With all the debate about Iraq and weapons of mass destruction, many people forget that Saddam Hussein began developing nuclear weapons in the 1970s. Claire offers an inside account of Israel's daring 1981 air raid, which destroyed the French nuclear reactor Iraq was using to develop its nuclear arms. Rodger Claire speaks with most of the people involved in the operation, providing previously untold first-person accounts, including the detailed strategic planning and diplomacy behind this daring military operation. While the story is as gripping as any novel, Michael Pritchard's reading is merely adequate. Pritchard has an authoritative voice reminiscent of those that accompany documentaries, yet he tells the story with a lack of emotion that, coupled with his measured pace, seems to need an infusion of caffeine.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2004
Duration: 10 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Books on Tape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
GENERAL HISTORY | WORLD | HISTORY | MILITARY
This engrossing audiobook is enhanced by its author’s gifted and masterly narration.
This is only historian Rogoyska’s second audiobook, after Surviving Katyń (2021). But as a narrator, she is as assured, as nuanced, and as captivating as any seasoned professional. Her history of Paris’ luxurious Hotel Lutetia before and during the WWII German occupation is a model of historical reconstruction and reimagining. Refugee artists and intellectuals, Gestapo officers, and returning French detainees all passed through this hotel’s revolving doors, and their histories run the spectrum from tragedy to bitter comedy. Rogoyska’s chronicle is compelling and richly detailed, and her narration is simply sublime. Her beautifully accented, finely nuanced voice is a pleasure in itself, fluent, supple, and perfectly attuned to her narrative.
This engrossing audiobook is enhanced by its author’s gifted and masterly narration.Pub Date: today
Duration: 11 hrs
DD ISBN: 9798318572203
Publisher: Tantor Media
Review Posted Online: today
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
A beautifully written and narrated work.
Brangan narrates her own history of the Magdalene Laundries in Ireland with great empathy. The laundries were in operation all over Ireland from 1922 until 1996—and were in fact locked institutions run by the Catholic Church to ostensibly save “fallen” unwed pregnant women from ruin. In her lovely Irish brogue, Brangan follows several women throughout their experiences in the laundries. Her tone becomes subtly harsher when recounting the stories of those who looked the other way while the Church continued to imprison women and girls in plain sight. The story of the laundries has been told frequently in recent years, but never quite so thoroughly and compassionately.
A beautifully written and narrated work.Pub Date: May 5, 2026
Duration: 9 hrs, 14 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668121375
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: June 23, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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