Author Art Cullen and narrator Chris Henry Coffey do the near impossible by making the audiobook listener care about the intimate details of life in an Iowa small town. With a delivery as folksy and homespun as the topic, Coffey recounts Cullen's exhaustive history of Storm Lake and his own family and neighbors. Cullen won the Pulitzer Prize for editorials in the tiny STORM LAKE TIMES that exposed environmental hazards caused by big business. Here, in great detail, he describes the often hand-to-mouth lives of farmers and makes it interesting. He also covers the challenges facing a small newspaper doing its best to keep residents informed--even when the news is hard to take. The writing is crisp and economical, like a good small town newspaper's should be.
Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2018
Duration: 10 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9780525641520
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Buckley offers a reasonable proposal for a national service program without jail or criminal penalties. Narrator Lawrence reads with a slow and careful announcer's voice; one wishes Buckley were reading this one himself. Books on Tape does its usual quality job with formatting, packaging and tape-turning instructions. The reader repeats the last sentence at such times, so you're sure you haven't missed anything. Popular nonfiction collections will appreciate Gratitude, and the topic is likely to prove timely in the years ahead.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 5 hrs
Publisher: Books on Tape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Kozol’s shocking exposé of inequities in the funding of our public schools contrasts white suburban schools with those serving black and Hispanic populations. Interviews with students, teachers, and school administrators add eloquent testimony to Kozol’s disturbing presentation of facts. Narration by Jack Winston is clear and brisk, but the pace is unrelenting, with little pause for transition between scenes or chapters. Winston’s cool, detached voice contrasts with Kozol’s impasssioned and outraged message. The sheer repetition and magnitude of Kozol’s damning evidence is numbing; the narration gives no relief. Powerful medicine, most easily taken in small doses. Music signalling tape changes is jarringly inappropriate.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 8 hrs
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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