still there but it is not the same. I would recommend this to others. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is how short it was. It clicks in at about the same length of two podcast episodes!
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nickie
- 17-05-2017
Awesome
Dave and Gareth find the lost gems of American history in their amazing, hilarious podcast. This book is a concentrated dollop of the Dollop. Buy it for friends, give it to strangers, spread the knowledge
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amy D.
- 13-05-2017
Spectacular!
So happy I bought the hardback book AND the Audible version! I got to have Dave and Gareth (not Gary) narrate it to me. The only bad thing about this is that I'm finished with it. Time to re-listen/reread!
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Steve Munnelly
- 29-03-2018
Left me wanting more!
Definitely wish there was more of it! Love the Dollop and this book! Guess I have to just wait for more Dollops to come out.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Derek Wasak
- 13-05-2017
This makes history worth learning.
It's stories like these that make history fun to learn. This book, like the podcast, is both hilarious and ridiculous. It is a shame all these things actually happened. What the actual fuck.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- asle
- 10-05-2017
Great collection of absurd stories from American history
If you know the podcast, The Dollop, you probably have heard these stories before, but this format gives you a new angle and a more condensed version of the stories. So I would recommend IT to listeners of the podcast. IT also is a great introdution so if you like the book you really should check out the podcast there are 260 eps waiting for you.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ryan Johnson
- 21-11-2018
Just a taste
This book was a great intro to their podcast, The Dollop. My understanding is that all of the vignettes talked about in the book are explored in greater detail in their podcast. It's good, but if you're already a fan you can skip this book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- stephanie valle
- 21-09-2018
funny and insightful
while it wasn't necessarily a history book, they did have some funny antidotes. I laughed out loud a few times, chuckled some more, and enjoyed the poke at us audio book "readers" at the end
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 06-02-2018
Fantastically Dark and Educational
The performance by Dave and Gary are as wonderful as the podcast . It was a great look back on some of the moments from the show but is also a great introduction to it
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Stephanie Barzo
- 23-12-2017
This is an intro to the podcast
If you have never listened to the podcast “The Dollop” then this book is amazing. I have a listen to this podcast for over year now and have unfortunately with them to all the stories. The Dollop goes into more detail, obviously, but this feels like just a taste. I highly recommend this book to people who have never listened to the podcast.