New Reviews: Biography & Memoir

With a steady voice and skilled delivery, Mark Bramhall splendidly narrates this sympathetic account of how Harry Truman rose to power and changed, not only postwar America, but also the world. Truman was a relatively unknown Missouri senator when he was picked by FDR over then current Vice President Henry Wallace to be FDR's running mate in 1944. Concentrating on the years... Read More

When their children are grown, some people take up golf. Author Paula Whyman bought 200 acres of Blue Ridge mountaintop to rewild. Narrator Kimberly Farr strikes just the right tone in this insightful memoir. Her warm, wry voice embodies the author's passion for the land she wants to turn into a haven for native plant, animal, and insect species. Farr successfully intermingles... Read More

In her latest memoir, the now 59-year-old actor Brooke Shields candidly narrates her experiences entering middle age, illuminating both her personal experience and research into topics like healthcare, sex, and parenthood. Shields's candid stories--like the ones about her exercise-induced femur break, her journey parenting adult children, and more--are narrated with wry humor... Read More

Patrick Hutchison's narration sounds like a long conversation with a friend. Mentally exhausted from his copywriting job, Hutchison purchases a decrepit one-room cabin in the woods of Washington. An inexperienced carpenter, he finds repairing his dilapidated "doghouse" a daunting task, which he details with just the right amount of self-deprecation. Indecisiveness and... Read More

Narrator Justin Vivian Bond emphasizes the drama in the transformation and vivid life of Candy Darling, a transgender performer in New York City in the 1960s and 1970s. This biography recounts her traumatic youth, which included growing up in a dysfunctional family, an abusive father, and being bullied outside her home, as well. From there her journey takes her to her true... Read More

With a smooth voice and a steady pace, narrator Rob Reider introduces listeners to Judge Frank Caprio. Judge Caprio grew up in Providence, Rhode Island, and lived in the heart of the Italian section, called Federal Hill. Reider tells the judge's story--from his humble beginnings to his successful syndicated television program, "Caught in Providence." Reider captures the cadence... Read More

Joshua Miele tells his life's story from age 4, when a neighbor poured sulfuric acid over his head, blinding and disfiguring him. Today this MacArthur Fellowship recipient is involved in research and innovations to make the sighted world accessible to the blind. Greg D. Barnett narrates the tremendous hurdles Miele overcame in order to live a normal life in a challenging... Read More

Author and social influencer Mallory O'Meara's audiobook is so much more and, in many ways, and so much less than the misleading and lengthy subtitle implies. As she narrates her audiobook with enthusiasm and precise enunciation, the listener hears a thorough, well-researched history of the founding of the Hollywood community, the development of the studio system, and, most... Read More

This audiobook should probably have been titled BABITZ AND DIDION as the author's real affection centers on writer/artist Eve Babitz, rather than writer Joan Didion. Anolik is a breezy, hip, self-indulgent, yet observant author. She often addresses the listener directly, sharing her methods and insights. As narrator, her voice takes some getting used to. But press on. Emma... Read More

Sarcastic, irreverent, and heartfelt--everything is larger than life in this fond, raw, and boisterous remembrance of Renay Mandel Corren, the author's mother, who "didn't cook, didn't clean, and was lousy with money but was great at dyeing her red roots, weekly manicures, filthy jokes, and pier fishing." With the energy of a stand-up comic, performer and playwright Andy Corren... Read More

John Densmore narrates his audiobook in a voice weathered by age but still lit with the fire of the 1960s. The drummer for the rock band The Doors, Densmore recalls how steadfast its late lead singer and lyricist Jim Morrison was in holding the "all for one, one for all" ethos of the group. This included rejecting "selling out" to commercial companies. Densmore's audiobook is a... Read More

Helen Castor delivers political intrigue, dynastic maneuvering, romance, treachery, and war during the reigns of Richard II and his usurping cousin, Henry IV, up to the accession of Henry's son, Henry V. Overall, Castor narrates this historical drama with suitable intensity. Some authorial liberties, such as expressing the inner thoughts of historical personages, blend into the... Read More

Listeners who relish histories that deflate legend will particularly appreciate this unvarnished portrait of El Cid, Spain's symbol of liberation from the Moors. In reality, the Cid was an eleventh-century mercenary named Rodrigo Diaz, who fought for Christians and Muslims alike. But over the centuries, with the help of a few enterprising monks, Diaz evolved into a symbol of... Read More

