Download Top 100 Full Audiobooks in Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

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Title: Small Steps

Subtitle: The Year I Got Polio

Author: Peg Kehret

Narrator: Susan Boyce

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 10 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-05-13

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 75 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Acclaimed author Peg Kehret has written the true story of the year when she was twelve and stricken with polio. At first paralyzed and terrified, she fought her way to recovery, aided by doctors and therapists, a loving family, supportive roommates fighting their own battles with the disease, and plenty of grit and luck. With the humor and suspense that are her trademarks, Peg Kehret vividly recreates a year of heartbreak and triumph.

Members Reviews:

11 year old reviewer

What made the experience of listening to Small Steps the most enjoyable?

I liked it when Peg popped a wheelie with her wheelchair in the halls, even though the nurses and doctors said she shouldn't.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked how Peg's parents always visited her no matter how sick she was, and how they gave her a chocolate milkshake.

Have you listened to any of Susan Boyces other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not listened to any other of her books but if they are as good as this book I would like it.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Tommy in the iron lung who never gave up hope that he would one day be cured of polio was a touching part of the story.

Any additional comments?

This book is heart-felt and full to the brim with love, bravery and loyalty. Before this book, I didn't know that polio was such a horrible disease that affected children.

Wonderful story for modern kids (and adults)

What made the experience of listening to Small Steps the most enjoyable?

This story gives the listener a step into the personal journey of a young person's struggle through isolation, disease and debilitation that could have been life long without good care and personal striving. I didn't expect my kids to like it because it is not a "fun" story - but they were captivated by excellent story telling. I believe we were all enriched to have our own struggles put into perspective and by having the opportunity to empathize with and cheer on this young lady as she made her way through polio. (My sons, 13 & 8, were not put off by it being a female character.)

May we not be forgotten. A polio Survivor

This book brought back many memories, not all good. I'm 78 years old and now I am suffering mpps for the last 21 years. Also diabetes and the pain in back. Also my muscle strength is diminishing fast.

Better than expected!

My wife recommended this book to me, but I didn't think it would be able to hold my interest. From beginning to end, I was fascinated by the bravery, compassion and courage of the author! Love love love it!

AMAZING BOOK

This is by far my favorite book of all time! And I highly recommend this to anybody of all ages!!!!

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Title: If I Die in a Combat Zone

Subtitle: Box Me Up and Ship Me Home

Author: Tim O'Brien

Narrator: Dan John Miller

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 46 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-26-12

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 90 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Before writing his award-winning Going After Cacciato, Tim O'Brien gave us this intensely personal account of his year as a foot soldier in Vietnam. The author takes us with him to experience combat from behind an infantryman's rifle, to walk the minefields of My Lai, to crawl into the ghostly tunnels, and to explore the ambiguities of manhood and morality in a war gone terribly wrong.

Beautifully written and searingly heartfelt, If I Die in a Combat Zone is a masterwork of its genre.

Critic Reviews:

"A personal document of aching clarity. . . . A beautiful, painful book." (

New York Times Book Review)

Members Reviews:

A solid Vietnam war memoir

A solid Vietnam memoir from one of the best known writers seasoned by the Vietnam war. Things I liked: cover, Plato, Eric as mirror, dialogue, etc. Things I didn't: didn't seem to add much to the combat veteran memoir, repetitious, risk-free, light. Sure it was updated with the particular nuances of the Vietnam experience, but it was rather safe (a bizarre thing to say about a memoir of a combat vet).

Don't get me wrong. I liked it. I appreciated it, and will read/listen to more of Tim O'Brien. I just didn't think this was on par with Robert Graves, Michael Herr, Guy Sayer, Artyom Borovik, Bob Kotlowitz, etc. Good but just not great. I say this realizing I'm reading this 40+ years after it was first published. I allow that I may think the book is safe only because the road of Vietnam war memoirs was built with a helluva lot of O'Brien's own bricks.

reminder

was well written and read. no over fluffing of politics or of what one would think reader wanted to here. very honest and easly related to.

sucks

I respect what he did n had to do in the army but unless you want a war story told by Shakespeare and ancient quotes n metaphors this is not the book for you. I hated it.

