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AUTHORITY AND FREEDOM

A DEFENSE OF THE ARTS

Daniel Oreskes's strategic pauses work well to clarify complex phrasing, often making the exact meaning of a sentence jump into the spotlight. This use of his dramatic skills, along with his clear voice and assertive tone, makes absorbing this thoughtful writing an invigorating experience. Artistic innovation versus the authority of tradition is the subject of this defense of how art breaks molds and rebels against existing standards. In the musical, visual, and literary arts, the author says artists need those molds and traditions to ground what they do within an artistic lineage. However, the essence of transformational art is to not be constrained by political and cultural boundaries but to create work that is independent of fixed definitions and categories of correctness.

Pub Date: Jan. 11, 2022

Duration: 3 hrs, 15 mins

DD ISBN: 9780593454312

Publisher: Random House Audio

Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026

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    OH PRAY MY WINGS ARE GONNA FIT ME WELL

    Inspiring collections of Angelou reading her poetry. These selections showcase Angelou's smooth, lyrical voice and her warm vitality. Her innate rhythm celebrates her verse and offers the poems to listeners as they should be remembered. Occasionally Angelou comments between the selections, and occasionally she interjects a resonant laugh.

    Pub Date: N/A

    Duration: N/A

    Publisher: Random House Audio

    Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026

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      BOILING POINT

      HOW AMERICA BROUGHT WAR TO UKRAINE

      A well-read explanation that will keep listeners engaged.

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      In a pleasing voice, Gordon Rothman narrates this account of how the current war in Ukraine started. Kinzer, a former foreign correspondent, goes back to the CIA’s clandestine war against the USSR, particularly its operations in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, to trace the origins of the conflict. “Ukraine is magnetically attractive to anyone looking for ways to keep Russia down or to bring it down,” Kinzer writes. He concludes that, although Russia was wrong to invade Ukraine in 2022, it was not unprovoked. Rothman’s delivery is clear, and his pace is easy to follow. Some of his pronunciations of Russian and Ukrainian names are anglicized.

      A well-read explanation that will keep listeners engaged.

      Pub Date: Nov. 3, 2026

      Duration: 13 hrs, 9 mins

      DD ISBN: 9781250451781

      Publisher: Macmillan Audio

      Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2026

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