Harald Bluetooth and Eric Bloodaxe may not sound like ambassadors of culture, but it is Arthur Herman's contention that these and other Vikings have been unfairly pigeonholed. Rejecting long-held assumptions is hot work, but narrator Kiff VandenHeuvel throws his back into it. An actor and even a comedian, he's transformed himself into a happy warrior, a fierce rhetorician. VandenHeuvel delivers this history as if it were the very Gospels the Norsemen burned. Sure, they slaughtered monks and took slaves, but their legacy, according to Herman, was ingenuity, the work ethic, and a faith in the impossible. If you want your assumptions shattered like--well like the peace and quiet of a raided city--then this is the audiobook for you. One caveat: If you should ever spot a dragon ship nosing your shoreline, drop that plough and run.
Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
Duration: 18 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9780358536734
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This engrossing audiobook is enhanced by its author’s gifted and masterly narration.
This is only historian Rogoyska’s second audiobook, after Surviving Katyń (2021). But as a narrator, she is as assured, as nuanced, and as captivating as any seasoned professional. Her history of Paris’ luxurious Hotel Lutetia before and during the WWII German occupation is a model of historical reconstruction and reimagining. Refugee artists and intellectuals, Gestapo officers, and returning French detainees all passed through this hotel’s revolving doors, and their histories run the spectrum from tragedy to bitter comedy. Rogoyska’s chronicle is compelling and richly detailed, and her narration is simply sublime. Her beautifully accented, finely nuanced voice is a pleasure in itself, fluent, supple, and perfectly attuned to her narrative.
This engrossing audiobook is enhanced by its author’s gifted and masterly narration.Pub Date: July 7, 2026
Duration: 11 hrs
DD ISBN: 9798318572203
Publisher: Tantor Media
Review Posted Online: July 7, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
A beautifully written and narrated work.
Brangan narrates her own history of the Magdalene Laundries in Ireland with great empathy. The laundries were in operation all over Ireland from 1922 until 1996—and were in fact locked institutions run by the Catholic Church to ostensibly save “fallen” unwed pregnant women from ruin. In her lovely Irish brogue, Brangan follows several women throughout their experiences in the laundries. Her tone becomes subtly harsher when recounting the stories of those who looked the other way while the Church continued to imprison women and girls in plain sight. The story of the laundries has been told frequently in recent years, but never quite so thoroughly and compassionately.
A beautifully written and narrated work.Pub Date: May 5, 2026
Duration: 9 hrs, 14 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668121375
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: June 23, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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