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: April 8, 2025
Duration: 11 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781696619202
Publisher: HighBridge Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Carol Matthau epitomizes a glamour and lifestyle not associated with the 1990's. Here is a life of privilege, tragedy and worry about what friends would think of her new frock or lover. Matthau possesses a voice and delivery that simply could not be improved on. In her coy whisper, she tells compelling stories involving everyone from William Saroyan (husband #1) and Truman Capote to Carson McCullers, Gloria Vanderbilt, and Walter Matthau (husband #2). This excellent audio presentation will leave you wanting to read the entire book to discover what juicy tidbits were left out.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: The Publishing Mills
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
A look at ancient art becomes an appealing pleasure in Gardner’s expert performance.
Grover Gardner’s narration of this history of the excavation of ancient Antioch (once in Syria, now in Turkey) initially seems slow and almost intoned, as if for a prayer or the start of an epic. The approach is a bit heavy for this affable, conversational examination of archaeological practice, art history, the nature of mosaic, and the handling of artistic relics by museums and institutions. But Gardner’s relaxed pace allows the listener to be absorbed in the material and to take full pleasure in his phrasing, the quiet expressiveness of his tones, his notable warmth, and his careful but effortless rendering of the text’s meaning.
A look at ancient art becomes an appealing pleasure in Gardner’s expert performance.Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2026
Duration: 10 hrs, 8 mins
DD ISBN: 9781797198224
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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