DAUGHTER OF DARING The Trick-Riding, Train-Leaping, Road-Racing Life of Helen Gibson, Hollywoods First Stuntwoman

Author and social influencer Mallory O'Meara's audiobook is so much more and, in many ways, and so much less than the misleading and lengthy subtitle implies. As she narrates her audiobook with enthusiasm and precise enunciation, the listener hears a thorough, well-researched history of the founding of the Hollywood community, the development of the studio system, and, most dramatically, a vociferously presented argument that women and some minorities were very much part of the early film industry and later were forced to take several gigantic steps back to advance white men. Most confounding in the listening is the handling of "quote /unquote" and the interruptions of the footnotes. In the audiobook, the peppering of nearly every text segment with vulgar language is distracting. W.A.G. © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2025]