In an understated performance, Simon Vance details one of the stunning tragedies arising from the tsunami that struck Japan in 2011. He expertly balances the details of the author's heavily researched investigation and the emotionally charged survivors' stories. The tsunami was precipitated by the largest recorded earthquake in Japan. That said, earthquakes are so common in Japan that precautions are systematic and considered in everything from building construction to evacuation plans. These customary precautions make the tragedy that occurred in Okawa, a small village that lost 74 children that day, all the more devastating. Vance's steady pacing, crisp enunciation, and careful inflection enhance the weight of the story, which moves between reportage and interviews, and ultimately reveals unsettling truths about this particular disaster. A.S. 2018 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
Pub Date: Oct. 24, 2017
Duration: 7 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781427293244
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
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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