If I Die in a combat zone.

What disappointed you about If I Die in a Combat Zone?

This book just sucked. The story was terrible. I am a Viet Nam Vet. and it was very disappointing.

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Title: The Generals: American Military Command from World War II to Today

Author: Thomas E. Ricks

Narrator: William Hughes

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 hrs and 51 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-30-12

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 494 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

History has been kinder to the American generals of World War IIMarshall, Eisenhower, Patton, and Bradleythan to the generals of the wars that followed. Is this merely nostalgia? Here,Thomas E. Ricks answers the question definitively: No, it is not, in no small part because of a widening gulf between performance and accountability.

During World War II, scores of American generals were relieved of command simply for not being good enough.

InThe Generalswe meet great leaders and suspect ones, generals who rose to the occasion and those who failed themselves and their soldiers. Marshall and Eisenhower cast long shadows over this story, but no single figure is more inspiring than Marine General O. P. Smith, whose fighting retreat from the Chinese onslaught into Korea in 1950 snatched a kind of victory from the jaws of annihilation. But Smiths courage and genius in the face of one of the grimmest scenarios the marines have ever faced only cast the shortcomings of the people who put him there in sharper relief.

If Korea showed the first signs of a culture that neither punished mediocrity nor particularly rewarded daring, the Vietnam War saw American military leadership bottom out. In the wake of Vietnam, a battle for the soul of the US Army was waged with impressive success. It became a transformed institution, reinvigorated from the bottom up. But if the body was highly toned, its head still suffered from familiar problems, resulting in tactically savvy but strategically obtuse leadership that would win battles but end wars badly.

Ricks has made a close study of Americas military leaders for three decades, and in his hands this story resounds with larger meaning: the transmission of values, strategic thinking, the difference between an organization that learns and one that fails. Military history of the highest quality,The Generalsis also essential reading for anyone with an interest in the difference between good leaders and bad ones.

Critic Reviews:

"[A] savvy study of leadership in the US ArmyRicks presents an incisive, hard-hitting corrective to unthinking veneration of American military prowess." (

Publishers Weekly) "Thomas E. Ricks has written a definitive and comprehensive story of American generalship from the battlefields of World War II to the recent war in Iraq. The Generals candidly reveals their triumphs and failures, and offers a prognosis of what can be done to ensure success by our future leaders in the volatile world of the twenty-first century." (Carlo DEste, author of

Patton: A Genius for War) "This is a brilliant bookdeeply researched, very well-written, and outspoken. Ricks pulls no punches in naming names as he cites serious failures of leadership, even as we were winning World War II, and failures that led to serious problems in later wars. And he calls for rethinking the concept of generalship in the Army of the future." (William J. Perry, 19th US Secretary of Defense)

Members Reviews:

Provocative

I found this book most interesting particularly the difference between Marine Corp leadership and the Army during the Korean War. Thomas Ricks compares the Army of WWII to the military of today, particularly looking at how General Marshall dealt with command officers compared to today.

General George C.

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Title: Islands, Oceans, and Dreams

Subtitle: The True Story of a Sailor's Seven Year Solo Voyage Around the World

Author: Michael Salvaneschi

Narrator: Andrew Parker

Format: Unabridged

Length: 19 hrs and 28 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-29-12

Publisher: Open Book Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 234 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Islands, Oceans, and Dreams is a true story of a man who, at the age of 33, began dreaming of voyaging with his wife to the South Pacific. He wasn't an adventurer or daring by nature, but he bought a boat and began learning the ways of the sea. Twenty years later, racked with the pain of divorce and still aching to live out his dream, he set off alone for Tahiti. After reaching French Polynesia, he continued cruising for seven years and wound up solo sailing around the world. Islands, Oceans, and Dreams takes the listener on that voyage.

