
The Sound of No Hands Clapping
A Memoir
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $14.61
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Simon Vance
-
By:
-
Toby Young
About this listen
When even his friends refer to him in print as "a balding, bug-eyed opportunist with the looks of a beach ball, the charisma of a glove-puppet, and an ego the size of a Hercules supply plane", the odds of Toby Young scoring, in any sense, appear to be slim. But then How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, his account of the five years he spent trying (and failing) to take Manhattan, improbably catapults Toby to best sellerdom, and his book is translated into 12 languages, including American.
Now Tinseltown beckons.
After receiving a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity from a big Hollywood producer, Toby sets his sights anew on a high-flying career, this time on the West Coast. But it doesn't take long for Toby's fabled "brown thumb" and self-sabotaging instincts to reassert themselves. On the home front, though, things seem to be looking up: Toby manages to persuade his girlfriend to marry him and move to Los Angeles, but then she decides to abandon her promising legal career in order to become a fulltime homemaker...and mother. Toby's increasingly hapless attempts to pursue a glamorous showbiz career while buried in diapers will strike a chord with all modern fathers struggling to find the right work/life balance - and with their utterly exasperated wives.
Failure and fatherhood have never been funnier.
©2006 Toby Young (P)2006 Tantor Media, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
I Must Say
- My Life as a Humble Comedy Legend
- By: Martin Short
- Narrated by: Martin Short
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Martin Short takes you on a rich, hilarious, and occasionally heartbreaking ride through his life and times, from his early years in Toronto as a member of the fabled improvisational troupe Second City to the all-American comic big time of Saturday Night Live and memorable roles in movies such as ¡Three Amigos! and Father of the Bride.
-
-
This is what audio books were made for!
- By Ty Brady on 11-06-14
By: Martin Short
-
Robin
- By: Dave Itzkoff
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 16 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Disappointing but worth a read
- By Joe Moore on 05-18-18
By: Dave Itzkoff
-
Lucky Man
- A Memoir
- By: Michael J. Fox
- Narrated by: Michael J. Fox
- Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In September 1998, Michael J. Fox stunned the world by announcing he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease: a degenerative neurological condition. In fact, he had been secretly fighting it for seven years. The worldwide response was staggering. Fortunately, he had accepted the diagnosis and by the time the public started grieving for him, he had stopped grieving for himself.
-
-
The True Story of Onset Parkinson's - Life Goes On
- By Howard P on 04-25-13
By: Michael J. Fox
-
Nevertheless
- A Memoir
- By: Alec Baldwin
- Narrated by: Alec Baldwin
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the most accomplished and outspoken actors today chronicles the highs and lows of his life in this beautifully written, candid memoir.
-
-
Embarrassingly petty
- By Stacey Robinson on 09-20-18
By: Alec Baldwin
-
The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe
- By: J. Randy Taraborrelli
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Marilyn Monroe became famous in the 1950s, the world was told that her mother was either dead or simply not a part of her life. However, that was not true. In fact, her mentally ill mother was very much present in Marilyn's world and the complex family dynamic that unfolded behind the scenes is a story that has never before been told...until now.
-
-
Interesting but not earthshaking.
- By Linda on 05-21-12
-
Terry Pratchett: A Life with Footnotes
- The Official Biography
- By: Rob Wilkins
- Narrated by: Rob Wilkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At six years old, Terry was told by his headteacher that he would never amount to anything. He spent the rest of his life proving that teacher wrong. At 66, Terry had lived a life full of achievements: becoming one of the UK's best-selling writers, winning the Carnegie Medal and being awarded a knighthood for services to literature. Following his untimely death from Alzheimer's disease, the mantle of completing Terry's memoir was passed to Rob Wilkins, his former assistant, friend and now head of the author's literary estate.
-
-
The honesty of someone who knew and loved him well
- By Amanda Richards on 10-05-22
By: Rob Wilkins
-
I Must Say
- My Life as a Humble Comedy Legend
- By: Martin Short
- Narrated by: Martin Short
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Martin Short takes you on a rich, hilarious, and occasionally heartbreaking ride through his life and times, from his early years in Toronto as a member of the fabled improvisational troupe Second City to the all-American comic big time of Saturday Night Live and memorable roles in movies such as ¡Three Amigos! and Father of the Bride.
-
-
This is what audio books were made for!
- By Ty Brady on 11-06-14
By: Martin Short
-
Robin
- By: Dave Itzkoff
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 16 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Disappointing but worth a read
- By Joe Moore on 05-18-18
By: Dave Itzkoff
-
Lucky Man
- A Memoir
- By: Michael J. Fox
- Narrated by: Michael J. Fox
- Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In September 1998, Michael J. Fox stunned the world by announcing he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease: a degenerative neurological condition. In fact, he had been secretly fighting it for seven years. The worldwide response was staggering. Fortunately, he had accepted the diagnosis and by the time the public started grieving for him, he had stopped grieving for himself.
