Depending on their age, listeners may have first known Carl Reiner as a performer on Sid Caesar’s “Your Show of Shows,” the creator of “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” or as the straight man paired with Mel Brooks’s “2000-Year-Old Man.” Here Reiner, who is now 90, delivers a warm and highly personal series of unrelated stories, anecdotes, and reminiscences. Aside from some very minor narration stumbles and a few instances of ambient noise, Reiner’s presentation is beautifully informal and so kind that it sounds as if he is speaking directly and only to you, a treasured friend. Both his writing and narration show superb storytelling skills. This is a must-listen audiobook. A single note of caution, Billy Crystal’s foreword, visible in the hardcover graphics, is, sadly, cut from the audiobook. But what remains is a rare, in-depth look at the very private world of an American legend.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2012
Duration: 8 hrs, 45 mins
Publisher: Open Book 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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