Eliza Foss gives a performance as elegant and energetic as any "Gibbs girl" graduate in this entertaining and surprising account of the founding, growth, and eventual demise of the Katharine Gibbs School and the capable women who forged ahead with confidence from its several academies. In 1911, the widowed and destitute Gibbs opened her first secretarial school. Her goal was... Read More

Performing this fascinating memoir, published originally in French in 1929, Belgian actor Jade Wheeler captures the charm and depth of the American singer Josephine Baker, who lived in the U.S. and France. Wheeler performs with the spunk you'd expect from Baker, who enthralled audiences with her seductive personality and talent. In France, she enjoyed an unfiltered, irreverent... Read More

It would be an understatement to call actor Josh Brolin's candid and honest memoir bizarre and epically confusing. He narrates the content artfully and understandably, with solid enunciation. However, the content takes the form of what sounds like brief diary entries that discuss his films, his parents--actor James Brolin and former casting director Jane Cameron Agee--and his... Read More

In a companionable, sometimes amused-sounding, narration, Lola Milholland shares her memoir about growing up in an unconventional family dedicated to communal living. Detailing both the benefits and quirky challenges of communal living arrangements, along with lots of tasty insights into recipes created there, she offers an eclectic mix of memories, family history, and shared... Read More

Singer-songwriter Neko Case narrates her memoir and brings to it a vitality and dynamism that give the listener a sense of actually being with her as she falls victim to manipulation by her mother, beginning at age 8. Case allows us to feel the tumult and trauma of impoverishment, neglect, and a steady stream of dislocations and relocations. Case balances these with a gentler... Read More

Harpo Marx was known as the silent Marx Brother. In the foreword of this audiobook Johnny Heller describes the voice he uses to narrate the pantomime comedian's fascinating recollections of his life from childhood to stardom, first published in 1961. Heller refers to the voice he created as "1930s East Side" and resembling that of Harpo's brother Groucho. As for tone, Heller... Read More

This somewhat tongue-in-cheek memoir of a boy's coming of age in Britain before, during, and after WWII is splendidly narrated by Gerard Doyle. Rendel, who was born in 1926 and died in 2014, describes his life with humor and insight. His service as a coder on HMS CAVENDISH in the Pacific is interesting as it presents a common sailor's remembrance of the British contribution to... Read More

Whether you know actor/singer Josh Gad from THE BOOK OF MORMON (Elder Arnold Cunningham) or FROZEN (Olaf), you'll recognize his voice as he narrates his memoir. With great stories about his worklife and some enjoyable cameos by Sacha Baron Cohen, Mel Brooks, and Ron Howard, this audiobook offers a lot of entertainment. In a clear timbre and a melodic intonation, Gad proves his... Read More

Narrating in his gravelly timbre and Scottish accent, Callum Robinson invites listeners into his workshop as he recalls the highs and lows of his bespoke woodworking business. The son of a master woodworker, Robinson found his way into the profession as an apprentice and then learned more through his travels. Reflecting on childhood lessons, he marvels at how far his father's... Read More

Longtime television writer and comedian Bruce Vilanch narrates his wry, sardonic, whimsical, and perhaps too detailed examination of some of the greatest disasters in his TV writing career. His delivery is well articulated, understandable, enthusiastic, and varied in tone and pace as he, primarily, examines the 1970s penchant for musical comedy specials: "The Star Wars Holiday... Read More

It's easy to understand why Brad Meltzer and many other authors love to have Scott Brick perform their work. His delivery is impassioned, impossible to ignore. When he's excited about a passage, which is often, the excitement is contagious, making the work impossible to turn off. Brick's no-nonsense style makes the audiobook even more enjoyable. He's a good match for Meltzer,... Read More

Any listener who's a fan of Julia Child will delight in this audiobook, which is a metaphorical time capsule of American home kitchens in the second half of the twentieth century. Elizabeth Wiley describes how Julia and her husband, Paul, organized their kitchen for comfort, efficiency, and hospitality in their Cambridge home. Wiley warmly narrates the many interviews of the... Read More

