Berard provides a detailed and engaging history of the 1920s Supreme Court case that was the first to challenge school segregation laws. The efforts of Chinese-American shopkeepers to gain admittance of their children into a whites-only Mississippi school are narrated by Moe Egan at a fast clip, requiring listeners to attend closely to the complex personalities and motives in play. Perhaps that is for the best as this is a rigorous account of social, political, and legal contortions. Egan makes it accessible by maintaining the author's formal tone while making clear which party has center stage in the investigation and how the many strands of culture and history relate to school desegregation, which many people assume began 30 years later with Brown v. The Board.
Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2016
Duration: 6 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780807093115
Publisher: Beacon Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Carol Matthau epitomizes a glamour and lifestyle not associated with the 1990's. Here is a life of privilege, tragedy and worry about what friends would think of her new frock or lover. Matthau possesses a voice and delivery that simply could not be improved on. In her coy whisper, she tells compelling stories involving everyone from William Saroyan (husband #1) and Truman Capote to Carson McCullers, Gloria Vanderbilt, and Walter Matthau (husband #2). This excellent audio presentation will leave you wanting to read the entire book to discover what juicy tidbits were left out.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: The Publishing Mills
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
More than 35 hours long, this comprehensive biography of Random House founder Bennett Cerf is equal to a workweek for many listeners. Cerf nurtured a roster of the 20th century's most consequential authors and was nationally known as a television panelist. His story is a fascinating panorama of American arts and society over 50 years, scrupulously researched but overburdened and slow. Listeners who've never heard of William Styron or Dorothy Kilgallen or the Famous Writers School will be fully educated here. Narrator Lisa Flanagan keeps a steady, unfussy pace that carries her listeners over the longueurs. But hers is a channel swim rather than a leisurely stroll through Central Park. This paunchy biography needed a stronger editorial hand.
Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
Duration: 35 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217346448
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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