Daniel Stone delivers a fast-paced narration of this globe-spanning audiobook about the botanist David Fairchild. The story is delivered as an adventure travelogue of Fairchild's exploits around the globe, which brought mangoes, cashews, and avocados to the American farm and table. The Kansas-bred Fairchild was both smart and lucky. He had a chance encounter with millionaire traveler Barbour Lathrop, which evolved into a patronage and friendship that allowed the intrepid botanist to travel the world collecting cuttings and bringing back the remarkable seeds for foods that changed Americans bland nineteenth- century diet. Stone's engaging reading style suits his subject well. Sadly, Fairchild ends up an embattled bureaucrat, but the excitement of his discoveries leaves the listener satisfied.
Pub Date: Feb. 20, 2018
Duration: 10 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780525531142
Publisher: Penguin 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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