KATHARINE THE GREAT Katharine Graham and Her Washington Post Empire

January LaVoy gives this unauthorized biography a well paced and convincing narration. Given the tortured history of the text (the book was taken off the shelves, hotly rebuked by both Katharine Graham and WASHINGTON POST editor Ben Bradlee), LaVoy's narration is impressive. She gives this audiobook a modulated performance, softening the author's often hard-edged and mean-spirited views of the legendary publisher and Watergate editor. Scandals at the POST are explored, including allegations of the paper's cozy relationship with the CIA as well as discussion of the tragic suicide of its publisher, Philip Graham, Katharine's husband. Whatever one's qualms about some of the author's theories--she is flat wrong about Deep Throat--real work went into this biography. There's much to be learned, and LaVoy's professional narration honors the effort. A.D.M. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2018]