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  • Robin

  • Written by: Dave Itzkoff
  • Narrated by: Fred Berman
  • Length: 16 hrs and 15 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (155 ratings)

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Robin

Written by: Dave Itzkoff
Narrated by: Fred Berman
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Publisher's Summary

This program includes a prologue and epilogue read by the author.

From New York Times culture reporter Dave Itzkoff comes the definitive audiobook biography of Robin Williams - a compelling portrait of one of America’s most beloved and misunderstood entertainers.

From his rapid-fire stand-up comedy riffs to his breakout role in Mork & Mindy and his Academy Award-winning performance in Good Will Hunting, Robin Williams was a singularly innovative and beloved entertainer. He often came across as a man possessed, holding forth on culture and politics while mixing in personal revelations - all with mercurial, tongue-twisting intensity as he inhabited and shed one character after another with lightning speed.

But as Dave Itzkoff shows in this revelatory biography, Williams’ comic brilliance masked a deep well of conflicting emotions and self-doubt, which he drew upon in his comedy and in celebrated films like Dead Poets Society; Good Morning, Vietnam; The Fisher King; Aladdin; and Mrs. Doubtfire, where he showcased his limitless gift for improvisation to bring to life a wide range of characters. And in Good Will Hunting he gave an intense and controlled performance that revealed the true range of his talent.

Itzkoff also shows how Williams struggled mightily with addiction and depression - topics he discussed openly while performing and during interviews - and with a debilitating condition at the end of his life that affected him in ways his fans never knew. Drawing on more than a hundred original interviews with family, friends, and colleagues as well as extensive archival research, Robin is a fresh and original look at a man whose work touched so many lives.

©2018 Dave Itzkoff (P)2018 Macmillan Audio

What listeners say about Robin

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Sensitive and Respectful

I never know before I read a celeb bio if it's going to be like an Entertainment Tonight expose with unreliable sources for interviews and quotes etc...
it is kind of a crap shoot.
This sensitive and lovely biography gave me new hope and an appreciation for David Itzkoff. It is as if written by a close friend...very respectful and sensitive but informative.

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Beautiful

A great listen. Very thoughtfully written and beautifully paints a picture of the life of Robin Williams. I didn’t realize how many challenges he had in the beginning of his career, all you ever hear is the success. I only wish the narrator was a little more expressive when reading quotes from robin. #audible1

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Fabulous &Tragic

Fabulous listen. So much fun to listen to.. I will give as a gift to other audible listeners.
Tragic how his condition left so much speculation. Now we understsnd

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Left me feeling like I knew him personally

Dave Itzkoff provides just the right amount of detail and balance in this biography of a modest, loving, generous genius. Robin had time for every fan and treated everyone with kindness and respect. Of dozens of biographies I have read, this is the only one that left me cheering at the subject's successes and wincing at his failures. Itzkoff's sensitive description of Robin's final decline and death made me feel like I had lost a friend -- a level of intimacy that reflects a truly great biography.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Appreciating a beautiful but flawed human being

As someone who enjoyed Robin William's work, I never earlier had an appreciation for his struggles, demons and life's challenges. This book is very well narrated and captures some of Robin's frantic mania so well that it sounds like Robin himself.

I now have an increased appreciation for Robin, not just as an artist, but as a very special human being who will be remembered (and mourned) for a long time to come.

#Audible1

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Robin Williams

Such a great success story and insight into the type of person Robin was.
He was an intellect that was on another level than most. Highly recommended.

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a wonderful book

if you've enjoyed Robin Williams. Then you need to have this insight. The author has done a great job at portraying this gift who is called Robin Williams

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A great story about a beloved, yet troubled icon

Great stories from some of Robin’s closest friends and family paint a picture of a brilliant man who struggled greatly. It is a reminder that outside appearances are not always indicative of someone’s innermost thoughts and feelings

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    5 out of 5 stars
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So simple yet so complex

Very well written! A story about a loved comedian who was a very complex person and yet so real and open! Robin seemed to be a very giving person and really wanted something back, but simply could not feel comfortable taking something back.
I really loved his story! Thank you!

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1 person found this helpful

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Everything you ever wanted to know about Robin

A well written and seemingly full account of Robin Williams' life, which was well performed. Great listen for a comedy fan. #Audible1

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