Peter Hessler arrived at Sichuan University in 2019 to teach nonfiction writing just in time for the first wave of Covid in nearby Wuhan. Hessler's performance is a pleasure to listen to--authentic, engrossing, and often wry. He speaks Mandarin, so the multiple Chinese words, names, and phrases are naturally interspersed. Hessler's experience teaching in China more than 20 years earlier while in the Peace Corps gives him a unique perspective on the changes in Chinese society since then. His former students viewed education as a tool to escape rural poverty; his new students are more jaded. Hessler's twin 9-year-old daughters attend a Chinese public school, and his observations of their struggles and successes are charming and insightful.
Pub Date: July 9, 2024
Duration: 13 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9780593864456
Publisher: Penguin Audio
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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