Listeners will find much worth discovering in the lives of these vanguards of American intellectual life.
Kevin R. Free’s voice is the perfect vehicle for this fascinating portrait of a remarkable group of artists, philosophers, abolitionists, and social reformers who all happened to live in Concord, Massachusetts in the 19th century. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott and her father, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Margaret Fuller, and many others called themselves transcendentalists and became the first truly American philosophical movement. With his genial delivery, Free is up to the task of narrating this complicated account of many intersecting lives; his inflections add character to the correspondence and inject life into the often formal writings the Circle left behind.
Listeners will find much worth discovering in the lives of these vanguards of American intellectual life.Pub Date: April 28, 2026
Duration: 9 hrs, 53 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668132777
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 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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