Listeners will enjoy the diverse information packed into this well-done audiobook. Cokie Roberts, writer and narrator, focuses on Mary Todd Lincoln and the wives of significant leaders during and after the Civil War. Her ability to weave information from letters, diaries, and newspapers into a coherent and sometimes humorous whole is marvelous. She showcases the women of the Confederacy, who without legal power, managed to get their husbands better prison accommodations and, in one case, freed from prison using only wit, cunning, and persistence as their weapons. Roberts's pride in these women is clearly expressed in her voice. She exults in their courage. Whether listeners are from the North or South, all will appreciate this first-rate women’s history.
Pub Date: April 14, 2015
Duration: 14 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9780062390271
Publisher: Harper 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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