This fantastic memoir has it all. From its beginnings as a teenage love story, Schimmel's story recounts her family's life as Jews in prewar Hungary and the course her life took in the wake of Hitler's invasion. Following her family from Nazi concentration camps to their liberation and emigration to the U.S., where Schimmel marries a fellow camp survivor, this story is so densely packed it could be mistaken for fiction. As she builds a new life for herself, Schimmel pines for the lost love of her youth. And when she happens upon her beloved years later, the listener feels the suspense and dread she experiences over the choice she has to make. Merlington reads this heart-wrenching story with a wisdom that the author herself seems to find. Amazingly, even where the story becomes melodramatic, Merlington remains grounded, casting both compassion and understanding on the author's feelings.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 1999
Duration: 11 hrs
Publisher: Brilliance 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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