CIA operative Antonio Mendez’s memoir is an entertaining audiobook that offers insight into international espionage and brings a distinguished career to life. Mendez, who was nicknamed the “Chief of Disguise” and was also the author of ARGO, is most famous for his skill at subterfuge, doing everything from creating fake documents to devising disguises to help his colleagues escape or avoid danger. Those roles permeate the book, and that is where narrator John Pruden focuses his performance. Recognizing that the audience will want to absorb every detail of every operation, Pruden delivers the material with the same sense of joy and amazement that Mendez clearly experienced while at the agency. The result is one of the most enjoyable audiobooks in years.
Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2014
Duration: 11 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Tantor Media
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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