Narrator Joyce Bean strikes just the right blend of prickly and wry humor for Barbara Ehrenreich's polemic countering a number of sacred cows in health care. Ehrenreich rails against over-testing, the unclear benefits of mindfulness, and workplace wellness programs that cause stress rather than good health. Employing the twin lenses of class and cellular biology, she rejects the argument that individuals can control their health. Bean's delivery is clear, energetic, and appropriately unsentimental but with an underlying tone of irony and absurdity that provides levity. It all matches Ehrenreich perfectly. Ehrenreich asserts that she is now old enough to die and so is done with annual physicals and will seek medical care only to treat symptoms. Of course, there are millions of Americans who lack access to medical care at the same time that others are overtreated.
Pub Date: 2018
Duration: 7 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781478961260
Publisher: Hachette 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:
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:
Duration: 8 hrs
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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