Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • Selling the Dream

  • The Billion-Dollar Industry Bankrupting Americans
  • By: Jane Marie
  • Narrated by: Jane Marie
  • Length: 6 hrs and 14 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (8 ratings)

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Selling the Dream cover art

Selling the Dream

By: Jane Marie
Narrated by: Jane Marie
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £14.19

Buy Now for £14.19

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Hype Machine: How Greed, Fraud and Free Money Crashed Crypto cover art
Hey, Hun cover art
Easy Money cover art
Extremely Hardcore cover art
The Woman Who Fooled the World cover art
Cultish cover art
Conspirituality cover art
Ponzinomics cover art
Off the Edge cover art
The Culture Map cover art
How Westminster Works...and Why It Doesn't cover art
Lost Connections cover art
Poor Little Sick Girls cover art

Summary

A Next Big Idea Club Must-Read for March 2024 * A Bustle Best New Book of Spring 2024

Peabody and Emmy Award–winning journalist Jane Marie expands on her popular podcast The Dream to expose the scourge of multilevel marketing schemes and how they have profited off the evisceration of the American working class.

We’ve all heard of Amway, Mary Kay, Tupperware, and LuLaRoe, but few know the nefarious way they and countless other multilevel marketing (MLM) companies prey on desperate Americans struggling to make ends meet.

When factories close, stalwart industries shutter, and blue-collar opportunities evaporate, MLMs are there, ready to pounce on the crumbling American Dream. MLMs thrive in rural areas and on military bases, targeting women with promises of being their own boss and millions of dollars in easy income—even at the risk of their entire life savings. But the vast majority—99.7%—of those who join an MLM make no money or lose money, and wind up stuck with inventory they can’t sell to recoup their losses.

Featuring in-depth reporting and intimate research, Selling the Dream reveals how these companies—often owned by political and corporate elites, such as the Devos and the Van Andels families—have made a windfall in profit off of the desperation of the American working class.

©2024 Jane Marie (P)2024 Simon & Schuster Audio

Critic reviews

“What a strange and insidious world Jane has chosen to explore and share with us, one that is hiding around every corner of American life.” (Susan Orlean, New York Times bestselling author of The Library Book)

“So, my former intern wrote a book. You're looking at it. I knew nothing about this world and loved learning about it from Jane.” (Ira Glass, host and producer of This American Life)

“Charting the dark underbelly of multilevel marketing isn’t for the faint of heart, but in Jane’s capable hands we’re along for a wild ride. In Selling the Dream her big heart and clear-eyed reporting are on full display.” (W. Kamau Bell, author of The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell)

What listeners say about Selling the Dream

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    5
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating insight

I really enjoyed The Dream podcast and this is a great companion. It goes into lots of detail answering questions like how is legal abd does anyone make money. A very easy listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Brilliant Anti-MLM Book

It's an excellent book on the cultish and manipulative world of MLM scams. This book also discusses how much influence money can buy to dismiss any legitimate criticism of this hawkish industry. I highly recommend the book to everyone to stay informed and protect themselves from these MLM scams. This book will give you the knowledge to recognise their manipulative sales tactics and deceptive language, empowering you to make informed decisions, i.e. to run away from them.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!