Erin Bennett's voice is lovely, and she delivers this gossipy study of addiction and pathology with thoughtful sympathy. The material, harvested from in-depth biographies and memoirs by others, is predictably shocking, given the marriages the author chose, and is often fascinating, especially if you are more interested in spectacle than illumination. Radclyffe Hall, Kingsley Amis, Alberto Moravia and Elsa Morante, Kenneth Tynan, and Roald Dahl and Patricia Neal provide the specimens, and all are unhappy in their own ways. In some cases, the wives are artists in their own rights though it's pathologies more than art that link these couples. The writing is sometimes clunky, but Bennett is excellent at subtly indicating changes of voice. Occasional mispronunciations of proper names distract, but only a little.
Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
Duration: 11 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063294233
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Manchester’s incisive writing and Parker’s friendly narration make this a compelling package on the life of 20th century icon General Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964). No student of modern times can ignore this vain, mercurial soldier whose battlefield brilliance conserved the lives of his soldiers even as they cut their opponents to ribbons. Listening to Parker, one imagines a jovial uncle delivering a slap on the back and sitting down to describe war experiences in a rich voice filled with humor and pathos. He pronounces Japanese names, New Guinea cities and American slang with effortless ease. The “you-are-there” quality grabs and holds. This is a carefully done, seamless audio presentation.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 16 hrs
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
An unwilling and divided nation gradually comes together to face fascism at home and abroad.
Narrator Gary Tiedemann brings impact and immediacy to this panoramic history of the rapid rise of fascism in the 1930s and the United States' slow awakening to its dangers. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, facing the Depression and the country’s prevailing isolationism, is depicted as expedient and reluctant to act. America, too, had its own share of racists and ideologues. With calculated restraint, Tiedemann tracks a history of international aggression and American violence that is still shocking today. Hitchcock’s powerful narrative highlights a small number of journalists and diplomats who sounded early warnings and, like Roosevelt eventually did, rose to meet the challenges that fascism posed.
An unwilling and divided nation gradually comes together to face fascism at home and abroad.Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2026
Duration: 29 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781797199153
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Oct. 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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