Aside from a tendency to mispronounce Hebrew and Yiddish words, Dawn Harvey does a mostly fine job of narrating this memoir. The text, however, seems hurriedly written and poorly edited. While we learn much that we may not have known about the author's life, there is little about the great mid-twentieth-century poet Lowell that will be new to anyone who has read a biography. Harvey does what she can with the rambling text, but she's limited by the insistent dropping of famous names and excessive explanations. (Anyone interested in Robert Lowell, for example, will not need to be told that Ezra Pound was a poet.) Author and narrator might both have been better off with a considered memoir of Hochman's apparently interesting life.
Pub Date: June 27, 2017
Duration: 7 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781504798846
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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