THE ROUGH RIDERS

Jonathan Reese puts all the earnestness of this famous author into his narration of a short military action in Cuba in 1898 during the Spanish-American War. He sounds somewhat like actor E.G. Marshall in his intelligent directness and precise pronunciation. It's as if he's sitting in an easy chair, hunched forward with clasped hands, animatedly telling the tale. As he narrates Roosevelt's description of the formation of his volunteer Rough Riders and their assault on San Juan Hill, we hear Roosevelt's character shining vividly forth in its turn-of-the-century exuberance: can-do, honorable, competent, courageous, compassionate. D.W. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT 93]