The Cold Millions
A Novel
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The Cold Millions
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By:
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Jess Walter
About this listen
A Most Anticipated Book by:
- The New York Times Book Review
- Wall Street Journal
- Time
- Esquire
- The Millions
- Vogue
- People
- New York Post
- USA Today
- Medium
- The Philadelphia Inquirer
- Newsday
From the number-one New York Times best-selling author of Beautiful Ruins comes another “literary miracle” (NPR) - a propulsive, richly entertaining novel about two brothers swept up in the turbulent class warfare of the early 20th century.
An intimate story of brotherhood, love, sacrifice, and betrayal set against the panoramic backdrop of an early 20th century America that eerily echoes our own time, The Cold Millions offers a kaleidoscopic portrait of a nation grappling with the chasm between rich and poor, between harsh realities and simple dreams.
The Dolans live by their wits, jumping freight trains and lining up for day work at crooked job agencies. While 16-year-old Rye yearns for a steady job and a home, his older brother, Gig, dreams of a better world, fighting alongside other union men for fair pay and decent treatment. Enter Ursula the Great, a vaudeville singer who performs with a live cougar and introduces the brothers to a far more dangerous creature: a mining magnate determined to keep his wealth and his hold on Ursula.
Dubious of Gig’s idealism, Rye finds himself drawn to a fearless 19-year-old activist and feminist named Elizabeth Gurley Flynn. But a storm is coming, threatening to overwhelm them all, and Rye will be forced to decide where he stands. Is it enough to win the occasional battle, even if you cannot win the war?
Featuring an unforgettable cast of cops and tramps, suffragists and socialists, madams and murderers, The Cold Millions is a tour de force from a “writer who has planted himself firmly in the first rank of American authors” (Boston Globe).
©2020 Jess Walter (P)2020 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
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What listeners say about The Cold Millions
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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
- Babs
- 11-12-20
Another tumultuous time
This is an engaging story of another era of political turmoil, haves and have nots. The narration was excellent. The characters were somewhat melodramatic but became more engaging as the story unfolds. I found myself comparing the situations in the book to current day politics, social upheavals, and economic realities. Highly recommend
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12 people found this 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
- RCC
- 02-26-21
loved every word, page, character, scene, story
what a book. great use of multiple narrators, all are excellent. great story, action, characters, moments, scenes. i loved everything about this book. its as rich and compelling a world as deacon king kong was to a different time and place--and i loved this book just as much. what great characters. what a great setting and time period. just so rich and alive and colorful and coarse. absolute cant miss. incredible historical novel. i wonder if beautiful ruins, jess walters really big popular novel, could possibly be this good. i guess now ive gotta find out. dont hesitate, get 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
- Jordan
- 09-27-21
Great story great cast!
A great take on a western at the end of an era and the start of a new one. Multiple voice performances added some real depth that I did not expect.
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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
- Thomas
- 01-07-22
A compelling ride to Spokane, in 1910
The Cold Millions by Jess Walter. An historical novel set in Spokane around 1910 and centered on the “Free Speech” battles waged by the Industrial Workers of the World, (IWW or “the Wobblies”). It follows two “Dolan” brothers; Gregory (“Gig”) and the younger Ryan (“Rye”) – orphaned, teenage drifters who land in Spokane after riding the rails through Idaho, Montana and the NW. 17 yr old Ryan is pulled into the orbit of Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, the (real) 20 yr. old firebrand IWW organizer who is jailed and tried along with 500 transient workers, socialists and unionists on the front lines of a battle for basic worker rights. Meanwhile the older and star-crossed Ryan has fallen in love with Ursula The Great - a comely local performer whose popular caged cougar act is called “a Spectacle of Indecency” by the local press. This book spotlights strong, mold breaking and courageous women as they elbow their way through the sexual, political and cultural barriers of an exploding, raw, class-bound 1910 Spokane. Jess Walter’s gift is the ability to turn even despicable caricatures into people you secretly find yourself actually caring for, at least a little, as they knife, deceive and screw each other: the Anarchist/Killer Early Reston, the aging ex Pinkerton Del Dalveaux and even the Mining Magnate Lem Brand are given just enough motive, history and satirical dialogue to temp you toward empathy. Others are straight-up heroes: the ACLU lawyer Fred Moore, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn and the Spokane Native Jules. A thrilling conclusion and touching Epilogue – hey; discovering and researching the many real historical figures and events that appear in this novel is alone worth the price of admission. A wonderful read.
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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
- Kenneth M. Rivard
- 09-05-22
Almost perfect
This was first experience with the storytelling abilities of Jess Walter and I’m incredibly delighted - or as frighten as anyone can be after reading a tale of poverty, exploitation and labor wars in the West in the Atlantic part of the 20th century. Walter brings the gulf between the have-everythings and the have-nothings to vivid life. In and age of no social safety net family, friends and the kindness of strangers were often the only things that stood between one and starvation. The story os a vivid recounting of the era, mostly through the eyes of a young naïf whose older brother is a committed Wobbly (member of the International Workers of the World). The 17 y.o. describes the events of a few months in 1909 when Wobblies and unionists and the remarkable activist Elizabeth Gurley Brown combatted the anti-free speech ordinance of Spokane. The struggle was often violent,,with many of the protesters beaten and imprisoned. Immigrants were particularly vulnerable and often sentenced more harshly than their US born comrades. Spokane industrialists m, explemplfied in the character of William Brand, controlled politicians and police, and were not above ordering the killings of labor agitators. The novel follows the young narrator as he watches his brother protest, the endure imprisonment, while he becomes involved with the labor leaders and activists trying to free them. Ryan’s evolution is hardly smooth journey and Walter is to be congratulated for embedding it in a context that hardly registers in American education curricula and has been all but forgotten in the current political and cultural context. I gave the book 4 stars overall because I found the first chapter didn’t seduce me - oh no, another Grapes of Wrath - but the story soon becomes compelling, well worth getting past my initial resistance.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- G. M. Stratton
- 01-30-22
History Well Told
This may not be Jess Walters’s best book, but he has recreated a time in our history that transforms the reader back in time and succeeds in feeling as if you were there through the images he pens. But for a few digressions I felt were unnecessary and too long, I would have given 5 stars. That said, it’s a story well told and one that held my attention to the end. I felt the multiple narrators worked well, and the primary narrator who does the heavy lifting was very good.
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1 person found this 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
- Kevin Crumpton
- 12-31-20
Completely engrossing read
My husband and I listened on our many road trips back and forth to the mountains and loved this book. Stories and characters are fascinating tied in with the history of the time. Don’t miss this book. The narration was outstanding.
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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
- mags
- 05-14-21
Excellent read
One of the best books I have read. The voices wereu phenomenal. Like the best books, I didn’t want it to 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
- michael j reilly
- 12-06-20
Forgotten history
Lovely story, compelling characters and a great reminder of humanity in history. Truly a forgotten part of history!!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- H in Lexington
- 09-21-21
Excellent
I struggled a bit at the beginning, but it is totally worth it to let the author take you on this journey.
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