NATIONAL LAMPOON alum and co-creator of numerous lauded and berated comedy broadcasts, Tony Hendra bares his midlife soul in a dazzling, touching, and humorous memoir. The unchanging center of Hendra's development from misfit youth to debauched Hollywood cliché was Father Joe, an unkempt, charming Benedictine monk. Hendra delivers his story with considerable appeal and honesty, his amiable, rueful British tones illuminating his journey over the decades, as he time and again struggles with his worldly self, always returning to the abbey and Joe for guidance and solace. Father Joe, a modern saint with the heart of a rogue, fully lives and breathes in the telling; Hendra's impression of the witty and compassionate Joe is a bravura performance. This not-to-be-missed recording delivers a considerable payoff through its slow and honest revealing.
Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2004
Duration: 11 hrs
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
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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