The Man Who Knew Coolidge (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. A Jazz Age satire of business boosterism, middle-class ambition, and the comic self-deceptions of successBy Sinclair Lewis
Length6h 49m
About this audiobook
The Man Who Knew Coolidge is Sinclair Lewis's sharp comic study of American business civilization in the 1920s, delivered through the garrulous monologues of Lowell Schmaltz, a self-satisfied traveling salesman and civic booster. Loosely linked rather than conventionally plotted, the book turns vernacular speech, repetition, and commercial cliché into instruments of satire. In the literary context of Lewis's broader assault on provincial complacency, it extends the world of Babbitt by exposing the emptiness beneath success, patriotism, and proximity to power. Lewis, born in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, made a career of anatomizing the habits, ambitions, and evasions of middle-class America. His fascination with small towns, salesmanship, professional prestige, and the rhetoric of respectability shaped works such as Main Street, Babbitt, Arrowsmith, and Elmer Gantry. Written during the Coolidge prosperity, this book reflects Lewis's acute ear for public cant and his suspicion of a culture that mistook optimism and networking for wisdom. This volume is recommended to readers interested in American satire, modernist-era social criticism, and the linguistic comedy of self-deception. Though less famous than Lewis's major novels, it offers a concentrated portrait of the business-minded citizen whose confidence reveals more than he understands.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes.
- The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists.
- A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing.
- An Author Biography reveals milestones in the author's life, illuminating the personal insights behind the text.
- A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings.
- Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
GenreHumor, General Fiction
Length6 hrs 49 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateJan 4, 2024
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1The Man Who Knew Coolidge (Annotated)
2Introduction
3Synopsis
4Historical Context
5Author Biography
Show all chaptersShow less
6PART I. THE MAN WHO KNEW COOLIDGE1
7PART II. THE STORY BY MACK McMACK
8PART III. YOU KNOW HOW WOMEN ARE
9PART IV. YOU KNOW HOW RELATIVES ARE
10PART V. TRAVEL IS SO BROADENING
11PART VI. THE BASIC AND FUNDAMENTAL IDEALS OF CHRISTIAN AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP
12Analysis
13Reflection
14Memorable Quotes
It Can't Happen HereSinclair Lewis12h 24m4.0 (67.6K)$17 · $0.00
Der Mann der den Präsidenten kannteSinclair Lewis6h 10m3.5 (239)$1 · $0.00
Arrowsmith (Annotated)Sinclair Lewis20h 52m$2 · $0.00
The Greatest Works of Sinclair Lewis (Annotated)Sinclair Lewis91h$2 · $0.00
IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE (Political Dystopia) (Annotated)Sinclair Lewis16h 8m4.1 (59K)$2 · $0.00
Gesammelte Werke (Kommentiert)Sinclair Lewis109h$1.50 · $0.00
Mantrap (Kommentiert)Sinclair Lewis11h 8m3.5 (332)$1 · $0.00
The Collected Works of Sinclair Lewis (Annotated)Sinclair Lewis278h 48m$2 · $0.00
Sinclair Lewis: Die großen Romane (Kommentiert)Sinclair Lewis109h 4m$2 · $0.00
Dodsworth (Annotated)Sinclair Lewis17h 2m$2 · $0.00
Elmer Gantry (Annotated)Sinclair Lewis19h 30m4.5 (1.2K)$2 · $0.00
The Job (Annotated)Sinclair Lewis12h 15m$2 · $0.00
Kingsblood Royal (Annotated)Sinclair Lewis14h 42m4.6 (264)$2 · $0.00
Ann Vickers (Kommentiert)Sinclair Lewis22h 25m4.1 (10)$1 · $0.00
Die Hauptstraße (Kommentiert)Sinclair Lewis16h 21m$1 · $0.00
Main Street (Annotated)Sinclair Lewis21h 7m4.5 (76)$2 · $0.00
Sinclair Lewis - Ultimate Collection (Annotated)Sinclair Lewis278h 49m$2 · $0.00
The Greatest Works of Sinclair LewisSinclair Lewis90h 50m4.5 (33)$2 · $0.00
Main Street & BabbittSinclair Lewis34h 43m4.4 (701)$1 · $0.00
Lost In TranslationAudrey Davis9h 15m4.4 (235)Free
How to Test Negative for StupidJohn Kennedy8h 13m4.7 (9.7K)$28 · $0.00
The Jeeves and Wooster Stories: The Complete Collection (33 Books)P. G. Wodehouse21h 57m4.7 (2.8K)$15 · $0.00
Birdie & HarlowTaylor Wolfe7h 50m4.6 (6.5K)$26 · $0.00
