The Most They Ever Had by Rick Bragg (unabridged) was produced by Blackstone Audio and comes with what is perhaps the best audiobook app available (see below for features list).
From the Pulitzer Prize winning author Rick Bragg.
In 2001, a community of people in the Appalachian foothills had come to the edge of all they had ever been. Across the South, padlocks and chains bound the doors of silent mills, and it seemed a miracle to blue-collar people in Jacksonville, Alabama, that their mill still bit, shook, and roared. The mill had become almost a living thing, and they served it even as it filled their lungs with lint and shortened their lives. In return, it let them live in stiff-necked dignity in the hills of their fathers.
Self-contained, this audiobook app is perfect for your commute, on a trip, or while relaxing. Based on a library-quality recording, this app was built especially for your iPhone and iPod Touch. No unreadable text, no endless scrolling. The audio is of higher-than-normal quality, making for a great listening experience that will not tire your ears or grate on your nerves.
NOTICE: This app includes the same 5-star recording that is available through other retailers for higher prices. It is unabridged and professionally recorded at Blackstone Audio by Pulitzer Prize winning author Rick Bragg. You are not buying yet another amateur or volunteer narration. No clicks, background noises, throat clearing, mispronunciations, tinny voices or monotones will be found here.
“[Bragg has] a true gift for great storytelling, the kind...that makes you think it’s just a plain old story, until he gets to the end and you’re either weeping or covered with goosebumps.”
—New Orleans Times-Picayune
• EXPERIENCE. About 4.5 hours of narration. Created as a Folium enhancedAudio™ edition, this book includes extra functions and features not found on lesser players.
• PLAYER CONTROLS. Includes listen (play), pause, multi-speed fast forward/reverse, jump ahead/back, chapter skip, volume control, one-touch chapter- and bookmark browser. There is also a “scrub” bar that finds any point inside the chapter with just a tap.
• SLEEP TIMER. Have you ever fallen asleep watching TV or listening to a book? If so, youll love this feature. Once set, the book will stop, place a bookmark, and allow you to jump back to where you probably began dozing.
• CLEAR & ELEGANT DESIGN. Simple, clean, intuitive, and smarter than average.
• CHAPTER TIMINGS. Always know how much time it will take to finish a chapter. Plus, the progress bar at the top of the screen shows how far into the book you’ve come.
• OFFLINE LISTENING. You are airplane-ready! Once downloaded, listen uninterrupted without threat from a lost network connection. Downloads are usually just 5-10 minutes, but depend upon your network speed.
• AUTO-BOOKMARKING. The player remembers where you stopped listening and returns to that exact spot when you open the book again.
RATING: 12+ Some crude language, and mature situations.
___________________
The mill was here before the automobile, before the flying machine, and they served it even as it filled their lungs with lint and shortened their lives. In return, it let them live in stiff-necked dignity in the hills of their fathers. So when death did come, no one had to ship a body home on a train. This is a mill story, not of bricks, steel and cotton, but of the people who suffered it, to live.