Robin Miles narrates this important study of the Civil Rights movement, its effects on the Tennessee Highlander School in Topeka, Kansas, the significance of Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, and steps taken to desegregate schools, especially in the South. The author focuses on four activists--Septima Clark, Myles Horton, Esau Jenkins, and Bernice Johnson--and their roles in community organizing and educating citizens, particularly African Americans, while spotlighting key civil rights events between 1954 and 1965. Miles barely differentiates between the text and documents, speeches and dialogue. Her performance is choppy and hurried throughout, never smoothing into a fluid narration. Each comma and period is a full stop, breaking the listener's concentration and attention to details.
Pub Date: March 4, 2025
Duration: 15 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781797190815
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
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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