How do you keep a nonfiction audio that spans three generations and four continents worth hearing? First, you find a Pulitzer Prize-winning author who knows how to blend story, fact, and politics into readability. Like Steve Coll. Then you find a reader who keeps the narration moving, emphasizes the historical drama, and delivers Saudi names, titles, and places seamlessly. Like Erik Singer. Beginning with the family patriarch, Mohammed, the book traces how his poverty in the southern Yemen desert and menial Saudi jobs ended in engineering feats and a fortune for the 50 children he leaves behind to carry on the bin Laden traditions. Some are in Saudi telecommunications and construction, others in real estate around the world, and one is incubating a cult of martyrdom in Afghanistan.
Pub Date: April 1, 2008
Duration: 11 hrs
Publisher: Penguin 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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