Narrator Jean Gilpin's aristocratic British accent captures the upper-class background of Gertrude Bell, whose connections with the Arab world during and after WWI made her one of the most powerful women in the British Empire. Bell's political influence on this part of the world is considered by many to be equal to T.E. Lawrence's military leadership. In an evenhanded performance, Gilpin gives the same weight to Bell's geopolitical accomplishments as she does to the details of her fashion sense and romantic affairs. The result of this evenhandedness is a narration without shadings--a performance not fully successful in reflecting the three-dimensional portrait of Bell created by the author. Only in Gilpin's delivery of extensive quotes from Bell's letters and diaries do we sense her important role in setting early-twentieth-century Mideast policies--policies that planted the seeds of turmoil we are faced with today.
Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2012
Duration: 20 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780449806753
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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