-
-
The True Story of Onset Parkinson's - Life Goes On
- By Howard P on 04-25-13
By: Michael J. Fox
-
Nevertheless
- A Memoir
- By: Alec Baldwin
- Narrated by: Alec Baldwin
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the most accomplished and outspoken actors today chronicles the highs and lows of his life in this beautifully written, candid memoir.
-
-
Embarrassingly petty
- By Stacey Robinson on 09-20-18
By: Alec Baldwin
-
The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe
- By: J. Randy Taraborrelli
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Marilyn Monroe became famous in the 1950s, the world was told that her mother was either dead or simply not a part of her life. However, that was not true. In fact, her mentally ill mother was very much present in Marilyn's world and the complex family dynamic that unfolded behind the scenes is a story that has never before been told...until now.
-
-
Interesting but not earthshaking.
- By Linda on 05-21-12
-
Terry Pratchett: A Life with Footnotes
- The Official Biography
- By: Rob Wilkins
- Narrated by: Rob Wilkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At six years old, Terry was told by his headteacher that he would never amount to anything. He spent the rest of his life proving that teacher wrong. At 66, Terry had lived a life full of achievements: becoming one of the UK's best-selling writers, winning the Carnegie Medal and being awarded a knighthood for services to literature. Following his untimely death from Alzheimer's disease, the mantle of completing Terry's memoir was passed to Rob Wilkins, his former assistant, friend and now head of the author's literary estate.
-
-
The honesty of someone who knew and loved him well
- By Amanda Richards on 10-05-22
By: Rob Wilkins
-
Even This I Get to Experience
- By: Norman Lear
- Narrated by: Norman Lear
- Length: 18 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The legendary creator of iconic television programs All in the Family, Sanford and Son, Maude, Good Times, The Jeffersons, and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Norman Lear remade our television culture - while leading a life of unparalleled political, civic, and social involvement. Sharing the wealth of Lear's 90 years, Even This I Get to Experience is a memoir as touching and remarkable as the life he has led.
-
-
Norman Lear-a timeless soul
- By Mo Siegel on 12-17-14
By: Norman Lear
-
Raised Eyebrows, Expanded Edition
- My Years Inside Groucho’s House
- By: Steve Stoliar
- Narrated by: Steve Stoliar
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Raised Eyebrows is the bittersweet story of the last years in the life of Groucho Marx, told by a young Marx Brothers fan who was fortunate enough to work for Groucho as his personal secretary and archivist, right inside Marx's Beverly Hills home. In addition to getting to know his hero, the author was able to spend quality time with Zeppo, Gummo, Mae West, George Burns, Bob Hope, Jack Lemmon, SJ Perelman, Steve Allen, and scores of other luminaries of stage, screen, TV, and literature.
-
-
Impersonations are a bonus
- By JOEL HORNE on 12-12-17
By: Steve Stoliar
-
Toast on Toast
- Cautionary tales and candid advice
- By: Steven Toast
- Narrated by: Matt Berry - as Steven Toast
- Length: 3 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Toast on Toast - part memoir, part "how to act" manual - Steven Toast draws on his vast and varied experiences, providing the reader with an invaluable insight into his journey from school plays to RADA and from "It's a Right Royal Knockout" to the Colony Club. Along the way he reveals the secrets of his success. He discloses how to brush up on and expand your technical and vocal skills, how to nail a professional voiceover, and how to deal with difficult work experience staff in a recording studio....
-
-
Glorious performance from Matt Ber-Ray.
- By Stanley McHale on 11-18-16
By: Steven Toast
-
She Made Me Laugh
- My Friend Nora Ephron
- By: Richard Cohen
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Award-winning journalist Richard Cohen, wrote this about his "third-person memoir": "I call this book a third-person memoir. It is about my closest friend, Nora Ephron, and the lives we lived together and how her life got to be bigger until, finally, she wrote her last work, the play, Lucky Guy, about a newspaper columnist dying of cancer while she herself was dying of cancer. I have interviewed many of her other friends - Mike Nichols, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, Meryl Streep, Arianna Huffington.
-
-
Loved it!
- By Leigh Lerro on 10-27-17
By: Richard Cohen
-
Just the Funny Parts
- … And a Few Hard Truths About Sneaking Into the Hollywood Boys’ Club
- By: Nell Scovell
- Narrated by: Amy Hohn
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Just the Funny Parts is a juicy and scathingly funny insider look at how pop culture gets made. For more than 30 years, writer, producer, and director Nell Scovell worked behind the scenes of iconic TV shows, including The Simpsons, Late Night with David Letterman, Murphy Brown, NCIS, The Muppets, and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, which she created and executive produced. In 2009, Scovell gave up her behind-the-scenes status when the David Letterman sex scandal broke.
-
-
Kept waiting for the funny parts
- By Rebecca Brooks on 04-06-18
By: Nell Scovell
-
The Hustons
- By: Lawrence Grobel
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 37 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When John Huston died at 81 on August 28, 1987, America lost a towering figure in movie history. The director of such classic films as The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The African Queen, The Maltese Falcon, Prizzi's Honor, and The Dead, John Huston evoked passionate responses from everyone he encountered. He was at the center of a dynasty, with three generations of Oscar winners (Walter, John and Anjelica).
