For seventy years history had been overshadowed by the fictions of the Soviet empire. Then in 1990 history returned with a vengeance. Combining meticulous historical scholarship with on-the-spot journalism, David Remnick takes his readers all over the former empire, weaving together the heroic stories of those who risked their lives to gather records, those who challenged the system, and those who conformed but waited for the opportune time to act. The result is a Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the fascinating transition from party dictatorship to hard-won freedom. This is an important book, and Michael Prichard's reading pays tribute to that importance. It is careful and thoughtful, yet fraught with excitement. When Yeltsin mounts the tank outside the Russian parliament building, Prichard's voice mirrors the tension and triumph in Remnick's prose. The audio production is a flawlessly clear yet moving vehicle for the author's work, and as honest a way to read history as having the print copy in hand.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2001
Duration: 31 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Books on Tape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This engrossing audiobook is enhanced by its author’s gifted and masterly narration.
This is only historian Rogoyska’s second audiobook, after Surviving Katyń (2021). But as a narrator, she is as assured, as nuanced, and as captivating as any seasoned professional. Her history of Paris’ luxurious Hotel Lutetia before and during the WWII German occupation is a model of historical reconstruction and reimagining. Refugee artists and intellectuals, Gestapo officers, and returning French detainees all passed through this hotel’s revolving doors, and their histories run the spectrum from tragedy to bitter comedy. Rogoyska’s chronicle is compelling and richly detailed, and her narration is simply sublime. Her beautifully accented, finely nuanced voice is a pleasure in itself, fluent, supple, and perfectly attuned to her narrative.
This engrossing audiobook is enhanced by its author’s gifted and masterly narration.Pub Date: July 7, 2026
Duration: 11 hrs
DD ISBN: 9798318572203
Publisher: Tantor Media
Review Posted Online: July 7, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: tomorrow
A beautifully written and narrated work.
Brangan narrates her own history of the Magdalene Laundries in Ireland with great empathy. The laundries were in operation all over Ireland from 1922 until 1996—and were in fact locked institutions run by the Catholic Church to ostensibly save “fallen” unwed pregnant women from ruin. In her lovely Irish brogue, Brangan follows several women throughout their experiences in the laundries. Her tone becomes subtly harsher when recounting the stories of those who looked the other way while the Church continued to imprison women and girls in plain sight. The story of the laundries has been told frequently in recent years, but never quite so thoroughly and compassionately.
A beautifully written and narrated work.Pub Date: May 5, 2026
Duration: 9 hrs, 14 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668121375
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: June 23, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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