From turquoise lagoons to pirates, with plenty of adventure in between, this is a must-read for any sailor or armchair traveler who loves stories of the sea.

Michael Salvaneschi has more than 30 years of experience sailing Californias offshore Islands. His two voyages to Mexico, his two-year stint as a commercial swordfisherman and his seven-year solo voyage around the world have taught him much about seamanship. As a guest speaker at yacht clubs, sailing societies, and service groups, Michael tells his stories and shares his experiences as a solo sailor.

Members Reviews:

If you're into maritime adventure

this is the book for YOU! I bought it as a general interest travel narrative, and it does work as that, although at some points better than others.

Part 1 struck me as the least "general interest" section, as the author spends much of that time alone on the high seas in the middle of nowhere, although there are (eventually) stops in the Marquesas, Samoa, Tahiti, Fiji, etc.

Part 2 is largely concerned with Australia, both sightseeing on land, and sailing its vast coast, finishing up with the trip to Arabia, with a lengthy stopover in Sri Lanka.

Part 3 covers the most in terms of miles - Arabia to California, via the Mediterranean, Atlantic, and Panama Canal. Starts out with adventures in avoiding pirates (he never really is threatened, though friends have a lot less luck) from Arabia to Israel, through the Suez Canal. Stops, including sightseeing trips, in Israel, Italy, Gibraltar, the Canary Islands, and Trinidad, until the not-so-simple Canal crossing, and home to San Diego.

Michael's a really nice fellow, without being particularly sappy about it, making lots of friends along the way; he uses the convention of referring to them by their boats' names ("Beatrice" etc.) and as he meets up with some after a long absence from the story, that did get a tad confusing at times. He's also quite a foodie, so it wasn't exactly hardtack and sardines for him; at one point he has so much surplus fish he makes a quantity of "fish jerky" out of it all! He did a terrific job in picking out the highlights of the trip, so things never really dragged for me, as I'd feared they might.

Parker's narration works quite well in terms of maintaining enthusiasm, although I wish he'd done (more) prep work in getting place names correct, as at times it was almost painful to hear him get some wrong.

Final verdict: definitely recommended!

Great tale let down by production

For anyone interested in ocean sailing this is a great tale, if not interested in sailing it will be very repetitive. But what is not acceptable is the production. There are more than 10 entries of duplicated reads where the wrong passages have not been edited out.

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Title: Papillon

Author: Henri Charriere

Narrator: Michael Prichard

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-12-12

Publisher: HarperAudio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 275 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Henri Charriere, called "Papillon" for the butterfly tattoo on his chest, was convicted in Paris in 1931 of a murder he did not commit. Sentenced to life imprisonment in the penal colony of French Guiana, he became obsessed with one goal: escape. After planning and executing a series of treacherous yet failed attempts over many years, he was eventually sent to the notorious prison Devil's Island, a place from which no one had ever escaped - until Papillon. His flight to freedom remains one of the most incredible feats of human cunning, will, and endurance ever undertaken.

Papillon, Charriere's astonishing autobiography, was published in France to instant acclaim in 1968, more than 20 years after his final escape. Since then, it has become a treasured classic - the gripping, shocking, ultimately uplifting odyssey of an innocent man who would not be defeated.

Members Reviews:

Well Written Autobiography

Although this is an autobiography, it reads like a novel. I loved reading this book. But once again it highlights the fact that humans can be the most vicious and mean species on the face of the earth. Papillon was not perfect, in fact he did some pretty bad things, but he did not commit the murder he was accused of, and for which he was sent to prison for life. Not just prison, but hard labor, with long stretches of solitary confinement in which he could talk to no one, ask for nothing, and never even see the sun. Papillon tried to escape 10 times and was totally successful the first time. If he hadn't decided he wanted to live somewhere else, he would never have been found and been reimprisoned. I remember seeing the movie with Steve McQueen years ago, and now I want to see it again.

