Narrator Julian Elfer has undertaken many daunting subjects: the pharmacist of Auschwitz, the Borgias, lost expeditions to the Greenland ice cap. Here, he faces down the challenge of a 300-year generational narrative in which all the principals are named either Ptolemy or Cleopatra. At the early death of Alexander, Ptolemy, his shrewdest commander, took the grandest prize: Egypt. Ptolemaic rule ended dramatically three centuries later with the suicide of Cleopatra VII in 30 BCE. Those familiar events are compressed here; the focus instead is on the skill and sagacity of Ptolemaic rule over Egypt--for example in honoring Egyptian gods and rituals, and introducing Macedonian agricultural methods to Egyptian farming. This superbly written and expertly performed narrative illuminates one of history's anomalies--and one of its high points.
Pub Date: 2025
Duration: 11 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781696619202
Publisher: HighBridge Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
With his deep voice, capable of a rumble here and there, narrator David Colacci is well suited to this quintessential American story. Journalist David Philipps offers a look at our nation's wild horses and their future outlook. Their survival depends on the clarifying of myth and history and a clear-eyed examination of government policies. Though billed as a history of the mustang, in many ways, this is a story about wildness, belonging, and the right to be free. As such, Colacci's unhurried, thoughtful performance effectively balances detailed research, targeted investigation, and personal reflection, providing an engaging listen that highlights the significant challenges of modern-day conservation efforts and government policy.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 12 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781681688503
Publisher: HighBridge Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Narrator Alex Chadwick's lightly dramatic voice keeps listeners focused on a fascinating story. Soichi Sakamoto's Three-Year Swim Club in Maui hoped for glory in the 1940 Tokyo Olympics, a goal thwarted by WWII. Julie Checkoway dives into the past for accounts of swimming records, training innovations, and the swimmers themselves. These branches flow into a larger story of growing global tensions, Olympics history, and Japanese-Americans in Hawaii. It's occasionally poignant, as when a club member encounters a German P.O.W. he once met in competition. When the account turns to swim meets, Chadwick's voice sounds wonderfully like vintage radio coverage. There's athletic triumph, but the war's toll on those hopes hits home.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 14 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781619693838
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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