John Lee’s rich, rolling baritone conveys the empirical enthusiasm and underlying compassion that are the foremost characteristics of neurologist Oliver Sacks’s books. In his latest work, Sacks observes the magical ways patients experience music after undergoing some sort of neurological trauma: an amnesiac who cannot remember anything but Bach fugues, a psychoanalyst bedeviled by musical hallucinations, otherwise mute stroke victims whose only articulation comes through song. Sacks’s penetrating and lyrical insights, as well as his warmth and sense of wonder, are captured by Lee in an inspired reading. The added bonus, particularly given the subject matter, is the deep resonance of Lee’s voice and his gift for a storyteller’s inflection—something akin to music itself.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2007
Duration: 11 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781415942680
Publisher: Books on Tape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Sylvia Nasar's excellent biography of the tragic but ultimately triumphant life of mathematician John Forbes Nash,, Jr., gets cheated by poor audio production. Anna Fields's volume is so low that some of her trailing sentences are inaudible except in a silent room. Blackstone compounds the problem with a very high-noise recording. The end result is a production that can't be listened to comfortably in a car or walking in public because Fields's voice ranges from near-whisper to just above normal volume. The listener who compensates for the whisper is overwhelmed by her louder sections. In future Fields projects, Blackstone needs to use compression. Read the excellent book instead.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2000
Duration: 19 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
The authors, both neuroscientists, believe that Internet search logs offer an astounding research opportunity: a look at human sexuality that is anonymous and, thus, probably acutely honest. What do people search for, sexually, online? The results are enlightening, sometimes startling, and rather humorous. The potential for titillating smarminess in this topic is enormous, but narrator Andrew Garman never goes there. His demeanor is professional and full of good cheer. The graphic language, which he reads with clarity and humor, could come off equally as silly or scandalous, but his pace never feels like it's lingering or leering, and his tone is instructive. There are charts and lists in the text, and Garman easily incorporates them into the listening experience.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2011
Duration: 9 hrs
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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