As an audiobook, this richly detailed biography takes listeners beyond what we know about Mozart. Composer and academic Jan Swafford writes about the musical giant with uncommon depth, empathy, and musical sophistication. Narrator Tim Campbell delivers descriptions of Mozart's enmeshed family, his youthful compositions and performances, his playful relationships and often crude sense of humor, and the challenges he encountered while touring professionally in eighteenth-century Europe throughout most of his childhood. Campbell renders Swafford's colorful writing with uncommon vocal clarity and grace. Never fumbling a pronunciation or misplacing emphasis, he adds vocal flair that makes listening a highly rewarding experience. His measured enthusiasm, along with the author's exhaustive scholarship and smooth writing, will surely make this a classic and a definitive reference on the great composer.
Pub Date: Dec. 8, 2020
Duration: 30 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063033986
Publisher: Harper 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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