Forget the Cleopatra of myth and movies. Katherine Fenton narrates this audiobook focusing on Cleopatra's considerable abilities as a ruler, rather than her tragic death and purported skill as a seducer. Sources include the writings of ancient historians, including Plutarch. Fenton communicates in a tone of educated authority when enlightening the listener with factual information gleaned from the remains of antiquity. She is equally adept at conveying the author's obvious disdain for the way popular culture has portrayed Cleopatra in film and other media. She is particularly scornful of the 1963 film CLEOPATRA, starring Elizabeth Taylor. In this audiobook listeners will hear of Cleopatra's famed love affairs but will also see her as a skilled politician, leader, and city planner.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2022
Duration: 6 hrs, 15 mins
Publisher: Yale Press Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
A personal performance of a spiritual journey.
Vance narrates a spirited discussion of his departure from Christianity and religion generally, as well as his subsequent return. His commanding performance is moving, solid, authentic, and sincere. Vance’s deep voice is enhanced by his precise enunciation and is measured and appropriate to the material. In what could be considered a sequel to his 2016 autobiography, Hillbilly Elegy, listeners hear his evolution as a human being, family man, and leader. The consistently absorbing and entertaining narration pays tribute to his mentors, friends inside and outside the military, and most emphatically his wife, Usha, who practices Hinduism.
A personal performance of a spiritual journey.Pub Date: June 16, 2026
Duration: 12 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780063575080
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Aug. 18, 2026
A doyenne of American literature, Godwin, now 89, adds to her distinguished body of work.
Rosemary Benson has narrated Godwin’s work before, and she conveys the contemplative and appalled tone of this brief memoir. Her performance reveals the author’s disappointment in the country’s state of political affairs during the 2024 election. Godwin sees then-candidate Trump as an emblem of corruption, and she painstakingly analyzes his debate with Kamala Harris and the idea of citizenship, quoting liberally from Brian Tangury’s blog Working-Class Scribbler. Other sections show the arc of Godwin’s long career, recalling her life in the 1960s working for the U.S. Travel Service and her ill-considered marriage.
A doyenne of American literature, Godwin, now 89, adds to her distinguished body of work.Pub Date: June 9, 2026
Duration: 5 hrs, 16 mins
DD ISBN: 9781639739004
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: July 7, 2026
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