Grammy Award winner Rodney Crowell delivers a memoir that has the same magic that put him in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. For starters, his poignant background includes a prayerful and afflicted mother, a hard-drinking and abusive father, and impoverished beginnings that make for provocative memories of his ramshackle Texas home. His rich imagery is sometimes disturbing but escapes being maudlin by his lack of self-pity and his tendency to eclipse the hard times with those more pleasurable. Crowell finds compassion for all the characters he animates in his strong reading. He emphasizes the humorous moments, with his own laughter sometimes causing him to pause in his powerful narrative. Storytelling contrasts and ironies create a read-aloud musicality that echoes Crowell’s gifts as a songwriter.
Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2011
Duration: 9 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780307912053
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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