If excellence in audiobook narration means doing everything right while seeming to do little or nothing, Dennis Boutsikaris sets a standard here. In a feat of storytelling, Wolff has combined his own personal history growing up in Northern Michigan with the life stories of Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie, and the intertwined histories of American folk music and radical politics. A notorious event in the labor movement, the Calumet Massacre, is a featured connection. Boutsikaris's reading is expressive but restrained, calculatingly understated in the manner of the music and performers he's describing. No accents or half-sung lyrics mar a performance that matches the text in every nuance yet never draws attention to itself. Here's a narrative that engages the heart and mind for a deeply satisfying listening experience.
Pub Date: June 13, 2017
Duration: 8 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9780062676931
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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