Chris Henry Coffey lends his masculine all-American voice to this account of seven generations of a family in America's Heartland. Lee Sandlin begins this family memoir with his colorful German ancestors, who immigrated to the Midwest in 1850 to establish a hotel and brewery. Coffey delivers the narrative with a straightforward tone that illustrates the stoicism of Sandlin's relations, adding an occasional lightheartedness to demonstrate the family's more unusual characters. Amateur ham radio operators in the middle of the twentieth century, including one of Sandlin's uncles, informally competed for the most far-flung signal. They called themselves distancers, but the name could also apply to the people in the author's family, who meticulously distanced themselves from each other, even when living together for decades.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2014
Duration: 5 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781490612300
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
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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