Like an 11-year-old Jack Kerouac, Michael C. Keith spins out the tale of a 1959 cross-country trip with his estranged alcoholic father. On a journey from Albany, New York, to a dream in California, father and son ride the bus, hitchhike, and scramble from one encounter to the next. The trip is seen through the eyes of Mikey, the world-wise preteen the author once was. The portrait of his father is without sentimentality but not without warmth and compassion. The characters they meet along the way, such as a hotel desk clerk who, Mikey says, resembles Nat King Cole, add spice and color to the story. The style is almost stream of consciousness. But the author keeps the narrative flowing. He writes primarily in declarative sentences, which makes listening easy and effectively captures the essence of an 11-year-old. Reader Oliver Wyman distinguishes characters well but without artifice. They sound the way the young narrator might impersonate them.
Pub Date: 2003
Duration: 8 hrs
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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