For listeners who relish history on a grand scale, this audiobook indictment of the great European trading kings will be riveting, and eye-opening. Dictatorial and insatiable, these weren't capitalists but monopolists--Clive in India, Simpson in Canada, Rhodes in South Africa, figures forgotten today who nevertheless shaped national boundaries and plundered whole subcontinents. Narrator Malcolm Hillgartner, a favorite of those who listen to serious nonfiction, is especially effective in cutting these once-towering figures down to size. His steady, even, judicious tone makes history's judgment of the Russian colonization of Alaska, and the Dutch East India Company's ruthless behavior in the Spice Islands, all the more implicit.
Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2022
Duration: 9 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781666186161
Publisher: Tantor Media
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
GENERAL HISTORY | GENERAL BUSINESS | BUSINESS | WORLD | ECONOMICS | HISTORY
The readers can't compensate for the unbearably pompous prose style of this extended parable about corporate politics and strategy.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Henslee’s warm, unhurried narration makes listeners feel like the next success story could be theirs.
Barbara Henslee narrates with an intimate, upbeat delivery and a sunny Southern warmth that feels like being personally recruited to the Mary Kay empire. Her voice suits the material perfectly, drawing listeners into a bygone era when women built empires through gatherings around kitchen tables and on front porches, long before they could open their own bank accounts. Henslee never oversells, just gently persuades, mirroring the company’s own quiet pitch to millions of women that economic independence and personal transformation were within reach. The balanced treatment of the realities of multilevel marketing, alongside the truly inspirational story of founder Mary Kay Ash, make this a compelling listen for anyone curious about the often mocked world of direct sales.
Henslee’s warm, unhurried narration makes listeners feel like the next success story could be theirs.Pub Date: April 28, 2026
Duration: 14 hrs, 24 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217281879
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: June 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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