Narrator Suzanne Toren brings an understated and lucid voice to this strange but true story of the Jim Crow South. In 1899, brothers George and Willie Muse lived and worked with their sharecropping family on a tobacco farm in Truevine, Virginia. At ages 6 and 9 the brothers—both African-American albinos with golden hair—were kidnapped by circus agents and displayed as “freaks” for the next 13 years. As George and Willie traveled worldwide with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circuses, their mother tirelessly worked to bring them home. Toren’s poised, sophisticated narration makes for enjoyable listening while still allowing author Beth Macy’s impressive journalistic efforts to take center stage.
Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2016
Duration: 11 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781478957027
Publisher: Hachette 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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