Narrator Katherine Fenton's vocal personality makes listening to this audiobook interesting without straying too far from the documentary reading style that typically works well with social science titles. With few exceptions, her phrasing and vocal clarity make this a seamless, fast-moving experience. The author shows how tribes, states, and countries develop rules of conduct that are either tight or loose, thus having a huge impact on how people behave. The reasons for the clean streets, low crime, and intolerance of deviance found in tight cultures can involve factors such as geography, weather, threat of natural and man-made disasters, and population density. The author provides a fair and balanced look at how culture can affect a society's acceptance of creativity, ethnic diversity, sexual expression, and even an unlikely political candidate.
Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2018
Duration: 8 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781508267997
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Buckley offers a reasonable proposal for a national service program without jail or criminal penalties. Narrator Lawrence reads with a slow and careful announcer's voice; one wishes Buckley were reading this one himself. Books on Tape does its usual quality job with formatting, packaging and tape-turning instructions. The reader repeats the last sentence at such times, so you're sure you haven't missed anything. Popular nonfiction collections will appreciate Gratitude, and the topic is likely to prove timely in the years ahead.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 5 hrs
Publisher: Books on Tape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Kozol’s shocking exposé of inequities in the funding of our public schools contrasts white suburban schools with those serving black and Hispanic populations. Interviews with students, teachers, and school administrators add eloquent testimony to Kozol’s disturbing presentation of facts. Narration by Jack Winston is clear and brisk, but the pace is unrelenting, with little pause for transition between scenes or chapters. Winston’s cool, detached voice contrasts with Kozol’s impasssioned and outraged message. The sheer repetition and magnitude of Kozol’s damning evidence is numbing; the narration gives no relief. Powerful medicine, most easily taken in small doses. Music signalling tape changes is jarringly inappropriate.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 8 hrs
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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