More than anything else, this book taught me to never give up no matter how bleak the outlook. Some days I really need to remember that lesson.

I was a little "if-y" about Michael Prichard as a narrator at first, but I came to realize that his style and vocal characteristics are perfect for this story. Highly recommended.

A must read, if human nature matters to you!

It's been a while for me since I last find a precious gem like this book. After reading a few good books from Blaisse Pascal, Alexandre Dumas, other stories become pale. I bought the book after some hearty recommendation, which I hope so much to be able to spread it further. Reading this book I realized that human drama when real would never fail to touch. The author has a rather simple style of telling things. On the other hand, he's observation must have been exceptional, making it possible for him to bring out tiny but psychologically penetrating details.

More than once while listing to the book, I had to stop. The emotion it conveyed overwhelmed me. It forced me to slow down and ponder. I resume the listening once I get over it. Surely the life of Papillion must have been full of pain, physical and emotional kinds; even though his story is filled with love and kindness. There were fewer words on the suffering compared to the human experience Papillion wanted to share with the reader. His survival must have a lot to do with this nature in him.

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Title: Full Body Burden

Subtitle: Growing Up in the Nuclear Shadow of Rocky Flats

Author: Kristen Iversen

Narrator: Kirsten Potter, Kristen Iversen

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-05-12

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 112 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Full Body Burden is a haunting work of narrative nonfiction about a young woman, Kristen Iversen, growing up in a small Colorado town close to Rocky Flats, a secret nuclear weapons plant once designated "the most contaminated site in America." It's the story of a childhood and adolescence in the shadow of the Cold War, in a landscape at once startlingly beautiful and - unknown to those who lived there - tainted with invisible yet deadly particles of plutonium.

It's also a book about the destructive power of secrets - both family and government. Her father's hidden liquor bottles, the strange cancers in children in the neighborhood, the truth about what was made at Rocky Flats (cleaning supplies, her mother guessed) - best not to inquire too deeply into any of it.

But as Iversen grew older, she began to ask questions. She learned about the infamous 1969 Mother's Day fire, in which a few scraps of plutonium spontaneously ignited and - despite the desperate efforts of firefighters - came perilously close to a "criticality", the deadly blue flash that signals a nuclear chain reaction. Intense heat and radiation almost melted the roof, which nearly resulted in an explosion that would have had devastating consequences for the entire Denver metro area. Yet the only mention of the fire was on page 28 of the Rocky Mountain News, underneath a photo of the Pet of the Week. In her early thirties, Iversen even worked at Rocky Flats for a time, typing up memos in which accidents were always called "incidents".

And as this memoir unfolds, it reveals itself as a brilliant work of investigative journalism - a detailed and shocking account of the government's sustained attempt to conceal the effects of the toxic and radioactive waste released by Rocky Flats, and of local residents' vain attempts to seek justice in court. Here, too, are vivid portraits of former Rocky Flats workers - from the healthy, who regard their work at the plant with pride and patriotism, to the ill or dying, who battle for compensation for cancers they got on the job.

Based on extensive interviews, FBI and EPA documents, and class-action testimony, this taut, beautifully written book promises to have a very long half-life.

Critic Reviews:

"Full Body Burden is one of the most important stories of the nuclear era - as personal and powerful as Silkwood, told with the suspense and narrative drive of The Hot Zone. With unflinching honesty, Kristen Iverson has written an intimate and deeply human memoir that shows why we should all be concerned about nuclear safety, and the dangers of ignoring science in the name of national security. Rocky Flats needs to be part of the same nuclear discussion as Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima. So does Full Body Burden. It's an essential and unforgettable book that should be talked about in schools and book clubs, online and in the White House." (Rebecca Skloot, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks)

"What a surprise! You don't expect such (unobtrusively) beautiful writing in a book about nuclear weapons, nor such captivating storytelling. Plus the facts are solid and the science told in colloquial but never dumbed-down terms. If I could afford them, I'd want the movie rights.

