[Editor’s Note: The following is a combined review with MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE MURDER OF LORD DARNLEY.]--In the national portrait gallery in Edinburgh, there once was a crudely painted portrait of Mary Queen of Scots. From one angle, one beheld a vision of a lovely woman; from the other the flesh peeled away and left only a grisly skeleton. That is the compelling dichotomy that has bewitched centuries of scholars and history buffs. Mary is the subject of two distinguished, but also distinctly different, recent biographies. Alison Weir attacks the central mystery of Mary’s life--the murder of her husband, Lord Darnley--and sets the stage for an eventful night in Edinburgh with meticulous detail. The house where Darnley is staying is blown to bits, and his unscathed body is found nearby, apparently flung free in the blast. Davina Porter narrates masterfully, conveying the gruffness of Scots lords and the lilt of Mary’s more musical and feminine voice. The intricacies of court intrigue are rendered more coherent through her characterizations, and this truly scholarly work becomes accessible to a broader audience through her skill. Weir and Porter’s queen is a highly emotional and intelligent woman of intrigue. John Guy reads his compelling Queen of Scots himself, bringing his years of experience in lecture halls to this more intimate medium. His is the more complete biography, setting Mary squarely into a time that in turn sends her careening down her doomed path and into the popular imagination. Guy seems to understand his strengths as an audio performer and steers away from investing each character in the tableau with a unique voice. He delivers his captivating story in a clear, unadorned way, which neither adds to nor detracts from the spellbinding text.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2004
Duration: 6 hrs
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Highly engaging for a wide variety of listeners.
Four exceptional narrators unfailingly capture the full relevance of every sentence and broad idea in this epic audiobook. With this monumental economic and social history, the author traces the growth of capitalism’s decisive impact on human society, from 15th-century traders to the invention of money and the seemingly unstoppable power of capital markets today. Beckert describes capitalism’s fraught relationship with forced and paid labor as it changed with advances in agriculture, transportation, industry, and political trends. Despite the idealized dream of free markets under capitalism, Beckert shows how it flourished only with the cooperation of governments that enforced the social and economic order necessary for wealth accumulation.
Highly engaging for a wide variety of listeners.Pub Date: Nov. 25, 2025
Duration: 42 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217163571
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2026
Author Baconi is the best choice to narrate his memoir of family and political upheaval. The emotional undercurrent he projects suits a story spanning Haifa, Beirut, Amman, and London. His delivery gives clarity to the family history he recounts--his grandmother Eva's flight from Haifa in 1948, his mother Rima's escape from Beirut during the civil war, his own displacement, and a deepening love for his childhood friend, Ramzi. As Baconi moves into his London years, his narration highlights his search for belonging, his emerging political awareness during the Iraq War, and his effort to understand himself across cultures. His voice brings cohesion to these interwoven timelines. Baconi guides listeners through an intimate exploration of identity, inheritance, displacement, and return.
Pub Date: Nov. 18, 2025
Duration: 7 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668114834
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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