The Life of DaiDai Henwood, Jaquie Brown8h 2m4.6 (790)$26 · $0.00
Welcome to PawneeJim O'Heir6h 24m4.5 (5.3K)$24 · $0.00
Going PostalTerry Pratchett13h 36m4.5 (163.8K)$33 · $0.00
Woman UninterruptedBrodie Kane7h 1m4.6 (562)$24 · $0.00
1984 & Animal Farm (Annotated)George Orwell15h 54m4.5 (220.8K)$3.99 · $0.00
Kingsblood Royal (Annotated)Sinclair Lewis14h 42m4.6 (264)$2 · $0.00
This Is Going to HurtAdam Kay5h 47m4.4 (444.7K)$24 · $0.00
You Will Get Through This NightDaniel Howell6h 56m4.4 (11.8K)$24 · $0.00
Northanger Abbey (Annotated)Jane Austen10h 7m4.5 (1.6K)$2 · $0.00
My Dear HamiltonStephanie Dray, Laura Kamoie23h 7m4.4 (63.6K)$46 · $0.00
THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS & SCREWTAPE PROPOSES A TOAST (Annotated)C. S. Lewis5h 6m4.4 (471K)$2 · $0.00
BufferingHannah Hart5h 55m4.4 (12.4K)$24 · $0.00
The Office BFFsJenna Fischer, Angela Kinsey8h 26m4.3 (45.4K)$26 · $0.00
The Collected Stories of Dorothy ParkerDorothy Parker8h 36m4.3 (13.6K)$1 · $0.00
LambChristopher Moore15h 22m4.3 (211.3K)$33 · $0.00
#IMomSoHardKristin Hensley, Jen Smedley7h 19m4.3 (7.3K)$24 · $0.00
WhistlerAnn Patchett10h 45m4.6 (4.6K)$29 · $0.00
Demon CopperheadBarbara Kingsolver21h 3m4.5 (949.4K)$46 · $0.00
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee12h 18m4.5 (7.4M)$29 · $0.00
Remarkably Bright CreaturesShelby Van Pelt11h 17m4.4 (1.7M)$29 · $0.00
Desperate MeasuresBrenda Jackson8h 59m4.7 (670)$28 · $0.00
This Side of Paradise - The Original 1920 Edition (Annotated)F. Scott Fitzgerald11h 30m4.6 (1.6K)$2 · $0.00
War LordBernard Cornwell13h 21m4.6 (33.1K)$33 · $0.00
The Great Gatsby: Original 1925 Edition (An F. Scott Fitzgerald Classic NovelFrancis Scott Fitzgerald4h 45m4.6 (9.3K)$18 · $0.00
Something Like LoveBeverly Jenkins10h 21m4.6 (2.7K)$29 · $0.00
Black History CollectionFrederick Douglass, Harriet Ann Jacobs, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois27h 9m4.6 (2.6K)$18 · $0.00
The Old Man and the Sea (Annotated)Ernest Hemingway4h 27m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
White HotIlona Andrews13h 18m4.5 (136.9K)$5 · $0.00
The Ghost by the Billabong (The Matilda Saga, #5)Jackie French14h 58m4.6 (773)$33 · $0.00
Cast in BloodMichelle Sagara16h 35m4.6 (607)$33 · $0.00
The Captain Blood Trilogy (Annotated)Rafael Sabatini29h 20m4.6 (1K)$3 · $0.00
Ship of the Line (Annotated)Cecil Louis Troughton Smith11h 13m4.6 (1K)$2 · $0.00
The George Orwell CollectionGeorge Orwell24h 46m4.5 (14.4K)$12 · $0.00
Time RegainedMarcel Proust15h 38m4.5 (9.2K)$2 · $0.00
Driving ForceElle James4h 58m4.6 (407)$20 · $0.00
When God Calls the HeartBrian Bird, Michelle Cox3h 24m4.6 (439)$10 · $0.00
You may also like
Is sex necessary?E.B. White, James Thurber3h 15m3.7 (3.2K)$1.99 · $0.00
Seven Kinds of People You Find in BookshopsShaun Bythell2h 1m3.7 (10.3K)$15 · $0.00
The Life and Opinions of Tristram ShandyLaurence Sterne19h 54m3.9 (98.4K)$3.50 · $0.00
Is Sex Necessary? Or, Why You Feel the Way You DoJames Thurber, E. B. White3h 5m3.8 (1.1K)$20
Bare Minimum ParentingJames Breakwell4h 7m3.7 (1.7K)$20 · $0.00
The Life and Opinions of Tristram ShandyLaurence Sterne19h 54m3.9 (34.8K)$1.20 · $0.00
The Toys of Peace and Other Papers (Annotated)Saki, H. H. Munro7h 15m4.1 (2.1K)$2 · $0.00
How to Train Your HumanBabas1h 50m4.1 (1.5K)$16 · $0.00
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, GentlemanLaurence Sterne19h 58m3.9 (92.8K)$2.30
The Diary of a NobodyGeorge Grossmith, Weedon Grossmith4h 28m3.9 (26.4K)$11 · $0.00
The Diary of a NobodyGeorge Grossmith, Weedon Grossmith4h 31m4.0 (62.8K)$12
Race Me in a Lobster SuitKelly Mahon2h 55m3.5 (472)$17 · $0.00
Gullible's Travels etc.Ring Lardner4h 50m3.8 (83)$2.30
Select Conversations With An Uncle & 2 Other Reminiscences (The original 1895 edition) (Annotated)H. G. Wells3h 22m3.3 (127)$2 · $0.00
Seductio Ad Absurdum (Annotated)Emily Hahn4h 1m$2 · $0.00
The Roycroft Dictionary, Concocted by Ali Baba and the Bunch on Rainy DaysElbert Hubbard1h 58m$2 · $0.00
ClocksJerome K. Jerome26m3.8 (122)$2.30 · $0.00
Mr. Punch at Home: The Comic Side of Domestic LifeVarious2h 9m$1 · $0.00
The Descent of Man and Other StoriesEdith Wharton7h 49m3.9 (787)$2.30
The Man Who Knew Coolidge (Summarized Edition)Sinclair Lewis2h 21m3.4 (86)$1