Narrator Bernadette Dunne's soft, controlled narration is ill suited to the hard-hitting style of this book. The history of governmental relationships and interconnections enjoyed by the Bechtel Corporation, one of the world's largest construction companies, is its primary focus. At the outset, the work discusses founder Warren Bechtel, as well as the company's most famous early project: the construction of the Hoover Dam. Beyond the mismatch of narrator and material, the content style is dry. Source attribution of long passages often is revealed only after lengthy series of highly opinionated sentences. Bechtel's history, principals, and comfortable government relationships are used to demonstrate Denton's liberal point of view, making the book unbalanced.
Pub Date: March 1, 2016
Duration: 11 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781504702805
Publisher: Blackstone 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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