In a resonant baritone Gareth Armstrong ably narrates this new look at the abdication of Tsar of the Russian Empire Nicholas II in early 1917. Armstrong's English accent gives the performance an authoritative tone, and his somewhat staccato intonation is easy to follow. Russian words are pronounced well, and his overall performance is a good fit with the text. Using new... Read More

Since 2003, Ann Wroe has written and edited obituaries for THE ECONOMIST. In this audiobook she describes the challenges of creating a life in words and delivers its blend of memoir, poetry, philosophical inquiry, and biography in a distinctly British accent. It begins with the story of a famous carp. Her anecdotes have unique insights: Playwright Arthur Miller was a... Read More

This audiobook chronicles and contrasts the presidencies of Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, both born in Kentucky. The comparison ends there. Davis was a West Point graduate and Mexican War veteran. Lincoln had little formal schooling and almost no military experience. Yet they faced off in the Civil War, and ultimately Lincoln's courage in issuing the Emancipation... Read More

Hot on the heels of the 50th anniversary of "Saturday Night Live," Susan Morrison's tell-all biography of SNL creator Lorne Michaels helps satisfy fans' need for behind-the-scenes info about the beloved show. Narrator Kristen DiMercurio is as reserved as Michaels himself in her delivery. The audiobook traces Michaels's humble beginnings in Toronto and his bumpy rise to... Read More

Jeremy Arthur's engaging narration befits the life story of Dr. Albert C. Barnes (1872-1951), an early collector of modern art and champion of minority art. Raised in a working-class environment, Barnes made his fortune in pharmaceuticals. He proceeded to use his wealth to study art, eventually building an extensive collection that became the Barnes Foundation. His friendship... Read More

When novelist Geraldine Brooks's husband, Tony Horwitz, dies while on a book tour, she gets the call from a harried medical resident who can't get off the phone fast enough. Brooks alternates between memories of those first days and her life three years later on an isolated island in Australia, where she finally takes time to focus on grieving. Listening feels particularly... Read More

John J. Sullivan tells the story of his years as the U.S. ambassador to Russia, revealing behind-the-scenes secrets about international politics and war, including Russia's invasion of the Ukraine. Sullivan performs his own work in an unadorned manner. At times, the performance lacks energy and sounds like what it is--a book being read aloud. He may have been better served by... Read More

Eiren Caffall lives with polycystic kidney disease, a congenital disorder that killed most of her family members before they were 50. Her performance is graceful and authentic, and she draws the listener into her story with a clear voice and lyrical pacing. Caffall parallels her own ticking time bomb with the developing disaster in the ocean. Her beloved Long Island Sound and... Read More

Morven Christie performs this captivating memoir by English writer and academic Sarah Moss. From an early age, society taught Moss that girls are to be restrained, smart but not too smart. At home, she learned to have a poor relationship with food; a girl must stay thin above all else at whatever cost. Moss's memoir recounts her life as she pushes back against the patriarchal... Read More

Narrator Janina Edwards gives an exceptional presentation of this biographical examination of Harriet Tubman. This audiobook compares the work of Tubman and other known civil rights activists in the pre-Civil War period. Edwards effectively delivers the vignettes of Tubman's life, complete with Southern accents and the local vernacular of the era. Tubman endured more physical... Read More

Sarah LaBrie, a successful television writer based in Los Angeles, narrates her gripping memoir of family trauma in a calm, sweet voice that keeps listeners engaged. Throughout LaBrie's childhood her mother ricocheted from one psychiatric episode to another, terrifying and caring ineptly for the girl. With hard work and luck, LaBrie made it to an Ivy League college. There, a... Read More

This second installment brings British historian Ronald Hutton's magisterial biography of Oliver Cromwell up to 30 hours of listening time. It's a daunting undertaking for most listeners--but still short of Cromwell's term as Lord Protector of Britain 1653-58. Even so, there is much to recommend here. Narrator Nigel Patterson's fine enunciation is silken to the ear, bringing... Read More

In 1978, Rick Steves left his job teaching piano lessons to set out on the legendary Hippie Trail. Starting in Europe, Steves and his friend Gene left the "wading pool of European travel" (as he puts it) to visit old friends in Bulgaria and then embark on an epic journey from Istanbul to Kathmandu. Steves's trademark enthusiasm and joie de vivre are on full display as he... Read More

