An ensemble cast, Tom Picasso, Jeanine Bartel, Richard Poe, Eva Kaminsky, Korey Jackson, Lynnette R. Freeman, Luis Moreno, and book editor David Kipen, narrates from personal correspondence featuring the city of Los Angeles. The collection, arranged according to the calendar, weaves back and forth from the mid-16th century to the 21st. A diverse group of authors, including Helen Hunt Jackson and Allen Ginsberg, film titans, Spanish explorers, the naturalist John Muir—performed with an appropriate Scottish accent—and a wide range of intellectuals, as well as obscure but articulate letter writers and diarists from L.A.’s many ethnic neighborhoods, is featured in the very brief excerpts. Some matching of cast members to passages sounds more random than purposeful. However, all read clearly and at an easy pace for listeners to absorb the hundreds of moments in history described.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2019
Duration: 14 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781980034131
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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