The 1911 fire was terrible, killing 146 people, but there's much more to the story. The author covers, and Barrett Whitener delivers, a history of the Garment Workers' Union, the cutthroat clothing industry, the waves of immigrants who assured the factory owners a constant supply of cheap labor, and the politicians who either supported or ignored the women who pleaded with them for shorter hours and better conditions. With gravity and sympathy, Whitener brings back to life the victims and activists, as well as the tenements and factory conditions that made the tragedy inevitable. Despite the length and reportorial nature of the text, a steady pace and faultless diction carry the listener to the end. J.B.G.
(c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2003
Duration: 12 hrs
Publisher: Books on Tape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
The readers can't compensate for the unbearably pompous prose style of this extended parable about corporate politics and strategy.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
An engaging experience.
This audiobook deals with everything from the historic investments that led to world-dominating companies, such as the Chinese technology company Tencent, to predicting the products and services of the future. An audiobook of such complexity requires a narrator who can handle the task, and David Thorpe manages it admirably. Thorpe uses his masterly voice, which sits somewhere between that of a BBC World Service presenter and an easy, relaxed Home Counties accent, to guide listeners through a sea of numbers, acronyms, and terms such as YP, RPS, and market cap. Rather than simply reading, Thorpe presents the work with excitement and enthusiasm, and this enjoyment transfers to the listener.
An engaging experience.Pub Date: Feb. 20, 2026
Duration: 13 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781668103425
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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