Jill Lepore, NEW YORKER staff writer and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, is a captivating essayist and a terrific performer of her own writing. Her pace is upbeat without being too fast; her articulation is clear; and her voice, midrange with the occasional high note, blooms with enthusiasm. That enthusiasm, combined with humor and smarts-- she's a Harvard University history professor--makes for enticing listening. Whether she's exploring women's career options via the lives of her own mother and Ben Franklin's sister, reconsidering Mary Shelley's FRANKENSTEIN as a slave narrative, pondering Eugene Debs and American socialism, reveling in motherhood, or riffing on her love of bicycling--Lepore is erudite, funny, and thought-provoking. May she keep thinking, writing, and performing for many more years.
Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2023
Duration: 22 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798987711934
Publisher: Pushkin Industries
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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
Ranjit Madgavkar narrates these essays on how forces beyond their control--for example, war, imperialism, language, climate change--influence people's lives. His strong but clear Indian accent never lets listeners forget that author Ghosh is a native of West Bengal, a fact that explains Ghosh's strong interest in colonialism, anti-colonialism, and the history of South Asia. The opening essays about the participation of Indian soldiers in the disastrous British Mesopotamian campaign of WWI are particularly fascinating. Madgavkar approximates different accents in the quotations from authors of other nationalities, making clear where they begin and end. Even without knowledge of South Asia, listeners will comprehend these essays because Madgavkar gets across the emotions.
Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2026
Duration: 19 hrs
DD ISBN: 9798228648760
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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