Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

Kill 'Em and Leave

Searching for James Brown and the American Soul

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
“You won’t leave this hypnotic book without feeling that James Brown is still out there, howling.”—The Boston Globe
 
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Good Lord Bird, winner of the 2013 National Book Award for Fiction, Deacon King Kong, and Five-Carat Soul
 
Kill ’Em and Leave is more than a book about James Brown. Brown embodied the contradictions of American life: He was an unsettling symbol of the tensions between North and South, black and white, rich and poor. After receiving a tip that promises to uncover the man behind the myth, James McBride goes in search of the “real” James Brown. McBride’s travels take him to forgotten corners of Brown’s never-before-revealed history, illuminating not only our understanding of the immensely troubled, misunderstood, and complicated Godfather of Soul, but the ways in which our cultural heritage has been shaped by Brown’s enduring legacy. 
Praise for Kill ’Em and Leave
“A tour de force of cultural reportage.”The Seattle Times
 
“Thoughtful and probing.”The New York Times Book Review
 
“Masterly . . . powerful.”Los Angeles Review of Books
 
“McBride provides something lacking in most of the books about James Brown: an intimate feeling for the musician, a veracious if inchoate sense of what it was like to be touched by him. . . . It may be as close [to ‘the real James Brown’] as we’ll ever get.”—David Hajdu, The Nation
 
“A feat of intrepid journalistic fortitude.”USA Today
 
“[McBride is] the biographer of James Brown we’ve all been waiting for. . . . McBride’s true subject is race and poverty in a country that doesn’t want to hear about it, unless compelled by a voice that demands to be heard.”—Boris Kachka, New York
 
“Illuminating . . . engaging.”The Washington Post
 
“A gorgeously written piece of reportage that gives us glimpses of Brown’s genius and contradictions.”—O: The Oprah Magazine
  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

  • Formats

  • Languages

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      This is a combined biography of the influential twentieth-century black musician James Brown and an autobiography of contemporary musician/author James McBride. Dominic Hoffman's performance is fantastic as he grooves and funks to the material. Each chapter provides a different view of Brown as told from the perspective of a friend, fellow musician, or family member, making the biography a little repetitive. A plus is that McBride's perspective is always present in Hoffman's smooth narration. His accents and pacing deftly capture each individual who was part of Brown's life. The audiobook's title reflects Brown's belief in the necessity to simply depart after each performance, not to hang around. While the audio provides no actual music, both men's stories are filled with passion and musical language. M.B.K. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from July 4, 2016
      McBride embarks on a biographical journey to explore the life of the hardest-working man in show business, even though the National Book Award–winning author admits up front that Brown remains a figure so enigmatic that newly discovered facts make the established public history more—rather than less—difficult to understand. McBride views the “Godfather of Soul” as an icon who embodies all the complexities and contradictions of American life. Veteran stage and screen actor Hoffman doesn’t miss a beat in presenting the dialogue, such that Brown’s larger-than-life raspy voice comes through with those same complexities and contradictions. Hoffman seems determined to get it right and ditch affected parodies and caricatures as a narrator, in the same manner that McBride seeks clarity in his writing. Hoffman particularly excels in his display of Brown—for all of his failed relationships and emotional demons—as an avuncular wise elder in the grooming of close friend and advisor Rev. Al Sharpton and in Brown’s tender bond with the one grandson with whom he consistently remained close. Rendered in such skilled hands, the many Brown catchphrases—including the book’s title—take on a moving testament of survival rather than just remaining catchy aphorisms. A Random/Spiegel & Grau hardcover.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      February 8, 2016
      McBride, mainly known for his bestselling 1995 memoir, The Color of Water, returns to nonfiction with an investigation into the life, times, and death of James Brown, the “hardest-working man in show business.” Though the soul singer’s musical legacy is ingrained in the collective American unconscious, many details about Brown’s personal life and the lives he touched along the way remain obscure. McBride reveals them while seeking to correct misconceptions perpetuated by the recent film Get On Up. Most notable among McBride’s tales are those involving Al Sharpton, whom Brown unofficially adopted; the relationship shines a light on both men’s lives that is often overlooked. Chasing down Brown’s life story all over the South, McBride enters some shady situations and stumbles on a story even larger than the Godfather of Soul himself: the fate of Brown’s estate, which has been so preyed upon by various lawyers that the poverty-stricken children for which it was meant haven’t seen a dime. McBride’s storytelling is heavily impeded by clichés and trite metaphors, but the power of his subject matter nevertheless shines through in this solid work of journalism. Agent: Flip Brophy, Sterling Lord.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

Languages

  • English

Loading