What a treasure! Anyone who has ever seen Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz on television (which is most of the free world) will be fascinated by this impressive review of their lives, onstage and off. Narrator Jim Frangione surpasses himself with his performance. He manages to take on different personas to demonstrate how the couple spoke on and off the stage. Thankfully, he doesn't imitate Lucy's painful singing voice. The work shows the fickleness of show business and the weird twists and turns that Lucy and Desi encountered to make it in the movies, radio, and television. The view into their sometimes traumatic personal lives is remarkable and occasionally disturbing. This is guaranteed to make listeners hunt down reruns of the television shows.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2016
Duration: 14 hrs
Publisher: Graymalkin Media
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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