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Title: Running with the Kenyans

Subtitle: Passion, Adventure, and the Secrets of the Fastest People on Earth

Author: Adharanand Finn

Narrator: John Lee

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-15-12

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 318 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

A dusty road stretches into the distance like a pencil line across the arid landscape. Lions, rhino, and buffalo roam the plains on either side. But I havent come to Kenya to spot wildlife. Ive come to run.

Whether running is your recreation, your religion, or just a spectator sport, Adharanand Finns incredible journey to the elite training camps of Kenya will captivate and inspire you. Part travelogue, part memoir, this mesmerizing quest to uncover the secrets of the worlds greatest runners - and put them to the test - combines practical advice, a fresh look at barefoot running, and hard-won spiritual insights.

As a boy growing up in the English countryside, Adharanand Finn was a natural runner. While other kids struggled, he breezed through schoolyard races, imagining he was one of his heroes: the Kenyan long-distance runners exploding into prominence as Olympic and world champions. But as he grew up, pursued a career in journalism, married and had children, those childhood dreams slipped away - until suddenly, in his mid-thirties, Finn realized he might have only one chance left to see how far his talents could take him.

Uprooting his family of five, including three small children, Finn traveled to Iten, a small, chaotic town in the Rift Valley province of Kenya - a mecca for long-distance runners thanks to its high altitude, endless running paths, and some of the top training schools in the world. Finn would run side by side with Olympic champions, young hopefuls, and barefoot schoolchildren... not to mention the exotic - and sometimes dangerous - wildlife for which Kenya is famous.

Here, too, he would meet a cast of colorful characters, including his unflappable guide, Godfrey Kiprotich, a former half marathon champion; Christopher Cheboiboch, one of the fastest men ever to run the New York City Marathon; and Japhet, a poor, bucktoothed boy with unsuspected reservoirs of courage and raw speed. Amid the daily challenges of training and of raising a family abroad, Finn would learn invaluable lessons about running - and about life.

Critic Reviews:

Equal parts cultural examination, cult-of-running treatise, and poignant memoir, Running with the Kenyans thrives on a variety of levels. Like the skilled distance runner he is, Finn paces this book marvelously and then saves the best for the final kick. This book packs all the pleasure and satisfaction - and none of the ancillary pain - of a long training run. (L. Jon Wertheim, senior editor, Sports Illustrated, and co-author of the New York Times best seller Scorecasting)

Not everyone gets to heaven in their lifetime. Finn tried to run there, and succeeded. Running with the Kenyans is a great read. (Bernd Heinrich, author of Why We Run)

If you want to know the secrets of Kenyan runners, and have a rollicking adventure along the way, join Finn in his fascinating tale of what it is to go stride for stride with the fastest people on Earth. (Neal Bascomb, author of The Perfect Mile)

Members Reviews:

His Curiosity is Contagious

My review might make you think Running With Kenyans was written for kids--if you don't have kids don't worry--the book is not a children's book. So please read on.

My son is a natural athlete loving all sports and in particular, he is an extraordinarily fast runner. He also is not a child who cares at all about Harry Potter.

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Title: Ball Four

Subtitle: The Final Pitch

Author: Jim Bouton

Narrator: Jim Bouton

Format: Unabridged

Length: 18 hrs and 32 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-07-12

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 602 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Ball Four: The Final Pitch is the original book plus all the updates, unlike the 20th Anniversary Edition paperback.

When Ball Four was published in 1970, it created a firestorm. Bouton was called a Judas, a Benedict Arnold and a social leper for having violated the sanctity of the clubhouse. Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn tried to force Bouton to sign a statement saying the book wasnt true. Ballplayers, most of whom hadnt read it, denounced the book. It was even banned by a few libraries.

Almost everyone else, however, loved Ball Four. Fans liked discovering that athletes were real people--often wildly funny people. Many readers said it gave them strength to get through a difficult period in their lives. Serious critics called it an important document.

