Günter Grass, the German writer best known for The Tin Drum, won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1999. Given his stature, readers have awaited his memoir eagerly. But no matter how interesting the memoir or the life behind it, fifteen-and-a-half hours is a long time to listen to a mostly monotone and rather slow reading. The plus side, of course, is that listeners aren't likely to miss a word of Grass's book, which became a controversial and hurried publication when it became known that he was about to be outed as a Nazi sympathizer, something he'd vociferously attacked in others. Still, the links between autobiography and fiction are fascinating as he continually inserts references to how the person in his real life was transformed into a character in one of his many novels.
Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2007
Duration: 15 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Tantor Media
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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