Predicting a week’s weather in 1944 did not have the scientific accuracy it does today. This fascinating account explores the role weather played in the D-Day offensive of WWII. A team of Allied scientists is charged with providing the most accurate weather forecast possible five days before the advance at Normandy. Sean Barrett ably portrays meteorologist Henry Meadows, an older man who is recalling the distant past of the war years. The story then flashes back to his younger self as he plays his part in the launching of the D-Day attack. Barrett narrates Foden's blend of fact and fiction with a piercing intensity, building suspense effectively as the scientists work to identify the perfect day and time to launch the offensive. In particular, Barrett credibly renders the conflict between the military officers responsible for the success of the battle and the struggling meteorologists trying to support them.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2009
Duration: 10 hrs
Publisher: Recorded Books/ Clipper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Ayla, one of the "others," is adopted by a clan of Neanderthal cave people. She struggles to conform to their ways, but her advanced human traits overwhelm and threaten their primitive culture in this initial installment of an immensely popular series. Although the story might benefit from abridgment, Rowena Cooper easily carries out the formidable task of enlivening the mostly silent and stereotypical characters with consistent, diverse personalities and human dimension. Through skillful phrasing and inflection, she maintains the reader's interest and suspense, especially with Ayla and her plight, throughout this rambling and imaginative story.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 22 hrs
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America/ Chivers
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This lyrical, sensual novel of woman's lot in Manchu, China, is as well researched as it is well written. Authentic in tone, it's nonetheless written for Westerners by a Western expert on China. Moreover, Susan Clark performs the demanding text superbly, with only occasional signs of fatigue. For the most part she not only sustains the quaint diction and Asian atmosphere, but also, creates whole worlds with her voice. She acts the book, rather than reads it, and, in so doing, turns a pretty trifle into a stupendous beauty.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 4 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Audio Literature
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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