David Halberstam, who won a Pulitzer for his reporting on Vietnam, wrote a piece in Harpers that said of Bouton: He has written a book deep in the American vein, so deep in fact that it is by no means a sports book.

In 1999 Ball Four was selected by the New York Public Library as one of the Books of the Century. And Time magazine chose it as one of the "100 Greatest Non-Fiction" books.

Besides changing the image of athletes, the book played a role in the economic revolution in pro sports. In 1975, Ball Four was accepted as legal evidence against the owners at the arbitration hearing, which lead to free agency in baseball and, by extension, to other sports.

Today Ball Four has taken on another role--as a time capsule of life in the 60s. "It is not just a diary of Bouton's 1969 season with the Seattle Pilots and Houston Astros," says sportswriter Jim Caple. "It's a vibrant, funny, telling history of an era that seems even further away than four decades. To call it simply a "tell all book" is like describing The Grapes of Wrath as a book about harvesting peaches in California."

Critic Reviews:

"A book deep in the American vein, so deep in fact it is by no means a sports book." (David Halberstam)

"

Ball Four is a people book, not just a baseball book." (

The New York Times)

"

Ball Four is out in a new e-book edition, available on Kindle. It also is available as an audio book, read by Bouton himself, through audible.com. The only thing better than reading

Ball Four again might be listening to Bouton read it to you." (R. A. Dickey, columnist and senior writer for ESPN.com.)

Members Reviews:

The Only Man Who Could Tell It...

My story is almost exactly like a previous reviewer. I probably read Ball Four for the first time when I was around 15 and listened to Jim Bouton's reading at age 48. And I've read it numerous times in between. Only Jim can do this story justice. Sure, there are editing issues (at one point, there's about 30 seconds of Jim obviously turning pages as well as a couple of abrupt edits). But when you hear him laugh at his funny stories and cry while discussing the death of his beloved daughter Laurie, you know it's genuine. Whenever he talked about Laurie, the car got a little dusty, I have to admit. He's right, if you've been a fan for years, you are family. The only thing I wish is that they added his follow-up book "I'm Glad You Didn't Take It Personally" to this. I've read that a couple of times over the years and it would fit well.

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Title: Kasher in the Rye

Subtitle: The True Tale of a White Boy from Oakland Who Became a Drug Addict, Criminal, Mental Patient, and Then Turned 16

Author: Moshe Kasher

Narrator: Moshe Kasher

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-28-12

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 431 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Rising young comedian Moshe Kasher is lucky to be alive. He started using drugs when he was just 12. At that point, he had already been in psychoanlysis for eight years. By the time he was 15, he had been in and out of several mental institutions, drifting from therapy to rehab to arrest to...you get the picture. But Kasher in the Rye is not an "eye opener" to the horrors of addiction. It's a hilarious memoir about the absurdity of it all.

When he was a young boy, Kasher's mother took him on a vacation to the West Coast. It was more of an abduction - just not officially. She stole him away from his father and they moved to Oakland, California. That's where the real fun began, in the war zone of Oakland Public Schools. He was more than just out of control - his mother walked him around on a leash, which he chewed through before running away.

Those early years were part Augusten Burroughs, part David Sedaris, with a touch of Jim Carrol...but a lot more Jewish. In fact, Kasher later spent time in a Brooklyn Hasidic community. Then came addicition.

Brutally honest and laugh-out-loud funny, Kasher's first literary endeavor finds humor in even the most horrifying situations.

Members Reviews:

An entirely difference

Would you listen to Kasher in the Rye again? Why?

Hearing Kasher read his own story was very emotional for me. I am a big fan of his comedy and now have an entirely different respect for him.

What did you like best about this story?

It was a classic story of a troubled child and his struggles to change. However, I did not find this repetitive or cheesy. The story was raw. With the luxury of having Moshe Kasher tell it with his own voice, you could feel how real his experiences were.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Both. Kasher has a real talent to take a serious subject and finding humor in it (without making you feel bad for laughing).

