Rock’s top scholar, Greil Marcus, is a free-association master who effortlessly draws parallels between the most arcane cultural manifestations and their populist underpinnings. Narrator Ray Porter astutely grasps Marcus’s snide qualities, delivering a performance resonant with a tone of righteous scorn—a trademark of the author’s writing since his days at ROLLING STONE and NEW WEST. It’s forceful material, and Porter embodies the weight of Marcus’s convictions perfectly. Given the author’s penchant for intellectualization, the Doors, with their heady brew of death visions and chaos theory, and their straddling of the cultural divide between the ‘60s and the contemporary world—not to mention singer Jim Morrison’s cult appeal—prove to be the perfect fodder for the author’s active imagination as well as Porter’s dramatic mastery.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
Duration: 4 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
James Michener tells the real stories behind the man and his books. The recording is read with skill and consistency although the reader does little to enhance the robust, larger-than-life incidents related in the book. Due to the first-person narrative format, there is no opportunity for the narrator to change his voice. This makes some chapters monotonous as they go on and on in the typical Michener style. The listener may also become confused because the stories are not told chronologically. This is not a great choice for the audio format, but Michener fans may stick with it to the end.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 22 hrs
Publisher: Books on Tape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
In a quest for a sense of inner contentment and self-worth, Gloria Steinem brings the reader on a journey of investigation and discovery. Steinem reads the text herself in a straightforward and friendly, but not intimate, presentation which is so easy to listen to it invites repetition--thus ensuring the painless relearning of the lessons of the book. It's difficult to tell from the reading that this audiobook is abridged; each section can stand alone. Nonetheless, the listener wished the book were unabridged. Steinem left me wanting to learn more.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Dove Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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