Few audiobooks offer a better window on the evolution of a unique American literature than this fine portrayal of the San Francisco literary scene that came together in the 1860s. Bret Harte was its pioneering father, and poets Ina Coolbrith and Charles Warren Stoddard its most representative personalities. But the defining figure is Mark Twain, whose growth as an artist was itself the emergence of a distinctive American style. Narrator Jim Frangione delivers this saga of lofty success and abject failure with empathy and vigor. His excellent performance is a listening--and learning--experience of the highest order, rich in its sense of place and time.
Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
Duration: 9 hrs, 15 mins
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Carol Matthau epitomizes a glamour and lifestyle not associated with the 1990's. Here is a life of privilege, tragedy and worry about what friends would think of her new frock or lover. Matthau possesses a voice and delivery that simply could not be improved on. In her coy whisper, she tells compelling stories involving everyone from William Saroyan (husband #1) and Truman Capote to Carson McCullers, Gloria Vanderbilt, and Walter Matthau (husband #2). This excellent audio presentation will leave you wanting to read the entire book to discover what juicy tidbits were left out.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: The Publishing Mills
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
More than 35 hours long, this comprehensive biography of Random House founder Bennett Cerf is equal to a workweek for many listeners. Cerf nurtured a roster of the 20th century's most consequential authors and was nationally known as a television panelist. His story is a fascinating panorama of American arts and society over 50 years, scrupulously researched but overburdened and slow. Listeners who've never heard of William Styron or Dorothy Kilgallen or the Famous Writers School will be fully educated here. Narrator Lisa Flanagan keeps a steady, unfussy pace that carries her listeners over the longueurs. But hers is a channel swim rather than a leisurely stroll through Central Park. This paunchy biography needed a stronger editorial hand.
Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
Duration: 35 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217346448
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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