In 1945, as Germany prepared to surrender, Berlin was overrun by Russian soldiers. These "Ivans" controlled the city, and life for the residents was worse than in any fictional dystopia. Narrator Isabel Keating manages to convey the frustration, hunger, depression, and exhaustion faced by the author, a journalist, who somehow manages to maintain her sanity despite several rapes and a diet of potatoes and nettles. When a horse drops dead in the street, the residents rush out to carve it up for meat. Apartments are stripped for firewood. Millions of flies appear, attracted by the ubiquitous excrement (from horses and humans). Women are terrified to get water from the local pump lest an Ivan attack. A WOMAN IN BERLIN ranks as one of the great historical diaries.
Pub Date: May 16, 2017
Duration: 10 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781427291394
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
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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