Perfectly Balanced

Dead Famous is a perfectly balanced reflection on celebrity through the ages. Greg Jenner expertly shows that, when you strip away the social and technological infrastructure, the true essence of celebrity has not changed dramatically since the 18th century. The book’s delicate humour never detracts from the intellect of Jenner’s arguments, even when the reader is confronted with the darker sides of celebrity culture. I would recommend this book to anyone that is interested enough to have read this review!

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4 people found this helpful

'What a bunch of stunts' Greg Jenner

Witty, engaging and informative. 'Dead Famous' is rare in the world of the audiobook as it is complemented by being read by its author. I listened to it in two sittings digging the garden while self-isolating, which I guess if nothing else makes it a turf turner. Excellent.

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funny and educational

I've not listened to the authors podcasts but I've enjoyed two of his books now and they do feel like a long podcast episode and I mean this as a positive. the book engaged me all the way through and I binged listened to it.

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An Very Interesting Read

What a great book which I binge listened to over two days. Full of fascinating characters that I would love to read more about, a fall down the rabbit hole of celebrity.

Thanks to Greg Jenner for the clear reading, although it was hard not to shout 'nuance window' every time the word nuance was uttered.

Great book. Thanks.

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6 people found this helpful

Fascinating and informative

I listen to a lot of audio books whilst I work. This grabbed my attention and made the hours fly past. I honestly feel I have been introduced to a plethora of fascinating characters. I love the style of good cheer and humour that welcomes the listener. Jenner has always been fantastically entertaining in his podcasts, making history accessible and seductive. I had high expectations and the book exceeded these. This book obviously synthesises an incredible breadth of research and he uses a concise chapter structure to lead the listener through a complex theory in manageable chunks. It is open ended with lots of strands to pursue. Hard to listen to without wanting to Google these celebrities to see just what they looked like. Thoroughly recommend it.

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Funny and fascinating

Highly recommend this book. Some amazing tales and it's all told very well. Accessible history.

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You're Read To Me ;o)

Similar to the author's BBC radio history programmes but longer and with fewer corny jokes.

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Greg Jenner is brilliant once again 🙌🏻

Absolutely loved listening to Dead Famous. Greg Jenner has such a brilliant ability to take a vast amount of factual information and make it fun and engaging the whole way through. He makes history accessible and enjoyable for all and I couldn’t love his work more!

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As someone who doesn’t normally enjoy fiction - this was brilliant!

I love you’re dead to me and horrible histories; when I was at school history was always so murderously boring and always talked about the same things. World war 2 is pretty much the only thing I remember covering. That and ‘slavery abolition’ which was hideously white centric and basically spoke to the fact that apparently the rich west ‘saved everyone’ when in reality this couldn’t be further from the truth. I’ve always hated the way in which the history taught to us at school was completely biased and brainwashed young people to take a mainly heroic approach to other cultures problems and this is where Greg Jenner has brought history back into the limelight. He makes it fun, interesting, exciting! He doesn’t skim over the parts where exploitation occurred, whether that be young celebrities, POC, foreign nationals, men, women, anyone. It’s really refreshing and educating and everyone needs him in their life. I LOVE learning about history now, and this audiobook is so unmonotonous and diverse in its approach that I’ve actually been able to retain a lot of the facts in my head which lead to really interesting conversations in real life! I will be reading his next book asap!

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Such an interesting topic!

I would highly recommend this book! The way Jenner portrays these past celebrities is clear and distinct and it is so interesting to hear their stories.

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1 person found this helpful