While the story of smallpox is the hook upon which this title hangs, it's also a double biography of two eighteenth-century figures--an English noblewoman and a Boston doctor--whose lives were brought together by the disease. Carrell adopts a novelist's perspective, imagining action, inventing conversations, and ascribing emotions to the characters in her history. Her writing is elegant in places, but her novelistic technique ultimately results in waves of irrelevant detail that reduce the urgency of the story. Recording the book would have been an ideal opportunity for abridgment; instead Michael Prichard's disengaged and languid reading magnifies the book's major flaw. D.B.
(c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2003
Duration: 21 hrs
Publisher: Books on Tape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Live a better life by exercising, getting a good night's sleep, watching and improving your diet, and taking care of your skin. Exercise physiologist and personal trainer Bob Greene delivers his book in a steady, even voice. His attention to detail is exacting. Three guest narrators add their specialized advice. Diane McKay’s no-nonsense tone delivers information on the benefits and hazards of vitamin supplements and nutrients. Harold Lancer’s smooth, deep voice accompanies a serious discussion about skin care. Ronald Kotler softly intones recommendations for good sleep. Hearing the myriad lists in these chapters while driving may lull you into inattentiveness. The accompanying PDF contains lists of menus, routines for eating and exercising, and guidelines for medical tests and healthy living.
Pub Date: April 26, 2011
Duration: 8 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781609419820
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Narrator Sean Runnette adopts an unhurried pace that allows listeners to savor the information offered in this detailed guide to 50 foods. The guide offers recipes and practical information about each food and reveals other enlightening information such as highlights of the food's history and significance in society and the world of food. Runnette handles the international vocabulary well enough to keep the narration fluid and engaging. Though his voice is not highly modulated, a steady delivery and well-timed pauses impart the unique flavors of each food described to make this an appealing listen that will be especially enticing to foodies.
Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2013
Duration: 13 hrs, 15 mins
Publisher: Tantor Media
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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