David Hallberg, the first American to join the Bolshoi Ballet as a principal dancer, offers a detailed, elegant, touching, sensitive and witty reflection on his entire life, including the bullying he received as a child and a difficult return to performance after a significant, nearly devastating, injury. Vikas Adam's warm narration is perfectly suited to the work. Precision is the operative word as the detailed sequences of exercise, physical training, rehearsal, and performance are exceptionally enlightening. There is so much detail offered that the listener may have to have as profound an interest in the perspiration and pain of the ballet dancer as in the artistry of ballet itself.
Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2017
Duration: 12 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781538491409
Publisher: Blackstone 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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