Pam Ward is certainly listenable during this lengthy history of American relations with China through the end of WWII. However, fans of Blackstone's productions of other Tuchman works, read with sublime simpatico by Nadia May, may find this title a letdown. Tuchman is the most articulate and nuanced of popular historians, and this biography of "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell, head of American forces in China during WWII, is a thorough critique of American policy in China and of the Chiang Kai-shek regime—still controversial topics when this book was published in 1970. Ward misses Tuchman's fine edges, and her vocal renderings are not good. Her Vinegar Joe sounds improbable, and rather like her FDR, and, thankfully, Gandhi appears only for a sentence or two. Despite these shortcomings, the quality of the text and its foreshadowing of American-Chinese relations today recommend this title.
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2009
Duration: 28 hrs
Publisher: Blackstone 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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