Almost ready!
In order to save audiobooks to your Wish List you must be signed in to your account.
Log in Create account
Shop small, give big!
With credit bundles, you choose the number of credits and your recipient picks their audiobooks—all in support of local bookstores.
Start gifting
Limited-time offer
Get two free audiobooks!
Now’s a great time to shop indie. When you start a new one credit per month membership supporting local bookstores with promo code SWITCH, we’ll give you two bonus audiobook credits at sign-up.
Sign up todayListen, World!
This audiobook uses AI narration.
We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.
Learn moreThe first biography of Elsie Robinson, the most influential newspaper columnist you’ve never heard of
At thirty-five, Elsie Robinson feared she’d lost it all. Reeling from a scandalous divorce in 1917, she had no means to support herself and her chronically ill son. She dreamed of becoming a writer and was willing to sacrifice everything for this goal, even swinging a pickax in a gold mine to pay the bills.
When the mine shut down, she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. Armed with moxie and samples of her work, she barged into the offices of the Oakland Tribune and was hired on the spot. She went on to become a nationally syndicated columnist and household name whose column ran for over thirty years and garnered fifty million readers.
Told in cinematic detail by bestselling author Julia Scheeres and award-winning journalist Allison Gilbert, Listen, World! is the inspiring story of a timeless maverick, capturing what it means to take a gamble on self-fulfillment and find freedom along the way.
Julia Scheeres is the author of the New York Times–bestselling memoir Jesus Land and the award-winning A Thousand Lives: The Untold Story of Jonestown. She lives in Northern California.
Allison Gilbert is an award-winning journalist and author of numerous books including Passed and Present and Parentless Parents. She lives outside New York City.
Bernadette Dunne is the winner of numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards and has twice been nominated for the prestigious Audie Award. She studied at the Royal National Theatre in London and the Studio Theater in Washington, DC, and has appeared at the Kennedy Center and off Broadway.
Reviews
“Broadminded, sharp-witted, fast-paced, and funny. It reads like a breezy novel that lingers long after you’ve read the last page.”
“The first biography of this forgotten California dynamo…The allure is apparent."
“An important contribution to women’s history.”
“Narrator Bernadette Dunn’s voice sounds like that of a 1940s newscaster. Those interested in women’s early struggles to break into the professional world will enjoy this biography.”
“Robinson’s is not a rags-to-riches story, but one of a resilient, forgotten and ‘venerable American icon.’”
“A vivid picture of the challenges Robinson faced…The account is enlivened with copious excerpts from Robinson’s column and her memoir, all of which bring home her firebrand style.”
“Open this well-crafted and entertaining biography and it will become abundantly clear why Elsie Robinson was once one of this nation’s most celebrated and beloved columnists”
“Listen, World! is an important read, particularly as we work to bolster women’s overlooked place in history.”
“One does not tire of spending time with Elsie Robinson, nor stop wondering how many other women, with equally compelling tales, have also been lost to history.”
“The book’s prose is clear and engaging, with vivid descriptions.”
“Recount[s] how the popular syndicated Hearst newspaper columnist broke free from the restrictive Victorian morés of her time…Robinson was a spirited and adventurous proto-feminist.”
“A fascinating topic and solid biography.”
“A lively piece of unknown history, a marvelous story of a woman’s triumph, and a tremendous read.”
Expand reviews
Give audiobooks, support local bookstores!
Libro.fm for Business
Start a membership, get two free audiobooks