Narrator Nancy Wu's soft, unaccented delivery is perfect for this meticulously researched audiobook about the Chinese who fled Mao's revolution. Listeners will learn about China from the 1937 war with Japan, through WWII, and up to 1949, the year of China's Communist revolution, which precipitated "the last boat out of Shanghai." Wu narrates steadily and patiently, recounting the lives of four representative refugees up to their escapes. The dialogue, filled with interesting idioms, is delivered in a singsong lilt. Wu assigns the infrequent non-Chinese characters voices without accents. The lives of the four characters overlap, amplifying listeners' understanding of this complex period of Chinese history.
Pub Date: April 23, 2019
Duration: 17 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781541402232
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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