This endearing memoir of a Peace Corps volunteer who spent two years in Fuling, an industrial city soon to be drowned by the Three Gorges Dam Project, transcends the travel genre to appeal to anyone fascinated by this populous country. Old China buffs and new Sinophiles will find a depth of understanding here for the warmth, ambition, and pride of this amazing people. Scott Brick becomes the author, Peter Hessler; it's just as if he is newly arrived home filled with his adventures and can't wait to tell them to you. Brick's Chinese seems perfect to this non-Chinese-speaking listener, and there are no corny accents either. There are, however, a multitude of visual memories and sweetly poignant moments. The students in the English department where Hessler worked are a magnificently motley crew filled with excitement for the rebuilding of their new country.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2002
Duration: 16 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Books on Tape
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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