Kunetka’s audiobook provides the listener a concise and clear history of the events that led to the creation of the first atomic bomb, and a portrait of the two disparate personalities that led its development. Narrator Malcolm Hillgartner’s timbre, intonation, and clarity suggest those of a radio announcer from the early twentieth-century period in which these events take place. Authoritarian General Leslie Richard Groves and physicist Robert Oppenheimer represent two seemingly incongruent approaches to the goal of building the vital weapon before the Nazis. Hillgartner’s delivery is confident and direct as General Groves advocates a no-nonsense military approach, and Professor Oppenheimer focuses on the minute scientific details.
Pub Date: Nov. 3, 2015
Duration: 14 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781504671002
Publisher: Blackstone 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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