The author finds a huge box of letters to his father, all written in December 1933. The father had placed an anonymous ad in the Canton, Ohio, newspaper offering to send $10 to some worthy readers who applied. The heartfelt supplications for help became the focus of this audiobook, a collection of the requests felt to be the most demonstrative of the zeitgeist, the social mores, and the hardship at America’s lowest ebb. Narrator Mark Deakins's lusterless and dispirited treatment adds to the Depression’s depression. As he switches from the author’s supporting information to quoting the revealing and sincere applications, one can sense that Deakins's interpretation capitalizes on the letters’ sadness. The desperate pleas summarize the hopeless attitudes on that Christmas as no discourse could do.
Pub Date: Nov. 9, 2010
Duration: 9 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780307578044
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Buckley offers a reasonable proposal for a national service program without jail or criminal penalties. Narrator Lawrence reads with a slow and careful announcer's voice; one wishes Buckley were reading this one himself. Books on Tape does its usual quality job with formatting, packaging and tape-turning instructions. The reader repeats the last sentence at such times, so you're sure you haven't missed anything. Popular nonfiction collections will appreciate Gratitude, and the topic is likely to prove timely in the years ahead.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 5 hrs
Publisher: Books on Tape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Kozol’s shocking exposé of inequities in the funding of our public schools contrasts white suburban schools with those serving black and Hispanic populations. Interviews with students, teachers, and school administrators add eloquent testimony to Kozol’s disturbing presentation of facts. Narration by Jack Winston is clear and brisk, but the pace is unrelenting, with little pause for transition between scenes or chapters. Winston’s cool, detached voice contrasts with Kozol’s impasssioned and outraged message. The sheer repetition and magnitude of Kozol’s damning evidence is numbing; the narration gives no relief. Powerful medicine, most easily taken in small doses. Music signalling tape changes is jarringly inappropriate.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 8 hrs
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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