The iconic and inventive cartoonist Al Jaffee has been delighting MAD magazine readers since 1955. Weisman, a onetime neighbor of Jaffee, heard most of his story over the years and convinced him to let her set it all down. Allen Rickman’s engaging and comfortable tone works well in depicting Jaffee’s life, particularly the accounts of his neglected childhood, which included twice being inexplicably uprooted by his mother from their home in Georgia and brought to Lithuanian shtetls just before WWII. It’s unfortunate that the listener is unable to appreciate the sampling of Jaffee’s cartoons that illustrate the print version of this book. Inexplicably, the audiobook ends with a dead stop that provides no sense of closure.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2011
Duration: 6 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9780062084668
Publisher: Harper 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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