For generations Mt. Everest has risen to offer the ultimate challenge—against nature, against oneself. These accounts of the first expeditions in the 1920s blend politics, history, and a lot of fortitude on the part of British climbers. Only a British accent would seem appropriate to help listeners navigate the bitter winds, mounting snow, and other treacherous conditions of Everest. Narrator Enn Reitel doesn’t employ additional accents or frustrated tones, nor are they needed, as George Mallory and others pursue their quest. Wade Davis, using journals, sets the brutality of WWI as the proving ground for those who trudged up Everest. The majority of the book is steeped densely in background, and the final part is the payoff. Davis and Reitel play it straight, an approach that fits the single-minded climbers.
Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2011
Duration: 29 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780307944108
Publisher: Random House 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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