Equal parts treasure hunt, memoir, and engaging history lesson--MUDLARK's magical appeal is enhanced by narrator Xanthe Elbrick, whose charming British voice is instructive, inviting, and companionable. In her perfectly paced narration, Elbrick shares Maiklem's reflections, which weave together her personal adventures digging up old treasures from the banks of the Thames ("mudlarking") with the history of the objects she gently retrieves from the foreshore. Elbrick adopts alternately musing and playful tones as she shares Maiklem's speculations about who might have owned a tiny child's shoe or a coin or knife. Such absorbing moments bring the history of these objects alive for listeners, who will lose themselves time traveling through London's past, enthralled at this intimate look at looking closely, thereby vicariously experiencing mudlarking as both meditation and occupation.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2019
Duration: 9 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781980064626
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Buckley offers a reasonable proposal for a national service program without jail or criminal penalties. Narrator Lawrence reads with a slow and careful announcer's voice; one wishes Buckley were reading this one himself. Books on Tape does its usual quality job with formatting, packaging and tape-turning instructions. The reader repeats the last sentence at such times, so you're sure you haven't missed anything. Popular nonfiction collections will appreciate Gratitude, and the topic is likely to prove timely in the years ahead.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 5 hrs
Publisher: Books on Tape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Kozol’s shocking exposé of inequities in the funding of our public schools contrasts white suburban schools with those serving black and Hispanic populations. Interviews with students, teachers, and school administrators add eloquent testimony to Kozol’s disturbing presentation of facts. Narration by Jack Winston is clear and brisk, but the pace is unrelenting, with little pause for transition between scenes or chapters. Winston’s cool, detached voice contrasts with Kozol’s impasssioned and outraged message. The sheer repetition and magnitude of Kozol’s damning evidence is numbing; the narration gives no relief. Powerful medicine, most easily taken in small doses. Music signalling tape changes is jarringly inappropriate.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 8 hrs
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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