British historian Roy Jenkins has written a fascinating biography of FDR the president and FDR the person. While FDR's greatness as a president is generally accepted, his personal life also bears detailed scrutiny, not always favorable. This is not a dry historical summary, and reader Richard Rohan makes the most of it. He narrates with the authority of a reporter and the emotions of a commentator who has discovered his subject's darkest secrets. Unfortunately, Jenkins died in 2003 before finishing this book; thus, it is relatively short, and this abridgment is even shorter. (Other abridgments in this series, all edited by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., are much longer.) D.J.S.
(c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine
Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2003
Duration: 3 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Audio Renaissance
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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