As narrator of Peter Ackroyd's work on the tumultuous life and times of William Blake, Ian Whitcomb reads in a slow, clear, nonintrusive style. At the end of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth, London is a hotbed of radical politics and religious sectarianism. The Blake presented is a brilliant, volatile engraver, whose visionary poems and pictures challenge contemporary conventions. Yet when Whitcomb quotes Blake's conversations and, particularly his poems, listeners will find them scarcely distinguishable from the narration. One longs for such passionate discourses and rousing lines to be given contrasting dramatic inflection and pizzazz, not simply read.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 1997
Duration: 19 hrs, 30 mins
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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