Narrator JD Jackson brings in a hint of Reginald F. Lewis's excitement as the financier tells how he punched the air in celebration upon closing his deal to acquire Beatrice International in 1987. Mostly, though, Jackson keeps to a steady pace as he builds his portrait of the Black man who made what was, at the time, the largest leveraged offshore buyout in history. Listeners are then taken back to Lewis's beginnings in Baltimore, with Jackson putting a tone of fond remembrance into his voice. His portrayals of the people around Lewis show their admiration for his intelligence and work ethic. Listeners occasionally share Lewis's frustration over earlier failures in business and his enjoyment of a cigar or champagne. Always, listeners sense the fascinating life behind that headline-making deal.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2020
Duration: 14 hrs
Publisher: Loida Nicolas Lewis and Blair S. Walker
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Narrator Lisa Flanagan has a wonderful vocal personality--lithe with a broad palette of pitch patterns and a range of believable emotional tones. Her friendly voice works well with this lighthearted overview of how dramatically the Internet has changed the world in the past 30 years. Though being digitally connected has improved life in many ways, the author says we've lost many of the interpersonal experiences that used to sustain us. We have less privacy, don't need all those reference books, and have largely forgotten how to have vocal conversations with other people. The audiobook is entertaining nostalgia for anyone who feels incompetent navigating the World Wide Web, and a soothing reminder that those of us who miss the simplicity of the pre-Internet era are not alone.
Pub Date: Oct. 26, 2021
Duration: 5 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9780593418055
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Craig Brown tickled our ear with 99 GLIMPSES OF PRINCESS MARGARET, a brisk, irreverent assembly of tiny chapters that ran a satisfactory 12+ hours. For the Beatles, he adds 51 more glimpses and another eight hours, with a proportionally diluted effect. Brown himself, Kate Robbins, and Mark McGann share the narration, which is interesting, insightful, well performed, and packed with some new and a lot of old information. All of it is shaped by Brown's propensity for "easing sense into nonsense." The self-mocking Beatles are harder to deflate than a pretentious princess, but Brown's accounts of touring Beatles sites in Liverpool and his histories of Beatles contemporaries swept up--and aside--by their spectacular rise will amaze and beguile listeners.
Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
Duration: 20 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781250770127
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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