Jeffrey D. Sachs, director of Columbia University's Earth Institute and a UN adviser, looks at successes and failures in the global war on poverty, considers how the gap between rich and poor nations developed, and outlines a plan for ending the worst poverty by 2025. Malcolm Hillgartner makes his delivery heartfelt while maintaining Sachs's optimistic tone and outlook. While the work has dry patches that relate statistics and facts, Sachs's personal anecdotes give Hillgartner room to voice passion and even occasional anger. He admirably represents Sachs, a believer in "capitalism with a human face," and gives listeners plenty of food for thought on sweatshops, the Marshall Plan, debt relief, the responsibility of the world's richest people, and U.S. spending on world poverty.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2008
Duration: 14 hrs
Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Buckley offers a reasonable proposal for a national service program without jail or criminal penalties. Narrator Lawrence reads with a slow and careful announcer's voice; one wishes Buckley were reading this one himself. Books on Tape does its usual quality job with formatting, packaging and tape-turning instructions. The reader repeats the last sentence at such times, so you're sure you haven't missed anything. Popular nonfiction collections will appreciate Gratitude, and the topic is likely to prove timely in the years ahead.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 5 hrs
Publisher: Books on Tape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Kozol’s shocking exposé of inequities in the funding of our public schools contrasts white suburban schools with those serving black and Hispanic populations. Interviews with students, teachers, and school administrators add eloquent testimony to Kozol’s disturbing presentation of facts. Narration by Jack Winston is clear and brisk, but the pace is unrelenting, with little pause for transition between scenes or chapters. Winston’s cool, detached voice contrasts with Kozol’s impasssioned and outraged message. The sheer repetition and magnitude of Kozol’s damning evidence is numbing; the narration gives no relief. Powerful medicine, most easily taken in small doses. Music signalling tape changes is jarringly inappropriate.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 8 hrs
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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