How did it happen, David McCullough asks. How could the scrawny, asthmatic kid born to New York blue bloods transform himself into the boxing, rough-riding politician and Dakota rancher who became America's twenty-sixth president, Theodore Roosevelt? With his easy, graceful eloquence, Nelson Runger narrates McCullough's answer. The chemistry is simple: It's all about family, character, and a love of place. It begins with a father and mother deeply attached to each other and their children. Family is always first. Then come summers on the Nile, Harvard, and the Dakota Badlands. Finally, the glue: a strong heart and indomitable spirit. Runger intuitively recognizes McCullough's great purpose: to tell a quiet story about the small things in life that converge to make a man great.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2006
Duration: 19 hrs, 30 mins
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
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