With flashes of self-deprecating humor, the “West Wing” actor and one-time teen idol provides an astute look at his life, career, and the “celebrity phenomenon.” He speaks of most of his experiences with candor and includes nothing salacious. Perhaps there’s a bit too much detail on his experience of multiple auditions, tryouts, and screen tests. But Lowe’s narration is personal, warm, and skilled, so the listener doesn’t mind. His brief vocal characterizations of well-known figures such as Bill Clinton, Cary Grant, and entertainment impresario Bernie Brillstein are remarkable. This audiobook is much like a good film: absorbing as well as entertaining. Lowe’s personal story provides insight into the American entertainment industry as experienced by an actor raised by a conservative family in middle-class Ohio.
Pub Date: April 26, 2011
Duration: 9 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781427212283
Publisher: Macmillan 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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