Horror and compassion are the emotions that dominate as one listens to this well-researched audiobook. Narrator Bernadette Dunne delivers the author’s examination of a privileged life gone horribly wrong. Rosemary Kennedy, Joseph Kennedy’s eldest daughter; sister to a president, an attorney general, and a senator, was born developmentally disabled. Dunne’s deliberate pace will make listeners’ skin crawl with revulsion at what delaying a birth can do to an otherwise healthy child. The horror doesn’t end there. The decade into which Rosemary was born and the dynamics of her prominent family create more tragedy for her because so little was known about the mentally challenged and their capabilities. Compassion for Rosemary’s strength to survive and her inspiring effect on her brothers and sisters are evident in Dunne’s performance.
Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2015
Duration: 7 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781504642736
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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