Audiobooks Narrated by Ossie Davis

I Never Had It Made

"The bestselling autobiography of American baseball and civil rights legend Jackie Robinson Before Barry Bonds, before Reggie Jackson, before Hank Aaron, baseball's stars had one undeniable trait in common: they were all white. In 1947, Jackie Robinson broke that barrier, striking a crucial blow for racial equality and changing the world of sports forever. I Never Had It Made is Robinson's own candid, hard-hitting account of what it took to become the first black man in history to play in the major leagues. I Never Had It Made recalls Robinson's early years and influences: his time at UCLA, where he became the school's first four-letter athlete; his army stint during World War II, when he challenged Jim Crow laws and narrowly escaped court martial; his years of frustration, on and off the field, with the Negro Leagues; and finally that fateful day when Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers proposed what became known as the 'Noble Experiment'—Robinson would step up to bat to integrate and revolutionize baseball. More than a baseball story, I Never Had It Made also reveals the highs and lows of Robinson's life after baseball. He recounts his political aspirations and civil rights activism; his friendships with Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, William Buckley, Jr., and Nelson Rockefeller; and his troubled relationship with his son, Jackie, Jr. I Never Had It Made endures as an inspiring story of a man whose heroism extended well beyond the playing field."

Jackie Robinson (Author), Ossie Davis (Narrator)

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Every Tongue Got to Confess

"African-American folklore was Zora Neale Hurston's first love. Collected in the late 1920's Every Tongue Got to Confess, from the celebrated author of Their Eyes Were Watching God, is published here for the first time, beautifully performed by Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis. Hilarious, bittersweet, and often saucy, these folk-tales provide a verdant slice of African-American life in the rural South at the turn of the twentieth century. They capture the heart and soul of the vital, independent, and creative community that so inspired Zora Neale Hurston. In Every Tongue Got to Confess, Hurston records, with uncanny precision, the voices of ordinary people -and no two actors better capture this world than Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis. They pay tribute to the richness of Black vernacular -- its crisp self-awareness, singular wit, and improvisational wordplay. These folk-tales reflect the joys and sorrows of the African-American experience, celebrate the redemptive power of storytelling, and showcase the continuous presence in America of an Afticanized language that flourishes to this day. Performed by Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis"

Zora Neale Hurston (Author), Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee (Narrator)

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