This is a mammoth effort by one of America's leading historians and is well worth the 42 hours you'll need to invest in it. It focuses on Lincoln the master politician and shows in great detail how he managed a cabinet populated by his bitter adversaries. Narrator Suzanne Toren has a well-bred voice that sounds classically trained, and her diction and pacing are terrific. She does not, however, have the optimal voice for this project. Toren sounds too proper, affected, and upper class for a book about the down-to-earth Lincoln. She would be great for any Henry James novel, but her voice does not at all fit this book's text. R.I.G. 2007 Audies Award Finalist © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2006
Duration: 42 hrs
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Buckley offers a reasonable proposal for a national service program without jail or criminal penalties. Narrator Lawrence reads with a slow and careful announcer's voice; one wishes Buckley were reading this one himself. Books on Tape does its usual quality job with formatting, packaging and tape-turning instructions. The reader repeats the last sentence at such times, so you're sure you haven't missed anything. Popular nonfiction collections will appreciate Gratitude, and the topic is likely to prove timely in the years ahead.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 5 hrs
Publisher: Books on Tape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Kozol’s shocking exposé of inequities in the funding of our public schools contrasts white suburban schools with those serving black and Hispanic populations. Interviews with students, teachers, and school administrators add eloquent testimony to Kozol’s disturbing presentation of facts. Narration by Jack Winston is clear and brisk, but the pace is unrelenting, with little pause for transition between scenes or chapters. Winston’s cool, detached voice contrasts with Kozol’s impasssioned and outraged message. The sheer repetition and magnitude of Kozol’s damning evidence is numbing; the narration gives no relief. Powerful medicine, most easily taken in small doses. Music signalling tape changes is jarringly inappropriate.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 8 hrs
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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