This exhaustive biography of world-renowned musician and composer Arturo Toscanini is a significant undertaking for both narrator and listener. Happily, Paul Boehmer has the skill to deliver this lengthy history with the clarity and fluency the excellent writing deserves while maintaining a comfortable pace that advances the text briskly without rushing through the fascinating details. Boehmer also provides great color and authenticity as he slips easily from English to Toscanini's native Italian and the French, German, and Russian of the maestro's favorite composers. Although mainly a treat for music and opera buffs, the audiobook contains sufficient details of Toscanini's spicy and turbulent personal life for broader audience appeal. Virtuoso performances by both Sachs and Boehmer result in a successful audiobook experience.
Pub Date: June 27, 2017
Duration: 40 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781681686608
Publisher: HighBridge 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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