The details of Roald Amundsen’s famous explorations to the South Pole and the Northwest Passage are interwoven with accounts of the author’s own efforts to swim (in only a bathing suit!) in subzero temperatures. Amundsen is a role model for Cox—she wants to know how others who did things in cold places that had never been done before found their way. Narrator Christine Williams adeptly delivers Amundsen’s feats, including his unusual efforts to learn from the inhabitants of arctic environments. The narrative’s footnotes are extremely distracting; they sound disconnected, as if they were added after the main narration. In addition, Cox's details on her research methods are not very interesting. The combination of narrative, footnotes, methodology, and Williams’s overly upbeat voice becomes tiresome.
Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2011
Duration: 8 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781611746051
Publisher: HighBridge 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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