Thomas Fleming examines the lives of six of the Founding Fathers of the United States: George Washington, Ben Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison. The author combines private and public details of the great men. He makes them seem more mortal than in conventional accounts by focusing on their dalliances with the opposite sex, especially when not the spouse. Narrator Arthur Morey can do little to enliven quotes greater than 200 years old and expressed in the dated vocabulary of revolutionary times. Morey’s voice, soft and taciturn, fits with the writer’s didactic attention to detail, but the production is dry. Morey’s slow pace and precise diction complement a disquisition intended to inform rather than entertain.
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2010
Duration: 18 hrs
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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