L.J. Ganser narrates this wonderful historical look at the rise of baseball in New York City with his usual interested style. You can tell when Ganser is reading a quotation, but he never imposes a campy tone or a vocal imitation. He sounds involved without being overly animated as he delivers the narrative, which starts in the nineteenth century and moves through well-researched colorful anecdotes of players and managers of the day. Ganser helps carry the material through the turn of the century, aptly delivering the author's fascinating stories about John J. McGraw, Christy Mathewson, Hal Chase, and others. When the book ends in the late 1940s, both Baker's writing and Ganser's narration leave listeners wanting more.
Pub Date: March 5, 2024
Duration: 20 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780593825303
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Dugard charts the course, and Godfrey hits a personal best.
Dugard explores the origins of the marathon, from the legend of Pheidippides and the race’s peculiar length to the 1970s and '80s athletes who made marathons cool. Now, competing in a marathon is on every casual runner’s bucket list. Matt Godfrey takes the author’s accessible style and runs with it. His timing, liveliness, and wry tones bring Dugard’s multiple threads to life. The decade is jammed full of stories—Steve Prefontaine getting pipped for the bronze medal at the 1972 Olympics, Joan Benoit winning the first women’s Olympic marathon, the book by Jim Fixx that inspired sedentary people to take up jogging, and even the author finding his community when he discovered running as an 11-year-old.
Dugard charts the course, and Godfrey hits a personal best.Pub Date: April 14, 2026
Duration: 9 hrs, 33 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217285556
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: May 5, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2026
A fine marriage between talented narration and solid writing.
The author, whose forte is sports biographies, extensively researched Larry Bird’s upbringing through his time at Indiana State. Rather than being a definitive biography of Bird, the audiobook is a fascinating, comprehensive portrait of the basketball star and the people around him in his formative years. Ellen Adair narrates with just the right touch of emotion, letting the story dictate the pacing. She varies her tones throughout her narration, creating an image of the places where Bird grew up, the courts he played on, the school he put on the map.
A fine marriage between talented narration and solid writing.Pub Date: March 3, 2026
Duration: 11 hrs, 51 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668148068
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: May 12, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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