This audiobook could have been a conventional biography of eight modern artists and the artistic influence they had on each other, but instead it is lightened with gossipy scandal, drunken fights, slashed paintings, and promiscuity. In a wonderful deep voice that evokes a seriousness of purpose, narrator Bob Souer also subtly incorporates the amusing undertones and explosive meltdowns in the text. The book is an entertaining and informative dive into the fraught relationships between Freud and Bacon, Manet and Degas, Picasso and Matisse, and Pollock and de Kooning. Each painter fed off the other, urging excellence but with undercurrents of jealousy and contempt--the contemporary term "frenemy" comes to mind. This is a fine match of interesting mini-biographies and an absorbing, deft performance.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2017
Duration: 10 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Tantor Media
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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