Much has been written about the Wright brothers, the Dayton, Ohio, bicycle mechanics who steered twentieth-century history with their airplane and the first successful motorized flight. But Noah Adams takes listeners on a journey through place and time and explores, not just the inventors and their era, but also people today whose lives still touch the famous pair. For instance, at the Ohio prairie where the Wrights did a lot of testing, Adams talks to a biologist who is preserving native prairie plants inside a large Air Force base. He also drops all manner of interesting historical tidbits. For instance, a wind tunnel used to test a modern version of the Wright Flyer plane is used most often to test racing stock car designs. Adams’s delivery is smooth and effective. His voice and manner carry the story along. It’s the kind of performance that will make commuters take the long way home just to finish a chapter. And a tip of the hat to the producers for ending each disc with the close of a chapter.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2003
Duration: 6 hrs
Publisher: Books on Tape
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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