-
-
Desperately in Need of an Editor
- By Leslie on 09-03-20
By: Lawrence Grobel
-
Starmaker
- Life as a Hollywood Publicist with Farrah, The Rat Pack, & 600 More Stars Who Fired Me
- By: Jay Bernstein
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Revealingly candid, this Hollywood memoir is the story of Jay Bernstein, an entertainment industry fixture who helped launch and sustain the careers of many celebrities including Farrah Fawcett and Suzanne Somers. From his childhood in Oklahoma City and his first job in a Hollywood mail room to the ownership of his own public relations firm and his work as a television producer, Bernstein’s life is chronicled in his own words.
-
-
Very Entertaining
- By patrick on 09-27-15
By: Jay Bernstein
-
Leading Lady
- Sherry Lansing and the Making of a Hollywood Groundbreaker
- By: Stephen Galloway
- Narrated by: Kirsten Potter
- Length: 14 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The definitive biography of movie executive and philanthropist Sherry Lansing traces her groundbreaking journey to become the first female head of a major motion picture studio, shares behind-the-scenes tales from movie sets and Hollywood boardrooms, and explains what inspired her to walk away from it all to start the Sherry Lansing Foundation.
-
-
BORING
- By Anne on 05-26-17
By: Stephen Galloway
-
Sinatra
- Behind the Legend
- By: J. Randy Taraborrelli
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 21 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fans of Sinatra - old and new - will be able to delve into the private life and controversy of a musician whose career spans decades. From show business, struggles with depression, and his many romances to attaining the American dream, Sinatra's story delivers a captivating and humanizing portrait of the legend for a new age.
-
-
Frank
- By Thomas on 03-09-21
-
Seduction
- Sex, Lies, and Stardom in Howard Hughes's Hollywood
- By: Karina Longworth
- Narrated by: Karina Longworth
- Length: 20 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this riveting popular history, the creator of You Must Remember This probes the inner workings of Hollywood’s glamorous Golden Age through the stories of some of the dozens of actresses pursued by Howard Hughes, to reveal how the millionaire mogul’s obsessions with sex, power, and publicity trapped, abused, or benefited women who dreamt of screen stardom.
-
-
Do yourself a favor - listen at a faster speed
- By Jennifer G. on 11-26-18
By: Karina Longworth
-
I'm Your Biggest Fan
- Awkward Encounters and Assorted Misadventures in Celebrity Journalism
- By: Kate Coyne
- Narrated by: Kate Coyne
- Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Executive Editor of People Magazine provides an unfiltered and hilarious look at her life alongside the rich and famous, as she reveals how being a fan-girl lead to celebrity close encounters she could only dream of growing up. From the NY Post's "Page Six" to Good Housekeeping and now People, Kate Coyne has spent years on the front lines of the entertainment industry, feeding our insatiable appetite for celebrity news and gossip. I'm Your Biggest Fan chronicles her journey from red-carpet reporter to upper-level editor.
-
-
Awful. Was this really written by an adult?
- By HailtoTheVictors on 06-19-16
By: Kate Coyne
-
Avid Reader
- A Life
- By: Robert Gottlieb
- Narrated by: Robert Gottlieb
- Length: 12 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After editing The Columbia Review, staging plays at Cambridge, and a stint in the greeting-card department of Macy's, Robert Gottlieb stumbled into a job at Simon & Schuster. By the time he left to run Alfred A. Knopf a dozen years later, he was the editor in chief, having discovered and edited Catch-22 and The American Way of Death, among other best sellers. At Knopf, Gottlieb edited an astonishing list of authors, including Toni Morrison, John Cheever, Doris Lessing, and John le Carré - not to mention Bruno Bettelheim and Miss Piggy.
-
-
A Lifetime of Reading and Editing
- By David P on 12-06-16
By: Robert Gottlieb
Critic reviews
"The most successful professional failurist imaginable". (Village Voice) "Young still manages to demonstrate his considerable skills as a gossipy raconteur." (Kirkus Reviews)
"Readers won't be disappointed with this warm, funny, self-effacing memoir, which will appeal to anyone who has ever tried to accomplish anything, and that amounts to all of us." (Booklist)
What listeners say about The Sound of No Hands Clapping
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Natalie
- 03-20-23
Great narration, story lacks substance.
Seemed like a bitter man using this as an opportunity to re-write history and get the last word.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Robert W Fernekees
- 05-23-07
Fun Distraction
After "How to Lose..." I developed a soft spot for this schlub. I'm not sure if his self professed callow life just makes me feel better about myself or what, but I admit to enjoying his over the top self deprecating humor. I couldn't read his books back-to-back, but I'll revisit the smarmy clown next time he writes one.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- jen
- 01-09-24
enjoyable sequel
initially disappointed this wasn't read by the author as he was quite funny in the last one, but I'm guessing they decided to go with someone who could do a broader range of accents and voices, which the narrator does well here, even if his default voice is more posh than toby's.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!