Narrator Paul Heitsch walks a tightrope in this memoir. He must not tumble into rage or wallow in regret. Kennicott's mother was born to be a concert violinist. The wreck of her career wrecked the mother who survived. "Life gave her little joy, and when she died, it was in anguish, without any sense of peace." As the cancer triumphed, her son listened and listened to a Bach partita for a single violin. He had learned to read music before he learned to read words. Not even Bach could console him. Afterward, he took up the GOLDBERG VARIATIONS. When Heitsch delivers the word "violent," it is with feeling, but not enough to even jostle the letters. It is for us, the listeners, to sob and gawp.
Pub Date: Feb. 18, 2020
Duration: 9 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781684577125
Publisher: HighBridge 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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