Narrator Alex Chadwick's lightly dramatic voice keeps listeners focused on a fascinating story. Soichi Sakamoto's Three-Year Swim Club in Maui hoped for glory in the 1940 Tokyo Olympics, a goal thwarted by WWII. Julie Checkoway dives into the past for accounts of swimming records, training innovations, and the swimmers themselves. These branches flow into a larger story of growing global tensions, Olympics history, and Japanese-Americans in Hawaii. It's occasionally poignant, as when a club member encounters a German P.O.W. he once met in competition. When the account turns to swim meets, Chadwick's voice sounds wonderfully like vintage radio coverage. There's athletic triumph, but the war's toll on those hopes hits home.
Pub Date: Nov. 24, 2015
Duration: 14 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781619693838
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Kidd helps make the author’s words vivid and relevant for listeners.
Epplin’s second book lays out the parallel stories of two basketball players—Moses Malone and Julius “Dr. J” Erving. The biographical portraits paint a picture of two different men whose careers converged when they were both on the 1983 champion Philadelphia 76ers team. Terrence Kidd narrates with the perfect amount of emotion, offering slight accents or different vocal inflections when players and coaches are quoted. Between Epplin’s solid research and fine writing and Kidd’s invested narration, it’s a wonderful audiobook for anyone who wants to glean what 1970s and early '80s basketball was like.
Kidd helps make the author’s words vivid and relevant for listeners.Pub Date: Feb. 17, 2026
Duration: 10 hrs, 21 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668653852
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: April 1, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
Klosterman's keenness for the controversial pastime is on full display in this insightful audiobook.
Culture critic Klosterman narrates his latest audiobook, deconstructing the history and appeal of football. Klosterman's no voice pro, and this production is unpolished. But what he lacks in professional veneer he makes up for with intimate enthusiasm for his subject. Klosterman reflects deeply on his lifelong fandom, especially on how the sport has survived for so long in the public consciousness, yet faces a crossroads as public media consumption shifts drastically and awareness of traumatic brain injuries expand. The result is a rough, bare-bones listening experience, but Klosterman remains a good storyteller in any format.
Klosterman's keenness for the controversial pastime is on full display in this insightful audiobook.Pub Date: Jan. 20, 2026
Duration: 9 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217282166
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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