This listenable biography of classical scholar Milman Parry is the third audiobook of Robert Kanigel's distinctive histories of lesser-known but transformational figures. In field work in Yugoslavia in the 1930s, Parry demonstrated that long narrative poems like the epics attributed to Homer were actually the work of many voices--composed, revised, and passed on through generations. Parry's scholarly life, his uneasy marriage, and his early death aren't of great dramatic interest. But his work and achievements, along with the America and Europe of his time, are richly portrayed here. Richard Poe is the most engaging of narrators. His voice is sensitive to nuance and able to sustain a narrative lacking significant dramatic action.
Pub Date: April 27, 2021
Duration: 10 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780593349168
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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