Narrator Naomi Frederick's soft British accent and thoughtful timing will entrance listeners from the first minutes of this well-balanced biography of Patience Gray, one of the most important but often overlooked food writers of the late twentieth century. Listeners who are unfamiliar with Gray's groundbreaking cookbook, HONEY FROM A WEED, will be fascinated by her fierce independence and her insistence on sticking to her principles, including living off the land with her partner, sculptor Norman Mommens, in a remote and electricity-free corner of southern Italy well into old age. Frederick's varied cadences and believable European accents enhance the vivid prose, and her understated characterizations allow listeners to envision Gray and her contemporaries without hindrance. Gray certainly had her flaws, but Frederick's performance is near perfection.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2017
Duration: 13 hrs, 45 mins
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing Company
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
James Michener tells the real stories behind the man and his books. The recording is read with skill and consistency although the reader does little to enhance the robust, larger-than-life incidents related in the book. Due to the first-person narrative format, there is no opportunity for the narrator to change his voice. This makes some chapters monotonous as they go on and on in the typical Michener style. The listener may also become confused because the stories are not told chronologically. This is not a great choice for the audio format, but Michener fans may stick with it to the end.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 22 hrs
Publisher: Books on Tape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
In a quest for a sense of inner contentment and self-worth, Gloria Steinem brings the reader on a journey of investigation and discovery. Steinem reads the text herself in a straightforward and friendly, but not intimate, presentation which is so easy to listen to it invites repetition--thus ensuring the painless relearning of the lessons of the book. It's difficult to tell from the reading that this audiobook is abridged; each section can stand alone. Nonetheless, the listener wished the book were unabridged. Steinem left me wanting to learn more.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Dove Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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