The author’s experience as a CIA analyst focused on Cuba gives him excellent credentials to write about the Castro brothers, Fidel and Raùl. His in-depth research reveals abundant detail about how they thought and behaved, as well as how they related to each other, during their rise to power as dictator and deputy. Stefan Rudnicki’s deep, articulate voice carries the listener through the detailed commentary, made challenging by its lack of chronological organization. He narrates with comfort, never sounding like he’s reading from a page, but he suffers from an unfamiliarity with the abundant Spanish. While he doesn’t create voices for the characters, other than an accent for Latin Americans speaking English, he distinguishes people’s words from those of the author by varying his force and volume.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2006
Duration: 11 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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