Slater's is a coming-of-age story, both in terms of his childhood and his eventual profession. Slater reads as he writes, beautifully, just as the right wine graces a marvelous meal. His British accent delights as he relates the pleasures of childhood toast, adolescent sweets, and grown-up cookery at London's Savoy Hotel. Further, he knows when to underwrite and when to gloriously overwrite. His is a bittersweet account of life with a loving mother, but a poor cook, who is battling the asthma that will take her life, and a loving but distant father. Listening to this memoir revisits one's memories of food (good and awful) and even, perhaps, a coming to terms with one's own childhood memories.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2004
Duration: 6 hrs
Publisher: Penguin Audiobooks
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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