Fans of show business and of military history will find common pleasure in this fine production of Rhodes’s account of how, early in WWII, actress Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheill invented a jam-proof guidance system for torpedoes—using the principle of the player piano. Female voices predominate in this narrative, based heavily on accounts by Lamarr and by Antheill’s wife, Boski, who understandably had her own perspective on her husband’s collaboration with the glamorous star. For all this, Bernadette Dunne proves an inspired choice of narrator. Her phrasing is a textbook example of ease, clarity, and sensitivity to nuance in a text that is lively and anecdotal but does have its stretches of Basic Mechanics. Rhodes is a gifted and expressive writer, and a distinctive voice. But for the six hours this tight, captivating little sleeper lasts, Dunne makes his words her own.
Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2011
Duration: 6 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780307940582
Publisher: Random House 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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