James Kaplan, co-author with Jerry Lewis of DEAN AND ME, has written an intelligent, incisive, and often-poignant chronicle of Frank Sinatra. The biography covers his fascinating life, character, and spirit from birth through the mid-1950s. Narrator Rob Shapiro has a voice that is resonant, authoritative, and engrossing. Like a musical standard sung by a great singer, he delivers the book “from the inside out.” Kaplan’s extreme, sometimes-exhausting, detail is enlivened by Shapiro’s well-suited narration. He gives a dynamic and sensitive performance through which younger listeners and long-term Sinatra enthusiasts alike will gain meaningful insight into a great artist who typified the best of the twentieth century.
Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2010
Duration: 22 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9780307748492
Publisher: Random House 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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