J. Robert Oppenheimer used his brilliant mind to organize and build the first atomic bomb. At war’s end he faced a harder battle—suffering the ’50s pogroms of Senator Joseph McCarthy and J. Edgar Hoover for his and his wife’s ties with the Communist Party. Oppy’s life brought him into the spheres of the great intellectuals and politicos of the time. Although Jeff Cummings moves briskly, his phonetics never soften. Cummings faces a prodigious text with more facts, quotes, and testimony than fuzzy stories. He could have used theater voices for the rapid-fire Senate interrogations, but the tempo and detachment he assumes fit the task. He uses an unstudied gringo accent for the occasional Spanish names and words.
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2007
Duration: 26 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
James Michener tells the real stories behind the man and his books. The recording is read with skill and consistency although the reader does little to enhance the robust, larger-than-life incidents related in the book. Due to the first-person narrative format, there is no opportunity for the narrator to change his voice. This makes some chapters monotonous as they go on and on in the typical Michener style. The listener may also become confused because the stories are not told chronologically. This is not a great choice for the audio format, but Michener fans may stick with it to the end.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 22 hrs
Publisher: Books on Tape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
In a quest for a sense of inner contentment and self-worth, Gloria Steinem brings the reader on a journey of investigation and discovery. Steinem reads the text herself in a straightforward and friendly, but not intimate, presentation which is so easy to listen to it invites repetition--thus ensuring the painless relearning of the lessons of the book. It's difficult to tell from the reading that this audiobook is abridged; each section can stand alone. Nonetheless, the listener wished the book were unabridged. Steinem left me wanting to learn more.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Dove Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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