You know something’s wrong at the FBI when J. Edgar Hoover is answering the phones. Bryan Burrough’s PUBLIC ENEMIES contains 27 hours of remarkable facts about the bumbling origins of the FBI. In one instance, Hoover had to come up with a reason why his G-men killed Ma Barker, so he made up a tale that she was the brains of the gang and died with a machine gun in her hands. Burrough has equally revealing details about gangsters--for example, they stayed away from Southern banks because they were afraid of Southern prisons. Narrator Richard M. Davidson adds a swaggering James Cagney-like reading to this addictive story about a bygone period in U.S. history when “yegg men” used automobiles and state boundaries to become ruthless folk heroes.
Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2004
Duration: 26 hrs, 45 mins
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Buckley offers a reasonable proposal for a national service program without jail or criminal penalties. Narrator Lawrence reads with a slow and careful announcer's voice; one wishes Buckley were reading this one himself. Books on Tape does its usual quality job with formatting, packaging and tape-turning instructions. The reader repeats the last sentence at such times, so you're sure you haven't missed anything. Popular nonfiction collections will appreciate Gratitude, and the topic is likely to prove timely in the years ahead.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 5 hrs
Publisher: Books on Tape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Kozol’s shocking exposé of inequities in the funding of our public schools contrasts white suburban schools with those serving black and Hispanic populations. Interviews with students, teachers, and school administrators add eloquent testimony to Kozol’s disturbing presentation of facts. Narration by Jack Winston is clear and brisk, but the pace is unrelenting, with little pause for transition between scenes or chapters. Winston’s cool, detached voice contrasts with Kozol’s impasssioned and outraged message. The sheer repetition and magnitude of Kozol’s damning evidence is numbing; the narration gives no relief. Powerful medicine, most easily taken in small doses. Music signalling tape changes is jarringly inappropriate.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 8 hrs
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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