REACHING NINETY

Historian, academic, playwright, and activist Martin Duberman, who wrote a biography titled PAUL ROBESON: NO ONE CAN SILENCE ME, looks back at his own life with both personal and social insight, some well-earned pride, and stories that will engage anyone who is involved in his wide array of interests and endeavors. Narrator Donald Corren does full justice to this memoir with an avuncular tone and energetic pacing, and by eschewing any change in voice when conveying quotes from Duberman's family, students, colleagues, and editors. Both Duberman and Corren offer evenhanded presentations of the author's emotional and political lives, observations of those close to him as well as national figures, and commentary on how cultural changes mark distinct generations of LGBTQI+ life experiences. A delightful visit with a kind man. F.M.R.G. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2023]