The Father of our Country is portrayed as a man obsessed with his own public image of virtue and selflessness. His efforts to shape himself, the book contends, were important because they also shaped our nation's actions and the role of the U.S. President. The biographers don't paint the first president as perfect, criticizing his failure to end slavery and noting that as a burgess in Virginia, Washington was concerned mainly with local issues and was slow to see the threat in British acts such as the Stamp Act. Richard Rohan takes on the mostly dispassionate tone of a lecturer. The biography works well as a general introduction to Washington's life.
Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2004
Duration: 4 hrs
Publisher: Audio Renaissance
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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