CategoryAudiobook Reviews

Like the people in her fiction, the people in Ann Patchett’s life seem to be kind, funny, smart, beautiful. This is part of the reason her essays are such a pleasure to hear, especially if they are read by her. And I concluded she can see what is kind, funny, smart and beautiful in most people. This collection includes essays about her three fathers, going to Europe with her friend Marty in...

Because of my interest in Australia literature and history, I was aware of James Cook, that great explorer and cartographer, the first European to map and record visits to Australia and the Hawaiian Islands. Between 1768 and 1779 he made three voyages of exploration and this book details his third voyage. He was commissioned to look for a northwest passage across North America, beginning from the...

What a treat to listen to a book written by a Pulitzer Prize winning historian about her travels to historical sites, museums, and iconic spots throughout the country. She included places of interest such as Disneyland and the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, as well as Williamsburg, Monticello, and the Alamo in her explorations. In the introduction read by Beverly herself, she said she visited...

The enterprise the title of this book refers to is the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804 to 1806 launched by Thomas Jefferson looking for a waterway passage to the northwest coast. Well, that didn’t work out, but they did make it to the West Coast, a miraculous feat, given the challenges of the terrain. Jefferson wanted reports of the plants and animals they encountered and Lewis was...

This short audiobook grew out of a multi-part podcast by Freakonomics Radio Podcast host, Stephen Dubner. He became enamored of The Messiah by George Frideric Handel at the time of the pandemic. He put the podcasts together with additional material for this audiobook. My own connection to The Messiah occurred when I was very young. Music was important for all my family members, in particular...