For some listeners, this audiobook may be as dry as America was supposed to be when Prohibition was the law of the land. Others may appreciate this carefully researched, provocative account of an era when a noble experiment failed catastrophically. Ambrose focuses on Mabel Willebrandt, U.S. assistant district attorney and Prohibition zealot, and on Pauline Sabin, society lady and Republican politician who eventually led the effort for the amendment's repeal. We learn about these women, the political importance of the newly enfranchised woman voter, corrupt politicians, rumrunners, crooked law enforcement, and the growing public disillusionment through the steady, deliberative voice of Cassandra Campbell. This production sounds like a college lecture with a new slant on an important period in American history.
Pub Date: 2018
Duration: 11 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780525641346
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Carol Matthau epitomizes a glamour and lifestyle not associated with the 1990's. Here is a life of privilege, tragedy and worry about what friends would think of her new frock or lover. Matthau possesses a voice and delivery that simply could not be improved on. In her coy whisper, she tells compelling stories involving everyone from William Saroyan (husband #1) and Truman Capote to Carson McCullers, Gloria Vanderbilt, and Walter Matthau (husband #2). This excellent audio presentation will leave you wanting to read the entire book to discover what juicy tidbits were left out.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: The Publishing Mills
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
More than 35 hours long, this comprehensive biography of Random House founder Bennett Cerf is equal to a workweek for many listeners. Cerf nurtured a roster of the 20th century's most consequential authors and was nationally known as a television panelist. His story is a fascinating panorama of American arts and society over 50 years, scrupulously researched but overburdened and slow. Listeners who've never heard of William Styron or Dorothy Kilgallen or the Famous Writers School will be fully educated here. Narrator Lisa Flanagan keeps a steady, unfussy pace that carries her listeners over the longueurs. But hers is a channel swim rather than a leisurely stroll through Central Park. This paunchy biography needed a stronger editorial hand.
Pub Date: 2026
Duration: 35 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217346448
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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