AMORALMAN
A True Story and Other Lies
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for $17.48
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Derek DelGaudio
-
Written by:
-
Derek DelGaudio
About this listen
Truth and lies are two sides of the same coin. But who's flipping it? A thought-provoking and brilliantly entertaining work of nonfiction from one of the world's leading deceivers, the creator and star of the astonishing theater show and forthcoming film In & of Itself.
Derek DelGaudio believed he was a decent, honest man. But when irrefutable evidence to the contrary is found in an old journal, his memories are reawakened and Derek is forced to confront - and try to understand - his role in a significant act of deception from his past.
Using his youthful notebook entries as a road map, Derek embarks on a soulful, often funny, sometimes dark journey, retracing the path that led him to a world populated by charlatans, card cheats, and con artists. As stories are peeled away and artifices are revealed, Derek examines the mystery behind his father's vanishing act, the secret he inherited from his mother, the obsession he developed with sleight-of-hand that shaped his future, and the affinity he felt for the professional swindlers who taught him how to deceive others. And once he finds himself working as a crooked dealer in a big-money Hollywood card game, Derek begins to question his own sense of morality, and discovers that even a master of deception can find himself trapped inside an illusion.
AMORALMAN is a wildly engaging exploration of the fictions we live as truths. It is ultimately a book about the lies we tell ourselves and the realities we manufacture in others.
©2021 Derek Delgaudio (P)2021 Random House AudioWhat the critics say
One of NPR's Best Books of the Year
"Every magician is, or wishes they were, masters of secrecy and deception. But what if you are a magician who doesn't want to deceive? Derek DelGaudio has given us a story about how and where we find truth, and he takes us through some very dark places to get there. We learn how a nice young man became a professional card cheat in a most dangerous game, we learn about magic, and about the shadows in Plato's Cave, about illusion and reality, until we finally discover that the book in and of itself is a magic trick - one that holds out the hope that we can all learn to walk out of the deceptive and cavernous darkness and into the light." (Neil Gaiman)
"The old hustler’s adage holds that 'the game is sold, never told' - meaning that anything you learn will cost you. AMORALMAN is a riveting ledger of one man’s education, a parable about the lines between grifters and marks, a moral man and an amoral one. Buy this book - it’s cheaper than not buying it." (Jelani Cobb)
“This is a book about honesty, deceit, and the short distance that lies between. It is a straightforward gaze at the blurry intersection of fact and fiction, and its revelations ultimately arouse suspicion about everything.” (Steve Martin)
What listeners say about AMORALMAN
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 2022-09-29
Really interesting story, I loved it!
This was a very cool and interesting story. I found the style of writing really interesting, and the story was fascinating. I'd definitely recommend this book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- James Komenda
- 2021-03-06
Fantastic!
If you loved 'In & Of Itself' and let's be honest, who didn't, then you owe it to yourself to give this one a go. Tore through it in a day and a half. My only wish that it was longer. I can't wait to see what Delgaudio comes up with next.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Adam S
- 2021-03-15
Fascinating
I watched Derek’s movie a few days ago and didn’t know what to think. I knew it would be special having been directed by Frank Oz and produced by Stephen Colbert, not to mention all of the incredible reviews.
I didn’t have any idea what this book would be like. Much like his stage show, it’s a semi autobiographic story that outlines some harrowing stories that makes it hard not to empathize with him.
Aside from the personal stories, there are some great thoughts on his experience understanding what truth and reality are.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!