Kathleen Gati is a gifted narrator whose Russian enunciations flow through this fine work. This sprawling audiobook takes the listener across Russia's 11 time zones, through its Eurasian cities and its vast landscapes. Consistently insightful about Putin's autocracy, authors Nina Khrushcheva, the great-granddaughter of Nikita, and Jeffrey Tayler, a Moscow-based journalist, have created a model of travel literature. Gati delivers a work packed with anecdotes of Czarist and Byzantine history, as well as literary allusions, and ferret out the opinions of Russian journalists, artists, and politicians. Quotes from Pushkin, Chekhov, Dostoevsky, and lesser literary figures help guide the listener along. There are startling political insights as well: Monuments of Lenin from modest to gargantuan dot the country, but the restoration of Stalin's reputation in Putin's Russia is a sad surprise.
Pub Date: Feb. 19, 2019
Duration: 11 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781721342570
Publisher: Brilliance 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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