Jill Lepore takes on her new one-volume history of the United States as narrator. Beginning in 1492, Lepore shares with listeners our county's many high and low points. Though her comprehensive tome includes many of the most exciting stories in our country's past, her narration falls somewhat short. She sounds too academic and misses opportunities to enliven both the interesting anecdotes and the drier explanations of facts. She gets much right about U.S. history in her writing--for example her spot-on analysis of "these truths," as stated by Thomas Jefferson. For that reason, it's a letdown that her performance makes listening to this 26-hour story more difficult than it should be.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2018
Duration: 29 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781980010814
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Geoffrey C. Ward's audiobook version of the current Ken Burns documentary series recounts the history of the Revolution as a story, and Robert Petkoff delivers it as such. He matches its narrative flow with a polished performance that draws the listener compulsively and pleasurably along. Never calling attention to himself, he narrates the text deftly with a subtle but perceptible mirroring of both sense and feeling. Petkoff's performance is like a dish that the more you have of it, the more you want. Six sidebar essays by other authors are split between narrators Beth Hicks and Fred Sanders. While they're not up to Petkoff's level of fluidity--Sanders' performance is somewhat stiff--both are able and professional enough. Overall, an engaging, illuminating retelling of America's founding story.
Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2025
Duration: 22 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217165483
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Never underestimate the value of a pleasing voice, especially when the subject is history--in particular, a topic as obtuse as the English Civil War. Mark Meadows's light British accent is an enhancement and a defining feature of this well-told narrative, a sequel of sorts to Oxford scholar Jonathan Healey's THE BLAZING WORLD. That narrative surveyed the entire revolutionary 17th century in Britain. This one focuses on a few momentous months when King Charles I and his Parliament split irrevocably, and England spiraled into civil war. As a case study in government deadlock and division, these events draw numerous parallels to contemporary scenarios. As an audiobook experience, Meadows delivers a lucid, arresting analysis of the how and why of England's most tragic era.
Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
Duration: 13 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217165612
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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