The story of Hernan Cortes and the sixteenth-century conquest of Mexico by the Spanish is one of the bloodiest in history, with both the Europeans and the Aztecs engaging in extraordinary acts of violence. Buddy Levy comes to this story with a journalist's rigor and a novelist's ear, and his account of the conquest is fair minded and engaging. Patrick Lawlor's narration moves the work along at a good pace, though he sabotages it by affecting a cartoonish accent when reading the words of Cortes and the other Spaniards. Further, his rendering of the name of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlán, makes one wish that audiobook narrators were better coached on the correct pronunciation of foreign words and place names.
Pub Date: July 8, 2008
Duration: 12 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Tantor Media
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This engrossing audiobook is enhanced by its author’s gifted and masterly narration.
This is only historian Rogoyska’s second audiobook, after Surviving Katyń (2021). But as a narrator, she is as assured, as nuanced, and as captivating as any seasoned professional. Her history of Paris’ luxurious Hotel Lutetia before and during the WWII German occupation is a model of historical reconstruction and reimagining. Refugee artists and intellectuals, Gestapo officers, and returning French detainees all passed through this hotel’s revolving doors, and their histories run the spectrum from tragedy to bitter comedy. Rogoyska’s chronicle is compelling and richly detailed, and her narration is simply sublime. Her beautifully accented, finely nuanced voice is a pleasure in itself, fluent, supple, and perfectly attuned to her narrative.
This engrossing audiobook is enhanced by its author’s gifted and masterly narration.Pub Date: July 7, 2026
Duration: 11 hrs
DD ISBN: 9798318572203
Publisher: Tantor Media
Review Posted Online: July 7, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
A beautifully written and narrated work.
Brangan narrates her own history of the Magdalene Laundries in Ireland with great empathy. The laundries were in operation all over Ireland from 1922 until 1996—and were in fact locked institutions run by the Catholic Church to ostensibly save “fallen” unwed pregnant women from ruin. In her lovely Irish brogue, Brangan follows several women throughout their experiences in the laundries. Her tone becomes subtly harsher when recounting the stories of those who looked the other way while the Church continued to imprison women and girls in plain sight. The story of the laundries has been told frequently in recent years, but never quite so thoroughly and compassionately.
A beautifully written and narrated work.Pub Date: May 5, 2026
Duration: 9 hrs, 14 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668121375
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: June 23, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