Louise Brealey's captivating narration of Dalton's memoir is simply delightful. Far away from the fast pace and crowds of her life before the pandemic, Dalton finds what she believes is an abandoned leveret, a baby hare, in the English countryside. With the deepest respect for wildlife, Dalton supplies what this leveret needs to survive in exchange for the gift of witnessing... Read More

In this gorgeous memoir, bestselling American author Lidia Yuknavitch meanders through her life with the grace of moving water. Her narration, too, mimics the rhythmic lyricism of water. Her voice gently rises and falls like ocean waves as she recounts her complicated relationships with her ex-husband and mother, along with the ways the grief she carries from their deaths... Read More

Narrator Edoardo Ballerini captures the listener's heart with this new audiobook memoir following a family that was forced to move to Rome after being expelled from their home in Egypt during political unrest. In his adolescence, André Aciman, his brother, and his deaf mother find themselves in a city where they don't speak the language. As the year progresses, André must find... Read More

Sura Siu's narration brings depth and sensitivity to Amanda Nguyen's powerful memoir about surviving sexual assault when she was in college. Siu's measured, compassionate delivery honors Nguyen's story, which balances the raw emotion of trauma with the strength of survival. Siu's voice captures the shifting tones of the narrative--quiet pain, determined resolve, and moments of... Read More

Author Lucy Hughes-Hallett narrates her sweeping history, subtitled "The Brilliant Brief Life of the Duke of Buckingham." George Villiers, the first Duke of Buckingham, was the court favorite and lover of both King James VI of Scotland/James I of England and his son, Charles I. Hughes-Hallett provides a lengthy examination of Scottish and English court culture and the roles of... Read More

Sally Huband takes up beachcombing as a distraction to the debilitating arthritic pain brought on by her pregnancy. Huband is a slow, deliberate narrator, a style that is fitting for a meditative memoir on the environment and chronic illness. Based in the Shetland Islands, where her husband is a helicopter pilot, Huband searches for the sea bean, a seed from a vine in the... Read More

Cassandra Campbell's outstanding narration makes this history of Nazi efforts to eliminate Jewish and female academic opportunities in Germany an accessible and completely absorbing listen. While this subject is challenging, Campbell's investment in relaying the historical details of Nazi actions to eradicate women's roles in public professions and, indeed, in all aspects of... Read More

While Wil Wheaton is the principal narrator of this audiobook, Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates offers a workmanlike delivery of his preface and epilogue. There's something just a bit banal yet cheerful and enthusiastic about Wheaton's performance. His vocal impressions are especially off-putting when he recounts President John F. Kennedy's early 1960s speech on... Read More

On the verge of turning 80, American novelist, poet, and memoirist Abigail Thomas wrote a series of introspective vignettes about the quotidian moments of her life at that time. She conversationally shares observations, occasionally in third person, of ordinary moments during the extraordinary times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the innumerable joys she reflects on are her... Read More

Listening to artist Maira Kalman narrate her work is akin to sitting next to a beloved friend. The artist recounts stories of her parents and grandparents going from Belarus to Israel to the U.S. Kalman recounts episodes in her and her family's lives that resulted in remorse. She also reflects on remorseful instances in the lives of painters, musicians, and philosophers. Kalman... Read More

Rachel Clarke sounds compassionate and graceful, and has a precise-sounding British accent. It's perfect for the macabre lottery of circumstances that lead to a heart transplant from one small child, Keira, who is left brain dead after a terrible car accident, to another, Max, whose heart is failing after an infection. Clarke delves into the development of trauma management and... Read More

The author of the international bestseller THE BOOK THIEF, Markus Zusak, intertwines his memoir with the entertaining story of how his family adopted three rescue dogs and how they brought both chaos and joy to his life. Zusak introduces listeners to Reuben, Archer, and Frosty in his well-known beautiful narrative style, establishing them as memorable characters. Charming and... Read More

This audiobook captures multiple sides of Nikola Jokic, one of the NBA's greatest stars. His story ranges from his upbringing as an unfocused, aloof teen to his focus on the court. Narrator Roger Wayne offers the right amount of emotion for the many folks quoted in this well-researched biography written by a former news reporter who covered Jokic's team, the Denver Nuggets.... Read More