Rick Stanton himself narrates his description of the moment when he and a diving partner were sure that the boys trapped in a Thai cave in 2018 were still alive. Then narrator Don Gilet voices the author's account of the ensuing rescue, replacing Stanton's rough-hewn voice with smoother tones. The story often goes back and forth between the 2018 rescue and other dives the author made over the years, which can be distracting. Stanton also has a tendency to write clinically about his rescue plan, and Gilet echoes that tone. However, this flat tone flows into a powerful emotional moment when Gilet shares how Stanton was suddenly flooded with emotions in the midst of the suspenseful rescue operation. Stanton's story isn't just about diving. Gilet also brings to life Stanton's relatable feelings about not fitting in throughout his life.
Pub Date: April 5, 2022
Duration: 12 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798200897384
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
As an audiobook author, historian Matthew Restall is spirited, witty, highly informed, and full of insights and revelations. As a narrator, he's more subdued, even a bit flat. But no matter. Restall's steady, evenhanded narration reenforces the balance and objectivity of his history of the "nine lives of Christopher Columbus." Over five centuries, Columbus has been hailed and reviled, a discoverer and a destroyer, one century symbolized as Columbia and paired with Washington on statuary, the next denounced for perpetuating the Spanish devastation of the New World. Restall's restraint keeps the focus on the historical processes at work, and on his richly layered portrait of Columbus. History is fluid, it seems, and malleable--something this well-researched, well-told history demonstrates.
Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
Duration: 11 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9798318519789
Publisher: Tantor Media
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Mark Bramhall gives an excellent performance of this WWII story. Nina Willner weaves the lives of her father, Eddie Willner, and his Jewish family in Germany with the lives of several American GIs who saved his life at the end of the war. Her father and another companion were found by members of the 32nd Armored Regiment just before V-E Day. The two Germans assisted the GIs in the final weeks of the war. Willner describes the parallel tracks of all their lives and how Providence brought them all together. Bramhall provides a steady delivery and effective accents for the characters. Willner, who has a winsome voice, narrates like a pro as she splendidly recounts how she tracked down the GIs who rescued her father.
Pub Date: July 22, 2025
Duration: 9 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217076901
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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