When a cousin decided to make a documentary about the DeWolf family's slave-trading past, Thomas Norman DeWolf joined several family members on a journey to retrace the routes of his family's slave ships from Ghana to Cuba and the United States. DeWolf's voice reflects his admitted naïveté--at times too much so--as he discusses his growing awareness and shame over ancestor James DeWolf's role in the Triangle Trade. The author's descriptions of the places and history he discovered along the journey are powerful, and the topic is both compelling and important. However, the personal angle--the making of the documentary and the family discussions--distracts at times from the listener's understanding of and coming to terms with the horrors of the slave trade.
Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2008
Duration: 9 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781423350682
Publisher: Brilliance 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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