Tom Weiner brings professional polish, expressiveness, and intelligence to his narration of this history of an early-nineteenth- century school set up to train “heathens” (such as Hawaiians and Cherokee) to be missionaries. His voice is strong and likable, and he matches his tone to the sense of the text well. However, his manner is rather formal, as if he were providing the narration to a technical film, which is less engaging than reading as storytelling, one person to another. His relative stiffness becomes awkward and a bit unconvincing when Demos describes his own research and writing in present-tense interludes. Still, it’s an admirably clear reading overall and will ably serve anyone interested in this odd, and often sad, corner of history.
Pub Date: March 18, 2014
Duration: 11 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781483002637
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
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
Eric Jason Martin narrates this timely treatise on writing and AI by longtime English professor and writer John Warner. The author emphasizes that Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT cannot think or write; they merely use algebraic algorithms to deliver tokens (AI-speak for words) that follow a plausible pattern. The author warns that by outsourcing human thought processes, we risk losing those abilities. He makes his case with considerable wit. However, Martin misses almost every chance to showcase the author's message. Ironically, he narrates in an almost robotic fashion. Despite this, his slow pacing and crisp enunciation give the listener every opportunity to mull this well-reasoned argument. Final chapters offer suggestions for when, why, and how to push back against the AI onslaught.
Pub Date: July 1, 2025
Duration: 7 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9798228499201
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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