Narrator Dion Graham performs this well-researched biography of activist Malcolm X with dignified expression, matching the journalistic style of the authors. Decades in the making, this audiobook, based on personal interviews and firsthand accounts, puts Malcolm X’s life and work in context, especially as they intersected with the KKK, Martin Luther King, Jr., the FBI, the Black Muslim religion, and the budding Civil Rights Movement in general. Graham matches his tone to the narrative text, avoiding dramatization yet clearly signaling direct quotes and changes in speakers. His careful pace allows listeners time to absorb the facts and broader implications of Malcolm X’s story. At the end, Graham’s understated performance of the assassination is chilling, subtly building the tension and horror of Malcolm X’s last moments. C.B.L. 2021 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Pub Date: 2020
Duration: 18 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781705008348
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:
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:
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Dove Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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