Brian Castner served as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) officer in the U.S. Air Force from 1999 to 2007 and deployed to Iraq in 2005 and 2006. Listening to his memoir, one may think of JARHEAD. His account of his service has a stream-of-consciousness point of view. He does quite well in narrating his own story—there’s nothing pretentious, overly dramatic, or affected in his reading. He feels disjointed in the civilian world after his service, and his story comes straight form his heart, and his gut. He knows through experience that when Sherman spoke of war being “all hell,” the general was understating the truth.
Pub Date: July 10, 2012
Duration: 6 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9780449806418
Publisher: Random House 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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