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Once Upon a Time in Russia: The Rise of the Oligarchs and the Greatest Wealth in History Audiobook
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(4.33) - 3 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
The New York Times bestselling author of Bringing Down the House and The Accidental Billionaires tells his most incredible story yet: A true drama of obscene wealth, crime, rivalry, and betrayal from deep inside the world of billionaire Russian oligarchs that Booklist called “one more example of just how talented a storyteller [Mezrich] is.”
Meet two larger-than-life Russians: former mathematician Boris Berezovsky, who moved into more lucrative ventures as well as politics, becoming known as the Godfather of the Kremlin; and Roman Abramovich, a dashing young entrepreneur who built one of Russia’s largest oil companies from the ground up.
After a chance meeting on a yacht in the Caribbean, the men became locked in a complex partnership, surfing the waves of privatization after the fall of the Soviet regime and amassing mega fortunes while also taking the reins of power in Russia. With Berezovsky serving as the younger entrepreneur’s krysha—literally, his roof, his protector—they battled their way through the “Wild East” of Russia until their relationship soured when Berezovsky attacked President Vladimir Putin in the media. Dead bodies trailed Berezovsky as he escaped to London, where an associate died painfully of Polonium poisoning, creating an international furor. As Abramovich prospered, Berezovsky was found dead in a luxurious London town house, declared a suicide.
With unprecedented, exclusive first-person sourcing, Mezrich takes us inside a world of unimaginable wealth, power, and corruption to uncover this exciting story, a true-life thriller epic for our time—“Wolf Hall on the Moskva” (Bookpage).
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"To me a very enjoyable and fascinating book. I read it a few years ago when it first came out in hard cover, but I've since visited Russia and wanted to listen to the audio version with a new perspective. It takes place in a historically interesting time in Russia and Mezrich is an engaging writer."
— debiwebi (5 out of 5 stars)
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“Mezrich relates the story in the form of a true-life novel.”
— Financial Times -
“Assassination plots, intimidation tactics, political maneuvering, and money in unfeasibly large quantities—this is the stuff of Ben Mezrich’s Once Upon a Time in Russia…Based on a year of interviews with high-profile sources, it fleshes out almost twenty years of history with journalistic color and anecdotes…One of our favorites.”
— GQ magazine -
“Mezrich’s well-written account of this era of Russian history illuminates the tumultuous conversion of communism to capitalism.”
— Jackstonville News (North Carolina) -
“Mezrich’s ability to tell a true (and well-documented) story in a way that makes it look and feel like the most involving of narratives is nearly unparalleled. He is one of the few writers whose name on a piece of nonfiction guarantees not only quality but also interest, no matter the subject, and this fine book is one more example of just how talented a storyteller he is.”
— Booklist (starred review) -
“Wolf Hall on the Moskva!”
— BookPage
Awards
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An AARP Magazine Editors’ Pick for June 2015
Once Upon a Time in Russia Listener Reviews
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debiwebi, 12/12/2017
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M, 10/18/2017
About Ben Mezrich
Ben Mezrich is the New York Times bestselling author of The Accidental Billionaires, adapted by Aaron Sorkin into the David Fincher film The Social Network, and Bringing Down the House, adapted into the #1 box office hit film 21), and several other bestselling nonfiction books. His books have sold over six million copies worldwide.
About Jeremy Bobb
Jeremy Bobb is an Earphones Award–winning narrator and an accomplished actor whose film credits include The Knick, Godless, Mosaic, and The Wolf of Wall Street. He has performed in numerous Broadway and Off-Broadway plays, including Is He Dead? and Cactus Flower.