Loved this audiobook!

This is one of those books that I think is better as an audiobook. I really enjoyed hearing the author read his story. He has (not surprisingly) a great sense of humor and delivery.

I love well-written memoirs, and this is definitely among the best I've read. I am amazed that this guy made it out of childhood alive. A wonderful bookI loved every second of it.

fantastic

Fantastic book by a really great comic. Heartwrenching story with some funny bits to lighten the mood. Very it's narrated by Moshe.

Possibly the best book I've ever listened to

This is the first review I've ever left,

I felt I had to.

I am going through some heavy stuff with an addict in my life. I have read and listened to almost every book there is on drug addiction. I wanted something lighter but that still dealt with the crap going on in my real life. I am so glad I picked this book! It is hilarious! There were so many times I would just burst out laughing. It showed both the "fun" side of the beginning of addiction, then made the serious stuff funny as hell too.

Thank you for writing this book! As I said I am in a really dark place with "my" addict and your book helped me get through so many hard days. I found myself not wanting to listen because I didn't want it to be over...

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Title: Whatever You Do, Don't Run

Subtitle: True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide

Author: Peter Allison

Narrator: Antony Ferguson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-20-12

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 821 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Whatever You Do, Don't Run is a hilarious collection of true tales from top safari guide Peter Allison. In a place where the wrong behavior could get you eaten, Allison has survived face-to-face encounters with big cats, angry elephants, and the world's most unpredictable animals: herds of untamed tourists and foolhardy guides whose outrageous antics sometimes make them even more dangerous than a pride of hungry lions!

Join Allison as he faces down charging lions (twice); searches for a drunk, half-naked tourist who happens to be a member of the British royal family; drives a Land Rover full of tourists into a lagoon full of hippos; and adopts the most vicious animal in Africa as his "pet". Full of lively humor and a genuine love and respect for Botswana and its rich wildlife, Whatever You Do, Don't Run takes you to where the wild things are and introduces you to a place where every day is a new adventure!

Critic Reviews:

"Allison's infectious enthusiasm for both the African bush and his job showing its wonders to tourists is readily apparent, making for a fast and very entertaining read." (

Booklist)

Members Reviews:

Drivers May Laugh Too Hard to Drive!

Where does Whatever You Do, Don't Run rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

I've listened to hundreds! This ranks as about an 8.5.

What other book might you compare Whatever You Do, Don't Run to and why?

I don't read non-fiction, but I'd rename this: Adventures of Han Solo on Safari

Which character as performed by Antony Ferguson was your favorite?

Peter Alison...I'd love to have him as a guide. He's funny!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The birth of the baby elephant actually brought tears to my eyes. He did such a good job describing the incredible beauty of that moment

Any additional comments?

I'm not a non-fiction reader, but this book kept me hooked. I played it in my car wherever I went, and I'd find myself sitting in parking lots just so I could hear what happened when Peter got charged by a lioness! This is a great listen for driving around doing errands. It's a series of short, self-contained tales, the verbal equivalent of a safari through Peter Alison's life as a guide. Very well done!

Glorious, funny

If you could sum up Whatever You Do, Don't Run in three words, what would they be?

Hilarious poignant engaging

What was one of the most memorable moments of Whatever You Do, Don't Run?

One of the most memorable moments of the book is when Peter forgets a cardinal rule: don't drive into water without first checking how deep it is. Forced to abandon his clients perched on the only part of the jeep not immersed in the deep channel inhabited by crocodiles to seek help, he ran back to camp, running into a herd of water buffalo, one of Africa's most dangerous animals, on the way. Peter returns to the scene with his unhappy boss, who wraps him in the steel tow chain to

Have you listened to any of Antony Fergusons other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is my first time listening to Antony Ferguson.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed so hard it ached!

Any additional comments?

I have lived and worked in Africa, and have enjoyed several safaris.